My first time watching Better Call Saul, I probably came in assuming various things about the series based on word of mouth (it's brilliant, but it isn't Breaking Bad!). I enjoyed the pilot episode on first watch, but I didn't find it to be special, especially considering that I had finished a rewatch of Breaking Bad the day prior.
I can say after second and now third viewing, "Uno" is one of the finest pilot episodes for a drama series. If you are coming in expecting the show to feel like Breaking Bad, you need to drop that approach and instead act like you are watching something that is nothing like its predecessor.
BCS is a slow burn series that isn't carried heavily by suspense, special effects, or violence. Instead, BCS acts like 70% of a legal drama (Jimmy's story) and 30% of a crime drama (Mike's story), and the pilot episode leans further into the former. Beyond the premise being a departure from its predecessor series, BCS also deviates stylistically, starting as early as in the pilot episode. Scenes and takes are more drawn out, and Gilligan and Gould are not afraid to let the camera roll for minutes at a time without dialogue. While this practice occurred occasionally in BRBA, it's 10x as common here, where the pace is slowed in order to conduct a different kind of character study.
Once you are familiar with the tone, style, characters and premise of BCS, "Uno" is far more rewarding of a watch the second time around. Some BRBA fans won't like BCS as much because it's such a departure, especially in early seasons, but the show should be able to recruit viewers who might be turned off by the constant suspense and dreariness of Walter White's descent. Watching Jimmy McGill's very slow transformation into con artist with a law license Saul Goodman is a welcome change of pace, and is perhaps even more intriguing than Walt's transformation into the now incredibly common criminal antihero.
I can say after second and now third viewing, "Uno" is one of the finest pilot episodes for a drama series. If you are coming in expecting the show to feel like Breaking Bad, you need to drop that approach and instead act like you are watching something that is nothing like its predecessor.
BCS is a slow burn series that isn't carried heavily by suspense, special effects, or violence. Instead, BCS acts like 70% of a legal drama (Jimmy's story) and 30% of a crime drama (Mike's story), and the pilot episode leans further into the former. Beyond the premise being a departure from its predecessor series, BCS also deviates stylistically, starting as early as in the pilot episode. Scenes and takes are more drawn out, and Gilligan and Gould are not afraid to let the camera roll for minutes at a time without dialogue. While this practice occurred occasionally in BRBA, it's 10x as common here, where the pace is slowed in order to conduct a different kind of character study.
Once you are familiar with the tone, style, characters and premise of BCS, "Uno" is far more rewarding of a watch the second time around. Some BRBA fans won't like BCS as much because it's such a departure, especially in early seasons, but the show should be able to recruit viewers who might be turned off by the constant suspense and dreariness of Walter White's descent. Watching Jimmy McGill's very slow transformation into con artist with a law license Saul Goodman is a welcome change of pace, and is perhaps even more intriguing than Walt's transformation into the now incredibly common criminal antihero.