BETTER CALL SAUL

[crumbs 14,306]

That episode was filled with fantastic scenes and individual shots. I really liked the sequence in Gus' house (as already discussed). It was a small moment but I particularly liked the low angle shot of him cleaning that huge kitchen knife while speaking to the doctor treating Hector.

 

Cutting off her treatment of Hector and basically sentencing him to a life inside the body of a cripple, now that's sadistic.

 

And the opening montage was indeed brilliant. Love the way it uses different camera angles to show the gradual separation of Kim and Jimmy. You could write an essay dissecting the camera work alone! Brilliant stuff.

[Wojo 2,453]

Holy crap, BCS came back and I missed it? 

[Quintus 5,399]

I've watched five of these and I'm not feeling it this year. It's elegantly produced as always, but I'm finding it suddenly very dull. Does it get going eventually?

[Jay 37,347]

Yes.

 

Episode 7 is superb from start to finish.

[KK 3,307]

7 hours ago, Quintus said:

I've watched five of these and I'm not feeling it this year. It's elegantly produced as always, but I'm finding it suddenly very dull. Does it get going eventually?

 

I've felt the same way actually. It's all well produced, and well-written but it feels like we're running in circles. Episode 7 was no exception for me.

 

I suppose its setup for something big for episode 8 (perhaps this season's equivalent of the third season's courtroom episode). But the whole season feels a bit like its "much ado about nothing".

[Quintus 5,399]

I'm really missing the Jimmy vs Chuck dynamic. I miss Michael McKean's offbeat input into what is now essentially becoming a fully fledged crime thriller.

[Matt S. 493]

6 hours ago, KK said:

 

I've felt the same way actually. It's all well produced, and well-written but it feels like we're running in circles. Episode 7 was no exception for me.

 

I suppose its setup for something big for episode 8 (perhaps this season's equivalent of the third season's courtroom episode). But the whole season feels a bit like its "much ado about nothing".

 

I've been feeling the same way.  I have to imagine it's all going to pay off at some point in the final three episodes.  I'm not really sure where the storyline with Mike and the Germans is going.  They could run into a huge setback at some point; after all, in the BCS timeline it's 2004, and the lab doesn't really open for business until 2008 when Walter White starts working for Fring (may have even been 2009 by that point).  There was a comment made about being "not even halfway done" in the construction, after eight months of work, so do the math; that still doesn't add up to four additional years.  Could be this crew fails somehow and Mike needs to find somebody else to finish the job?  Maybe the "R&R" goes horribly wrong and the Germans get themselves arrested?  That would be something to see, how Mike would get out of that one...

 

Only three episodes left!

[Jay 37,347]

The lack of Chuck is indeed a gaping hole in the heart of the show, and they didn't really create a major new character to fill in that void.  Instead we are getting deeper character development of our remaining main cast, and building and building towards something big for everyone in the home stretch of the season.

7/10s of the way through, sure, this might be the weakest season of BCS out of the 4. But a weak season of BCS is still better than 99% of other shows being made today.

[Alex 2,835]

I haven’t really missed Michael Mckean, despite how awesome he was. Perhaps because Chuck was a deeply unlikely character (although I had sympathy for him). I mean, with Bob Odenkirk, Rhea Seehorn, Jonathan Banks AND Giancarlo Esposito, that’s more than enough talent to carry the show.

[Jay 37,347]

And Nacho and Hamlin!

[Alex 2,835]

There’s just too many great actors in this show

[Jay 37,347]

Yes!

[Quintus 5,399]

I'm up to date. I really think Gilligan and Gould have taken their eye off the ball this season. Not a great one at all. So many bad choices made, I feel, and there's only three instalments remaining in which to right the ship. Ah well, it happens.

 

I hated the split-screen montage btw. All the very intricate subtlety from previous seasons completely thrown out of the window, there. Very uncharacteristic of this writing team.

[KK 3,307]

I don't think Gilligan was as involved this season actually. He stepped down as the showrunner I believe.

