A total. Knock-out. The series has operated on a slow burn since episode one. The rare, delicious occasions when that fuse sparks are an absolute delicacy.
Spin-offs are so tricky and honestly I'm surprised Better Call Saul is able to pull off what it does. Within _Breaking Bad, the amount of Saul we see is finely tuned. We don't need any more based upon how he functions within that narrative. More, quite honestly, would be grating. He's excellently written for that show, but expanding that version of his character into the lead of a whole series wouldn't function properly. That's why Better Call Saul is so fascinating to me. We know exactly where he's going to end up. We know who he'll be at the end of this show.
But we see a deeper, more fleshed out version of the caricature he was here. We get a sense that now, in the fifth and penultimate season of what is arguably as good as Breaking Bad, the decisions he makes are rife with weight and history. Odenkirk is a slam dunk. Magnificently filled to the brim with just the right amount of flair, he knows when to expand his comedic chops and when to play it timid--as is the M.O. for now.
A review of the fifth season of this show would be totally absent without mentioning the supporting cast. Yes, of course, Jonathan Banks and Giancarlo Esposito are stellar again. But the original characters, particularly Kim and Ignacio, are excellent. They are such key players for this world that we know that their absence in Breaking Bad will inevitably lead to some sort of tragedy.
Better Call Saul not only has the burden of being a spin-off to one of the best television shows ever aired, but also a prequel to it. I cannot wait to revisit Breaking Bad again. I have a feeling the characters who seemed so secondary to Walt and Jessie will now feel rife with the immense weight of the world of this show. Which will, invariably, make Walt's condescending demeanor play even better off of characters who know better.
Review by filmboicoleBlockedParentSpoilers2020-04-28T16:36:53Z— updated 2022-11-04T20:26:21Z
A total. Knock-out. The series has operated on a slow burn since episode one. The rare, delicious occasions when that fuse sparks are an absolute delicacy.
Spin-offs are so tricky and honestly I'm surprised Better Call Saul is able to pull off what it does. Within _Breaking Bad, the amount of Saul we see is finely tuned. We don't need any more based upon how he functions within that narrative. More, quite honestly, would be grating. He's excellently written for that show, but expanding that version of his character into the lead of a whole series wouldn't function properly. That's why Better Call Saul is so fascinating to me. We know exactly where he's going to end up. We know who he'll be at the end of this show.
But we see a deeper, more fleshed out version of the caricature he was here. We get a sense that now, in the fifth and penultimate season of what is arguably as good as Breaking Bad, the decisions he makes are rife with weight and history. Odenkirk is a slam dunk. Magnificently filled to the brim with just the right amount of flair, he knows when to expand his comedic chops and when to play it timid--as is the M.O. for now.
A review of the fifth season of this show would be totally absent without mentioning the supporting cast. Yes, of course, Jonathan Banks and Giancarlo Esposito are stellar again. But the original characters, particularly Kim and Ignacio, are excellent. They are such key players for this world that we know that their absence in Breaking Bad will inevitably lead to some sort of tragedy.
Better Call Saul not only has the burden of being a spin-off to one of the best television shows ever aired, but also a prequel to it. I cannot wait to revisit Breaking Bad again. I have a feeling the characters who seemed so secondary to Walt and Jessie will now feel rife with the immense weight of the world of this show. Which will, invariably, make Walt's condescending demeanor play even better off of characters who know better.
And that is how you do it.