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Better Call Saul, the TV series

I've loved this show from the beginning, I'm just a little sad for Jimmy now. He seems to be trying so hard, and I'm rooting for him, but I also know what his future is going to be like...
 
Man, I loved last night's episode.

Mike's whole story was entertaining even if it wasn't the biggest thing ever.

I was really annoyed at Kim's half-hearted effort at persuading Jimmy to take the deal. It seemed a little like she didn't say more (i.e., didn't provide any information that would actually change his mind) solely because the writers needed her not to convince him. I will chalk it up to Kim not being able to say more for fear of being fired, but a real person/friend would have said "seriously, take the deal. there is more going on here than just Hamlin screwing you over. I can't say more or I could get fired, but take the deal."

That said, Kim's insufficiency as Jimmy's friend was totally overshadowed by Chuck's betrayal as a brother. I appreciated McKean's performance; he really sold it that he just couldn't live with a successful "short-cut-taking" brother lawyer. Even if he was totally wrong about it. I am really interested to see where this goes; I hope Jimmy leaves the door open a crack for reconciliation but I also really want him to really stick to the "we're done" position - almost like family and friends have to sometimes cut off support/enabling of drug/alcohol/etc.-addicted relatives.

Finally, so sad that there is only one more episode this season. :thumbdown:
 
I was really annoyed at Kim's half-hearted effort at persuading Jimmy to take the deal. It seemed a little like she didn't say more (i.e., didn't provide any information that would actually change his mind) solely because the writers needed her not to convince him. I will chalk it up to Kim not being able to say more for fear of being fired, but a real person/friend would have said "seriously, take the deal. there is more going on here than just Hamlin screwing you over. I can't say more or I could get fired, but take the deal."

Or, she probably didn't want to be the one to tell Jimmy his brother was actually the one screwing him over, because (A) he might not believe it, or (B) if he believed it, she'd be partially responsible for the rift that was soon to be opened in Jimmy and Chuck's relationship.

And given what we've just seen of his influence, if any body fires Kim over tattleing it would be Chuck, not Hamlin.
 
Kim thought that she was protecting Jimmy from something that would hurt him even more than her selling him out.

I thought the scene where Chuck cut Jimmy down was beautiful and devastating. "People don't change! You're Slippin Jimmy!" Jimmy has spent years trying to legitimize himself in the eyes of the people who love him and become something respectable, and Chuck puts him in his place, telling him that he will never possibly see him as anything respectable.

Jimmy's older brother, who he has spent his life comparing himself to and trying to impress, will never, ever see him as something decent.
 
Better Call Saul might be the first show in history to correctly use the prequel format.

It's like, I didn't know this was the correct way to do a prequel until Vince Gilligan showed me.
 
The thing is, that as I understand it the people in the house are fairly welcoming to people wanting to visit the house, take pictures, etc. This really abuses their openness with their property.

As I also understand it there's an actual grave marker for Walter White in an ABQ cemetery that's visited by fans of the show, fine and good "on paper" but in reality their visiting it with some disrespect to neighboring graves of actual people.

The phone number they used on 24 was occasionally actually manned by actors from the show.
Yeah, well used-in-TV numbers have only recently lead to "east eggs" for fans. But in the past use of "555" numbers or, more recently to avoid the 555 trope; numbers that begin with "1," was done to prevent idiots from calling phone numbers and disturbing some unsuspecting person in every area code.

They used to be... But it's gotten so bad now that they have posted signs on the property to advise people to take pictures from across the street... And yeah.. the whole pizza on the roof thing got out of hand... The local news did an interview with the lady who owns the home last week and while they were doing it, some guy just walks right up and starts taking selfies on the property... And got indignant when the woman asked him to leave.

Albuquerque is a beautiful place, with good people and great food (better than Santa Fe, for sure)... Years ago, "Cops" did a series here and were asked to never come back by our then mayor because of the negative way it portrayed us... Since that is more "reality" based, I can understand the point.

The car wash from Breaking Bad, known as Octopus Car Wash for decades, has officially changed its name to "Mister Car Wash" and has a plethora of BB items for sale.. Naturally. LOL..

Thanks for your thoughts! I was WAY under the weather last week and forgot to check back.
 
