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BETTER CALL SAUL


Jay

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That whole thing about super driven and successful Hamlin promptly falling apart and becoming a disheveled mess after Chuck's death... pfft, what a copout! I don't buy it at all. To me this season has felt like regular network TV, it's been a disaster.

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They did a good job taking the classic and making a new version that really fit the mood of the montage perfectly

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That was an excellent finale but I really look back on the last ten episodes and wonder if we achieved much this season?

  • Jimmy doubles down with his lack of remorse over Chuck's death and Saul Goodman is officially born (on paperwork, anyway)
  • Kim... goes through an interesting arc across the season but ultimately ends up back at Jimmy's side helping him through his legal issues, and still working as counsel for Mesa Verde through another company
  • Mike had a weird two act storyline this year. As captivating as Mike is to watch, this entire subplot has been a little baffling to me.
  • Howard... ends up back where he started. Recovered. HHM in good shape. They did a 180 on the other direction they were seemingly taking.
  • Nacho spends half the season cleaning up after Hector's assassination attempt, then spends the other half recovering from his wounds.
  • Gus ends up with another Salamanca to contend with... but again, we all know this is a viable business between Fring and the Cartel come Breaking Bad, albeit with bad blood. I guess he'll become Mike's next problem?

Always have to credit the BCS team for their sublime writing, directing, acting, everything. But I'm a bit surprised it took 10 episodes to go from Jimmy losing Chuck to the Saul Goodman reveal. I really hope we don't spend all of season 5 watching Jimmy build Saul's clientele only to finish on a reveal of the iconic Saul Goodman office (complete with Statue of Liberty balloon).

 

For me the most captivating sequence all season was the cold open to episode one. Some of the best directed, most tense television drama I've seen since... well, Breaking Bad. I'd be happy if they wrapped up the origin storyline next year and spent season 6 in a post-BB timeline (but yeah, I know that won't happen).

 

I really enjoyed this paragraph from Vulture's review of the finale. It very eloquently surmises the difference between BCS and BB:

Quote

The moment in the finale where Mike, trying to shake the pursuing Lalo, reaches into his glove compartment and grabs a pack of gum instead of a pistol is a Steven Spielberg–worthy reversal-of-expectations sight gag — like the moment in Raiders of the Lost Ark where Toht pulls out what we assume is a nunchaku-like torture implement, then folds it into a hanger for his trench coat — but it’s also a summary of this prequel’s working methods. BCS tends to go small instead of big, then pay off the small choice in a way that compensates in cleverness for whatever it lost in noise and scale, as when Mike feeds a foil-wrapped slab of chewed gum into the parking lot ticket machine, trapping his pursuer.

 

http://www.vulture.com/2018/10/better-call-saul-season-4-finale-review.html

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Well he’s only become a version of Saul Goodman. Will be interesting to see if he becomes a criminal lawyer immediately? While Kim is still around he may still retain some moral code before she inevitably leaves him and then maybe he’ll become Breaking Bad’s Saul Goodman. 

 

I don’t think the building of the lab was actually that important, I think it was just there to show Mike’s character development. Becoming too friendly with Werner, being outsmarted by him and then his hesitance to kill him. That Mike is gone by the time Breaking Bad comes around (“No half measures”).

 

Overall I enjoyed this season. I think Lalo will be a very interesting character next season. Hoping for more Nacho as well. This show remains a masterclass in writing and character development.

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I felt so heartbroken for Kim in that final shot. You knew that was the moment their relationship was officially over.

 

Do others also consider that scene of Jimmy crying in his car as his 'death' scene? In my mind Saul took charge from that point onwards. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Better Call Saul 4x10 Winner

 

Wow!  I can't believe i forgot to write about this last week.

 

Well, I liked it, overall.  It's a very solid ending to a solid season.  It pays off of the main undercurrent thread of the season (whether or not Jimmy will come to grips and properly grieve the death of Chuck, or just shove it down and stay a broken man), and beautifully capped of the Werner arc as well.  I thought the whole Werner and Mike sequence this week was really good, the way Mike tracked him down and ultimately that he realized there was no hope for Werner, and that he would be doing him a mercy to kill him himself instead of Gus's thugs doing it (which probably would not have been quite so quick and painless, nor involved saving the wife).  The final wide shot of him shooting Werner until the star-filled sky was gorgeous.  It is sad to see Mike get closer, but it was - of course - inevitable.

