Better Call Saul (season 4)


The fourth season of the American television drama series Better Call Saul premiered on August 6, 2018, and concluded on October 8, 2018. The fourth season consists of 10 episodes and aired on Mondays at 9:00 pm in the United States on AMC. A spin-off prequel of Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul was created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, both of whom also worked on Breaking Bad.
The first and second seasons mainly took place in 2002, with season three advancing the storyline to 2003. The fourth season also takes place mainly in 2003, with the last four episodes taking place in 2004 after a time jump in the seventh episode. In season four, Jimmy and Kim struggle to cope with Chuck's death. Howard believes that he is responsible for Chuck's death, and suffers with depression and disengagement from work. Mike begins security inspections at Madrigal, disregarding the fact that his consulting contract was supposed to be only a paper transaction. Gus is suspicious of Nacho after Hector's stroke. Nacho becomes a mole for Gus inside the Salamanca organization. Gus hires an engineer and construction crew to begin construction of the meth "superlab" under the industrial laundry. Lalo Salamanca arrives to begin running the family's drug business.
The fourth season of Better Call Saul received acclaim from critics and audiences, and six nominations for the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series.

Production

AMC renewed Better Call Saul for a 10-episode fourth season in June 2017. The fourth season premiered in August 2018, and aired on Mondays at 9:00pm ; the fourth season premiered later in the year than previous seasons, as both season 1 and 2 premiered in February 2015 and 2016, and season 3 premiered in April 2017. Screen Rant speculated that because the season was not confirmed until after the third season had finished airing, that the writers had a later start at writing, and the season did not begin filming until January 2018.

Filming

Better Call Saul is set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the same location as its predecessor. Filming for the fourth season of Better Call Saul began in January 2018. The first episode was directed by Minkie Spiro. On May 30, 2018, screenwriter Thomas Schnauz confirmed in a tweet that production of the fourth season had finished.
In the first scene of the season, Jimmy is hiding his real identity under his Gene Takavic alias while working at a Cinnabon in a shopping mall in Omaha, Nebraska. The Cinnabon scenes in Better Call Saul are set in Omaha, but filmed at the Cottonwood Mall in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Mark Margolis, who plays drug kingpin Hector Salamanca, required brain surgery after suffering severe head injuries in an accidental fall during filming.
The episode "Piñata" was directed by Andrew Stanton, who is better known for writing and directing several Pixar films, including Finding Nemo and WALL-E. During a conversation with Mark Johnson and Melissa Bernstein, the show's executive producers, he was given the suggestion that he accept an opportunity to direct a Better Call Saul episode, which he jumped at, as he had already been a fan of both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, and wanted the opportunity to work with the creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould.

Casting

returns as Jimmy McGill, Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut, Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler, Patrick Fabian as Howard Hamlin, Michael Mando as Nacho Varga, and Giancarlo Esposito as Gus Fring. Michael McKean, who was credited as a main cast member in previous seasons, does not return as a series regular following Chuck's death in the third season finale. In a June 2017 interview following the third-season finale, McKean commented on the possibility of returning to the series, stating "I know they want to bring me in for some flashbacks this coming season." McKean made a guest appearance in a flashback sequence at the beginning of the sixth episode, "Piñata", and again in the season finale, "Winner".
In May 2018, it was reported that Stefan Kapičić would have a recurring role in the fourth season. Kapičić stated, "I'm thrilled that I have a chance to become a part of Better Call Saul family. It is one of my favorite shows on TV and it's a dream come true be a part of the Breaking Bad universe." Lalo Salamanca, portrayed by Tony Dalton, is introduced in the eighth episode of the season. The character was first mentioned in the Breaking Bad episode "Better Call Saul".
The episode "Something Beautiful" marks the first Better Call Saul appearance of Gale Boetticher, a supporting character from Breaking Bad played by David Costabile. Costabile had been in Albuquerque filming Dig while Better Call Sauls team was wrapping up production of the first season. He met with co-producer Peter Gould, and they agreed to have Gale appear on Better Call Saul. Costabile was able to work in filming for Better Call Saul between filming on Billions, but had only about a week to memorize both his dialogue and the lyrics to Tom Lehrer's "The Elements" which he had to sing karaoke-style in his scenes. This short period contrasted with his past singing performances on Breaking Bad, when he had more time to learn the lyrics.

Plot

The death of Jimmy's brother Chuck serves as a catalyst for his further transformation into Saul Goodman, and Jimmy's entrance into the criminal world puts a strain on his relationship with Kim and his future as a lawyer. Chuck's death also deeply affects Kim and Howard. Mike becomes a contracted security consultant for Madrigal. Nacho's attempted murder of Hector Salamanca causes Hector's stroke and disability, and affects the operations of Don Eladio's drug cartel and Gus Fring's plot to take it over.
Series showrunner Vince Gilligan said in January 2018 that Better Call Saul "gets darker this season", and Bob Odenkirk said that the fourth season would go to "another level."

Cast and characters

Main

''Madrigal Electromotive Security Training''

Similar to the series of fictional employee training videos used during season three, AMC posted ten mini-episodes of Madrigal Electromotive Security Training to YouTube and its social media accounts during the run of season four. The videos feature a mix of live-action footage of Banks portraying Mike in providing training to new security employees of Madrigal and animated segments. The series had been nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series, but the nomination was pulled by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences after they discovered the episodes were too short for the category, stating "This decision is in no way a diminishment of the quality of Better Call Saul Employee Training or Mr. Banks' performance in it".

Reception

Critical response

The fourth season, much like the previous three, has received critical acclaim, particularly for its pacing and character development. On Metacritic, the season has a score of 87 out of 100 based on 16 critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has a 99% approval rating with an average score of 8.93 out of 10 based on 36 reviews. The site's critical consensus states, "Well-crafted and compelling as ever, Better Call Saul deftly balances the show it was and the one it will inevitably become."
Based on the first three episodes, Liz Shannon Miller of IndieWire gave the series a highly positive review with an "A" grade. She wrote that season four is "better, deeper, and more daring" and that it is "one of the most subtle and brilliant shows on TV." Spencer Kornhaber of The Atlantic said of the season premiere: "Old dynamics flip, long-gestating character studies pay off, and feelings geyser up in surprising places." Following the season finale, Judy Berman of Time wrote, "In showing us one individual's preordained moral downfall, Better Call Saul spent Season 4 demonstrating how a hypocritical criminal justice system can ensnare a whole class of people for life". Chris Evangelista of /Film wrote after the finale: "Better Call Saul remains one of the best shows on TV right now. Not only did Jimmy change this season, he changed those around him – and for the worst."
Lalo Salamanca, portrayed by Tony Dalton, is introduced as a recurring character in this season, Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone said Dalton "makes a solid first impression in the role, so hopefully this will turn out to be more than filling in a blank most viewers had long since forgotten existed."

Ratings

Accolades

In 2018, Better Call Saul was named one of the top 10 television programs of the year by the American Film Institute. The series won the award for Outstanding Achievement in Drama at the 35th TCA Awards.
For the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards, the series received six nominations–for Outstanding Drama Series, Bob Odenkirk for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, Jonathan Banks and Giancarlo Esposito each for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, Michael McKean for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, and Thomas Schnauz and Peter Gould for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for the episode "Winner".

Home media

The fourth season was released on Blu-ray and DVD in region 1 on May 7, 2019. The set contains all 10 episodes, plus audio commentaries for every episode and several behind-the-scenes featurettes.

International broadcast

Outside the U.S. in certain international markets, season 4 was released on Netflix with episodes available the day after the episodes were broadcast on AMC.