As the credits rolled on the second episode of Better Call Saul season 3, Netflix suggested I watch Breaking Bad next. This stood out to me because, by this point, you couldn’t really enjoy Better Call Saul without having seen Breaking Bad. While the first two seasons established new characters and narratives, the third is increasingly reliant on old ones and cashing in on reveals of major returns. I’m in two minds when it comes to criticising this though, as it’s hard not to enjoy it.
Mike’s plot thread in ‘Witness’ was twined around him tracking his tracker, the trail carrying over from episode one and leading him to Breaking Bad‘s iconic lair, Los Pollos Hermanos. It was a thrill to see the restaurant again (an functioning Mexican eatery in Albuquerque I visited a few years back), in all its unsettlingly-clean-for-a-fast-food-burrito-joint glory, and the return of its proprietor unravelled with cinematic precision. Bringing to mind the closing scene of The Sopranos, Jimmy, brought in by Mike to get the measure of his stalker, nervously looked around the restaurant as he monitored a mysterious satchel, and slowly you became aware that a figure out of focus in the background was none other than Gustavo Fring. His impeccable politeness and serenity when on restaurant manager duty is always chilling and his homicidal tendencies really up the stakes moving forward in the series. He caught Jimmy red-handed going through his trash for clues but only realised it later – a sinister look crossing his face – and I look forward to his redemptive strike. It’s fun watching Mike and Gus attempt to outwit each other (if a little too reminiscent of Walt vs. Gus in Breaking Bad) and will be interesting to see what caused a man as brave as Mike to ultimately advise Walt to give Gus a wide berth…
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