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Better Call Saul (spoilers)

Totenkindly

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Some predictable but still great Mike action this episode -- he's just such a great character. I also appreciated having seen him deal with Walt in BB, then deal with this guy here. Very interesting comparison and contrast, and his whole speech on good/bad criminals.

However, the big thing: The last five minutes. Heart-rending. I think I gasped out loud once or twice. Bob Odenkirk really is so good (and Michael McKean is as well, but Odenkirk just really inhabits this role so perfectly).

Season finale next week.
 

Totenkindly

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Pretty accurate review:
Better Call Saul: "Pimento" Review - IGN

I usually don't post open spoilers until 24 hours have passed, so I'll spoiler it... I just have to talk about this one.

 

Jet Stream

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I will never like this show. Breaking Bad was too good, way too good in fact, to have a spinoff. Spinoffs should exist only to redeem lesser shows, not drain a certain element of imagination and mystery from elite ones. And Saul Goodman is such a great character! What a pity.
 

Totenkindly

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I will never like this show. Breaking Bad was too good, way too good in fact, to have a spinoff. Spinoffs should exist only to redeem lesser shows, not drain a certain element of imagination and mystery from elite ones. And Saul Goodman is such a great character! What a pity.

Did you actually watch it?
Or is this just some form of television activism?

I think calling it a "spinoff" is highly trivializing/marginalizing the show and not a term I'd use for it, after having seen all the current episodes.
 

ceecee

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I will never like this show. Breaking Bad was too good, way too good in fact, to have a spinoff. Spinoffs should exist only to redeem lesser shows, not drain a certain element of imagination and mystery from elite ones. And Saul Goodman is such a great character! What a pity.

You mean Jimmy McGill. I don't think you have watched it because if you did, you would know that. I don't think it's even a spinoff, it's it's own show. It's a great show, better than BB even.


The old cop is so cool.

Agreed but in the back of my mind, he will always be this guy from Beverly Hills Cop.

wfowzsspm45zesiktsfo.jpg
 

Totenkindly

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Wow. You mean he had hair, once upon a time? LMFAO.
 

Jet Stream

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You mean Jimmy McGill. I don't think you have watched it because if you did, you would know that. I don't think it's even a spinoff, it's it's own show. It's a great show, better than BB even.




Agreed but in the back of my mind, he will always be this guy from Beverly Hills Cop.

wfowzsspm45zesiktsfo.jpg

I've known the characters real name sine BB thank you very much. His alias is just what I will be forever used to calling him. And for the record I've seen 1 solitary episode. Left me dry, though of course my preconceived prejudices played into that, not ashamed to admit it.
 

Jet Stream

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Did you actually watch it?
Or is this just some form of television activism?

I think calling it a "spinoff" is highly trivializing/marginalizing the show and not a term I'd use for it, after having seen all the current episodes.

To your question: the latter for the most part lol

To your statement: Maybe so, but officially speaking and judging by how it has been advertised, it is indeed a spinoff.
 

Eluded_One

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The show is starting out really good. I hope the writers get enough time to keep the the creative content consistent. It's a matter of time before the grabbing hands grab what they can. Which is quite ironic for a show about cons and lawyers.
 

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I really like this show actually. I think that it is really great how they were able to keep the same characters, and keep them in line with how they were in breaking bad, but also showcase and develop lesser sides of them.

Although Breaking Bad definatly could have stood on its own, they did a pretty good job with this series. They were able to play in the same world but give it its own personality and feel so to say. They changed things enough to be interesting, but kept the familiarity the had the audience so encaptured with Breaking Bad.

I might be biased though, Mike and Saul were pretty much my favorite characters from BB.
 

Totenkindly

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Season 2 Finished

Another season aired and done. The show just seems to get stronger. It typically doesn't rely on cheap thrills and somehow makes even the "boring" parts of lawyering interesting mainly because of the character interplay and taking the unconventional route. It's an example of how to handle a "prequel" style show where the general main outcome is known [AKA obviously Mike and Saul survive to become what we see in Breaking Bad] but the route taken and the fate of characters missing from Breaking Bad are not known and therein lies the journey.

The largest thing you come away with after two seasons is that Jimmy McGill (AKA Saul) is shady on the surface and gets a rush out of making a con -- he keeps trying to go straight and be socially acceptable, yet just can't deny who he is at core -- but inside he's actually got a good heart, even when he's been (as his ex-boss once said) an "asshole." He typically targets people who are greedy or shady themselves and meanwhile seems to extend himself for the people he cares about regardless of what they might have done to him + the weak and unfortunate who have nowhere else to turn. He seems to possess real patience with the elderly, for example, even when he finds them frustrating. And of course he will do anything for Kim. (It makes what he becomes in Breaking Bad seem sadder; something gets broken along the way, Saul Goodman is never "wicked" like Walt but seems to have merely settled for the surface-level shade and lost whatever optimism was driving him.)

