A-Season 4Almost everybody says or does something stupid on a momentous Better Call Saul Donna BowmanYesterday 9:00pmSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkEven on a show known for its cold opens, this is one for the ages. The screen split vertically down the middle, DePalma…
B+Season 4Better Call Saul can’t defy gravity, but still turns a few scenes upside downDonna Bowman9/10/18 9:00pmSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkAfter last week’s “Quite A Ride,” a high point for the season and for the series, a letdown was inevitable. Tonight’s…
ASeason 4Masterful editing propels a pivotal Better Call SaulDonna Bowman9/03/18 9:15pmSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkWhat strikes you first is the color. The cold opens so far this season have been black-and-white (the flashforward in “…
A-Season 4Better Call Saul traps its characters and sends them scrambling for escapeDonna Bowman8/27/18 9:00pmSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkThe writers on Breaking Bad, it’s said, used to maneuver their characters into an impossible position — stuck in the…
ASeason 4Fring lays his empire's foundations while Jimmy hardens his heart on a cold-as-ice Better Call SaulDonna Bowman8/20/18 9:00pmSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkIn case you didn’t realize it two weeks ago, the theme for Jimmy’s arc this season was set by the last scene of…
A-Season 4Jimmy and Kim keep secrets while Mike and Gus put their cards on the table, as Better Call Saul kicks into gearDonna Bowman8/13/18 9:00pmSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkOne of my favorite things about the way Bob Odenkirk plays Jimmy McGill (and the way the writers write the character,…
B+Season 4Better Call Saul gives its characters time to react to last season's chaotic endDonna Bowman8/06/18 9:05pmSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkLike many fans, I paper over the slow stretches in TV’s scheduling cycle with binges. The adults in my house have kids…
A-Pre-AirBetter Call Saul hits new heights by finding the chemistry in griefErik Adams8/01/18 10:00amSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkCharles “Chuck” L. McGill, Jr., Esq. is dead. There’s no use in eulogizing him here, not when Better Call Saul devotes…
ASeason 3Better Call Saul burns down one relationship and rebuilds anotherDonna Bowman6/19/17 11:11pmSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkIn the centerpiece of tonight’s finale, Chuck McGill rips out paneling, punches holes in kitchen tile, and leaves piles…
ASeason 3Everybody’s fighting for the wheel as Better Call Saul barrels toward its finaleDonna Bowman6/12/17 10:07pmSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkComedy psychiatrists get a lot of laughs by constantly distancing themselves from their own relationships through…
A-Season 3Slippin’ Jimmy is back as Better Call Saul hurtles toward rock bottomDonna Bowman6/05/17 10:00pmSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkUncle Bryn, on the BBC comedy Gavin & Stacey, once described a colorful acquaintance with the memorable sentence: “He…
B+Season 3Jimmy can’t catch a break, as Better Call Saul sets up this season’s endgameNoel Murray5/22/17 10:14pmSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkJimmy McGill has worn a number of different guises over the course of two and half seasons of Better Call Saul—from…
BSeason 3Families fracture as Better Call Saul debuts its title characterDonna Bowman5/15/17 10:00pmSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkLast week’s episode was such a climactic moment for the series, so intense and elegantly delivered, that a return to …
ASeason 3Chuck takes the stand as Better Call Saul goes full courtroomDonna Bowman5/08/17 10:07pmSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkFiat justitia, ruat caelum. Let justice be done, though the heavens fall. Normally this phrase is cited in a positive…
A-Season 3On Better Call Saul, it’s time to get inside Gus Fring’s headDonna Bowman5/01/17 10:00pmSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkLet’s pause for a moment to remember how lucky we are to have Giancarlo Esposito on our television screens. What a…
B+Season 3Alliances form as Better Call Saul heads for a two-front warDonna Bowman4/24/17 10:00pmSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkIf characters on TV were good at walking away from investments of time and energy—from jobs, marriages, quixotic…
A-Season 3Better Call Saul orders up a Pollos Classic with extra salsaDonna Bowman4/17/17 10:00pmSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkLast week I began my review by talking about the pleasure of watching Mike Ehrmantraut at work. This week shows us…
A-Season 3Tapes, trackers, and approaching storms on Better Call Saul’s season premiereDonna Bowman4/10/17 10:00pmSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkI love procedurals. Police procedurals, sure—Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct books are my favorites. But really any kind of…
BGus Fring could either be the best or worst thing to happen to Better Call SaulErik Adams4/10/17 12:00amSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkLike its predecessor, the story of Better Call Saul is the story of a process: This time, the transformation of…
ASeason 2Better Call Saul caps a near-perfect season with a chilling finaleDonna Bowman4/18/16 10:05pmSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkIn talent competition shows, like American Idol or So You Think You Can Dance, producers make decisions about the…
