Better Call Saul: Pilot – Review

With a pedigree like Breaking Bad, one of the most lauded Television series of all time, Better Call Saul had some extremely big shoes to fill to live up to the expectations thrust upon it.  With the Series premiere of this Prequel in the books, the question is did it live up to the hype?

Short answer… Hell yes!

Now in all fairness, this show will not be everyone’s cup of tea.  Having said that, if you are a fan of Breaking Bad’s slow burn pacing, expertly crafted stories, and ingenious and beautiful camera work, you should feel right at home here.

Better Call Saul opens with us seeing Saul “Gene”working as a manager of a Cinnabon in Omaha Nebraska some time after the events that transpired in Breaking Bad (if you’ve seen how that series ended you’ll know why).

The opening montage runs for several minutes. No dialogue, perfect mood setting music, and we get whisked into Vince Gilligan‘s world once again.

Once the show starts proper, we see Saul , actually he hasn’t become Saul Goodman yet but is known as “James McGill” psyching himself up to defend 3 teenage boys in court by practicing his defense in the court bathroom.

James acts like a big time Lawyer, but the truth is he is struggling to get by.

We see a “familiar face” working at the parking garage, but I have a distinct feeling we’ll be seeing a LOT more of this guy:

His “fancy” office is in the back room of a nail salon.

On his way home, James “hits” a young skateboarder and freaks out.

That is until he realizes he’s being played.

There’s an interesting story developing as well with his brother who helped form a big law firm, but has had a psychotic breakdown, believing he has an electrostatic aversion, making everyone power down before they come in to his house.

Since James is having trouble finding/keeping clients, he figures he’ll work a con with the kids that tried to con him earlier.

All goes well… until the car takes off.

So of course they chase after her… but it’s not who they were planning the con for.

He follows her to her house, bangs on the door stating he’s “the law”, then comes face to face with a Gun!

And for Breaking Bad fans, this familiar face!

CREDITS!

I think already we see the makings of a Standout series. Bob Odenkirk proves he is a force to be reckoned with and the creators found a way to make this show familiar to fans of Breaking Bad, yet still feel different as well.