Laura Dengrove – Better Call Saul
Better call the Emmy’s because Better Call Saul is taking charge.
As all Breaking Bad fans had excitingly, and nervously, awaited this spin off since it was announced shortly after the Breaking Bad series finale, I think it’s safe to say that no one was exactly sure where this show would go.Would it end up on everyone’s shit list for simply being created, since Breaking Bad is perfection in a test tube, or would it be the hit of the century?
Well best believe it was the latter. Simply put, Better Call Saul is a marvel. Something that everyone assumed would simply be a must see for references and nods to the show that started it all, became so much more than that by creating something that not only didn’t need the foreshadows and references to Breaking Bad itself, but told a story that people care about. It’s a story that they are invested in without wondering when will Jesse and Walt appear on the small screen once again. (Although, the cameos of characters we already know to love/hate are an extremely magnificent added bonus).Yes, it is a spin off of Breaking Bad, but it’s so much more than that as we have come to see in just the first half of the season. It’s something new and fresh, something that the television world has been missing since, well, Breaking Bad.
Vince Gilligan is a mastermind for coming up with the concept of this show. Spin off’s of a perfect show don’t always end up well, so the collective agreement when he announced this idea was a mixed bag of emotions. For example, let’s not ask Joey ever again what he did after Friends ended. But Gilligan’s idea here was anything but just a simple spin off.
It’s creative, funny, and had an excellent lead in the ever so often under appreciated Bob Odenkirk as the charming Jimmy McGill, aka Saul Goodman. Why the man was never nominated for an Emmy for his performance in the previous show is beyond me, but it is finally his time to shine. Odenkirk brings a human side to Saul that was never completely seen in Breaking Bad, and it works. Sure, the jokes are still there, and his quick wit is sturdier than ever, but seeing the Jimmy before the Saul is mesmerizing and just a delight to watch every week. Bringing Mike (Jonathan Banks) back on to the team so quickly just gives me another reason to say this show is absolutely terrific.
Even though we all know what happens in the end to poor old Jimmy, I find myself still being pleasantly surprised by this show, and the crazy world that is 2002, and that is where the true magic lies. Surprising an audience that pretty much already knows where the character is heading puts the “better” in Better Call Saul. Gilligan has struck gold once again and I personally cant wait to give another good old call to the good old Saul.
Check out Al Mannarino’s weekly review of Better Call Saul.
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