BETTER CALL SAUL

[Jay 37,323]

14 minutes ago, Thor said:

Took me 9 days to finish my rewatch of BBS.

 

What is BBS?  Did you watch Breaking Bad?  Or Better Call Saul?  Or something else?

[Thor 7,478]

LOL! Got my abbreviations crosswired there. BCS, of course.

[Anthony 572]

2 hours ago, Thor said:

Well, that was quick. Took me 9 days to finish my rewatch of BBS.

 

You were averaging 5 episodes a day? 

 

I have 26 episodes of Breaking Bad + El Camino left and 31 days until BCS resumes. Perfect. 

[Thor 7,478]

29 minutes ago, Anthony said:

 

You were averaging 5 episodes a day? 

 

Yes. I put it on every night at about 19:00 and then kept going untill midnight at the earliest, 3AM at the latest (which is rather late for weekdays). But it's so addictive, even second time around.

[Jay 37,323]

[Anthony 572]

I assume Jimmy will get his white Cadillac this season. And Mike's Chrysler will make it's final appearance until he shows up in it at Jessie's apartment to clean up after Jane's overdose.

 

As far as consistency goes between the end of BCS and their introductions in BB, I wonder if any of these will be addressed or alluded to:

• Saul and Huell (especially) are noticibly bigger when they are introduced. Saul's hair looks a lot worse too, but by the end of season 3 of BB, it's back to "normal". By season 4, he's lost weight and looks the same as in BCS.
   
• Saul is far more sleazy especially in his first few episodes of BB - saying things like "you're killing me with that ass" to Francesca. It's completely inconsistent with their prior relationship, not to mention, how does he get from married to Kim to this?
   
• Will there be a sound reason that there is no mention of Kim, Howard, Chuck etc. throughout BB? (Obviously they didn't exist as characters then, but will they draw attention to this?)
   
• I get that Saul has "shut off" the Jimmy part of him in BB, distracting himself and just trying to make money, but I wonder how justified this will seem by the end of BCS? There's still quite a void between where Jimmy is now and where Saul is at his introduction in BB. How much will season 6 fill in?
   
• Jessie recommends Saul to Walt, suggesting he had prior interaction or at least knowledge of Saul. I wonder if this will come up.

[Holko 9,499]

14 minutes ago, Anthony said:

Saul and Huell (especially) are noticibly bigger when they are introduced. Saul's hair looks a lot worse too, but by the end of season 3 of BB, it's back to "normal". By season 4, he's lost weight and looks the same as in BCS.

Well, unless they do a time jump, there should be 4-5 years between the end of the past BCS storyline and BB.

[Alex 2,833]

We may get some scenes taking place during the BB timeline which may give more details.

[Anthony 572]

59 minutes ago, Holko said:

Well, unless they do a time jump, there should be 4-5 years between the end of the past BCS storyline and BB.

 

Good point. I hadn't considered how much time passes between BCS and BB. I assume there will be some gap, but I hadn't realised it could be up to 4 years. (BB starts in September 2008, BCS is currently in June 2004.)

[Jay 37,323]

11 hours ago, Anthony said:

I assume Jimmy will get his white Cadillac this season. And Mike's Chrysler will make it's final appearance until he shows up in it at Jessie's apartment to clean up after Jane's overdose.

 

As far as consistency goes between the end of BCS and their introductions in BB, I wonder if any of these will be addressed or alluded to:

• Saul and Huell (especially) are noticibly bigger when they are introduced. Saul's hair looks a lot worse too, but by the end of season 3 of BB, it's back to "normal". By season 4, he's lost weight and looks the same as in BCS.

 

I'd say this is purely do to Bob Odenkrik himself getting into better shape between seasons, and won't be acknowledged on the show

 

It's kind of like how Mike in BCS looks so much older than BB Mike, or Meth Damon was much heavier in El Camino than BB.  It's just real life stuff they'll ignore in the show.  IMO.

 

11 hours ago, Anthony said:

• Saul is far more sleazy especially in his first few episodes of BB - saying things like "you're killing me with that ass" to Francesca. It's completely inconsistent with their prior relationship, not to mention, how does he get from married to Kim to this?

