Better Call Saul

Well...that escalated quickly.

I think we've seen the last of Jimmy the lawyer. When the NM bar association lets him out of time-out he's going to be full on Saul. Those Neff guys didn't know what hit 'em. Don't fall for the head-fake on the Hummels, Jimmy's gonna end up counterfeiting on the vintage copier.

Ignacio is looking straight Roger Murtaugh: too old for this shit. His exit strategy just took a hard left turn, however.

The only question in my mind after this episode: what connection (or dirt) does the JH doctor have? Clearly Gus sent her there to give the appearance of doing all they can to improve Hector's condition. She won't, of course, but is she a Fring family member or just someone who owes Gus?

Edit: Actually, two questions in my mind. The other is "what is in the letter from Chuck to Jimmy?"

wesfau2 · « **Reply #107 on:** August 20, 2018, 10:48:13 PM »

Well, I was completely fucking wrong. I thought the Hummel "heist" was too straight-forward for VG, but Jimmy's still small timin'.

Nacho's Salamanca cred has to be at an all time high. How will Gus use him now that the cartel has green-lit local sourcing and the Salamancas are basically finished in ABQ (other than the creepy twins)? Also...Gayle gets introduced in a totally Gayle manner.

Kim's breakdown is getting a head of steam.

The letter...didn't sound like a Chuck letter. Was Jimmy improvising the content on a better spin to put it to bed and be done with the Chuck saga? Kim wasn't overcome by the platitudes in that letter. Did she read the letter beforehand and re-seal the envelope? Jimmy's fiction might be more than she can bear, so she's mourning the end of her relationship?

Kaos · « **Reply #108 on:** August 21, 2018, 11:32:41 AM »

I know you're still riding with this and I figure Breaking Bad was so iconic that AMC's going to give Gilligan to rope to run this out to whatever end he has in mind, but nobody might be around to see that end game. I gave up on the show at first because of Odenkirk's comments on the president. I've run across it a few times since and I just can't make myself care.

The ratings are terrible. It's on par with Kid's Baking Championship.

I know they're doing the slow play and dribbling out plot points in bite-sized pieces but what happens to all those open, flapping threads if AMC decides they can't abide ratings that continue to slide?

I think I'd rather see a series about what happens to Jesse after he drives off at the end of BB.

ssgaufan · « **Reply #109 on:** August 21, 2018, 03:37:49 PM »

Quote from: Kaos on August 21, 2018, 11:32:41 AM

I know you're still riding with this and I figure Breaking Bad was so iconic that AMC's going to give Gilligan to rope to run this out to whatever end he has in mind, but nobody might be around to see that end game. I gave up on the show at first because of Odenkirk's comments on the president. I've run across it a few times since and I just can't make myself care.

The ratings are terrible. It's on par with Kid's Baking Championship.

I know they're doing the slow play and dribbling out plot points in bite-sized pieces but what happens to all those open, flapping threads if AMC decides they can't abide ratings that continue to slide?

I think I'd rather see a series about what happens to Jesse after he drives off at the end of BB.

I gave up on it too. Just too slow paced for me. Maybe it's because I was expecting it to be in the same realm as BB.

wesfau2 · « **Reply #110 on:** August 28, 2018, 09:46:24 AM »

So we finally know how Jimmy gets connected with the cartel: burner phones.

The creepy Salamanca twins continue to be stone-cold badasses.

Mike's audit of Madrigal's facilities continues and I'm wondering if he's proving something to Gus (in addition to legitimizing his "paycheck") or if he's acting at Gus's direction. Mike continues to have the hugest balls on the show, though, with his shrugging off of the threat posed by Gus's men at the "ask."

Also, the destruction of Henry at the group therapy session was classic Mike. "You wanted me to talk...so I talked."

Kaos · « **Reply #111 on:** September 12, 2018, 12:41:44 AM »

Random question.

Would you still enjoy the show if Breaking Bad had never existed?

wesfau2 · « **Reply #112 on:** September 12, 2018, 09:40:40 AM »

Quote from: Kaos on September 12, 2018, 12:41:44 AM

Random question.

Would you still enjoy the show if Breaking Bad had never existed?

