It's as an effective series opening as any that graced its acclaimed older brother, and follows the template of offering questions that it's in no rush to answer. Thing is, we already know exactly how Saul got here. What we don't know is how Saul got to the place that got him here. And this is the crux of this show.
If Breaking Bad showed us the little pushes of circumstance and ego that transpired to transform a mild-mannered chemistry teacher into a pork-pie-hat-wearing drug lord, then Better Call Saul seems to be about the desperation that leads a man to reinvention.
Star Bob Odenkirk always portrayed Saul with a perspiration that belied his projected confidence. Even when holding all the aces or dispensing sound legal or, more often, criminal advice, he was sweating.
This two-episode season opener shows us why. Leaving Saul to his bleak future we flit back six years before the events of Breaking Bad to a time before Saul was Saul and was instead low-rent attorney Jimmy McGill. An unsuccessful, on-the-hustle lawyer defending chumps for chump change.
This timeshift also returns us to his old stomping ground of New Mexico, quite literally, in one beautifully cinematic yet violently cringe-inducing scene. It's these scenes that betray the show's proud lineage. Sweeping, gloriously wide-screen shots of the beating desert sun that has the sand sizzling off your screen as a whole lot of people realise they're in a whole lot of trouble. It's a familiar setting but thankfully this time no one is in their tighty-whiteys.
Episode one is a slow burn but once "Slipping Jimmy" - another of Saul's former identities - gets a scam under way with the help of two skater dudes, things pick up immeasurably. The stakes are low - a wealthy new client for Saul instead of a burgeoning criminal empire - but the relationship parallels that of White and his protege Jesse Pinkman and I hope the skaters stick around.
But Saul's quick and easy scam leads him straight to the door of an infamous Breaking Bad baddie.
This is either great fan service or the Star Wars effect in action where events of a whole galaxy seem to constantly revolve around a few key players.
Here it's not entirely unfeasible, though it is unlikely, but it's a lot of fun and propels the most interesting and most BB-ish part of this double-barrel opener.
The trend of music/montage is used to outstanding effect and the show's heavily cinematic look is full of interesting angles and unexpected shots. In short, it's all class.
The only misfire was the stuff with his paranoid brother which was slow, confusing and pace-killing.
But away from that, Odenkirk simply nails it as our hapless hero slowly beginning his metamorphosis into the successful Saul and the studied practice, hard work and almighty terror that begins that transformation.
So, it's all good, man? Yes it is. It occasionally struggles to keep the tricky balance between black comedy, violence and drama, but these opening episodes have made a convincing case to stick with it.
What: Better Call Saul, episodes 1 and 2
Where: On Lightbox
When: On demand
