Better Call Saul...whatcha think?

So I just saw a tweet the next Episode is titled "Breaking Bad" which is cool because the episode we were introduced to Jimmy/Saul in Breaking Bad was titled "Better Call Saul". Think we are going see some Walt and Jesse.

I think there is going be some really neat artwork with Jimmy McGill, Saul Goodman and Gene Takovic.

I'll admit the Gene BW episode wasnt my fav...still excellent and beautifully shot and acted. I've learned to trust the writers in this show though. They have a reason for everything they do. I'm sure when all said and done with perspective, I'll look back at this episode with greater appreciation. I mean the "Fly" episode looks even better now after the events of this last season.

I have complete faith they are going land this ending. Haven't steered me wrong yet.

Also wow does Carol Burnett look good for pushing 90. Good for her.

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I didn’t even intend that but good catch. I’ll try to work Mr. Show into my next post.

Mr. Show, huh?:



By the way Des, are you fan of that "Die Hungry" skit Odenkirk was in on The Ben Stiller Show?

The schedule was re-worked as Odenkirk had heart problems. Harvey couldn't make the rescheduled shoot. Great job from Pat Healy by the way, I thought he was fantastic.

Also (stolen from the Internet) :

The invoice number for the crate delivered to the department store dock read by the manager was 1968 AE 35.

1968 was the year 2001: A Space Odyssey was released. AE 35 was the unit HAL reports will soon fail.

I can understand why people found this last episode underwhelming. I think it might be necessary for this to feed into something, but I have faith that it will. Maybe this convinces him to do something else, maybe this sparks something in him, et cetera. If it doesn't then it's admittedly an odd choice, but I assume it's laying the groundwork for whatever comes next.

Really nice touch with him checking out gaudy suits after, in a vague "am I back?" kind of way. Clearly this both scared and invigorated him. But just like Gus he has to walk away from that indulgence after, because it presumably gets in the way of the next thing, whatever it is.

I don't think this is the end of the Gene story, but it wouldn't be out of the question, given how they left things with Jesse in Breaking Bad. A little "one last heist and then back into obscurity" would be an okay coda to this story...but of course, it's not really over until we get some kind of resolution with Kim. A newspaper article about where she ended up, Gene driving to see her, to see what her life is like from afar, et cetera. Personally I'll be surprised if he doesn't find her in the current timeline, and if they don't either talk or at least exchange a meaningful glance, the latter more likely if it turns out she has an entirely new (and clearly happy or happy-adjacent) life.

My God was that episode so good tonight. Just the proper amount of fan service surrounding moving BCS forward. 2 left. I'll be sad when it's gone.

Conjugate much?

My purpose in life is to

Spoilers ahead for the most recent episode...









Yeah, so obviously that's the big reveal here. What happened on that phone call? That's the thing we find out later that ties things together. Pretty likely in the finale.

The thing that first occurred to me, which is probably still my best guess, is that he was basically told he couldn't talk to her/she didn't want to talk to him. It's hard to imagine he was yelling at her. More likely he was yelling at someone who was standing in his way of talking to her. I'm not sure about that, but for the moment, that's what I'm going with.

Either way, obviously it set him off completely. We thought this show was about how Jimmy McGill turns into Saul Goodman, and for the most part, that's what it's been. But what we're seeing in these black and white episodes, in the latest story chronologically, is him turning into Saul Goodman again. A second time, after being cowed by the events of Breaking Bad and going into hiding. We've seen him use his, eh, talents, to preserve his anonymity and avoid trouble, but whatever was said over that phone has tipped him over into doing it for its own sake again.

I told my wife, when he found out his mark had cancer, that this was the final test: if he lets him go, the message is that he's still Jimmy under all that. If he doesn't, it shows that he's still Saul. And while another turnaround could be in the cards (even if it's manifest in the last thing he ever does or says), as of right now the message is that he hasn't been able to come back from what he let himself become when Kim left.

