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BETTER CALL SAUL


Jay

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2 hours ago, Stefancos said:

I've seen almost nothing of Enterprise, and what I did see didnt appeal to me. Didnt see much of the last 2 seasons of Voyager.

 

Well I guess Alex won't be back in this thread for a few weeks.

 

I'm already back ... only to find out that this thread has turned into another Star Trek thread. :(

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Better Call Saul 1x01 Mabel

 

I really enjoy these Gene, Cinnabon Manager prologues each season gets.  This one was done very well, with nice sped-up montages of his daily work grind (since prior prologues delved more into detail of his routine) and the interesting sequence where he helps the cops find the shoplifter, but then can't help himself from telling a clearly guilty kid to lawyer up.  I'm not sure what the point it of ending the prologue with him fainting, though, since I assume it will be a year until we get a resolution to that?

 

One aspect of the show that I admittedly always forget about when praising it is the score, and Daver Porter's score here was excellent as always.  Really, the score to this show is just as worthy of praise as the acting and writing.  I loved when his music came in during the prologue; It was like an old friend returning.  The show always does a good job knowing when to use original score or existing songs.  Love it!

 

The first Chuck/Jimmy scene was wonderful as always; from the little detail of stripping the stuff without varnish, to the way Chuck can't let Jimmy happily reminisce for too long.  The following Kim/Jimmy scene was equally wonderful, as always; The acting and writing for them continues to perfectly explain their relationship and why it works every time.

 

Chuck's meeting with Hamlin where they agree that the tape has no use in a court, or for getting Mason Verde back.... but Chuck has a plan for it!  No idea what it could be....

 

The Mike sequence was equally terrific.  I loved how Dave Porter's score drove it: High octane action as he drives away as fast as he can, and then more deliberate investigation as he disassembles his car.  The music does its job of reminding us that while the Jimmy storyline is about morals and fudging law to accomplish your own goals, the Mike story involves true potential for murder and death and should not be taken lightly.  When he finds the transmitter in his gas cap, I tried to think about what the technology was like in 2002: Would there have been a way for Gus to live monitor where it was going?  Or was this a thing where he would have to later retrieve it to know where it had been?  I wasn't sure why Mike brought it to his house once he found it; Was it because he figured they already knew he was at that particular auto shop, and used his real name for the taxi call?  And then why was it later in a different car?  

 

I loved the scene with Jimmy and the Air Force captain!  I never would have expected the show to bring up how he filmed his commercial again at all, but it was interesting and led to a great character moment where Jimmy briefly responds as if he was defending himself against Chuck.  I have no idea if this will be the last we hear the air force stuff or not, could really go either way.

 

OK, so does the later Mike scene imply he MOVED Gus's transmitter from his burner car he did the job with, into his main car?  If so why?  Hmmm.  Loved how he removed it from his car being going to his vendor guy; Though you have to think if Gus reads the data later he'll still wonder why he was at the Court so late?

 

Kim's scene with the Mesa Verde lady was so pitch perfect; When she hesitates and asks to review the document before the morning, and has that body language when she walks away...,. you get that bad feeling it the pit of your stomache you only get from watching this show.  She knows she only has the gig because Jimmy changed the address, and she is completely torn up inside between actively choosing to ignore that, or abandoning everything to stay true to her morals.  I loved how this was further explored by her fussing over a minor way of wording things in the document.  I feel so sad for the future of Jimmy and Kim's relationship :(

 

The scene with Ernesto hearing the tape was well done; it was clear Chuck intended for him to hear it from the beginning, though it was fun watching Chuck put on a show for him.

 

Alright, finally the next Mike scene explains the transmitter stuff.  Dave Porter's music for this was again terrific!  It really perfectly compliments the visual and tone so nicely.  I liked how he used a radio to train the battery, as a plow to get them to come get it.  I guess this means they were actively monitoring him.  I wonder what the range on that thing is?  As soon as a single person showed up to swap batteries, I wondered if it was going to be that guy that Gus kills in the season 4 premiere (I forget his name, sorry).  At the end when Mike drives away, I assume he is following the guy that came to his house, but how?  I'm kind of surprised Gus wasn't seen this week, with AMC featuring hiim so prominent in advertising!