Hard to say, but probably. I've been an Odenkirk fan for a long time.

Sorry you don't like the show, I do.

Kaos · « **Reply #113 on:** September 12, 2018, 09:51:18 AM »

Quote from: wesfau2 on September 12, 2018, 09:40:40 AM

Hard to say, but probably. I've been an Odenkirk fan for a long time.

Sorry you don't like the show, I do.

I don't dislike it. I just gave up on it for political reasons and couldn't find a compelling reason to go back.

Might binge it when it's all over.

wesfau2 · « **Reply #114 on:** September 24, 2018, 09:19:31 AM »

Haven't had time the past few weeks to keep up, but I binged the last three episodes yesterday.

This is the detail I was hoping for: the lab infrastructure construction, the accelerating transformation from Jimmy to Saul...the juxtaposition of Gus getting respectable and Jimmy getting dirty.

I have a feeling Kai is going to end up in a shallow hole in the desert...or as part of the concrete subfloor that is being installed.

Jimmy and Kim, as evidenced by the split-screen "daily routine" shot are clearly on different trajectories. Jimmy is resenting Kim's embracing of the trappings of law that Chuck held so dear. The Huell matter will likely be the wedge that finally splits them up.

Turns out that there is no nefarious plot by the doctor to impede Hector's recovery...she's genuinely working hard (as quid pro quo for Gus's funding of her clinic.) Gus can't have that shit.

wesfau2 · « **Reply #115 on:** September 25, 2018, 07:57:27 AM »

Well, I couldn't have been more wrong about Kim.

The Germans ain't gonna see Deutschland ever again. None of 'em.

wesfau2 · « **Reply #116 on:** October 02, 2018, 09:42:10 AM »

Werner is off the reservation. Momma's boy couldn't stand to be away from home, so he runs afoul of the cartel. What a dumbshit.

What was Lalo able to discern from Hector's bell-ringing? Loved getting backstory on something as pivotal as that bell.

Kim found a way to merge her thirst for the wild life with her buttoned-down corporate gig. I presume (while acknowledging how wrong I've been about Kim this season) that she will, at some point, use her powers to scam some large dollars out of Mesa Verde.

Poor Jimmy...his greatest strength works against him at last. Turned down for insincerity.

Only one more episode this season. Then I presume we're waiting another two years...

wesfau2 · « **Reply #117 on:** October 09, 2018, 10:04:42 AM »

Wow. Fantastic season finale.

For such a brilliant engineer, Werner is a dumbshit. He does realize who he's working for, right?

Mike is a fucking bloodhound and it was fun watching him recreate Werner's shitty escape plan in his mind. Losing Lalo in the parking lot was just a touch of Mike's typical ingenuity. Lalo's menace-with-a-smile is fucking unnerving.

Gayle shows up...giddy as usual...and Gus puts his fucking foot down on that shit. He's a fucking terrifying employer and I think Gayle now understands the gravity of the situation. Gus isn't the businessman/philanthropist dabbling in the shady side of the economy...he's a goddamned criminal boss. Gayle's gotten what he asked for...which can be as much curse as blessing sometimes.

Jimmy and Kim had a brilliant strategy to rehabilitate Jimmy's rep for the Bar. "I can pay for the food, but I'm too sad to eat it?"

I think the biggest head-fake VG gave us this season was the speech Jimmy gave to The Shoplifter. I figured that was setting Jimmy up to blow off the Bar committee knowing that they would never let him in their circle. Instead Jimmy puts on the performance of a lifetime...and puts the bar on notice that he's moving forward under his d/b/a.

My only consternation is the undoubtedly looooooooooooong wait for Season 5.

wesfau2 · « **Reply #118 on:** February 09, 2020, 11:53:41 AM »

Season 4 on Netflix today. Two weeks to get caught up.

Kaos · « **Reply #119 on:** February 09, 2020, 04:37:08 PM »

Quote from: wesfau2 on February 09, 2020, 11:53:41 AM

Season 4 on Netflix today. Two weeks to get caught up.

Why did you revive this?

Up there is a post where I said Iâ€™d prefer a â€œwhat happened to Jesse seriesâ€.

I was wrong.