Better Call Saul (Spoilers here!)

[gumbomoop]

Tonight's episode, "Bingo," didn't, probably couldn't possibly, match the intensity of last week's "Five-0."

Not a bad episode, nor even mediocre. Great, great opening scene with the Philly cops and the conversation between Mike and the veteran cop. Each guy was more honest than he "should" have been, but we shouldn't have any trouble believing the conversation might have gone exactly that way. And though that story line didn't play further into tonight's episode, we know we'll learn something about what Mike's daughter-in-law does or does not reveal, when the "2 Philly cheesesteaks" call on her.

I have one major, major disappointment. As Mike opened the latch, the camera showed us the money. I absolutely expected Mike to say, "Bingo." And I expected the episode to end with that camera shot and that word. My expectations were not met. The writers blew that one.

But I'll be tuning in next week, and for the next 5 or 6 seasons.

Oh, and the previews gave us another storyline, involving the big law firm's, uh, practices.

Five or 6 seasons, easy.

[DukeCrow]

Really enjoying the Better Call Saul Insider Podcast. The writers, editors, stars of the show discuss interesting aspects of each episode. They did the same thing for Breaking Bad, and it did a great job of exposing little nuggets that I wouldn't have picked up on otherwise.

On iTunes
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/...966297954?mt=2

RSS feed
http://movietouch.sony.com.edgesuite...er_podcast.xml

[riverside6]

As good as the show got in the middle of the season, I felt it ended slowly. That said, that may have been necessary to setup Jimmy becoming Saul. I'm still all in on this show.

[aimo]

Justified is in its last season, right?

I miss Longmire, myself.

Longmire was picked up by Netflix and is currently filming in NM. 4th season will be available in the fall. Netflix is now streaming seasons 1-3. A big online push saved it from extinction, now another push and a lot of streaming viewers are needed to bring them back for a fifth season. Plus, Craig Johnson's newest, Dry Bones, is out tomorrow!

[Troublemaker]

Bump.

Anybody still watching BCS? Season 2 is halfway through. It's a slooooow burn of a show, but I love it. Actually, many of my favorite shows are like that. (Another one, The Americans, starts season 4 tomorrow).

Will add some thoughts later. Re-posting devil84's post below about how to do a spoiler tag.

To me, there are major plot spoilers and minor spoilers that won't make a huge impact on the enjoyment of watching it for the first time. If we can avoid the major spoilers for BB, that'd be awesome.

We also have to be respectful for those that don't watch live. Not sure how long to give...and how much of a burden to put on the thread readers to just not click on the thread until they've watched the next episode. What sounds fair?

There might be a happy medium: we have a spoiler tag. The results look like this:

Spoiler!

This is a test of the spoiler tag.

To use this, type: [ spoiler ]This is a test of the spoiler tag.[ / spoiler]
Remove the spaces within the square brackets. Be sure to note whether it's a BB or BCS spoiler.

Does that help? I don't want to stifle discussion, but then again, I'm not done with BB (though I could be the only one).

With any luck, I'll make quite a bit of progress on BB tomorrow, as I'll likely be iced in.

[weezie]

We're watching. Still very entertaining.

Who doesn't love pie?

[BeachBlueDevil]

Bump.

Anybody still watching BCS? Season 2 is halfway through. It's a slooooow burn of a show, but I love it. Actually, many of my favorite shows are like that. (Another one, The Americans, starts season 4 tomorrow).

Will add some thoughts later. Re-posting devil84's post below about how to do a spoiler tag.

I'm actually enjoying this season more than last years. We are starting to see the transformation of Jimmy McGill, we are seeing how all the characters we met in Breaking Bad are playing into this series and I'm intrigued with the Jimmy/Kim relationship and where this season ends for them and how Jimmy (possibly) leaves his name and current employer.

Remember, the first couple seasons of Breaking Bad were a little slow and about developing characters and back stories.

[Troublemaker]

I'm actually enjoying this season more than last years.

<snip>

Remember, the first couple seasons of Breaking Bad were a little slow and about developing characters and back stories.

I enjoyed last season better thru 5 episodes, but like I said, I still love this season and believe the pace is about to pick up tremendously. The writers have just been putting the chess pieces into place this season up until now.

I'm intrigued with the Jimmy/Kim relationship and where this season ends for them

Yes, at the end of this last episode, I believe we finally found out what the stakes for Jimmy will be this season. It's very high stakes. (And it's NOT whether he can perform well as a big firm lawyer; he doesn't even want that job.) Unless I'm wrong, the last half of season 2 will be about:

Spoiler!

Jimmy and Chuck dueling over Kim's loyalty. In a way, it reminds me of season 4 of Breaking Bad when Gus schemed to make Jesse more loyal to him than to Walt.

We're going to continue to get flashbacks about Chuck's wife, Rebecca. Why did she leave him? And does Jimmy play a role? I'm not predicting an affair, but I believe we'll find out that Chuck blames Jimmy for the breakup of his marriage.

[NashvilleDevil]

Bump.

Anybody still watching BCS? Season 2 is halfway through. It's a slooooow burn of a show, but I love it. Actually, many of my favorite shows are like that. (Another one, The Americans, starts season 4 tomorrow).

