facebook
twitter
google+
Better Call Saul returns for season 2 brimming with imagination and confidence. Here's our spoiler-free season 2 opener review...
Neither spin-offs nor prequels have the greatest reputation, and considering the track record of both in recent years it’s not hard to see why. Prequels often seem pointless, bringing nothing new to the table other than solving mysteries nobody wanted to see solved, while spin-offs have the almost impossible task of giving people more of what they liked about an original property while forging a new path that works in different ways. But with the track record of Vince Gilligan’s masterful work on Breaking Bad, there was never much trepidation for Better Call Saul and what early doubts there were about the show were swiftly assuaged by a follow-up that managed to be recognisably linked to its predecessor in ways both visual and thematic, all the while telling...
google+
Better Call Saul returns for season 2 brimming with imagination and confidence. Here's our spoiler-free season 2 opener review...
Neither spin-offs nor prequels have the greatest reputation, and considering the track record of both in recent years it’s not hard to see why. Prequels often seem pointless, bringing nothing new to the table other than solving mysteries nobody wanted to see solved, while spin-offs have the almost impossible task of giving people more of what they liked about an original property while forging a new path that works in different ways. But with the track record of Vince Gilligan’s masterful work on Breaking Bad, there was never much trepidation for Better Call Saul and what early doubts there were about the show were swiftly assuaged by a follow-up that managed to be recognisably linked to its predecessor in ways both visual and thematic, all the while telling...
- 2/12/2016
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Previously: Review: 'Better Call Saul' Season 1 Episode 7, 'Bingo' Makes Us Nervous For the Future Case SummaryThis week started off in years in the past, with Jimmy pushing the mail cart at Hamlin, Hamlin and McGill, and discovering that he's passed the bar exam after working in quasi-secret to obtain his law degree. He shares the news with an ecstatic Chuck, who's still in fine mental health, but his hopes of joining Hh&M are dashed by a quick visit to Hamlin, thus giving Jimmy yet another reason to loathe the law firm. (Perhaps the original reason.) In the present, Jimmy's pursuit of elder law leads him to what could be a much bigger fish than making hundred-buck wills for little old ladies; a chain of assisted living facilities are overcharging their residents for basic necessities. With help from Kim, he and Chuck prepare to take on...
- 3/24/2015
- by Liz Shannon Miller
- Indiewire
Following up last week's fantastic episode with another belter, Better Call is on something of a winning streak...
This review contains spoilers.
1.7 Bingo
One of the most interesting things about Better Call Saul is the fact that, seven episodes in, the title character has barely appeared. Oh sure, Jimmy McGill looks a lot like Saul Goodman and shares the same cutting wit, but there's a fundamental difference between the two, and that difference is what makes Better Call Saul so fascinating and ultimately tragic. At its heart this is a show about a man trying to be a good person, even though we all know he will ultimately fail. The Saul Goodman of Breaking Bad is a shallow, unscrupulous character who had no qualms about suggesting Walter White ‘send someone to Belize’ if they became a problem. So just how the hell does insecure, good hearted Jimmy McGill become such...
This review contains spoilers.
1.7 Bingo
One of the most interesting things about Better Call Saul is the fact that, seven episodes in, the title character has barely appeared. Oh sure, Jimmy McGill looks a lot like Saul Goodman and shares the same cutting wit, but there's a fundamental difference between the two, and that difference is what makes Better Call Saul so fascinating and ultimately tragic. At its heart this is a show about a man trying to be a good person, even though we all know he will ultimately fail. The Saul Goodman of Breaking Bad is a shallow, unscrupulous character who had no qualms about suggesting Walter White ‘send someone to Belize’ if they became a problem. So just how the hell does insecure, good hearted Jimmy McGill become such...
- 3/18/2015
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
After the soliloquies of last episode, almost anything is going to feel banal by comparison, a letdown into the everyday chess of plot. It makes sense to me that the episode is carried by the Kettlemans, characters who, like Saul Goodman on Breaking Bad, were funny but out of tune with the show’s mood, flat in their arc and overly bright in their delivery — caricatures, paper dolls. Watching them nervously test their options is like watching lab mice figure out where they get the pellet and where they get the shock. If “Five-o” was about people, “Bingo” is about machines. Most of the episode is hitched to their case, handled by Kim at Hhm, who has the unenviable job of explaining to the Kettlemans that even their best options involve jail time. Betsy plays her one note (righteous indignation) while Craig plays his (castrated worry), and Kim essentially walks...
- 3/17/2015
- by Mike Powell
- Vulture
One of the joys of tuning into Better Call Saul, the best new show on AMC, is to catch snippets of Mad Men, the best old show on AMC, in the ads leading up to that series’ final episodes. A shot that is always included among the show’s most iconic is that of several Sterling Cooper partners with their backs turned to the camera, looking out the window from their new floor of office space. (It’s one that concludes the show’s fifth, and arguably best, season.)
I kept coming back to that image from that series’ season five finale during “Bingo,” a thrillingly paced, surprisingly tidy episode of television. It is probably due to a line Don Draper (played by Jon Hamm) says in the episode right before about happiness: “it’s only a moment before you need more happiness.” Just as the Manhattan ad men and...
I kept coming back to that image from that series’ season five finale during “Bingo,” a thrillingly paced, surprisingly tidy episode of television. It is probably due to a line Don Draper (played by Jon Hamm) says in the episode right before about happiness: “it’s only a moment before you need more happiness.” Just as the Manhattan ad men and...
- 3/17/2015
- by Jordan Adler
- We Got This Covered
A review of tonight's "Better Call Saul" coming up just as soon as I picture "The 25th Hour" starring Ned and Maude Flanders... "What are you doing?" -Mike "The right thing." -Jimmy The consensus on last week's episode was that it was easily the strongest hour of "Saul" to date, and a lot of you stated your desire to see the show pivot more into that direction, not only by giving Jonathan Banks more to do as Mike, but by returning to the dark emotional palette of "Breaking Bad" rather than the light comic antics of Jimmy McGill, elder care lawyer. When I spoke with Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould (and editor Curtis Thurber) about the show's ever-changing opening title sequence, we also briefly discussed the response to "Five-o," and Gilligan said that while they like having the ability to experiment — to do an episode where Mike is now the...
- 3/17/2015
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Hitfix
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.