Better Call Saul season 5 premiere recap: Magic Man

Better Call Saul is back–and we are so excited!

Better Call Saul finally returns after an extremely long hiatus (at least it felt that way), and we’re right back in the trenches with Jimmy McGill, aka Saul Goodman. As is the tradition with the show now, we kick the season off with black and white scene of Jimmy/Saul working at the mall. The timeline is unclear here, but we know its sometime in the future, after the events of Breaking Bad.

I love getting a glimpse at future Saul, especially as a fan of Breaking Bad. The end of that series spelled a whole lot of trouble for our sleazy lawyer, which we’re reminded of when we get this season’s black and white scene. Saul may have left his Albuquerque life behind him, but the people of it have not forgotten him. I think I caught myself laughing out loud when the random guy came up to Saul in the mall and started chanting his “Better Call Saul” catchphrase.

This sends Saul into a paranoid frenzy, and rightfully so. His cab driver, along with two men in the mall, recognizes who he is. One of the men comes off creepy, and it’s almost as if he is taunting Saul with blackmail.

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“I’m never more than five minutes away.”

Uhhh, okay, dude.

We don’t get much more out of the black and white scene, however, a worried Saul initially calls the vacuum repair shop back home with the intention of securing another escape. But he decides he’ll figure things out himself, and thus begins the penultimate season of Better Call Saul.

Things pick up from the past timeline where we see Jimmy officially trying to change his name to Saul Goodman. The transition has officially taken place, folks! While Saul is ecstatic about this, Kim isn’t exactly on board with it.

She knows Saul is dealing with some pretty shady folk, and the fact he’s offering his lawyer services at a discounted rate in exchange for people buying his burner phones doesn’t help either.

Is it weird that I find more comfort with Jimmy as Saul? I mean, we just got so used to him in Breaking Bad. It’s hard to see him as anyone but the sleazy guy back then. You know what I mean?

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Amidst the Saul storyline, the whole meth lab situation is still going on. Unfortunately for Gus Fring, the construction came to a screeching halt after Werner Ziegler passed away last season. The lab is now half completed, and there is no one around to continue the work on it.

I think the best part of this arc is seeing the interaction between Michael and Gus. Of course, these are early days on Better Call Saul, and before their eventual working relationship on Breaking Bad. But it’s so fun to see how this friendship starts, especially knowing where it leads to later.

On the other hand, we have Saul, who is awkwardly but steadily settling into his new role. In fact, after he runs out of burner phones and people start walking away, he offers a 50% discount on non-violent felonies. Talk about desperate!

But the antics don’t stop there. Saul continues the charade in the courtroom, ensuring that he gets any media attention he can. The guy is so clever, and it’s a bit frightening how quickly he transformed.

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I think it’s quite devastating to see how Saul’s behavior is starting to affect Kim, who is dealing with a difficult client. Saul suggests that she trick her client into taking the deal she’s offering, and while she refuses to at first, she does exactly that.

I’m not sure where they will end up as we get closer to the end of Better Call Saul, but right now, things aren’t looking too hot.

What did you think of the season 5 premiere of Better Call Saul?

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