Sequart Organization » Better Call Saul

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episodes 8 and 9: Slipping and Falling

Ian Dawe — Thu, 15 Jun 2017 15:00:49 +0000

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episodes 8 and 9: Slipping and Falling" title="Better Call Saul Season 3, Episodes 8 and 9: Slipping and Falling" style="float:left;" />The last two episodes of Better Call Saul have been titled “Slip” and “Fall”, which pretty much sums up what’s happening to every character (except Gus and Mike). The victories that Jimmy and Chuck thought… [more]

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 7 – Plans and Schemes

Ian Dawe — Thu, 25 May 2017 18:50:22 +0000

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 7 – Plans and Schemes" title="Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 7 – Plans and Schemes" style="float:left;" />Hector Salamanca is the anti-Gustavo. Crude, boorish, selfish, egotistical and demanding of the lowest kind of personal loyalty, he’s the Trump of Mexican gangsters. One would like to think that people like that can only… [more]

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 6: Saul

Ian Dawe — Wed, 24 May 2017 19:10:08 +0000

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 6: Saul" title="Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 6: Saul" style="float:left;" />New realities hit Jimmy McGill hard in “Off Brand”, the sixth episode of this season of Better Call Saul. After the previous episode’s explosive climax, which saw Chuck McGill finally “outed” as deeply mentally ill… [more]

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 5: Hermanos

Ian Dawe — Tue, 09 May 2017 20:15:11 +0000

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 5: Hermanos" title="Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 5: Hermanos" style="float:left;" />The reference is so obvious that it must be an influence, but it’s worth mentioning: this week’s Better Call Saul (“Chicanery”) borrows heavily from another text about feuding brothers, namely The Godfather, Part II. In… [more]

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 4: Damaged or Destroyed?

Ian Dawe — Wed, 03 May 2017 23:00:22 +0000

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 4: Damaged or Destroyed?" title="Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 4: Damaged or Destroyed?" style="float:left;" />Those of us who were (and are) rabid fans of Breaking Bad will no doubt enjoy the latest Better Call Saul, “Sabrosito”, even more than usual. Just about half this instalment is essentially an episode… [more]

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 3: Sunk Costs

Ian Dawe — Tue, 25 Apr 2017 20:25:09 +0000

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 3: Sunk Costs" title="Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 3: Sunk Costs" style="float:left;" />The latest episode of Better Call Saul is the closest the series has come yet to feeling like Breaking Bad. The cold, meditative opening that’s paid off at the end, the long sequences set in… [more]

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 2: Witnesses

Ian Dawe — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 21:05:27 +0000

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 2: Witnesses" title="Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 2: Witnesses" style="float:left;" />The title of this episode of Better Call Saul is “Witness”, which is very fitting, since this episode in particular is about the act of watching and being watched. This is rich material, cinematically speaking… [more]

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 1: “Victory”

Ian Dawe — Tue, 11 Apr 2017 18:15:15 +0000

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 1: “Victory”" title="Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 1: “Victory”" style="float:left;" />The first image we see in the third season opener of Better Call Saul is the word “Victory”. This is such a literate show, so profoundly aware of the visual language of cinema and its… [more]

Better Call Saul Season Two Finale: Blind Spots

Ian Dawe — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 16:05:15 +0000

Better Call Saul Season Two Finale: Blind Spots" title="Better Call Saul Season Two Finale: Blind Spots" style="float:left;" />It would be so easy, as season two of Better Call Saul comes to an end, to be angry with Chuck McGill. But that would be like getting angry at a snake when it bites… [more]

Better Call Saul vs Breaking Bad: Companion Pieces in a Compelling Universe

Ian Dawe — Mon, 18 Apr 2016 21:20:16 +0000

Better Call Saul vs Breaking Bad: Companion Pieces in a Compelling Universe" title="Better Call Saul vs Breaking Bad: Companion Pieces in a Compelling Universe" style="float:left;" />A piece by Slate magazine’s Julia Turner is making the rounds today that argues passionately why Better Call Saul is the superior show, when compared with its parent, Breaking Bad. It’s a great piece, and… [more]

Better Call Saul Season 2, Episode 9: Consequences

Ian Dawe — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 16:00:12 +0000

Better Call Saul Season 2, Episode 9: Consequences" title="Better Call Saul Season 2, Episode 9: Consequences" style="float:left;" />“Consequences” is the big theme of this, the penultimate episode of Better Call Saul’s second season. We don’t often mention the creators’ names (and frankly I also ignore media from the creators of this show,… [more]

