Better Call Saul

[BetterFuckChuck]

Maybe I'm just uncultured but what even is worth watching not made in America? Pretty much all I watch is every HBO show (Wire, Sopranos, Sucession, Barry, Curb) its always sunny, Mad Men, Fargo, Louie, Twin Peaks, Seinfeld, Frasier, simpsons, South park, most of the adult swim shows etc.


I guess the office UK and some anime is the only foreign stuff I like. Maybe old monty python

You should watch Life on Mars (2006) and its sequel series Ashes to Ashes

 

[skippy]

Late and gay, but re: Fring's past in Chile, I only remember a quick exchange where it's stated that there's no record of him before he entered Mexico, possibly as a consequence of the sloppy record-keeping of Pinochet's regime. Is a connection to the Chilean military alluded to elsewhere?

I'm currently rewatching Breaking Bad and in season 3, episode 7 a younger Hector Salamanca playing with his twin nephews (the assassins) has a few lines talking about Gus about the cartel getting into business with him, saying he doesn't care who he knows and calls him "grand hombre" and "Generalissimo". I don't think Hector was mocking him, so we have to presume he had some sort of affiliation with Chilean military.

Someone in the thread earlier though pointed out there was a 1986 attempted assassination on Pinochet by some military members and the survivors fled the country, it would make a lot of sense if Gus is in that group and the timeframes match up.

 

[AnOminous]

One because he is a fugitive. Two because he is carrying $10million and an illegally purchased M60.

He bought the M60 when he got to Albuquerque from the gun dealer played by Jim Beaver.

 

[The Feline Solution]

Just finished the finale. Excellent show, extremly well written- and acted and while i liked the ending it was easily the most unrealistic and out-of-character ending they could come up with. Nobody would chose to die in federal prison for a shot at redemption and especially not Jimmy McGill. Still, next to Sopranos, Six Feet Under and The Leftovers the best character drama of all times. For me, it surpassed BB in its second season already, which i think is a great show as well but on a distinctly different level.

Bravo Bince!

 

[Standardized Profile]

Kim is doing subtle finger guns still in the last scene

https://twitter.com/wexIermcgiII/status/1559413602141945856

Kim and Jimmy plotting a prison break, confirmed.

Alternatively, when his plea deal was rejected, he entered a plea of not guilty and now has an opportunity to appeal the sentence. Kim and Bill Oakley are working on that strategy now, and will argue it before the Supreme Court in Better Call Saul: El Camino. (It's the name of Kim's favorite restaurant.) Through persuasive moral arguments, tearful testimony, and a complex blackmail scheme involving Hunter Biden, Wendy, and a new batch of the blue stuff from Alaska, Saul wins a 9-0 victory and is released with a clean record. And it's all made possible by the dogged, unrelenting determination of Bill's youngest associate, the woman who will stop at nothing to get what she wants: Christie Esposito.

I'm currently rewatching Breaking Bad and in season 3, episode 7 a younger Hector Salamanca playing with his twin nephews (the assassins) has a few lines talking about Gus about the cartel getting into business with him, saying he doesn't care who he knows and calls him "grand hombre" and "Generalissimo". I don't think Hector was mocking him, so we have to presume he had some sort of affiliation with Chilean military.

A military background makes sense but Hector was mocking him with the "generalissimo" title.

 

[UnKillFill]

Somebody should make one of those "I've fallen and I can't get up" ads, just with with Marion calling about Saul Goodman trying to kill her. They probably have already.

Marie was one of the more evil characters in the BB/BCS universe who never got punished. (Skyler was a hell of a lot less evil, but she was also more evil than some of the people who actually did get punished. And I would even agree that she actually got punished compared to most people in this show.)

I think at this point, I hate Marie more than I ever hated Skyler.

 

[CWCissey]

Marie was one of the more evil characters in the BB/BCS universe who never got punished. (Skyler was a hell of a lot less evil, but she was also more evil than some of the people who actually did get punished. And I would even agree that she actually got punished compared to most people in this show.)

I think at this point, I hate Marie more than I ever hated Skyler.

You're not a geologist perchance?

 

[Kulee Baba]

while i liked the ending it was easily the most unrealistic and out-of-character ending they could come up with. Nobody would chose to die in federal prison for a shot at redemption and especially not Jimmy McGill.

You're totally right, but you have to remember this is a televised drama and it's not meant to be realistic. It's meant to be entertaining and most of all emotionally engaging.

In real life Walt would have swallowed his pride and taken the job offer from Grey Matter. But the plot demands his hubris be dialed to 11 because otherwise he isn't incentivized to go into crime. Fast forward to Season 5 and Walt is confirmed to be dying of cancer and Hank is on his ass. Well the most logical thing for Walt to have done is write the damn suicide note saying he couldn't take the pain anymore and the strain it puts on his lovely family and offed himself. And that would be it, Jesse would have no one to go full retard on and Hank wouldn't have it in his heart to hound Skylar who (the show conveys) knew how to cook books from her career in accounting.

