Home » Streaming Flicks » Better Call Saul

Better Call Saul

We live in age of hyperbole where everything isn’t simply good; it’s the “best.” Athletes, movies, and television shows often get this treatment, with so many entities being called “the greatest of all-time” that it tends to dull the meaning of that particular phrase. I’m guilty of it myself, though I have certainly tried to be conscientious about this over the years. Yet as BETTER CALL SAUL comes to a close, I find it impossible not to list Bob Odenkirk’s turn as Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman as one of, if not THE greatest performance in the history of television.

On BREAKING BAD, Odenkirk’s Goodman was the sleezy, over-the-top attorney whose face was on everything from park benches to matchbooks. He provided plenty of comedic relief and emerged as an extremely entertaining character as the series progressed, but he lacked the complexity of the more well-defined principal players surrounding him.

When a spin-off was announced that would revolve around the smooth-talking attorney, I certainly had my reservations. BREAKING BAD was a modern classic, and it felt like this was more of an obligatory opportunity to keep the popular (and seemingly lucrative) franchise going.

What has played out instead is a series that may very well be even better than its predecessor. A prequel that explores the journey of how a complex man attempts to emerge from his successful brother’s shadow and make a name for himself has been, from the very beginning, an engaging, thrilling, hilarious, ingenious drama/comedy/thriller that is a rarity in today’s streaming world. Each and every week I counted down the days until the next episode, elated with the fact that the story would continue, but lamenting that each installment brought us closer to the conclusion.

When Jimmy first began his journey as little more than a bumbling grifter with a
law degree, we saw flashes of the high-powered con-artist who was introduced to audiences in BREAKING BAD. Scruples and morals have never appeared to mean much to him, though early on, his devious actions seemed to have a little more impact on him. Whether he was conning a couple out of the cash they had illegally procured, or bringing about the downfall of his own brother, there was a struggle of conscience that always bubbled beneath the surface. Whenever he faced a difficult decision, he was bound to make the wrong decision. That is, because when it comes down to it, he’s always been the guy from BREAKING BAD, he just wasn’t always so obvious about it.

BETTER CALL SAUL is on the precipice of its conclusion, and like BREAKING BAD, will end as a series that never outlasted its welcome. I’ve written about the show in previous articles, praising the performances of Jonathan Banks, Giancarlo Esposito, Patrick Fabian, Michael Mando, Michael McKean and Tony Dalton. They are a supporting cast who helped shaped the show into the work of art it ultimately became. They, like Jimmy, are flawed and horrible people who all possess their own oddly endearing qualities. This moral ambiguity was what made characters like Walt and Jesse so great in BREAKING BAD, and show-runner Vince Gilligan explored these notions even further in the slow-burn BETTER CALL SAUL.

The one name not listed above is Rhea Seehorn. If there is any justice in the entertainment world, it will be that Ms. Seehorn (who recently earned an Emmy nomination for her performance) will emerge from this as a star. Much like Jimmy’s, the evolution of Kim Wexler (Seehorn) has been extraordinary. In season one she was introduced as a side player in Jimmy’s world, but by the time we have reached the conclusion of the series, we realize she has been the key to the entire evolution of Saul. She continuously shocks and surprises. From the very beginning I thought we were heading in one direction, with her emerging as a voice of reason that Jimmy simply couldn’t follow, only to discover that she is something entirely different. This development, and Seehorn’s masterful delivery of the content has helped shape SAUL into an all-time classic.

Finally, this brings us to the man himself. For Odenkirk to take the slimy Saul (the guy we saw with a drawer full of cell phones willing to do quite literally anything to make a buck in BREAKING BAD) and mold him into a sympathetic, flawed, brilliant, and tragic hero is nothing short of masterful. With each episode, he subtly slid towards depravity, and even though we ultimately knew where he’d end up, we somehow hoped he wouldn’t. He was hilariously funny while also being heartbreakingly sad, and though we witnessed him make one horrible decision after another, the ingenuity behind his decision making was fascinating. As he found himself drawn deeper into the underbelly world of the cartel, we still somehow believed he might find a happily-ever-after that we simply didn’t see in BREAKING BAD. Maybe Kim was out there waiting for him somewhere after all. Or, maybe, like Walt, he was doomed from the start. We’ll find out in just a few more episodes, and while I’m sad to see it end, I’m elated I got to be there for every step of the journey.