Looking Back at the First Appearance of Saul Goodman

Ian Dawe — Sat, 09 Apr 2016 14:15:46 +0000

Way back in season two of Breaking Bad, in April of 2009 to be precise, we were introduced to a new character named “Saul Goodman” in an episode with the catchy title “Better Call Saul”.… [more]

Better Call Saul, Season 2, Episode 8: Out of the Comfort Zone

Ian Dawe — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 17:15:13 +0000

Better Call Saul, Season 2, Episode 8: Out of the Comfort Zone" title="Better Call Saul, Season 2, Episode 8: Out of the Comfort Zone" style="float:left;" />This latest episode of Better Call Saul is easily the series’ most cinematic. There are some plot developments here, but not many. There’s dialogue, but not too much, and there could have been much more.… [more]

Better Call Saul Season 2, Episode 7: Parallel Lines

Ian Dawe — Wed, 30 Mar 2016 17:30:54 +0000

Better Call Saul Season 2, Episode 7: Parallel Lines" title="Better Call Saul Season 2, Episode 7: Parallel Lines" style="float:left;" />There’s no point in me doing this if I can’t be myself. Every time I try to do things someone else’s way, it blows up in my face. I’ve been trying to be the person… [more]

Better Call Saul Season 2, Episode 6: Changing Masks

Ian Dawe — Sat, 26 Mar 2016 15:13:24 +0000

Better Call Saul Season 2, Episode 6: Changing Masks" title="Better Call Saul Season 2, Episode 6: Changing Masks" style="float:left;" />Though it doesn’t pass the Bechdel test (there are too few female characters to meet that very specific bar), Better Call Saul is, in its way, a very feminist show. Not just because there’s a… [more]

Better Call Saul Season 2, Episode 5: Shifting Sands

Ian Dawe — Mon, 21 Mar 2016 15:15:33 +0000

Better Call Saul Season 2, Episode 5: Shifting Sands" title="Better Call Saul Season 2, Episode 5: Shifting Sands" style="float:left;" />It’s something of an understatement to call Better Call Saul a subtle show, but the label fits. Few American TV shows have had the boldness to fold their dramatic tension into small character moments, revelations… [more]

Better Call Saul Season 2, Episode 4: Half-Measures

Ian Dawe — Wed, 09 Mar 2016 16:00:29 +0000

Better Call Saul Season 2, Episode 4: Half-Measures" title="Better Call Saul Season 2, Episode 4: Half-Measures" style="float:left;" />If there were any doubts about the nature of Jimmy McGill’s feelings for and commitment to Kim Wexler, the latest episode of Better Call Saul lays them to rest. Jimmy has made mistakes, and will… [more]

Better Call Saul Season 2, Episode 3: The Scorpion and the Frog

Ian Dawe — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 21:10:53 +0000

Better Call Saul Season 2, Episode 3: The Scorpion and the Frog" title="Better Call Saul Season 2, Episode 3: The Scorpion and the Frog" style="float:left;" />Breaking Bad certainly had its share of contemplative scenes, but it still had suspense, action and tension. It’s offspring, Better Call Saul is in an entirely different key, drawing out the slow game, lingering on… [more]

Better Call Saul Season 2, Episode 2: Let’s Be Honest

Ian Dawe — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 18:30:48 +0000

Better Call Saul Season 2, Episode 2: Let’s Be Honest" title="Better Call Saul Season 2, Episode 2: Let’s Be Honest" style="float:left;" />A frequent discussion point among my colleagues about Better Call Saul is the question of why Kim isn’t in Breaking Bad. She’s such an important character to Jimmy McGill, and indeed has been central so… [more]

Better Call Saul Goes its Own Way in the Season 2 Opener

Ian Dawe — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 18:30:22 +0000

Better Call Saul Goes its Own Way in the Season 2 Opener" title="Better Call Saul Goes its Own Way in the Season 2 Opener" style="float:left;" />One of the many remarkable achievements of Better Call Saul is that its drama does indeed have a final destination (it’s in the title), but it doesn’t feel inevitable. Quite the contrary — judging from… [more]

