It's also possible Saul did just anything that he knew if the cartel found out they'd kill him and threw out Nacho's name just because he knew Nacho was dead or otherwise incapable of retaliation.
Better Call Saul, the TV series
- Thread starter Temis the Vorta
- Start date
Either way, it's cool that Vince Gilligan went back, retrieved that name, and fleshed out a fully-realized character from that moment.
Wow, what an episode.
Jimmy is the least subtle spy ever, but that gave us the brilliant moment of seeing Fring appear in the background and staying out focus the whole time as Jimmy stared at the bagman, oblivious to the fact that he was being watched by the very person next to him. I honestly thought that would be the extent of Fring's appearance and I was going to be fine with that, but then lo and behold, we got Jimmy's first proper meeting with Fring. And it was...delicious.
I was surprised Mike fell for the obvious bait when Victor (I had forgotten he was in Breaking Bad until I looked him up on IMDb) drove off in a hurry from Los Pollos Hermanos. And it's a pity we didn't get to hear his conversation on the mobile. Hopefully we don't have to wait long for Mike's first meeting with Fring.
I'm a little surprised that Chuck's angle was to have a witness to Jimmy's home invasion and destruction of the tape. Is something like that really admissible, whether or not it was an obvious set-up? Would that only work if Chuck made a copy of the tape (which I'm sure he did)? I thought his angle was going to be purely to poison Kim's mind, and while that hasn't happened yet because of Jimmy's lie, it will eventually bear fruit.
The combination of Chuck's set-up of Jimmy, the potential of Kim's poisoned mind, and the first meeting with Fring, it looks like we're getting the beginning of Jimmy's transformation to Saul.
It's been said many times but it can't be said enough: The cinematography on this show is amazing. Not just the great use of reflections (I kept expecting someone to appear in one of Mike's side mirrors) and the vast New Mexican sky and landscape, but also the way characters are framed in a shot. The way Mike's car slowly appeared over the road's horizon and then Mike's head popping up as he exited the car was breathtaking.
Jimmy is the least subtle spy ever, but that gave us the brilliant moment of seeing Fring appear in the background and staying out focus the whole time as Jimmy stared at the bagman, oblivious to the fact that he was being watched by the very person next to him. I honestly thought that would be the extent of Fring's appearance and I was going to be fine with that, but then lo and behold, we got Jimmy's first proper meeting with Fring. And it was...delicious.
I was surprised Mike fell for the obvious bait when Victor (I had forgotten he was in Breaking Bad until I looked him up on IMDb) drove off in a hurry from Los Pollos Hermanos. And it's a pity we didn't get to hear his conversation on the mobile. Hopefully we don't have to wait long for Mike's first meeting with Fring.
I'm a little surprised that Chuck's angle was to have a witness to Jimmy's home invasion and destruction of the tape. Is something like that really admissible, whether or not it was an obvious set-up? Would that only work if Chuck made a copy of the tape (which I'm sure he did)? I thought his angle was going to be purely to poison Kim's mind, and while that hasn't happened yet because of Jimmy's lie, it will eventually bear fruit.
The combination of Chuck's set-up of Jimmy, the potential of Kim's poisoned mind, and the first meeting with Fring, it looks like we're getting the beginning of Jimmy's transformation to Saul.
It's been said many times but it can't be said enough: The cinematography on this show is amazing. Not just the great use of reflections (I kept expecting someone to appear in one of Mike's side mirrors) and the vast New Mexican sky and landscape, but also the way characters are framed in a shot. The way Mike's car slowly appeared over the road's horizon and then Mike's head popping up as he exited the car was breathtaking.
Very few shows are better staged and framed than Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.
Great to see Francesca showing up. Can't wait for Heull to be a part of this too.
Great to see Francesca showing up. Can't wait for Heull to be a part of this too.
Poor Huell, he's probably still in that hotel room waiting for Hank and Gomie to come back for him.
I don't think Chuck's goal was ever to turn Kim against Jimmy. First, he already told her what happened and asked her to go turn him in. She denied believing him, but it was clear she did. Chuck knows Kim knows and that Kim has decided to accept Jimmy's gift of Mesa Verde. To Chuck, Kim is irredeemably corrupted. Also, Chuck doesn't 'Roll around in the dirt'. He's not going to secretly blackmail or extort people, everything he does has to be through the proper channels in the proper legal way. Chuck's not going to break his strict Lawful Evil alignment for any reason.
I love the way Better Call Saul is re-framing some of the things we saw in Breaking Bad.
Now, the cartel massacre has new meaning for Mike because it fulfills Gus' implied promise of deferred comeuppance. Sprinkling heroin on a truck by shooting a shoe?
And the emotional nuance on Jimmy's side. Chuck trying to calibrate Jimmy's punishment to his liking and thinking he's doing it to be noble. Jimmy's response: "You're going to die alone in there."
