Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul has returned for a second series and critics have welcomed back the quirky, menacing story of moral decline.
The crime series, created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, explains the origins of Saul Goodman, Walter White's unscrupulous lawyer. Season one began in 2002, six years before the events of Breaking Bad, and Bob Odenkirk's Saul is a small-time hustler called Jimmy McGill trying to turn his life around by becoming a legitimate lawyer, like his brother.
The second series, which is available in the UK on Netflix next week, follows Jimmy's struggles with the dark side of life and critics say fans can look forward to an even richer, if slow-burning drama.
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Having survived the "What can you possibly do for an encore after Breaking Bad?" question, Better Call Saul returns "looking as relaxed, unhurried and somewhat dishevelled as before", says Brian Lowry in Variety. "Spooning out story at a time when many shows race through it," it continues to reveal Jimmy's descent into the dark side with "disarming quirkiness", embracing stillness, unpredictability and "occasional bouts of menace".
That said, adds Lowry, "it's so laconic at times it become a little too sleepy".
Yes, it is "deliberately subtle and quiet", but it's also compelling, says Liz Shannon Miller on Indie Wire. It demands and rewards your attention on a level we just might not be used to these days but fortunately, Odenkirk's performance is "just good enough to pull it off".
Ultimately, the show is about relationships and Jimmy's relationship with no-nonsense attorney Kim Wexler becomes more important this season, says Miller. Jimmy and Kim, played by Rhea Seehorn, were sweet to watch last season and there's even more to enjoy this year – though they "just might break our hearts, in a good way".
Indeed, fans of Breaking Bad know where the tests of Jimmy's soul end up, says Dominic Patten on Deadline Hollywood. But the show creates a very "rich tapestry" in the telling.
Patten adds that the new season is "like a really good party – crowded, complex and compelling".
Some critics, however, still have reservations about whether the show can work in the long term.
The trouble is, says Tim Goodman in the Hollywood Reporter, that Saul Goodman was one of the epic characters of Breaking Bad and Jimmy McGill just isn't as interesting. That's going to be a problem until Jimmy actually becomes Saul and once that happens, you're theoretically at the end of this show and back at the beginning of Breaking Bad, he adds.
Better Call Saul is not as "adrenaline-fueled and tenaciously brilliant" as Breaking Bad, Goodman argues, but "few shows are". Still, the question in season two will be whether it "catches fire a little more quickly as the story unfolds".
Better Call Saul season two will premiere on 15 February at 10pm on AMC in the US and one day later in the UK.
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