Breaking Bad was one hell of a series. Walter White's transformation from a timid conscientious high school teacher to a mastermind drug lord with loose morals is one of the most riveting character arcs of all time. When they announced a spin off series based on the fan favorite dirty lawyer Saul Goodman I was quite skeptical. In my mind there was no way it could ever compare to Breaking Bad. Was I wrong though?
Simply put, yes I was wrong. When the show first premiered I watched the first couple episodes and was very underwhelmed. It lacked the gritty flair that I loved about Breaking Bad, and I just couldn't get behind Saul (Jimmy) as the main protagonist. I decided to revisit it recently and give it another go, and boy am I glad I did.
If you're going into Better Call Saul expecting another Breaking Bad then you're setting yourself up for disappointment. About the only semi universal criticism the latter show garnered was that it started off too slow, but once it picked up you were hooked. Better Call Saul can be a bit off putting because like Breaking Bad it starts off slow, but unlike it, it keeps the same pacing throughout the series. Aside from the first two episodes there is a distinctive lack of action, high stake suspenseful sequences, and gritty subject matter. The only exception to this is Mike's story line, which gives you hints of all this. Yet these scenes lack the stakes that they had in Breaking Bad, because being a prequel, you know that these characters will make it to the end. What you get instead is a contained character driven legal drama about competing firms, familial tensions, and relationship woes.
If you can put aside any preconceived notions of what you think the show should be. It stands alone very well, and in itself is an excellent series. While it lacks the bite that it's predecessor had, it's not reaching for that niche. Is it as good? I would say no, but that's entirely subjective. Objectively Better Call Saul is just as well directed, written, and executed as Breaking Bad was. So depending on your personal tastes you just may derive even more enjoyment out of it. Check it out!
Hi, how did you get the leading spaces before each paragraph? It looks neat!
You mean the indents? I put 6 spaces
Yes! I like it, didn't work for me, I guess I used too few spaces! LOL
hahaha, it happens
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Thanks!
Give me your up vote
I've uped your vote earlier
I'd rather have people upvote because they enjoyed my content rather than because they're fishing for an upvote themselves. If that's the only reason you did so then I'd rescind your vote, you only get 10 full power ones a day now so make em count
I loved breaking bad. I have seen every episode in order from the beginning.
That being said i think better call Saul is better. The story arc doesn't have that high tension anxiety that bb had; but the characters are richer and have more dimension.
There's also a generational difference. When i was young tv shows and movies were generally slower with more tension. Nowadays movies and tv shows move a lot faster. The pace tends to be different. Saul has a nostalgic feel to it. Great show.
That's funny, my dad says that all the time about older movies and tv shows. But yeah, BTS is great in it's own way. It's heavily character driven.
This is probably one way to put why there are people who would be smitten by 'Better Call Saul' even if they hadn't seen 'Breaking Bad' (or decided that 'Breaking Bad' wasn't the show for them).
I'm hoping that Gene does end up in an upward spiral somehow!