Jimmy making a statement with a check on Better Call Saul
Photo Credit: AMC TV
Brief thoughts on the premiere of the Breaking Bad spinoff
Better Call Saul as soon as I stop buying bacon…
“There are no shortcuts”
-Chuck
Better Call Saul is not Breaking Bad.
And that’s not a bad thing at all, one of the things I
feared going into Better Call Saul was that Gilligan and Gould would try and
make a show that was Breaking Bad just with a less fascinating character at its
centre. Luckily for the duration of the premiere that seems not to be the case,
Better Call Saul seems on the trail to develop its own voice and judging from
the premiere it’s going to at least be a fun voice to listen to.
That’s not to say that “Uno” doesn’t borrow good things from
Breaking Bad. First and foremost the direction of Vince Gilligan is present in
full force. The show retains the beautiful look of its predecessor while at the
same time playing around with different ideas. Shots are still crisp, beautiful
and often there is a unique angle or two to sink our teeth into. One of the
things I like most in the premiere is that scenes take their time and last
longer than one would normally think, really getting the most out of
interactions and sequences that under any other hand might be secondary or not
thought through.
Ultimately slow and steady seems to be the pace Better Call
Saul will occupy in general. The quote from earlier “there are no shortcuts”
was the philosophy of Breaking Bad and it seems to be the philosophy here. The premiere
seems to cover all angles of the meteoric rise Jimmy McGill and it seems to want
to do it with the patience and care that was trademark of the show’s predecessor.
This is not a show that is going rush the journey, and we are going to see the
evolution of this character in the most precise way possible.
Now onto differences and specifics. “Uno” suggests a show
that is much more openly comedic than Breaking Bad ever was. Sure Breaking Bad
was a very funny show at times but it was always within a dark framework, where
as “Uno” suggests that Better Call Saul will insert darkness amidst comedy. Many
of the perilous situations that Saul finds himself in (more on that in a
moment) are set up through comedic set pieces. It’s the tone and the way plot
is delivered that ultimately differentiates the show and turns it into its own
show independent of Breaking Bad.
Those comic set pieces are seen throughout “Uno.” The climax
of the episode itself involves to stoner skaters trying to make a bit of a buck
for both Jimmy and themselves before it ends up going downhill. Heck just
watching Jimmy attempt to makes some money is funny in very sad ways, from
trying to defend college kids who were sexually harassing store props (I have
no other way of putting that) to him trying to get his sick brother to try and
cash out from his own law firm. It all works to set up the tragically funny
world that Jimmy inhabits that constantly seems out to get him, from the bad
kids in public court to the skaters that somehow end up not being run over by
the old lady picking up her kids from school but instead a gun wielding Tuco.
And we all know where this story ends. In case one forgot “Uno”
even provides a great pre-credit teaser showing the boring gray (literally)
life Sual currently leads as a manager of a Cinnabon in the middle of an indiscreet
mall. But ultimately it’s going to be about how and why Saul got there and
judging from “Uno” the journey is going to be a lot of fun.
Some more musings:
- I’m going to try and do small weekly reviews of this show on Tuesday Mornings. I don’t have AMC at the moment so I’m trying to watch via Itunes season pass. It wasn’t great for this episode (which is why this is up as late as it is) but hopefully it gets easier as the weeks role on.
- On the note of Tuco showing up I feel as though I’m going to be uneasy when parts of Breaking Bad creep their way into the show. I did groan a little when the gun touting adversary ended up being Tuco but I guess we’ll see where it’s going before I judge.
- Of course Mike is always the exception to that feeling of unease. The more Mike the better.
- Also a buddy cop show with Saul and Mike is potentially the greatest thing ever.
- I love the slow build of the court scene post credits which involves a silent court room for a minute or two while Saul talks over his plan to himself in the empty bathroom. A wonderful comedic setup.
- It’s funny with the how relevant the fake accident skaters are because of the Russian dashcam videos that are being released.
That’s all for now folks… Until tomorrow! It’s a two episode
week!
That’s just me though. What did everyone else think?
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