by Robbie Jones
Better Call Saul has really been up and down for its first season. At times it’s been great, with excellent performances and good humour, and other times, it’s been terribly slow and quite boring. Every week, whether it was good or bad, the episode ends and it begs the question “What will next week be like?” because so far it’s been hard to guess any kind of consistency. Well, it feels like the last two episodes of the show might be pretty damn good, if this week is anything to go by.
Better Call Saul has really been up and down for its first season. At times it’s been great, with excellent performances and good humour, and other times, it’s been terribly slow and quite boring. Every week, whether it was good or bad, the episode ends and it begs the question “What will next week be like?” because so far it’s been hard to guess any kind of consistency. Well, it feels like the last two episodes of the show might be pretty damn good, if this week is anything to go by.
The reason it suddenly seems like there might be some consistency is because the show is now actually going somewhere. So far, it’s been about Jimmy McGill trying to make a name for himself and get business but it hasn’t felt like there’s been any kind of running storyline. That’s not to say we haven’t had them, there was the Kettleman case but that was all over the place rather than over the course of a few episodes which made it feel very disjointed and hardly like one story. Then there’s the story of Mike, which clearly isn’t over yet, but he had an episode dedicated to him where it felt like it had wrapped itself up. This week started a new case: Jimmy wants to sue Sandpiper Crossing, the retirement home that houses several of his clients, for overcharging its residents.
The writing in this episode is top-notch. It has that trait that every good law movie should have: Dialogue that sounds smart, and makes you feel smarter than you actually are. For the entirety of this episode, Jimmy is spitting out law terminology, strategies and legal mumbo-jumbo left, right and centre. It’s incredibly involving, actually makes you pay attention so you know exactly what’s going on. You feel like you’re watching something really smart, and that’s good, that’s what this show needed. So yeah, it seems that the next two episodes will cover this storyline, as well as whatever’s happening with Mike. It seems his daughter in law is in need of some money, and he’ll fully become the Mike we all know and love to get it. Exciting stuff!
The writing in this episode is top-notch. It has that trait that every good law movie should have: Dialogue that sounds smart, and makes you feel smarter than you actually are. For the entirety of this episode, Jimmy is spitting out law terminology, strategies and legal mumbo-jumbo left, right and centre. It’s incredibly involving, actually makes you pay attention so you know exactly what’s going on. You feel like you’re watching something really smart, and that’s good, that’s what this show needed. So yeah, it seems that the next two episodes will cover this storyline, as well as whatever’s happening with Mike. It seems his daughter in law is in need of some money, and he’ll fully become the Mike we all know and love to get it. Exciting stuff!
But the real beauty of this week’s episode was the ending. Sweet Jesus, that ending. I can’t remember the last time there was so much uncertainty. It’s obvious what happened; Chuck got so involved with the case that he casually went outside, forgetting about his condition, and grabbed a box from the car, before realising what he'd done. This could have been a simple ending, were it not for the fact that we don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. Chuck stands there, shocked. But what’s shocking him? Is his reaction going to be “Holy shit, I’m outside and I’m alright! It’s not affecting me!” or is it going to be “Holy shit, I’m outside and I’m about to die!” Hopefully it’s the former, and it’s not hard to see how that would be the case, but there’s nothing definite about it. This is terrifying stuff; what an excellent cliff hanger this was. Breaking Bad did cliff hangers perfectly (And painfully too) and hopefully this is going to carry onto Better Call Saul.
Overall, this week has definitely been a highlight of the series, and will hopefully continue through the end. Let’s just hope the show ends on a high note; all this uncertainty about quality has made it hard to get excited about the show week after week, but if the finale can knock it out of the park, Season Two will be deliriously exciting.
Overall, this week has definitely been a highlight of the series, and will hopefully continue through the end. Let’s just hope the show ends on a high note; all this uncertainty about quality has made it hard to get excited about the show week after week, but if the finale can knock it out of the park, Season Two will be deliriously exciting.
RSS Feed
