Better Call Saul

[Hallucinogenic Penguin]

Gus is protected by Bolsa and Eladio who, though do not like him, view him as a better asset than the Salamancas. That they know he's up to something doesnt matter, they need to prove it to the higher ups who look on him more favorably than them. Keep in mind that up until Bolsa is killed, both he and Eladio consider Gus nothing more than a homo bitch who bends the knee and pays what he's owed. Neither believe for a second Hector and Lalo are justified in their more overt dislike for the higher earner, so Lalo needs to show they were right to dislike and not trust him before they're "allowed" to do anything to him.


REGARDLESS I also am not feeling the Germany shit and hope it's wrapped up pronto.

I agree but I kind of got the vibe that Bolsa was kind of a more care free(for a cartel Don) mentor to Gus.

 

[Absurdist Laughter]

He was just mostly fucking around with Howard. Ole Jimmy was probably thinking.
“Yeah you can give me a few good punches and I’ll get a black eye but that’s nothing to what I’m doing and going to do to your reputation”

Also any theories on what happens to Howard? A lot of people are theorizing he gets whacked by either Gus’s men or Lalo with him trying to always follow Jimmy around via his PI.

I think Howard is gonna die or be maimed heavily.

 

[AnOminous]

I think Howard is gonna die or be maimed heavily.

You'd think since the entire legal community knows about the Salamanca thing that Howard would know, as Heisenberg said, to "tread lightly". But he's high on the rush of having beaten the shit out of Jimmy, so he's probably thinking if he catches him doing something outright illegal he can finish him.

 

[ProfDongs]

I really hope someone takes a Zafiro stopper to the brain, the guy in the liquor store saying to be careful with it seemed like it set in stone someone is going to get brained with it.

 

[Saul Goodman Fan]

I absolutely love this show but did anyone else think the last episode felt a little weird? Not bad or anything, but there was just something off about it. A lot of subtlety and nuance the show is known for was kind of on-the-nose in this one imo.

I don’t think it’s a sign of things to come or anything, I was never a fan of the first half of season 5 of BB, but the second half is some of the best television I’ve ever seen. I just found it odd.

 

[TheHarbinger]

I absolutely love this show but did anyone else think the last episode felt a little weird? Not bad or anything, but there was just something off about it. A lot of subtlety and nuance the show is known for was kind of on-the-nose in this one imo.

I don’t think it’s a sign of things to come or anything, I was never a fan of the first half of season 5 of BB, but the second half is some of the best television I’ve ever seen. I just found it odd.

BCS was always character based drama. We knew the outcomes of the main cast aside from Chuck, Howard, and Kim. Everyone else has their fates known because of BB. So your option to write a prequel is to explore the characters and the BB universe in a way that does not rely on plot twists and shocking events with a one time payoff like BB would always do with its big set piece moments like Walt throwing the fake meth in the floor, Gus getting blown up, Hank dying, machine gun in the trunk, and so on. The lily of the valley reveal, the plane crash, Jane overdosing. BB was always about major plot twists and action pieces and the backgrounds of the characters were secondary.

BB was always about 'what' the characters will do. BCS is about 'why'. It was about the relationship between Jimmy and Chuck. About why Mike was so cynical and jaded in BB. About why Gus is so ruthless and insane. It was an exploration of the backgrounds of these characters. But now BCS has shifted to 'what' in a very lame way. We are being kept in the dark for no reason about Kim and Jimmy's plans for Howard other than dragging out the tension. Same with Lalo. And those stories are told in a way where we not only do not see the 'why' but we are not even getting the 'what' and 'how' anymore. How did Lalo get to Germany without Interpol finding him? How did he track down people without raising suspicions? Why does he not report Gus and Madrigal to the BKA or FBI/DEA? What are Kim and Jimmy even doing?

Pretty much every scene now is just slowly setting up for the major plot twist or big event. The predictions being Howard dying or his wife dying. Kim dying or getting sent to the vacuum repair shop. It is now about what happens to the characters and the 'why' is abandoned in the storytelling. Also getting worse is the characterization of Jimmy into Saul. In BB Saul is advocating murders and clearly using prostitutes and actively tracks down Heisenberg to win a massive drug client. When is this version of Saul going to show up? Because the current Saul now is a little wimpy faggot who seems afraid of Kim and can barely throw a punch in a boxing ring.

Based on how things are going I predict that Howard will be like Hank. The idiot naive loser who crosses the main characters and dies spectacularly like a total dumbass. "Oh this Heisenberg is a monster.....he killed like a dozen people in prison in one minute.....you know I better meet him in the middle of the desert with no backup and tell no one at all". Hank crossed Walt and died and took out his partner as well. But in a way where Walt did not pull the trigger. My guess is that BCS copies BB and has Howard die, with another innocent likely his wife, in a way where Jimmy will be absolved just like Walt was. And Kim will be like Jesse who gets to escape. But the difference is that Jimmy and Kim will reunite in the end in the Gene timeline for almost a sappy ending.

And Lalo will be buried in the meth lab. So that when you watch BB from now on you remember Lalo and it changes those scenes on subsequent viewings.