 

But yeah, I can't really relate to some of the enthusiasm expressed for Season 4. This last episode wasn't bad, but it wasn't that exceptional either.

 

I think part of the reason why I'm a bit bored is because of how serious BCS now takes its role as a prequel to Breaking Bad. The subversive nods and tongue-in-cheek character writing is a lot more minimal than it used to be. Now it's all about literally spelling out how every rock and crevice in the Breaking Bad-world came to be. 

 

But who knows, the last few episodes could really step up the game.

[Alex 2,835]

I’ve noticed that Gillagan hasn’t written or directed any episodes this season. He seems to have taken quite a step back

[crumbs 14,306]

I will admit I'm a little mystified by the entire German builders/Mike storyline. A part of me is like, who cares who built the underground meth lab from BB and how difficult it was. Is this seriously so important that we need to devote half of Mike's season arc to it? We're perfectly capable of joining the dots ourselves just by seeing the scale of the undertaking in BB. Does it need to spelled out for half a season in this show with some seemingly confected  drama between characters?

 

I'm struggling to see the relevance... but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully building towards something significant.

[Jay 37,347]

8 hours ago, Alex said:

I’ve noticed that Gillagan hasn’t written or directed any episodes this season. He seems to have taken quite a step back

 

He's busy writing his Jim Jones miniseries for HBO so Gould is the sole showrunner for Season 4, though I am sure both worked together very closely for the overall big picture of the season before they got to breaking each episode out.

 

1 hour ago, crumbs said:

I will admit I'm a little mystified by the entire German builders/Mike storyline. A part of me is like, who cares who built the underground meth lab from BB and how difficult it was. Is this seriously so important that we need to devote half of Mike's season arc to it? We're perfectly capable of joining the dots ourselves just by seeing the scale of the undertaking in BB. Does it need to spelled out for half a season in this show with some seemingly confected  drama between characters?

 

Well, what I think is, it's not really ABOUT the lab, it's about MIKE.  It's a character driven show, not a plot driven show, so yea, showing how the lab was built isn't ultimately important.  What is important is how Mike gets from someone who won't murder to the dead-inside killer he is by Breaking Bad timeline.  Surely something is going to happen in this arc that gets him one step closer to that.

 

 

[Glóin the Dark 1,220]

I don't feel disheartened by this season. In the overall scheme of the series, the major conflict of the first half (that between Jimmy and Chuck) reached its climax in Season 3; it seems natural that, in its aftermath (and with all of the accumulated momentum that had been driving the story now dissipated), the pace should be pulled back while they develop the issues which will drive the (presumably) final stage of the story. It hasn't been riveting stuff so far, but I haven't found it boring either. Even if it stays that way throughout Season 4, there's good reason to be confident that they're paving the way for a rewarding conclusion to the series - and, more than almost any other TV show I've seen, Better Call Saul seems deliberately designed to have the entire series (rather than its individual component seasons) as a single storytelling unit.

 

Film reference of Episode 6: Howards End

 

 

Regarding the Walter White Heat reference from a few episodes ago, it turns out that allusion had already been made in Breaking Bad. There was even a DVD special feature entitled "White Heat: Cranston on Fire".

 

 

 

[Jay 37,347]

Where is that shot of Hamlin from?

[Thor 7,494]

I agree with Gloin. I don't think there's been any 'dip' in the writing or quality of the show. I think the feeling of "less involvement" stems more from the fact that this season started basically from scratch after having had these central conflicts running through the first few seasons; that then finally climaxed last season. So you need to muster up the energy to get involved again. I also think it's natural that there are more BB elements now, as that is the way to get us involved again -- how will it all tie together?

 

What I would love to see is if they eventually started mapping out the post-BB storyline of Saul, not just the pre- (why else give us all these teasers of that storyline?).

[Glóin the Dark 1,220]

7 minutes ago, Jay said:

Where is that shot of Hamlin from?