 

And that brings me back to Jimmy.  It, too, was inevitable that he had to become Saul eventually, but the way it happened here in this episode was truly HEARTBREAKING.  And that's for 2 reasons:  One, is that for 4 years and 40 episodes, I've truly come to love Jimmy, and completely root for him.  You want to see him triumph over all his adversaries!  A show about him already being the same kind of character he was in Breaking Bad would be a boring and depressing show, what Vince and Peter has crafted here for 4 years was fascinating though, as Jimmy is such an interesting character.  And now it seems those days are over, and we're probably going to now be following a character much MUCH closer to his BB version.

 

And the second reason is Kim.  By god, I was as duped by Jimmy as she was.  When he gives his monologue in court, and it kept cutting to her reacting, you could just tell how happy and proud she was, and how it seemed to her that Jimmy was finally properly dealing with the loss of Chuck and growing into the real person she wants him to be.  And that is expanded on when they reunite after the hearing.  But then when he reveals it was all an act, the incredible sadness and confusion that overcomes her is just crushing.  He completely bamboozled her, seemingly without even realizing it, and she's left with nothing but a job that doesn't fulfill her and further and further attachment to a broken man who seems to be on a path even more divergent from her own.  Rhea Seehorn deserves and Emmy for her work this year!

 

So all that was sad, but satisfying, and justified.

 

The Lalo C story I'm not as sure about.  I think this season ultimately suffered from a lack of Chuck; Him not being around really left a hole in the show.  The thing is, Lalo showed up and did a good job of fulfilling SOME of that void, by at least bringing an energy and a CONFLICT to things that was missing for most of the season.  The problem is, I think they introduced him too late;  By the time he showed up, we had already had a lot of "subdued" episodes.  And in the end, his story feels half-finished.  His introduction in 8 was fine, his scene with Gus in 9 was fine, but here in 10 I felt like we got only half of the next beat of his story.  It was cool to see him hot on the heels of Mike, and I loved his "Michael?" he said into the phone.  But that was it!  We have to wait till next year to see what kind of ruckus he's really going to cause.  I think a better plan for him that involved introducing him earlier would have helped the season.

 

Another similar complaint is about Nacho.  Over the 4 years of the show, we really grew to sympathize for Nacho, too.  And this season started with things at the absolute worst for him, being shot and left to die in the desert, and barely recovering.  But after that, we only caught up with him one more time, after the 8 month jump.  That felt like part 1 of showing us an end-game for Nacho, and we never got part 2.  He just wasn't in the finale at all.  And I think that's another misstep.  I guess it gives them time to figure out the best story possible for him for season 5.

 

Likewise, Hamlin kind of got the shaft this season too.  They seemed to be developing his character at a pretty good pace before the 9 month job, showing him hit HIS personal bottom, but then they never REALLY circled back and showed exactly HOW he recovered the firm and IF he took Jimmy's advice or not.  Another misstep for me.

 

The only other thing to point out I guess is another Michael McKean appearance.  That flashback was wondering - I loved when he stole the microphone from Jimmy.  Also, seeing Ernesto sing was hilarious!  It was nice to see them in a happier time, and also to plant the seed of Chuck's ultimate (but unspoken) motto, that winning is more important than anything.  Which explains perfectly we he said the most hurtful thing to Jimmy imaginable right before he died ("you never really meant much to me"), and why Jimmy did whatever it took including walling off his emotions to the detriment of his relationship, to become a lawyer again.  Good stuff.

 

Can't wait for season 5!

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Oh yea that whole sequence was great.  And he only tells Kim he got mugged, not that he was selling phones!

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Catching up with this before I leave for London, so I might converse intelligently with some of the good folk here.

 

Two eps so far. Enjoyed them. Kim losing her shit with Howard was fantastic. Rhea Seehorn is an outstanding actress.

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On 10/20/2018 at 11:12 AM, Alexcremers said:

Is Rhea Seehorn the best actress working today?

 

Absolutely one of the best 

 

On 10/20/2018 at 2:34 PM, Stefancos said:

Two eps so far. Enjoyed them. Kim losing her shit with Howard was fantastic. 

 

One of my favorite scenes between all of BB and BCS. I wouldn't describe it as her losing her shit though, she was completely in control.

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Season 4, episode 8: Coushatta

 

Spoiler

bcs_408_nw_0409_0167-rt_copy.jpg

 

It is clear now that Kim loves Jimmy when he's a bad boy. 

