Better Call Saul
released 2015-2022
www.ink2quill.com

“Better Call Saul” is an American, crime drama and even sinister comedy TV mini series with its roots in the mini series “Breaking Bad”. It is intended to be a prequel to the immensely popular “Breaking Bad”. Produced by Melissa Bernstein, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Mark Johnson, Diane Mercer, Bob Odenkirk, Thomas Schnauz, Michael Morris, Robin Sweet, Ann Cherkis, Alison Tatlock, Gordon Smith, Gennifer Hutchinson and many others. It was written by Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gordon Smith, Marion Dayre, Ann Cherkis, Thomas Schnauz, Ariel Levine, Gennifer Hutchinson, Alison Tatlock, Jonathan Glatzer and Bradley Paul. There are so many talented directors involved in this project many of whom also produced and wrote the screenplays. It stars a huge cast which includes Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, Rhea Seehorn, Patrick Fabian, Michael Mondo, Giancarlo Esposito, Michael McKean, Tony Dalton, Mark Margolis, Kerry Condon, Ray Campbell, Jeremiah Bitsui, Cara Pifko, Dennis Boutsikaris, Ed Begley Jr., Josh Fadem, Tina Parker, Julian Bonfiglio, Rex Linn, Peter Diseth, Jessie Ennis and many many more. The talented cast of this project is one of the largest I’ve ever seen.

Better Call Saul IMDb webpage

“Better Call Saul” is the story of mediocre, criminal minded lawyer Jimmy McGill, played by Bob Odenkirk, (who changed his name to Saul Goodman for career reasons) navigating the messes he creates in his career and private life. The story takes place in the legal world of Albuquerque, New Mexico years before the story of “Breaking Bad” takes place. We get glimpses of Jimmy’s upbringing and how he became the person he is today through flashbacks. Jimmy is a con artist and the complete opposite of his brother the respected lawyer Chuck McGill, played by Michael McKean. We see the tension and pain Jimmy’s actions cause to his elder brother Chuck as he suffers a strange kind of psychosomatic disorder that keeps him homebound, hampers his career and generally ruins his quality of life. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Saul is a terrible person.

First watching this series I was expecting to see a man forced into terrible situations and developing dysfunctional coping measures as a result. But this is not the case. Saul is a man who chose to be a con man and criminal. I wanted to pity him but he made it very hard. Seeing him choose the worst, most selfish and narcissistic options over and over disgusted me with him. In plain English, Saul is a man who chose to be a criminal and does not seem to care who he hurts ever. Their is something missing in Saul. Most people would call that something a moral compass. He just does not care what consequences his actions have on others.

The character of Saul is witty and can make people laugh. He has the gift of gab as the expression goes and is able to turn things his way often. But that silver tongue of his can also be called his biggest enabler. His silver tongue is his super power that lets him do all the grimy things he does and mostly get away with it. For anybody that doubts how much damage liars can inflict on society watch this show.

When I started watching this series I was expecting to see a person under difficult challenges trying to make things better for himself and the people around him but that was not the case. Saul is a man who is and has always been circling the drain so to speak. He lives on a kind of edge where he just drags everyone around him down into the abyss of his own making. And that, at its core, is a sad story and a disappointment for me in particular. He was twisted and funny in “Breaking Bad” but is a sad excuse for a human being in “Better Call Saul”. That was my one big and only disappointment with the series. Otherwise, it is as well written and produced as people say it is. And it is a top show for a good reason. So many people worked on this project and gave it their best and it shows.

Written by John Ink2Quill

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