 

I don't quite recall it. Is it from Episode 4.1, outside the remains of Chuck's house? (I was looking for a screenshot of one of his downtrodden appearances from the last couple of episodes, but this was the closest fit that I could easily find.)

[Matt S. 493]

That was Howard sitting outside Jimmy and Kim's apartment in the first episode, before he confessed to them his guilt over Chuck's suicide.

[Jay 37,347]

Ah

[Jay 37,347]

Can't wait for episode 8 tonight!  Who else is pumped?

[Dr. Rick 1,155]

I'll be watching tonight, I checked on my guide and it's an hour and 15 min episode.  

[Jay 37,347]

My hopes for tonight (note that I don't watch the "next time on" previews at all and don't want to be spoiled by what's in them)

 

* For whatever Kim's plan is to be cool and rewarding.  I don't even care if they get Huell off or not, but I do hope her plan, and the execution of her plan, is neat!

* A followup on Nacho

* A followup on Hamlin

* Something funny with Mike & the Germans

* For Jimmy and Kim to not break up!

[crumbs 14,306]

Well you got two of your wishes, @Jay

 

Another episode of placing chess pieces but the endgame is becoming a bit clearer now. Not necessarily with the German subplot but with Kim and Jimmy. Looks like Kim is going to fly too close to the sun and possibly drag Mesa Verde down with her. The laundry list of crimes the pair committed in their plot to save Huell could be child's play compared to what's next.

 

Could Kim's taste of the dark side have awakened a sleeping monster? Is her ultimate fate behind bars? Seems like Breaking Bad tradition for the main character to drag everyone around them to their lowest points. Could this explain Kim's absence from Breaking Bad?

[Matt S. 493]

On 9/20/2018 at 10:07 AM, Jay said:

 

Well, what I think is, it's not really ABOUT the lab, it's about MIKE.  It's a character driven show, not a plot driven show, so yea, showing how the lab was built isn't ultimately important.  What is important is how Mike gets from someone who won't murder to the dead-inside killer he is by Breaking Bad timeline.  Surely something is going to happen in this arc that gets him one step closer to that.

 

After last night’s episode, I’m convinced Mike is going to kill the Germans once the lab is finished.  Werner’s loose lips and Kai’s hotheadedness will leave him no choice. Gus won’t want to leave any potential witnesses that could come back to haunt them.  Mike might try to convince Gus otherwise, but Gus will order him to do it. 

[crumbs 14,306]

Yeah that seems like the only logical outcome for Mike's arc this season. Where else can it possibly lead?

 

Based on his monologue in Breaking Bad, we already know it isn't strictly related to his "no more half-measures" approach, but could be a contributing factor.

[Jay 37,347]

Better Call Saul 4x08 Coushatta

 

Bravo, Vince and Peter!  I really thought Kim and Jimmy's relationship was doomed, after that montage last week, followed by the reveal he'd been lying to her for months about his side job, followed by him asking her to bend the law for his criminal friend.  Then I thought her career was doomed as well when she had an idea at the end of the episode and seemed to want to help him after all.

 

But bloody hell, I never saw coming that after they got Huell off, that she would not only stay with Jimmy, but be more in love with him than ever, was pretty awesome.  I feel like it finally explains Kim's entire arc this season.  She was feeling unfilled by just worked for Mesa Verde, and thought pro bono work would give her the fulfillment she needed.  But it turns out, that doesn't do it for her either - it's getting away with something she's not supposed to!  Conning the public court!  I never saw it coming, but it's completely in line with her character.  Ever since season 2, we've seen her side that likes this stuff, but she's always held back on letting it interfere with the law in any way.  And now, almost a year after Chuck's death (who held the law to a standard higher than anyone and was potentially one of her biggest mentors in the law world), she's willing to let that side of her win out.  Fascinating.

