Better Call Saul (spoilers)

[Bush]

Great freaking show so far.

I was hoping for 'criminal drama'-style, with a different case or so every week. The two episodes that have aired makes it feel as though it could lean toward that direction or toward BB/Walking Dead - style.

 

[Totenkindly]

That's interesting, and I didn't remember all the details of what had happened with No-Doze in BB. I'm going to need to brush up on the finer points of BB as I watch this, clearly.

Key episodes for No-Doze are last episode of Season 1 and first episode of Season 2, I think. But he might show up in some others around that time.

Great freaking show so far.

I was hoping for 'criminal drama'-style, with a different case or so every week. The two episodes that have aired makes it feel as though it could lean toward that direction or toward BB/Walking Dead - style.

It could go either way. It's likely that there will be some court dramas at some point... but they will likely tie into the main unfolding narrative in some way (whether thematically or plot wise or whatever else).

X-Files had a mix of such episodes ("mythology" episodes vs MotW* episodes).

*Monster of the Week

 

[Totenkindly]

One of my favorite moments (there were a few) in Episode 3 was when Jimmy is fretting and totally unsure of himself before walking into the witness room to speak with Nacho, he just seems very lost and has no idea of how to handle things; and then he goes in that room and kind of "takes over" the way he always does, putting on a big show and sounding like he has a clue. It's like we're getting a real peek behind the scenes of his character, finally; he really feels completely unconfident, the guy no one believes in, but like the perpetual entertainer, "the show must go on" and he goes out there each time just hoping he won't bomb.

(The guy playing Nacho says Jimmy and Nacho are like the two kids no other kids plays with in the sandbox -- Jimmy, because he's not good enough, and Nacho because their parents have told them to stay away from him.)

 

[Bush]

Not bad. Seems like it'll take me a while to get bored of this series, which is a pretty good accomplishment. I do like the 'Jimmy grows as a person and also Mike is there etc.' as an overarching storyline, but I still would love to see a case-by-case focus--the decapitated corpse and the skateboarding kids are two great examples.

 

[Totenkindly]

Decent interview with the guy who plays Nacho. (includes some spoilers, so read only if you've seen the current three episodes.)
https://tv.yahoo.com/blogs/tv-news/better-call-saul-postmortem-micahel-mando-nacho-042550167.html

Not bad. Seems like it'll take me a while to get bored of this series, which is a pretty good accomplishment. I do like the 'Jimmy grows as a person and also Mike is there etc.' as an overarching storyline, but I still would love to see a case-by-case focus--the decapitated corpse and the skateboarding kids are two great examples.

I'd die laughing if that corpse (or its head) shows up again somehow. I'm sure if Gilligan can find a way to work it or the skateboarders in, he will; he's good for stuff like that.

[Heck, in "Ozymandias" as Walt is pushing his barrel through the desert, the camera pans right past -- without comment -- the pair of pants he lost seasons before in the pilot episide. Hilarious. There was a lot of detail like that in BB.]

 

[Riva]

Great freaking show so far.

I was hoping for 'criminal drama'-style, with a different case or so every week. The two episodes that have aired makes it feel as though it could lean toward that direction or toward BB/Walking Dead - style.

yeah I think they are leaning towards the latter and i like it that way.

I never expected nor want it to be a court-drama series.

 

[Totenkindly]

Enjoyed Episode 4, "Hero." I didn't think it was quite as good as the others, but it was still very enjoyable. It's also really great to see the younger Jimmy, who isn't as jaded as the Saul Goodman we're familiar with and who wrestles with potential criminality.

Also had a great opening showcasing Kevin Weisman, who played one of the crazy Stokes brothers in an episode that Gilligan wrote and directed for X-Files ("Je Souhaite") years ago -- great to see him again.

I also like Rhea Seehorn, who plays Kim; she's pretty but not a conventional beauty, and has her various quirks. So she seems very real to me. It gets old to see females with perfect noses and voices and faces being cast as regulars in shows. My favorite series seem to just have normal women (or women with a unique look) versus the polished faces.



"You're the kind of lawyer guilty people hire." Lolz.

BUT THEY *ARE* GUILTY! haha.

Anyway, maybe this is a formative moment for Jimmy.
It's like typology: You can't be what you're not.
So make a career out of it!

 

[SensEye]

I could have sworn when Jimmy was pitching taking the money from the couple as a retainer he was also going to add something along the lines of "and also as your attorney everything I've seen here would fall under attorney client privilege". Or something along those lines. Which would then have convinced them to become his client to save their own hides. Scam artist Jimmy kind of let me down by dropping the ball on that one.

I liked the flashback vignette that explained his name too. "What's your name? Saul - s'all good man!" Call me obtuse, but this never clicked for me before.

 

[Totenkindly]

Gotta say, "Five-O" was a tour de force for Jonathan Banks. Probably the most dramatic range I've seen him express and totally in character. Considering how taciturn Mike is, we usually get an amusing display of facial responses and voice tone (which he's amazing at), but here you get to see what he can actually do with lines.

Pretty decent review (spoilers, don't read until after):
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/09/better-call-saul-recap-mike-backstory/

Interview with Banks:
https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/be...ks-talks-mikes-big-episode-five-o-1201449350/

 

[Cellmold]

Gotta say, "Five-O" was a tour de force for Jonathan Banks. Probably the most dramatic range I've seen him express and totally in character. Considering how taciturn Mike is, we usually get an amusing display of facial responses and voice tone (which he's amazing at), but here you get to see what he can actually do with lines.