 

Yea, that's a tough one.  The writers have no choice but to get our Jimmy to that Saul, and it's gonna be depressing to watch!  Hopefully the first 10 episodes of the show will all be in the current 2004, maybe into 2005 timeline, and they'll save the 2008-2010 BB crossover (and Cinnabon Gene 2010+ wrapup) for the very end of the season

 

11 hours ago, Anthony said:

• Will there be a sound reason that there is no mention of Kim, Howard, Chuck etc. throughout BB? (Obviously they didn't exist as characters then, but will they draw attention to this?)

 

This doesn't strike me as particularly difficult to write in a reason why.

 

11 hours ago, Anthony said:

• I get that Saul has "shut off" the Jimmy part of him in BB, distracting himself and just trying to make money, but I wonder how justified this will seem by the end of BCS? There's still quite a void between where Jimmy is now and where Saul is at his introduction in BB. How much will season 6 fill in?

 

There's also 5 years passage of time from the current spot in BCS's timeline to when Jimmy shows up in BB.

 

 

11 hours ago, Anthony said:

• Jessie recommends Saul to Walt, suggesting he had prior interaction or at least knowledge of Saul. I wonder if this will come up.

 

I think it will, but I don't think Aaron Paul will be on BCS, because he's just tooo old and different looking from the age Jesse would be pre-BB.

[Docteur Qui 1,544]

Yeah I don’t think they need to address any of the physical changes of the actors, if anything it would be distracting if they tried. There’s an element of suspension of disbelief that is easy to engage with when it comes to quality shows like this.

 

I also think that BCS is very much designed to be a retrospective prequel; that is, you wouldn’t watch this before watching BB as it really isn’t intended that you do. The Gene flashbacks, for one, rely on our chronological viewing in that sense, as do many of the dramatic reveals of BB characters. While it is getting us from A to B with Jimmy/Saul, there’s also an incredibly compelling story being told that is only enriched by knowledge of what will eventually happen. If anything you might be a bit lost watching this before BB. So in that sense I’m personally much less fussed about continuity.

[Alex 2,833]

Mike’s oddly ageing granddaughter has never been addressed really, so it’s best not to worry about anything else.

[bruce marshall 1,315]

On 18/03/2022 at 8:38 AM, Anthony said:

 

You were averaging 5 episodes a day? 

 

I have 26 episodes of Breaking Bad + El Camino left and 31 days until BCS resumes. Perfect. 

Is El Camino worth watching?

Is it really a BB movie?

[crumbs 14,305]

44 minutes ago, Alex said:

Mike’s oddly ageing granddaughter has never been addressed really, so it’s best not to worry about anything else.

 

Gilligan said this in his AMA:

Quote

Kaylee is NOT a toddler vampire, to the best of my knowledge. Kaylee (as portrayed on Breaking Bad) is about twelve years old, and six years earlier she’s played by an actress who is about five, so her age is played out correctly to my knowledge.

 

I also recall him addressing it in a podcast once. Something along the lines that production were fully aware of the inconsistency, but intentionally went with an older child than canonically accurate because an age-appropriate actor (2-3 years old) simply wouldn't have worked for Mike's storyline, not to mention the logistical difficulties in directing a child that young.

 

I think she's played by like 3 different actresses throughout BCS anyway.

 

It's not a huge deal IMO; what's relevant is the idea of Kaylee and what she represents to Mike, more than the character herself.

[bruce marshall 1,315]

Saul is like Benjamin Button.

He gets older as he gets younger😅

[Anthony 572]

8 hours ago, Docteur Qui said:

I also think that BCS is very much designed to be a retrospective prequel

 

Yeah, this is a very good point. I suppose I've got Revenge Of The Sith fear, where I'm concerned they'll try and tie every single possible thread up, even thought that's unnecessary.

 

6 hours ago, crypto said:

I think she's played by like 3 different actresses throughout BCS anyway.

 

Another good point - the first appearance of in Stacey Breaking Bad is an entirely different actress as well.

 

10 hours ago, Jay said:

 

I'd say this is purely do to Bob Odenkrik himself getting into better shape between seasons, and won't be acknowledged on the show

 

It's kind of like how Mike in BCS looks so much older than BB Mike, or Meth Damon was much heavier in El Camino than BB.  It's just real life stuff they'll ignore in the show.  IMO.