Better Call Saul Season Finale: The Path Less Travelled By

Ian Dawe — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 19:00:03 +0000

Better Call Saul Season Finale: The Path Less Travelled By" title="Better Call Saul Season Finale: The Path Less Travelled By" style="float:left;" />Jimmy McGill is angry, Saul Goodman isn’t. Jimmy always has a joke, Saul doesn’t. Jimmy is all charm, Saul is all artifice and business. That first shot of the season, and the series, showing Saul… [more]

Better Call Saul: Poor Jimmy

Ian Dawe — Fri, 03 Apr 2015 19:00:42 +0000

Better Call Saul: Poor Jimmy" title="Better Call Saul: Poor Jimmy" style="float:left;" />I come away from every episode of Better Call Saul these days saying, “Poor Jimmy”. This, the second-to-last episode in the season, “Pimento”, is certainly no exception. We frankly haven’t seen all of Jimmy’s past… [more]

The Fabulous McGill Brothers on Better Call Saul

Ian Dawe — Sat, 28 Mar 2015 17:00:48 +0000

Better Call Saul" title="The Fabulous McGill Brothers on Better Call Saul" style="float:left;" />This episode of Better Call Saul has one of the most devastating cold opens so far. Vince Gilligan’s previous work on The X-Files and of course Breaking Bad reflects a longstanding interest in the power… [more]

A Pivotal Episode of Better Call Saul

Ian Dawe — Thu, 19 Mar 2015 13:00:12 +0000

Better Call Saul" title="A Pivotal Episode of Better Call Saul" style="float:left;" />This episode of Better Call Saul is a turning point. Forces and story elements that have been building since the series began come to a head here, and Jimmy McGill makes his last stand against… [more]

Mike Calls Saul on Better Call Saul

Ian Dawe — Sat, 14 Mar 2015 19:00:59 +0000

Better Call Saul" title="Mike Calls Saul on Better Call Saul" style="float:left;" />Better Call Saul has never had a more apt title than this week’s episode “Five-O”, because it’s here that someone finally “Calls Saul”. Jimmy McGill himself has never been more Saul-like than in this episode,… [more]

Better Call Saul vs “Slippin’ Jimmy”

Ian Dawe — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 20:00:50 +0000

Better Call Saul vs “Slippin’ Jimmy”" title="Better Call Saul vs “Slippin’ Jimmy”" style="float:left;" />Here we are, back in the world of Better Call Saul, where the themes of ethics and fraternal loyalty are firmly in the foreground. We learn a little more about Chuck’s specific medical condition, and… [more]

A Look at Better Call Saul, The Comic Book

Ian Dawe — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 20:00:33 +0000

Better Call Saul, The Comic Book" title="A Look at Better Call Saul, The Comic Book" style="float:left;" />The first Better Call Saul comic book I’ve had the chance to read is an online comic, available freely from AMC, titled “Client Development”. It tells a story from the Breaking Bad days, covering scenes… [more]

Ethics and Brothers in Better Call Saul Episode 4

Ian Dawe — Wed, 25 Feb 2015 20:00:41 +0000

Better Call Saul Episode 4" title="Ethics and Brothers in Better Call Saul Episode 4" style="float:left;" />Better Call Saul is going to be a show about ethics. At least, that was the prediction of some of my fellow Breaking Bad scholars that emerged from our conversations last week in Albuquerque. I… [more]

Don’t Underestimate Jimmy on Better Call Saul

Ian Dawe — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 20:00:58 +0000

Better Call Saul" title="Don’t Underestimate Jimmy on Better Call Saul" style="float:left;" />It’s easy to forget, when watching Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman in action, that he’s one of the smartest guys in any given room. Jimmy’s street-tough use of language, his lack of “cool”, his too-formal suits all… [more]

Better Call Saul Grows and Deepens in Episode 2

Ian Dawe — Sat, 14 Feb 2015 20:00:21 +0000

Better Call Saul Grows and Deepens in Episode 2" title="Better Call Saul Grows and Deepens in Episode 2" style="float:left;" />The second episode of Better Call Saul had some of the pacing problems that were an issue in the season premiere, but still manages to carve out a unique path through the world of Breaking… [more]

Better Call Saul Opens Strong

Ian Dawe — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 20:00:53 +0000

Better Call Saul Opens Strong" title="Better Call Saul Opens Strong" style="float:left;" />“Spinoff!” Is there any word more thrilling to the human soul? Hi, I’ m Troy McClure.” -Troy McClure “Quality TV”, as we call the sorts of shows being produced today for binge consumption, hasn’t really… [more]