I think we can all agree on something here — Breaking Bad was one hell of a show. A hell of a show with so many strong, well-written characters, it’s easy for some characters to slip through the cracks. You had the main characters like Walter, Skyler, Walter Jr., Jesse, Hank, Marie,  and Mike. You had characters that would show up for a season or two to wreak havoc — characters like Gus, Tuco, Lydia, Todd. Then you had a character like Saul Goodman. Saul Goodman was a morally bankrupt, sleazy lawyer in Breaking Bad. He was Walter and Jesse’s lawyer. He hid their money, hid their secrets, and was an all around weasel. That’s pretty much all I knew him as and that was what I was used to — which is why watching Better Call Saul is such an experience for me. In my honest opinion, Better Call Saul is even better than the show it was spun off from, Breaking Bad. Not to say that Breaking Bad wasn’t a prime example of exceptional storytelling and even better cinematography with powerhouse performances from Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn, and Aaron Paul. I very much enjoyed watching Breaking Bad although it took quite a while to really hook me in. I found myself getting bored after the first 4 episodes of season 1 and I was disheartened because I was used to hearing so much hype about Breaking Bad that I expected to like it right off the bat. I’ll be honest, the show didn’t really grow on me until season 2.

This was not the case for Better Call Saul. After begrudgingly agreeing to watch it on a whim, I was hooked after the first episode. Who knew Saul Goodman (aka James ‘Jimmy’ McGill) was such a genuinely interesting character behind those flashy suits he used to wear on Breaking Bad? What’s more enticing to me is we get to see Saul’s slow but steady transformation from ‘Jimmy McGill’ to the sleazy lawyer we meet in Breaking Bad. Better Call Saul takes place about 6 years before Breaking Bad. When we first meet McGill, he is a struggling lawyer who defends small time criminals in small time courts for $700 a case, he has a claustrophobic, small office in the back of a nail salon, is caring for an older brother who is suffering from an acute mental illness, and is generally a pretty good lawyer. Like, he’s actually not bad. He knows his stuff. Sure, he has a criminal past. Once known as ‘slippin’ Jimmy,’ he’s a thief, a crook, a scam artist, he can’t help it. It’s in his DNA, it seems. He was once the one behind bars and his brother, also a lawyer, had to go visit him and bail him out although the reason he was behind bars is both complicated and kind of hilarious, at least to me.

In Breaking Bad, Saul had deep connections with the criminal underground and was very apt at helping Walter and Jesse escape imprisonment and death on more than a few occasions. He proved very capable in helping them successfully launder millions of dollars and using illegal and dirty schemes to get them out of sticky situations. We see flashes of this character in Jimmy McGill — a character who isn’t a violent person at heart and would rather not kill or hurt anyone but is a skeevy little shit. Yet, regardless of how slimy he seems, as I watch the show, I find myself rooting for him. I want him to succeed, I don’t want him to become Saul Goodman with the tacky late night commercials and double dealings with major drug dealers and criminals.

Vince Gilligan, the showrunner and creator of both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, creates an interesting and well rounded character that is the sole driving force behind a truly excellent show. I’m only on season 1 so far but I felt compelled to write this. I felt compelled to express my feelings about this show before I even finished it because I think it’s that damn good. I look forward to what else Vince Gilligan has in store for Saul Goodman/Jimmy McGill and I’m happy to say, much like I was HERE for the greatness that was Breaking Bad, I am HERE for Better Call Saul.