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Better Call Saul, the TV series

Starkers said:
Oh wow there's a whole heap of interesting stuff there!

I guess Cinnabon thought:

A/ There's no such thing as bad publicity, and
B/ Gene's life overall is hollow, the job itself isn't the thing that's sucking his soul away, it's normal life in general (I mean Gene doesn't even seem to have any friends)
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That and or they could have just been big fans of the show and also Breaking Bad and thought it would be neat to be forever associated with these shows. Jimmy might have done some questionable stuff over the years but people do love the character and they likely know that.
 
Jayson1 said:
That and or they could have just been big fans of the show and also Breaking Bad and thought it would be neat to be forever associated with these shows. Jimmy might have done some questionable stuff over the years but people do love the character and they likely know that.
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No
 
Yes but not why the bigwigs at Cinnabon Headquarters did this. I bet most of them never watched either shows.
 
I don't know. I don't thinking Breaking Bad is obscure and it is prestige tv that is also mainstream popular to boot. Strikes me as something even a bunch of serious people might set a hour aside every week to watch, despite always having tons of work to do.

Especially back around the time of season 1 of the show. Their was a time when it seems people talked about nothing but Breaking Bad. Well then Game of Thrones came along and that became what everyone was talking about.
 
No, Breaking Bad isn't obscure. But I have a feeling was more of an opportunity that someone high up within the Cinnabon company (I googled it and it seems the ownership of it is a bit complicated...not so straightforward) learned about Saul's line in Breaking Bad that they decided to have someone train Bob Odenkirk to run a Cinnabon for his new show and thought it might be a good marketing ploy. I don't go out and eat cinnamon rolls, but I must admit it might look so appetizing to many folks.

Anyway, Three episodes to go!
 
Francesca!!!!

I"m putting the Gene storyline in 2009ish (they talked as if Walt's death wasn't news) maybe early 2010. Not too much latter or we would have seen smartphones in the mall scenes.

and Kim was alive as of El Camino!

But what's with that call....mmm


Buzz from Home Alone! Even Kevin would have outsmarted him too :lol:

Yep, based on that search in the house, it's 2009 I think. The 2007 Tax Return was there to throw us off. The letter from the bank suggests a couple years after that.
 
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The show just keeps getting better.

Gene acting like he wants to get caught.

How did that phone call go? Did they refuse to let him talk to Kim or did he talk to her and it didn’t go well?
 
Huell finally left the hotel room!

Francesca has no patience for these potheads!

Mike has no patience for Saul's sheninigans!

Kim's still alive in the flashforwards!

Bryan and Aaron still have that magical chemistry!

And Gene can't kick the habit.

Just as predicted, once he got another whiff of that sweet, sweet con, he couldn't let it go. But has he gone completely round the bend by forcibly breaking in? How can that possibly fit into his usual scheme of conning without being seen? Has he gotten so desperate for the fix that he couldn't let it go, even it was clearly out of reach this time? And what does that say about him that he actively wanted to con this man with cancer? Does he see it as some way of getting back at Walt, no matter how twisted that sounds?

Regarding the timeline: Did they have chipped cards in the States in the 2000s? I didn't first see them until I was stationed in Europe in 2013 via my Belgian bank and my American bank didn't start using them around until the mid-2010s, I think (but maybe Navy Federal was behind the curve).

Finn said:
^Or she's not there anymore...or never was....
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Damn, that's dark. I didn't think of that possibility.
 
I read some articles that use several clues including the model of Air Jordans and the references to Nebraska college football games that these episodes take place in October 2010, mere weeks after the death of Walter White.

That would make the presentation even more brilliant that what seemed like years to the audience was a much shorter time to Jimmy.

I also want to call out the brilliance of casting Garry Gurgich of the oblivious Cinnabon loving security guard.
 
The Nth Doctor said:
Huell finally left the hotel room!

Francesca has no patience for these potheads!

Mike has no patience for Saul's sheninigans!

Kim's still alive in the flashforwards!

Bryan and Aaron still have that magical chemistry!

And Gene can't kick the habit.

Just as predicted, once he got another whiff of that sweet, sweet con, he couldn't let it go. But has he gone completely round the bend by forcibly breaking in? How can that possibly fit into his usual scheme of conning without being seen? Has he gotten so desperate for the fix that he couldn't let it go, even it was clearly out of reach this time? And what does that say about him that he actively wanted to con this man with cancer? Does he see it as some way of getting back at Walt, no matter how twisted that sounds?

