Better Call Saul

i don't think i've seen a more impressive show, in terms of writing, cinematography, and editing.

a lot of the shot choices were quite outlandish yet still top notch and executed perfectly. i loved the use of wide angle extreme long shots especially. in every episode they always found an interesting spot to put the camera, in ways i've never seen done before. several episodes start out with quite impressive continuous shots. every low key lighting shot is eye candy. lighting is also heavily used for symbolism, which is a nice touch.

storywise, it's definitely a painful watch at some points, but not in a bad way. more painful as it goes on, but to a lesser degree than breaking bad. the stunts jimmy manages to pull off never left me unimpressed, no matter how concerning. the characters are much more complex. they're all given their time to shine and be understood. and every plot point finds it time to intertwine with one another, sooner or later.

the pacing took me a little bit of getting used to, but now i have a deep appreciation for it. first time i went through the first two seasons, i had trouble keeping my eyes open, but i rewatched them before finishing the series and i found myself much more captivated once i was used to the pacing. there's also a lot of really well done montages, one in particular was pretty campy, which was probably their intent, but the rest play back in my mind like a screensaver. the scoring is great, and songs played over certain sequences create a really cool melancholic effect.

overall better call saul is probably one of the most ingeniously produced shows, it may not be for everyone, but damn is it good.