 

I'd forgotten about the Meth Damon change in El Camino. That might be a weird viewing right on the back of finishing BB.

 

It's as if all of these things are in very similar universes, but not exatly the same one.

[Alex 2,833]

I’d love if they brought Bill Burr back and they left him bald.

[Jay 37,323]

Episode 601: “Wine and Roses” - Premieres Monday, April 18 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on AMC and AMC+

Directed by: Michael Morris
Written by: Peter Gould

Nacho runs for his life. Jimmy and Kim hatch a plan. Mike questions his allegiances.

 

Episode 602: “Carrot and Stick” - Premieres Monday, April 18 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on AMC and AMC+

Directed by: Vince Gilligan
Written by: Tom Schnauz & Ariel Levine

Harsh realities dawn on Nacho. Gus investigates his suspicions.

[Anthony 572]

Think there's going to be a pattern of "Something and Something" for all of the names...?

 

I was under the impression at least one episode was going to be directed by Rhea Seehorn, though she's no longer listed and a few episodes have their directors marked as TBA.

 

6.12 is a written by and directed by Vince. Pretty sure the last time that happened was El Camino, and prior to that, the Breaking Bad finale.

[Jay 37,323]

Black and White would be a cool episode name for when the Gene timeline transitions to color, if that is what happens. 

[Anthony 572]

If the trend continues, I wouldn't be surprised if that happens!

[bruce marshall 1,315]

I couldn't watch this show with commercials very five to eight minutes

Do any fans pay.for it to avoid them?

[Jay 37,323]

Yea, we subscribed to AMC+ for it 

[Thor 7,478]

Commercials? What's that?

 

For shows like this, I only use streaming services. Fortunately, the whole series is on Netflix in my region.

[Anthony 572]

Netflix happens to be my owly legal choice, but also the easiest, even though I may have to wait a day or two after the episodes air in the US for them to be added.

[Luke Skywalker 1,793]

6 minutes ago, Anthony said:

Netflix happens to be my owly

Here have a cookie!

[Anthony 572]

Interesting thought - just finished watching Breaking Bad episode Crawl Space.

 

This is after Gus and Jesse return from Mexico, after Gus has poisoned many of the cartel dons, and Jesse has shot Joaquin Salamanca (Hector's grandson) during their escape.

 

Gus visits Hector in the care home and tells him everyone is dead, including his grandson, and that the Salamanca name will now die with him.

 

In Breaking Bad episode "Better Call Saul", Saul is worried that he's been kidnapped by men sent by Lalo (actually Walt and Jesse). So we've known that Saul does not know the fate of Lalo, but this exchange of dialogue in Crawl Space Gus suggests that Gus does and may end up playing a part in it.

 

 

[crumbs 14,305]

I wouldn't be surprised if there's a few time jumps in the last 3-4 episodes of BCS.

 

They could wrap up the pre-BB timeline after 9-10 episodes, jump forward to cover some events concurrent with the BB timeline (maybe showing us alternative perspectives to scenes that were previously Walt-centric in BB), then finish off with the Gene/present day timeline in the finale.

 

They have to give the character some finality (and it won't be a drawn out court case or jail sentence) so the only outcome I can envisage for Saul is going down in a blaze of glory.

 

The ultimate question is how the rest of the living characters from BCS finish up. It'll be weird if they don't fit into the post-BB timeline somehow, or show up in the finale, to bring the series full circle.

[Anthony 572]

26 minutes ago, crypto said:

They have to give the character some finality (and it won't be a drawn out court case or jail sentence) so the only outcome I can envisage for Saul is going down in a blaze of glory.

 

I don't think this would be very satisfying. He's not a villain like Walt so I don't think death is deserved. But I am also not really clear what is driving him any more - he doesn't want to keep his head down indefinitely, but also, what is he hiding from? 

 

I can't remember why Saul went into hiding to begin with - presumably because Heisenberg is revealed to be Walt? (But even then, so what?)

 

The black and white scenes presumaby take place after Walt has killed Jack Welker's gang and Walt is dead himself. Likewise, Jesse is presumably now in Alaska.

