Better Call Saul

[rico]

As I am sure many of y'all already know, a spinoff of "Breaking Bad" titled "Better Call Saul" will be airing in 2014. This is going to be a prequel to Breaking Bad and will be based on the character of Saul Goodman from "Breaking Bad."

I, for one, will be watching. I'm sure the majority of all of you other "Breaking Bad" fans will be as well. Might as well get the discussion going sooner rather than later.

So... what are your hopes, expectations and/or concerns with the show? Here are some of mine:

Hopes: I hope to see Saul do his thing in the courtroom. I hope to see strong, unique supporting characters. I hope to see Breaking Bad foreshadowing. I hope he has an intriguing paralegal and/or assistant. I hope to see Breaking Bad characters such as Fring, Mike, etc...whoever. I hope the show kicks ass.

Expectations: I don't expect it to be as good as "Breaking Bad" (because nothing else is, really), but I expect it to be good since Vince Gilligan is writing. I somewhat expect it to have an even balance of comedy and drama...since Saul undeniably provides a substantial amount of comedic relief in "Breaking Bad." I expect to see "courtroom Saul." I expect the "Breaking Bad" references and character cameos to be less than what I hope. If it isn't even a fraction as good as "Breaking Bad," I expect it to be better than 95% of everything else on TV, since there is some shitty shit on TV these days.

Concerns: I'd be a liar if I were to say that I didn't think this show has potential of flopping and certainly failing to meet the presumed high expectations of the audience. Don't get me wrong, I think it will be good... but I think it COULD suck if not executed properly. My main concern is Saul ultimately proving himself to be a "little dab will do ya" type of character, which would lead to a show centered around his character not working out. I am hoping that the character of Saul will not be so over-used and constantly over the top, that he becomes annoying to me, thus ruining his character for me altogether... Not saying I think this will be how it goes down...just saying I think there is a CHANCE of this being the case, which prompts me to believe that a strong supporting cast is VITAL in terms of the amount of success/quality this show will accumulate. All in all, I don't think VG will steer us in an unfortunate direction though...I think they'll pull it off.

Thoughts?

DISCUS!!!!

[Mr. Plow]

I took the model issue to be about the sheer amount of work & staff it was going to require to complete.

[stumppy]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

This is pretty much it. I think she had painted Chuck as the adversary, and that letter re-humanized him. I'm guess it was a combination of sorrow, what did we do this dude, and not knowing WTF is wrong with her boyfriend.

As for the Mesa Verde stuff, I think she knows she can't get all that shit done. One location stretched her epic thin and she can't see herself doing ALL that for ALL those locations.

That's what I was thinking too. Mesa Verde is growing to big for her to keep up.

[Mr. Plow]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

As for the Mesa Verde stuff, I think she knows she can't get all that shit done. One location stretched her epic thin and she can't see herself doing ALL that for ALL those locations.

Guess I should have read all the way through. Exactly my thinking.

[mr. tegu]

Kim doesn’t know for sure that Jimmy messed up Chuck for her to get the client right? She knows that losing the client is what pushed him over the edge but if she is starting to accept that Jimmy is ultimately why then she may be starting to feel remorse and guilt about having Mesa Verde and the success associated with it, hence the sadness about the expansion.

Also along with that would be the growing realization that Jimmy apparently has no guilt about what happened to Chuck even though he was a pretty direct cause of it and that she cannot possibly be with him.

[Sure-Oz]

Thanks for the explanations everyone...I was watching it on Benadryl so it didn't occur to me at the time. I assume Jimmy eventually pushes Kim away by being Saul.

When this show is over for good I'll probably rewatch BB.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

She was crying at the end because she's trying to 'be there' for Jimmy, but Jimmy is so checked out that she has no idea what to do. Remember all that righteous anger at Hamlin? She had steeled herself for Chuck's letter to be mean and for Jimmy to be crushed. Instead it was a nothingburger and Jimmy doesn't give a shit.

She still knows something's wrong, perhaps worse than ever. She just doesn't know what, or what to do about it.

As for the models, I'm just speculating but it might be that she doesn't want Mesa Verde's expansion to get too close to her old life. Stating to think 'what if I have to file legal papers back in Iowa/Nebraska?'

I also think the warmth of the letter from Chuck hit her a bit hard.

Kim's a smart person; she's absolutely put 2 and 2 together and even if she won't fully accept it, she knows deep down that Jimmy is the catalyst behind Chuck's death (and worse, that he did so for her). That was part of the blank stare during the Mesa Verde meeting; a combination of guilt (knowing that she got that account due to the shenanigans) and anxiety over being able to keep up with the expansion. If I'm betting, I'd say it's more the former than the latter. Staffing up isn't that tough; dealing with the nagging belief that your boyfriend indirectly led to the death of his brother for your benefit....well that's a little tougher.

And when she hears the letter from Chuck and it's not the fire and brimstone she'd expected, the 'Chuck is a villain' narrative in her head took a blow. Now I'd imagine she recovers from it just fine, but in that moment Chuck was offering genuinely kind words and was a legitimately sympathetic figure. It rattled her, coming so quickly off the Mesa Verde meeting where she'd had her nose rubbed in that guilt a little bit.

She'll steel back up soon enough, but every moment like that will push them away just a little bit and when they bounce back, it won't be quite as close. Every one of those moments of doubt will make her resolve that much weaker even when she recaptures it. It's like surgery - even when you feel 'right', your body will never be exactly as it was ever again.

