Breaking Bad re-watch: Season 2, Episode 8: "Better Call Saul"

As the title suggests, this episode introduces the funniest character on the show: Bob Odenkirk’s uber-shady lawyer (or as Jesse puts it, not a criminal lawyer, but a “criminal lawyer”) Saul Goodman. After Jesse (Aaron Paul) learns his dealer Badger (Matt L. Jones) is busted, he and Walt (Bryan Cranston) enlist Goodman to get them out of the jam by legal or not-so-legal means.

The character seems like one that shouldn’t work in such a crime drama; the overly and comically sleazy scumbag looks like a better fit for a sitcom. But work he does. Chalk one up for the show’s writers for abandoning the mold and giving us something other than an archetype we’re used to, and for Odenkirk for making Saul sharp and funny but keeping him grounded enough to be believable amongst the darker characters. I’ll definitely be checking out the proposed spinoff (if Saul makes it out alive, that is; I’m not counting out the possibility that this is just a red herring and he gets it before the end, even with Vince Gilligan's assurance that he won't).

The episode harkens back to the first season, when the show was more darkly comical than just dark. The opening, where Badger completely figures out the buyer played by DJ Qualls is really a cop and then falls into his trap anyway, plays like a comedy sketch. The scene where Walt and Jesse kidnap and threaten Saul—who not only talks his way out of danger but completely usurps the upper hand from them with nothing but his mouth—is brilliant, both hilarious and insightful about the attorney’s character. There won’t be many more episodes with a humorous tone, but Saul and his cohorts pepper the series with comic relief, while also loading the DVDs with his hilariously bad commercials.

In the episode’s only unfunny (and intentionally not funny) moment, Walt gives Hank (Dean Norris) a pep talk to get him out of his PTSD-triggered mental prison, unwittingly sending his own bother-in-law on his trail. Saul points out that having a conscience can be costly, and Walt proves him right. Though Saul was talking about a dollar amount, while the price of Walt’s familial council is a headache that will follow him for the rest of the show.