Two writers debate which of AMC’s acclaimed Albuquerque crime dramas is the best.
I particularly loved the recent Saul-Kim-Lalo standoff.
And before that, Nacho (Michael Mando) dropping off Lalo (Tony Dalton) at the well.
Credit: AMC (2)
The way the show played that moment out.
“Do you want me to stay?”
No, no, go.
“Sure you don’t want me to stay?”
No, no, it’s fine.
Your feeling of tension started to rise.
You knew something bad was going to happen.
Nacho isallllllmostgone when Lalo knocked on his window.
It was all a world-class scene construction that wrung every ounce of drama possible out of their confrontation.
In the Wexler spirit, I’ll begin this defense ofBetter Call Saulwith some critiques.
The early seasons were hit-or-miss, depending on unnecessary prequel canon andMichael McKean’s too-quirky-for-my-tastes Chuck.
The Fring-Salamanca narconovela hasn’t always fit into the show.
I didn’t like the Superlab at all.
But I’ve come around to respectingBetter Call Saul’s eccentric pacing.
Odenkirk keeps plumbing new dark corners of Jimmy McGill’s self-defeating psyche.
AndSaulco-creatorsVince GilliganandPeter Gouldhave turned willful detours into unexpected delights.
Jimmy’s goofy Elder Law practice turned into a subplot that totally riveted me.
And now season 5 has been one incredible hall of fame moment after another.
We’re arguing about two great TV shows, James.
Am I cheating if I pick the one that achieves the best of both worlds?
But the early seasons you’re shrugging off are a huge reason the show suffers in comparison toBreaking Bad.
It’s easy to forget poor Mike spent an entire season working in a parking lot.
But compare that toBreaking Bad.
premisea teacher with cancer cooks meth to support his family.
The story had immediate urgency, and Walt’s goal and all its complications fueled every single episode.
Saulhas been a meandering character drama that only recently seemed to decide which story it was telling.
DARREN:I don’t think “meandering” is an insult.
I’m charmed with showrunner Gould’s nerdish fixation on the everyday overbelly of Albuquerque.
That wider focus creates unconventional high points.
Think of Jimmy and Kim horsing around inside the glass-bricked shower of their dream house.
Or all the stuff-happening-gradually montages that depend on Jonathan Banks' meteor-hitting Mars granite face.
Unlike you, I don’t love this season because it has unified into one story.
I love season 5 because all the plotlines are on fire on their own terms.
Lalo made the Salamancas feel dangerous again.
The curious plight of one angry old man in Tucumcari consumed Kim and Jimmy in a personal-professional duel.
Gus (Giancarlo Esposito) really wants to keep his fryers clean: This is new information!
Conversely, the nonstop momentum you’re describing wasn’t always good forBreaking Bad.
It felt likeBadwas bending over backward to create a villain (literal Nazis!)
One episode later, he was drinking his own urine while he starved to death in the desert.
And Kim Wexler, James!
And you say everySaulcharacter is on fire on its own terms.
As always, the show was well done.
I wasn’t bored.
TheSaulcreative team can make almost any subject interestingand that was the proof!
), aside from the fate of a foreman we didn’t care about before or since.
InBreaking Bad, Fring was one of the best TV villains of all time.
Whenever he came on screen, you leaned in.
You hung on his every meticulously enunciated word.
OnSaul,he’s … fine?
Part of this, unavoidably, is because we know he must survive.
Rhea Seehorn is incredible in this role, and she’s been great from the very start.
Even with Wexler, however, I have some nitpick.
DARREN:I knew we’d get to “Fly” eventually!
But season 5 has also shaded deeper understanding of centralBadcharacters.
This season brought the character back to life for me.
The"Dedicado a Max"episode gave Esposito’s titan of atrocity a secret slice of heaven.
Also, it turns out Gus is a really dedicated fast-food franchiser.
That bit with the fry cook (which I love!)
was a deep expression of his obsessive-compulsive drives.
I want to visit all the Madrigal junk-food joints, James!
Order me one large everything at Luftwaffle!
As for Kim, I don’t think her unpredictability is quite as unpredictable as you’re saying.
She mincemeated Lalo’s silent-killer actand made “Saul Goodman” look like the schmo that he is.
Seehorn embodies Kim as a tough careerist with a wild edge.
And we haven’t even gotten to the unusual element I admire most aboutSaul.
I’m talking about Gene Takovic, Cinnabon manager.
Has there ever been a slower burn in TV history, James?
And I hear you.
“But Kim tho!”
is the show’s best defense.
As for the Gene scenes, oh man.
The previous season’s Gene entries were just portraits of misery.
It would be one thing if that was the entire point.
(By and by, the whole Cinnabon job itself bugged me.
So why did he end up working at a Nebraska Cinnabon and living in a sadness apartment?
We know why Walter lost his money, but why did Saul lose his?
Why isn’t Saul on a beach in Mexico?
DARREN:Arguing the case forBetter Call Saulright now makes me feel like Saul Goodman defending Lalo.
My client is unpredictable, has made some mistakes, and could definitely end up killing my goldfish.
What will the final season bring?
Because there was definitely a time when the Gene scenes confounded me, too.
To my “But Kim tho!”
plea, let me also enter a “But Saul too!”
Odenkirk keeps finding new dimensions to play in this man of many names.
I don’t know what the future holds for Jimmy, or Saul, or Gene.