 

As great of a feeling as that gave, it was subverted at the end of the episode by her telling Jimmy she wants to do it again.  As much as that might be fun for us to watch, I just sense it blowing up in her face and her law career being cut short.  Maybe not this season, but eventually.  I mean, besides the fact that Jimmy is clearly not dating Kim any more by 4 years in the future from where we are now, it would be too flip-floppy for her to ever go back to being a completely on the up and up lawyer later on at this point.

 

The check-in with Nacho was extremely interesting.  There was no signs the entire episode of what influence Gus has on him, but we see in his daily life that he's basically just become Hector/Tuconow; Sitting behind the guy counting the money, threatening the street dealers when they are short. The only difference is, as evidenced by the fake IDs in the safe, he still dreams of leaving the life entirely. The arrival of Lalo (Salamanca?) at the end is an interesting one, as it's basically what his arc needs to change.  He's not going to try to kill Lalo after already trying and failing to have Tuco and Hector killed. And just fleeing wouldn't be very compelling television either. I wonder what will happen?

 

The Mike & the Germans part was interesting too. I'm not really surprised that Kai ended up not being the biggest problem after all, but instead that it's Werner after he's had a few hefeweizens, he talks about the engineering aspect of what he's doing!  I was really expecting something to happen right away in the car, and I'm somewhat surprised that Mike waited until the next day to confront him about it.  Was it just so he'd be sober?  It does kind of feel like the reason we're seeing all this is because Mike will have to kill one or all of them, but that also feels too obvious.  However, I can't think of anywhere else it could be going.  I mean, Mike can't kill Gus or even want to try to kill Gus.  And Mike has to be shown to become the killer he is in BB at some point during this show.  I really can't think of where else it could be going!

 

No Hamlin this week, I wonder what we'll learn about him and HHM as they exist after the 8 month job in the final 2 episodes.

[Alex 2,835]

 

Some interesting thoughts here in this thread

[Jay 37,347]

He's right, the moral downfall is more poignant.

 

While on the surface BB looks like the story of a innocent high school teacher who becomes a drug kingpin, they basically ultimately reveal that he was always a powermonger and just hadn't found the means to achieve it yet.

 

The potential Kim has to be a great lawyer seems like it will ultimately be thwarted by falling in love with Jimmy.

 

Jimmy also is clearly shown to have to potential to be on the up and up but just cannot fight the urges he has to do things his way.  It's almost painful sometimes watching him try to succeed while knowing in the back of your mind how different he'll be in just a few short years.

[Jay 37,347]

Thinking more about the episode.

 

It was kind neat that the bulk of the episode revolved around freeing Huell, and he didn't even appear in the episode (other than in pictures)

 

Speaking of that, the website is real!

 

http://www.freewill-baptistchurch.com/

 

Incidentally, the one from BB is still up, too:

 

http://www.savewalterwhite.com/

 

 

When Kim goes back into her office after talking to Mesa Verde, the object she fondles in her desk drawer is the topper to the bottle of tequila from their first con from season 2.  Incidentally, I believe its the same brand of tequila Gus uses to poison the cartel in BB.

 

 

I think the Mesa Verde case ultimate became a nice way to show Kim's changing desires as a lawyer.  She wants to fight for the underdogs, not just push paper.  When Mesa Verde was a small company and she was helping them through their first expansion, it probably was thrilling enough.  But now they are expanding and expanding and all she is doing is pushing paper.  They've expanded so much, they are no longer the underdog, they are the big guy.  

She's checked out.  When the head Mesa Verde guy asked Kim about doing something "impossible", the old Kim would have taken it on as a challenge and gotten it done.  This time, she pretty quickly told him it wasn't possible.  All she could think about the whole time before he asked was the con her and Jimmy pulled off, you could see it all over her face.  Slipping Kimmy is here, I just hope they covered their tracks from the Huell case well enough.  if that prosecutor investigates the church at all, they're kinda boned.

[Jay 37,347]

Bravo, Saul writers, you fooled me again.

 

Hot damn.

