Better Call Saul - Series 1, Episode 1 "Uno" (Review)

AMC's spin-off of critically acclaimed, nuclear bomb TV series 'Breaking Bad' aired in the US on Sunday night, and reached the UK in the early hours of monday morning, ready to be digested by creator Vince Gilligan's starving fan-base. Announced in April 2013, 'Better Call Saul' is the long awaited answer to the question 'what now?' after the climax of the Walter White tragedy left fans of the show more open mouthed than it had kept them throughout the series.

This prequel and possibly sequel series see's Bob Odenkirk take his role as slimy, slogan-slinging lawyer 'Saul Goodman' into the forefront, supposedly six years before his dealings with the infamous, meth kingpin 'Heisenberg'.

This review/ reflection of the first episode will probably assume some knowledge about people's familiarity with the story as a whole and possibly spoil some elements of the original series, so if you belong to the minority of people without their 'I've seen Breaking Bad' badge, look away now (and watch Breaking Bad, like, immediately).

As the episode begins we have our beloved Saul shown to us in an unfamiliar habitat; behind the counter of a fast food dessert restaurant called 'Cinnabon'. It becomes obvious as the hints move into place that we have joined him sometime after his escape from his life as Saul Goodman. He has been away long enough to establish the character of 'Gene', the balding fast food dessert store manager, somewhere in Nebraska. Saul is somewhat comically disguised in a bushy moustache and glasses as he clambers through his daily work routine to the tune of 'The Ink Spots- Address Unknown'.

This opening black and white sequence did an excellent job of settling me back down into the Gilligan universe and establishing Saul as no longer the laid-back, tongue in cheek goofster that bounced in and out of Breaking Bad when called upon, but instead a fragile, deeply on edge, lead man, who has found himself in hiding, following his run-ins with some of the grittiest members of America's underworld.

I was naive to think that creator Vince Gilligan would loosen his focus and eye for detail in this spin-off series, as each camera cut and placement of objects seems to have meticulous planning behind it, forcing me to hunt for Easter eggs within the frame that may prove important later in the story or even provide a hat tip to Saul's prior adventures with Walt and company.

As we find Gene back at home and follow him around the house through stalker type angles, he rummages to find an old video tape of his alter-ego Saul. Placing it in the VCR player, he watches back his old TV adverts through seemingly gritted teeth and a face that is on the brink of tears. As he is reminded of what placed him in this foreign, snow topped town far from Albuquerque, New Mexico, we are snapped out of the black and white, eerie present situation of Gene and plunged back into the recesses of his mind, where we find James McGill, the original pseudonym of Saul Goodman (after the catchy credit sequence of course).


From then on we see a day in the life of struggling lawyer McGill as he attempts to earn a steady buck on the Public Defender circuit, while establishing his own law firm. With a couple of familiar faces thrown in from the Breaking Bad franchise, and a Grand Theft Auto mission-esque plot to con a potential client, we begin to see James McGill morph into Saul Goodman as the odds stack against him and he finds himself doing what he can to make ends meet.

This opening gambit, though not too highly anticipated from myself did not disappoint, whilst I was extremely hopeful of Gilligan's ability to carry out a spin-off in a manner that wouldn't take anything away from the original series, or borrow too much from it in order to match its stature, I was more curious to know whether or not it could be done, rather than looking forward to the idea of the series itself.

I am aware that many more cameo's will occur from the cast of BB which would be a trick too foolish to avoid, as the depth of each character definitely has my vote to be explored, however I hope this does not form the basis of the show and that it is allowed to stand on its own without the aid of Gilligan's home-run-hit.

Now it has me, I feel it won't lose me, the killer cliff hangar that left off the first episode has not just invited me into episode two, but more dragged me by the eyes.

Episode 1 is available now on Netflix and episode 2 drops at 7am Tuesday morning.