Why Better Call Saul is the BEST Show of 2023
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- Опубликовано: 2 июн 2024
- A video essay diving into all the great aspects of Better Call Saul like it's great characters, narrative, cinematography, acting, and more. It may have lost best drama series to Succession, but I'm going to make the case for why Better Call Saul is the best show of 2023 and why it deserves more praise.
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Thank you to my Patron: Logan Farmer
Music:
Epidemic Sound
Jusant Soundtrack - Mirage, Migration, and 9C+ Caillasses
Chapters:
Intro (0:00)
Riveting Characters - Kim (0:24)
Kim x Jimmy (3:51)
Jimmy (5:54)
Mike (9:01)
Nacho (10:43)
Lalo (12:19)
Gus (13:45)
Howard (15:52)
Chuck (17:55)
Perfect Prequel (19:43)
Creative Visual Storytelling & Hidden Meaning (24:47)
Mesmerizing Subtle Acting (32:26)
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BCS 4th season lost the emmy to GOT 8th season. Thats a real tragedy.
That just proves quality isn’t a significant factor for the Emmys
@@theWn123 never has been in those circles. when there's an award show, its basically unlicensed boxing. big boys put their money in and.. well, 3th round KO when they say 3th round KO.
in the words of Don Hector " Sucia, sucia gente" XD
popularity wins you emmys
@@theWn123all these awards signify not your filmmaking skills and storytelling or acting. Simply put, it’s almost every time about you rubbing the right elbows and dining with the right people..
Better Call Saul season 1 - 4 are much worser versions of game of thrones season 8. Game of Thrones season 8 only had bad writing but is insanely interesting rather than watching jimmy McGill daily routine without the court cases
Nacho, Howard, Lalo, Kim etc are such great characters. Its actually insane how bcs introduces so many great characters while also improving every BB character
The Salamancas didn’t have ONE bad, mid or forgettable character.. that still surprises me.
@@firstlast9846It's even crazier when you remember how relatively little screentime Tuco and the twins had yet they are still memorable characters.
Hard disagree. I stoped watching specifically because the b plot got so boring.
@@ayeoneup7645 Sucks to be you then. I've enjoyed every scene since season 3 immensely. BCS is at least among the top 10 of dramas ever made.
@@excalibro8365 Oh excellent. Can you tell me if I can watch the series and somewhat have it make sense while skipping the b plots?
Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut was such a great casting. Phenomenal actor in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul
Every time it was a Nacho episode I was 10 times more invested. Goated actor, goated character.
*The fact Ted Lasso* won more Emmy’s than this is a disgrace.
Ted Lasso is a woke TV Show, so I am not surprised
@peterpachnik - I don’t care about “woke” stuff I just hated how it tackled the issues with no subtlety and just plain bad, corny writing.
Ted Lasso is a great show.
Yeah but let’s be real no one’s gonna remember Ted Lasso in a few years but BCS will continue to be talked about for a long time to come. Just like BrBa still is even though it ended over 10 years ago.
Ted lasso is a genuinely great show, there’s no reason to degrade a good show just bc u feel unhappy w an award choice
Kim is the perfect example of how to write the “strong independent female” protagonist properly.
How Kim never won a Emmy is a tragedy
Actually, Kim's actress named is Rhea Sheehorn, Kim is just the name of the character
I wasn’t a huge Howard fan but his ending was a Red Wedding level shock to me.
I honestly think BCS is a better show than Breaking Bad. For everything you mentioned: such as the cinematography and the subtle details and for me especially in the gray area of the morality of Jimmy. In BrBa at some point, Walter becomes Heisenberg, becomes a bad guy, and it is much easier to identify him as such. With Jimmy/Saul I never knew what he was thinking, how far gone is he really, does he really want this? I thought this push pull of good vs evil in their character was utterly entrancing. Instead of being able to draw a clear line who was Walter, and who is Heisenberg I never could figure out whether I was looking at Jimmy or Saul
It’s not better than breaking bad but it’s definitely a phenomenal show. Easily a top 15 show I’ve seen
@@raymondsims7042with the final season it took that spot from me
I agree with you. Jimmy is such a fascinating character
It's not even close to breaking bad...
