Better Call Saul Did It Better

What's Better About Better Call Saul? In this video essay I take a look at the way Better Call Saul uses visual storytelling, to show instead of tell.

Chapters:
00:00 Why Ants?
03:41 Props As Symbols
07:02 Visual Performances
11:45 Characters in Process
14:04 Storytelling with Cinematography

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[agromchung]

The "World's Best Lawyer" mug was also used as symbolism for Jimmy not fitting in with Davis & Main - his mug wouldn't fit in the cupholder of the company car.

[jamesduffy]

One of my favourite show don't tell moments is Jimmy and Kims first meet when they share the cigarette. The way he takes it from her mouth then gives it back is clearly more intimate than just friends, without some terrible heavy handed dialogue like "we used to date" like a lesser show would need

[romilrh]

My favorite instance of visual storytelling in Better Call Saul is the end of 2x01 "Switch". Jimmy takes the job at D&M and is shown his office. On the wall, he sees a switch, covered by the label "ALWAYS LEAVE ON! NEVER TURN OFF!". He looks around, removes the label, and flips the switch. Nothing happens. He flips the switch back. He smiles a little. Cut to black, end of episode. It's so simple and yet conveys so much. Brilliant writing and directing.

[justincruz]

I love this show’s patience. Letting the characters sit and breathe is so rich and fun to watch, at least for me.

[rejectionisprotection]

And as they go to work the next day, the road is littered with broken bottles. Jimmy says to Kim: “ leave it, we pay to have other people clear it up”. Kim nods, but she tells Jimmy to go to work before her and then stays to sweep up all of the broken bottles.
Which says it all.

[iyaramonk]

The main reason for me is just that the team behind BB got even better at their job. It's all just better. But I totally understand those who give the nod to BB.

[nerdude]

The creators of BCS have also said that color works a lot differently in BCS than in BB, but its still significant, but instead its focused on cool colors (blue tones) and warm colors (red tones), and with blue representing law, and red representing crime. It makes the icecream shot a lot more interesting. Saul is wearing a purple shirt, a cross between red and blue, and at this time in the show he is at a moral crossroads between law and crime, sort of teetering the line of which direction he wants to go with this new persona (which we know by episode 8 of season 5 which path hes really chosen). Anyways, Saul drops the blue-green mint chip icecream cone right as the criminals pick him up, he is figuratively dropping law for crime. When he gets dropped off again, he sees that red ants have infested the cone, just as Lalo and Ignacio have infested Saul to do criminal behavior. And as we know, this is literally the beginning of the end for his character.

[madisonsedlemeyer]

Another bit I loved is in Bagman when Jimmy didn’t take Mike’s space blanket. They don’t need to bother telling you that he’s reminded of Chuck, they let you know by him refusing to use it.

[gabrielpasquino]

better call saul has the most well crafted characters on tv, by far. It's incredible that we haven't seen a character (chuck) for three entire seasons, and yet their presence is still felt, we can see that memory and hurt haunting Jimmy. There's so many events that seem insignificant at the time, but looking back, clearly contribute towards characters becoming the people we eventually know them to be. Incredible show; sad it's ending, but looking forward to rewatching Breaking Bad in a whole new light.

[Ben_Mdws]

Imagine making a show as amazing as Breaking Bad, and then upping your game another level.

[Internet_Aristocrat]

I always thought the Davis & Main water bottle being used to hold Jimmy’s pee in the desert was really funny symbolism for how badly he treated them to get out of the job.

[amonra]

Every scene with Mike doing something alone is so perfect. He never tells you (or other characters) his plan, he just does the job. And only when he does it you unredstand what really he was doing. Jonathan Banks was absolutely incredible in this show. And everyone else. Every scene with Jimmy and Kim, the growth and development of their relationship is shown so perfectly. Nacho and his feelings. Gus vs all of Salamanka, especially the smiling devil Lalo. This show is peak cinematography for me.

[Biring]

My soul isn't ready for the conclusion of this milestone in TV. A truly incredible show.

[rbdriftin]

This spinoff really has lived up to the main show in every way. It's masterful.

[solharv]

I don’t know quite how to put it into words, but this show makes it’s props feel so meaningful that they almost take on a sort of mythic quality, like with simple objects such as Hector’s bell or the tequila bottle-stopper getting their own arcs and backstories. I feel like this show focuses on the details of its world-building in the way a piece of science fiction or high fantasy would, despite the setting of the show being ostensibly real life. But it gives even the smallest visual details so much weight and importance.

[rpandya]

I was listening to the Better Call Saul podcast where Peter Gould, co-creator and writer/director of the series finale, said that he was looking for ways to get rid of as much dialogue as he can. I really love that method of story telling since that allows for the visuals to tell the story at the end, not words.

[ZDiacnik]

It's bittersweet knowing it's over in less than 12 hours from now, but I'm genuinely grateful to the BrBa/BCS team for creating not just one but two of the best shows ever made.

[UmbrellaGent]

You forgot to point out how the "World's 2nd Best Lawyer" mug, a gift from Kim, is later replaced with the "World's Best Lawyer" mug in Saul's office (and how the latter is shown falling and breaking in the show's intro).

[akifabaziz]

During the scene where things went down at Kim's place, we saw Kim took a quick glance at flickered candlelight to tell us somebody opened the door to his apartment. The second time it flickered is at the middle of the argument. This time it really create suspense, and when they reveal who's the guy that stepped inside, really put me at the edge of my seat. That scene really is something and been living inside my head ever since.

[claytonhomer]

I prefer Breaking Bad in terms of the general story. However, I think BCS is the more impressive writing because it was limited by the prequel aspect. To reverse engineer a story without breaking anything and in fact allowing you to recontextualize Saul, Mike and Gus is such a monumental feat. Also to maintain such high level of excitement, anticipation and stress knowing some characters are safe is special. I wouldn't fight anyone who felt BCS was better. BCS makes BB better but not to the same scale than BB makes BCS better. You can watch BB without Saul and enjoy it to its fullest, I don't think the reverse is as true.