Will add some thoughts later. Re-posting devil84's post below about how to do a spoiler tag.

I am still watching and Hoboken Squat Cobbler is going to be my fantasy football name this year. This has been a pretty good season so far. As I watch the series I wonder what happens to everyone once he turns the Saul persona full time.

[JohnGalt]

I enjoyed last season better thru 5 episodes, but like I said, I still love this season and believe the pace is about to pick up tremendously. The writers have just been putting the chess pieces into place this season up until now.



Yes, at the end of this last episode, I believe we finally found out what the stakes for Jimmy will be this season. It's very high stakes. (And it's NOT whether he can perform well as a big firm lawyer; he doesn't even want that job.) Unless I'm wrong, the last half of season 2 will be about:

Spoiler!

Jimmy and Chuck dueling over Kim's loyalty. In a way, it reminds me of season 4 of Breaking Bad when Gus schemed to make Jesse more loyal to him than to Walt.

We're going to continue to get flashbacks about Chuck's wife, Rebecca. Why did she leave him? And does Jimmy play a role? I'm not predicting an affair, but I believe we'll find out that Chuck blames Jimmy for the breakup of his marriage.

Can we put *SPOILERS* in the title of the thread so we can talk openly without having to use the spoiler code?

[Troublemaker]

Can we put *SPOILERS* in the title of the thread so we can talk openly without having to use the spoiler code?

I would be down with that. I'm going to send a PM to Jason.

[JasonEvans]

I would be down with that. I'm going to send a PM to Jason.

Done

[swood1000]

I enjoyed last season better thru 5 episodes, but like I said, I still love this season and believe the pace is about to pick up tremendously. The writers have just been putting the chess pieces into place this season up until now.[/spoiler]

I was a huge fan of Breaking Bad. It was amazing that they were able to produce such variety out of such a premise. I liked last season of this show though I think that the interest value was only about 80% that of Breaking Bad. They're going to have to pick up the pace this season or there might not be a third. Breaking Bad used to start each episode with something really off-the-wall, unexpected and dramatic, like a fight in the desert between a scorpion and a rattlesnake. The most recent episode of this show started with something unexpected, but what was the point? The whole episode just seemed to lack content. I'll keep watching, though, like a rat who in the past has gotten a reward from pressing the bar and so keeps on pressing it though there is no reward. There will come a point, though, at which the behavior will be extinguished.

[BLPOG]

I love the show. Sometimes I think it's better than Breaking Bad. I understand why some folks think it can be a little slow, but if there's one thing watching Breaking Bad and the first 1.5 seasons of Better Call Saul has taught me, it's that Vince Gilligan and company know how to build up to a great emotional payoff. When I see a slow, ostensibly irrelevant opening segment, it just gets me speculating on the development of the characters and their trajectories, past and future.

[JohnGalt]

I was a huge fan of Breaking Bad. It was amazing that they were able to produce such variety out of such a premise. I liked last season of this show though I think that the interest value was only about 80% that of Breaking Bad. They're going to have to pick up the pace this season or there might not be a third. Breaking Bad used to start each episode with something really off-the-wall, unexpected and dramatic, like a fight in the desert between a scorpion and a rattlesnake. The most recent episode of this show started with something unexpected, but what was the point? The whole episode just seemed to lack content. I'll keep watching, though, like a rat who in the past has gotten a reward from pressing the bar and so keeps on pressing it though there is no reward. There will come a point, though, at which the behavior will be extinguished.

They've already announced a third season (http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/news/...eason-20160315)

I agree with some previous comments that we tend to view BB with too much of a recency bias...it was anything but a slow-burner by the end, but the first couple seasons were very fitting of the 'rising action' label. Lots of scene setting and character development, but few traincar methlyamine hijacks! In any case, I'm really looking forward to where the early friction between Chuck/Jimmy around Rebecca's affection leads.

Question for the lawyers: what is Kim doing in 'doc review'? Is this part of Discovery or just an inflated version of paper pushing usually reserved for early career folks? Please be gentle with my lack of legal training.

[Troublemaker]

They're going to have to pick up the pace this season or there might not be a third.

Oh, Better Call Saul isn't going to be canceled. Their ratings are fine, plus anyone not on board right now will probably binge watch towards the end when the show wraps up a few years from now, much like with Breaking Bad. The show is a critical darling as well and gives AMC a prestige drama/dramedy to be proud of, and when you have talents like Vince Gilligan and his writing staff, you want to maintain that relationship and let them tell their story and sign them up again when this current one is over. Basically, too many people would be upset at a cancelation and you would maybe crash the Albuquerque economy.

[Troublemaker]

Breaking Bad used to start each episode with something really off-the-wall, unexpected and dramatic, like a fight in the desert between a scorpion and a rattlesnake. The most recent episode of this show started with something unexpected, but what was the point? The whole episode just seemed to lack content.

Swood, I re-watched the first part of the episode this morning to see what you were talking about. The episode started with the flashback to Jimmy coming over for dinner with Chuck and Rebecca for the first time. Is that what you were referring to? Because, if so, that scene was rife with purpose and meaning, my friend.