With every bobble, Kim and her relationship with Jimmy will be just a little bit more strained even when they don't exactly realize it.

[mikeyis4dcats.]

at first I was thinking the letter had to be a plant by Jimmy, but I don't see how it could be done logistically. Those feelings just don't jive with Chuck...

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by mikeyis4dcats.

at first I was thinking the letter had to be a plant by Jimmy, but I don't see how it could be done logistically. Those feelings just don't jive with Chuck...

He wrote that before jimmy got his law degree.

But it’s still kinda wonky that he gave him the minimum to keep him from contesting the will and then was overly nice, but the letter was obviously written after he started in the mail room but before he got his law degree and Chuck douched out about it.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I also think the warmth of the letter from Chuck hit her a bit hard.

Kim's a smart person; she's absolutely put 2 and 2 together and even if she won't fully accept it, she knows deep down that Jimmy is the catalyst behind Chuck's death (and worse, that he did so for her). That was part of the blank stare during the Mesa Verde meeting; a combination of guilt (knowing that she got that account due to the shenanigans) and anxiety over being able to keep up with the expansion. If I'm betting, I'd say it's more the former than the latter. Staffing up isn't that tough; dealing with the nagging belief that your boyfriend indirectly led to the death of his brother for your benefit....well that's a little tougher.

And when she hears the letter from Chuck and it's not the fire and brimstone she'd expected, the 'Chuck is a villain' narrative in her head took a blow. Now I'd imagine she recovers from it just fine, but in that moment Chuck was offering genuinely kind words and was a legitimately sympathetic figure. It rattled her, coming so quickly off the Mesa Verde meeting where she'd had her nose rubbed in that guilt a little bit.

She'll steel back up soon enough, but every moment like that will push them away just a little bit and when they bounce back, it won't be quite as close. Every one of those moments of doubt will make her resolve that much weaker even when she recaptures it. It's like surgery - even when you feel 'right', your body will never be exactly as it was ever again.

With every bobble, Kim and her relationship with Jimmy will be just a little bit more strained even when they don't exactly realize it.

I think you overestimate Kim's level of awareness regarding the level of skullduggery between the brothers.

She's aware that Chuck actively tried to put Jimmy down professionally, and she knows Jimmy was fighting back.

But I don't think she's at the place where she's worrying about what Jimmy did to fight back. Chuck was being a bastard older brother and she was on team Jimmy, end of story.

Her emotion doesn't come from sneaking realizations that Jimmy is evil. Her emotion comes from being bewildered how to handle Jimmy's emotional state. She wants to share his straightforward grief and anger, and he's sky high on Nofuxatall. She's waiting for the other shoe to drop. Jimmy can't keep being this cheery and blase based on what she's seen. But until he breaks down on his own, it's not her place to force him into grief.

[Buehler445]

So I forget...does Kim know Jimmy changed the address on Chucks paperwork to win her the client?

[Buehler445]

Baby Lee, I’m stealing this. Just a heads up.

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

and he's sky high on Nofuxatall.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

So I forget...does Kim know Jimmy changed the address on Chucks paperwork to win her the client?

She knows Chuck alleged it. But she also knows how outlandish an allegation it is, and how Chuck went loony and passed out at the Kinkos trying bully the kid at the counter to prove it.

I don't think we've had a scene to firmly establish Kim's suspicions either way. She could think it's possible, but she probably thinks it's crazy.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

She knows Chuck alleged it. But she also knows how outlandish an allegation it is, and how Chuck went loony and passed out at the Kinkos trying bully the kid at the counter to prove it.

I don't think we've had a scene to firmly establish Kim's suspicions either way. She could think it's possible, but she probably thinks it's crazy.

Ok. Thanks. I couldn’t remember if they talked about it privately or not.

[B_Ambuehl]

Of course she knows it. There was a tape of Jimmy confessing to it which she heard in court. She never gave much of a damn because she is the one that put in the work to get the account & Howard went out of his way several times to screw her over on that deal. Remember, she put in the work getting mesa verde at a time when Hamlin was punishing her for Jimmy's nursing home commercial incident (which she didn't even know about) by putting her in the basement doing billing. She went out and hustled up that Mesa Verde account all by herself, then Hamlin rewarded her by keeping her in the basement doing billing, not even letting her work the case. Next, she decided to quit Hamlin & start her own practice, the first client she called was Mesa Verde and met with Paige. Paige sounded enthusiastic about working with her, but then Chuck scheduled a meeting with them (mesa verde) and convinced them to stay with Hamlin. Only then did Jimmy execute the "switching addresses" incident. At this point Kim had been screwed over 3 times as it pertains to HHM & Mesa Verde. I don't think she feels much guilt at all over that deal with mesa verde.

I think she probably feels bad about having to expose Chuck in court the way they did and she knows that is what led to his demise, and is torn between that and Chucks hatred of Jimmy and how badly it affected Jimmy. So a situation like the letter from Chuck creates a big time emotional conflict for her. It would have been easier had the letter painted Chuck as the asshole towards Jimmy that she knew.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by B_Ambuehl

Of course she knows it. There was a tape of Jimmy confessing to it which she heard in court.

Still a suspicion. The situation is still so outlandish, and Jimmy so convincing, that he pleaded that he was just trying to placate Chuck while he was in an agitated state.