OK, now that I've seen it, I'll read you guys comments.

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On 4/12/2017 at 3:11 PM, Stefancos said:

He switcher the tracker that the people following him planted with the one he bought and once some-guy pulls up to his car and presumably switches the now empty tracker with a new one he calmly sets of and track the trackers.

 

Oohhhhhhhhh ok, that explains it.  Dunno how I missed that.

 

7 hours ago, Stefancos said:

It didn't occur to me till the last ep that Chuck might also be breaking bad soon. We've seen him keep Jimmy down. Partly because he (rightly) believes that as a lawyer he's a potential menace, and partly because Chuck does nurture a deep resentment against Jimmy. Up until now Chuck has never stepped outside of the confines of the law, or what brothers do to each other in a dysfunctional relationship. But Jimmy's little Mesa Verde trick went badly wrong. Jimmy crossed a line for Chuck. Both professionally and personally. And Jimmy knows it too.

 

Yup and we already saw him do more of that this week when he tricks Ernesto, after he ran his big ruse last season that he didn't let Hamlin in on.  Jimmy is rubbing off on Chuck, but of course Chuck thinks he's absolutely doing the right thing, for "the law", which he holds higher than anything else.  It's fascinating to think where this could go.

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This morning I actually formed an idea where this could go.
 

Spoiler

 

It seems obvious that Chuck and Jimmy will go head to head this season. Though we're not sure what Chuck's game is.

Jimmy does however have one advantage. The fact that Chuck has an apparently serious mental condition and that twice in both season Chuck's doctor has pleaded with Jimmy to take legal guardianship over Chuck and have him committed. Jimmy did so briefly last season so Chuck could be medically examined.

My guess is Chuck will corner Jimmy to such an extent that the only way he can stay out of jail, not lose his license to practice law etc is to stage another situation where Chuck's condition becomes a danger to him. And he will then have Chuck committed and out of harms way.

 

This might be what will be Jimmy's breaking bad point, since whatever he is now, he does have a strong, if warped affection for his brother. Even when they are at odds we still see him running errands, grounding himself before entering the house etc.

 

I could be wrong, because it's Gilligan. But that's what I think will happen. (next week I might think something different though)

 

 

 

 

21 minutes ago, Jay said:

Oohhhhhhhhh ok, that explains it.  Dunno how I missed that.

 

I had to really pay attention. The Mike storyline had almost no dialogue, so everything was told visually. And quite brilliantly too.

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Well, the show either ends with Chuck still practicing law, or not.  His career coming to an end would certainly be more dramatic television, especially if its after reaching that point where he can either let it go and let Jimmy do his thing, or risk everything to take him down.

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1 hour ago, Jay said:

OK, so does the later Mike scene imply he MOVED Gus's transmitter from his burner car he did the job with, into his main car?  If so why?  Hmmm.  Loved how he removed it from his car being going to his vendor guy; Though you have to think if Gus reads the data later he'll still wonder why he was at the Court so late?

 

My guess is both Mike's car's were being tracked

 

 

27 minutes ago, Jay said:

Well, the show either ends with Chuck still practicing law, or not.  His career coming to an end would certainly be more dramatic television, especially if its after reaching that point where he can either let it go and let Jimmy do his thing, or risk everything to take him down.

 

My guess is that something quite dramatic needs to happen with both Chuck and Kim.

Both are actually on quite a dangerous path right now.

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Hmmm, now I'm confused again, then.  After reading your earlier post, I thought what happened was:

 

1 He finds the tracker in his "job" car.  He chooses to bring it home anyway.

2 Inside, he examines the tracking number, and then puts it inside his "main" car.

3 He buys a second tracker and a tracker-reading device.  He kills the battery of Gus's tracker, so it will send a Low Battery alert to them, and then puts his own tracker inside his gas tank

4 When they come to get the tracker, he is now able to follow them because what they actually grabbed is his own, working tracker

 

 

However, reading through that, it doesn't entirely make sense.  What would be the point of draining the battery, instead of simply taking the battery out?  Either way, it would give a Low Battery alert to them, presumably.  So he must have left their battery in their tracker for them to get.  But then how can he follow them afterward?  And what exactly did he throw into the trash can; I thought it was the battery he drained?