@@samjohnson7869This is a ridiculous claim
Vince and company truly mastered their craft in terms of cinematography, editing, writing, etc. The visual storytelling alone elevates it to such a degree that it dunks on most shows out there today. Everyone was firing on all cylinders and the show just kept getting better and better as it went on. One of those rare shows that respected its audience and told its story in a masterfully measured way. I truly believe it rivals breaking bad in terms of pure quality and you could make a compelling argument that it even surpasses it, which is wild to think could have been a possibility when it was first announced.
“With good behavior, who knows?”
Bad writing, entire point of the show is for Jimmy McGill to start working for criminals which he was already doing from the beginning of the show. Watch better shows goofy
Peter Gould wasn’t mentioned once…
yeah lol I was losing my mind. afaik gould was as if not more involved in this show.
Wait... The finale aired in August 2022. So obviously not. But it was a great series. RIP
Yeah I was gonna say that in 2022 it should've won. I wonder why Supercuts Delight thinks it lasted until 2023
@@Spongebrain97because even though the finale aired August 2022, it was eligible for the 2023 Emmys (the Emmy award show itself got delayed from Sep 2023 to Jan 2024). But yeah, the video’s title is misleading.
Overated Show
@@iammiller5478 why are you here?
One thing that I found interesting about Gus that we learned from BCS was the fact that his actions weren’t like Nachos his last resort. His hatred for Hector and seek of revenge was so strong that he was solely driven by it. For example, at the scene where he had wine with a friend he could’ve just left the drug business and went on to have a normal life, but he chose differently.
I doubt if he could go on to have a normal life specially since he was already so deeply involved with the cartel
@@alidurrani2473 maybe I exaggerated the possible outcome a bit but nevertheless he had the chance to leave his revenge plans behind and start a new life with a (possibly) romantic relationship with someone who obviously liked him and wanted to spent more time with him but he decided to leave and that makes him in my opinion even darker than he already was (no pun intended) because he was so dedicated to complete his plans and didn’t want any distractions. It’s not like he has no other choice.
He is like the living embodiment of a dish best served cold
Fantastic analysis mate, truly. However, I feel like I have to point out an issue that I have noticed in several videos praising Better Call Saul, and that is giving Vince Gilligan all the credit when it comes to the creative aspects of the show. I don't know if this is a well known fact, but Saul Goodman was Peter Gould's idea and creation, since he first wrote the character in the episode that introduced Saul in Breaking Bad. Peter and Vince were creators and co-showrunners of Better Call Saul, until Vince left the writers room after season three and Peter was left as the sole showrunner and remained as such for the rest of the series. Yeah, Vince remained as a director for a few episodes of the later seasons, but he wasn't a writer for the show again until the second part of season six. So all the praise for this show that people give to Vince, should go to Peter in equal if not bigger rates
Completely agree!! Give the man his due credit!
Should be noted that Peter didn't "create" Saul, he wrote the episode that he was introduced in but just like every character and story beat Saul was first created by all of the writers working together in the writer's room before Peter wrote a single word of the script.
Amen! I point this out all the time.
Yes! Every time he mentions how Vince Gilligan did this or that, I wanted to yell at my screen, PETER GOULD! I love Vince, he's an amazing writer and director, but he wasn't there for a large chunk of the show. Also, we never would have gotten Lalo as a character if it had been up to Vince. Peter and the BCS writers kept pressing that there needed to be a reason that Saul was so terrified in the desert when Walt and Jesse kidnapped him. His biggest concern was, "Did Lalo send you?!" So they found Tony Dalton, and he really added another dimension to the show. Bravo, Peter.
The Emmys is a popularity contest nowadays for the most part.
