Breaking Badis an all-time great show, but a 98% Rotten Tomatoes series that premiered 10 years ago has surpassed it. More than a decade after it aired,Breaking Badseason 5, episode 14, “Ozymandias” is frequently celebrated as theundisputed all-time best TV episode.
As great asOzymandiasis, it is only one of manyBreaking Badepisodesthat are masterpieces. The series finale “Felina” and the season 4 finale “Face Off” are among the many other episodes that are iconic in television and popular culture history.
EveryBreaking Badseasonis phenomenal, and the show continues to be in a class of its own. However, one other show has surpassed it for a very good reason.
Better Call Saul Came Out In 2015 As A Risky Prequel To Breaking Bad
Two years afterBreaking Badended, it became a franchise withBetter Call Saul, which acts as a prequel and sequel to the original series.Better Call Saul’s episodesprimarily take place in the years before the titular character meets Walter White, but some scenes take place afterBreaking Bad, using a black-and-white aesthetic to explore Saul’s life in Omaha, Nebraska.
With a 98% Tomatometer score and 96% Pocornmeter score,Better Call Saulis critically acclaimed and loved by general audiences, but it was a risk at the time. Saul Goodman was afan-favoriteBreaking Badcharacter, buthe had largely been comic relief, and it was risky to make him the star of his own show.
It Took Better Call Saul A Few Episodes To Find Its Footing
The Show Didn’t Have As Strong Of A Start As Breaking Bad
UnlikeBreaking Bad, which immediately hooks the audience from its very first episode,Better Call Saultakes a few episodes to find what it does best.Better Call Sauldoes not have the same immediate thrills that helped makeBreaking Bada popular culture phenomenon.
TheBetter Call Saulpilot ends with a surprise appearance from Tuco Salamanca, Kim Wexler is not initially a main character, andHoward Hamlin is set up to be a villain. Despite Tuco’s early appearance,the show’s greatest strength was not bringing in familiar faces, but was instead how it gradually developed Jimmy/Saul and the original characters.
Better Call Saulneeded time to forge its own identity, and it also required patience as a series that mastered the art of a slow-burn payoff.
Kim went on to be the most important and best-developed character other than Jimmy, and Howard’s story ended up being tragic, but he was definitely not a villain.Better Call Saulneeded time to forge its own identity, and it also required patience as a series that mastered the art of a slow-burn payoff.
Better Call Saul Has Better Pacing, Character Development, & Villains
As brilliant asBreaking Badis,Better Call Sauldoes surpass it in several significant ways.Breaking Bad’s fast pace is one of its strengths and contributes to the show’s widespread appeal, butBetter Call Saulis better-paced. It is slower at times, but the slower pace always pays off.
The difference in pace also creates more opportunities for character development.Breaking Baddoes an excellent job developing Walt and Jesse Pinkman, but many other characters are not as richly developed. InBetter Call Saul,Jimmy feels just as well-developed as Kim, Howard, Mike Ehrmantraut, Gus Fring, Chuck McGill, and Nacho Varga.
Better Call Sauleven has better villains, as it has both Gus and Lalo Salamanca. The prequel makes Gus even more compelling than he already was inBreaking Bad, and despite his relatively late introduction to the show, Lalo is arguably theBreaking Baduniverse’s best villain.
Even from a technical standpoint, it feels as thoughBetter Call Saulis the superior series. This is somewhat inevitable due toBetter Call Saulbeing released in later years and with the advantage of more advanced filming technology, but it neverthelessmakes the show almost feel like a more refined version ofBreaking Bad.
Why Better Call Saul Doesn’t Get As Much Love As Breaking Bad
There’s More Than One Reason
Everyone who watches bothBreaking BadandBetter Call Saultends to love both shows, butBetter Call Saulnever became a popular culture phenomenon like its predecessor did. This can partly be attributed to the second show’s slower pace, which requires more patience, and not everyone is willing to stick around for the payoff.
Breaking Bad’s premise is arguably a stronger hookas well, as it is difficult to be more intriguing than a high school science teacher making crystal methamphetamine and becoming a criminal kingpin after being diagnosed with cancer.
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The way in whichBreaking Badcontinues to live on through memes has also contributed to its legacy, andBetter Call Saulis not as ubiquitous when it comes to Internet culture.
There is also the matter of awards. As confounding as it is,Better Call Saulnever won an Emmy, whileBreaking Badwon 16. Despite the stark difference in their Emmy wins,Better Call Saulis the better show, and arguably the only one to surpassBreaking Badsince its conclusion.
Breaking Bad
Cast
Breaking Bad, created by Vince Gilligan, follows a chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin named Walter White (Bryan Cranston) as he attempts to provide for his family following a fatal diagnosis. With nothing left to fear, White ascends to power in the world of drugs and crime, transforming the simple family man into someone known only as Heisenberg.
Better Call Saul
Better Call Saul follows small-time lawyer Jimmy McGill as he navigates the legal world to make ends meet. The series, set six years before his encounter with Walter White, chronicles Jimmy’s evolution into Saul Goodman, with notable interactions alongside fixer Mike Ehrmantraut.