The finale looks to be a great setup for the Saul we've come to know from Breaking Bad, given how things are shaping up. What a backstabbing brother.
 
I thought the scene where Chuck cut Jimmy down was beautiful and devastating. "People don't change! You're Slippin Jimmy!" Jimmy has spent years trying to legitimize himself in the eyes of the people who love him and become something respectable, and Chuck puts him in his place, telling him that he will never possibly see him as anything respectable.

Isn't he right though? I mean, he was kind of an ass by not being upfront about it, but I think in general he's right. No matter how much Jimmy seems to want to change, he really does seem to still be taking a lot of shortcuts.
 
Given where he is when we meet him in Breaking Bad, it makes sense that he cuts ties with Chuck, but I gotta say...

I LOVE Chuck!

McKean has really done a wonderful job with this character and I hope he gets nominated for an Emmy.

I hope he will still be involved with the show.
 
I thought the scene where Chuck cut Jimmy down was beautiful and devastating. "People don't change! You're Slippin Jimmy!" Jimmy has spent years trying to legitimize himself in the eyes of the people who love him and become something respectable, and Chuck puts him in his place, telling him that he will never possibly see him as anything respectable.

Isn't he right though? I mean, he was kind of an ass by not being upfront about it, but I think in general he's right. No matter how much Jimmy seems to want to change, he really does seem to still be taking a lot of shortcuts.

Well, we know from our knowledge of the future that he's right that Jimmy didn't change, but his motives are certainly not pure. His motives seemed rooted in narcissism. "My job is holy and YOU don't get to have it!" And at this point, Jimmy was making a concerted effort to change with the right motives. "I was proud of you when you were in the mail room, beneath me where you belong."

Keep in mind just a week or two ago Jimmy had the opportunity to have Charles committed AND take a major immediate windfall from it. And he has presumably been bending over backwards to enable his delusions for years just out of brotherly concern.

If Charles had said, "Objectively you have not proven qualified for a job with us", that would be fine. Instead he strung him along and played good cop while secretly sabotaging him, making sure he could never find his footing anywhere else. It's also rather obvious, the moment he saw Jimmy working on a big case, his long game was immediately to absorb it and take it away from him, just out of concern that it would start Jimmy into a legitimate career.

His rejection of Jimmy's desire to change came off to me more as an egotistical, emotional effort to keep himself superior when he could have been supportive and told him "I hope you can change but it will take more than that to prove it to me."
 
^ Bingo. Chuck is a self-centered, narcissistic asshole of the first order. Who knows how Jimmy would have turned out without this devastating disappointment and betrayal.
 
I thought the scene where Chuck cut Jimmy down was beautiful and devastating. "People don't change! You're Slippin Jimmy!" Jimmy has spent years trying to legitimize himself in the eyes of the people who love him and become something respectable, and Chuck puts him in his place, telling him that he will never possibly see him as anything respectable.

Isn't he right though? I mean, he was kind of an ass by not being upfront about it, but I think in general he's right. No matter how much Jimmy seems to want to change, he really does seem to still be taking a lot of shortcuts.

The only reason it seems Jimmy becomes the Saul we know from "Breaking Bad" is because of his brother's betrayal. His brother is a huge asshole and despite what he says, Chuck basically creates the thing he resents Jimmy for being in his mind anyway.
 
I have to say, I rather enjoyed the scene with scenes with Mike. About as perfect an execution of 'Rule One' as I've ever seen. ;)

It reminded of the scene in The Way of the Gun where the two hired guns look at James Caan as a weak old man who they could physically intimidate, and he calmly informs them of the error in their reasoning.

I figured Chuck was the main driving force behind Hamlin's denial of Jimmy, but to still see the reveal play out the way it did was heartbreaking. Yeah, Jimmy's still got some of his "Slippin' Jimmy" traits, and for all Chuck's vitriol he makes some salient points, but Jimmy was making a concerted effort to be a better man, and was so desperate for his brother's approval, only to have the rug pulled out from under him with his betrayal.

I would rank this episode almost as highly as Five-0, and it really bodes well to have two such powerful dramatic episodes so soon into the run of the show.
 
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