Now, the cartel massacre has new meaning for Mike because it fulfills Gus' implied promise of deferred comeuppance. Sprinkling heroin on a truck by shooting a shoe?
And the emotional nuance on Jimmy's side. Chuck trying to calibrate Jimmy's punishment to his liking and thinking he's doing it to be noble. Jimmy's response: "You're going to die alone in there."
Another episode of Better Call Saul, another day I find myself completely gobsmacked by how the show continues to excel. The confrontation between Mike and Gus was everything I could hope for and so much more. And now Giancarlo Esposito's name is in the cast credits. He's not going anywhere. 
I thought the same thing, but I also knew I was missing some of the nuances because I've forgotten so many of the details of Breaking Bad. I really need to watch it again.
Yeah, it may have been cold, but Chuck deserved that retort. I was disgusted by Chuck's holier-than-thou nobility bullshit.
Another nice thing about Better Call Saul being a prequel, none of the best characters can die. 
Except maybe Kim. 
True, Kim can be killed, but in this universe people with names don't die by random luck, they die because somebody took an action that logically resulted in their death. Seems more likely to me she will end up either being disgraced & disbarred because of Jimmy or she'll finally give up on him.
Yeah, I'm betting her fate will be disgrace and disbarment, but death is not out of the question. A lot of bodies dropped in Breaking Bad before the end. After all, Andrea died as means to motivate and not because anything she did. She died through association.
The only way Kim prospers is if the show begins some major storylines in the post-Breaking Bad future. She could show up as a morally-corrupt lawyer and whisk Future Saul back to a life of shady legal doings (perhaps in a foreign country). That would certainly upend the dynamic.
I loved the way hey framed the opening shot of the episode to look exactly like Don Eladio's death scene. It instantly reminds you of what Fring has in store for all these people.
This episode took a hell of a risk by focusing the entire first half only the rivalry between Hector and Gus. For us Breaking Bad fans, we relished every minute of it, but I do wonder if such focus, as well as bringing in more inevitable elements of the Juárez Cartel, will alienate viewers who haven't watched Breaking Bad. Sure we've seen Hector and Gus properly established in the Better Call Saul realm, but are viewers engaged enough with them to accept such detours away from Jimmy, Chuck, Kim and Mike?
Gus is a magnificent spin master. He knew he to needed calm down and assure his employees, particularly Lyle's obvious curiosity, and yet he managed to completely turn them around with a short pep talk, although he may oversold it based on the applause.
Jimmy is a right old bastard using Mike to passively torture Chuck with the drilling, but frankly I don't blame him. However, I'm not entirely clear why he had Mike photograph the house or what the slip of paper Mike stole for Jimmy. Search for the original tape?
Conversely, Chuck turned it around and proved once again how much of a pedantic prick he is by requesting a price tag to include the destroyed cassette tape.
Nacho finally appears for his first episode this season despite still being a cast member, although he still didn't get any lines. I can only assume his character has bigger and better things coming up in the remainder of the season.
Gus is a magnificent spin master. He knew he to needed calm down and assure his employees, particularly Lyle's obvious curiosity, and yet he managed to completely turn them around with a short pep talk, although he may oversold it based on the applause.
Jimmy is a right old bastard using Mike to passively torture Chuck with the drilling, but frankly I don't blame him. However, I'm not entirely clear why he had Mike photograph the house or what the slip of paper Mike stole for Jimmy. Search for the original tape?
Conversely, Chuck turned it around and proved once again how much of a pedantic prick he is by requesting a price tag to include the destroyed cassette tape.
Nacho finally appears for his first episode this season despite still being a cast member, although he still didn't get any lines. I can only assume his character has bigger and better things coming up in the remainder of the season.
Damn, I knew that looked familiar! My memory of the deeper elements of Breaking Bad lore has faded from me. However, I do remember these particular characters, if not the history with Gus, aside from the general rivalry and ultimate conclusion, although I can't remember the catalyst of the feud. Once again, I clearly need to watch Breaking Bad again.
When Gus was first trying to get in with the cartel they murdered his best friend and original cook. Hector fired the shot.
When Eladio was poisoned he fell into the pool and there was a shot from the same angle that he was diving into the pool in the opening shot.
Mike didn't use the power tool to torture Chuck, he used it to get him out of the room. I'm not sure what they're angling but it seemed like an attempt to cast Chuck as unable to take care of himself, like with the gas lantern on the paper.
When Eladio was poisoned he fell into the pool and there was a shot from the same angle that he was diving into the pool in the opening shot.
Mike didn't use the power tool to torture Chuck, he used it to get him out of the room. I'm not sure what they're angling but it seemed like an attempt to cast Chuck as unable to take care of himself, like with the gas lantern on the paper.