Better Call Saul Review: Uno.

Chapter one, “Uno,” of the new series Better Call Saul worked well.  It introduces Saul, who at this point still goes by his birth name, Jimmy McGill, before he becomes the Saul we all know and loved from Breaking Bad.  To be honest, Saul was my favorite character and I was curious to see if a show can be built around him.  The first episode suggests that there is something to tell.  And because fans of Breaking Bad know that Jimmy transforms into Saul, like Walter transforms into Heisenberg, we hope that the metamorphosis is as compelling as it was for Walter.

It begins with Saul working for a Cinnabon in Omaha. He is under an assumed identify we know from the end of Breaking Bad. It seems like a sad end for Saul, who morosely watches his old commercials. He pines for the old days, like many of us do. The black and white flash forward helps convey the nostalgic sense. And while Saul wasn’t a pillar of the community, his end seems to sting a little compared with Walter White, who got what he deserved.  

The confident, fast-talking Saul we know in “Uno” is nicely juxtaposed. He is not nearly as confident as we think, as he builds up confidence in bathroom before a case involving teen necrophilia. The gallows humor from Vince Gilligan is on full display the court scene demonstrates.

The episode introduces Jimmy’s brother, Chuck played by Michael McKean, himself a brilliant lawyer. Saul’s big brother is terminally sick, we think, though no disease is identified. Saul is cash strapped, much like Walter White was, and we see how the need for money leads to risky decisions.

In an attempt to get some easy cash, Saul enlists some skateboarding grifters to swindle a rich client, but things go wrong. Not everyone cottons well to being swindled. “Uno” ends by re-introducing one of the most fearsome, psychopathic and savage characters conceived on TV—Tuco Salamanca. We already know Tuco and his penchant for violence and his connection to the Mexican drug cartel. Saul needs to put his silver tongue to work as Tuco asks him if he is “punking” he nana. This is a nice call back to Walter and Jesse’s attempt to poison Tuco.  In a seriously tense scene, Tuco asks Uncle Don Hector if he is being “punked.” Ding. Yes.  

Whether the show can sustain  a compelling narrative around Jimmy as he becomes “It’s All Good, Man” is hard to say but the first episode, chapter one, compels me to watch episode two “Mijo.”