'Better Call Saul' Adds A Major 'Breaking Bad' Character For Season 3
Breaking Bad easily makes it into my top ten favorite TV shows ever. As a rabid fan for its entire run, I was ready, if a little tentative, for the party to continue with the spin-off Better Call Saul. And for the most part it did, despite my reservations. Saul is an extremely well made show anchored by a surprisingly deft and deep performance by Bob Odenkirk. Even if it doesn't quite hit the tense heights of its progenitor, when it marks its own territory, as it has with Jimmy's complex relationships with his brother and Kim Wexler, it has become more than just a prequel to Walter White's tragic saga. I knew the introduction of other Breaking Bad characters was probably inevitable, but the more the show carved its own path, the more I just wanted it to stay away from that particular can of worms. The news that Giancarlo Esposito is reprising his role as the chicken empire owning drug lord Gustavo Fring doesn't strike me as particularly surprising (it was even alluded to at the end of Season 2), but my enthusiasm for the show has reverted back to reserved.
Of the possible returning characters, Gus makes the most sense outside of grizzled ex-cop Mike Ehrmentraut who already counts as a series regular, since Saul was the guy who introduced Gus to Walter White in season two of Breaking Bad. What I don't want to happen, and what I'm afraid will happen if the writers decide to keep going back to this well, is for us to ever see Jesse Pinkman or anyone from the White clan. I can't think of a way for those particular characters to be introduced that wouldn't seem convoluted or overwrought. Albuquerque is a big place. There is no need to make your fictional world smaller by constantly hitting us over the head with fan-service cameos or bit parts.
Giancarlo Esposito, Vince Gilligan, and the Breaking Bad writing team created a great iconic villain in Gus Fring, so seeing him again is a double-edged sword. It could just be more great bits from a character we love, or it could be a mistake that tarnishes the legacy of the character. At this point, the writers have more than earned my trust. But, I hope they realize that Better Call Saul can be so much more than just a checklist of things that need to happen before Walter White gets his cancer diagnosis.