But even with his brother Chuck, you really see the depths of what Jimmy will go to because he adores his older brother, who from his end loathes him. Jimmy wants Chuck's devotion and praise, which is something Chuck has refused to give regardless of Jimmy's sacrifices. We find out various reasons why this is so (along with the actual personality clashes between them). It all unfolds organically, and the way the two of them do this dance (which at times feels like a sick dance) defines their natures strongly. Jimmy is surface-shady but with a good-natured gooey center, while Chuck aside from his chronic disabling repulsion to electricity looks like the measure of competence and success but inside houses something darker than you'd expect, expressed through a continual ugly streak of sanctimony. Both viewpoints are understandable, but one brother is far more forgiving than the other.

The end of Season 2 really anchors this in place. I won't spoil it, but I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach in the final seconds of the finale. It was a masterful stroke both of acting and storytelling, and I think it's a character-defining moment for both men how s2e10 plays out and summarizing everything I would ever need to know about each as a human being. Season 3 is going to be a descent for at least some of the characters; the trail of tears has begun.
 

Riva

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Watched the season 2 and finished it. Only watched Mike's parts.

Can't help but feel we know what's going to happen to Soul. He is somehow going to mess things up with the law which would eventually force him to end things with the beautiful lawyer lady and he would move out of the city or somethings along those lines. So I avoided watching any of his parts and it seems like I was right.

Frankly Soul's parts are too different from what of Breaking Bad though it knows how to add suspense whenever it wants to. Mike's parts however screams Breaking Bad.

Mike is like the real life Bat Man.
 

Totenkindly

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Watched the season 2 and finished it. Only watched Mike's parts.

Can't help but feel we know what's going to happen to Soul. He is somehow going to mess things up with the law which would eventually force him to end things with the beautiful lawyer lady and he would move out of the city or somethings along those lines. So I avoided watching any of his parts and it seems like I was right.

if you're skipping over Jimmy McGill, you're missing some excellent acting work by Rhea Seehorn (Kim) and Mike McKean (Chuck). Besides, it's also like not reading The Lord of the Rings because you know someone is going to destroy the Ring. Duh. It's how things get there that is the story. I think the Jimmy McGill stuff is actually more painful to watch than the Mike stuff, in terms of the emotional damage and violence that occurs between Jimmy and Chuck. There's a really strong sense that, while Jimmy always had a shady side to him, a lot of his slide into moral apathy (where he is at Breaking Bad time) occurred because of how he was dismissed, undermined, and taken advantage of by Chuck all these years.

Frankly Soul's parts are too different from what of Breaking Bad though it knows how to add suspense whenever it wants to. Mike's parts however screams Breaking Bad.

Mike is like the real life Bat Man.

Mike's interesting in that a lot of what he does is also meant for family (his granddaughter and daughter in law). In that sense, he's like Walt, except I think Walt was in denial he was going bad + Walt always lied and said it was about his family whereas a lot of it was about him feeling in control and feeling significant; for Mike, a lot more of it really IS about his granddaughter. He reminds me a bit of Mike Sullivan in "Road to Perdition" -- he knows he's damned because of all the blood on his hands, but he willingly takes on more so that his son will never have to. Anyway, Mike here ends up working for Gus at some point, and we see a bit of a hint about how that might happen at the end of Season 2.
 

ceecee

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The end of Season 2 really anchors this in place. I won't spoil it, but I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach in the final seconds of the finale. It was a masterful stroke both of acting and storytelling, and I think it's a character-defining moment for both men how s2e10 plays out and summarizing everything I would ever need to know about each as a human being. Season 3 is going to be a descent for at least some of the characters; the trail of tears has begun.

When - "CHUCK! You fucking asshole!" came out of my mouth in the last seconds of the finale, it was with the full knowledge that this or something like this would happen. I, too, believe that the trail of tears has begun. All and all, I love this show. I felt that way with Season 1 and even more in Season 2.
 

ceecee

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Great LONG Con interview with a number of the cast, etc. Great background material and actor/writer exposition on the series.

http://www.vulture.com/2016/08/better-call-saul-emmy-insider-2016.html

Have you seen the little coffee n chat thing they have on AMC after the show? It's very insightful but those guys (Vince and Peter) have to know that fans will dissect anything they do that's clever. It appears that Gus Fring will be in Season 3 too. The only bad thing about this show is having to wait for the new season.

'Better Call Saul' season 3 spoilers, air date: Bob Odenkirk confirms arrival of iconic 'Breaking Bad' villain
 

Totenkindly

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Have you seen the little coffee n chat thing they have on AMC after the show? It's very insightful but those guys (Vince and Peter) have to know that fans will dissect anything they do that's clever. It appears that Gus Fring will be in Season 3 too. The only bad thing about this show is having to wait for the new season.

'Better Call Saul' season 3 spoilers, air date: Bob Odenkirk confirms arrival of iconic 'Breaking Bad' villain

I haven't tended to watch the after-show stuff (like Talking Dead too), but now I'm wondering whether I should.

Some people did not take to BCS; but for me, this show (and Mr. Robot) are among my top show picks that I'm currently viewing (ahead of more popular shows like Walking Dead, GoT, etc.). It's similar to Breaking Bad that way: It's just so thoughtfully put together, on EVERY level, and there's a consistency to it that is possibly unrivalled compared to other popular shows I've mentioned.
 
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