Regarding the timeline: Did they have chipped cards in the States in the 2000s? I didn't first see them until I was stationed in Europe in 2013 via my Belgian bank and my American bank didn't start using them around until the mid-2010s, I think (but maybe Navy Federal was behind the curve).


Damn, that's dark. I didn't think of that possibility.
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When they name dropped Madoff, I was like...damn that was pretty close to when I got married in 2011. He was all over the news around the time I got married and honeymooned in Boston... They even mentioned him when we passed by his neck of the woods during the harbor tour we did...:lol:
 
Forgot to mention: Marion definitely knows something is fishy! Carol Burnett is ready to take down Saul Goodman! :D
 
One other thing I love about this show is how none of the characters failures are due to bad luck, unfairness of the universe or lack of ability. Jimmy could have thrived at Davis and Main, but could not live with the structure. Jimmy could have lived as Gene and never gotten caught. Jimmy could have conned with Jeffy and never got caught. And he chose to court disaster.

Kind of makes you wonder. Did he really not know the kids were in the car he pooped into?
 
Now that I know that Huell finally left his hotel room, I can move on with my life. :lol:

Mike was brilliant in his little scene, he was so pissy at Jimmy on the floor. :D

Kim is still alive! Though not knowing what was said during his silent conversation is going to drive me into agony all week.

Walt and Jessie showing up too was a pretty sweet scene, and the perfect cap to the show. They still have great chemistry.
 
I thought the scene with Walt and Jessie was good fun but did feel it didn't serve much purpose, unless there is more to come.

I get that it demonstrated that someone with Cancer can still be a bad person and therefore Gene decided to go ahead even though the other guy didnt want to, but i think the audience would have got that anyway.
 
SithHappens said:
I get that it demonstrated that someone with Cancer can still be a bad person and therefore Gene decided to go ahead even though the other guy didnt want to, but i think the audience would have got that anyway.
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People can be obtuse, even intelligent ones, especially after all those years since Breaking Bad ended. It was a nice nod, and it probably leads to the finale and whatever fate Gene is about to get....
 
SithHappens said:
I thought the scene with Walt and Jessie was good fun but did feel it didn't serve much purpose, unless there is more to come.

I get that it demonstrated that someone with Cancer can still be a bad person and therefore Gene decided to go ahead even though the other guy didnt want to, but i think the audience would have got that anyway.
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I wasn't sure about that scene and the one with Mike, but I was just happy to see them interacting one last time. That said, the A.V. Club review did a great job of tying those scenes together:

The break-in scene is preceded by a flashback to Saul approaching J.P. Wynne High School in “Better Call Saul,” the season-two episode of Breaking Bad that introduced Bob Odenkirk’s character. Saul’s going to surprise Walter White in his chemistry classroom. It’s still early days in Walt and Jesse’s meth enterprise, and Saul thinks he can help them grow it and keep a significant cut of the profits for himself.

And in a scene that precedes that, there’s another flashback, a new one from a Breaking Bad-era meeting with Mike in Saul’s office. Mike reports to Saul about scoping out Walt and Jesse, telling him they are amateurs, “small potatoes” who “He Who Shall Not Be Named” (Gus, of course) has no interest in. Mike, in no uncertain terms, advises Saul that Walt and Jesse are not suitable business partners. Saul, obviously, ignores this advice, and we now know that the connection of all these characters and everything they brought together, all the lives it changed and the many that it ended, was facilitated by Saul Goodman.​

Since I had forgotten the name of Walt's school, I didn't realize the significance of that final shot but with the above explanation, it feels like everything fits into place nicely.
 
This has to be one of my favorite episodes. Parts felt like I was watching 'Breaking Bad' again, perfectly done, right down to the characters. Other parts were like "this is all destiny and we can't escape ourselves and the choices we make". I started putting myself in Gene's place thinking of all the decisions that have had dramatic impacts on my life. The shot of Gene in the dug out grave was haunting as was the end scene of him unable to escape himself and destiny.

The Nth Doctor said:
Talk about a wild set of variables working out just right.
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It's almost like an episode of 'Better Call Saul'. That's a pretty amazing story.
 
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