In any realistic scenario if Saul even negotiated it down to 15 years he would have taken it and anyone would be fucking stupid to not accept that offer. He'd get out by the end of the decade. But that's not a satisfying ending, the character would have stayed the same, a morally bankrupt opportunist. The ending to BCS was the only ending they really could have done, it shows this character did indeed change, he took the punishment he deserved.

And let me say God I hope AMC/Sony doesn't convince Gilligan or Gould to come back and give anymore Epilogue's ala El Camino. I want the Breaking Bad Universe done. I doubt it'll happen but still anything's possible. Will Kim move to Northern New Mexico so she can start/work in a Legal Aid Office helping low income people and then drive to Montrose to sneak Jimmy cigarettes and some quick sex? Or does she go back to Florida to sell Sprinkler parts and fuck the "Yep" man? Will Jimmy die in prison or will the legal system let him out in 20 years which can happen? Who knows it's now up to the viewer's imagination and I want it that way.

Marie was one of the more evil characters in the BB/BCS universe who never got punished. (Skyler was a hell of a lot less evil, but she was also more evil than some of the people who actually did get punished. And I would even agree that she actually got punished compared to most people in this show.)

I think at this point, I hate Marie more than I ever hated Skyler.

I don't feel that way. Marie was a shoplifting bitch but losing her husband violently is a pretty dramatic punishment for anyone to bear. And she didn't have children with Hank. Also there's no implication that Marie didn't find a new man so literally all she's got in the world to our knowledge is an undoubtedly strained relationship with Skyler and her nephew & niece.

 

[UnKillFill]

You're not a geologist perchance?

Ahem... Mineralologist.

I don't feel that way. Marie was a shoplifting bitch but losing her husband violently is a pretty dramatic punishment for anyone to bear. And she didn't have children with Hank. Also there's no implication that Marie didn't find a new man so literally all she's got in the world to our knowledge is an undoubtedly strained relationship with Skyler and her nephew & niece.

Marie didn't give a shit about Hank. She didn't give a shit about anybody but herself.

I wouldn't even say that about Skyler, as much as I still dislike her.

 

[Kharash]

Marie didn't give a shit about Hank. She didn't give a shit about anybody but herself.

I wouldn't even say that about Skyler, as much as I still dislike her.

I don't see how you could possibly walk away with that interpretation. Ever since Hank killed Tuco and got PTSD she was trying to support him. Perhaps she didn't really know how to(but who does?) but she tried constantly.

 

[George Floyd Sneed]

Marie was self absorbed and tried to help out Hank in her own self absorbed way. I think she tried but much like Skyler, she was a suburban Karen who put herself first. I don’t think she was malicious in any serious way unless you own a toy car.

 

[CAPTAIN HAPPY]

You can't say that Vince didn't portray women and their bizzare way of thinking accurately in his shows.

 

[BetterFuckChuck]

You're totally right, but you have to remember this is a televised drama and it's not meant to be realistic. It's meant to be entertaining and most of all emotionally engaging.

In real life Walt would have swallowed his pride and taken the job offer from Grey Matter. But the plot demands his hubris be dialed to 11 because otherwise he isn't incentivized to go into crime. Fast forward to Season 5 and Walt is confirmed to be dying of cancer and Hank is on his ass. Well the most logical thing for Walt to have done is write the damn suicide note saying he couldn't take the pain anymore and the strain it puts on his lovely family and offed himself. And that would be it, Jesse would have no one to go full retard on and Hank wouldn't have it in his heart to hound Skylar who (the show conveys) knew how to cook books from her career in accounting.

In any realistic scenario if Saul even negotiated it down to 15 years he would have taken it and anyone would be fucking stupid to not accept that offer. He'd get out by the end of the decade. But that's not a satisfying ending, the character would have stayed the same, a morally bankrupt opportunist. The ending to BCS was the only ending they really could have done, it shows this character did indeed change, he took the punishment he deserved.

And let me say God I hope AMC/Sony doesn't convince Gilligan or Gould to come back and give anymore Epilogue's ala El Camino. I want the Breaking Bad Universe done. I doubt it'll happen but still anything's possible. Will Kim move to Northern New Mexico so she can start/work in a Legal Aid Office helping low income people and then drive to Montrose to sneak Jimmy cigarettes and some quick sex? Or does she go back to Florida to sell Sprinkler parts and fuck the "Yep" man? Will Jimmy die in prison or will the legal system let him out in 20 years which can happen? Who knows it's now up to the viewer's imagination and I want it that way.

