Better Call Saul: S'all Good Man

I'll admit it. As soon as I heard there would be a Breaking Bad spin-off, I did not intend to watch it. In general, I disapprove of spin-offs, sequels and similar commercial ploys to distort money from dedicated audiences. But, being the gullible consumer that I am, once I had read critics' rave reviews, I surrendered to my curiosity. Impervious to my initial skepticism, I decided to give Better Call Saul a chance. And I am so, so glad I did.

First of all, Better Call Saul is not Breaking Bad. This is made abundantly clear from the beginning, as we start off with a glance into the future in a desolate, black-and-white styled Cinnabon, watching an almost unrecognisable Saul Goodman. The entire mood of the series feels different; there are no deserts (for now), or dramatic violence (for now), what remains is the suburban life of a conflicted lawyer. The directing is accordingly different: there is a greater focus on slow camera shots, the cinematography saturated with a slightly more pastel glow. 

The effortless transition of Jimmy McGill (aka Saul Goodman) from sidekick to protagonist should come as a bit of a surprise to some. Though he managed to steal many a scene from Walter White with his quirky persona and memorable one-liners, he was never leading man material. For that, he was too underdeveloped. However, there's an element of mystery and otherness to him that the latter character lacked, which makes his journey a more interesting one to follow. His motives and causes for his conniving ways are unknown to us; and although we know his future, his history is a blank canvas for us to explore, an advantage which the writers have cleverly used to build his back story.

The way we come to know our protagonist is similar to Mr. White when he still limited his knowledge of chemistry to teaching: we see a more humanised, vulnerable man, struggling to attain his high ambitions in a small town. And despite his questionable ways of doing so, we cannot help but empathise and support him through his quest, even minus the cancer diagnosis. It is in our fallible nature to be fascinated by rags to riches stories, however unconventional they may be: we can excuse pretty much any behaviour as long as the behaviour is warranted by some sort of suffering, and there is no absence of this in Saul. Of course, it helps that we were already invested in the character - with all his flaws, and less redeemable qualities - before the show was even conceived.

With such a promising pilot as this, it is proving to be one hell of a ride. I for one am glad I hopped on board, and I can't wait to see where it's taking me.