Guillermo del Toro Revealed Which Was the Better Show Between ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Better Call Saul’ That I Have to Agree With
Guillermo del Toro’s comments about the Breaking Bad vs Better Call Saul debate make a strong case for which Vince Gilligan show is superior.
Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro is known for directing movies with some of the most outlandish fantasy concepts. However, the director manages to bring a certain pathos to characters, which makes his stories deeply resonant. At the same time, del Toro is also an avid film and television buff, often sharing his thoughts on social media.
One of the most popular social media debates of the past decade has been the constant comparisons between Breaking Bad and its spin-off/prequel, Better Call Saul. Del Toro also chimed in on the debate, sharing his view on why the latter series was superior, and it is hard to argue with his logic. Here is why I agree with Guillermo del Toro’s assessment of the Vince Gilligan shows.
Guillermo del Toro explains why Better Call Saul is better than Breaking Bad
Vince Gilligan set a new benchmark for cable television when he created Breaking Bad, which emerged as one of the greatest TV shows of all time. As a result, it looked like a daunting task when Gilligan undertook the spin-off Better Call Saul, focused on Bob Odenkirk’s character from the original series.
However, Gilligan delivered another masterclass in television with the spin-off receiving equal if not more critical acclaim. As a result, a debate regarding which of the two shows is better has been the talk of the internet for almost a decade now.
In 2018, filmmaker Guillermo del Toro shared his take on the debate, taking to the social media platform Twitter (now X), where he explained why he thought that Better Call Saul was slightly superior. He wrote:
The Academy Award-winning filmmaker revealed that while the original series was about Walter White’s transformation into an outright evil person, the spin-off was more nuanced as it focused on Jimmy’s painful tumble into a morally bankrupt individual.
Why I agree with Guillermo del Toro’s assessment of Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad
Guillermo del Toro’s assessment of what makes the spin-off series slightly superior is spot on. He agreed that viewers were already endeared to the titular character because of the original series. At the same time, the Crimson Peak filmmaker admitted that Breaking Bad deserves credit for the spin-off’s success (via X).
As a result, del Toro seems to be suggesting that Gilligan and his creative team took an already complex exploration of a man’s downfall in Breaking Bad and multiplied its nuances tenfold with Better Call Saul.
Moreover, Jimmy’s downfall feels more personal and poignant because fans already loved the character, unlike Walter White, whom they felt sympathy for. Del Toro also pointed out that Jimmy’s relationship with Kim was the key to his transformation.
While del Toro made the tweet in 2018, the relationship would become even more important in the final season, which spun the character in the direction we’ve known he would follow based on the original series.
Therefore, Gilligan arguably outdid himself by taking an idealistic character like Jimmy and slowly exploring his loss of morality through his relationships and need for validation. For those reasons, I completely agree with del Toro’s assessment of the spin-off being the superior work.
