Sunday, March 22, 2015

What I’m Watching: Better Call Saul


Better Call Saul: Season 1, Episode 7 “Bingo” (B+)

Following up on last week’s great flashback installment, this hour solidified the fact that this show is indeed a compelling new series with a fascinating perspective. I think that the Kettlemans are truly fantastic characters, and they belong so completely in this show’s extended universe. Craig has no personality whatsoever and is entirely feckless, bending to the every need and whim of his wife. Betsy, on the other hand, is so incredibly intense in her defense of not having done anything wrong and her judgment of other people. Kim being honest with them about their options triggered vehement denial in her, and Jimmy showing up to notify them that their money was gone was such sweet revenge. It’s good that Jimmy did Kim a favor, since he needs to make friends now that he has achieved his newfound success. Mike was a fitting partner for him, and as we well know, this won’t be the end of their interactions. Mike’s situation was solved rather simply after Omid Abtahi’s Detective Abbasi yelled at him and at Jimmy, with Barry Shabaka Henley’s Detective Sanders spelling out a much simpler truth and working things out with Mike on a professional level. Chuck forcing himself to go outside to work past his allergy to electricity is terrific, and I’m eager to see how him get back to being more functional, although something tells me that he and this new version of Jimmy won’t work together all that well in the real world if they ever get back there.

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