The second season of the “Breaking Bad” spin-off prequel, “Better Call Saul,” returned on Feb. 15, remaining as polarizing as ever.

The dark comedy crime drama reintroduced audiences to the lovable struggling hustler, Jimmy McGill, portrayed by Bob Odenkirk (“W/Bob and David), as he continues his quest to become a respected big-time lawyer while figuring out his moral code.

The season two premiere picks-up from the final sequence of season one with Jimmy walking away from the monumental opportunity to work at a major law firm, all while humming Deep Purple’s classic “Smoke On the Water.” It is revealed that Jimmy has made a spontaneous decision to end his run as an amateur lawyer, opting to “walk the earth” in similar fashion as Jules from “Pulp Fiction” as his love interest Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn, “Franklin and Bash”) points out.

While Jimmy works on figuring out his new path in life, his frequent colleague Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks, “The Expanse”) continues his angle, working security for the foolish small-time drug dealer Daniel Warmold. Mike initially cuts ties with Daniel, as the latter furthered his foolish antics which involved purchasing a H-2 Humvee, completing it with a mustard yellow paint job with red flames and some killer chrome spinners. Understanding that Warmold is becoming more of a liability, Mike walks away from Daniel’s pay. It is only when Daniel’s cherished baseball card collection, as well as his drugs, are stolen by Nacho (Michael Mando, “Orphan Black”) that Mike and Daniel begin to collaborate again.

By the end of the first episode, which saw him engage Kim in his scam artist ways, Jimmy ultimately returns to his senses, choosing to take the job working at the law firm Davis & Main, realizing his goal of becoming an attorney. This is much to the chagrin of his older brother, Chuck (Michael McKean, “The Meddler”) who doubts Jimmy’s ability to be an effective lawyer due to his past as a scam artist. Their strained relationship is revisited in the second episode when Chuck returns to his law firm, which is collaborating with Jimmy’s on a case, flustering the latter.

This new season promises to continue the tale of how Jimmy McGill turned into the “Breaking Bad” fan-favorite lawyer, Saul Goodman, providing brief glimpses of Jimmy in the present day, following the events towards the end of the previous series. There is very much a conflict of personalities for the present Jimmy, who lives incognito as a Cinnabon store manager in a local mall.

During the flash-forward, Jimmy finds himself locked in the dumpster area, with the only ways of getting out either by waiting for someone to open the door or using the exit that sets off an alarm, notifying the police. Despite the desperation, Jimmy chooses the former option, soon after carving “SG was here” into the cement wall with a nail, detailing that Goodman is very much alive in Jimmy McGill.

The series retains much of its elements of dark comedy laced within its serious, crime drama ways. Whether it’s Jimmy hustling a stock broker into buying him and Kim numerous $50 tequila shots, or Nacho describing Daniel’s eyesore of a Hummer as a “school bus for 6-year-old pimps.” The show remains entertaining in whichever direction it chooses to go, yet manages to stay true to life. It never over exaggerates the events that unfold because, much like Breaking Bad, it is unaware that is a television show.

After two episodes, the writing and direction is just as strong as it was in Breaking Bad, yet despite the ties, somehow finds a way to distance itself from the previous show, successfully becoming its own brand. The upcoming eight episodes promise to take audiences on an entertaining ride, given Jimmy’s new direction in life, moving out of his pathetic law office at the back of the nail salon and into the big leagues, as only Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman can.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5