Better Call Saul mid season finale: One of its best cliffhangers to date
The season 6 of Better Call Saul premiere episode 'Wine and Roses' starts with a flashforward sequence of an extravagant mansion being cleaned out, sometime after Breaking Bad, shortly after Saul goes on the lam to Omaha.
As agents seize his possessions, the mansion, which is bedecked with 80s era Versace, reminds us of the mansion from Scarface, and is a great taste of the quintessential Better Call Saul cinematographic experience.
However, the last episode in the mid season, 'Plan and Execution' left the fans in utter shock. The fans are now more eager than ever to discover where the plot will go when the show returns on 11 July this year.
The show is focused on Jimmy McGill's (Bob Odenkirk) transformation into the crooked criminal defence attorney known as Saul Goodman. The season premiered with two-episodes and picked up right where season 5's finale left off, with Saul and Kim (Rhea Seehorn) plotting to take down Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian).
On the Cartel front, Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton) carefully plots his revenge against fan favourite Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito).
While Saul and Kim scheme upon their scandalous plans, Nacho has a big mission to achieve regarding Lalo Salamanca. Up until midway to the season, Nacho Varga has been the star of the show and receives extraordinary character development.
The highly intelligent, quiet, and somewhat reserved career criminal with dubious loyalty to the Cartel, played by the actor Michael Mando, deserves an Emmy for his phenomenal acting. He shines this season and chews up every second of screen time that is given him.
Another surprising character development is Kim Wexler's. What happened to the righteous lawyer who was never pleased with Jimmy's subversive ways? It has to be more than her love for him. Kim enjoys her vicious side which kind of feels similar to Walter White (Bryan Cranston) from Breaking Bad.
This season comes down to one question. If she continues supporting Saul's crooked work, what happens to her later?
Coming to the protagonist of the show, Saul Goodman, we see his style of lawyering mature and cement in season 6. Bob Odenkirk is an absolute treat to watch as a fully realised Saul Goodman.
With every episode, the show gets closer to the Breaking Bad timeline when Walt and Jesse (Aaron Paul) get a hold of Saul, alluding to the iconic TV duo's return.
The challenges are innumerable, whether it is for Saul, Kim, Gus, Nacho, Mike, Lalo or any of the other bad boys. But the person who suffers the most in the latest season is Howard Hamlin, and you shall have to discover the why yourself.
Breaking Bad might be the greatest TV show ever produced in terms of its script writing and character set-up.
Now, having said that, one might not have much expectations from the spin off series of a character who wasn't even one of the leads. There were characters like Gustavo Fring or Jesse Pinkman or even the other Cartels which came and went and had the potential to be explored and stories that deserved to be told. But Better Call Saul proves that Odenkirk deserved his time in the spotlight.
And that's where the director, Vince Gilligan stands out. He has weaved a story and history which spider webs through the Breaking Bad world, and manages to leave the narrative of the original series perfect and intact.
Better Call Saul is sublime and the heights of storytelling, writing, acting, and plot twists. This show has only gotten better through the seasons and we cannot wait to see how it unfolds and finally merges with Breaking Bad in the season finale.
