Better Call Saul [SPOILERS]

Done. Mainly because the S5 thread only had a handful of replies.

I still haven't gotten around to watching The Sopranos. (I know, I'm a heretic.)

I have the complete series on Blu-Ray sitting on my shelf. Not enough hours in the day, I guess.

I was very late to the party with not only The Sopranos, but Deadwood and The Wire as well. Over the past couple of years I've watched all three and they're all excellent, as I'd always heard, but I prefer the latter two series by just a little bit.

As I said, I was really disappointed by the look of The Sopranos. The early part of S1 doesn't look remarkably different from a typical drama being done on network television at the time. The look was so uninspiring that I joked with my wife that the Soprano house looked like it had a lighting grid installed because there weren't any shadows.

They got better even during the first season, but there was nothing very creative about the cinematography and editing for almost the whole rest of the series.

Hank! Gomey!

Shit, Dean Norris looks old. First time an actor aging in real time has looked so noticeable to me in this series, even more than Huell.

It was sad seeing the two of them, though, knowing what's going to happen in a few years.

The cinematography in this show continues to amaze. The reflection of Nacho's driver in the steering wheel hub, the reflection of Kim in the window of Mr. Acker's house after he closes the door on her. Wonderful stuff.

Also, I don't know if it's been posted before, but Dean Norris really sells Schraderbräu.

https://schraderbrau.com/

I haven’t seen last night’s episode, but I’m loving this season so far. Lalo is a very scary dude, even though he’s always smiling. When Saul took the money from him I was like, that’s it, there’s no turning back now. Once you’re in, you’re in. Kim is going down a path you know she’s disgusted with. Can’t wait to see what’s next.

Yeah, Lalo's a good character.

And another callback (call forward?) to Breaking Bad, from when Walt and Jesse take Saul out to the desert.

SAUL: No, it wasn't me.It was Ignacio! He's the one!
[Saul speaks Spanish]
JESSE: Shut up, all right?Just speak English.
SAUL: Lalo didn't send you? No Lalo?
JESSE: Who?
SAUL: Oh, thank God! Oh, Christ...

Yeah I guess he doesn’t eat a bullet after all. At least not in this timeline.

I watched that episode last night. Wonder what they will do in the next 16 episodes...

Corrected. Next season will have 13 episodes.

Caught up. First off, there seems to be a theme of Kim cleaning up Jimmy's messes. Makes me think he gets busted in Nebraska and she becomes his lawyer. Loved the 50% off guys, so stupid. I also loved the bowling ball scene, fuck Howard. I love being reminded of just how great of a character Gus Fring is. He's pissed he has to sacrifice the money and potentially a man over Salamanca's man. Also, he's either behind the attack on Mike or had a man watching Mike because I believe he's the one who rescued him and has him. The drop scene was intense, but you could tell Hank wasn't happy with the results. The money is nothing and they wanted arrests.The guy whose house Mesa-Verde is trying to take, he's from Northern Exposure, right? I love that actor. Don't know what the deal was with the fryer other than Gus just being pissed off. I really wish Star Trek had a Vince Gilligan (Ronald D. Moore cough, cough) as a show runner instead of Kurtzman. What a shame. Gilligan is an X-Files veteran though so he's no stranger to Sci-Fi, but probably comes with a hefty price tag. This show is proof that you can do humor without fart jokes, gruesome and dark without ripping out eyeballs or beheadings, deep character dives without dragging out the story or being boring, moral compromises, but there's consequences and action without it being so fast and confusing that you can't tell what's going on, but we knew that already.

"Why me?"

"Because you understand."

"Understand what?"

"Revenge."



Another abso-fucking-lutely stellar episode.

What a great episode! Funny watching Saul do his thing and the construction guy getting frustrated. Funny watching Kim make fun of her boss, who hasn’t done that? Then the stuff with Mike and Gus was absolutely wonderful!

Saul inserting himself into the construction "huddle" was another brilliant piece of staging/cinematography.

I don't know exactly how it'll play out, but I suspect what we're seeing now is what ultimately causes Kim to be out of the picture by the time of Breaking Bad. Jimmy gave her an out but she's pushing for more to use against Mesa Verde. Schweikart already knows that something fishy is going on.

That actor always plays an asshole.

Heh. I thought the forman's voice sounded a little familiar.

He warned Kim that it was going to get dirty and personal. Boy, he wasn't kidding.Daumn!

So I made my comment while watching the episode. I did not see the marriage proposal at the end. That further cements my theory that she's like a silent partner or something, a "get out of jail free card" so to speak. She's going to get him out of the trouble he's in because of Walt.

Good episode overall. Glad to see Mike back at work.

I was laughing out loud at the commercials Saul showed during the big meeting.

The marriage bit was totally unexpected.

This was the first episode of either show where the montage didn't work for me. It felt forced compared to the ones they've done before.

Well, I guess he's a friend of the Cartel now. Good to see him finally go off on Howard. There's no turning back now, he's a criminal lawyer.

Another great episode. The shooting and editing continue to blow me away.

Best fake restaurant name ever.



Inspired by The Onion maybe?

>EDIT<

And The Simpsons.

Really great show. Gus Fring is a baaaad motherfucker. Ever notice how Lalo talks a lot and says nothing? The way Gus got his hooks into Nacho was totally amazing. Gus is willing to blow up one of his own stores to keep Nacho on Lalo's good side. I was surprised that Gus was in on the actual arson. I guess if you want something done right you gotta do it yourself. If Kim isn't totally repulsed by Saul at this point, what's it going to take?

I think Kim kind of gets off on it.

Definitely. We've seen her go "Slippin' Kimmy" enough to know that, despite vocalizing some objections on occasion, deep down she likes much of what Jimmy/Saul does and will even do a bit of it herself.

Hence why they get married, so she can’t be forced to testify against him. This will come in handy later on in Nebraska where Kim grew up.

I guess Saul starts driving the Cadillac now.

Good episode. It's probably the BCS episode that's most reminded me of Breaking Bad, particularly "Four Days Out" and "Fly". Vince Gilligan directed it, so that's not a surprising connection.

I loved the look of disgust/loathing that Saul had when Mike offered him the extra space blanket. He realized he’d rather freeze than be any more like Chuck than he has to be, only for that very same space blanket being their only real shot at surviving the situation.

Did anyone else think (wrongly) that when the car was speeding along and Mike shot the driver, that it was going to be Kim out looking for Jimmy? That would have been cold!

No, but I do suspect Kim will meet an unfortunate fate.

She shouldn't have visited Salamanca in prison.

I think Kim survives because her death would break Saul Goodman and he wouldn't be the same guy we see in Breaking Bad.

Before it's over I'm wondering if she doesn't place an order for a new dust filter for a Hoover MaxExtract PressurePro model 60.