[Jay 37,347]

Better Call Saul 4x09 Wiedersehen

 

Seriously impressed by the writing in this episode!  This show continues to be completely unpredictable, while still having every plot shift still make complete and total sense.  2 weeks ago I thought Jimmy and Kim were breaking up, last week I thought she just had to come to grips with her Slippin' Kimmy side.... and this week right away in the great teaser, its changed again.  She doesn't want to keep pulling scams after all!  She just decided, upon returning to her office after telling Kevin she couldn't do the impossible for him and fondling the tequila cap, that she CAN do the impossible for him, via running a scam with Jimmy.  He hopes it's a start of a new chapter of their relationship, but she lets him down about that as gently as she can at the diner.

 

This typifies how much better it is to watch this show "live" instead of binging the whole season at once.  Living with each of these character changes for a week and pondering what is next is so much better than just watching a character change happen 5 minutes after the last one because you're plowing through everything at once.  I feel bad for the people waiting for the season to end and then binge it, the impact won't be the same.

 

Not sure where Nacho and Lalo's scenes are going, seems late in the season to be doing a story that feels like its just beginning rather than winding up - I wonder what percent of next week's episode will continue this or if its just an extended tease for next season's Nacho arc.

 

Werner escaping in the middle of the night was also unexpected.  I think we all have kind of been predicting that MIke and/or Gus would have to kill Werner and/or some or all of the crew, but I never saw an escape coming.  How far away can he really get on foot?  I'm curious to see how that wraps up next week.

 

No Hamlin again this week.  I have to image we'll finally circle back to him and HHM next week!

 

The biggest scenes in the episode were entirely Jimmy and Kim based.  After the great teaser we have his re-instatement hearing, which was also sooooo well done!  I loved how prepared he was for the questions he was expecting, and how well he did with the question he wasn't.  And I LOVE that the woman on the committee saw right through him and denied him.  And I love that Jimmy truly didn't understand why, and that Kim immediately did.

 

Kim's explanation to him about how not bringing up Chuck at the hearing clarifies Jimmy's entire thoughts and motivations for the entire season!  The moment Hamlin told Jimmy that it was effectively his (Jimmy's) fault for Chuck committing suicide, Jimmy just stuffed that grief and guilt deep deep DEEP down inside, and it has remained stuff down for the 9 months or whatever since.  It's affected his relationship (Kim crying after he didn't react in the slightest bit to Chuck's final letter), his criminal choices (he seems to be more inclined to self-sabotage as some kind of subconcious punishment of himself since he can't admit how he really feels to himself), and now his reinstatement.  Kim is absolutely 100% right, that all that woman on the committee wanted to hear was him discuss Chuck with some sincerity.  And he truly had no idea, he's stuffed it all deep down inside so far.  And he's so blind to it, he's sabotaging his relationship with Kim too rather than confront it.  This is some of the best character work I've ever seen on TV, both from a writing and acting standpoint.

 

I had no idea what was going to happen in the final scene.  Kim knows exactly what is going on, as she sits there with her beer, and he's packing up his things.  Would she try to help him understand his emotions? (She already tried repeatedly to get him to talk to a shrink, which she's probably exactly right would be what he needs to confront it).  Would she ask him to stay?  Would she say nothing?  I wasn't expecting her to have another cliffhanger plan about getting him into lawyering again.

 

I suppose since in the teaser, they set up that all the crooks he sold phones to know him as Saul Goodman, and since there's probably nothing that can be done about getting Jimmy McGill reinstated, her plan is to get him set up as a lawyer named Saul Goodman?  Not sure how that all works, since I think in BB he has him University of American Samoa law degree on the wall, presumably with Jimmy McGill on it and not Saul Goodman?

 

It's gonna be a long week.