I'm confused again.  I'll see what the AV Club review says

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OK, they agree with you: Gus put a tracker in both cars.  So, possibly he left the one in his "job" car at the auto shop?  He definitely then drained the one in his normal car.

 

I guess the only thing I don't get is how he is able to track them, at the end.  Did he put 2 trackers inside the gas cap?  That doesn't make sense, because didn't the guy presumably show up and put a new tracker inside Mike's car, and not like, steal his entire gas cap?  So I'm still confused lol.

 

 

2 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

Would taking out the battery not give an "off" signal rather than "battery low". 

 

That would raise suspicion of the tracker is suddenly off.

 

When he takes the battery out the first time, the screen on the device he got said Low Battery before it said "Signal Lost" or whatever the error state was.

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Mike let the one Gus put in his car go flat. He then put the one he bought of the vet in the gas cap.

 

The guy who switched the gas caps late at night took the tracker Mike bought, thinking it was the one that went flat. Therefore Mike can track where he's going.

 

It's not that difficult actually.

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Yup. I got it now.  Was just briefly confused.

 

 

 

One thing I forgot to mention, was that the look on Hamlin's face when he talks to Chuck was priceless.  I like this AV Club commentor on it:

 

Quote

The look on Howard's face said it all. He totally looked like a guy who was thinking of the other stuff he could and should be doing instead of being dragged into playing referee in the McGill Brother's Feud.

His old partner has obviously gone off the deep end. Even discounting the whole electricity thing, Chuck's obsession about keeping Jimmy under his thumb is nothing if not insane.

While Howard likes Jimmy and respects everything he did to support a brother who basically hates him, he really doesn't have a dog in the fight and most likely feels he'd be happier if neither of them were in his life.

 

 

and

 

Quote

Howard would just as soon not have to deal with Chuck or Jimmy. He's reaching the point where he'd just as soon have both of them leave town and let him get back to schmoozing clients, playing golf and getting his Hamlindigo Blue suits tailored.

 

 

I think Hamlin will play a big role this season.

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17 hours ago, Alexcremers said:

 

The truth is that you don't want to be left out when Jay & Co discuss the series. 

 

30 minutes ago, Alexcremers said:

"The truth is that you don't want to be left out when Jay & Co discuss the series." 

 

 

Jay & Co = Jay & StefanCos ?

 

Are you questioning a post you made yesterday?

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Watched the last ten minutes of last week's episode since I missed the end last week. Very clever putting the radio in parallel across the original tracker's battery to drain faster and hear when it's close to dying, because 90% to 0% instantly would be suspicious. A slow sustained drain can be device error or cheap batteries. 

 

Mike's new car looks almost like one I used to own, a Chrysler New Yorker, even the color. God I miss that car. 

 

Can't say I share his taste for PBR. 

Busted. Hook, line, and sinker. 

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Thinking back on the episode again, I really love the Mike sequences.  I mean, I loved the whole episode, but the deliberate way Mike goes about what he does, and the way in which those sequences are edited and presented are just so wonderful.  Again I must mention Dave Porter; The music he wrote for the Mike montages fit the scenes like a glove.  Great work.  Can't wait to watch last night's episode tonight.

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That lengthy shot with Gus out of focus in the background was sublime. You just knew Jimmy's crude spying job would throw a spanner in the works. Lo and behold, Gus clearly caught on and obviously had an established protocol with his agents in such situations.

 

Not only will Mike be on Gus' radar but he's dragged Jimmy well into the situation now.

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18 hours ago, crumbs said:

That lengthy shot with Gus out of focus in the background was sublime. You just knew Jimmy's crude spying job would throw a spanner in the works. Lo and behold, Gus clearly caught on and obviously had an established protocol with his agents in such situations.

