By John Tustin
Better Call Saul is the emmy nominated prequel to the hit series Breaking Bad on AMC. The series follows Jimmy “Slippin’ Jimmy” McGill and his journey from street con-artist to becoming “Saul Goodman”—a crooked attorney at law.
Unlike it’s meth-filled counterpart, Better Call Saul does not feature Walter White or Jesse Pinkman at all. Instead it does include Mike, Gus and Tuco, but nobody else of significance from the previous hit show. (The show also shows Saul in the future where, like he said, he is working as a manager for a Cinnabon after the climatic events of Breaking Bad.)
The story is set up by Saul performing a “Chicago Sunroof”. This is an act he explains as follows…
“Now, Chet drove… And this will give you an idea of exactly what kind of a douchebag this guy was…. Drove a white pearlescent BMW 7 series, with white leather interior. [Chuckles] So, I saw that thing, and I had… I’d had a few, like I said. And, uh… I climbed up top, and I may have… Defecated, uh, through the sunroof. Not my finest hour… I’ll grant you that. But that’s what a Chicago sunroof is. Now you know. [Chuckles] It’s a real thing. I didn’t make it up. I’m not the first person to do it. There’s a name for it.”
Also, Chet’s kids were in the backseat of the car… so yeah, Saul went to jail. Chuck (Saul’s brother who is also a highly respected lawyer) gets him out of jail provided he promises to get clean. He does, and graduates law school. Later on Chuck develops “ElectroMagnetic sensitivity”, or as Saul puts it, becomes “allergic to electricity” which forces him into a wealthy retirement. Chuck is unable to leave the house, so Saul as his sole family member, takes care of him (and does not appreciate this at all). All the while, Saul is taking on small cases and ambulance chasing. Saul eventually starts to look for a way to gain more clients, which starts the series off.
Now what makes the series so great? Well it’s a number of things. Firstly, we the audience already know the cast of main characters, so introductions aren’t really needed, especially for Saul. It’s an original series that takes place in a universe that already exists, so all the work goes into the story and not into world-building at all. The actors are absolutely amazing, and fit their roles perfectly.
The actors from Breaking Bad that carried over to Better Call Saul already know their characters, so that helps. But I believe what brings most viewers to the show is Saul. This charismatic character is already famous. Bob Odenkirk has been playing Saul for a while now, so it’s no wonder that the character is as polished as it is now.
AMC’s Better Call Saul is an amazing prequel series that dares to break the expectations left by Breaking Bad, and some fans may even argue that it’s a better show. Seasons 1-3 are now available on Netflix, and season 4 just recently finished on AMC in October so it’s expected to come to Netflix soon.
