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Better Call Saul: ‘Too good to be a spinoff’

By Nicholas Krause

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Early critic reviews of Better Call Saul say it’s better than Breaking Bad in some surprising ways

Better Call Saul, the much-anticipated spinoff to one of television’s best shows, Breaking Bad, airs this Sunday and Monday.

I wanted nothing in the world more than for Better Call Saul to be good. Not only because it bears the load of the much-loved Breaking Bad name, but because Bob Odenkirk’s character was genuinely fascinating and his origin story makes for a meaningful return to the world of Breaking Bad.

All early reviews of the show point to near-universal critically acclaim. Phew.

I never really doubted that Better Call Saul wouldn’t suck, but it’s still nice to hear that it doesn’t. The entire crew behind Breaking Bad was on-board, so it couldn’t turn out that bad, right? Of course not. According to some critics, it even turned out better.

In case you missed it or need a refresher before it airs this weekend, check out the extended trailer for Better Call Saul below:

The review from the AV Club states, “It requires some fine tuning, but when co-creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould hit the right notes, Better Call Saul is the black comedy Breaking Bad always hinted at being”. Breaking Bad had plenty of funny moments, many involving Odenkirk’s character, like the infamous pizza on the roof  incident or the episode “Fly”, in which Walter and Jessie spend the entire episode chasing a fly around their lab.

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The show also had many serious episodes, as the primary focus of Breaking Bad was drama. The episode “Ozymandias”, which won an Emmy award for outstanding writing, was bereft of jokes and relied completely on drama as things came to an end in the desert. Better Call Saul seems to aim right in the middle of comedy and drama, as Saul’s story isn’t as intense as Walter’s diagnosis of cancer.

The review goes on to say, “This show is in dialogue with its predecessor, but that dialogue exists as a bridge between Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad, not a doorway for cheap fan service.” One of my favorite things to hear coming out of these early reviews, is that Better Call Saul isn’t just fan service, it exists to tell the origin story of a man that starts out as Jimmy McGill and goes on to become Saul Goodman.

That’s not to say that there isn’t at least a small number of Easter eggs that Breaking Bad fans to want to see, and it seems that Better Call Saul delivers just the right amount in the form of Mike, who later works for Saul and Gus, and even a surprise appearance of another Breaking Bad cast member.

A glowing review from The Verve states, “And if there’s one thing that’s hard to dispute about the show, it’s this: the pilot of Better Call Saul is more assured, better-directed, and simply better than Breaking Bad’s, something that appears to be almost entirely due to the increased comfort and seasoning of the team.” The review goes on to say, “it’s too good to be a spinoff”. That’s quite the statement!

I’m still anxious to tune-in and make these assessments myself, but until then, I can take a deep breath in knowing that another show that I look forward to every week is coming so soon.

Better Call Saul will air the first two episodes on Sunday the 8th and Monday the 9th of this month.

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