‘Better Call Saul’ Ratings Drop Amid Second Night Debut [Spoilers]

AMC’s Better Call Saul scored the second biggest debut in cable premiere history on Sunday night, but Monday’s ratings weren’t so favorable, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Viewership fell about fifty percent to 3.4 million viewers in last night’s episode of the Breaking Bad spinoff. Analysts suspect the drop off is the result of a combination of factors, including the loss of Saul‘s previous night’s lead in of the AMC ratings powerhouse The Walking Dead and its move to the Monday night time slot, which has never featured an original AMC drama.

Sunday night’s Better Call Saul left viewers hanging with Jimmy McGill (whom Breaking Bad fans know will eventually to transition into the character known as Saul Goodman) staring down the barrel of a gun wielded by resident Breaking Bad drug dealing psycho, Tuco Salamanca.

Monday’s episode took up right where Sunday’s left off, treating fans to Saul’s hilarious form of legal smoke and mirrors in an effort to get Tuco to spare not only his life but the life of his skateboarding twin co-conspirators.

“One [broken] leg each. A total of two legs. Now hey, look: They can’t skateboard for six months and they’re scared of you forever. You show everyone that you’re the man but that you’re fair. That you’re just.”

Tuco obliges by happily stomping on the twins to snap their legs and as Jimmy (Saul) rushes them to the hospital, one of them cries out in pain, “You’re the worst lawyer ever!”

“I just talked you down from a death sentence to six months probation. I’m the best lawyer ever,” McGill (Saul) retorts.

This seems to set the tone for how Saul Goodman will eventually form his alliances with Albuquerque’s more unsavory characters and connections that were introduced to Walter White throughout the Breaking Bad series.

Monday’s Better Call Saul also delved more into the relationship between Jimmy McGill (Saul) and his brother Chuck, played by Michael McKean. Chuck McGill seems to be suffering from some ‘illness,’ though this episode indicates it may be more of a mental health issue than a physical one.

While the series is still gearing up for the transformation of Jimmy McGill to Saul Goodman, the ratings dip shouldn’t be of much concern as it was an expected drop. Better Caul Saul fans can relax as AMC has reportedly already signed on for Season 2, which gives the show ample time and opportunity to develop its characters as well as its audience.

[Image courtesy of TV.com]