Shut up, better call saul is boring
@iammiller5478 Nah, you just have an attention span of a peanut, and don't understand good storytelling if it hit you in the face.
@@iammiller5478just proves that you are too young for this show
@@liang7846 no you are
you're a kid
Better Call Saul is just amazing.
Everyone brought their best performance from all the actors to the writers, director, cinematography, editing, lighting, sound, costume and set design.
It's just wonderful to see so many skilled people come together and create such a great show.
Not The Best Show
can’t stop thinking in that interview where Robert McKee (the author behind Story, basically The screenwriting bible) said that BCS is the best show ever written. and yeah, it doesn’t need an award in order to prove its own value
Easily a top fifteen show ever in my opinion i agree that it doesn’t need a worthless Emmy to prove it’s an all time great. The best show ever (the wire) doesn’t even have one. Bcs is a masterpiece and I think it’ll always be viewed as one.
Glad you are uploading your usual quality content again and that you have your channel back!
Great video! Would love to see more analysis by you on this show and these characters. Your focus on subtleties is one of my favorite aspects of your videos and this show is riddled with them.
I’m glad you got your channel back. Love these breakdowns and discussions
Great analysis and video as always. Also, 17:45 Jim and Kimmy 😂
Great video! Thanks
I think Dan Murrell put it best when he said that when it comes to the Emmys, its not necessarily what won over Saul was not as good, but definitely felt more like they voted for "the flavour of the month."
Great video!! Definitely a fantastic show that sadly haven’t been properly recognized.
By the way, I would love to watch one of your videos talking about Succession.
outstanding analysis. great show.
Mid show
Nacho is my favorite character... His death was heartbreaking
36 mins of BCS talk, this is the reason I’m a subscriber 😭🙏
36 minutes of meat riding an OVERATED show
Great work
ive always wanted you to talk ab this show
Good video. Two things, though: (1) Peter Gould did most of the showrunning for BCS, not Vince Gilligan. (2) It's "Ray" Seehorn, not "Ree-uh" Seehorn.
Thank you for making this video, this show is so special to me. I don’t know why it resonates with me so much as I’ve watched many amazing shows. But they always felt like they were lacking on something, even breaking bad annoyed me sometimes with its 1 step forward 2 steps back (which was the point, so it’s preference) but I was constantly enthralled by Jimmy and Kim.
Me too. Breaking Bad is near perfect but it has a lot of slow moments. BCS just hits hard every episode with so much going on. Enthralling.
Better call saul is mid
@@iammiller5478 I’m sorry you think that
@@samimiled2684 yeah I'm sorry for you
Hell yea, great video
Better Call Saul should've won so many emmys, its a top 3 show
I’d have bcs top 15 ish so still very very high but I agree with your point it’s kinda crazy it didn’t win a single emmy. But it doesn’t anything the best show ever (the wire) didn’t even win an Emmy they’re worthless
Doesn't even make top 10 on my list
L show
@@iammiller5478 What is your top 10? Just curious.
@@maddi459
1. Game of Thrones
2. The Wire
3. The Sopranos
4. Attack on Titan
5. Stranger Things
6. Breaking Bad
7. Dark
8. The Last Of Us
9. Spartacus
10. Boardwalk Empire
Way to go Rob 🔥🔥🔥
I hope you’ll definitely do your videos of Mr. Robot, Breaking Bad, and The Sopranos, and I agree with you that Better Call Saul is definitely one of the best prequels/shows ever made
But not the best show
But better call saul ended in 2022, right?
BCS is so great its greatness boils over into 2023
Can confirm still in 2024; just finished
Could not agree more. Such a shame it was never given the award recognition it deserved.
I love this video, but please give proper recognition where it is needed. Vince Gilligan left BCS after the second season, and didn’t return until the sixth season. Even when Vince returned to the show Peter Gould remained as show runner. Bravo Peter.