 

[AnOminous]

I really hope someone takes a Zafiro stopper to the brain, the guy in the liquor store saying to be careful with it seemed like it set in stone someone is going to get brained with it.

BB/BCS are pretty much Chekhov's Gun: the Show.

And Lalo will be buried in the meth lab. So that when you watch BB from now on you remember Lalo and it changes those scenes on subsequent viewings.

He has to die before he gets the information about Gus's betrayal back to Hector. I think that means he has a very short expected lifespan.

 

[No0neKnows]

Spoiler: long post again

I just want to know why women are so evil

Edit: can someone give me a recap of yesterdays episode? - I'm at work and can't watch it.

PATCH NOTES 6.06
We heard your criticisms from the last update.

Added New Map: Svenson's Store.
Added New Ultimate for Kim Wexler: Time Travel. When active Kim can travel back to the early 80s.
Added New NPC: Mr. Pearson.
Added New Player: Momma Wexler.
Increased Momma Wexler milfiness.
Increased Momma Wexler duplicitiousness by 200%.
Paradoxically increased and decreased Momma Wexler parenting skills.
Added New Prop: Nebraska Collection.
Added New DLC Song: The Reflex - Duran Duran.
Increased Giancarlo Esposito Directing Skills by 300%.
Added New NPCs: Pet Emergency Family.
Updated Skin for The Vet: Slightly Disheveled.
Buffed Saul Goodman and The Vet friendship by 15%.
Buffed Kim Wexler and The Vet friendship by 15%.
Added New Prop: The Zodiac Killer's Book.
Added New Prop: Best Quality Vacuum Business Card.
Added New Skin for Jimmy McGill: Dilated Jimmy.
Updated Map: Hamlin Manor. Now the interior is accessible to players.
Buffed Howard Hamlin Barista skill to Level I.
Buffed Howard Hamlin Barista skill to Level II: Dunkin's Nightshift Employee.
Buffed Howard Hamlin Barista skill to Level III: Starbucks Coffee Artist.
Added New Mini Game at Hamlin Manor: Xpressochino where players can draw shapes into the coffee with steamed milk.
Added New Player: Cheryl Hamlin.
Nerfed Howard Hamlin happiness by 35%.
Buffed Cheryl Hamlin's bitchiness by 5%.
Increased audience sympathy for Howard Hamlin by HALF.
Buffed Howard Hamlin depression by 2 points.
Added New Achievement: Now I know Why Howard's Blue...
Increased Clifford Main and Kim Wexler friendship to Level II.
Decreased Clifford Main and Coffee Vending Machine friendship to: enemies.
Nerfed Mike Ehrmantraut and Tyrus friendship to -80%.
Increased Mike Ehrmantraut hatred for Tyrus by 40%.
Increased Mike Ehrmantraut and Tyrus hostilities.
Increased Tyrus vocalization to >10 words.
Updated Map: Saul Goodman & Associates Version 2 Increased Francesca Interior

(saw this on /tv/ and wanted to share)

How do you think he got the book? By purchasing it from someone who did not keep things entirely confidential. You think they killed the veterinarian for selling the book to Jimmy? Clearly the underworld does not care who has the book in the BCS universe. They would certainly be upset at someone who left the book in their house for the police to take though more than someone who sold it to another criminal. This is just poor writing. But BB/BCS fans are zombies at this point.

That's the only thing that you can think of? That's cute. No need to come here to the thread and offend us though, we have nothing to do with your limitations.

 

[Yuri_]

I absolutely love this show but did anyone else think the last episode felt a little weird? Not bad or anything, but there was just something off about it.

I've felt that way about this entire season. Either I've changed due to the massive pressures I've been through over the past two years, or the sovl has been sucked out of the show.

I just don't enjoy watching it like I did in the past 5 seasons.

 

[Absurdist Laughter]

You'd think since the entire legal community knows about the Salamanca thing that Howard would know, as Heisenberg said, to "tread lightly". But he's high on the rush of having beaten the shit out of Jimmy, so he's probably thinking if he catches him doing something outright illegal he can finish him.

Yeah, that may very well be the case. This could be a red herring in the writing, bravo on that if it is.

In the beginning of the episode we are introduced to Howard's family life. He made a coffee for his wife and tea for himself. Later at the vet's office, they are warned that the effects of the dilator chemical is dependent on the tolerance of caffeine. We don't know the specifics of the side effects which leads me to why I believe something bad is going to happen to Howard that results in the repossession of Saul's home.

 

[CWCissey]

I just thought Saul was going to feign a concussion after being smacked around by Howard.

 

[AnOminous]

I just thought Saul was going to feign a concussion after being smacked around by Howard.

I don't think he'd want to answer any questions about his Slippin' Jimmy years, or exactly why he was in a fight with Howard in the first place. Also the circumstances would make it a mutually agreed upon match. So anyone participating assumed liability for whatever might be expected to happen in a boxing match. So far as I could tell Hamlin was completely above board and offered and delivered a match basically to Queensberry rules.

So if a participant got a black eye, or a concussion, those are all expected things.

