Current Events > Better Call Saul Season 4 onward is better than most Breaking Bad imo

(+) Yeah! (+)

Goddamn this show gets good.

---

Agree. I like Jimmy as a character much more than Walter.

And I understand that you eventually are expected to dislike WW.

---

Yup, I finished season 4 in one weekend. I was mad at myself for doing that, too lol.

---

I still haven't taken the time to watch that. I really should. I just find it hard to sit and watch TV and movies. Once I get sucked in, then I can watch and watch, but it's hard for me to get started.

---

I delayed Better Call Saul, after being a huge Breaking Bad fan, until about two weeks ago. I'm already caught up, what a great fuckin show. Kim might be the best character across all of it.

---

Better Call Saul is probably one of my favorite shows of all time. It's also a show I went in expecting to feel super meh about because I had 0 interest in Saul as a character. What I didn't know was that it was a show about Jimmy

---

I think i watched up to the finale of Season 2.
I just dislike all the characters

---

Better Call Saul is great but I feel like this season has been lacking.

Nacho is good but both Kim and Sauls storylines are going nowhere and Howard is wasted.

Breaking Bad was better although that's hardly a criticism considering how good it was.
---

UnfairRepresent posted...

Better Call Saul is great but I feel like this season has been lacking.

Nacho is good but both Kim and Sauls storylines are going nowhere and Howard is wasted.

Breaking Bad was better although that's hardly a criticism considering how good it was.

No way. This season has been home run after home run. Ive loved it.

Theyre building up the tragic fall little by little. The horrific part about it is we all KNOW it wont end well for Jimmy and Kim, and were watching the car crash set up.

---

MFBKBass5 posted...

No way. This season has been home run after home run. Ive loved it.

if you say so

Kevin vs Kim was dumb
Mike going to Gus' resort and Gus near worshipping him was dumb
Howard having 6 minutes of screen time is a waste
No chuck

Season has really lost steam imo

And we really dont know that it will end badly for Saul, Kim or Nacho. They all still can end up happy and rich
---

Dat Jimmy vs chuck court scene in season 3 was better den most breaking bad tbh
---

I don't agree with the topic title, but I still think that Better Call Saul is a great show.

---

"Winner" is one of the 3 best episodes of TV I've ever seen. Had me fucking sobbing.

---

UnfairRepresent posted...

if you say so

Kevin vs Kim was dumb
Mike going to Gus' resort and Gus near worshipping him was dumb
Howard having 6 minutes of screen time is a waste
No chuck

Season has really lost steam imo

And we really dont know that it will end badly for Saul, Kim or Nacho. They all still can end up happy and rich

You seem to be the only one with those opinions lolz. Reviews for this season have been extremely high. AV club has given nearly every episode an A. I dont trust many reviews online except for them.

---

ssj3vegeta_ posted...

Dat Jimmy vs chuck court scene in season 3 was better den most breaking bad tbh

Yup. Season 5 has a few of those moments, too.

---

i think it may be the best show currently pushing out episodes
also i think kim may be one of the best written women characters in television history

---

The Trent posted...

i think it may be the best show currently pushing out episodes
also i think kim may be one of the best written women characters in television history

Mr. Robot season 4 was a bit stronger IMO, but current BCS is incredible still.

It took me a while to like Kim. But her arc through the seasons has made her such a great character.

---

i never watched mr. robot, should i?
can i netflix it while i work out?

---

The Trent posted...

kim may be one of the best written women characters in television history

Dey really learned how to write women after what dey did with bitchy skyler in breaking bad
---

it is kinda ridiculous that a jimmy could ever get a kim though
she's way out of his league and i never felt like they properly justified the relationship on her side

---

The Trent posted...

it is kinda ridiculous that a jimmy could ever get a kim though
she's way out of his league and i never felt like they properly justified the relationship on her side

They kinda did

She gets off on his chicanery because she knows it wrong.

It's a perversion/fetish.
---

i don't think they've established that enough to be wholly believable, personally

---

Season 4 is actually the only season of the show that I think is boring. I agree that the other seasons are better than Breaking Bad though

---

Kim is the best character in either series

---

The Trent posted...

i never watched mr. robot, should i?
can i netflix it while i work out?

Yes. Has been voted in the top 5 shows of the past decade by multiple huge websites. Its incredible. Not a bad actor on that show. Plus, the way they use music with the soundtrack...gives you all the feels.

---

I haven't watched season 5 yet. It's a great show, but people who say it's better than BB are just wrong. BB had much more forward momentum, more clever scenarios, more surprises. After every season of BCS since the beginning we've been saying, "okay, now Jimmy is going to be Saul."

---

EndOfDiscOne posted...

I haven't watched season 5 yet. It's a great show, but people who say it's better than BB are just wrong. BB had much more forward momentum, more clever scenarios, more surprises. After every season of BCS since the beginning we've been saying, "okay, now Jimmy is going to be Saul."

