January Meme: Breaking Bad via Better Call Saul
Did Better Call Saul change my perception of Breaking Bad?
In a way. Starting, of course, with the titular character. In Breaking Bad, Saul Goodman had been an excellent comic relief character, with the occasional unexpected pathos moment (read: in s5). At times, he was a great blackly humorous Greek Chorus commenting on the main characters. But I had never been curious about his background, or what would happen to him post-show. I hadn't seen the need for the spin-off, in short. The reason why I tuned in was because after five seasons of Breaking Bad, I trusted Vince Gilligan & Co. enough to do so.
This turned out to be a good decision, because Better Call Saul rocks. For several reasons, one of which that yes, it did indeed change my perception of the main character. As has been observed by many people, you start out the show expecting and wanting to see Saul Goodman, and then script and Bob Odenkirk's performance make Jimmy McGill so endearing that you start to dread every sign he's getting closer to his Breaking Bad self. It also means I'm thinking of him now as Jimmy, not Saul, with Saul being a deliberately created persona that reflects some, but not all actual traits. (BTW, one thing both shows share is that while there are external circumstances co-sharing responsibility why the main character turns out the way he does - Walt's cancer, the lousy health care system, Jimmy's relationship with his brother and said brother - in both bases, the main responsibility lies with the main character, and there are several points in the story where he could have made different choices than the ones he makes.
This, btw, did not work in the same way for me when it comes to the second character from Breaking Bad that Better Call Saul delivers backstory for, to wit, Mike. I didn't feel the emotional need for more Mike starting the show. I still don't, and it's gotten to the point where I actively resent the Mike (and Gus) interludes because to me, it feels like they take screen time away from the original Better Call Saul characters like Kim, in past seasons Chuck and Howard. The one original character who gains from the existence of that plot line is Nando, so any scenes with him in it are okay by me, but otherwise: look, after four seasons, I don't feel the Mike storyline has told me anything about Mike I didn't already know when Breaking Bad was broadcast. It feels like it's there so the viewers who tuned into Breaking Bad solely for the action scenes get their bit, and also because Jonathan Banks is cool. (Which he is, I'm not disputing that.) And don't get me started on Kaylee the most unaging kid since the Vorenus offsprings in Rome.
Another thing about Breaking Bad which the existence of Better Call Saul changed for me is that I won't be able to rewatch Breaking Bad without mentally going "I wonder what Kim was doing at that point?" during the seasons. (Because Kim better be alive and well in BB, is what I'm saying.) She's my favourite character on this show, and I love that the narrative doesn't treat her just as there for Jimmy's delelopment but gives her a parallel story in her own right. Kim Wexler: heroine of my heart.
The Other Days
This entry was originally posted at https://selenak.dreamwidth.org/1384587.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.
In a way. Starting, of course, with the titular character. In Breaking Bad, Saul Goodman had been an excellent comic relief character, with the occasional unexpected pathos moment (read: in s5). At times, he was a great blackly humorous Greek Chorus commenting on the main characters. But I had never been curious about his background, or what would happen to him post-show. I hadn't seen the need for the spin-off, in short. The reason why I tuned in was because after five seasons of Breaking Bad, I trusted Vince Gilligan & Co. enough to do so.
This turned out to be a good decision, because Better Call Saul rocks. For several reasons, one of which that yes, it did indeed change my perception of the main character. As has been observed by many people, you start out the show expecting and wanting to see Saul Goodman, and then script and Bob Odenkirk's performance make Jimmy McGill so endearing that you start to dread every sign he's getting closer to his Breaking Bad self. It also means I'm thinking of him now as Jimmy, not Saul, with Saul being a deliberately created persona that reflects some, but not all actual traits. (BTW, one thing both shows share is that while there are external circumstances co-sharing responsibility why the main character turns out the way he does - Walt's cancer, the lousy health care system, Jimmy's relationship with his brother and said brother - in both bases, the main responsibility lies with the main character, and there are several points in the story where he could have made different choices than the ones he makes.
This, btw, did not work in the same way for me when it comes to the second character from Breaking Bad that Better Call Saul delivers backstory for, to wit, Mike. I didn't feel the emotional need for more Mike starting the show. I still don't, and it's gotten to the point where I actively resent the Mike (and Gus) interludes because to me, it feels like they take screen time away from the original Better Call Saul characters like Kim, in past seasons Chuck and Howard. The one original character who gains from the existence of that plot line is Nando, so any scenes with him in it are okay by me, but otherwise: look, after four seasons, I don't feel the Mike storyline has told me anything about Mike I didn't already know when Breaking Bad was broadcast. It feels like it's there so the viewers who tuned into Breaking Bad solely for the action scenes get their bit, and also because Jonathan Banks is cool. (Which he is, I'm not disputing that.) And don't get me started on Kaylee the most unaging kid since the Vorenus offsprings in Rome.
Another thing about Breaking Bad which the existence of Better Call Saul changed for me is that I won't be able to rewatch Breaking Bad without mentally going "I wonder what Kim was doing at that point?" during the seasons. (Because Kim better be alive and well in BB, is what I'm saying.) She's my favourite character on this show, and I love that the narrative doesn't treat her just as there for Jimmy's delelopment but gives her a parallel story in her own right. Kim Wexler: heroine of my heart.
The Other Days
This entry was originally posted at https://selenak.dreamwidth.org/1384587.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.