Better Call Saul is back in full force with season 5 premiere “Magic Man”

Jimmy is now Saul, Lalo confronts Gus, and Mike ties up loose ends with the Germans in a tightly paced, fist-clenchingly tense Better Call Saul premiere.

After fans suffered through an agonizingly slow two-year wait between seasons four and five of Better Call Saul, the show more than makes up for lost time with an airtight opener filled to the brim with tension and the promise of what’s to come.

As always, the season premiere opened with a black-and-white flash-forward of “Gene Takovic” after his medical scare in last season’s premiere. In a montage set to Jim Reeves’ “Welcome to My World”, it’s revealed that Gene has been providing for himself via a stash of diamonds, the origin of which has yet to be revealed.

After being recognized by a mall shopper, Gene makes a hasty call to the Disappearer (played by the late Robert Forester) but hangs up the phone and decides against relocating — he’ll take care of things himself. The flash-forwards up until this point have always been key to setting the tone of the season, so it’s no surprise that the opening sequence of “Magic Man” would feature the most action of any beginning so far.

Fade back in color and the season picks up exactly where we left off: with Jimmy having changed his name to Saul Goodman in an attempt to maximize off the client base he built while selling drop phones. While the newly christened Saul seems excited at the prospect of having a built-in client base, Kim is less than enthusiastic — and the beginning of the end of their relationship finally commences.

For four seasons now, fans have been wondering just how Kim will end up out of Saul’s life, and “Magic Man” sews the seeds of what will likely be a conflict that haunts both characters for the rest of the show’s run: Kim, deep down, is diametrically opposed to all of Saul’s methods.

Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn play expertly off of each other (as always), but in this episode, their interactions are even more poignant, although the scenes aren’t as groundbreaking or important as later episodes surely will be. It’s the little things that make their relationship so heartbreaking to watch: how Saul is so proud of himself, the genuine excitement in his eyes and his complete and utter inability (or perhaps unwillingness) to recognize that, despite how much she’s stood by him in the past, Kim is not on board.

Rhea Seehorn has always been one of the show’s strong suits, and while she may not have many scenes in “Magic Man”, she makes the most of her screen time. Her stairwell panic at the end of the episode tells the audience exactly how she’s feeling without having to say a single word. Although Kim may have gone along with the scam in the end, it’s getting harder and harder to justify the deceit to herself.

Also making the most of his screen time is Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut. Every movement he makes is dripping with tension, guilt, and barely concealed fury. From his initial refusal to shake Lalo’s hand to his standoff with Gus at the end of the episode, he carries himself as a man who hates what he’s become, and it shows. As he’s seeing the Germans off, Mike is haunted by Werner’s death, and while he may be working for (and seemingly loyalty to) Gus, it wouldn’t surprise us if it may become a point of tension between them down the line.

On the cartel side of things are Nacho and Lalo, who spend the episode investigating whether or not a portion of their product has been “stepped on.” Michael Mando probably has the least amount of screen time out of any major cast member in the episode, but Nacho’s role in the season will likely increase once Saul becomes more entrenched with the criminal underbelly of Albuquerque.

For now, the big player to watch in the cartel business is Lalo Salamanca, played with effortless charm and charisma by Tony Dalton. Dalton, who was bumped up to series regular after being a recurring figure last season, commands the attention of any room he’s in; Lalo has a cheerfulness to him that makes it easy to forget he’s a crime virtuoso and not an old friend.

He also spells trouble for several main players — although he doesn’t seem suspicious of Nacho (yet), he certainly is of both Gus and Mike. When it comes to Gus, the feeling is mutual. Gus tells Mike near the episode’s end that Lalo will be “dealt with,” a promise of a blowout that has been building season after season. Another major blowout on the cartel side is that between Nacho and the Salamancas. Nacho lies to Lalo and claims to have no idea who Mike is, and if Lalo’s anywhere near as perceptive as he seems to be, catching wind of that lie could get Nacho in a lot of hot water.

However, all of the cartel drama takes a backseat to the focal point of the episode, which is, of course, Saul selling drop phones out of a circus big top. It’s a fitting symbol. With his tacky pink suit, rehearsed speech, and tacky smile, Saul is a living, breathing sideshow attraction. He even shows up to court the next day in a similarly garish suit — which makes for a stark contrast to Kim’s neatly-pressed blues when the duo goes head to head.

“Magic Man” is everything great about Better Call Saul wrapped up in a neat hour-long package and tied with a bow. The storylines are expertly interwoven, the characters are magnetic while still being believable, and the acting is as airtight as ever. If this premiere is par for the course, season 5 of Better Call Saul could be one of the show’s best.

What did you think of the Better Call Saul season premiere? Are you expecting big things from the upcoming season?