better the second time round
It’s hard to tell comparatively, but I probably don’t watch a lot of TV shows. Movies I do. TV shows, no.1Part of the reason why is because I can finish most movies under three hours. That’s not a huge time commitment. But a TV show with multiple seasons, that’s dozens of hours. But of the few TV shows I watch and decide to finish, I deeply enjoy. Nathan Fielder’s Nathan for You and The Rehearsal,2both genre defying comedy. HBO’s Band of Brothers, and Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.
I’ve probably watched Breaking Bad two or three times, mostly from start to finish, and watched Better Call Saul entirely. But this time round, I’m going to try writing some of my comments on it.
I remember my English Literature classes back in the day where we were assigned to read several chapters of a book at once for homework. The next class, we would discuss what we spotted about it. I remember memes being made about how English teachers would pick up on the subtlest things. Like they would ask the class, why do you think the curtains are blue? And the answer the teacher seeks sounds something like “the color blue symbolizes the melancholic nature of the protagonist and foreshadows her impending gloom.” But if you had asked the author the same question, they would say it’s because blue is their favorite color.3I found the meme. It’s more vulgar than I remembered, but I still did not expect to find the meme nor did I expect this type of accuracy from my memory.
spoilers ahead
S1E1: Uno
The prequel of Breaking Bad (BB) starts with a post-Breaking Bad scene. BB portrayed Saul as a cheery guy with an unrealistically high number of hilarious one-liners. It really is all good man (Saul Goodman) when you see him dishing out his lines on screen. He’s comic relief. But in this opening scene of Better Call Saul (BCS), he’s living a bland, colorless life. Darkness and fear fill the screen. James doesn’t speak. There’s little else to focus on but his facial expressions. The only glimpse of color we spot is the reflection from his glasses. He’s watching his old Saul Goodman ads he used to run as a lawyer. Better Call Saul starts here.
Some think there’s no sadder sight in the animal world than seeing birds in cages. Blessed with the ability of flight, but unable to use it, they stay on their feet, hopping around. Flight is an ability our language admires. As the crow flies. Zoom out and see the bigger picture from above. We’re introduced to James’s office; his own cage. The cinematography team and ultimately, the creator of this show could have decided to film this any other way. But they chose top down, with the metal grid of the false ceiling breaking up the view.
Light matters. This is a show centered on how Slippin Jimmy turned into James McGill for the sake of his brother. As James McGill, lying is painful. Every lie twists his conscience. Should he accept bribes if no one is watching? Should he take advantage of his vulnerable brother? Or do good by him? It’s something we see James grasp over and over again in these first few episodes. Where should he stand?
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3 minute read. Writing time: untracked. Editing time: untracked.
First published:
August 4, 2025
Last updated:
Footnotes
- 1Part of the reason why is because I can finish most movies under three hours. That’s not a huge time commitment. But a TV show with multiple seasons, that’s dozens of hours.
- 2both genre defying comedy.
- 3I found the meme. It’s more vulgar than I remembered, but I still did not expect to find the meme nor did I expect this type of accuracy from my memory.