I rewatched breaking bad and better call saul. BCS was BY FAR the better show of the two. All the way through. I think it just does everything better, even its highs are better. I just loved Jimmy and it’s so tragic to watch him go from being a person who wants and tries his best to dl better but to be beat down by a single man seek retribution on him. The extra layer being that they never even get to know why they both hate each other so much.
Naw breaking bad is better than bcs but that’s alright breaking bad is a top ten show ever and only is slightly better than bcs. Both are masterpieces
bro Gus "defeating" Lalo was some of the dumbest shit in the entire BB/BCS universe. Lalo literally won but then Gus had to survive to be in BB so it was like "but actually, Gus won." Him planting a gun there, buying time with the speech, and kicking the lights out should not have been nearly enough to save him. It absolutely devastates Lalo's reputation as a dangerous person. If the outcome wasn't predetermined, the logical way this scene would go would be Gus gets merked either the second he makes his sudden movement, as he's running away, or just in the middle of him dissing the cartel, followed by a good laugh from Lalo. What we got was simultaneously an unreasonably clutch play and a horrendously unreasonable choke by one of the least likely characters to choke like that in the show. Goddamn that ending was lazy and bad
I get the sentiment, but I disagree. They essentially put Gus' fate in terms of a 50-50 flip of a coin -- Gus recongizes that Lalo and Gus are botb Apex predators and even with all of Mike's guile and soldiers Lalo and Gus operate at a different level, like demigods among mere men. The battle belongs among peers alone. On top of that Gus' battle with the Salamancas is personal -- Gus MUST win on his own terms, no one else's. I was disapponted that they wrapped up Nacho's fate so early -- I had hoped that the writers would have come up with an intricate plot that would marry Nacho's fate to that of Lao and Gus & Jimmy in a thematically resonant manner and wild, epic climactic episode -- something like Ozymandias. Instead the threads of character fates were handled more piecemeal, simply, ironically resembling (in the broadest strokes) the disasterous final season of GoT.
I respectfully disagree. As I see it, the manner in which Lalo was beaten by Gus was in fact very poetic and fitting for the character. Yes, Lalo was a great strategist, clearly superior in physical strength and very patient. But he was also full of himself, always striving to be seen and to put on a good show. And he just couldn't help himself. Think about the first time we were introduced to him - taking over the kitchen in the Taco joint and blasting his favorite song in full volume. This, combined with him seemingly having an advantage over Gus, was why he let his guard down. He lost because of his one serious weakness - his showmanship.
Lalo was a fantastic villian. Smart, cunning, dangerous, but most importantly, lucky. There's so many times in BCS where Lalo just gets lucky. But with his shootout with Gus, his luck just ran out.
I kind of agree with the original post but I don't think Gus' victory should be a surprise. He set everything up beforehand, and reasonably would. I just think it's unfortunate to have another amazing villain lose because they were overconfident when they had an easy victory.
The way we receive the writing isn't favorable for the series either: if we see Gus set up his victory against Lalo, it's predictable and obvious. We say the same thing when Gus wins, because it was deliberately set up, but they couldn't just not show Gus plan ahead, because then we call it an asspull when he suddenly starts blasting. Double bind, we're not happy either way, huh? Should we just have Lalo lose in a more satisfying way?
Please do a video essay analysis of chuck and Saul. The subs want it
gr8 video
The back half of series six was not up to its usual standard... not to mention that blunder of a series finale. Apart from that amazing degree of character assassination, it was a brilliant show.
What character assassination do you speak of?
How was the series finale a blunder and what character assassination took place?
It was good, but the last season did feel kinda padded. Some episodes could've been shorten or even combined. Whereas Succession felt more tightly written and every scene mattered. I liked both shows, but Succession definitely deserved all the awards it got.
Finally someone told the truth and explored the greatness of this series. You are one of the best criticism channels I know. Success. #DunePartTwo #ForMuadDib #LongLiveTheFighters
Nice video. But I’m pretty sure the final season aired mid 2022?
