Better Call Saul

Last week, the Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul had its two-night, two-episode debut, and Vince Gilligan did not disappoint fans hoping he still had more holes to dig in the New Mexico desert (he does!). The central character this time around is Saul Goodman, the slimy lawyer who helped meth-master Walt manage his dirty business. We are introduced to Saul a decade or so before the events in Breaking Bad, when he was still Jimmy McGill, a small-time lawyer struggling to make ends meet as a public defender, and desperation is just starting to motivate him to bend the rules to further his career. So far, the show isn't completely smooth. The fearsome Tuco (Raymond Cruz) of the previous series makes an appearance, and his character was uneven bordering on ridiculous—one minute he's no-nonsense, focused and immune to Jimmy's charm, the next he seems foolish and susceptible to every desperate last-ditch manipulation. But Bob Odenkirk is absolutely incredible in the title role. And if Gilligan and company stay true to the long-game approach of the show's predecessor, Better Call Saul will be an exhilarating and intriguing story of the transformation of one well-intentioned man whose ambition and natural gift for persuasion leads him into a life where he'll need to constantly tap into his talents just to stay one step ahead of the Tucos of the world.