Better Call Saul Sounds Suitably Insane

AMC

Is Saul Goodman the AMC equivalent of Doctor Manhattan? It’s beginning to feel that way. According to a New York Daily News interview with Better Call Saul producer Peter Gould, the past and future/life and death might not have too much bearing on the events of the Breaking Bad spinoff:

“One of the great things about having a time line which is flexible is that perhaps some of it takes place before ‘Breaking Bad,’ during ‘Breaking Bad,’ and after ‘Breaking Bad’. That gives us the ability to bring back characters that were killed on ‘Breaking Bad,’ ” he says.

While the most obvious benefit of this series framework is its ability to showcase more on-screen meth misadventures of Jesse Pinkman and Walter White in the form of possible cameo roles (Bryan Cranston has already gone on record hinting that he may not be done with his iconic character forever). These time-shifting qualities will really help solve the basic problem any Breaking Bad spin-off would face — how to differentiate itself from its predecessor and live as its own vibrant entity. By having a character like Bob Odenkirk’s brilliant Saul take center stage, I’m beginning to feel that is project is going to be less of a quickie cash-in for AMC and more of a decade-spanning character study about the complexity of morality in a chaotic world. The New York Daily News article goes on to state that the network has already committed to two seasons of the series, which is plenty of time for viewers to immerse themselves in Saul’s complicated world…either with or without Walter White’s help.