Originally written May 16, 2016

So far, the Breaking Bad spinoff/prequel series Better Call Saul seems to be following the same kind of trend as its predecessor. I found that Breaking Bad pretty much got better every season (for the most part), and so while it had a great first season, it wasn’t quite at the point it was able to reach in later seasons. Better Call Saul is starting to do the same thing for me. It did have a great first season, but it didn’t quite have enough to it for me to call it an amazing show. However, season 2 continues to raise the stakes for everyone involved, and the result is an improved and amazing season.

I don’t like to delve too much into plot points for second (and further) seasons of television since I wouldn’t want to spoil any of the great plot twists from its first season. This is especially true for a show like Better Call Saul whose story is continuous in nature, not following a real episodic format or even the kind that has a self-contained storyline for individual seasons. Season 2 of Better Call Saul more or less picks right back up where season 1 left its characters off. Jimmy has started to change how he is as a lawyer and is starting to change his methods on how he wants to do his job. This results in some seriously great moments throughout the season for our main character as he’s pulling off a lot of dirty tricks here.

I remember when Better Call Saul first came on, I couldn’t help but compare it to Breaking Bad. When doing this, Better Call Saul seemed to come up short, even though it was a great show on its own. I think it’s because Breaking Bad simply dealt with a more interesting subject matter, dealing with the drug business instead of lawyer talk. However, as shows progress they tend to evolve, and so for me the comparisons to Breaking Bad are starting to lessen as Better Call Saul keeps going. It’s becoming its own show and really starting to find its rhythm in its second season.

One thing that I thought was really interesting about season 2 that I think is worth mentioning is that I felt like there was less of a focus on Jimmy in this season, with more attention being given to other characters too. Most of the time other characters on the show like Kim or Chuck have their paths cross with Jimmy enough that it affects his storyline too, but it was cool to see some more attention given to them as well. I especially felt this way about Kim, who started to become one of my favorite characters this season. However, there are also characters like Mike who rarely ever cross paths with Jimmy but are still being given screen time. As a prequel series to Breaking Bad, I feel like this series isn’t just about Saul anymore, even though that’s what the title suggests. It pretty much gives just as much focus to Mike’s character too. I feel like this is a great decision because it provides more of the “drug business” type of tension that audiences were familiar with in Breaking Bad, which is a nice balance to the lawyer drama that we see with Jimmy’s storyline.

All in all, Better Call Saul provides some solid dramatic entertainment over the course of its 10 episode second season. I think that season 2 is a big improvement over season 1 (not that season 1 was at all bad) and that the show as a whole is starting to really find its groove and move in many interesting directions. I found that season 2 kept me engaged throughout its entirety, and I think that if the show can keep building on this momentum then it could easily have a perfect third season on its hands.

4.5/5