Better Call Saul Season 4, Episode 3, “Something Beautiful”

Like Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul is not the kind of show that leaves logistical problems unaddressed. A problem the end of “Breathe” poses: how to dispose of Arturo’s body in a way that won’t arouse the Salamancas’ suspicion of Gus. The answer is to make Arturo appear to have been the victim of an ambush by a rival cartel. On Breaking Bad, when Walt and Jesse would come up with a plan like this, most of the time we would watch the whole process, from the posing of the problem, to the brainstorming of a solution, to the execution of the plan. Here, however, we skip all but the execution phase, leading us to wonder what Tyrus and Victor are doing, at least until they pop the trunk to reveal Arturo’s corpse.

Better Call Saul Season 4, Episode 2, “Breathe”

After a saggy episode to kick off the season, “Breathe” finds Better Call Saul returning to form with a tight episode that offers some interesting points of comparison with Breaking Bad, along with another standout Kim scene thrown in for good measure.

Better Call Saul Season 4, Episode 1, “Smoke”

Like every season of Better Call Saul, season four begins with a flash-forward to Jimmy/Saul's life as Gene in the post-Breaking Bad years. This season's flash-forward picks up exactly where season three's flash-forward left off, with Gene being attended to by paramedics after he collapsed in the Cinnabon. His collapse was a product of an encounter he had with a thief trying to hide from some mall cops. As we saw in season three, Gene reluctantly led the cops to the thief, but witnessing the thief’s arrest caused a bit of Saul to resurface from underneath Gene’s stoic exterior when he urged the thief to get a lawyer (much to the cops’ irritation). Upon returning to the Cinnabon, Gene collapses when he realizes how stupid it was to blurt out his advice to the thief and potentially draw the police’s attention.

Sharp Objects, First Half of Season 1

I've published my thoughts on the first half of HBO's compelling Sharp Objects over at Cultured Vultures. Check it out here: https://culturedvultures.com/sharp-objects-s1-halfway/