 

"Gene" presumably doens't know this (or would the death of Walt have made national news?), therefore once he knows, what's left to hide from?

 

When Gene calls Ed because he's been recognised by the cab driver, he eventually decides not to have another extraction and he'll take care of this himself. But what will that entail (and why is it so important to do so?)

 

26 minutes ago, crypto said:

The ultimate question is how the rest of the living characters from BCS finish up. It'll be weird if they don't fit into the post-BB timeline somehow, or show up in the finale, to bring the series full circle.

 

Right now I am more interested in this than the fate of Jimmy. 

 

I wonder how Mike and Gus' stories will end, given they presumably can't be too explosive before Breaking Bad starts. 

 

Lalo - presumably going to be killed?

Nacho - gets away?

Howard - life ruined?

Kim - don't even want to theorise! 

 

Perhaps there will be more episodes with flashbacks that take place during the BB timeline?

[bruce marshall 1,315]

Zzzzzzzzz.......😉

[crumbs 14,305]

1 hour ago, Anthony said:

"Gene" presumably doens't know this (or would the death of Walt have made national news?), therefore once he knows, what's left to hide from?

 

Yeah I reckon "Gene" could see Walt's death on the news in a future B&W sequence, maybe even the S6 premiere.

 

Didn't he go into exile at the same time as Walt? And there was already a decent time jump during the last 2-3 episodes of BB.

 

That could be the trigger that convinces Jimmy to unveil himself, especially with his identity as "Gene" seemingly compromised.

 

1 hour ago, Anthony said:

Perhaps there will be more episodes with flashbacks that take place during the BB timeline?

 

Yeah I reckon a few teasers in season 6 will be set during the BB timeline (an inverse to all the flashbacks of early Jimmy during the first 3 seasons of BCS).

 

We'll probably see Jesse/Walt/Mike together with Saul in the BB timeline; it'd be hard to resist the temptation of reuniting those actors for one more scene.

 

Would also be neat to see classic BB scenes through Saul's perspective, given they were from Walt or Jesse's perspective in BB.

[Anthony 572]

I'd be VERY surprised if anyone other than incidental characters from Breaking Bad make an appearance. No Walt, no Jesse (even though he clearly knows about Saul to introduce Walt to him).  Perhaps some references, but no appearances.

 

We know of one returning Breaking Bad character, but it's so minor it's barely a spoiler.

 

Spoiler

Spooge

 

[crumbs 14,305]

I think Walt's story has to become intertwined with Gene's in the present-day timeline, even if he's dead.

[Jay 37,323]

"Ozymandias" takes place in March, 2010.  Right after that goes down, Ed "the Disappearer" sends Walt to New Hampshire and Saul to Omaha.

 

~

 

Walt lives in isolation in New Hampshire from March until September, when he returns to New Mexico and dies on his 52nd birthday, September 7th, 2010.

 

El Camino follows Jesse from right after that until he makes it safe to Alaska on September 13th, 2010.

 

~

 

Unless I am mistaken, there is no definitive proof of when the Cinnabon Gene scenes take place.  Theoretically, what we've seen so far could have all taken place while Walt is still hiding in New Hampshire, or it could be after he is dead, as well as after Jesse is safe in Alaska.  

 

It can't take place during the six day window after Walt's death and before Jesse departs for Alaska for one definitive reason: It's winter time in all the Gene scenes!

 

Theoretically it could be March 2010 and we are seeing him almost immediately after he arrived there, but I don't think so.  I get the impression he's been in Omaha for months, or years, before the season 1 premiere scene of him watching his old commercials.  So it's much more likely to be the winter of 2010/2011, 2011/2012, or beyond.  

 

For what it's worth, the BB wiki say the Gene scenes take place in 2012, but no citation is given for why they chose that year.  Sounds about right to me, though; I'd say it's very likely they take place in Jan/Feb-ish of 2012, after Walt's been dead for a year and a half, and Jesse's been in Alaska for a year and a half.

 

 

~

 

As a reminder, the "main" Better Call Saul timeline is currently up to June, 2004, and the pilot episode of Breaking Bad takes place on Walt's 50th birthday - September 7th, 2008.  The season 2 episode where Saul is introduced and gets taken to the desert takes place in December, 2008.