Chuck warning Rebecca that she might not like his brother. Rebecca turning out to like Jimmy quite a bit, laughing at his silly lawyer jokes and telling some of her own. Chuck, sitting in bed, stewing about that before telling his own lawyer joke to Rebecca that falls flat.

Is it possible that ultra-successful Chuck is actually jealous of his loser little brother? Chuck always follows the rules and does the right thing, but he can't charm people with that, unlike Jimmy who charms with his humor and easygoing manner. Has Chuck long held a resentment towards Jimmy for that, for being the more likeable brother? Is Chuck frustrated that he sees his brother as a con man but the world doesn't see Jimmy the same way? Certainly their father couldn't believe that Jimmy would steal $14K from the family store, as Chuck told Kim at the end of the episode. (Oh my, Chuck. Shouldn't Jimmy be present to cross-examine his accuser, Mr. Perfect Lawyer?)

The entire opening scene is subtext, and great subtext at that, for the forthcoming battle between Jimmy and Chuck over Kim's loyalty.

[77devil]

Swood, I re-watched the first part of the episode this morniniven how he torg to see what you were talking about. The episode started with the flashback to Jimmy coming over for dinner with Chuck and Rebecca for the first time. Is that what you were referring to? Because, if so, that scene was rife with purpose and meaning, my friend.

Chuck warning Rebecca that she might not like his brother. Rebecca turning out to like Jimmy quite a bit, laughing at his silly lawyer jokes and telling some of her own. Chuck, sitting in bed, stewing about that before telling his own lawyer joke to Rebecca that falls flat.

Is it possible that ultra-successful Chuck is actually jealous of his loser little brother? Chuck always follows the rules and does the right thing, but he can't charm people with that, unlike Jimmy who charms with his humor and easygoing manner. Has Chuck long held a resentment towards Jimmy for that, for being the more likeable brother? Is Chuck frustrated that he sees his brother as a con man but the world doesn't see Jimmy the same way? Certainly their father couldn't believe that Jimmy would steal $14K from the family store, as Chuck told Kim at the end of the episode. (Oh my, Chuck. Shouldn't Jimmy be present to cross-examine his accuser, Mr. Perfect Lawyer?)

The entire opening scene is subtext, and great subtext at that, for the forthcoming battle between Jimmy and Chuck over Kim's loyalty.

Could not agree more with the first paragraph. I believe the Chuck, Rebecca, and Jimmy story line will be a major arc for the rest of the season. Very astute re the Kim conversation. It's reasonable to think the story is untrue, even for slippin' Jimmy. After all, Chuck's willingness to undermine his brother seems to have few limitations given how he torpedoed Jimmy at HHM.

[Mike Corey]

Question for the lawyers: what is Kim doing in 'doc review'? Is this part of Discovery or just an inflated version of paper pushing usually reserved for early career folks? Please be gentle with my lack of legal training.

Since the firm handles a lot of deals, I'd suggest this is part of the firm's due diligence in advance of a major acquisition.

And reviewing docs--contracts, often, among other things--is the bane of a young corporate attorney's business, but also the boon. Firms love them because they're great for billing purposes; the folks doing the doc review love them for the same reason--but doc review is also loathed because, as you see, they're long hours that are mind-numbingly boring. It's not complex work, however, and you do learn from everything you're doing, so it's ideal work for newer attorneys. To be a fourth-year associate mired in that work is less so, the show is trying to say.

I've never seen folks holed up in the basement for doc review (everyone does have an office, after all), but it certainly provided a proper setting from my memories of being in the company of a large box of papers that required my attention.

[swood1000]

Swood, I re-watched the first part of the episode this morning to see what you were talking about. The episode started with the flashback to Jimmy coming over for dinner with Chuck and Rebecca for the first time. Is that what you were referring to? Because, if so, that scene was rife with purpose and meaning, my friend.

Chuck warning Rebecca that she might not like his brother. Rebecca turning out to like Jimmy quite a bit, laughing at his silly lawyer jokes and telling some of her own. Chuck, sitting in bed, stewing about that before telling his own lawyer joke to Rebecca that falls flat.

Is it possible that ultra-successful Chuck is actually jealous of his loser little brother? Chuck always follows the rules and does the right thing, but he can't charm people with that, unlike Jimmy who charms with his humor and easygoing manner. Has Chuck long held a resentment towards Jimmy for that, for being the more likeable brother? Is Chuck frustrated that he sees his brother as a con man but the world doesn't see Jimmy the same way? Certainly their father couldn't believe that Jimmy would steal $14K from the family store, as Chuck told Kim at the end of the episode. (Oh my, Chuck. Shouldn't Jimmy be present to cross-examine his accuser, Mr. Perfect Lawyer?)

The entire opening scene is subtext, and great subtext at that, for the forthcoming battle between Jimmy and Chuck over Kim's loyalty.

I guess I've been expecting something more of the cliffhanger, tense drama variety, though I agree that the final scene in the restaurant when the underworld character invites Mike to change his testimony does portend some developments along this line. Maybe I'm just the boor who can't appreciate the poignant subtleties. I'll adjust my focus and see if that helps.