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| Bob Odenkirk |
Welcome to the TV Recap series Better Recall Saul that chronicles the adventures of Better Call Saul and a young criminal lawyer as he cuts his teeth down in ABQ (and his Breaking Bad buddies might stop by to wish him luck). Feel free to join every Tuesday as the adventures unravel and the story behind one of the funniest and sleaziest lawyers in TV history begins to take form and remind us why he is such a great character in the first place. Is this spin-off meant for greatness, or is it the worst idea that AMC has ever done? You'll have to read on to find out the truth.
Season 2, Episode 1: "Switch"
years, and where has it gotten me?”
- Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk)
Plot:
With Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) turning his back on the law firm, he turns to a life of loitering at a hotel, specifically in floating around in its pool where he takes calls and spies on the other residents. When Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) becomes aware of this, she tries to get him to come back with a zero success rate. They get advice from Ken (Kyle Bornheimer) about investments before understanding the appeal of this sleazy lifestyle. Meanwhile, Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) splits ways with his old business partner Daniel (Mark Proksch) when he buys a flamboyant car and starts to do shady business work with Nacho (Michael Mando) that results in Daniel's house being robbed. The police become suspicious of this as they search his home, finding Daniel's alibi to be a little too suspicious. Jimmy ends by feeling like he must return to work in a law office.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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| Kyle Bornheimer |
MVP:
Ken (Kyle Bornheimer)
The Breaking Bad cameo wagon started quick this season (even quicker than Tuco's surprise pop-up in the first episode), and with such an obscure reference. In my opinion, Ken was the first bad guy in the entire Breaking Bad universe simply because of how annoying he was in "Cancer Man." However, there's something rational and appropriate about him working with Jimmy and Kim to solve their money woes. He presents a gateway to a far more pleasing life, even if he's still somewhat of a cocky, annoying guy as it is. Still, it's nice to see the show understand how to use their obscure character for good on this show, though it's not entirely clear if he'll be receiving that next call or not since the two left him with a large bill.
Best Scene
For an episode that doesn't have a lot going on besides introductions to potential plot points, there was one scene that felt almost as lively as the show's better moments. For fans of the universe, the presence of Ken was already apparent. However, his choice to be indicative to the plot elevated the cameo and made for a compelling scene in which Ken unveils his plans for making a lot of money the easy way. In a way, Jimmy and Kim were already learning how to scam people with their fake names and false modesty as they listened to his plan. Still, the best moment has to be when they leave, gratified by the information, but not enough to simply leave Ken with the check. It's an interesting turn on his shallow obnoxious character on Breaking Bad.
Overall Thoughts
While I was a little skeptical and down on the first season of Better Call Saul, I am hoping to remain just as optimistic and hopeful that this season will amount to what I generally like about Vince Gilligan and company's portrayal of ABQ. While there's not a lot to this episode beyond the return of an obscure character, it still captures the show doing what it does best, and giving me hope that maybe the show will learn from last season and make itself into something better (no Kettlemans, please). For now, there's a lot of clever details that make me think that even if this will never be Breaking Bad great, it at least will be very good.
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