 

Not only will Mike be on Gus' radar but he's dragged Jimmy well into the situation now.

 

Yeah, that was one of several great things in the latest episode. Gilligan really directs the best ones himself. It's also a mystery to me why not more (American) shows follow Gilligan's recipe with slow-moving, yet incredibly suspenseful scenes -- especially given how popular this show is.

 

I'm impressed you guys keep such detailed track of the intricate plot mechanisms. Understanding the whole "nuts and bolts" of that tracker thing isn't that important to me; the important thing was that Mike turned the tables for a moment -- at least untill the latest episode.

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Better Call Saul 1x02 Witness

 

Cold Open - As suspected, Chuck has prepared for Jimmy to come and try to steal the tape, assuming Ernie will tell him what he heard.  I like the deliberate way Chuck paced around, checking every window.

 

Act 1 - Another glorious Mike montage.  This entire sequence was shot, edited, and scored (Love the recurring theme Dave Porter is using for Mike this season) perfectly!  I don't think a single word was spoken, but it was mesmerizing throughout.  I did think that the final music stinger as the Los Pollos Hermanos sign was shown was a bit much, though; It's not like we didn't all know it was coming with AMC hyping both Gus and LPH so much between seasons.

 

Act 2 - Wow, it takes balls for a show to not even features its "main character" (At this point, Jimmy and Mike are practically true co-leads, I'd say) at all until after two whole commercial breaks!  When Jimmy steamrolls Kim into hiring the first secretary to apply... is she the same secretary he has in BB?  I don't remember.  I really enjoyed this entire sequence, despite the silliness of literally getting hired and working a full day the same day you interview.

 

Act 3 - Mike calling Jimmy to do reconnaissance work in Los Pollos Hermanos was fun!  Jimmy actually was very good at his job, being so thorough to even check the trash can, and come up with the watch trick on the fly when he got caught!  It's actually kind of surprising he didn't think that Gus could have swept up something near the backback when he was cleaning that area (which seems to be what happened).  Speaking of Gus, his on-screen introduction, out of focus behind Jimmy while the camera was focused on him, was great!  I loved the ominous shot of Gus listening to Jimmy's car pulling away from Mike's.

 

Act 4 - Loved the Ernie / Kim scene, both did a great job with it.  Kim telling what Ernie told her to Jimmy was extremely well done.  This is basically the turning point for her...accepting that money and being his lawyer, and asking questions directly about forging the documents that got her the Mesa Verde gig... she's committed to not strictly following the straight and narrow path now!  Poor, poor Kim.  I feel so bad for her!  That guy playing loud music in his SUV, that the camera lingered on to show him flicking a cigarette out the window, was that supposed to be someone from BB I didn't recognize?

 

Act 5 - I'm not surprised at all that in the end, Gus one-upped Mike.  Mike is crazy meticulous and amazing at what he does, but Gus is JUST that much better.  We BB viewers know he won't get his come-uppance until ~8 years later in the timeline, and I expect him to be completely in charge and at the top of his game his entire time on BCS.  I wish we got to see what happened after "yea?" this week, though!

 

The Jimmy/Kim scene where she comforts him and goes right back to work was great, and I loved the touch that he was using Chuck's technique to remove the masking tape.  And in the end, Jimmy cannot escape himself; He could let things be and wait to see what Chuck does but nope, he's gonna rip off that tape and go charging hot-headed into Chuck's house.  Did he even remove his electronics before entering, I wonder?


Before that, we got that very silly sequence of Hamlin entering Chuck's via the back door.  That was a side of Hamlin not seen before and I liked it.  I liked the way Hamlin and Chuck rationaled the money spent together.  You really get the feeling that Hamlin's patience for all things McHill is running thin.... and might have led to Jimmy's benefit if he hadn't charged in there.

 

And now begins another week's wait!

