The first season of Better Call Saul was all about establishing legitimacy...proving that it could set itself apart from (while still existing in the same universe as) Breaking Bad. It passed that test with flying colors! In this second season, then, the show would be allowed some room to breathe and settle in to what it really wanted to be. For the most part, it was a solid season, filled with the same quirky Vince Gilligan longform storytelling. It also, however, perhaps begins to push the boundaries of how slow a story can unfold over the course of a season.
For a basic plot summary (some spoilers included), this season does an abrupt 180 from where the first one left off. Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) decides to take a job at Davis & Main after all, where he gets the cocobolo desk and seemingly the position of his dreams. The only problem? He has to conform and think inside the box created by Clifford Main (Ed Begley Jr.). This is not a situation that is conducive to "Slippin' Jimmy's" way of life. Meanwhile, Jimmy's relationship with Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) is taken to another level, complicating her HHM lawyer-ship under Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian) and Chuck McGill (Michael McKean). Of course, Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) is always lurking around too, in this season putting the toll booth behind him for good and getting mixed up in some cartel business primarily involving Nacho Varga (Michael Mando), and also teasing an old Breaking Bad nemesis (whom I won't spoil for you here).
There is no doubt that I enjoyed watching this second campaign of "Better Call Saul". With the exception of maybe 1-2 episodes, they were all quite entertaining and full of that distinct Gilligan style. There is nobody on TV right now (or perhaps in history) that has told stories quite like Gilligan, combining tight stories with character drama and even a healthy dose of witty humor thrown in. Even the visual style of the show is unlike anything I've seen on TV since, well, "Breaking Bad"! If you can get into that sort of thing, you'll savor this season much like you did the first.
The reason I can't give this the full five stars, however, is because it is significantly slower than anything previously (or anything on "Breaking Bad"). I felt like the show was really, really taking its time and perhaps dragging its feet a bit. I don't want to criticize this aspect too much (and thus the solid 4-star ranking), but there were times where I wished the action would move along at a bit of a brisker pace. Even the first season covered significantly more ground and topics than this season. In a certain sense, though, perhaps this is inevitable for a show that can't get to its expiration date too quickly due to the sheer existence of "Breaking Bad".
Overall, I still enjoyed watching the second season of "Better Call Saul" each week, as there is nothing else like it on TV right now. I gave the first season four stars, and this slate gets the same treatment. It took me a couple of seasons to really buy into "Breaking Bad" too, though, and in that instance the third season pretty much blew my socks off! Perhaps a similar thing will happen here (as the show will indeed return for a third effort)...I hope so!
For a basic plot summary (some spoilers included), this season does an abrupt 180 from where the first one left off. Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) decides to take a job at Davis & Main after all, where he gets the cocobolo desk and seemingly the position of his dreams. The only problem? He has to conform and think inside the box created by Clifford Main (Ed Begley Jr.). This is not a situation that is conducive to "Slippin' Jimmy's" way of life. Meanwhile, Jimmy's relationship with Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) is taken to another level, complicating her HHM lawyer-ship under Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian) and Chuck McGill (Michael McKean). Of course, Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) is always lurking around too, in this season putting the toll booth behind him for good and getting mixed up in some cartel business primarily involving Nacho Varga (Michael Mando), and also teasing an old Breaking Bad nemesis (whom I won't spoil for you here).
There is no doubt that I enjoyed watching this second campaign of "Better Call Saul". With the exception of maybe 1-2 episodes, they were all quite entertaining and full of that distinct Gilligan style. There is nobody on TV right now (or perhaps in history) that has told stories quite like Gilligan, combining tight stories with character drama and even a healthy dose of witty humor thrown in. Even the visual style of the show is unlike anything I've seen on TV since, well, "Breaking Bad"! If you can get into that sort of thing, you'll savor this season much like you did the first.
The reason I can't give this the full five stars, however, is because it is significantly slower than anything previously (or anything on "Breaking Bad"). I felt like the show was really, really taking its time and perhaps dragging its feet a bit. I don't want to criticize this aspect too much (and thus the solid 4-star ranking), but there were times where I wished the action would move along at a bit of a brisker pace. Even the first season covered significantly more ground and topics than this season. In a certain sense, though, perhaps this is inevitable for a show that can't get to its expiration date too quickly due to the sheer existence of "Breaking Bad".
Overall, I still enjoyed watching the second season of "Better Call Saul" each week, as there is nothing else like it on TV right now. I gave the first season four stars, and this slate gets the same treatment. It took me a couple of seasons to really buy into "Breaking Bad" too, though, and in that instance the third season pretty much blew my socks off! Perhaps a similar thing will happen here (as the show will indeed return for a third effort)...I hope so!