Better Call Saul season 6 reviews praise an "unbearably tense" start to the show’s final run

Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) in Better Call Saul season 6 — (Image credit: AMC)

It’s almost time to say farewell to Slippin’ Jimmy. Over seven years and six seasons, Bob Odenkirk’s shady lawyer has gone from cartoonish criminal to one of the most complex leads on television.

As it enters its endgame, the prequel to Breaking Bad is showing no signs of letting up. Better Call Saul season 6 debuts with back-to-back episodes on April 18 and the first reviews are full of praise for one of the best shows on television – even if the show’s traditionally measured pace can feel out of step with the approaching finale according to some critics.

Slash Film

"These first two episodes are almost unbearably tense. Every scene is loaded with double, or sometimes triple meaning. We watch on edge, biting our nails, bouncing our legs, concerned about practically everyone and everything. This is no small feat — to hook an audience on a foregone conclusion and pull us along the way, helpless to resist. It is the power of the show's impeccable writing, masterful direction, and cavalcade of brilliant performances that keeps us addicted. Bob Odenkirk remains at the center of it all, and it really cannot be overstated how great Odenkirk is on this series; how he evolved from a supporting comic relief player into a full-blown dramatic leading man."

Collider – A

"When Better Call Saul was first announced many years ago, I was one of its first skeptics about whether a prequel series like this could actually thrive. Not only does it do that, but it also continues to be one of the best dramas because of the commitment it shows to its captivating characters."

Entertainment Weekly – A-

"The new premiere swerves unexpectedly, and delightfully, with a marvelous opening that suggests these final 13 episodes will reveal the answers to questions you didn't know you had. Inventing tantalizing new mysteries right as the end begins? Only the best artists pull a con like that."

IndieWire – A

"These early episodes give just enough hint of a crack in that quick-thinking apparatus to have you question whether or not Jimmy is hastening the arrival of the moment where his own magic evaporates. Season 6 does just enough reacquainting with the game board as it stands, taking stock of where last we left all the vital players in the homestretch. In doing so, the order is telling: It takes longer than you might expect for things to actually arrive back at Kim and Jimmy, already planning their next few moves."

Variety

"The only thing wrong with Odenkirk’s performance is beyond his control: There isn’t more of it, and Better Call Saul seems reticent to be about what it’s about. On an episode in this new season, Jimmy stops by a restaurant called El Camino — a seeming reference to the stand-alone Breaking Bad sequel film released in 2019 — which is an early suggestion of where things are going. There’s ever more indulgence of the tropes and concerns of Breaking Bad, a world in which wrongdoing wasn’t confined to small disputes between Albuquerque attorneys but came to encompass vast conspiracies."

Better Call Saul already makes our ranking of the best TV shows – find out what else has made the list.

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.