Better Call Saul: Better Watch Better Call Saul

WATCH THIS SHOW!

"Jerry, just remember, it's not a lie if you believe it." - George Costanza, Seinfeld, S06E16




I was originally planning to write a review of Better Call Saul when the second season ended. However, after watching Monday night, the penultimate episode of the season, I felt like there was so much to unpack and so much to rave about in said episode, that I wouldn't be doing justice if I didn't write two reviews.

I had written when the first season was airing how impressed I was with Better Call Saul. Originally, a Breaking Bad spinoff just seemed silly, but after the exceptional season one, I was fully hooked, even naming it the best new show of 2015. This year, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, and the rest of the creative team have taken something great and made it amazing. This year, we've explored the hostile relationship between Jimmy and Chuck, while at the same time delving deeper into Jimmy's relationship with Kim. In the other half of the show, centered around Mike, we've seen him go further and further into the dark business of the Mexican Cartel.

The bromance we're all craving to see
Last night, and throughout the entire season, the theme of the show has been unintended consequence. Jimmy forever wants to do his lawyer-ing the way that he has to: in a "colorful" fashion, as Kim puts it. And, while this does not make Jimmy an evil man, it makes him one that lands in a gray area. The problem however, is that Jimmy doesn't seem to understand that Kim is not like him - she wants to do what she does her own way. Thus, when Mesa Verde, the bank she's been trying to become the lawyer for, trades her away to HHM, Kim is sad, but she's lost on her own terms. When Jimmy sabotages Chuck, putting Mesa Verde back into Kim's hands, it's not a happy occasion - it's a gift she never asked for. Moreover, it's a gift that could easily backfire if more information was ever leaked. And when Kim does learn the truth, she has no choice but to play on Jimmy's terms, lest her entire career fall apart.

All of this, of course, drives us to the climax of the entire season: Chuck's fall. We don't yet know whether he's dead or not, but regardless of the outcome, one can assume his time in the show is essentially over. And, from a narrative standpoint, his death would make the most sense. Jimmy inadvertently causing his own brother to die would shatter his life apart - causing him to throw the last name they both share aside and likely taking on the name of Saul Goodman. Where this will leave Kim and Jimmy's relationship is still unclear, but the very fact that she had to play Jimmy's game could spell doom for their romance. And, being a prequel to Breaking Bad, we know where this is headed. We know where Jimmy will end up and who he will end up as. However, it's a testament to the fantastic writing that we're still dying to see him hold back - to be a good boyfriend to Kim and live happily ever after as an elder law lawyer. But, the truth, as Jimmy is beginning to realize, is that he cannot help himself, and even when he believes he's doing good, he's doing his own kind of good - good that leads to unseen consequences. And, after turning Chuck into a villain at the end of the first season and then having us hate him through all of season two, the show has reversed once again, showing us why exactly Chuck didn't want Jimmy to be a lawyer. Jimmy isn't Walter White, nor will he ever be, but inadvertently, he can do just as much bad.

Perhaps the best romance on TV right now as well
Likewise, Mike's decent into darkness is crafted beautifully. Over the course of this season, we'd seen Mike do more and more with Nacho, with Tuco, and eventually, with Hector. After being threatened and very nearly shaken down, Mike decided to strike back against the cartel, robbing their delivery man but leaving him alive - a good deed that would inevitably come back to bite him. Much like Jimmy, Mike believes his actions are helping people, but in actuality, they are shortsighted, leading to more violent and horrible consequences than either man can think of. For Jimmy, it's the potential death of a brother and a relationship. For Mike, it's the innocents who get in the Cartel's way. After a "good Samaritan" helped out the tied up delivery man, the Cartel was notified before the police, and promptly shot the "good Samaritan" in the face. What was once a victory against evil only became fuel for the fire.

What's amazing about this show is that although we know Mike and Jimmy will eventually work together, each one has a well-paced, slow-burn mini-drama unto themselves. Though they dance in the same world as one another, their plots are separate. And, all of this is done in the most subtle manner possible. In an hour of Better Call Saul, there's nothing bombastic - no extreme sex, violence, politics, or the like happening. It's a total credit to the creative team that the few lead characters are so utterly compelling that the show is still far more compelling than something like House of Cards which utilizes all of the above decides.

We'll see how everything turns out in the finale, but as of now, Better Call Saul is an early prospect for the finest show of the year.

Vince Gilligan, how the hell do you continue to do this?

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