 

 

Another fine episode! To be honest, I like this season more than the previous one (which was too 'been there, done that'). I have a feeling we're starting to approach the period of Saul Goodman.

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It's amazing how much you Intuit from Kim's character just through her actions and facial expressions. She never really had any dialogue this season that explains any of her motivations. You figure it all out through Seehorn's acting. Pretty cool.

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Yep. In that regard, the series is reminiscent of '70s cinema, when they weren't afraid to show an actor thinking (without revealing precisely what).

 

You think Jimmy will turn into Saul next season? Of course, I need to watch the last couple of episodes. I don't know how this season ends. 

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15 minutes ago, Alexcremers said:

Yep. In that regard, the series is reminiscent of '70s cinema, when they weren't afraid to show an actor thinking (without revealing precisely what).

 

You think Jimmy will turn into Saul next season? Of course, I need to watch the last couple of episodes. I don't know how this season ends. 

 

I’m not sure there will be a “moment” where he definitively becomes the Saul we see in BB. I personally think that in a way he has kinda always been “Saul” (although not by name) but he’s yet to find a meaningful vice through which he can indulge that character, if that makes sense.

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1 hour ago, Alex said:

 

I’m not sure there will be a “moment” where he definitively becomes the Saul we see in BB. I personally think that in a way he has kinda always been “Saul” (although not by name) but he’s yet to find a meaningful vice through which he can indulge that character, if that makes sense.

 

Of course, there's very little difference between Jimmy and Saul, but you don't think he'll ever has to change his name during the series? It will imply that he is about to lose Kim. 😞

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Season 4 Episode 9: Wiedersehen

 

Spoiler

 

- Fantastic meeting between Lalo and Hector - Love the tension in that scene - That Lalo character ... Where do they keep finding these guys?!

- Fascinating escape by Werner - Good actor, BTW

- Perhaps Jimmy being upset was a bit too much? It's clear they want him to fuck up big time.

 

 

Better-Call-Saul-409-poster-by-matt-talb

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15 hours ago, Alexcremers said:

Odd. Not too long ago, you said I was spoiling a very old show, because not everyone had seen it.

 

Probably in the general TV thread. This is the spoilers allowed BCS thread. Just scroll back a page or two and check out all the great discussions we had of each episode as they aired

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  • 1 month later...

Giancarlo Esposito has been cast in Jon Favreau’s Star Wars TV series, so I wonder how/if it will affect his participation in Season 5.

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I wouldn't be surprised if the BCS5 shooting schedule will be scheduled around his availability

 

BTW, that TOTALLY reminds me something interesting I learned from the BCS insider podcast:  Giancarlo broke his leg skiing during shooting of S4, so for almost all of his appearances, he wasn't allowed to walk!  This is why many shots are of him sitting behind a desk, or standing in place.  In many scenes where he's seen walking, its a body double!  

 

I never would have guessed that from just watching, they pulled it off.

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  • 3 months later...

You shouldn't be surprised by the news because they only just starting filming it

 

 

 

I suppose the Jesse Pinkman movie will be out before this

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OMG I need more coffee, LOL, I thought your link said that it won't return after 2020.  HAHA, thanks Jay, scared me there for a second.

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I watched all of the last season apart from the final episode. I just can't muster the enthusiasm to finish it for some reason. I think I realised that my entire fascination with and enjoyment of Better Call Saul rested solely on the beautifully written and played Chuck vs Jimmy dynamic, and well with Chuck gone, the engrossing story just isn't there for me anymore. I have long felt like Mike's segment is the weak link in this backstory of two halves, especially after the narrative pointlessness of the hidden meth lab construction subplot. These new characters were ancillary padding! It was certainly no stand in for a lack of Michael McKean to me. Ultimately, I feel like they should have wrapped this up by now. 

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The final episode really ties together the entire season and explains a lot of why things were so different.  Certainly not a waste of 45 minutes of your life to finally check it out now.

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A little surprised it's been pushed to 2020 if they're already in production. This must be a few months later than usual. Fair enough though, these things undoubtedly get harder to write as you get closer to the end.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Meh, too much. What will we get to find all about next I wonder? Hugo the janitor who got fired from the school that time after being blamed for the missing chemicals and glassware? Yeah, let's have that guy's backstory, I'm dying to know.

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They aren't really adding new characters and telling you their stories.  It's Jimmy, Mike,and Kim's story.  I can't wait to see what happens to Jimmy and Kim next

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