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!!!!

[IowaHawkeyeChief]

Originally Posted by Molitoth

My fav part of this show right now is the Nacho storyline.

Kim's falling back in love with "law" and realizes she doesn't enjoy Mesa Verde, even though it is lucrative. She likes to help people, victims or downtrodden, that is why she was attracted to Jimmy in the first place. They will go their separate ways as Jimmy starts his trail of crime and she immerses her self as a public defender... Just a guess.

sidebar: Lodge 49 is very enjoyable as well.

[sedated]

Originally Posted by IowaHawkeyeChief

Kim's falling back in love with "law" and realizes she doesn't enjoy Mesa Verde, even though it is lucrative.

I think there is something to the guilt angle on Mesa Verde. While Jimmy is starting to embrace the dishonest life and what it can provide, Kim is realizing it's not what she wants.

[sedated]

I mentioned this to someone right after the show and they thought it was insignificant but...the last scene when Jimmy says something like "I'm going to get my partner back and we are going to build a bigger and better law firm", the guy responds "so...law. Ok." I think he means Francesca instead of Kim, going all the way back to that opening scene. He's probably developed the idea in his mind at this point, and either wants to keep Kim out of it or knows Kim won't go along with it. Jimmy got an unusual look on his face when the guy said "so...law", which might indicate he's already envisioned that his law firm will be more of a front than a true law firm.

[Baby Lee]

Opening credits: Lavell Crawford
Me: Woo Hoo!!

[DJ's left nut]

Boy, that Gus monologue just did not work at all last night. That was one of the most tedious moments of the entire series. And for a series that can be generously described as a 'slow burn', that's saying a lot.

I love the back-story on the superlab, though. Obviously a little fan servicey but still awfully cool. It also appears that Kim's love of the law is as likely to push Jimmy away as anything Jimmy does.

Can we please feel bad for Howard yet? C'mon - Howard means well and he wanted no part of this pissing match between Jimmy and Chuck. He tried to mediate on multiple occasions and has, at several times, felt genuine compassion and empathy for Jimmy. Hell, he's even demonstrated some pride and happiness for Jimmy's success. Poor Howard doesn't deserve this shit...

[siberian khatru]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Boy, that Gus monologue just did not work at all last night. That was one of the most tedious moments of the entire series. And for a series that can be generously described as a 'slow burn', that's saying a lot.

I had the same reaction to that scene. Great acting, but unnecessary, showy, even clichéd. A rare misstep.

[Chiefspants]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Boy, that Gus monologue just did not work at all last night. That was one of the most tedious moments of the entire series. And for a series that can be generously described as a 'slow burn', that's saying a lot.

Yeah, the show is missing an opportunity to "peek behind the curtain" with Gus. Monologues like that don't work if we have no attachment to who that person is.

It'd be like if Mike gave the "I killed my boy" speech at the end of S3 of Breaking Bad instead of the half measures monologue. We'd have no context in which to connect to the character if that were the case.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

I think it needs to be said that BCS continues to explore the intricacies of morality in ways that other shows simply don't have the acumen to even try.

We've moved on from Jimmy-v-Chuck, where the conversation was 'is being moral is determining from the outset your are 'good' and following a strict set of rules from then on, or is it striving every day to do your best and improve on the past?'

Is moral what you are? Or what you strive towards?

Now, there is an interesting dynamic between Jimmy and Kim.
Both have have a safe, moral, lawful, etc. path.
Jimmy earn his daily wage at the cellular store until his licensure is restored
Kim earn her retainer being constantly available and prepared to meet her client's needs.

It seems on the surface that Jimmy is delving into something devious, dangerous and shady by going out after hours and marketing his wares for their less honorable capabilities. And this surface judgment is reinforced by the 'shady' people he interacts with, and the thugs who roll him for his profits when they spy a chance.

But what is he doing that is amoral? He's being proactive in advancing his employer's interests. He's connecting the [legal] product to people who would eventually think to seek it out themselves [recall, a big plot point in The Wire was the crew sending corner boys up and down the coast to buy burners 1 or 2 at a time at every random convenience store they came across].


He's serving his employer well, and being a good laborer by tapping into a legal need, even if the supposition is that it is a need that eventually fills nefarious purposes.

OTOH, Kim has a clear directive as counsel on retainer to Mesa Verde. They pay her handsomely and she pledges to devote her skills exclusively [or at least explicitly primarily] to their interests. But the same pain, wanderlust and ego drives her to ply her wares surreptitiously as pro bono counsel in the petty criminal courts.

Again, on the surface, her actions are altruistic and noble. But she, unlike Jimmy, is more explicitly undermining her employer's expectations.

I really enjoy how far and wide the show can make you just sit and ponder 'who exactly is in the wrong here? If anybody . . . '

Good post. Like Mike and Gus, this show takes its time. This season has been trodding this out. But something is going to start popping. The characters are starting to hit their character arcs. Almost every one of them. Bcs could have easily taken a shortcut and made Jimmy break bad as soon as Chuck died. No half measures it seems as everyone's on edge on when we hit the tipping point.

[DJ's left nut]

Regarding 'the tipping point'

You don't think we just saw it? Wexler and McGill just vanished in a puff of smoke and Jimmy's openly fencing burner phones to build a bankroll.

For all the talk about Chuck putting him over the edge - sure as shit looks like Ms. Wexler did the job to me...

[eDave]

Kai's death is going to be great. What a jerkoff.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Boy, that Gus monologue just did not work at all last night. That was one of the most tedious moments of the entire series. And for a series that can be generously described as a 'slow burn', that's saying a lot.

I love the back-story on the superlab, though. Obviously a little fan servicey but still awfully cool. It also appears that Kim's love of the law is as likely to push Jimmy away as anything Jimmy does.

Can we please feel bad for Howard yet? C'mon - Howard means well and he wanted no part of this pissing match between Jimmy and Chuck. He tried to mediate on multiple occasions and has, at several times, felt genuine compassion and empathy for Jimmy. Hell, he's even demonstrated some pride and happiness for Jimmy's success. Poor Howard doesn't deserve this shit...

Ever since the middle to end of last season Howard has been the most likable character on the show - either him or Kim.

[notorious]

Howard is Hank.


He might end up being the only lawful and “good” person we see in the show.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by notorious

Howard is Hank.


He might end up being the only lawful and “good” person we see in the show.

**** Howard and FTR **** all you #teamchuck'ers


Finally got caught up on this series. Well done TV.

[Zebedee DuBois]

They're MINERALS, Marie!!!!!

[Baby Lee]

Actually a little disappointed from a POV of verisimilitude with the plainclothes cop narrative.

I understand that it fits the narrative structure and sets up future events, but as a realistic and practical manner any decent investigator with knowledge of the source of the drug trade's communications methods would work behind the scenes to get subpoenas for Jimmy's merchandise train. That way they can surreptitiously get data on who the phones get distributed to and what they say on them before coming down on the whole organization.

Now that the drug trade is clued in to the value of burner phones in their enterprise, moving one dude off one street corner isn't going to do shit, except make the next effort to counter the exchanges that much harder.