Better call Saul is an AMC’s crime/drama spin-off prequel of Gilligan’s hit show ‘Breaking Bad’. As the title suggests, its about the lawyer from BB; Saul Goodman, although he is the main character, Mike Ehrmantraut from BB also plays a major role. As someone who likes character-focused drama, Better Call Saul is a goldmine of memorable scenes. To me, Better call Saul is definitely ahead as far as character drama goes. Breaking Bad was probably the better “pop culture”, “come and see this” show though, but Better call Saul has way more depth, which makes it the better show for me.

The plot’s basic motive is to show the transformation journey of the small time attorney Jimmy McGill(Bob Odenkirk ) of Better call Saul to the morally challenged Saul Goodman(S’all good, man!) of Breaking Bad. The story revolves around his relationship with his law genius brother Chuck(Michael McKean ) who also has a weird “allergy” to electricity and works at a huge law firm(HHM).

We get backstories for “Breaking Bad” regulars, including the gangster Tuco Salamanca (Raymond Cruz) and the grizzled ex-cop enforcer Mike Ehrmantraut, played by Jonathan Banks . Mike, one of my favorites, is shown navigating through the mafia; which includes the Salamanca’s, Gus fringe(Giancarlo Esposito ) and Nacho Varga(Michael Mando ).

Slippin‘ Jimmy I can handle just fine, but Slippin‘ Jimmy with a law degree is like a chimp with a machine gun!

Most of the leads are connected somehow and which is shown beautifully throughout the show. Despite a slow start in Season 1, Better call Saul has done well enough for fans to start arguing if its better than Breaking Bad on some level. Kim Wexler played by Rhea Seehorn who is Jimmy’s friend/girlfriend, helps him throughout the show has also acted wonderfully. Whereas Season 2 is more of HHM vs Jimmy and Mike trying to do small odd jobs, Season 3 is much closer to Breaking Bad as everything is up one level. While Jimmy tries to find his true calling, Mike keeps getting deeper and deeper into the drugs and trafficking science. I would have called it a mess if not for Mike’s diligence and his amazing attention to detail which is also carried forward in Breaking Bad.

What makes Better call Saul great is that it takes mundane conversations between lawyers and makes them cinematic. I also identify with Jimmy a lot more than with Walt. I think what makes him more interesting is his struggle is more internal while Walt had a lot more external struggles.

It’s not that kind of show. There aren’t lines where you say “Oh that’s bad ass” because the characters that talk a lot aren’t bad asses and the ones that are, don’t.

However, if you really enjoyed the detailed character development, amazing cinematography, and clever mind-games of Breaking Bad, then you’ll enjoy Better call Saul because those aspects are shown in their best. I think that it definitely has memorable moments, I know that for me personally, at the end of Chuck’s rant in ‘Chicanery’, my jaw was actually hanging open. Looking for specific ‘lines’ is redundant and a silly way to view how good a TV show is.

I actually think it’s a testament that Better call Saul can stand up so well next to Breaking Bad despite having a much more ‘boring’ (at least on paper) and less dynamic plot (even though the Mike and Nacho scenes do seem to be leading up to more Breaking Bad-style events).

Odenkirk, with his wry croak of a voice and his surfer-gone-to-seed looks, remains a likable figure, even when he’s doing wrong. With the 4th season running, I would suggest it’s the right time to start watching the show before it explodes all over your timeline.

Better call Saul is now streaming on Netflix