Todd deserved his death for murdering that kid on the bike
Better Call Saul, the TV series
- Thread starter Temis the Vorta
- Start date
I disagree that his evil is nature and not nurture. He convinced Jack to leave a barrel for Walt. His upbringing warped Todd beyond redemption but he seemed to have the neural circuitry to process empathy. He threatened Skylar when Lydia wanted him to kill her. His evilness is a learned behavior.
I never got the impression it was Mike’s corruption that ruined his family so much as his alcoholism. His corruption was an aspect of the culture he resigned to. And the way it’s presented in BCS, Mike’s participation in gang warfare has drastically reduced the damage to innocent bystanders. He killed Werner because anyone else would have not let him save his wife.
I never got the impression it was Mike’s corruption that ruined his family so much as his alcoholism. His corruption was an aspect of the culture he resigned to. And the way it’s presented in BCS, Mike’s participation in gang warfare has drastically reduced the damage to innocent bystanders. He killed Werner because anyone else would have not let him save his wife.
Lalo deserves his impending fate for killing that kiosk employee in part over a hunch.
Not to mention that kind family who briefly took him in and provided him rest and hospitality as he was moving around in Mexico. Yeah, Lalo's end should be (hopefully) quite cinematic, in a way only Vince Gilligan can manufacture.
Andrea's death broke my heart the most and not just because you could feel Jesse's anguish and inability to warn her. Closely followed by Jane's death because Walt could've easily saved her life by simply rolling over her on her side but didn't because it allowed him to regain control over Jesse. Both deaths were callous, easily avoidable, and only happened to wield power over Jesse.
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^Jane's death opened up a void within Jesse that will never shut. Andrea's murder while undoubtedly tragic and unpleasant, felt like pointless cruelty.
Lalo's such a cold mother fucker he slaughtered that harmless couple just so he could present a convincing corpse to the Mexican cops and his crime family to fool even Gus' organisation to a certain extent (though Gus' spider senses were still tingling and he had his compounds on full alert).
Todd being a sociopath/psychopath is a mixture of nature and nurture (by being brought up by extremist thugs) since his empathy is severely dulled and easily suppressed, not missing completelty (just like with people afflicted by anti-social personality disorders in RL). He can recognise enough when to treat imprisoned Jesse nicely and had warm feelings for that crooked businesswoman.
Mike is a "clean" professional who can recognise innocent people much better than oblivious weirdos like Todd and Lalo, but he still allowed himself to sink into the criminal underworld, and I assume his alcoholism was linked to PTSD while serving as a military specialist in the Marines, USAF, Army or Navy during the Vietnam War.
Mike and Todd are examples of why it's impossible for people to be uniformly good or uniformly bad.
Lalo's such a cold mother fucker he slaughtered that harmless couple just so he could present a convincing corpse to the Mexican cops and his crime family to fool even Gus' organisation to a certain extent (though Gus' spider senses were still tingling and he had his compounds on full alert).
Todd being a sociopath/psychopath is a mixture of nature and nurture (by being brought up by extremist thugs) since his empathy is severely dulled and easily suppressed, not missing completelty (just like with people afflicted by anti-social personality disorders in RL). He can recognise enough when to treat imprisoned Jesse nicely and had warm feelings for that crooked businesswoman.
Mike is a "clean" professional who can recognise innocent people much better than oblivious weirdos like Todd and Lalo, but he still allowed himself to sink into the criminal underworld, and I assume his alcoholism was linked to PTSD while serving as a military specialist in the Marines, USAF, Army or Navy during the Vietnam War.
Mike and Todd are examples of why it's impossible for people to be uniformly good or uniformly bad.
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It’s that speech Mike gave to what’s his name whose actor is an energy vampire. “There are bad cops and good criminals”. Mike tried his best to be a “Good criminal”. He’s fallen short many times but has also successfully reduced the death toll in others.
I do wonder if Lalo has a soft spot for women. When it’s been men, he walks in shooting immediately. With Mrs Zeigler he made an effort not to have to kill her and seemed genuinely upset that his maids were killed.
I do wonder if Lalo has a soft spot for women. When it’s been men, he walks in shooting immediately. With Mrs Zeigler he made an effort not to have to kill her and seemed genuinely upset that his maids were killed.
Maybe, but also avoid trouble with Interpol or the FBI, and him getting genuinely enraged over the murders of his female staff is another example of bad characters capable of good gestures (Walter White was a hideously arrogant man but looked out for Jesse when it came down to the crunch, Jesse loved and wanted to protect small children, etc).
Also Lalo is bordering on a wank character in how he slinks in and out of places (or do stuff like almost single handedly take down those heavily armed hired guns in his Mexican compound).
What if Better Call Saul actually takes place in the same universe as What We Do In The Shadows, and baseball card guy is actually Colin Robinson, and he fed off Mike and Nacho?
Those comparisons have less personality in common.
What if Breaking Bad takes place in Community’s darkest timeline and Buzz Hickey is Mike who went into witness protection?
Six seasons and a movie!
Anyway, I finally briefly got Netflix back so I could catch up with the last season of Better Call Saul. That last episode was definitely a sucker punch with Howard's death.
It's strange how I was starting to feel a smidgen of sympathy for Howard after all of these years, just for Lalo to show up.
These scenes may be a nail in the coffin for Kim being directly in Jimmy's life, but I really, really hope that she shows in Nebraska, looking for Gene. Really.
I remember Saul saying he had a silent partner back in Breaking Bad, so after season 5, when Kim was, erm, breaking bad (for lack of a better term), I thought Kim would be the silent partner. However, now I'm not sure.
I know it was a few episodes ago for you guys now, but I was worried for Nacho's safety after the end of season five. He didn't make it very far, being on the run from the cartel, but the episode where he killed himself, ending things on his own terms? Wow.
