Originally written October 30, 2018

For me, Better Call Saul is basically following the same kind of trajectory as Breaking Bad did. It’s been consistently good for the whole series so far, but it’s only been getting better. Just like with Breaking Bad, the first season of Better Call Saul has probably been the worst one (although it’s still great), with each season basically being better than the last. It’s not quite as straight of a line as that, but for the most part the tension just keeps rising over time.

Season 4 deals with a lot of aftermath following season 3. We see Kim dealing with her accident, and everyone else dealing with the death in the finale. I’m reluctant to ever say too much past that when a series like this is late in its run, but that’s the basic gist of it. As always, Better Call Saul tends to show us two completely different storylines: the one with Jimmy in his early lawyering days, and the ones involving the drug trade (where we usually mainly follow Mike) that is meant to serve as a set-up to Breaking Bad. In Mike’s storyline this season, he’s trying to gather up a crew that will build a lab for Gus Fring. Complications obviously arise. Then, with Jimmy, he’s still on his suspension, so he’s trying to find ways to occupy his time while waiting to try to get his lawyer license back. He obviously gets himself into some trouble through some lies and schemes.

Much like season 4 of Breaking Bad (so, again following the same trajectory), season 4 of Better Call Saul admittedly starts out pretty slow. There’s also a heavy reliance on remembering recent events of the show, which might be hard for viewers that have been watching the show as it’s been released, since there was a pretty large time gap between season 3 ending and season 4 beginning. So, all of this is to say that it did take a little bit of time for the show to get back in its groove in season 4. However, once it gets good, it’s fantastic. The second half of the season, especially, just fires on all cylinders, and is engaging as hell.

All in all, I don’t want to act like Better Call Saul is as good as Breaking Bad is or anything. Breaking Bad was a truly special show, and it’s hard to capture that magic twice. However, for being a spin-off show about the goofy lawyer on Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul is so much better than it has any right to be. It’s truly come into its own groove, and it’s become such an amazing show in its own right. It seems like we’re starting to near the endgame for Better Call Saul now, with it looking like Jimmy is ready to settle into his role as Saul Goodman next season. I’m really excited to see how Vince Gilligan decides to end this show, because if it continues to follow the same trajectory as Breaking Bad then we’re in for one hell of a final season.

4.5/5