Better Call Saul

[henryeatscereal]

I'm pretty sure it was Jesse's voice

[ghostaustin]

That episode felt light-hearted compared to the past few weeks, which was a nice surprise for me. You can definitely tell that Jimmy took some cues from Walt in terms of dealing with unsavory characters

[Self.Destructive.Pattern]

What a delight.

Loved the direction in this episode, and it just keeps getting better and better. Knowing the end is coming is really starting to sink in.

[theruiner]

*** spoiler for next week's episode***

So, uh... Spoiler: AMC has confirmed that the name of the next episode is "Breaking Bad." I think we know what that means.

[ickyvicky]

Finally caught up! Omg, what an amazing show, wish it wasn't ending.

[ickyvicky]

Looks like things are going to get rough for Saul...

[ghostaustin]

I know Jimmy's morals have always been pretty lax, but it looks like it's reeeally bottoming out here.

[ghostaustin]

I want a happy ending so badly but I don't think it's gonna happen

Spoiler: It looks like Kimmy and Jim did not have a great convo, so hopefully she lives?

[M1ke]

I want a happy ending so badly but I don't think it's gonna happen

Spoiler: Spoiler: It looks like Kimmy and Jim did not have a great convo, so hopefully she lives?

Spoiler: This is assuming he actually got Kim on the phone. He could have been yelling at someone else who was giving him bad news about her, or refusing to put him through.

[RJK]

Spoiler tags please and thank you

[sonic_discord]

Finally caught up! Omg, what an amazing show, wish it wasn't ending.

Same. Though I'm glad they know when to end it so that the ending feels as though it was planned and the show was building towards it, rather than just limping along until the ratings drop and then fumbling the landing like so many other shows that were great until the final season, where it becomes fairly obvious that they didn't quite know how to end it.

I know Jimmy's morals have always been pretty lax, but it looks like it's reeeally bottoming out here.

Yeah, it seemed like they were really making a point of mirroring two pivotal bad decisions that he can't come back from in the two different timelines – Spoiler: deciding to ignore Mike's advice to leave Walt & Jesse alone, and deciding to go on with the con job on that last "mark" who revealed that he has cancer, even after Jeff's friend Buddy refuses and is subsequently fired by Gene/Saul (or "Viktor").

Spoiler: This is assuming he actually got Kim on the phone. He could have been yelling at someone else who was giving him bad news about her, or refusing to put him through.

My wife and I were discussing the possibility that Spoiler: she no longer works there and the management refused to hand out a former employee's private number/information, so he has no idea how to find her anymore. However, considering how angry he was after the phone call ended, I'm going to assume that he was, in fact, talking to her and we will hear that conversation in one of the two remaining episodes.

[fillow]

My wife and I were discussing the possibility that ...spoilers...

I thought your initial conclusion was right, and I don't see how Saul's reaction after the call disproves it. I think that's exactly what happened there.

[onthewall2983]

Spoiler: One element to this episode that really just occurred to me that from the start of all this Mike never trusted Walter and it’s not so hard to imagine him two steps away from just killing him throughout their scenes together on Breaking Bad. In the broader spectrum of what made that show legendary the complete electricity between those two in many of the confrontations they had until Mike’s end, all the more tragic now that we see how much he trusts the men he works with including Gus Fring. From the time he meets Walter White all of that incrementally gets away from him, just the same as his son did in Philadelphia.

[ickyvicky]

@onthewall2983 Exactly! I wonder what brought him to immediately tell Saul to stay away.

[Self.Destructive.Pattern]

Spoiler: I believe he was indeed talking to Kim. If you listen with headphones you can make out a few words, and he yells "Kim" as if he was trying to get through to her and she wasn't having it. It was definitely her, and it shows after he is staring at the dough mixer, that he pretty much has lost all hope that they may get back together in some fashion... Now bring in his Taxi/Identity scheme and it all makes sense.

Thinking about what happened to everyone in this show, including Breaking Bad, almost all the heavy hitters literally die with the exception of Jesse, so I really do not see Saul/Jimmy/Viktor getting out of this ultimately.