Tremendous show, and of course the fan service-y thing is appropriately restrained and fascinating and all that.

SPOILERS BELOW

Man those call backs to BB were immaculate. Lesson in less is more. Stroke of genius using that scene where they abduct Saul in BB for Walt and Jesse cameo. A.) It's a pivotal scene for BCS and BB. The original scene is the genesis of Lalo & Nancho. B.) Using that scene Walt and Jesse have beanies on in BB so they used the beanies in BCS to hide any aging/Cranston didn't have to shave his head. Plus it works with the continuity of the original scene. Beautiful. We could break down the BB scenes in this until we are blue it's just out of this world writing/filmmaking.

Kim being in Titusville is exciting news for me. It's only about 2 hours from me on the opposite coast of Florida. I immediately thought of this meme. It will be fascinating how they end Kim's story...we know we will see her again, too big of a character it will be resolved.

I couldn't help but be quite bored this latest episode, it's not as much fun having Gene/Saul out on his own, no Kim/Gus/Mike/Lalo (who really stole the show last few seasons), although I am gripped by what Saul's ultimate fate is going to be.

Someone on reddit predicted the next cold open will be Kim going about her business then getting a phone call.

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Excellent episode this week!

My wife and I have been watching Breaking Bad again, and we just so happened to have watched the episode this most recent BCS called back to. As soon as I saw the POV shot through the hood over Saul's head, I cried out "Aha! They are taking him to the grave from that episode we just watched!" Really cool stuff.

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Yeah, we're gonna go back and watch some of his more important BB episodes, as well as the first episode of BCS (any great show, we find it pays to go back and watch the premiere shortly before the finale).

After the finale I'm re-watching Breaking Bad S02E08 "Better Call Saul".. and from there maybe continue re-watching the entire series..

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Second guess re: phone call.

Maybe he's talking to Kim's husband.

That could be it. I tend to think he wasn't able to get a hold of her. I don't think he would have been that upset if he got to talk to her. I think a light blub just went off in my head today about how they are going bring Kim back into the fold.

I think Gene gets arrested and she comes back home to Nebraska to help him out legally. Not sure if that's being his lawyer or just providing him advice as he defends himself. Maybe that's silly, but they aren't leaving Kim out the rest of the series. They will resolve her story and that's a route I can see them taking. Ending it in a courtroom.

Also be cool if the BrBa universe ended in my home state of Florida. I'd be about that, my favorite tv drama ending here.

Agreed. That's why I think maybe the husband thing. I still think it's as likely (or more) it was more "she doesn't want to talk to you," someone running interference. I also think, if it is her husband, it's fairly likely he'd scream at him with deniability (pretend to be mad about some, uh, sprinkler-related thing, I guess) rather than in a way that betrays who he is or what he's actually mad about. Misdirected anger seems to be his thing, after all.

Not silly, interesting idea. But yeah, whether it's that or not, there's going to be something. They're either going to speak, or see each other, or both. Where they leave things, and whether Saul is still Saul, or still Jimmy (or even just has a glint of Jimmy left), are the only two things this show is honor bound to tell us.

I don't believe that we'll see Kim again. She wasn't in BB, so what could they do with her in the last two eps? Hard to say.

The Hitchcockian phone call could have been with several people. They'll probably let us know... But maybe not.

I caught up, watching the first two of the last four eps of the series last night. The timelines are confusing to me: Gene in B&W, Saul in color. So I'm not quite sure about the overview timeline. Also the artsy endings in the two eps was a little pretentious, if not confusing.

Now I'll wait for the last two eps of the series to be released before finishing it up. I don't like watching one at a time.

Oh, and I loved seeing Carol Burnett in her part!

Good episode again - one thing confused me - when Saul was being abducted by Walt he shouts 'Did Lalo send you'?

Why did he say that? Isn't Lalo log dead at this point?

Is it because he is still not certain Lalo is dead?
Does he say this in the Breaking Bad episode that this originally featured in?