That's what I've been thinking
Just yes
I watched succession and the cinematography & directing is great. As well as the acting etc, but there are heights BCS hit that succession just couldnt
Naw I think succession reached similar heights but is a bit more consistent. Both are legendary shows though
Succession is better than boring called salt
@@iammiller5478why do you hate so much Better Call Saul? You are in all the comments?
@@henrique3887 because of the fans
Such an insane show
Top 15 ever for me
I think the Emmy voters just did not watch this show. I don't know how it is possible to watch this show and not give it a single award. It's not possible and I'll die on that hill
Agreed
Vince Gilligan definitely deserves all the credit he gets for this show, but Peter Gould deserves just as much for BCS! I believe he was pretty much the show runner since season 4 or something (I may be wrong about this)
Haven’t seen succession I’m sure it’s good and deserves the award but it’s such a shame, BCS deserves all the awards
Could have been worse at least. Succession 100% deserves best drama, and its way better than when they made Game of Thrones season 8 win it a few years back. Still a shame tho that throughout BCS's entire runtime, it was constantly in second place behind another show.
yoooo. new video
Just going through this and really enjoying it, but had to stop to mention something. @ 7:30 - "The way in which Vince Gilligan explores this path for the finale, I think is utterly brilliant." Peter Gould wrote and directed the final episode. Peter Gould was the one who came up w/ Saul as a character and wrote the episode in which he made his first appearance in Breaking Bad (titled Better Call Saul). People talk about the "Gilliverse," and I get that. Breaking Bad was Vince's baby. And yeah... no Breaking Bad, no Better Call Saul. Capiche. But the Better Call Saul half of the Gilliverse is more Gould's baby than Vince's. For some it's probably no big deal, but it always kinda annoys me when folks assume Gilligan has written and directed everything here. There's so much talent in this BB/BCS world and it's very cool to try and acknowledge as much of it as we can. These people have given us the greatest work ever created in television history. Far surpassing anything that's come before. We owe them. Gonna hop back in and watch the rest now :)
one thing to add is how the show establishes why jimmy thought he got kidnapped by lalo in BB. By him believing he was dead right up until he walked in behind howard showed that he developed disbelief in his actual death later.
I forgot it even came out in 2023 because I binge watched the entire series this year 😂 So good
I think Howard’s death best shows that entering the world of crime hurts the people around you. Kim getting involved and Nacho worrying about his dad are obvious, but Howard was always kept separate from the cartel storyline.
Succesion.
I just rewatch BCS is defitely my favorite show of all time
Same
Just remember, the Emmys gave the final season of Game of Thrones and actor Lee Jung-Jae an Emmy which call means squat diddily squat.
Brother To Young Defiant. The show is an 8/10 at best. Not close to Game Of Thrones, The Boys, Dark, Stranger Things, Attack on Titan, Breaking Bad, Peaky Blinders, The Last Kingdom, Sherlock, True Detective season 1. Better wake up to reality
YES! I was a part of the discord chat that made this video happen😅
Didn't the last season of BCS come out in 2022?
succession is SO CLEAR. Genuinely does every single thing better. very rare L from you.
Not everything but I do agree succession is better
It'll be years till we get another show equal or greater than this.
Succession is even better imo.
@@alucard00774How?
@@bilkywaygalaxy First two seasons of BCS were boring. Succession was far more entertaining with a better taste of humor and a more relatable topic, which is family.
