Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Better Call Saul: Season 2

 

The ten-episode second season of Better Call Saul aired from the fall of 2015 to the spring of 2016. All the main cast members, including Bob Odenkirk, Rhea Seehorn, Patrick Fabian, Michael McKean, Jonathan Banks, and Michael Mando, return. Ed Begley Jr. has a multi-episode guest-starring arc this season, playing the head of the law firm Davis and Main, which was introduced in season 1. The series also continues to tie into the Breaking Bad universe by bringing back actors from the parent series, both small character actors you may not remember from Breaking Bad and those with larger roles. The main addition to the cast this season from Breaking Bad is Mark Margolis, who, of course, plays Hector Salamanca. The twins, Marco and Leonel, also appear, and Raymond Cruz reprises his role as Tuco. And, while Gus Fring does not appear in season two, there are easter eggs that hint at his arrival.

Interestingly, we see Hector when he can still walk and talk and get a glimpse at just how much of a villain he is. As was the case with the first season, the show uses a serial storytelling format in which the episodes build on each other. The season starts with another flash-forward showing Saul's mundane life in Nebraska as "Gene" but still pines for his life as Saul. Then, the series is primarily set in 2003 before the events of Breaking Bad as we continue to see Jimmy's transition into Saul as he pisses away every opportunity to be a legitimate lawyer because he cannot quite give up the life of the con man. We also see his relationship with Kim and his brother evolve, and we see Mike's transition from a guy who is not afraid to get his hands dirty but still has a code to what he would become in Breaking Bad. 

The Blu-Ray set is a three-disc. It has a decent amount of extras spread across the three discs. Every episode has a commentary track that includes at least one of the showrunners, sometimes one or two members of the cast, the writer and/or director of the episode, or other crew members. The extras also include a gag reel, behind-the-scenes material, and a conversation between Mark Margolis and Jonathan Banks, which is very similar to the one on the Season 1 set between Odenkirk and McKean in which they discuss their careers and their characters on the show.

The series continues to be wonderfully written and acted. Even though it is set in the Breaking Bad universe, it has a much different feel than Breaking Bad, as it sets up what would come later. Even though you know that some characters are safe because they have to appear in Breaking Bad, it is still very suspenseful. There is definitely a Cain and Abel feel in the storyline with Jimmy and Chuck, and we see that Chuck has a large role in the creation of Saul Goodman. There is a lot of swearing and violence in the show, and there is a lot of swearing in the commentary tracks (including the use of the f-word). So, the show is not suitable for young kids or the easily offended. Ultimately, however, it is a great season and is absolutely worth watching. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Better Call Saul: Season 1

 

Better Call Saul is the series spun off from the iconic crime-drama Breaking Bad. It is centered around the "criminal" lawyer Saul Goodman. It was created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, the co-creators of Breaking Bad. It stars Bob Odenkirk, Rhea Seehorn, Jonathan Banks, Michael Mando, Patrick Fabian, and Michael McKean. The first season's recurring cast includes Kerry Condon, Julie Ann Emery, and Jeremy Shamos. The ten-episode first season aired in the winter and spring of 2015. The first episode starts out after the events of Breaking Bad, where we see that Saul is indeed working as a manager at a Cinnabon (paying off on the line from Breaking Bad when Saul was about to skip town) in Omaha, Nebraska, under the name Gene. He lives a drab life as a fugitive, longing for his old life. Then, the series flashes back to Albuquerque in 2002, before the events of Breaking Bad (the time period most of the series is set in). We see Saul working under his real name, James/Jimmy McGill, as a struggling solo practitioner who is working on public defender cases for $700 a pop, living and working out of a storage room in a nail salon, trying to drum up clients, and being a caregiver for his brother, Chuck (played by McKean) who was a named partner in one of the largest firms in Albuquerque (HHM) but is not a shut-in because of a hypersensitivity to electromagnetic fields. Chuck has disconnected all the electricity from his house using a lantern and gas stove, and relying on Jimmy to fill a cooler with food and ice. Jimmy's best and seemingly only friend is an associate at HHM named Kim, and Mike Ehrmantraut (played by Banks, reprising his role from Breaking Bad) is working as a toll booth operator at the courthouse. Like Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul is mostly a serial that slowly tells the story of how Jimmy transforms into Saul Goodman. It also has some story-of-the-week procedural elements that are usually secondary to the serial arcs.

The Blu-Ray set is a three-disc set, with the episodes and the bonus content spread across the three discs. The set has a lot of bonus material, including deleted scenes, a gag reel, a conversation between Odenkirk and McKean about their respective careers and their characters on the show, and some behind-the-scenes material. Each episode has a commentary track featuring Gilligan and/or Gould, the writer of the episode, the director and/or a producer, and one or more cast members. The seventh episode has a second commentary track just featuring Julie Ann Emery and Jeremy Shamos in character as their characters, Betsy and Craig Kettleman hilariously reacting to the episode. The episodes can be watched in a "play all" mode or from their own episode pages (which is where the commentary tracks and deleted scenes are accessed). You can stop the disc and pick up where you left off when you resume playing, even when watching the bonus material.

The series is a wonderful spin-off of Breaking Bad. It is well-written and very well-acted. Throughout the season, we see Jimmy transform from a small-time con artist, turning his life around to secretly get a law degree, pass the bar exam, become a very good lawyer, and sowing the seeds of who he would become as Saul Goodman. Odenkirk is fantastic as the series lead, but all the actors are wonderful. While we know the fates of some of the characters (and there are more than just Banks and Odenkirk who reprise their roles from Breaking Bad), the show pulls off the balance of setting up what will come later with telling its own story and standing on its own. Like the parent series, it is very much an adult drama. There is a lot of swearing, violence, and a bit of sexual content. The bonus material contains spoilers, so if you did not watch the series when it aired, you want to watch the episodes before you listen to the commentaries or watch the behind-the-scenes material. Ultimately, the show is an excellent mix of legal, crime, and character-driven drama with some humor. You do not need to have seen Breaking Bad to get what is going on in Better Call Saul, but some things will make more sense if you have. If you have watched Breaking Bad, this is a must-watch. Even if you have never seen a single episode of Breaking Bad, however, this is absolutely worth your time to watch.