[Alex 2,835]

I noticed Vince Gilligan directed this episode which was a pleasant surprise 

[Jay 37,347]

Yea and he did a great job.  There was a few spots with some odd editing (Kelly Dixon's touch is missed this season), but there was some nice staging of things throughout the episode.  Like Werner underground, Jimmy driving up to Kim in the parking garage and holding on that wide shot for so long, Jimmy throwing his briefcase in the stairway and the guy who has to walk around it, etc

[crocodile 8,000]

Another terrific episode. It felt really tense as well. I'm absolutely astonished by the writing and careful character development.

 

Karol

[Jay 37,347]

I actually think this show will be used in writing classes for years to come.  And acting classes to.

 

This season is like a fascinating study of how one can deal with grief (and most would say, not the right way)

[crocodile 8,000]

Yeah, I also thought it was an interesting approach to the subject. Feels real as well.

Karol

[KK 3,307]

That was indeed an excellent episode.

[Quintus 5,399]

I think I'm 2 or 3 behind on this now. It's difficult to muster up the enthusiasm.

[Quintus 5,399]

BCS epi 8, and it's yet more head scratching scenes in the meth lab construction subplot which nobody gave a shit about until the writers decided we should do (Psst, I still don't care). A major scripting faux pas this season for me.

 

Also, can someone remind me again or explain why it's so absolutely VITAL that Huell doesn't do jail time? The massively elaborate shenanigans in this episode suggest he must not go to prison at all costs. But I don't really know why.

[Jay 37,347]

I think you're missing the point of the season.

Plotwise, it doesn't matter a lick if Huell goes to jail or not.

The storyline exists for character development.  To show what lengths Jimmy would go to for his friend.  To show how far Kim is willing to stretch her morals to help Jimmy, or not.  To Jimmy to reveal to Kim he's been lying to her for 10 months about selling cell phones.  Etc.

[Quintus 5,399]

Sigh, that's obvious. But the chosen catalyst for all of this (Huell), after all we've been through and felt with these people, every little minutiae and nuance of their characterisation, so painstakingly crafted to be so carefully convincing, is a fuckin' joke. It's pathetic.

 

I am disappoint.

[Jay 37,347]

Just gotta go with it man.  The end is worth the journey there

[Quintus 5,399]

Nah. It's been a straight up downgrade for me. However, this is merely my view of it. I'm not trying to disparage anyone else's enjoyment of the season.

[crumbs 14,306]

I see where @Quintus is coming from. This season has been a slight letdown after the brilliance of last year. The escalation throughout season 3 of Chuck's madness, the extent to which Jimmy went to save himself at the expense of Chuck, right down to Chuck's ultimate fate, was just sublime drama.

 

This season has felt a little too much like treading water. It's not a fair comparison but when I compare it to Breaking Bad's fourth season, where that season started (Box Cutter) and where it ended (Face Off), there was a huge leap in each character's story and their development. This fourth season of BCS has felt more like lots of chess pieces being moved around the table in circles but not actually moving closer to an end game. We're getting hints of things to come but the relaxed pace has surprised me.

 

That's not to say the writing, acting and directing isn't superb (if not the best on television), nor that there aren't flashes of absolute brilliance (because how could there not?), just my observation that the show has seemingly taken a deliberate step pack and applied the brakes, rather than continuing season 3's foot-on-the-accelerator build towards a climax.

[Jay 37,347]

Interesting take.  I agree its the slowest season by far, and for most of the time I felt it would probably end up as my least favorite season of the 4... but then episodes 7,8,9 thrilled me with several all time great sequences and character interactions and I can't wait to see what episode 10 brings.  I'm worried about Nacho, Werner, Kim, and Kimmy/Jim.  And curious about Hamlin

[crumbs 14,306]

I wouldn't be surprised if Hamlin doesn't appear next week. I think the remainder of his storyline will unfold rather tragically as part of a larger story next year, probably involving the total collapse of HHM.

 

Also, I was pleasantly surprised to see Gilligan direct this week. The editing indeed seemed a little wonky at times (some weird cuts in the early Hector scene for example) but Gilligan's direction is always top-notch. I wonder why he didn't direct the season finale and chose 9 instead?