A total. Knock-out. The series has operated on a slow burn since episode one. The rare, delicious occasions when that fuse sparks are an absolute delicacy.
Spin-offs are so tricky and honestly I'm surprised Better Call Saul is able to pull off what it does. Within _Breaking Bad, the amount of Saul we see is finely tuned. We don't need any more based upon how he functions within that narrative. More, quite honestly, would be grating. He's excellently written for that show, but expanding that version of his character into the lead of a whole series wouldn't function properly. That's why Better Call Saul is so fascinating to me. We know exactly where he's going to end up. We know who he'll be at the end of this show.
But we see a deeper, more fleshed out version of the caricature he was here. We get a sense that now, in the fifth and penultimate season of what is arguably as good as Breaking Bad, the decisions he makes are rife with weight and history. Odenkirk is a slam dunk. Magnificently filled to the brim with just the right amount of flair, he knows when to expand his comedic chops and when to play it timid--as is the M.O. for now.
A review of the fifth season of this show would be totally absent without mentioning the supporting cast. Yes, of course, Jonathan Banks and Giancarlo Esposito are stellar again. But the original characters, particularly Kim and Ignacio, are excellent. They are such key players for this world that we know that their absence in Breaking Bad will inevitably lead to some sort of tragedy.
Better Call Saul not only has the burden of being a spin-off to one of the best television shows ever aired, but also a prequel to it. I cannot wait to revisit Breaking Bad again. I have a feeling the characters who seemed so secondary to Walt and Jessie will now feel rife with the immense weight of the world of this show. Which will, invariably, make Walt's condescending demeanor play even better off of characters who know better.
And that is how you do it.
Yet another outstanding season of 'Better Call Saul', as it remains one of my favourite shows.
Bob Odenkirk continues to impress as Jimmy/Saul, even all these years later since 'Breaking Bad'. Rhea Seehorn knocks it out the park again, what a find she has been for this show. Jonathan Banks, Michael Mando, Giancarlo Esposito and, of course, Tony Dalton are also ridiculously great in their respective roles.
Gutting, yet incredibly exciting, to see what this show's final season has in store for us.
Saul Goodman is finally birthed as a criminal justice lawyer, fighting for you, Albuquerque! Nacho proves to Lalo that he has what it takes, while trying to get his ass outta here thanks to gustavo! Mike is very sad and self-destructive! Kim is at a crossroads with her work even more than before!
All of this is how season 5 of Better Call Starts us off with, and god does it utilize everything to itms advantage completely. It falters a little at the beginning with, I will definitely say, a very unnecessary but kinda cool? I guess duo-cameo appearance - it at least shows us how long or how recent Gustavo's adventures with the DEA have gone. But it's not until Wexler v. Goodman that this show finally plays s move that makes everything click. I didn't even realize it, but the show used that episode to tell you "we're in the endgame." and I did not even see how the pieces lined up until now. Needless to say, god I am so satisfied. After that, we get perfection in Bagman, in which Saul finally gets over Chuck, dips down to his lowest lows, and comes out not only massively triumphant and $100k richer, but also head over heels into the cartel business - The Game, as Mike so eloquently puts it.
All of our characters needed to mingle and mix and change up and do their own things before we could come back all together - because now we're getting close. Close to seeing Saul as we know him, close to whatever happened to Kim Wexler, battling with her morals and seemingly losing to Saul's way, how Mike ended up as this almost heartless machine using his family as his way forwards, and how Gustavo ended up being the kingpin of New Mexico. Super good finish, and I have to say Tony Dalton just, fucking nails it as Lalo. amazing!