Kim may be the only one that actually gets out.

Watching the episode again:
Love that they named the title of the episode "Breaking Bad" like it's counterpart "Better Call Saul" for the Breaking Bad episode. Nice little touch.

I didn't realize that they changed the actor for Jeff until watching the early episodes of season 6 again, but when you see the juxtaposition when they first show his demeanor in the rear view mirror as menacing and confident, to Jeff almost being scared and reluctant towards Gene is very subtle, yet incredibly affective.

When we get the scene with Mike, it is actually very telling to Saul's ultimate behavior. Once he gets an idea in his head, it's almost impossible for him to help himself. Just like the note he had on the light switch to "Always leave on."

We watch the fall of Saul Goodman, and the potential end of Gene. The scene where the grave transitions from empty to Gene laying on his bed was great and sticks with you with what may ultimately happen to Gene.

The gas station where Francesca waits for the call, is the same gas station where Jesse gives the girl meth!

It's safe to say that Jimmy McGill is all but gone.

[sonic_discord]

I feel like Walt crosses several lines and deserved to die and if they did anything less than that, it would look like Vince and the writers were letting him off easy for all he'd done, all the crimes he committed, and all the hurt he caused (some could argue that was still the case, as he seemed oddly happy or satisfied just before he collapsed). Jesse endured enough torture that it feels like he's paid his penance and suffered for his sins (pardon the religious tone). As bad as Jimmy/Saul has become, I don't know that he's passed the point of redemption quite yet, though Spoiler: the most recent episode showcasing two pivotal points where he "breaks bad" (hence the episode title's double-entendre meaning) does make more of a case for that. I feel like they may stop short of killing Jimmy/Saul/Gene, but that he will have to answer for his crimes and pay the price by serving some time hard time. I can see him making peace with Kim, but I think it's safe to say he won't be getting a "happy ending" when it's all over. I wonder if we'll get one last flashback appearance of Chuck to tie things back to the beginning...

[Self.Destructive.Pattern]

I have to disagree about Saul being passed the point of redemption. He doesn't have to be a complete monster like Walt turned out to be.



Spoiler: In BCS, we finally see what leads up to Saul's ultimate decision to visit Walt in his classroom and implant the thought to Walt that he can build something much larger; it literally all starts with Saul. He may not have did the twisted things that Walt ultimately does, but he is just as responsible for what happens with the culmination of it all. Jail time just seems a tad too light of an end for someone that helped shape Heisenberg, even if there is so much more to that character. Mike telling him to forget about it, and Saul not being able to help himself just makes it seem that much worse to me.

[sonic_discord]

I have to disagree about Saul being passed the point of redemption. He doesn't have to be a complete monster like Walt turned out to be.

Spoiler: In BCS, we finally see what leads up to Saul's ultimate decision to visit Walt in his classroom and implant the thought to Walt that he can build something much larger; it literally all starts with Saul. He may not have did the twisted things that Walt ultimately does, but he is just as responsible for what happens with the culmination of it all. Jail time just seems a tad too light of an end for someone that helped shape Heisenberg, even if there is so much more to that character. Mike telling him to forget about it, and Saul not being able to help himself just makes it seem that much worse to me.

Yeah, maybe you're right. It's honestly been over 5 years since I watched Breaking Bad (planning to rewatch it again once BCS is over), so maybe I've been watching him as Jimmy too long and Jimmy does have a heart and a conscience. But even if he's indirectly responsible for much of Walt's actions by giving him ideas, suggestions, advice, and resources, Walt still made his own decisions and acted on his own horrible instincts. Saul is far from innocent, but he didn't MAKE Walt do anything. Spoiler: Mike telling Saul to leave Walt alone was because he thought Walt was an amateur (and likely to get caught), not because he knew Walt would end up killing a bunch of people. Saul was a greedy opportunist who lacked a moral compass, but he wasn't a murderer. Anyway, I have gone back and forth on this because it IS a bit of a blurry line.

Spoiler: The scene where the grave transitions from empty to Gene laying on his bed was great and sticks with you with what may ultimately happen to Gene.