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The guy with the cigarette was the one that Gus relived of his duties in Season 4 (Victor I think was his name).  As for Jimmy being a good spy, you realize he was actually terrible at it.  He did nothing but stare at the guy the whole time, even moving his seat to be closer to him.  Gus obviously was watching and noticed something was wrong, and when Jimmy stuck his head in the garbage can it was clearly after Gus called off the drop (remember, the guy didn't have the bag the previous day but did that day, so no drop occurred).  

 

One thing is clear though is that Gilligan really is a fantastic director and comes up with some great visuals.  The shot on top of the drainage pipes which looked like something out of the silent era was absolutely gorgeous.

 

 

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6 hours ago, Wycket said:

One thing is clear though is that Gilligan really is a fantastic director and comes up with some great visuals.  The shot on top of the drainage pipes which looked like something out of the silent era was absolutely gorgeous.

 

Yes, this is something that I feel requires more attention than all the narrative shenanigans. Some fantastic visuals. I believe you're referring to the shot where they employ the sort of 'miniature' photography that is now even an app on mobile phones. The series is not yet on the level of UTOPIA in terms of staging, light, colours and geometric lines (what is?), but it's approaching a similar aesthetic. Love it.

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Completely agree with you both that Gilligan's directing in these two episodes was phenomenal.  I guess I thought it went without saying as I was praising every other element in the episodes that he was the one steering the ship, but yea, you guys are right, he deserves a shout-out.  On top of all the great writing, acting, editing, and music we've seen in these 2 episodes so far, there's been some great shot composition and framing as well, for sure.  I hope the various directors directing the remaining 8 episodes this season follow the pattern he set in these 2 episodes!

 

@Wycket Yes, I agree about the stakeout.  When I watched, I assumed that as Gus approached the guy with the bag, he swept up something the guy had placed on the floor near the bag that we (and Jimmy) didn't see, meaning the drop actually happened.  But after talking to a coworker, his interpretation was that Jimmy was being SO obvious, Gus didn't take anything from the guy because he observed Jimmy observing the guy, and that seems more likely.

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2 hours ago, Jay said:

But after talking to a coworker, his interpretation was that Jimmy was being SO obvious, Gus didn't take anything from the guy because he observed Jimmy observing the guy, and that seems more likely.

 

That was my exact interpretation as well. Gus would almost certainly have a 'tell' in those scenarios. Clearly there was a signal that he didn't make to his guy, perhaps asking him how his meal was? Once no signal was made, the guy knew something was up and left immediately.

 

When you think about it, the sweeping is actually a clever metaphor; Gus is doing a literal 'sweep' of the surroundings to ensure the coast is clear before proceeding with any transactions. In this instance, Jimmy was being way too obvious and Gus caught on.

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Yup!  Quite clever indeed!

Of course, the whole thing is a bit on the silly side to begin with; Couldn't the guy with the backback just like, drop it off at Gus's house or something?  Or just drive around behind the store and leave it there somewhere?  Having the exchange take place in front of  store full of potential witnesses seems... un-Gus like.

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We know that Gus is seriously prepared and also paranoid; there's a greater chance of cameras or surveillance outside the store monitoring any suspicious activities or 'transactions'. Less opportunity for that inside LPH other than people watching, hence the sweep.

 

I'd argue that doing a subtle exchange in a restaurant full of people busily eating/chatting would be far less noticeable than in a near-empty restaurant, or somewhere else with less people around.

 

 

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3 minutes ago, Alexcremers said:

Hey, I count only six episodes on Netflix! Don't tell me they are splitting it in two parts!

 

All 3 seasons of Better Call Saul are 10 episodes long airing over 10 consecutive weeks.

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3 minutes ago, Alexcremers said:

Hey, I count only six episodes on Netflix! Don't tell me they are splitting it in two parts!

 

No, it's ten episodes.

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1 minute ago, crumbs said:

We know that Gus is seriously prepared and also paranoid; there's a greater chance of cameras or surveillance outside the store monitoring any suspicious activities or 'transactions'. Less opportunity for that inside LPH other than people watching, hence the sweep.

 

I'd argue that doing such a thing in a restaurant full of people chatting amongst themselves would be far less noticeable than doing it in a near-empty restaurant, or somewhere else with fewer people around.