The characterization, humor, and cinematography is way better on Better Call Saul. Honestly, I don't think Breaking Bad is a top tier show like most other people do. It's good but it's really not that "clever" or surprising. I think its popularity is due to how tense and fast paced it was. Being fast paced and having a lot of action doesn't mean that it's the most amazing show of all time or whatever. Better Call Saul does a better job of getting you inside the heads of all these characters and I feel like it has a lot more heart. Plus I've never felt compelled to rewatch BB after I got through it but I've rewatched BCS mutiple times because Jimmy is just much more entertaining to watch than Walter.

---

EndOfDiscOne posted...

I haven't watched season 5 yet. It's a great show, but people who say it's better than BB are just wrong. BB had much more forward momentum, more clever scenarios, more surprises. After every season of BCS since the beginning we've been saying, "okay, now Jimmy is going to be Saul."

i'm not sure one is better, they're just different
the stakes are perpetually higher in BB so the action feels more driving
BCS is like a slow chess game

---

I feel like people who say BB is all tension and action only remember the second half of Season 5.

BB season 1 is more slow paced and gets into Walts head more than anything in Saul.
---

UnfairRepresent posted...

I feel like people who say BB is all tension and action only remember the second half of Season 5.

BB season 1 is more slow paced and gets into Walts head more than anything in Saul.

I remember all of it. In the first episode alone he goes from a science teacher to a guy who is killing drug dealers with toxic gas, getting shot at and ready to have a standoff with incoming police sirens. Throughout the rest of the show he blows up drug dens, has to scramble to find his product before a drug deal so that he doesn't end up dead, uses ricin to murder countless people, accidentally causes a plane crash and uses a paraplegic to blow up a rival. I didn't even have to mention anything that happened in season 5 Its tense and full of action all the way through. And I definitely disagree that BB does a better job of getting inside the protagonist's head

---

All of the things you listed were from 1 scene or several seasons in

Which proves my point
---

UnfairRepresent posted...

All of the things you listed were from 1 scene or several seasons in

Which proves my point

It doesn't prove your point. You said that only season 5 was action packed and I just showed that you're wrong

---

The Trent posted...

it is kinda ridiculous that a jimmy could ever get a kim though
she's way out of his league and i never felt like they properly justified the relationship on her side

I think it speaks more to the volume of Jimmy/ Saul's character. Even though he's a smooth talker, he gets results when his head is in the game and he genuinely cares about the people in his life.

Despite being little more than a flim-flam man, he has a heart of gold and I think that resonates with Kim. She clearly knows that he would never be a reliable prospect as he's always up to his tricks and schemes and she's so proper and by-the-book.

It's a nice contrast that balances Jimmy's character when they are together.

---

Its definitely on par with breaking bad. The reason I give BB the edge is because while I love BCS it's almost to slow of a burn. If I had waited to binge after season 3 I'd probably view it a bit different. But the episode in season 1 with Mike telling the story about his kids death was up there with some of the best episodes of TV I've seen.

---

Feline_Heart posted...

It's good but it's really not that "clever" or surprising.

I disagree. There were several moments in BB where I had no idea how Walt and Jesse were going to get out of a situation. These situations were almost always resolved in ways that were not cop outs. The show also did a great job with consequences.

For example, the whole sequence in season 3 when Walt meets Jesse in the RV, and Hank pulls up. I was on the edge of my seat, with no clue how they were going to get out of it. The resolution was sensible, funny, and dark as hell. There were a lot of moments like that in BB.

---

dummy420 posted...

Its definitely on par with breaking bad. The reason I give BB the edge is because while I love BCS it's almost to slow of a burn.

This. I love BCS and don't mind a slow burning story, but it has too many lulls and episodes or parts of episodes that feel close to being filler-like. Still, there are also plenty of moments that surpass BB.

---

Feline_Heart posted...

It doesn't prove your point. You said that only season 5 was action packed and I just showed that you're wrong

1. That's not what I said.

2. No you didn't. Going "Well they had AN action scene that involved a chubby man closing a door." doesn't mean the season was "action packed" Hell BCS ep 1 had 2 hit and runs, a car chase, people breaking into a morgue to fuck a corpse and drug lords holding people at gunpoint. By your logic this means all of BCS is action packed.

My point was that the idea of BCS being slow paced and character driven while Breaking Bad is just explosions and an endless stream of high tense scenarios is pretty much just a description of the second half of season 5, as the climax.

We saw Walts mind and emotions and change in Season 1/2 more so than we did Saul in season 1/2
---

UnfairRepresent posted...

if you say so

Kevin vs Kim was dumb
Mike going to Gus' resort and Gus near worshipping him was dumb
Howard having 6 minutes of screen time is a waste
No chuck

Season has really lost steam imo

And we really dont know that it will end badly for Saul, Kim or Nacho. They all still can end up happy and rich

I agree with you on the Mike bit. I feel like Mike is such a ridiculous character in BCS. They play him up to be like some Solid Snake-level super soldier when a guy his age realistically wouldve died at multiple points in the show already. He has such blatant plot armor its ridiculous.

---

ssk9716757 posted...

