Better Call Saul - Season 4

Best case scenario I’m managing a Cinnabon in Omaha.

Come a little closer, because I want to whisper something into your ear. I don't want to fully state it out loud, yet: "Better Call Saul is the best show of 2018!?". The fourth season of the Breaking Bad spin-off has reached great heights. They now come so close to the aforementioned Breaking Bad (BB). The structure, the direction, the music, the dialogues, the cinematography and the actors. Everything seems to be right. The two series are nearing each other in the fourth season. And that is not bad at all.

Better Call Saul tells the story of James 'Jimmy' McGill and his difficult journey to become the lawyer we know so well from BB: Saul Goodman. The fourth season comes so close that you can almost feel the presence of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman. But it is Bob Odenkirk who steals the show. He knows how to surprise and hold the attention of the viewer like no other. In these ten episodes you drink in every word Jimmy says. But the other actors, some of whom could already be seen in Breaking Bad, do a good job as well.

Sooner or later, every last one of those idiots is gonna need an attorney. Of course, they all know me as Saul Goodman. That's just details.

The dialogue and imagery are beautiful and always manage to strike the right tone. What a feast it is to be able to look at this marvelous group of actors. Everything has been thought of and I actually have to be careful here, so that I won't give out any spoilers. From drug lord Salamanca, note the reception bell: any bells ringing yet? To Kim, Mike and of course Jimmy, everything has been thought of. Why does Jimmy become Saul and when did it happen? At some point during the fourth season we will hear Jimmy talk about it.



Better Call Saul is a show that rises above all the others. Quality wise, but also based on how the characters and events are structured. Beautiful imagery tops it off. I suspect that the previously announced fifth season will also be its last. At that point, and I only suspect this, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul will be merged into one amazing show. I read somewhere that Better Call Saul is better than Breaking Bad, I won't go that far, yet.

Kick a man when he's down. Jimmy, you are always down. I messed it all up. You still want to be a lawyer? Yeah. Well, we can start with that.

The failed road Jimmy walks is beautifully told over the course of several seasons, but somehow the fourth manages to appear just a bit more sad, melancholic and dark. Whether or not that is because of the fact that you feel Breaking Bad is just around the corner, I'm not sure. I think it's mainly because of the time the writers take to tell the tale of Jimmy. In BB he was a somewhat clownish lawyer. In Better Call Saul he is more human and because of that more fragile as well.

That humanity and vulnerability turn Jimmy into a human being, not a villainous lawyer, made of flesh and blood. He appeals to his viewers, mainly due to his imperfections and stupid decisions. The other characters from BB have suddenly become more human as well. Salamanca, Mike, Fring and Nacho suddenly all have a human side, and you'll see this, even if you don't like them. This humanity is what a show such as BB missed, but Better Call Saul definitely doesn't have that issue.