I don't feel that way. Marie was a shoplifting bitch but losing her husband violently is a pretty dramatic punishment for anyone to bear. And she didn't have children with Hank. Also there's no implication that Marie didn't find a new man so literally all she's got in the world to our knowledge is an undoubtedly strained relationship with Skyler and her nephew & niece.

People are saying Jeff’s ending was ambiguous like Huel’s but I completely disagree. Marion would be able to bail him out easy with the reward money

 

[Kulee Baba]

People are saying Jeff’s ending was ambiguous like Huel’s but I completely disagree. Marion would be able to bail him out easy with the reward money

As Saul said on the phone with Jeff none of the stolen valuables were found in his Taxi. Even if Marion didn't get bail money - police can fuck people over when it comes to crimestopper rewards the police will easily accept a conclusion that Jeff was just a dope who was strung along by this notorious criminal.

At the end Jeff and his buddy got some chump change for the mall heist, not sure what he'll do next for employment since the Taxi Company surely fired his ass. But that's what you get for pulling stupid shit.

 

[Raging Capybara]

Watched almost the whole thing the last couple of days and I am beyond disappointed. What a terrible finale.

SPOILERS ahead, of course.

What can be said? The writers went for shock value and surprise and ignored quality or common sense. Things started to get worse with Nacho's suicide, something completely out of character and non-sencical. Who in the world, in that state of mind, would do something like that without attempting to get some fucker with them to their grave? Clearly nobody, but this is a prequel and everyone around him is going to survive, so the writers came with this retarded shit out of their asses and gave the "papa" excuse despite the only person who promised him his daddy would be all right wasn't even in the scene (he was watching from afar, but it doesn't matter. Nacho knew Mike was just another pawn in the game like him). So fucking lazy and anti-climatic.

But things get worse in the following episodes. Now we know Gus has a crystal ball! It doesn't matter if someone misses Lalo entering the laundry because he was taking a dump, Gus knows better, But he is so badass that he, a week before, placed a gun in a totally random and retarded place because he knew he had to kill Lalo there in a direct-to-video 80s shitty action movie scene. Again, the writers put themselves in a corner and didn't know how to fix their shit. Lalo is smarter than everyone else but he needs to die, the solution? Making him act like a retard and talking for minutes instead of killing the nigger manlet. Jesus fucking Christ...

Then, of course, they kill the best character in the series for no reason whatsoever and make Kim and Saul act like complete psychopaths stalking and gaslighting Howard instead of only bullying him like in the previous seasons. What was supposed to be just them having some fun become shit that you would expect to see in a horror film. Again, shock value and nothing more.

After the ninth episode or so, the series officially became an "I clapped when I saw Han Solo" shitfest. Only cheap fanservice and exposition that nobody needs to know (motherfuckers even told what happened to the fat nigga. HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!). I'm done, I'm not going to finish this garbage.

What a disappointment, this could be so fucking much better.

 

[ln18]

I find every time Marie gets on her soapbox to be funny, especially when she's wildly off base.

 

[Zaragoza]

>series finale >Gene is being sent to prison >led to his cell which shuts behind him >"Well, guess I fought the law... and the law won." >begins singing and dancing "I fought the law" >the other prisoners join in from their cells and the guards do a coordinated baton twirl and high kicks >cuts to Lalo and Howard beneath the lab singing >cuts to Chuck in the burning house singing >Gus and Mike doing a synchronized dance with dead serious faces >cut to Walt lying in the lab nodding his head to the beat >cuts to Kim doing karaoke with Cliff and Schweikart >cuts to Huell dancing with his obese black wife who looks exactly like him but with lipstick and a wig dancing at a buffet >gretchen and Elliot dancing to the song in their mansion with laser pointers following their movements >cut to Pete and badger with arms around each other singing along as they aim their lasers >cut to Skylar swaying to the beat as she hangs from the ceiling while the baby looks on and lipsyncs "the law won" >cut to Marie drinking a mega pint of red wine, playing the song on Hank's record player >cut to an underground shot of Hank's corpse magically springing back to life to say "i fought the law" before going back to being dead and Gomie saying "and the law won" and winks >cut to Jesse in a rundown wooden cabin freezing with ice picks sticking out his nose under a blanket in Alaska humming to the tune >cuts to Nacho dead in the desert staring into the camera >cut to Ed Galbraith doing a little jig and clicking his heels, laughing in his vacuum store, counting the money he's made from all of this >The cousins wheel Hector in front of the camera, and he gets out of the chair and starts breakdancing

 

[BetterFuckChuck]

Watched almost the whole thing the last couple of days and I am beyond disappointed. What a terrible finale.

SPOILERS ahead, of course.