Oh crap, how many more weeks?
Anyway, I finally briefly got Netflix back so I could catch up with the last season of Better Call Saul. That last episode was definitely a sucker punch with Howard's death.
It's strange how I was starting to feel a smidgen of sympathy for Howard after all of these years, just for Lalo to show up.These scenes may be a nail in the coffin for Kim being directly in Jimmy's life, but I really, really hope that she shows in Nebraska, looking for Gene. Really.
I remember Saul saying he had a silent partner back in Breaking Bad, so after season 5, when Kim was, erm, breaking bad (for lack of a better term), I thought Kim would be the silent partner. However, now I'm not sure.
I know it was a few episodes ago for you guys now, but I was worried for Nacho's safety after the end of season five. He didn't make it very far, being on the run from the cartel, but the episode where he killed himself, ending things on his own terms? Wow.
Oh crap, how many more weeks?
Five.
In a surprising turn of news, Carol Burnett will be guest starring in the second half of the season! 
As noted by the article, this explains her appearance at Bob Odenkirk'e Hollywood Walk of Fame recently, which left me wondering why she was there. Other than she's Carol Burnett!
As noted by the article, this explains her appearance at Bob Odenkirk'e Hollywood Walk of Fame recently, which left me wondering why she was there. Other than she's Carol Burnett!
Just a few days to go, folks!
It's not much but here's a short teaser:
It's not much but here's a short teaser:
Tick tock
Wow.
Now just need to get my heart rate to go back below 120.
Now just need to get my heart rate to go back below 120.
Godsdamn you, Vince Gilligan, you magnificent bastard.
Ever wonder what it's like to be run through the ringer?
That might give you inkling what it felt like to watch "Point and Shoot."
From Kim's sheer terror and Lalo's manic energy to Gus' ice cold veins and Mike's quiet patience, every fucking moment was riveting and intense and insane and utterly brilliant. Even when I figured out what Lalo was doing or why Saul sent Kim in his place or how Gus foresaw the upper hand, I was still constantly at the edge of my seat waiting for each pin to drop.
With Lalo finally dead and Howard quietly swept away, the big lingering question remains: What now?
Can Kim understand and accept why Saul sent her to do Lalo's bidding, unknowing at that time he was actually sending her to safety? Can she move past the level of trauma she experienced in that moment? Is this when she finally walks away? If not, how does she learn to continue foreward?
And what about Saul? Will he be able to forgive Kim for not telling him she knew Lalo was still alive while they were fancifully scheming against Howard?
How do either of them move on from the trauma of that night and at a drop of a hat like Mike quietly insists on?
With the threat of Lalo gone, what does Gus do from here? How does he explain Lalo's disappearance? And how will Hector take it? Because obviously he'll smell a rat. But what about the rest of the organization?
Lastly, let's take a moment, once again, to recognize Howard didn't deserve any of this. He was a bastard at times, both towards Jimmy and Kim, and to even Chuck if in a different way. But this is how it ended for him. Buried in an unmarked grave underneath a meth operation. Next to his fucking murderer. And the world thinks he spiraled into cocaine and committed suicide. Howard didn't deserve that.
Speaking of that unmarked grave underneath the meth operation. I'm sure we all figured there were bodies buried there way back in Breaking Bad, but I never thought we would ever know who they were!
"Point and Shoot" easily ranks up there with "Ozymandias" and "Bagman" as one of the finest episodes of these two brilliant shows.
...and we still have five more episodes left!
Post script: Since I didn't have a natural place to mention it in my review, I have to mention how much I loved the brief moment of Gus angrily brushing dirt from his fancy white shirt after getting up from Lalo searching his body.
Ever wonder what it's like to be run through the ringer?
That might give you inkling what it felt like to watch "Point and Shoot."
From Kim's sheer terror and Lalo's manic energy to Gus' ice cold veins and Mike's quiet patience, every fucking moment was riveting and intense and insane and utterly brilliant. Even when I figured out what Lalo was doing or why Saul sent Kim in his place or how Gus foresaw the upper hand, I was still constantly at the edge of my seat waiting for each pin to drop.
With Lalo finally dead and Howard quietly swept away, the big lingering question remains: What now?
Can Kim understand and accept why Saul sent her to do Lalo's bidding, unknowing at that time he was actually sending her to safety? Can she move past the level of trauma she experienced in that moment? Is this when she finally walks away? If not, how does she learn to continue foreward?
And what about Saul? Will he be able to forgive Kim for not telling him she knew Lalo was still alive while they were fancifully scheming against Howard?
How do either of them move on from the trauma of that night and at a drop of a hat like Mike quietly insists on?
With the threat of Lalo gone, what does Gus do from here? How does he explain Lalo's disappearance? And how will Hector take it? Because obviously he'll smell a rat. But what about the rest of the organization?
Lastly, let's take a moment, once again, to recognize Howard didn't deserve any of this. He was a bastard at times, both towards Jimmy and Kim, and to even Chuck if in a different way. But this is how it ended for him. Buried in an unmarked grave underneath a meth operation. Next to his fucking murderer. And the world thinks he spiraled into cocaine and committed suicide. Howard didn't deserve that.
Speaking of that unmarked grave underneath the meth operation. I'm sure we all figured there were bodies buried there way back in Breaking Bad, but I never thought we would ever know who they were!
"Point and Shoot" easily ranks up there with "Ozymandias" and "Bagman" as one of the finest episodes of these two brilliant shows.
...and we still have five more episodes left!
Post script: Since I didn't have a natural place to mention it in my review, I have to mention how much I loved the brief moment of Gus angrily brushing dirt from his fancy white shirt after getting up from Lalo searching his body.