How Breaking Bad Prequel "Better Call Saul" Improves with every season
Better call Saul is the prequel to the hit TV show Breaking Bad that focuses on the character responsible for most of the comic relief in that show, lawyer: Saul Goodman, but in this prequel he's introduced as "Jimmy Mcgill" and he's far from the shady criminal lawyer that he eventually becomes in Breaking bad.
Often the main thing holding prequels back is the fact that the writers are limited in what they can do with the characters; the audience knows where most of the characters end up, the way Better Call Saul gets around this issue is by making many of the characters personalities and situations drastically different to how they end up in breaking bad, this way the audience knows where the character end up but they don't know how they eventually arrive there, the show focuses more on the how than the what. The viewers have seen where Jimmy ends up in Breaking Bad, because of this dramatic irony, some of the shows most optimistic moments are also the saddest as the audience knows that it's not heading towards a happy ending. The show also reveals that Saul Goodman's story did not end in the Breaking bad finale as they decide to include scenes that take place after Breaking Bad; each season opens with a scene showing a depressed, cowardly Jimmy McGill who appears to be a shadow of the man he once was, these openers are in black and white which usually would indicate that it's a flashback but these scenes actually take place in the future after Walter White has ruined every bodies lives. The only time there is any colour in these scenes is when Jimmy is watching back old recordings of his the commercials he made to promote his criminal lawyer service which suggests he looks back on these times fondly after it's all over. These flash forward scenes are one of my favourite things about the show as many people where wondering what happens to Saul after breaking bad and it makes sense that the show centered around Saul Goodman has a chance to tell the beginning and end of his story as opposed to just leaving his ending as the one we saw in Breaking Bad.
The first Season is a bit slower than breaking bad but that doesn't mean it's boring, Better call Saul takes it's time and focuses on smaller, less explosive situations than Breaking Bad, then when bigger things start to happen in the later seasons it feels more rewarding and significant. The introduction of New characters like cartel member Nacho Varga and Jimmys love interest Kim Wexler helps add a sense of unpredictability to the show as these character do not make an appearance in breaking bad making them two of the few characters who's fate is unknown. Nacho slowly became my favourite character in the show, when he's first introduced he is working with the Salamanca family (who played a large role in Breaking bad) but when Hector Salamanca becomes a threat to Nachos father he realises that he has to take him out to protect his family. Nachos situation becomes even more interesting when he finds himself caught between the two rivaling antagonists of the show; Gus Fring and the Salamanca family, when Gus discovers Nacho attempted to kill Hector he blackmails him and turns nacho into his inside man. In breaking bad Gus Fring states that he believes "Fear is not an effective motivator" yet in better call Saul he is using fear against Nacho in order to fight the Salamancas which suggests that his plan to use Nacho against the Salamancas doesn't go the way he is expecting it to, there are many more moments like this throughout that explain why characters like Mike and Gus are the way they are in Breaking Bad.
There's two separate stories in Better Call Saul, the scenes focusing around Saul himself as he struggles with his morality and tries to make it as a lawyer and then the other half that focuses on Breaking Bad character Mike played by Jonathan Banks, the scenes with Mike and the cartel are a great contrast to the scenes following Jimmy and Kim. While for most of the first three seasons these two stories rarely crossover with one another, when they do it's entertaining to see how Mike and Jimmy interact with each other. With each new season Mikes story and Jimmys story blend into one.
The show also looks amazing; with colourful wide-shots of sunny New Mexico that reflect the slightly lighter tone of the show when compared to breaking bad or many other similar dramas that decide to go for a more dark and gritty feel. Every shot feels stylistic and meaningful, even moments that take place in a boring setting like a courtroom or an apartment are shot in a way that just makes it aesthetically pleasing and more engaging. At times the show can be funny and entertaining without losing any of the tension or compromising the more serious moments; for example there one point in the show where Jimmy appears to be charismatic than ever and behaves closer to how he turns out in Breaking bad, but this is made slightly disturbing by the fact that these scenes takes place not long after the death of his brother. The entirety of season 4 jimmy barely acknowledges his brothers suicide and it makes for some great moments where the audience is wondering if he just genuinely doesn't care or if this is supposed to be how he deals with grief.
SEASON 5
In season 5 the show no longer feels like it's following two separate stories as the new character Lalo Salamanca, who was only introduced towards the end of season 4, comes in connects all the character together. He almost feels like the main character in season 5 and it's hard to imagine the show without him despite the fact he's probably had the least screen time out of all of the shows main characters. It feels like the show-runners Peter Gould and Vince Gilligan knew exactly where they where going with the story of Better Call Saul from episode 1, with some other shows it feels like every season/series is a new story but with Better call Saul each season flows into the next seamlessly and the show never loses it's momentum or feels repetitive. Season 5 was the best season of the show yet and it perfectly sets up a final season.
Season 6 is confirmed to be the last season of the show and it has a lot to wrap up like the fate of characters who don't show up in breaking bad such as Lalo, Kim Wexler and Nacho. Season 6 will also finally reveal what happens to Saul Goodman after the events of Breaking Bad, I think this will be slightly reminiscent of the Breaking Bad finale where jimmy will decide to come out of hiding and go back to what he had ran way from, except for slightly less selfish and vengeful reasons than Walter White when he went back to Albuquerque to stop Neo Nazis from selling his signature meth. There would also be an opportunity for Aaron Paul to turn up in season 6 as Jesse knows Saul at the start of breaking bad but I don't really think they need to include a scene like this as the first interaction between Saul and Jesse doesn't really sound that exciting or essential to include in Better call Saul. Overall I think it's one of the Best shows on UK Netflix with amazing cinematography and great performances from every cast member.
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