Pretty decent review (spoilers, don't read until after):
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/09/better-call-saul-recap-mike-backstory/

Yeah...that transition at the end from his stoicism to actually showing his regret and his guilt was a well done scene.

ps: I loved the Matlock line as well.

 

[Ivy]

Just watched this latest episode- so, so good.

 

[Riva]

The old cop is so cool.

 

[Totenkindly]

One of the best lines in episode 7:

Referring to the Kettlemans, potential clients: “Picture The 25th Hour with Ned and Maude Flanders.”

 

[Totenkindly]

Not a bad episode (RICO s1e8), not one of the best -- it is mostly a setup for the last two episodes of the season.

It did have some decent moments:

- Jimmy in the dumpster [and yeah, everyone knows where that magic flute joke is going]

- the opening flashback... it manages to capture all the major show relationship dynamics in a few short minutes

- one line explains exactly how Mike got to where we found him in BB

daughter-in-law [half-sad, half-pleading]: "...but it's only a drop in the bucket"

- Chuck doubling down during the settlement meeting

Most interesting to me, the longer the show goes, the more I dislike Walt from Breaking Bad. He really managed to destroy quite a number of lives, without even being aware of the depth of it. Here we are, actually understanding where some of these characters have been and the way they've tried to do the right thing many times, yet Walt's pride seemed to corrupt him far earlier amid his trials.

 

[Cellmold]

Not a bad episode (RICO s1e8), not one of the best -- it is mostly a setup for the last two episodes of the season.

It did have some decent moments:

- Jimmy in the dumpster [and yeah, everyone knows where that magic flute joke is going]

- the opening flashback... it manages to capture all the major show relationship dynamics in a few short minutes

- one line explains exactly how Mike got to where we found him in BB

daughter-in-law [half-sad, half-pleading]: "...but it's only a drop in the bucket"

- Chuck doubling down during the settlement meeting

Most interesting to me, the longer the show goes, the more I dislike Walt from Breaking Bad. He really managed to destroy quite a number of lives, without even being aware of the depth of it. Here we are, actually understanding where some of these characters have been and the way they've tried to do the right thing many times, yet Walt's pride seemed to corrupt him far earlier amid his trials.

Well Walt's quintessential issue was trying to reconcile a lifetime of forced conciliation towards others. It's what happens when people suppress their needs too much in favour of others or don't take a stand when the desire comes. Basically I'm saying he was a selfish prick who spent too much time trying to deny it and everyone else paid the price.

Or maybe just not enough assertiveness.

 

[Riva]

[MENTION=7]Jennifer[/MENTION] you were right. It is/was becoming more case oriented. I think that's terrible. When we started watching it we were hoping for something similar to Breaking Bad but it seems like it's taking a turn from it and MIKE is the only character that can create story lines that would take us there.

I didn't like the last few episodes but I love the MIKE scenes.

 

[Totenkindly]

you were right. It is/was becoming more case oriented. I think that's terrible. When we started watching it we were hoping for something similar to Breaking Bad but it seems like it's taking a turn from it and MIKE is the only character that can create story lines that would take us there.

I didn't like the last few episodes but I love the MIKE scenes.

I tend to view it more as cases that are having an impact on Jimmy's ethics... IOW, I'm less concerned about the cases than the impact on the character(s), which is what the show is also focusing on. And I disagree -- it's not really case-oriented the way I think you are meaning, where each episode = new case, like your police procedurals; it's about cases that extend over a few episodes and they are just used as formative dramatic devices in character development.

Who really cares about the Kettleman's, for example? But that was never the point: The whole point was what it exposed about Jimmy, and how it changed him for better or worse. Same thing with the current situation with the old folks' home chain: How is it affecting the relationship between Jimmy and Chuck, how it is impacting Chuck, and what will happen that will encourage Jimmy in following the law or leading to him deviating in another direction? And how it will it cement his relationship with Mike?

 

[Riva]

I tend to view it more as cases that are having an impact on Jimmy's ethics... IOW, I'm less concerned about the cases than the impact on the character(s), which is what the show is also focusing on. And I disagree -- it's not really case-oriented the way I think you are meaning, where each episode = new case, like your police procedurals; it's about cases that extend over a few episodes and they are just used as formative dramatic devices in character development.

This exactly.

I just feel that they are taking too long to arrive at a breaking bad type of arch. They had one when they brought those latino gangsters in though.

It feel that they aren't moving fast enough.

 

[violett]

I didn't bother trying to watch Better Call Saul because I already knew they would not be able to re-create the success of Breaking Bad. Most spin-off series and sequels are not as good as the originals.

 

[Totenkindly]

I didn't bother trying to watch Better Call Saul because I already knew they would not be able to re-create the success of Breaking Bad. Most spin-off series and sequels are not as good as the originals.

That's a shame.
This one is actually good and works on its own.

(Occasionally a Frasier comes along.)

This exactly.

I just feel that they are taking too long to arrive at a breaking bad type of arch. They had one when they brought those latino gangsters in though.

It feel that they aren't moving fast enough.

I guess it depends on personal taste. After all, it's not really moving any slower than Breaking Bad did in the beginning. You just don't have Jimmy blowing up stuff like Walt did. He's a different personality, kind of like the difference in RPGs between the "mad scientist/wizard" and the "people person / interpersonal skills" character.