[Anthony 572]

I'm just glad that this show is giving us things to talk about. And not only this show, but also reevaluating Breaking Bad as well. How good is it that we can still do that 9 years after it finished!

[Jay 37,323]

Hell yea!

[Jay 37,323]

New teaser

 

 

 

I don't think I've anticipated a television show more in my life 

[LSH 968]

1 hour ago, Jay said:

New teaser

 

 

 

I don't think I've anticipated a television show more in my life 

 

Oh my god.

 

I am with you there Jay, mate. This is going to be the event of the year. My year sorry.

 

I'm getting very giddy.

[Anthony 572]

So glad I'm avoiding the hype train, or at least hyping this up by rewatching BB.

 

The final season of BB feels like a victory lap. As if they "completed television" by the end of season 4 - and it could have ended then and still been an almost perfect conclusion (yes, some open plot threads, but whatever).

 

Then, even though you think it's already 10/10, season 5 somehow goes and takes things beyond that. I don't know how they did that, nor how they could do that again, but I sure hope they can replicate it here.

[Jay 37,323]

Reviews are hitting the net today for the first 2 episodes of Season 6.

 

Personally I'm not going to read any and go into the season as unspoiled as possible.  But I did check to see if they gave a grade, and list them here if they did

 

A+ https://thenaturalaristocrat.com/2022/04/04/better-call-saul-season-6-premiere-early-review-wine-and-roses/

A https://www.indiewire.com/2022/04/better-call-saul-season-6-review-amc-1234713940/

A https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/better-call-saul-season-6-130011567.html

A https://theplaylist.net/better-call-saul-razor-sharp-season-six-part-one-review-20220404/

A- https://ew.com/tv/tv-reviews/better-call-saul-season-6-review/

https://variety.com/2022/tv/reviews/better-call-saul-season-6-review-1235221223/

https://collider.com/better-call-saul-season-6-review-bob-odenkirk-amc/

https://www.slashfilm.com/820438/better-call-saul-season-6-review-one-of-the-best-shows-on-tv-unleashes-an-unbearably-tense-final-season/

https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/amc/better-call-saul-season-6-review/

https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2022/04/04/Better-Call-Saul-review/6181648834653/

 

Pretty unanimously liked, which is not surprise!

[crumbs 14,305]

I'm surprised they sent out screeners for the first two episodes. 

 

I won't be reading the reviews; the promos have already whet my appetite. And rewatching the entire series alongside @Holkohas been a revelatory experience! 

[Jay 37,323]

Yea I wish I had time to rewatch the whole series ahead of the final season.  Oh well

[Jay 37,323]

New poster:

 

 

Source: https://twitter.com/BetterCallSaul/status/1510993593741111298

[Jay 37,323]

OK I haven't watched this yet but apparently American Greed is a real show on CNBC, and the BCS team made a fake episode about the events of BB/BCS.  I'll watch it tonight!

 

 

[Jay 37,323]

I just realized how far away the season premiere is

 

 

[LSH 968]

Despite having fallen out of love with the medium, I cannot remember the last time I looked so forward to a TV show.

[Jay 37,323]

The medium is better than ever, there's just so much bad stuff out now too it can be harder to fid the gems

[LSH 968]

1 hour ago, Jay said:

The medium is better than ever, there's just so much bad stuff out now too it can be harder to fid the gems

 

True.

[Docteur Qui 1,544]

On 03/04/2022 at 12:32 PM, Jay said:

New teaser

 

 

 

I don't think I've anticipated a television show more in my life 

 

Oooof, I feel like Howard is not long for this world. He turned out to be quite the good character, I despised him in the early days. We kept calling him a Sim because he's so robotic and smarmy, but I love where they've taken his character.

[Jay 37,323]

6 hours ago, Jay said:

OK I haven't watched this yet but apparently American Greed is a real show on CNBC, and the BCS team made a fake episode about the events of BB/BCS.  I'll watch it tonight!

 

 

 

I just watched this... It's fucking great! The cast members they got to be in it is >chef's kiss<

 

The way it ends I think there'll me more, maybe one during the mid season break, and then one more after the finale.