@@bilkywaygalaxysuccession is slightly better than bcs
slippin' jimmy ❤🔥
Thank you! The second biggest robbery since The Wire not getting any and only getting nominated twice. Didn’t GOT S8 win best drama? Emmy’s? What a sick joke!
slippin kimmy 😎
this is one of my rare "simping for" moments, but damn that woman is a fckn beauty. and the way she established the Kim wexler character was, like you said, a strong woman done well. far from perfect, crosses boundaries she shouldn't, out of both love and the rush of mischief, but yet gives an arm to help complete strangers etc etc. great character, SO to rhea seehorn.💯
lalo and nacho my fav side characters tho... what lalo brought to the table in just 2 seasons is insane and he's probably one of the best antagonists in series period (to me). man has the definition of a "killer smile". you know he is aa gangster through and through, shows commando levels of discipline, but always that smile which you know is sinister, but really hits home after *spoiler*
what he does to Howard 😱💀
and yeah yeah you can say Fred too, or his convo with tio hector, the way even Eladio treats him with more respect than he did hector. but that Howard thing was a real kick to the stomach :s
nacho and Howard..... tragic af but great characters. still one of the greatest series there is!
💯
I feel like ur forgetting to credit the real man behind better call Saul, Peter Gould! U keep mentioning Vince but it was all Goulds idea in the first place
The Roy family would like to know your location.
The only prequel that's even better than it's already great original.
Nowhere close to the original
@@iammiller5478 Even though I really love Breaking Bad, I have to admit that BCS is better, that's a fact
@@henrique3887 nah that's some delusion there buddy
@@henrique3887 both shows are extremely overated but at least breaking bad was watchable before season 5 whereas better call saul was total boredom and a pain in the a$$ until season 6. I'll score it an 8/10 at the most on a good day but breaking bad definitely gets a 9/10 from me
can someone explain, why 2023? Didn't it end in 2022?
Succession deserves it 👀
“Breaking bad would not have gotten a single Emmy if it wasn’t for bob odenkirk.”
"Breaking Bad couldn't have made it without me."
this show was such an incredibly slow build and the payoff was so worth it, it’s so hard to explain to those who haven’t watched
17:45 Jim and kimmy lol
Lalo is the grearest villain ive seen on television.
😂😂😂😂😂😂
I hated the ending though. He would of gotten 7 years and gave it up to confess to Kim in court he was wrong.
isnt the last season from 2022?..
I love this video and think it’s a brilliant analysis of the show, but I just have to make a sort of pedantic note. Not to take any credit away from Vince Gilligan, but I think Peter Gould deserves just as much credit too. He co-created the show and from Season 4 onwards was the sole showrunner after Vince stepped away to do El Camino and other projects. He did come back to the writers room in the final season though.
Agree to disagree but I also view Lalo more as Peter’s creation than Vince’s. Lalo was introduced when Peter was fully running the show, and Vince even admitted on the podcast that he was hesitant to bring Lalo into the show. But Peter convinced him that the character would play a vital and necessary part in the story.
Wrong it’s house of the dragon
2023?
17:46 Jim and Kimmy 😂😂😂
Award shows don’t mean shit these days
They do...?
Its a fucking crime that Rhea didn't get an emmy. Being nominated is nice but she is one of the best actresses ive ever seen.
Better Call Saul came out in 2022 tho??
BCS not winning a single Emmy might be the greatest robbery of modern television.
Good video, but I think Peter Gould deserves credit for the finale. He wrote and directed it.
i loves BCS AND BREAKING BAD
Never won for acting, cinematography, directing, writing, editing, etc. Great video though!!!!
You saying Ashoka SHOULDNT have brought back an akin?
If I watched and skipped every mike/nacho/gus scene bc they boring would the show still make sense? Legit question. Need answers.
no, their paths cross too much
@@sedernaa damn
I loved Succession, but BCS is still far and away my fav show of all time.
Both BCS and Succession are such amazing shows it’s hard for me to pick which one I think deserved the Emmy, but the fact that Succession has won so many awards while Better Call Saul has won approximately zero, makes my pick obvious.
Looks like someone didn’t watch HBOs Barry.
It is.
Hey hey you eat the algorithm points. Channels still in the YT rating doghouse from the hack a bit? Is it?
Why is it the best of 2023? It ended in 2022
I honestly liked it more than Breaking Bad 'cause you can tell they've matured after BB and perfected the formula