Everything You Need to Know Before Watching "Better Call Saul"

Image via Complex Original

In the scene pictured above, from Breaking Bad's penultimate episode, Saul's making preparations to go into self-imposed witness protection in the aftermath of the Walter White empire's implosion. When Better Call Saul begins, we see our favorite lawyer in Normcore exile, a contrast so stark from his previous lifestyle that the entire sequence is in black and white. From there, the action jumps back to Saul's old days, but who knows? We may visit the future again before the season (or the series) is over.

And what do the old days entail, exactly? The show is basically an origin story, detailing how a downtrodden, struggle-public defender became sleazy attorney-at-law Saul Goodman, literally. In the pilot we learn Saul is actually Jimmy McGill, a lawyer with all of zero clients for whom a name change might prove extremely beneficial. Like any good prequel does, the first seeds of what will become his eventual identity are planted in Jimmy's mind early in the first hour.

In Breaking Bad, Saul isn't exactly a sociopath, but he's very much a self-involved opportunist with no priorities above himself (although, as the show went on, his advice to Walt and Jesse does admittedly go above and beyond paid counsel), a few paid bodyguards, and an equally opportunistic receptionist. But in Better Call Saul, one of the most intriguing supporting characters is Michael McKean's Chuck McGill. The exact family connection isn't specified, yet, but he's a recluse with a mysterious illness (read: probably cancer) and a successful law firm that's dicking him over. Judging from his first appearances, he's going to be the conscience on Saul/Jimmy's shoulder, trying to sway him from the dark side of the law. We know how that battle ends.

No, Walter White, esteemed meth kingpin and The One Who Knocks, probably won't make a proper cameo on Better Call Saul, nor should he ever. In Breaking Bad we met Walt at the very beginning of his dark journey into the criminal underworld; there's no reason for him to ever cross Saul's path, to say nothing of Saul's first appearance in which all signs point to that being their first encounter. And if the series flashes forward again, well, Walt's dead. But Bryan Cranston will still be on set. He's scheduled to direct an episode of BCS later this season, and if you don't think that's worth getting excited about, revisit the Breaking episodes he directed ("Seven Thirty-Seven," "No Más," and "Blood Money"). They held up as some of the most visually memorable episodes in a series that was already teeming with A1 director talent. Whichever episode of Saul Cranston directs, it will no doubt be very easy on the eyes. 

So don't worry about investing in a show that might not stick around. Whether Saul gains a latter-season Breaking Bad level audience from jump or not, AMC believes in it enough to give it the advance renewal. The first season will consist of 10 episodes; 13 for season two are already on deck for winter 2016. Also be sure to remember that while Monday night is Saul's regular time slot, the series premiere will actually go down on a Sunday.