Truly a phenomenal season of TV and the best season of the show out of the first five in my eyes. Saul Goodman is in near full effect but we also see the nuance as he gets drawn more and more into the criminal world and is jarred by the violence and danger he faces. At the start of the season we see him incredibly manic and out of control, fully embracing Saul Goodman, then once we get to the back half of the season and he takes on Lalo as a client we see him start to question things. He is pained when he sees the family of the innocent man Lalo killed in court, suggesting a conflict within him as he works to defend a terrible man that deserved to go to prison, but he buries it and continues forward. He set himself on this path a long time ago, and now these are the consequences. Then in 'Bagman' (my favorite of the season), we see things get even worse for him. He comes face to face with the violence of the world he is stepping into and he crumbles, stricken with PTSD. Gone is the manic Saul from earlier in the season and for the final few episodes he's scared, traumatized, and hesitant. Roles get reversed on him from the finale of last season and Kim is the one with the passion to continue forward with the Saul Goodman way, and in a great parallel to the final shot of season 4, this time all Saul can do is stare after her with a pained and regretful look. He feels as if he has brought her into this and it's turning her into someone she isn't and never has wanted to be. And in this regard Kim is such a fascinating character. We've been worried up to this point that Saul would drag her down with him and it appears to be even worse than we imagined. At a critical moment when Jimmy is questioning things, Kim is the one that seems to be pushing him along and now dragging him down with her. My heart breaks for Kim, who deserves so much better but her devotion to Jimmy has become detrimental to her own self-worth and morals. Jimmy and Kim are truly some of the most well-written characters in television I've ever watched. On the other side of things we see Mike step further and further into the role we find him in BB. And his dialogue in 'Bagman' gives us more insight into his motivations and his character. He can live with what he does, and endure so much, because it's all for his family. He doesn't care what happens to him or when and how he dies, but he's passionately motivated to keep going and stay alive so that he can do as much as he can for as long as he can to support his family. I loved Nacho's duality this season as well. He feels like a decent man who also stepped into this world but now wants out to protect his father. He's been used by both sides of this war and as much as he wants out, Gus will never let him and his father will never be safe. I fear for him after the failed assassination of Lalo, and I'm anticipating a tragic ending. Lalo himself adds a great presence to the show and fleshes out the world. He feels intimidating, conniving, capable, and threatening. The failed assassination feels a bit cheap though, he was extremely lucky and the hired guns were extremely dumb. This season provided some of the best character work in TV I've seen, propped up by stellar performances across the board and visually creative storytelling, executed so well on a technical level. The show trudges full force into its final season and I can't wait to see what becomes of everything.
9.5/10 -- Outstanding
Incredibly easy 10/10. What a season.
Best season of television I’ve seen
I think that this series has set the standard so high that I feel like almost the entire season wasn't that great excepting the last 3 episodes. Luckily it doesn't continue with the meth lab plot (that was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo boring) so it's better than the previous season.
Kim and Lalo had outstanding performances here.
I still wish "Better Call Saul" was a show on its own, completely unrelated to Gustavo's war with the cartel and other "Breaking Bad" stuff. However, at the same time I can't deny that this is hands down the best season so far. As always, top-notch production with neat cinematography, smart writing, and great characters. I was not a big fan of Lalo's at first, but he is a good addition to the cast now that he is finally starting to get real loco. Especially now that we know that there is not much time left for Kim, I am starting to fear the worst for her. I didn't expect her character to get such a fully developed arc throughout the show and hope she will survive.
We had to wait for five years but we finally got to see more Saul than Jimmy, even though there is a little bit of everything in this season. The pacing is still on the slower side but never gets boring, unless you were thinking about binge-watching the whole thing.
So glad we get this on Netflix in Switzerland!
Usually it’s us that have to wait for a US Series to finally be available here. Netflix changes that and and I love them for it.
Just watched Episode 2 of Season 5 and it’s like being back in the good old Breaking Bad times. Great stuff!!
Looking so forward to this season, whenever Netflix gets it!
Looking so forward to this season!
Shout by BMW92BlockedParentSpoilers2020-04-21T03:17:24Z
Lalo Salamanca is one of the greatest additions to the Breaking Bad universe, like - ever. Incredible season, can't wait for season 6 in... 2022? Sigh...