What can be said? The writers went for shock value and surprise and ignored quality or common sense. Things started to get worse with Nacho's suicide, something completely out of character and non-sencical. Who in the world, in that state of mind, would do something like that without attempting to get some fucker with them to their grave? Clearly nobody, but this is a prequel and everyone around him is going to survive, so the writers came with this retarded shit out of their asses and gave the "papa" excuse despite the only person who promised him his daddy would be all right wasn't even in the scene (he was watching from afar, but it doesn't matter. Nacho knew Mike was just another pawn in the game like him). So fucking lazy and anti-climatic.

Nacho was going to die anyway. His whole plan was to get at least some protection out of it, otherwise he’d get captured, tortured and his entire family murdered. We’ve seen since the beginning he wanted to elope (if thats the right word) with his father

But things get worse in the following episodes. Now we know Gus has a crystal ball! It doesn't matter if someone misses Lalo entering the laundry because he was taking a dump, Gus knows better, But he is so badass that he, a week before, placed a gun in a totally random and retarded place because he knew he had to kill Lalo there in a direct-to-video 80s shitty action movie scene. Again, the writers put themselves in a corner and didn't know how to fix their shit. Lalo is smarter than everyone else but he needs to die, the solution? Making him act like a retard and talking for minutes instead of killing the nigger manlet. Jesus fucking Christ...

It was pretty obvious that Gus knew Lalo was investigating the laundry. That was like his entire character for the past two seasons, ofc. Gus would guess that Lalo would try to come there and this cavalier attitude is the exact same thing that Gus is consistent with doing as shown in what gets him killed with Hector. As for Lalo, the dude is addicted to showmanship, the audience has been told this since his relationship with Eladio. He wanted to get as much evidence as possible because thats how he gets his way

Then, of course, they kill the best character in the series for no reason whatsoever and make Kim and Saul act like complete psychopaths stalking and gaslighting Howard instead of only bullying him like in the previous seasons. What was supposed to be just them having some fun become shit that you would expect to see in a horror film. Again, shock value and nothing more.

For no reason? Jimmy was throwing bowling balls and ordering prostitutes for Howard a season earlier. They wanted the sandpiper money and thought it was fun. Thats moral degradation is the whole point of the show

After the ninth episode or so, the series officially became an "I clapped when I saw Han Solo" shitfest. Only cheap fanservice and exposition that nobody needs to know (motherfuckers even told what happened to the fat nigga. HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!). I'm done, I'm not going to finish this garbage.

What a disappointment, this could be so fucking much better.

Youre a speedwatcher

I think i finally nailed down my problem with season six and the finale. I feel like the actual events and emotional beats are great in a vacuum but the season suffered from narrative decompression

For those unfamiliar its a comic term. A regular comic like spiderman versus the werewolf will be one issue but a decompressed comic would do three issues of that one storyline. Seasons six to me felt like they decompressed plot points to fit the thirteen episode order but didnt decompress the emotion

What i mean is each event takes like three episodes to happen but the emotional focus is never on the character affected until the final episode of that plot point. Take nacho for example, the arc of his attempts to evade the salamancas leading to his death are three episodes long but hes never given emotional focus until the final. They couldve done his death in episode two but also put emotional focus on his death for both of those episodes and let us feel the impact of it

Ironically cutting it back down to ten episodes would given them more time to flesh stuff out. I think episodes 7-9 are fine as they are but 4-6 couldve been the same as well as the final arc. If instead we got the events of Nippy up to Waterworks in one episode and then have Gene get caught by the end, we could have had an extra ten to 20 minutes to focus on Saul’s contemplation of what path he should go on and itd feel powerful and earned when he does make that choice

A great example of narrative compression but emotional decompression was in season 4/5. Lalo investigating the lab and Michael having to kill Werner is one, maybe two episodes but it affects every character for the next half a season emotionally. If this was season six itd take three episodes for Lalo to kill that guy and for Werner to die but it’d still only be one episode of Werner’s death being given any sort of emotional introspection with him and Mike

 

[CivilianOfTheFandomWars]

I enjoyed the show, and I thought the ending was well done.
That's my controversial opinion for today.

 

[StrawberryDouche]

And let me say God I hope AMC/Sony doesn't convince Gilligan or Gould to come back and give anymore Epilogue's ala El Camino. I want the Breaking Bad Universe done. I doubt it'll happen but still anything's possible.

Same. I have loved this universe. The layered storytelling, directing, cinematography, and character studies have been stellar and unsurpassable. The finest the small screen will ever see, and I'm done. It needs to be done.

Part of my annoyance at the ending is, that it left no room for the viewer to be a participant in it in the way BB did with Jesse's fate. Then El Camino happened and robbed people of the ending they created for him. I fucking hated El Camino and that it even exists, and no one needs El Kimino. I would like to imagine her fate for myself, thx.

Everyone needs to walk away and allow this to age into the TV equivalent of classic literature that you revisit and revere throughout your life and generations hence discover and come to love for themselves and have vibrant discussions about.

Let it go.