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If you aren't watching Better Call Saul, you are missing out

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If you aren't watching Better Call Saul, you are missing out

Postby Messiah » May 03, '17, 5:51 am

I know a lot of people who watched Breaking Bad who don't watching Better Call Saul, mainly because they just see it as a spin-off show that wasn't worth making. It is a shame too because while this show includes a lot of Breaking Bad references (obviously), this show stands on its own two feet. In some ways, it flat out surpasses Breaking Bad.

There are just a ton of characters to enjoy. For as good as Breaking Bad was, I don't think it can match Better Call Saul in character depth. Rarely did something happen that involve Walt and Jesse, which isn't a bad thing necessarily but meant you couldn't have a lot of scenes that revolved around other characters. Even with someone like Hank, a lot of the interest in him came from being Walt's brother-in-law and the suspense of when he would finally find out. There wasn't a lot of character development though. Better Call Saul nails character development for everyone. The least developed character would probably be Howard, but he doesn't need it - he's flawless in his role.

Seeing the growth of Jimmy, Mike, and Kim has been awesome. Kim in particular is an outstanding character and they get right with her everything they got wrong with Skylar. I liked Skylar more than most, but she was still treated as someone who just bounced off of Walt rather than stand on her own two feet. With Kim, she is her own woman. She is a complex character who strives to be moral but Jimmy is capable of swinging her back and forth, and the recent development with Jimmy/Chuck shows that.

Then you have Gus Fring, who was an obvious addition to the show considering the timeline. But he isn't the Fring he was in Breaking Bad. It has only been two episodes but he is so much better, which is incredible considering he was already good in BB. Watch Episode 4 of Season 3 and you will see what I mean. In that episode, we didn't see Saul, Kim, or Mike until damn near halfway through. Gus, Hector, and Eladio were absolutely brilliant. And the show is just so well directed.

There are so many other characters as well on the show that just play their role so well. I know there are some people on here that watch Better Call Saul, but definitely make sure to keep up with Season 3. It's been great.
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Re: If you aren't watching Better Call Saul, you are missing out

Postby SlightlyJames » May 03, '17, 6:13 am

I didn't realize it was back on. How long is the season expected to be? I'll probably jump on it when it's done.
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Re: If you aren't watching Better Call Saul, you are missing out

Postby Everlong » May 03, '17, 9:42 am

I'm not going to read your post yet because I haven't started the latest season... Waiting til I get back. But the first two seasons are outstanding and I can't wait to get caught up.
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Re: If you aren't watching Better Call Saul, you are missing out

Postby VaderBomb » May 04, '17, 9:51 am

Most of my friends prefer BCS to Breaking Bad. I still haven't gotten the chance to watch it, especially now that Twin Peaks is coming back. I've been crushing the original run to be sure that it's all fresh in my head.
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Re: If you aren't watching Better Call Saul, you are missing out

Postby Viazon » May 04, '17, 10:03 am

I'm not going to read any comments here because I don't want anything to be spoiled. I have watched the first two seasons but have yet to start season 3. I think I will wait until they are all out on Netflix and then binge them. Just wanted to say that I do indeed watch it and I love it. I am constantly telling fans of Breaking Bad to watch. I wouldn't say it's better than Breaking Bad but it is as enjoyable and as good as Breaking Bad.
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Re: If you aren't watching Better Call Saul, you are missing out

Postby KaiserGlider » May 09, '17, 9:38 pm

So many great shows to watch, so little time.
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Re: If you aren't watching Better Call Saul, you are missing out

Postby Messiah » Oct 01, '18, 4:40 pm

Season 4 and this show is still amazing, although this episode has been a tad slower due to some of the events that happened in Season 3.

Tonight's episode is gonna be epic though. It's the penultimate episode and apparently its about 75 minutes long.
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Re: If you aren't watching Better Call Saul, you are missing out

Postby Hanley! » Oct 02, '18, 4:27 pm

Still haven't tried this. Not sure why really. I loved Breaking Bad, but prequels just tend to put me off. And I wasn't really interested enough in Saul as a character to think he could carry his own show.