I agree with you on the Mike bit. I feel like Mike is such a ridiculous character in BCS. They play him up to be like some Solid Snake-level super soldier when a guy his age realistically wouldve died at multiple points in the show already. He has such blatant plot armor its ridiculous.

It's not even just the plot armor

It's not at all clear why Gus cares so much about Mike. A dude he barely knows who already lied to him is not worth all the time, money and effort to be "A soldier I need"

And if the going with Gus was this good, why was he still doing Saul's dirty work and odd jobs for years to come? 6/7 figures from Gus isn't enough for his granddaughter but Saul's couple of grand here and there to root through trashcans is? What?

It just reeks of "This character is popular, therefore he has to be treated as some sort of deity" and it makes no sense. Without the context of Breaking Bad, Gus would have let him bleed to death on the street without a second thought.
---

UnfairRepresent posted...

It's not even just the plot armor

It's not at all clear why Gus cares so much about Mike. A dude he barely knows who already lied to him is not worth all the time, money and effort to be "A soldier I need"

And if the going with Gus was this good, why was he still doing Saul's dirty work and odd jobs for years to come?

It just reeks of "This character is popular, therefore he has to be treated as some sort of deity" and it makes no sense. Without the context of Breaking Bad, Gus would have let him bleed to death on the street without a second thought.

Yeah all of that is part of what I was going for as well. The show really deifies Mike in a ridiculous way, and youre right that it makes no sense why Gus wants him so bad.

---

I'm not so harsh on him as y'all are, but I see where you're coming from. To be fair he was pretty badass as well in BB like when he rescues Chow. The BB/BCS/EC world isn't the most realistic either. The cousins are like Terminators. Mike seems pretty resourceful and can get things done, but it is true the motivation for Gus is a little weak.

I do feel they're running in circles and we've already went through the part where Mike is mad and doesn't want to work for Gus then eventually gets won over.

I figured whatever money that was paid to him was worth it to Mike to do jobs for Saul.

---

There are big things that annoying me about both Breaking Bad and BCS that just make it feel like it both series were made by film school students:

1. Needlessly long/random cold opens. In BCS this season we had a whole intro sequence dedicated to ants eating an ice cream cone. It couldve been cut out entirely and the payoff at the end of the episode still wouldve worked. Both shows constantly have indulgent sequences like this that just scream look at me! Im directing!
2. The plots feel so contrived at points. Every character except the main cast is dumb as shit and a borderline stereotype. The drug users that go on a joyride from this season for example are like a high school students idea of what drug users and drug use is like (this applies to anything related to crime in both shows, honestly). Kevin is a straight up stereotypical southerner/corporate CEO who falls into every play that Saul/Kim make. There are countless instances of this and its so ridiculous. Saul and Kim are genuinely interesting, layered characters but the world around them is cliched and contrived as fuck.

---

Im so happy this show has fans, and that its gone on for this long. Breaking bad was one of my favorite shows, but this just blows it out of the water for me. Obviously Breaking Bad has more epic moments, but the characters in this are so compelling. Also, Jimmy and Kims wedding, and their professed love for each other, is just killing me, cause I know that Jimmy could have been happy with the sweetest girl he could ever find.

The trainwreck that is incoming is gonna suck, but these 10+ years of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul is so worth it. Someone 10 years from now will get to witness all of this back to back, Im envious of them.

---

ssk9716757 posted...

Needlessly long/random cold opens. In BCS this season we had a whole intro sequence dedicated to ants eating an ice cream cone. It couldve been cut out entirely and the payoff at the end of the episode still wouldve worked. Both shows constantly have indulgent sequences like this that just scream look at me! Im directing!

I actually really like this >_>

The cinematography, background storytelling, visual metaphors, lighting and tone/piece setting on Better Call Saul is some of the best I have ever seen in television.

I think it's beautiful. Some of it so well shot and edited.
---

UnfairRepresent posted...

I actually really like this >_>

The cinematography, background storytelling, visual metaphors, lighting and tone/piece setting on Better Call Saul is some of the best I have ever seen in television.

I think it's beautiful. Some of it so well shot and edited.

I mean yeah it looks cool but it just comes across as indulgent and wasted time that couldve been spent on examining the characters more.

---

ssk9716757 posted...

I mean yeah it looks cool but it just comes across as indulgent and wasted time that couldve been spent on examining the characters more.

I don't agree with this

I mean just using your own example of the Ice-Cream ants and Saul's reaction to it already told you about Saul's mindset and the ongoing situation just by visuals.

Replacing that with characters explaining how they feel like most TV shows do is a step down, not a step up.
---

BCS benefits from the creators/writers having a lot more time to have gotten their heads around the direction and development of the characters involved. So S1 BB is a little rough around the edges but however many seasons later they've really refined the 'craft' of the universe and are able to put out consistently good BCS episodes.

I think the one thing that could be better, at times, is Jimmy and Kim who I often don't really buy as a 'couple'.

---

NinjaBreakfast posted...

So S1 BB is a little rough around the edges

Man BB S1 is my favorite of the lot

It's so God damn well written and directed

Episode 3 especially.
---