The pilot is insane. I remember asking the guy who recommended it to me straight after I finished watching it if the pace calms down because I thought it was giving me heart palpitations.
@dteam , who was Chris? And do you really think he mourned Victor? I got the impression he was simply in shock realising the extent Gus would go to in order to intimidate Walt and Jesse. I do agree about Jesse and Nacho being his surrogate sons, though, and maybe even Jimmy. Squat Cobbler dork had his chance but blew it. I'd like to see skinny Huell get adopted by grandpa Mike. Speaking of which, he looks amazing.
Chris was the guy who shot and killed Chow as part of Lydia's request to kill the 11 witnesses on the list. Mike shot him after subduing him. He looked quite sad after he had done so.
And yes, I do believe he mourned Victor. You have to really study Mike's expressions, as you know. They're so subtle and Banks plays them to perfection. Here are the clues:
-During the moment when Mike asks Victor if he was seen by the tenants at Gale's murder scene, Victor looks down in shame and can't face Mike. He's just like a boy who's facing his father and knowing he's done wrong. Mike's reactions are like those of both a concerned boss and father figure, in my opinion.
-When Walt and Jesse are trying to get Victor's body into the barrel, Mike's face goes through a series of emotions and one of them, for a brief moment appears to be the slightest moment of sadness at seeing his former associate being handled that way.
-The blood wiping in the restaurant. You are correct--some of that reaction is shock. Quite clearly. But, if you examine his facial expressions, you might also glimpse some sadness--especially the way he cups his hands, lowers his head and closes his eyes.
-Mike's visible anger with Jesse in the car when Jesse says: "I'm the guy, right?" and Mike pulls over, angry and shouts: "YOU are not the guy! I HAD a guy but now I don't--YOU are not the guy! You're not capable of BEING the guy!" To me, that was a mixture of anger over Jesse's actions leading to Victor's death as well as regret over not having "a guy" anymore.
It's open to interpretation but I DO believe that Mike was mourning Victor to some extent.
Same deal with that guy (can't remember his name) who had his head blown off by the sniper. When they were wheeling his body into the lab, Walt was asking: "What did this guy do? What did this poor man do to p!ss off Gus?" and Mike became angry and said: "You shut your mouth. You shut your mouth or I'll shut it for you. I don't want you talking to ME or JESSE." To me, that was a mixture of anger, frustration with Walt and Mike trying to handle the disposal of his associate with respect.
Mike also cared about Chow. Since Chow was closer to Mike's age, we know he's not a "son" in Mike's eyes--just an associate he cared for. In regards to Chris and Chow, Mike said to Lydia: "Two good men are dead because of you."
In an earlier scene, Mike told Lydia: "I handpicked all my guys and vetted them with great care. They are MY guys."
We know Mike--he's not very trusting of people and those he DOES trust he cares for. I'm inclined to believe that Mike cared for most of his crew. This man was a former cop and brought that mentality to his crew: "You care for your own". Cops often think of their units as a family--I'm sure he considered his crew something similar. They were all on a first name basis and Mike went through great lengths to take care of them after they were imprisoned.
Again, it's open to interpretation but I believe that Mike had a few surrogate "sons" as well as friends in that group. Otherwise, he could have just as easily let Lydia kill them.
Jimmy as one of his "sons"? Hmmmm...maybe you're onto something there. He never technically hurt him--even in Breaking Bad. He threatened him in BB, sure, when he said: "Saul, don't make me beat you till your legs don't work" but he never did. He was quite uncharacteristically tolerant around Jimmy. Thanks for the theory--I hadn't considered that but maybe you're right.
I noticed that scene this season where Jimmy says: "Who's got your back? Me, that's who." When Jimmy left, Mike briefly looked at him through his mirror with (what I thought to be) almost a fleeting look of mild pity.
That's Mike--a quiet man with a short temper who is surprisingly caring of other people. I guess Gilligan wanted Mike to be a big old softy underneath that rough exterior. Banks sells it well, too.
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Especially for a rewatch (or, in some cases, a re-re-re-watch). I'll try to scribble down some stuff though so that even if I race ahead I'll have something to say most of the time.
). Then someone called me and I was off. 