 

Yea, good point.  If you think about it, his strategy actually worked: Neither Mike nor Jimmy have any reason to suspect the OWNER if the restaurant is involved in any way, just that it was a random drop off spot.

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1 minute ago, Jay said:

 

All 3 seasons of Better Call Saul are 10 episodes long airing over 10 consecutive weeks.

 

Well, Netflix doesn't go that far yet. They only show six episodes (of which 4 still have to be aired).

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2 hours ago, Jay said:

 

Yea, good point.  If you think about it, his strategy actually worked: Neither Mike nor Jimmy have any reason to suspect the OWNER if the restaurant is involved in any way, just that it was a random drop off spot.

 

So much of what happens on Better Call Saul parallels what happened on Breaking Bad.  On BB, when Walter and Jesse were looking for a new distributor for the meth, Saul set them up to meet with a guy at Los Pollos Hermanos....they went and nothing happened, since Gus was watching them and saw that Jesse was an obvious junkie.  They also never considered Gus to be anything but a fast food manager.

 

Also, when Kim says to Jimmy, "Give me a dollar," and he says "I've only got a twenty!" that's almost exactly how Saul became Walter and Jesse's lawyer, when they took him out to the desert to scare him, but he realized who they were.

 

 

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7 minutes ago, Matt S. said:

Also, when Kim says to Jimmy, "Give me a dollar," and he says "I've only got a twenty!" that's almost exactly how Saul became Walter and Jesse's lawyer, when they took him out to the desert to scare him, but he realized who they were.

 

Yup!  That was a detail I didn't remember at all, but a coworker pointed it out to me.


I think once BCS is over, I'll re-watch Breaking Bad.

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8 hours ago, Jay said:

I think once BCS is over, I'll re-watch Breaking Bad.

 

I wonder which timeline BCS will finish in? The pre-Breaking Bad timeline or post-BB with 'Gene' at Cinnabon?

 

The former gives closure to the story of BCS, the latter provides closure to the entire Breaking Bad narrative (especially if any character from Jimmy's past shows up to discover him).

 

If the use of flashbacks in BB is any indication, I'd say the finale for BCS will be set in the post-BB storyline and could involve 'Gene' returning to face unfinished business with Chuck/Kim... assuming they aren't dead or something.

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I think it will end right before BB begins. After all, BB had a kind of poetic ending (sure, some unresolved narrative lines, but they were not relevant to Walter's own timeline).

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Well I suppose we'll get two endings, right? The main narrative (color scenes) will end either before Walter's 50th birthday (BB pilot), or we'll see the events of seasons 1-2ish of BB from Jimmy's point of view, who knows really. And the future narrative (black and white scenes) will continue on from where we are now (Jimmy passing out) into who knows where ; as mentioned it could include a resolution to Kim and / or Chuck storyline, or something else. Probably something that will tie into season 4 or 5 storylines. 

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1 hour ago, Jay said:

Well I suppose we'll get two endings, right? The main narrative (color scenes) will end either before Walter's 50th birthday (BB pilot), or we'll see the events of seasons 1-2ish of BB from Jimmy's point of view, who knows really. And the future narrative (black and white scenes) will continue on from where we are now (Jimmy passing out) into who knows where ; as mentioned it could include a resolution to Kim and / or Chuck storyline, or something else. Probably something that will tie into season 4 or 5 storylines. 

 

I don't know if the show will take us all the way to BB....after all, BCS starts six years beforehand, and so far through 2+ seasons I don't really think that much time has passed.  A year tops?  BB was on for five seasons (six if you count the two parts of the extended season 5) and that entire series only spanned two years.  So unless there is a jump in time at some point, assuming BCS airs for a similar length of time I don't see them taking us through six years.  They will probably get us to the point where he is firmly entrenched in his new life as Saul Goodman (and Mike as Gus's top enforcer), and then the final scene will be a flash forward to the Cinnabon "present" time, at which point Jimmy/Saul/Gene's story will come to some kind of conclusion, good or bad...

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