DRY & SLOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comparisons with the titanic “Breaking Bad: are inevitable, since this show shares not only creator Vince Gilligan but is a spin off of some key characters – here in an origin story taking place before “Breaking Bad”. But this new show – great in it’s own way – really is quite a different animal. “Breaking Bad” felt big, powerful, operatic. A Beethoven symphony of a show. While it had humor, the blasts of dark drama and tension dominated. “Better Call Saul” feels like more of a chamber piece, a string quartet, or a great jazz trio. Quieter, more intimate, leaning more towards the comic, its themes about America and success are mostly fed with a wink, and not a punch to the stomach. The pace is slower too. This is a character study, and it’s content to allow us to just watch some very interesting people working through their strange funny/sad lives without pushing the plot along all that much. It’s an outstanding show, but on its own terms, in its own way. The acting is terrific. Bob Odenkirk creates a truly likable semi-sad sack with truly questionable morals and decision making ability, but a big heart. Jonathan Banks continues as one of the best television characters ever, his aging ex-cop a brilliant, cold, coiled snake, who always lets out just enough humanity to know that while this guy could kill you in a heartbeat if he had to, deep down he’s a good guy, a loving grandfather, a moral man. Michael McKean does a great job as Odenkirk’s deeply disturbed brother. He will always be a smarter, better lawyer than Jimmy, he will always hold a grudge, and he is Odenkirk’s exact opposite. The guy who – on paper – we should feel bad for, but who is just icy and venal enough to keep us at an intrigued distance. If the character has a weak spot it’s that he can get a bit repetitive, but that’s more a function of how the man is limited by his paranoid psychosis, not a limitation of acting or writing. As with “Breaking Bad” the writing is specific, idiosyncratic, full of terrific dialogue that sounds naturalistic, but has just the right touch of poetry blended in. And as with it’s predecessor, the direction and cinematography is always at a high level, very cinematic, unafraid of staying in wide shots, or playing scenes in long takes instead of the rapid cutting that still dominates most TV – even very good TV. There are occasional lapses – I saw the twist ending of season 2 coming a mile off. But – if not as driven and instantly unforgettable as it’s parent show - this is intelligent, subtle and special television, not quite like anything else before or since.

Season two starts off at closing time, late at night in an empty mall at a Cinnabon store in Omaha, NE. were the manager "Gene" helps close up for the night. He is clearly our hero Saul Goodman, now a fugitive hiding out under a false ID. The season premier takes off from their, and you get the back story of what has led us to this point, and why he is hiding out with a false identity. The casual daily relationship between Mike and Saul starts and grows into professional one. Mike brokers a deal and Jimmy works to exonerate a client. Jimmy's client outreach efforts are a success and thrive, as he exhibits new heights of showmanship to further his business. Mike is perplexed by is daughter-in-law's troubles, and tries to help her and his grand daughter's financial situation. Jimmy and Kim's relationship grow as she tries to help him with a new job. But Kim frustratingly reminds Jimmy that she went out on a limb to get him this new job and that his actions reflect badly back on her. Jimmy's actions create more waves for Kim. And Mike is cautiously weighing a lucrative proposal that brings about unexpected consequences. Jimmy becomes frustrated with his restrictive job and his relationships at work. Kim attempts to pull herself out of a seemingly thankless hole at her job at HHM. The second season gets more and more into these working and personal relationships and it ends with Jimmy finding comfort in a familiar place. And Kim is offered a life-changing proposal. While Mike finds himself pushed to the limit as his family is threatened.

On par with it's parent show breaking bad which I consider the greatest TV show in history

Bob Odenkirk is great in his role as attorney Saul Goodman is his early days trying to be an honest lawyer before events in his life turned him into the sleazy lawyer Walter White used in Breaking Bad.The series was also filmed in and around the Albuquerque area, and I'm looking forward to getting season 3 when it comes out next year.