Better Call Saul !

[itsofrustratin]

Been really enjoying this season, especially the stuff involving hector. The first season was a bit of chore to get through but quality has become more and more interesting to the point its starting to be on BBs level. I tend to find the drug dealing storyline alot more interesting but the dynamic between Saul and his brother is compelling.

Pretty much the only show im watching these days. Cant wait for Defenders though

 

[madman]

Thoughts on Monday's episode.

Spoiler:

So Nacho is indeed trying to mess w/Hector's pills. Obviously he's not successful but I think it's too early for him to be killed off. Especially since Saul mentions Nacho in BB and they haven't been introduced yet. Perhaps Mike's warning makes him think twice that it's not as simple as he thinks?

The Chuck case is weighing on Kim's conscience. Seems like that will drive them apart. Jimmy seems to truly not give a fuck about Chuck anymore and in fact is intent on continuing to put the screws into him. The fake breakdown at the malpractice insurance office calling Chuck's mental instability out was genius. He's also not doing well on the commercial business and I think the scene at the bar shows Jimmy becoming Saul even more while Kim is playing it straight. Jimmy actually would've scammed those people out of money because he is running out of his.

One thing I didn't understand is when Mike is at the grief counseling he talks to that woman whose husband died and he drills her for more information about what happened to him and if he was in law enforcement. After she tells him where he disappeared and that he was previously in the Navy is when Mike accepts the protection job for the pharma guy selling to Nacho. It makes me wonder if Mike was somehow involved in that woman's husband's death?

 

[jro]

Spoiler:

I'll be surprised if Hector doesn't force Nacho to take one of the pills. Not quite sure what will lead to that point, but that's 100% how I expect Nacho to be killed off.

Yeah, Kim is going to leave sooner than later, I think. I doubt it'll be this season (there's only three episodes left for one and I assume that storyline will be a pretty big deal), but yeah, she's starting to look at the door. The scene in the bar did a good job of showing that whereas Jimmy used to talk about (and sometimes do) grifts for fun, now he would do them out of anger and a need for revenge on the rest of society. Which Kim is obviously not into.

I don't think Mike was involved in the death. That sequence seemed to be intentionally vague, likely to be explained a little better in the future. The AV Club was as baffled by it as anyone. I definitely don't have a good idea for it.

I'm curious how long the series will run. It seems like a prequel works better if the showrunners have a set length in mind, so that it doesn't get to feeling bloated and drawn out.

At the current pace I feel like it ought to run 2-3 more seasons. 2 would be concise, 3 would be maybe a little leisurely. Random stuff could obviously pad it out if that's what Gilligan wants to do, but the momentum of Jimmy becoming Saul feels like it's there now, earned not forced. Would be a shame to derail or dilute it.

 

[madman]

Spoiler:

I was discussing the episode with a friend after my post. I think Mike is probably just sticking to his ethics code. He's taking the pill job to make money and he will probably somehow help out that woman from the group with it.

I was also thinking about the length of the series. As much as I love the show I don't want to see it turn into shit and there's only a finite amount of time until the BB world happens. It seems like this season we are having a lot of the BB characters come into play. I suspect at the end of this season we either see the full transition to Saul or it'll end with him deciding to become Saul. Saul doesn't come into BB into the second season so it's possible they do some overlap with the BB characters. That'd be the perfect end to the series along with another present day clip of Jimmy/Saul at the Cinnabon.

 

[Castor Troy]

Spoiler:

I'll be surprised if Hector doesn't force Nacho to take one of the pills. Not quite sure what will lead to that point, but that's 100% how I expect Nacho to be killed off.

I'm curious how long the series will run. It seems like a prequel works better if the showrunners have a set length in mind, so that it doesn't get to feeling bloated and drawn out.

