Better Call Saul is one of the greatest TV shows ever made — it may have even surpassed its predecessor, Breaking Bad — but when you go back and rewatch it, there are a few minor flaws that stand out (and a few grim storylines that are hard to sit through). Howard’s death never gets any easier to watch, and the Sandpiper case never gets any more exciting.
10 The First Couple Of Seasons Are Really Slow
Every season of Better Call Saul is better than the last; it’s a rare show that gets even better with each successive season. It also gets a bit faster and more exciting as each season passes. The first couple of seasons are really slow. It’s long before Jimmy becomes a *criminal* lawyer, so it basically plays like a standard legal drama.
Better Call Saul gets a lot more engaging and fast-paced when Jimmy gives up on trying to forge a legitimate law career and breaks bad. I understand that this was an important part of the story to tell and an important part of Jimmy’s overall narrative journey, but those seasons really drag on a rewatch and make it tough to get back into the show.
9 The Worst Things Happen To The Best People
For the most part, Better Call Saul is an offshoot of Breaking Bad, expanding on characters like Mike, Gus, the Salamancas, and of course, Saul himself. But the writers made the ingenious choice to introduce two characters who weren’t in Breaking Bad — Kim Wexler and Nacho Varga — and make these two characters whose fates were uncertain the most likable people in the show.
Kim and Nacho are the most sympathetic characters in Better Call Saul, and all the worst things happen to them. Kim is subjected to all kinds of trauma, both physical (like the car crash) and mental (like witnessing Howard’s murder), and Nacho is used as a disposable pawn by two sides of a gang war. It’s always hard to watch them suffer.
8 It Took A Few Episodes For Better Call Saul To Settle On The Right Tone
When Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould were first conceptualizing a Saul Goodman spinoff, they originally planned to make Better Call Saul a half-hour sitcom. But they quickly realized they didn’t have the skillset for a half-hour sitcom and retooled it as an hour-long drama, closer to the format of Breaking Bad. But it still took them a while to figure out the tone.
The first few episodes of Better Call Saul feel like a quirky comedic take on a legal procedural. It’s low-stakes, lighthearted, and slightly eccentric, and it just feels off. Eventually, it would morph into every bit the gritty, darkly comic tragedy that Breaking Bad was, but it took a few episodes to settle on that tone.
7 The Sandpiper Case Takes Up A Lot Of Airtime Early In The Series
Early in the series, Jimmy tries to make an honest living as an estate lawyer (before he gives up his ethics and becomes an amigo de cartel). While he’s looking for new clients at the retirement home Sandpiper Crossing, he stumbles across some suspicious activity in the billing department. Sandpiper is overcharging its residents and keeping them on a strict allowance of their own money.
Jimmy launches a lawsuit against Sandpiper that brings him into conflict with the higher-ups at the community, the brass at HHM, and even some of the residents themselves. It’s a righteous cause, but it’s not particularly exhilarating to watch Jimmy and Chuck pore over documents, and that case takes up a lot of airtime in the early seasons.
6 Lalo Is Basically Batman
With the introduction of Lalo Salamanca, the writers of Better Call Saul turned a throwaway line from Breaking Bad into one of the greatest TV villains of all time. Lalo is sinister and sadistic, but he’s also strangely charismatic, thanks to Tony Dalton’s irresistible charms. He’s a great character, but he’s not always the most realistic character.
There are times in Better Call Saul when Lalo is basically Batman. He works alone even when he could easily get help from the cousins; he sneaks around unnoticed, like when he silently climbed into the ceiling at the travel wire place; and he pulls off superhuman feats, like jumping onto Jimmy’s car, and wiping out his would-be killers.
5 Jimmy’s Betrayal Of Irene Is Heartbreaking Every Time
Initially, Jimmy’s relationship with Irene Landry is really heartwarming. He takes her on as a client to make money, but he ends up really caring about her and wanting to punish Sandpiper for scamming her. But as time goes on, he becomes less focused on getting justice and more focused on getting his own settlement money and showing up HHM.
As Jimmy starts encouraging Irene to settle, he unwittingly turns her friends against her. There are a lot of devastating moments in Better Call Saul, but seeing Irene get abandoned by her friends is more devastating than any of the deaths. Jimmy eventually makes it right by vilifying himself and venerating Irene, but it’s still hard to watch.
4 Chuck Is So Hateable That It’s Sometimes Hard To Watch His Scenes
Chuck McGill is one of the most hateable characters in TV history, and it’s a testament to the writing and Michael McKean’s incredible performance that audiences around the world despise him. Chuck is vindictive, spiteful, and ungrateful. He has absolutely no respect for Jimmy, or any appreciation for the time and effort he spends helping him.
But if anything, McKean and the writers did too good of a job of making Chuck so despicable. He’s so awful and unbearable that it’s sometimes difficult to get through his scenes. Watching him deceive and undermine Jimmy, when Jimmy just wants to help him and be loved by him, is a trying experience to relive.
3 Some Of The Breaking Bad Cameos Feel Forced In Retrospect
When Better Call Saul was first on the air, Breaking Bad fans got a kick out of seeing familiar faces from Breaking Bad pop up in the spinoff. It started with Tuco’s appearance at the end of the pilot, and later episodes included Breaking Bad characters ranging from deep-cut supporting players like Wendy the meth-addicted sex worker to mainstays like Walt and Jesse.
But as much fun as those cameos were on first viewing, they feel a bit forced when you go back and rewatch the show. Hank Schrader’s appearance didn’t serve the plot in any meaningful way; it was just a wink to the audience. It was a massive coincidence that both Walt and Jimmy would have a run-in with Ken the obnoxious stockbroker.
2 Howard’s Death Never Gets Any Less Horrifying
The most shocking scene in Better Call Saul’s entire run arrived at the end of the final season’s midseason finale. While Howard is berating Jimmy and Kim for the elaborate string of pranks that ruined his life, Lalo shows up, gun in hand. As Howard is calmly trying to recuse himself from the situation, Lalo casually shoots him in the head.
It’s a deeply unsettling moment; Howard’s fear is palpable, Lalo’s cold-bloodedness is haunting, and above all, Howard didn’t deserve it. This scene is a completely senseless and avoidable act of brutality — and, no matter how many times you rewatch it, it never gets any less horrifying. Nothing can prepare you for the terror when Lalo walks into the room.
1 The Final Season Grinds To A Halt When It Catches Up With Gene
When Better Call Saul got to its final stretch of episodes in the second half of the last season, it had finally become as thrilling and action-packed as Breaking Bad in its heyday. Those episodes completed Jimmy’s transformation into Saul and caught us up with the Breaking Bad timeline. And then, it jumps forward to the black-and-white Gene timeline.