He had good reason not to want to make a fuss about the fight though with D-Day here anyway. This is going to be a catastrophe. As they say, before you seek revenge, first dig two graves.

 

[Trans Fat 41g]

I'm still thinking the teaser showing Howard running up the stairwell while Clifford called out to him suggests a panic before the fall. Maybe he spots something going on, or realizes it, freaks out trying to prevent a catastrophe, and then "has an accident".

I'm really just wanting this mid-finale over with. The last good show we will have in a damn while going away is a jarring tension.

 

[AnOminous]

I absolutely love this show but did anyone else think the last episode felt a little weird? Not bad or anything, but there was just something off about it. A lot of subtlety and nuance the show is known for was kind of on-the-nose in this one imo.

It was directed by Giancarlo Esposito. I didn't see any particular problem with it but that might explain any differences. Rhea Seehorn directed one too. Rhea Seehorn directed the "Hit and Run" episode. So far she's winning the best-guest-directing-by-an-actor-on-the-show contest.

(Cranston probably wins franchise-wide for his three episode 1s.)

 

[TheHarbinger]

I just don't enjoy watching it like I did in the past 5 seasons.

Part of it is that these characters are all pieces of shit and they are being increasingly written as less sympathetic. Murderers, drug dealers, serial killers, con artists and cheats. Pretty much all of the main characters are people you would do everything possible to avoid in real life. You are watching a show where the bad guys basically win until the final episodes or even win beyond the final episodes. In BB they wrote Walt and Jesse to be almost like heroic figures. I would guess that when BCS returns after the break they will portray Gene as being extremely sympathetic and a heroic character despite his extremely gross past.

People rooted for Jesse even though he was a murdering drug dealer who scammed his family out a $1million home and reintroduced his sober girlfriend to drugs. People rooted for Mike to get his drug and assassination money to his granddaughter yet rooted against Lydia despite their characters being the same because of the portrayal differences. People rooted for Tony Sopranos and Vic Mackey as well. But the difference is that at the end of Sopranos and Shield those characters were basically beyond redemption. Their families hated them and all of their friends they either murdered or betrayed or just abandoned. People wanted to see Tony die even which why David Chase said he knew that no matter how Sopranos ended he would not show Tony dying.

In BB you had the fans basically rooting for Walt to deal more drugs. The show in the last season created new villains out of nowhere for Walt to kill and made them as unsympathetic as possible so the fans would root for Walt. By making them Neo-Nazis and having one of their leaders kill a little kid who was riding his bike. So when Walt kills them and frees Jesse later they are heroes. The Nazis for no reason kill Jesse's girlfriend to drive home the point to the dumb BB fans that these were the new bad guys.

I can already see how the BCS writers will make a softer ending for Jim and Kim. Just like Walt and Jesse had soft endings despite their sins. Howard will be like Hank who dies and basically is written off. But Jimmy and Kim will likely face temporary setbacks and emerge during the Gene timeline as victorious. Walt basically got a good ending in BB. He gives money to his family, intimidates his hated rivals of Grey Matter and makes them paranoid for life, kills everyone who wronged him from Gus to Lydia and basically destroys the Madrigal company, and even patches things up with his wife in person. Other than his son hating him he makes out pretty well. And Jesse gets to move to Alaska and live freely despite being responsible for who know how much suffering.

If you watch this show to see Jimmy and Kim overcome their hardships you will probably be in for a good ending. Just like people who watched BB who wanted Walt and Jesse to win got the best ending as well.

 

[AnOminous]

The Nazis for no reason kill Jesse's girlfriend to drive home the point to the dumb BB fans that these were the new bad guys.

Actually I think the white supremacists were brought in because Walt was so low that was the kind of asset he'd have. Also the Nazis were more honorable than Walt at that point. The only reason he even had the money to pull off his last trick instead of just dying in a ditch is they literally left him a barrel of money thanks to Todd, for some reason, weirdly admiring him, out of some sort of psychopathy, or perhaps just as a source of meth cooking skills (which Todd being very dumb was bad at).

 

[Gonzalo Lira]

Last episode made my pp soft and I hated it.

 

[StrawberryDouche]

I wonder if the flashback to Kid Kim was to establish that she's always managed to get away with things. If you're on a high streak of wrapping people around your fingers and then you seriously fuck up, your plans fall through and you're exposed, how will she handle it?

I think it was to establish that running a con is nothing new to her. She was raised by one. That childhood shoplifting episode was set up and planned by her mother.

Kim isn't some innocent naïf pure of heart that got tricked off the path of righteousness by the nefarious Chicago bad man. If anything, she's turned him from the better path he had taken.

 

[God of Nothing]

I think it was to establish that running a con is nothing new to her. She was raised by one. That childhood shoplifting episode was set up and planned by her mother.

Kim isn't some innocent naïf pure of heart that got tricked off the path of righteousness by the nefarious Chicago bad man. If anything, she's turned him from the better path he had taken.

don't forget
her mother called her kimmy

 

[Clem Fandango]

Episode 5

Margarethe: The lawyers came and took anything that they considered...how do you say?...'proprietary'? Sorry my English is not so good.

Vince Gilligan has definitely met German people. This is exactly what they're like