'Better Call Saul' Season 5 Premiere Review: Jimmy's evolution into inevitable amorality sees its foundation
Spoiler alert for Season 5 Episode 1: 'Magic Man'
As we step into yet another haunting season of despair and impending doom surrounding the tragedy of Jimmy McGill, the penultimate run of the 'Breaking Bad' spin-off — 'Better Call Saul' sees "worlds collide", just the way co-creator Peter Gould had teased ahead of the season premiere. A new Salamanca in town causes Nacho's significance to amplify in Gus Fringe's books but at the same time, Mike Ehrmantraut becomes impossibly crazier than ever.
Just as Jimmy/Saul's world and Mike's world collide to give us an unforgettable explosion, one can't help but observe the salient undertones of the parent-show that gets highlighted in the process. In that, Season 5 does not only see Jimmy in a struggle to convince a very conflicted Kim that him embracing Saul is the way to go; we also see his own dilemma as the idealist realizing that embracing the amoral darkness of Saul we saw in 'Breaking Bad' is the only way out.
The season kicks off in black and white, a foreboding sense of noir prevalent as we see Jimmy take on the persona of Cinnabon manager 'Gene' in the signature flashforward. Soon as that's over, we plummet into Kim's tale of conflicted concern as she hunts down her boyfriend to find out about the sudden name change. On her quest to ensure what's up with Jimmy, Kim also navigates the new viewpoint she has on the law, revolving around the many cons she and Jimmy have indulged in when it comes to their clientele, and of course - where she personally stands when it comes to the new person Jimmy has become.
But Kim's constant tug of war with confronting her possible complicity is rivaled by Saul's impending future as we know it, lonesome in its own pitiable glory, purely because of the jump start that process receives in this season. As much as Jimmy tries to convince Kim that this identity doover is the right way to redeem all that he has lost, compromising with the ideal of who he had set out to be becomes the new Saul Goodman's norm. The name he took up to amputate himself from the past involving his brother and their rivalry sees itself attached to a man who gives out cell phones to possibly seedy people, promising them discounts in service if they put him on speed dial.
In its subtle coming-of-age story of a middle-aged idealist turned con-artist, more and more members of the 'Breaking Bad' world find their way into the world of Saul Goodman: characters into the story, and theatrics into the cinematography. The bright pink hues and peachy salmon undertones that sashay the background of almost every scene the new Saul graces is a stark contrast to the prominent shadowy darkness of scenes where his rivals and peers appear. It's almost as if the season wants to compensate the monochromatic hues of Gene's current predicament by splashing Saul's world with colors.
At the same time, the overexposure of the parent show can be sometimes deemed to be pandering to fan-favorite cameos — something the also penultimate season of a show that has always delivered more than promised, doesn't really need to do. But as Mike gets overly menacing and everybody's favourite DEA Agent Hank Schrader does indeed appear with all of his well-known charm and highly acclaimed quirks, almost as if banking on the appeal of reminiscence that 'El Camino: A Breaking Bad Sequel' profited from, the season premiere does set a precedent for all the marvellous things to come.
'Better Call Saul' Season 5 airs on Sundays at 9 pm only on AMC.