‘Better Call Saul’ Paid Incredible Homage To ‘Breaking Bad’ In This Week’s Episode

If you haven’t been keeping up with Better Call Saul all these years, I feel sorry for you. While I’m not quite in the camp that’s ready to claim it’s better than Breaking Bad, I am of the firm belief that it is currently one of the best shows on television in its own right.

If Walter White’s descension was a roller coaster to hell, Jimmy McGill’s is more of a lazy river ride, as it’s not necessarily the white-knuckle experience that Breaking Bad was (yet). And that’s okay because Better Call Saul‘s more lackadaisical and irreverent approach to watching a man unravel into a monster is exactly what sets it apart from its predecessor.

But, that said, given how much Better Call Saul owes to the series that came before it, there is obviously going to be plenty overlap and homage, and that was particularly true in this week’s stunning episode “Bagman”, which saw Saul Goodman take his first truly bold step into the world of the New Mexican Cartel.

With that bold step into the depths, Vince Gilligan — who created both series and directed this particular episode — made sure to make it absolutely clear how similar Saul and Walt’s falls from grace are.

If last week’s “JMM” gave us the Better Call Saul equivalent of Walter White’s “I am the one who knocks!” speech, then “Bagman” is a spiritual prequel to one of the most beloved Breaking Bad episodes of all, Season Two’s “4 Days Out.” Once again, we have the show’s two male leads in a fight for survival in the desert after unexpected circumstances knock their vehicle out of commission, getting on each other’s nerves along the way.

The context is very different, as is the degree of danger, since Jimmy and Mike are not only battling the elements, but trying to evade the one bandit who survived Mike’s sniper fire. But in each case, our antihero saves the day by playing to his mental strengths. For Walter White, it’s his knowledge of science; for Jimmy McGill, it’s his facility with a con and his utter belief that he can scam anybody. [via Rolling Stone]

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Better Call Saul can certainly be a slow burn, but if you’re a fan of Breaking Bad, I can promise you’ll be a fan of its prequel if you give it time to grow on you. The first four seasons of the series are currently streaming on Netflix, while the fifth and current season can be found on AMC’s website.

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Eric is a New York City-based writer who still isn’t quite sure how he’s allowed to have this much fun for a living and will tell anyone who listens that Gotham City is canonically in New Jersey. Follow him on Twitter @eric_ital for movie and soccer takes or contact him eric@brobible.com