Better Call Saul Review: ‘Quite a Ride’ Provides a Trip Down Memory Lane

When Better Call Saul was first announced, the idea of a Breaking Bad prequel focusing on the fast-talking fan favorite lawyer, Saul Goodman, sounded like a no-brainer.

It wasn’t until the series premiere that we truly saw the potential of what this show could be. Not only could we see who Saul was before Walt and Jesse entered his life, we could also see what happened after he escapes Albuquerque and takes on a new identity as a manager of a Cinnabon in Omaha, Nebraska. Creating those two unexplored storylines, while also including callbacks and characters from the world of Breaking Bad, would be enough to satisfy any fan of the original series. But that wasn’t enough for the amazing BCS creative team. The opening of “Quite a Ride” gave fans what they have missed the most: Saul Goodman.

Over the last three seasons, we have seen Jimmy McGill inch closer and closer to becoming Saul, and we probably won’t see him reach his full form until the end of the series, but that didn’t stop Ann Cherkis from writing one of the best and most surprising openings of the series thus far. It must be near moments after Walt’s face is plastered all over the news and we are back in the familiar offices of Saul Goodman who is frantically packing up his office, while his assistant, Francesca, shreds all documentation leading to Saul’s illegal activity.

This trip down memory lane provides some potentially good news. Before Francesca leaves, Saul hands her a card for a lawyer and mentions to tell that person that “Jimmy sent you” meaning that this could mean that Kim is still alive in a post-Better Call Saul/post-Breaking Bad world, but it could also be Hamlin’s business card. Either way, it was a great way to link both shows together without having to make a direct reference while opening up the possibility of seeing Francesca head his advice and call whoever is at the other end of that phone number.

We also see Saul get a little emotional that he is leaving his life. Although he may or may not have Kim in his life during Breaking Bad, it seems like Saul is happiest when he practicing law and this opening scene was bookended nicely with the final scene with Jimmy in his PPD’s office ranting how he will once again become a great lawyer.

“Quite a Ride” felt like one of the most jam-packed episodes of the series as we get to see storylines from nearly every character except for Nacho, who has had some huge scenes in most of this season thus far. We see Jimmy’s sign outside the cellphone store work like a charm, but when he tries to take matters into his own hands and sell the phones on the street by himself, he ends up getting mugged by a group of teenage junkies.

Kim attempts to balance her practice and try to work at the courthouse to bring some more fulfillment in her life, but it almost costs her Mesa Verde in the process. Jimmy briefly catches up with Hamlin before visiting his PPD officer and he is in bad shape. After what happened with Chuck and thinking he is somehow responsible, Hamlin now has insomnia, which deters Jimmy from seeing a psychologist after Hamlin reveals that he sees one twice a week, which is clearly doing nothing for him.

Outside of Jimmy’s trip into the underworld, the majority of the episode focuses on Mike’s new job with Gus. After a slow build-up of meeting a new character and following his time from landing in the airport to getting picked up by Mike, we see that Gus has assigned Mike with delivering potential builders for Gus’ meth lab. As we get to see Jimmy become Saul, we also get to see Gus slowly and diabolically build his drug empire.

We are now officially halfway through season 4 and Better Call Saul keeps finding new places to explore while seamlessly becoming more captivating with each installment.

Rating 10/10

Better Call Saul, ‘Quite a Ride’ is currently streaming on platforms everywhere.