Set in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, in the early 2000s, “Better Call Saul” (2015-2022) is a television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Playing with time, it is at once a spin-off, prequel, and sequel to “Breaking Bad” (2008-2013).
There is much to ponder in the story that unfolds, not least New Mexico itself as a fictive character, and different emphases and problems afoot. For me, “Better Call Saul” explores hypocrisy, imposture, ambition, respectability, unfairness, weakness and strength, frustration, compromise, charisma, the limits of self-knowledge and the consequences.
“Better Call Saul” also delves into the dignity and drudgery of work, into the purported normalcies of “modern life,” and what constitutes wrong and right, criminality and the law. “The little guy” —real and imagined, cast asunder and self-appointed— turns up everywhere. So do the traps of fate and of living, with the pesky allurements of transformation, of staying the same, and of escape.
The show stars Bob Odenkirk (who plays Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman/Gene Takovic), Rhea Seeborn (Kim Wexler/Giselle St Clair), and Jonathan Banks (Mike Ehrmantrout).
They’ve distracted me from my usual diet of Nordic Noir, and set me to painting, and to gathering a few of their (and other characters’) words.
What follows will make (most) sense to those familiar with “Better Call Saul.”
“‘Couldn’t you just . . .?’
‘You know I can’t.’”
“Cucumber water, customer only!”
“Oh the perks of salon living . . .”
“It’s not mid-life crisis . . . Call it mid-life clarity” (Jimmy is floating in a motel pool.)
“well. He is your brother, after all.”
“It’s Ehrmantrout, here. Are you still morally flexible?”
“I didn’t say that you’re a bad guy. I said that you’re a criminal.”
“We all make our choices. And those choices, they put us on a road . . .”
“It’s not about what you want. When you’re in, you’re in.”
“Squat cobbler . . . am I not speaking English here? . . .
The world is a rich tapestry my friends . . .”
“No no, you just stay put, I’ll be right over . . .”
“Oh that’s Alpine Shepherd Boy . . .”
“Can you keep a secret? . . .”
“. . . wouldn’t you rather build your own identity rather than ride someone else’s coattails?”
“I shouldn’t be telling you this . . .”
“That’s Viktor, with a ‘K.” And Giselle, you are next . . .”
“[If I’d stayed put, I’d be] married to the guy that ran the gas station” or “cashiering at the Hinky Dinky.”
“‘All the girls loved Gregory Peck ‘[in the film of To Kill a Mockingbird].’
‘[Oh] I wasn’t in love with him. I wanted to be him.’”
“You don’t save me. I save me.”
“Something about a fresh start . . . Hanging out my own shingle.”
“Oh, and mention Cracker Barrel.”
“I’ve been performing for others my whole life . . . I have to be me.”
“Do we get a choice of desks? Is it possible . . . could we do a cocobolo?”
“This is my screw-up, and I own it. It’s my responsibility to fix it.”
“Sorry, my back hurts like hell and people suck.”
“Life’s rich pageant. Who are we to judge?”
“‘So . . . what do you drive?’
‘A Suzuki Esteem. . . . It’s an import.’”
“I was driving around. I saw your Esteem in the parking lot . . .”
“Saul Goodman is . . . He’s the last line of defense for the little guy. Are you getting sold down the river? He’s a life raft. You getting stepped on? He’s a sharp stick. You got Goliath on your back? Saul’s the guy with the slingshot. . .”
“Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding . . .”
“‘This time . . .’
‘This time?' There isn’t going to be a next time.”
* watercolours by Kenneth Mills
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We must by in sync. I just finished binging on the series. . .the cocobolo desk line (among so many others you captured here) was so extraordinarily idiosyncratic so as to make perfect sense. Who wouldn’t aspire to have one?
In a room with 100 watercolors, I could single out the Kenneth Mills pieces in a trice. You have the most unusual color palette. So original and fresh, and you use the dark, the light and the texture to evoke such a wide variety of moods and emotions. I study them like a road map. Your writings represent so much research and experience. You make me feel like a sophomore. What I mean is, you have a new admirer. Sharron at 🍁Leaves