I know that all of that is irrelevant, because Breaking Bad isn't the focus anymore, and there's a bunch of talented people working together to make this show great. I know that Saul will have changed as a character to be more engaging as a protagonist. I know I should probably be watching this, or at least give it a shot. But I've never heard that hook that made me really excited about watching it.
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Re: If you aren't watching Better Call Saul, you are missing out

Postby Messiah » Oct 02, '18, 4:41 pm

Hanley! wrote:Still haven't tried this. Not sure why really. I loved Breaking Bad, but prequels just tend to put me off. And I wasn't really interested enough in Saul as a character to think he could carry his own show.

I know that all of that is irrelevant, because Breaking Bad isn't the focus anymore, and there's a bunch of talented people working together to make this show great. I know that Saul will have changed as a character to be more engaging as a protagonist. I know I should probably be watching this, or at least give it a shot. But I've never heard that hook that made me really excited about watching it.


That's the thing really. I don't think there is one single hook. Shows like BoJack Horseman (which I HIGHLY recommend if you haven't seen it; criminally underrated and overlooked), Stranger Things, Westworld, etc., those are shows easy to tell someone about and hook them on because they have a clear goal they are trying to accomplish.

Better Call Saul... is just a really good fucking show. It just does everything to perfection and that is the best way to describe it. The direction is top-notch, best seen in the flashbacks they do that end up relating back to the purpose of the episode or the montages they pull off to go through time. I think I alluded to it in the first post when I made this thread awhile back but I love how they manage to expand the stories and personalities of so many different characters. They do it as good, if not better, than any other show out there and it never feels forced. IMO, if you are like me and others and loved Mike in Breaking Bad, that alone is a reason to watch this show - he's such an interesting, multi-faceted character. And then you have Kim Wexler, who is one of the most well-written characters in any TV show, and Nacho, who is another newly-cast character in the world who really takes over the screen any time he is featured.

The only criticism I could see is that it sometimes moves a little slower than some would like (the nature of the show doesn't allow for cliffhangers every episode ala Breaking Bad), but if you have watched and enjoyed a show like Mad Men for example, then you won't mind the pace. The story-telling is always A+, which is what we've come to expect from Gilligan.

It has been a pleasant surprise to see what they have managed to do with the show though. I was like you and didn't think Saul/Jimmy would be a fleshed out enough character to carry his own show, but they have proven me wrong every step of the way. His story is so incredibly interesting and Bob Odenkirk is an AMAZING actor.

Plus, what makes it even better is he doesn't have to carry the show. There are so many episodes where the focus is as equally placed on Jimmy/Saul as it is (if not more so) on Mike or Kim or Nacho, and there are so many other great supporting actors on the show that it isn't like Breaking Bad where you are just getting Bryan Cranston or Aaron Paul dominated (mostly Cranston) episodes.

I hope you watch it one day though and I'm sure you will. You'll love it.
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Re: If you aren't watching Better Call Saul, you are missing out

Postby The Legend » Oct 02, '18, 5:50 pm

This season is actually the one that has hooked me. I thought the first season was good, not great. Then the second and third seasons started to drag (the third picks up in the back half of the season). This is the first season that has me fully on board and excited to watch though. Honestly, I struggled with Jimmy's brother as a character, I struggled how to feel about him, struggled to understand his purpose on the show, struggled to want to watch his story develop.
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Re: If you aren't watching Better Call Saul, you are missing out

Postby Messiah » Oct 02, '18, 6:11 pm

The Legend wrote:This season is actually the one that has hooked me. I thought the first season was good, not great. Then the second and third seasons started to drag (the third picks up in the back half of the season). This is the first season that has me fully on board and excited to watch though. Honestly, I struggled with Jimmy's brother as a character, I struggled how to feel about him, struggled to understand his purpose on the show, struggled to want to watch his story develop.


Yeah, Chuck was always a weird character for me. He was well-acted, well-written, and I understood his purpose in the show, but he was probably the one I least cared about out of all the characters.

I love Howard though. He's a great antagonist because he really comes across as an absolute prick and 100% believable. Like I feel like every law firm or corporate office has a Howard because of this show.
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