At the current pace I feel like it ought to run 2-3 more seasons. 2 would be concise, 3 would be maybe a little leisurely. Random stuff could obviously pad it out if that's what Gilligan wants to do, but the momentum of Jimmy becoming Saul feels like it's there now, earned not forced. Would be a shame to derail or dilute it.

Spoiler:

Nacho is killed by Walter in BB. Did you forget the basement scene with the broken plate?

The show, from what I read was intended to be 5 seasons long.

 

[madman]

Spoiler:

Nacho is killed by Walter in BB. Did you forget the basement scene with the broken plate?

That wasn't Nacho. Not all Mexicans look the same.

 

[Castor Troy]

That wasn't Nacho. Not all Mexicans look the same.

Oops. You're right. Lol!
The sad part is that I'm Mexmurican and got those two actors confused.

 

[ChopstickSamurai]

This season has been fantastic so far. Mike kicks all sorts of ass.

 

[ookitarepanda]

Spoiler:

Nacho is killed by Walter in BB. Did you forget the basement scene with the broken plate?

The show, from what I read was intended to be 5 seasons long.

Spoiler:

That guy was Krazy-8, the dude that Nacho beat the shit out of last week for not having all the money for Hector.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Breaking_Bad_and_Better_Call_Saul_characters#Krazy-8_Molina

 

[norton9478]

That wasn't Nacho. Not all Mexicans look the same.

Shit... I was just thinking about how much Nacho looks like my Brother in Law and (older) Hector looks like my Father IN Law.



Also, ever notice that Andy Garcia plays fills a lot of Italian roles and Al Pacino Hispanic?

 

[madman]

So who do you think Mike dug up in the desert? I think it goes back to my prior post about him being involved w/the death of that woman's husband that he met at the grief counseling.

 

[Wachenroder]

So who do you think Mike dug up in the desert? I think it goes back to my prior post about him being involved w/the death of that woman's husband that he met at the grief counseling.

No it was that good Samaritan that got killed when Mike was trying to setup Salamanca. I didnt make the connection either but apparently thats who it was.

From what i've read it has nothing to do with the lady in the meeting.

 

[madman]

No it was that good Samaritan that got killed when Mike was trying to setup Salamanca. I didnt make the connection either but apparently thats who it was.

From what i've read it has nothing to do with the lady in the meeting.

Ahhhh that makes sense. I think I'm too stuck on my grief counseling lady theory.

 

[itsofrustratin]

Im looking forward to tonights episode, last week was a slow burn.

 

[madman]

The scene w/Nacho switching the pills was pretty intense.

 

[madman]

Just finished the new episode...

Spoiler:

I saw the Kim thing coming a few episodes ago, plus if you look closely you can see a bottle of NoDose in her car in all the car shots this episode. As soon as the long shot of her driving was about 5 seconds in I knew something was up, but I figured it'd have been worse.

The Chuck saga...not sure what to think there. I'm not sure he's mentally sound enough to fight the firm. Howard seems to be getting progressively more and more unlikeable. I don't even know whose side I'm on with that storyline.

Jimmy, smooth as usual playing the old folks so he can get his cut. I feel like it's not going to be that simple, though.

The only easter egg I saw on the first run through was a store called "Crazy 8" when Jimmy begins the mall walking sequence.

I'm not sure what it means with Don Eladio saying Gus's transport is the way to go. Why would Hector go against his wishes and still try to use Nacho's dad for his drug smuggling? I don't see the angle there other than Hector's pride. If this wasn't a prequel I would've figured that Hector gets whacked but obviously that doesn't happen here.

Oh and yeah, even if this wasn't a prequel show, we'd know that Gus isn't helping Mike out just to be a nice guy.

 

[Thierry Henry]

Spoiler:

Nacho probably didn't consider the possible placebo effect when switching the pills.

 

[jro]

Spoiler:

The pills aren't going away. Waaay too much of a Chekov's Gun situation for them to be so trivial. Hector will likely take more of them now that the first one didn't kill him, and they could definitely be what leads to his BB condition.

