Is that a problem?
EWs critics Kristen Baldwin and Darren Franich discuss.
(On this show, making coffee looks Hitchcockian.)
Credit: Nicole Wilder/AMC
But theres a resistant macro-feeling of: Like, why?
I know you come atBetter Call Saulfrom a slightly different place than I do, Kristen.
So Im intrigued to know what you think of the new season.
KRISTEN:You forgot Mike Meticulously Inserts Nails Into a Garden Hose.
That said, Darren, I appreciate your diplomatic choice of words.
Yes,Saulneeds to link toBreaking Bad but thats what Mike Ehrmantraut is for!
This is the quiet dramaSaulthrives on.
So with each additional scene devoted to the Salamanca-Fring drug feud, Im beginning to feel robbed.
How do Gus Frings tensions with Nacho (Michael Mando) show us anything about Jimmys transformation?
Cant theBetter Call Saulwriters let Jimmys story stand on its own?
DARREN:Perfectly said, Kristen!
Fabian looks like a living Ken Doll, but hes turned his princely attorney into such a subtle character.
(The emotional core of the season premiere…is Howard Hamlin).
Meanwhile, the curious ascension of Kim is one ofSauls most compelling, hard-to-pin-down arcs.
Seehorn has a wonderful way of making the complex cerebrals of attorneyship feel palpable.
Theres a sequence involving Kim and her client Mesa Verde in the third episode that I just adore.
Its quiet AND bombastic.
At some point (maybe this season!)
Jimmys story will connect decisively with the Gus side of things.
The low stakes feel marvelously cosmic more interesting, for me, than Gus and his Lex-Luthor-of-Drugs act.
Do you find the idea of a Jimmy-Gus conversation enticing, Kristen, or infuriating?
KRISTEN:More than anything, Id find it disappointing for all of the reasons you articulated above.
Theres a scene in the third episode where Kim listens to Jimmy read a letter aloud.
Jimmy, deep down, is a sweetheart a loving guy who just wants to make Kim happy.
Better Call Saulseason 4 premieres Monday, Aug. 6 at 9 p.m. on AMC.