I LOVED this transition! Actually, there were several great transitions in that episode. Spoiler: But yeah, whether it's literal foreshadowing of him dying or a metaphor for how his decisions to forge ahead with these two men who have cancer (Walt and the financial adviser they scam) is him "digging his own grave," it doesn't bode well for him.

[Self.Destructive.Pattern]

Spoiler: Mike telling Saul to leave Walt alone was because he thought Walt was an amateur (and likely to get caught), not because he knew Walt would end up killing a bunch of people.

Spoiler: Right, right, I meant it makes it worse for me as it showcases how he simply cannot help himself when he gets his mind set on something.

I LOVED this transition! Actually, there were several great transitions in that episode. Spoiler: But yeah, whether it's literal foreshadowing of him dying or a metaphor for how his decisions to forge ahead with these two men who have cancer (Walt and the financial adviser they scam) is him "digging his own grave," it doesn't bode well for him.

Agreed!

[henryeatscereal]

I think Jimmy/Saul/Gene gets caught and ends up in jail, that way the "trilogy" is complete:

Walter = Dead
Pinkman = Free
Goodman = Jailed

[Self.Destructive.Pattern]

[Self.Destructive.Pattern]

Here we go!

[sonic_discord]

I bet tonight's episode opens with a montage of Kim going through her daily routine at work and we end up hearing the phone call from her perspective.

[ghostaustin]

Are y'all ready?? I'm not!!

I guess as long as we don't get a "andrea shot in the back of the head" moment, it will be okay.

[ickyvicky]

So last night's episode is basically what we all thought was going to happen.

[M1ke]

So last night's episode is basically what we all thought was going to happen.

That's not necessarily a bad thing though. I haven't really been enjoying the Gene moments up until tonights episode, but I quite liked this one.

Spoiler: I did really appreciate seeing Kim confess. It felt somehow uplifting and headbreaking at the same time, and it was one thing I didn't see coming.

[ickyvicky]

^^ That's true. I wonder that's why she said Spoiler: to Saul "I'm glad you're still alive." Maybe Howard's wife will go after him?

[otnavuskire]

^^ That's true. I wonder that's why she said Spoiler: to Saul "I'm glad you're still alive." Maybe Howard's wife will go after him?

Spoiler: I think she's glad he's alive because despite everything, she's always going to love him on some level. She wants him to be okay.

[Ruined]

Her breakdown in the shuttle/bus was devastating, especially with just that stranger's hand on her shoulder to comfort her. Great performances all around; I'm going to miss this show.

[Self.Destructive.Pattern]

Tragic episode.

Spoiler: I considered Kim may turn Saul in, in some form earlier in the season when I was debating what may or may not happen to her. Seeing how mundane her life is down to the point where she cannot even make simple decisions is sad in of its own. Saul not being able to help himself just keeps coming back to haunt him. Would Kim have even considered that decision if Saul didn't contact her?

I love all the callbacks in this episode, going all the way back to S2 of Breaking Bad, with the money in the cancer guys account was the same amount of money Walt thought he needed for his family. Kim visiting the lunch table her and Jimmy were at before they got married, and seeing her and Jesse interact was not essentially necessary, but I still liked it. The color in Saul's glasses when he sees the commercial being played on Marion's laptop is a callback to the first episode when he is watching it on his own television; these are the only moments I believe where we see color in the Gene/Viktor timeline; AMAZING STUFF HERE. I guess I was being bit hard on Jimmy/Saul/Gene/Viktor in my earlier analysis, but seeing that he was really contemplating on hurting cancer guy, and Marion shows how off the rails he has gone, and straight into Saul mode. But him not going through with hurting Marion after she says she trusted him shows there is still something left in there.

Cannot believe we are coming to an end with this amazing show, and I am glad I re-watched Breaking Bad and most of Better Call Saul before this season started. Everything is so well thought out and meticulous, it is the perfect companion piece to Breaking Bad and really gives it a run for its money.

Rhea Seehorn deserves all the praise for her performance and better win a few awards for it!!