The Best of ‘Better Call Saul’ – Season 1

Written by John Edward Betancourt

‘Better Call Saul’ Episode 101: ‘Uno’
Original Airdate: February 8, 2015

‘Let me tell you about a young guy. Actually, he’s about your age. He lived a long way from here… in a town called Cicero, Illinois. And in Cicero, he was the man. I mean, when he strolled down the street… all the corner boys would give him the high five. All the finest babes would smile at him… and hope that he would smile back. They called him Slippin’ Jimmy… and everybody wanted to be his friend.’
 
- Jimmy McGill

​One thing that we can all agree upon, is that reaching the end of a genuinely wonderful story… can be quite the emotional experience. Because nobody likes to say goodbye and endings to anything in this life are hard, even when it comes to stories. Since they provide us with so much. Such as life lessons and powerful emotional moments and it is definitely safe to say that fans of Better Call Saul are going through it emotionally right now. Because Jimmy McGill’s grand tragedy of a life story has been quite the powerful journey. One that has allowed for us to bear witness to what makes a decent man become indecent through the power of trauma and loss and the ills of the world and well… we are now reaching the end of the road for this storied saga.
 
For Monday, August 15, 2022 will bring about the final chapter in Jimmy McGill’s adventures through the criminal underworld and well… as we prepare to bid farewell to Jimmy and the Breaking Bad Universe as well, since this will likely signal the end of its existence for some time… we here at NTG thought it would be best to reflect upon some of our favorite moments from the past few years regarding this show. Simply by spotlighting the best episodes that this series sent our way, to reflect upon the majesty of the journey and to help us process the void that will indeed come about when the series fades to black one last time and well… in the opinion of this writer, the absolute best episode that season one provided fans with, was the series premiere. 
 
Because ‘Uno’ was a premiere unlike any other. In large part because it outright surprised us through and through. For so many of us believed that Saul Goodman was long the man that we saw in Breaking Bad, since it takes decades of practice of achieve that level of impishness, and twisted-ness. So, to meet James McGill here at a time in his life where he was a believer in the law and trying to start an honest practice and rack up the clients… was shocking to say the least. Because we were being presented with the man, not the caricature he turned out to be and that… immediately sucked us in and demanded our attention. For we simply had to know, what it was that was going to make this somewhat meek and somewhat frustrated man, turn into something so gaudy, and so fiery… and so… morally gray.

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​Which meant that we were all curious and had to know more and what’s amazing… is that this episode was happy to provide us with more. Since it also took the time to lightly explore some of the genesis points of Saul Goodman's creation. For the introduction of Charles McGill, and the extreme manner in which he treats Jimmy, since he is so harsh on him and there is a tinge of disdain over the fact that he isn't perfect, spoke volumes to the heartbreak ahead. The kind that hinted that any break in this relationship could push Jimmy to some dark places. Not to mention, Jimmy's time at Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill in this story also introduced us to a pair of critical characters that would also play a part in bringing Saul to the surface of Jimmy's world, since this was the first appearance of Howard Hamlin and Kim Wexler and well... all of that just informed us that this series was ready to take us on a unique ride. One that was going to savor the moment and treat us to every little step in Jimmy's journey toward darkness and well... let's be honest, that hooked us.
 
As did… the amount of time we spent with Jimmy in this tale. Because we truly got to know him in this story and learn how conflicted he was at this point in his life. For half of him really did want to do the right thing and be a great lawyer, while the other half of him was eager to indulge in those twisted acts that bring about the special satisfaction that accompanies thumbing your nose at a system that frustrates and seeing that duality here… was just intoxicating. In part because it showed us how brilliant Jimmy is as a lawyer and just how low he can sink, as evidenced by the opening case where he just blows the jury away for a brief moment and of course… by planning to teach Betsy Kettleman a lesson through his newfound con man contacts. 
 
Which in turn, also offered up some delightful fan service via the appearance of Tuco Salamanca and well, all of these elements really did make for a powerhouse series premiere, and it truly stood out as the finest episode that season one had to offer. Simply because it set the stage in a masterful manner and engaged us in ways, we didn’t know a show could engage. Plus, it was bold and brave in the direction it took this franchise since a character study wasn’t quite what anyone was expecting. But we all loved it, and this is an episode that truly withstands the test of time and wows after all these years, and now that we’ve reached the end of this grand and sweeping opening chapter, it’s time to spotlight the next great episode from this franchise. One that involves a strange and uncomfortable use of pie. Until next time.

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