Better Call Saul

"Breaking Bad" was undeniably one of the greatest shows of the 21st century. If you then hear that one of the characters got a spinoff show, you could be forgiven for doubting the quality. Well, doubt no more. "Better Call Saul" is an equally fine piece of work.

The protagonist is lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk), who it turns out is actually named Jimmy McGill. He engages in all manner of shady activity, while other characters from the previous show have their own things to deal with. As with the previous show, it's a serial, with episodes ending in cliffhangers. And make no mistake, you'll want to keep watching.

Basically, it's the type of series that you have to see to believe. There have been lawyer shows and crime dramas, but never have they gotten combined so splendidly. It's the perfect mix of comedy, tragedy and thriller. Definitely see it.

As of today, it's officially been 9 years since Better Call Saul was released. It's been a little over a year since the finale aired and I'm still mesmerized about how this crew lead by Peter Gould & Vince Gilligan pulled it off, again.

When Breaking Bad reached its finale, it was hard for me to imagine any other show being able to reach it's level, let alone arguably surpass it. And when I heard that there was a spin-off regarding Saul Goodman, I thought maybe the show could have some solid and funny moments, and maybe bring a bit of depth towards some beloved Breaking Bad characters.

Spin-offs in television are usually seen to me as fan service, or a way to make more money off of a franchise that was loved. That doesn't mean that all of them are bad, but most of them don't have the passion or care that'd make you think it was extremely necessary to make a spin-off, especially considering the risk of making previous characters look bad writing wise. And while Better Call Saul was AMC's idea to make more money off of the franchise, I'm shocked with how the creators and writers were able to make another masterpiece.

This show was always meant to be in the shadow of Breaking Bad in my eyes, and I never would've thought of these shows as something that'd be deserving to talk about in the same breath as one another. But Better Call Saul took the ball that Breaking Bad was rolling, picked it up, and launched it forward.

While I think Breaking Bad has peaks that no other show can reach, Better Call Saul was able to do things that it's predecessor never could. The depth and writing of these characters are honestly perfect. So much so that I'd consider the shows leads Jimmy and Kim to be two of the best written characters in television history. And while the cast of this show is extremely stacked, Chuck McGill to me is a character that's honestly overlooked compared to the rest. His character has a pretty clear consensus amongst most people, but there's so much to him and Jimmy's dynamic that's it's honestly not as black and white as most people make it out to be, despite both being objectively wrong in certain aspects of the series. It's really fascinating to me.

The main aspect of the show that baffles me is how perfectly timed the arcs are considering this is a prequel. Every event in the show is written so well and is paced in a brilliant way to the point where no character arc seems to be rushed, yet the show still remains interesting. You think you've reached the pinnacle of a characters journey, then a curveball is thrown that changes everything.

That's not even mentioning how balanced both the lawyer side and the cartel side of the show are. When I first started the show I was eager to get more of the Mike and cartel portion, but the lawyer side of the story honestly paved the way for the first half of this show and was the most compelling part of the first 3 seasons.

My word of advice to anyone who watches this show.

1. Be patient 2. Understand that this is not Breaking Bad.

At some point the show will get very intense, but enjoy what arcs you are given at the time because before you know it, you'll look back and realize you were in the good times of the show. If you watch Better Call Saul after watching Breaking Bad, you might ask for one thing early on. But when you actually get it, you'll realize that the destination wasn't the key, but it was the journey to get there.

Considering most of the characters in this show were never even supposed to exist, it's safe to call Better Call Saul a miracle in television. Whether that was because of an actor wanting to be written off, an actor having a busy filming schedule, or a throw away line that created two of the greatest characters in the entire universe, it's amazing that Breaking Bad was able to pave the way for one of the greatest shows of all time. But what's even more impressive is Better Call Saul makes it to where Breaking Bad is not even complete without its existence.

Kudos to Peter Gould, Vince Gilligan and the entire crew that returned to create Better Call Saul, and I'm grateful I got to experience this universe come to a close.

With every episode it gets heated a bit...... and you won't even realise when the water stars boiling......

Had heard nothing but amazing things about 'Better Call Saul' (with nothing bad), with it being one of the most highly regarded shows in recent years. Am a huge fan of 'Breaking Bad', so was really psyched in seeing its prequel 'Better Call Saul' too. My opinion of Bob Odenkirk is also very high, so there was absolutely no way this was going to be missed. Have binged on many shows in the past seven years or so and was determined for this to be one of them, very like 'Breaking Bad'.

'Better Call Saul' was every bit as amazing as reputed. Have seen many shows that started off wonderfully but declined badly in their final seasons, a few with really bad last episodes ('House of Cards', 'Game of Thrones', 'Killing Eve'), but then there are rarities like 'Breaking Bad' where every season was at least positively received and on the most part universally acclaimed. 'Better Call Saul' is another one of the rarities and is the first show seen in a long time to not have a bad episode in it, since 'Breaking Bad'. Seriously compelling and addictive stuff and exceptional in every area.

Visually, 'Better Call Saul' is one of those shows that is both stylish and beautiful, with photography and editing that are cinematic quality and put a lot of films today to shame, where there are a lot of visually beautiful ones but also some painfully amateurish looking ones. The music always has the appropriate mood, never too intrusive, never too muted.

The writing for 'Better Call Saul' is a fine example to all shows of how to have a lot of style but also to have a lot of substance. The dialogue throughout is thought-provoking and tense, although quite talky, while also have a darkly wicked sense of humour and heart-tugging pathos. The stories are texturally rich, intimate, tense and layered, with the pace of them consistently deliberate but taut. The pull no punches and gritty approach to the subject was often chilling and harrowing to watch. The direction couldn't be better.

Likewise with the acting, with Odenkirk on absolutely towering form throughout as one of television's most fascinating and meatiest leading characters, one that one is repulsed by but also one that is not hard to sympathise with in some situations. Rhea Seehorn and Michael McKean are excellent as well, McKean giving one of his best work in years. The character writing is rich and compellingly real.

Concluding, truly outstanding show. 10/10.

People who are fans of Breaking Bad should definitely watch this it expands the Albuquerque criminal underworld to unparalleled heights. It's easily one of the most tragic, beautifully written and directed shows of all time and for me at least is at the top of the list of my favourite shows it's tied with Breaking Bad. I'm not really someone who's into the crime genre but this show as well as Breaking Bad are two all time great crime dramas that I actually LOVE. It's a master class of writing and direction. This show is the fastest show I've binged I finished the first 4 seasons in a matter of 3 days. Season 5 isn't out in Canada on Netflix yet.