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Better Call Saul


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6 hours ago, John from Cincinnati said:

Oh shit

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Just found out Kim is from Nebraska 

 

Yeah, there was that intro a few episodes back with Kim as a kid and when her and her mom drive off they have Nebraska plates.

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It makes sense in the context of Jimmy's transformation into Saul, too. If something tragic happens to Kim, I feel like it would break him emotionally in a way that causes him to re-think his path. Her leaving pushes him to a more "fuck it!" path where he goes into Saul even deeper.

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While we're all talking about Jimmy, let's take a sec to look at Gus.  That look on his face where he's resigned to the fact that he can't continue things with the sommelier is amazing.  It's funny because right after the scene at Eladio's, I was thinking about how Gus' life partner was murdered and how it seems like he never got into a relationship with anyone else, and then the show circled right to that subject and, in no words at all, showed how Gus is resigned to this life and realizes he can't have a relationship and bring another person into it.

The scene with Mike and Nacho's dad was likewise heart wrenching.  Damn.  Mike wants to do the right thing and give the guy closure, but he's not having it. 

This show is so cool fleshing out the sadness, loss, motivations, and backgrounds of all these Breaking Bad characters and really shows Walter White to be the monster of the whole thing :)

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Also, Kim, to avoid getting the cops back on the trail, has to save Jimmy's failing lies with an absolute killshot of a lie ice cold right to Howard's widow's face, taking away the last bit of hope she had about her husband being a decent guy in her eyes.  That was the moment that broke her.

ALSO, Jimmy's face when Schweikart tells him HHM is shutting down.  Now there's nothing at all left of Chuck.  Or "McGill" for that matter.  The firm is downsizing, renaming itseft, and moving to a half floor downtown.  Yes, they do ruin people's lives.  Didn't he set out to ruin HHM after they fucked him over?  Be careful what you wish for, etc etc.

Man, what a show.

Edited by Technico Support
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While we're on the subject of what this show does so well...

  • The first episode back from the break. We didn't talk about this much, but in Breaking Bad we saw Gus always have this hint of invincibility to himself. He was always in control to the smallest detail and he never acted irrationally. In BCS, we see Gus actively fuck up and make mistakes and get away with it. He isn't the invincible man he'll make it look like he is in BB. The height of that is the showdown with Lalo. I think we were all too shocked to discuss it, but in addition to looking angry before the shootout, once the shootout starts and once it ends, Gus is the most spooked we've ever seen him. That is ultimately who Gus is deep down. He's a scared little man who has to wear body armor everywhere. In fact, I'll go a step further and see he's nearly the exact same person as Walter White. It's only once Lalo is dead that Gus thinks he's unstoppable and can't be touched. Walter is the same exact way once he gets rid of Gus.
  • And then that all dovetails nicely into the meeting with all of the Dons. You have the moment where Don Hector is so pissed off at Gus and it's going to take years until he can get his revenge and then the callback to staring at the pool.
  • I actually thought Kim was going to pin the blame on Howard's wife for leaving him and not having the guts to move out or tell Howard to move out and instead stringing Howard along. I think that may have been more cold blooded than the path she actually took, which was also more intelligent and caused less of a scene.
  • And to breakdown all of the heartbreak from that last scene between Kim and Jimmy, it's the first time we see Jimmy scrambling to save himself and someone else before he does it again near the end of BB. The heartbreak isn't so much that Jimmy and Kim are done, but Jimmy realizes that he's destroyed the one thing Kim actually loved, being a public defender, he can't get that back, he can't save that, and the next thing he loves just as much is having Kim as his partner in crime. And not crime in the literal sense, although he's losing his partner in doing a bunch of fun scams, but he's losing someone he could watch old movies with, trust his fish to, his closest confidant, etc. Without any of that, Jimmy is just fucking dead and all of that died with Kim leaving him. 

Without a doubt this has eclipsed BB in terms of quality, but this is just far more gutwrenching. And yeah, had the episode ended in black and white with Jimmy at home watching an old black and white movie by himself pondering on how he's lost everything then that would have been as fitting of an end to the series as possible. No worrying about Gene getting caught, just Gene/Jimmy, all alone, remembering everything he lost and how he'll never get any of it back. He's more isolated in Omaha than Walter was in a cabin out in the middle of nowhere.

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I actually think the opposite. If the cover story is her long time mentor came over to her house and berated her and accused her & her husband of ruining his career while hopped up on coke, then drove off to kill himself in the sea... that rocking her to the core and making her leave behind the law makes total sense. It doesn't raise flags, it sells the story. Howard "killing himself" was such a big moment she can't continue on. So she doesn't. She wants a new start because she can't practice law without thinking of her dearly departed mentor.

Gus & Mike would probably be all for it. Because her & Saul together with their scams and schemes were always a liability. But her taking off kind of leaves Saul in a more docile neutered state. Without Kim Jimmy is just a small time hustler.

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Aside from the breakup, Nacho's father telling Mike almost directly that he was a gangster was my favorite scene. Because in all these years as a cop he probably never thought it, and even through the current work never admitted it to himself. That was brutal. 

Who thought a bad Philly cop who ended up a murderous body-cleaner for a drug cartel would be one of the most sympathetic characters on any show, ever?

Edited by Curt McGirt
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11 hours ago, Craig H said:

I forget his secretary’s name, but it’s also sad to see her final transformation into someone who hates what they’re doing and is totally bitter. 

Francesca still is a key to the post BB world. She is expecting a certain phone call at the law office on Saul’s birthday, which would make us think it might be Kim reaching out.

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I am bummed they had to recast Jeff. The original actor had this sleazy charisma that totally fit in as a random dude that would try to extort Saul. The recasted actor had none of that menace and danger. He gave off more of a buffoon vibe. I would have loved that final interaction in the garage with the original Jeff. Would have had more layers and a much better tension.

I was expecting this to be the Walt & Jesse episode in the BB timeline. So I will admit to being a bit disappointed that there was a light and kind of out of place Gene episode here. But I liked the story they told regardless. Good way to handle being extorted.

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Damn my memory is shot. I barely remember this Jeff guy and only recall him now that you guys mention him. Not sure the original actor would've helped either. So I spent most of this episode figuring Gene was setting these guys up but had no idea what was going on otherwise.

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1 hour ago, ohtani's jacket said:

I liked the episode, but I can imagine a lot of people didn't. I wonder if that's the last we'll see of Gene. 

It’s not. This is what the rest of the season will be.

My only response to the episode is, dammit Jimmy! These guys are totally going to steak again so you better hope you have a plan to downplay that you know them.

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