Lexie Corner
Staff Writer

Since the departure of “Breaking Bad” in 2014, Vince Gilligan comforted fans with the prospects of “Better Call Saul,” a prequel spin-off to his critically acclaimed television show.

On Sunday, Feb. 8, “Better Call Saul” finally premiered.

(Photo courtesy of blogs.amctv.com) Bob Odenkirk returns as Jimmy McGill, aka Saul Goodman, in the "Breaking Bad" spin-off "Better Call Saul."
(Photo courtesy of blogs.amctv.com) Bob Odenkirk returns as Jimmy McGill, aka Saul Goodman, in the “Breaking Bad” spin-off “Better Call Saul.”

The first episode, “Uno,” showed another side of Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) after the events of Breaking Bad. He lives in a mundane, bland town, reflected by the opening’s lack of bursting color, working as a nobody at a local Cinnabon. It was apparent that he had gone into total misery and hiding after Walter White’s imminent demise.

After popping in a VHS tape of his old lawyer commercials, Gilligan takes us back to the roots of Goodman, or Jimmy McGill.

As he was in the opening, Jimmy was a nobody before becoming Saul Goodman. He struggles with making both a name for himself and enough money to support himself and brother, Chuck, who owns an impressive law firm. Despite this seemingly gloomy existence, Gilligan still showcases Jimmy’s witty, eccentric behavior.

What truly defined the episode, however, was the evolution of Jimmy McGill from the first episode to the second. In “Uno,” he is a low paid, financially struggling public defender whose cases involve absolute immaturity and stupidity, such as trespassing into a mortuary and sawing off a corpse’s head. Jimmy still displayed his humorous behavior, but he wasn’t well-established as a clever, educated lawyer.

The next sequence of events are what factor into Jimmy’s evolution. He teams up with two skateboarders, who tried to scam him earlier, to fake a “hit and run” on the county treasurer’s wife in order to secure a high sum of money. However, the woman drives off after hitting the skateboarder. McGill shows up at the house soon afterwards, only to be greeted by a gun held by Tuco Salamanca (Raymond Cruz). To Jimmy’s luck, the woman driver was his elderly grandmother.

In episode two, “Mijo,” Gilligan increases the intensity and humor. Along with several other men, Tuco drives Jimmy and the two skateboarders out to the desert after learning that his grandmother was “scammed.” With the intent to kill all three scammers, Tuco is stopped by his friend, Nacho (Michael Mando), who wants to interrogate Jimmy. At first, Jimmy lies about being an FBI agent but reveals he wanted the business of two individuals who stole over a million dollars from the State – the county treasurer and his wife. In turn, Tuco lets him go but is still bent on slaughtering the two skateboarders for insulting his grandmother. Jimmy, thankfully, defuses the situation and instead of killing the two boys, Tuco and Jimmy agree that the “fair” thing to do would to break a leg on each.

(Photo courtesy of blogs.amctv.com) "Breaking Bad" brought back other characters from the "Breaking Bad" series.
(Photo courtesy of blogs.amctv.com) “Breaking Bad” brought back other characters from the “Breaking Bad” series.

Jimmy gains confidence in his abilities as a public defender. In a montage, Gilligan montages Jimmy’s daily life at the courts – defending clients, drinking cheap, vending machine coffee, studying in the stairwell and repeatedly coming up short on parking lot stickers.

What sealed the latest episode with a stamp of high approval was the ending, where Jimmy decides to relax and have a drink, but to his surprise, Nacho appears, who wants to steal back the $1.5 million from the county treasurer and his wife. In return of showing him where the money is, Nacho will give Jimmy a “finder’s fee.” Jimmy refuses, but Nacho still writes his number down for him and reminds him that if anybody hears of this conversation, he will be killed.
It’s no surprise that the premiere of “Better Call Saul” became the highest-rated premiere for a scripted series in U.S. cable history. Every moment in both episodes were riveting, exciting and well-crafted. The acting felt as real and authentic as it did in “Breaking Bad.” Seeing how Jimmy McGill becomes the highly publicized and clever Saul Goodman is fascinating and thrilling, especially when familiar faces pop up.

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