Breaking Bad S2E8: Better Call Saul!

[canyonwalker]

Season 2 episode 8 of Breaking Bad introduces memorable supporting character, Saul Goodman, portrayed by Bob Odenkirk. Saul is a strip mall lawyer who advertises on bus stops and in cheesy local TV station ads. So why is he so memorable- and why did the writers spin off a multi-season series, Better Call Saul, starring him and his story? It's evident from just one episode why audiences are fascinated with him. Here are Five Things:

• Early scenes in the episode show Saul's ads on bus stop benches with the slogan "Better Call Saul!" and a clip of Saul's TV ad where he vamps for the camera while making a pitch that ends with the same slogan. The TV ad paints Saul as an ambulance chaser and probably not very successful lawyer, yet it's corny in a way that makes a viewer curious to see a bit more about him.
• Saul's first "live" scene is responding to a call from Jesse's friend, "Badger", who's just been arrested by the local police. Fast-talking Saul shows up at the jail asking Badger why he committed some misdemeanor like defecating in public. "What, couldn't you hold it?" he teases. He's so cavalier that it takes him a while to realize he's sorted his files wrong and Badger is the client being charged with a much more serious crime, felony drug distribution. Watching Saul is like watching a slow motion replay of a gymnast falling off a balance beam. It's embarrassing but we can't turn away.
• When Walt and Jesse arrive at Saul's office to pay his retainer for defending Badger, Walt objects that the gaudy strip-mall location with a big inflatable mascot on the roof indicates a third-rate lawyer. Jesse responds, "We need not just a criminal lawyer but a criminal lawyer." This is where I was hooked. Jesse knows something about Saul beyond his corny advertising and business defending petty criminals.

[The last two reveal plot twists in this episode]

• Walt poses as Badger's uncle to pay Saul and discuss the case. Saul explains his plan is to have Badger rat out "Heisenberg"- that's Walt's code name- to get off with a comparative slap on the wrist, Walt offers Saul extra money to choose a different defense. Saul angrily explains Walt's asking him to do something illegal. Maybe Saul's trashy but not corrupt?
• That night, Walt and Jesse kidnap Saul and repeat their demand at gunpoint. 😱 In trying to talk his way out of it, Saul reveals that he's worked for at least one drug cartel in the past. He then offers to help them make their drug business more successful, in exchange for a cut of the revenues.

So, yeah, I see how Odenkirk's Saul really intrigued audiences. Already I'm wondering, was he always dirty, or did something corrupt him? Did he try something bad as a result of despair, as Walt did with trying to find money to pay for his treatment without bankrupting his family? Or was he just corrupted by good, old, venal greed? Better call Saul!