Nacho is going to fuck up the switch back. That's what will somehow lead to Hector realizing what happened and I still think it's highly likely he'll force Nacho to take one (or more), and Nacho will die.

 

[madman]

Spoiler:

That's the other unknown, can whatever Nacho put in the pills cause Hector's condition? At first I thought it was just a way to replace his heart pills with something that would kill him, but again obviously we know that doesn't happen. I don't know if we'll see that play out in the finale, there's just too much happening for all these stories to reach their boiling point. I think we'll see the resolution of Kim's side of the story after her car crash. I don't think she'll go away but she'll realize she needs help which in and of itself isn't a very compelling storyline unless it's a factor in Jimmy becoming Saul to help her under a fake name but that's not something that'll play out quickly.

I feel like the Howard and Chuck side of the house can conclude. Jimmy is clearly done w/Chuck, Howard just kicked Chuck to the curb and other than the lawsuit Chuck brings against HHM there's not a lot there. And we've essentially seen Howard morph into what he sees Jimmy as. Certainly there will be some big cliffhanger at the end of the finale. I can't imagine Gus is just going to sit back and do nothing after Hector blew up and basically told him to go fuck himself.

Oh and I'm sure we'll see the obligatory "present day" Jimmy/Saul clip of him at the Cinnabon.

I'll have to rewatch the episode and see if there are any subtleties I missed.

 

[itsofrustratin]

Ya i agree, that was a great scene. Im starting to notice a trend where the Nacho/Mike storyline is far more entertaining. That being said, alot of the chuck stuff on last nights episode was pretty great. Im really enjoy the payoff from his mental illness finally starting to come into play, really shows how well written this show is.

 

[Wachenroder]

That part with Kim driving was really well done too. I saw it coming but they put just enough edge on it to get me lol

also i'm wondering if Chuck going after HHM will allow him to go after Jimmy and Kim by proxy.

 

[Thierry Henry]

I thought I recognized the actor playing Nacho's father. Totally opposite role here to the one he had as the ultra corrupt police captain in The Bridge.

Speaking of that scene with his dad, I wonder what the significance was (if any) of Nacho pouring out the glass of milk?

 

[Wachenroder]

maybe i need to watch that episode again i didnt even see that milk part

EDIT: Apparently it was covered in an interview

What was the significance of Nacho pouring out the glass of milk?

I’m so happy you asked. That’s something we found during rehearsal and I was hoping they would keep it in. To me, it represents the good son, the essence of the character. Milk is innocence, and the pouring out in the sink is the innocence fading. The act of quietly taking it and putting it into the sink, what it really represents is that despite having strong-armed my father and breaking his heart, I will still keep a clean house, I am still my father’s son, and I will still do the house chores, even after he’s kicked me out.

 

[Thierry Henry]

The one thing I've kinda been keeping tabs on is the renewal for Season 4. No confirmation yet. Last time out it got renewed well before that season ended.
Although critically acclaimed, the show has never been a huge ratings success and has now dropped even further as compared to the previous season, but it would be a damn shame if it doesn't get picked up for at least one more go.

 

[jro]

The one thing I've kinda been keeping tabs on is the renewal for Season 4. No confirmation yet. Last time out it got renewed well before that season ended.
Although critically acclaimed, the show has never been a huge ratings success and has now dropped even further as compared to the previous season, but it would be a damn shame if it doesn't get picked up for at least one more go.

It's absolutely getting renewed, there's nothing to question. Breaking Bad and BCS are equal to or above Mad Men in terms of the most loved high-quality shows that AMC has ever run (I'm purposely not addressing Walking Dead, it's its own thing). It will last as long as Vince Gilligan wants it to last, guaranteed.

edit: BCS is pretty widely regarded, I think, as the best show on tv now that The Americans has had a down year. Maybe The Leftovers or Game of Thrones beats it out, but not by much.