Better Call Saul ***Spoilers***

keithkk16

Mervyn Skidmore wrote: »

Anyone watching this that thinks it's a steaming pile of $hite? I watch it because I loved breaking bad and I love the character of Saul but the show has nothing in comparison. It's basically close ups of Mikes withered head mixed with plot lines that wouldn't be far off a soap opera, particularly in relation to the legal references. I'll still watch it though.

Stop comparing it to Breaking Bad. The creators have been saying that for 5 seasons now. I think it's brilliant! one of the best netflix shows to come out. The actors and acting in it is just as good as the Sopranos.

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

Mervyn Skidmore wrote: »

Anyone watching this that thinks it's a steaming pile of $hite? I watch it because I loved breaking bad and I love the character of Saul but the show has nothing in comparison. It's basically close ups of Mikes withered head mixed with plot lines that wouldn't be far off a soap opera, particularly in relation to the legal references. I'll still watch it though.

You watched 5 seasons of a show and you think it’s a steaming pile of shït? Comparing them makes no sense at all, I prefer BCS because it’s just another step up on BB in pretty much every way, which to me was unimaginable after BB. I don’t compare them because to me they’re the same show.

I will say it’s not for everyone. I’ve recommended it to loads of people and it’s marmite, best show ever response or this is too slow response and they leave it.

You chose to watch FIVE SEASONS of it and then come here to moan.

nullzero

BCS is a much more cerebral show than BB.

They are set in the same universe but the elements in BB that appealed to a wider audience are largely absent in BCS.
Although having recently re watched BB it isn't the white knuckle pedal to the metal thrill fest some are making it out to be in comparison with BCS. Both are fantastic in my opinion but BB took its sweet time developing its characters as well.
BCS is an expansion of the BB universe and a worthwhile one, despite what the nay sayers may say about it. It's worth mentioning that it's not incumbent upon anyone to watch something they don't enjoy.

The White Wolf

Even though you knew what Jimmy was going to do from a mile off it didn't make the scene any less entertaining.

Jimmy's treatment of Kim is an interesting comparison to his treatment of Howard; both are deeply entwined in his past life and specifically keeping him tethered to his brother. He is actively trying to destroy both of them, consciously in the case of Howard, and subconsciously in the case of Kim.

I thought Odenkirk's acting was class in particular in the case of making Howard look like a buffoon; the instant gratification and sh1t eating smile replaced fleetingly by a look of absolute pure self hatred.

gormdubhgorm

Mervyn Skidmore wrote: »

Anyone watching this that thinks it's a steaming pile of $hite? I watch it because I loved breaking bad and I love the character of Saul but the show has nothing in comparison. It's basically close ups of Mikes withered head mixed with plot lines that wouldn't be far off a soap opera, particularly in relation to the legal references. I'll still watch it though.

Well you are entitled to your opinion. But personally if I really did not like a show, I would stop watching it far quicker.

For example I was told 'Game of Thrones' was great. Watched about seven episodes, thought it was awful boring guff with wooden characters and scripts. Watched about a season or two of 'Power' when I started to think this makes no sense. The same with 'Stranger Things' there were huge plot holes stopped watching. 'Sons of Anarchy' stopped after they introduced those piss poor Oirish accents and were supposed to be be buying guns from Oirish paras, yet SOA had loads of guns around them they were in fecking America! I stopped watching 'House of Cards' when it became rushed and silly at the end of season 5. It was like cramming for the leaving after loads of wasted time Wished I stopped after season 2!
'Love Hate' never got into it, could not take the accents seriously, 'Fair City' type acting, and the posturing to camera - lasted two episodes!

One of the few times I got 'caught out' watching series was when I watched ones that started off great and dipped dramatically like 'Dexter'. There was a bit of a sunk cost fallacy there. I managed to watch a season of 'Picard' found it annoying and silly. But there was aspects of it that were so bad they were funny to me, so I stuck with it. It improved a bit in the last few episodes. I wouldn't be crying if it finished, though.

I think if a show really winds you up, or if you are not watching it 'ironically' you should not put yourself through it. Television and film is supposed to be entertainment after all.

I appreciate that BCS is slow burner and focused on character development more so than a quick story arc. But a season or two would be plenty of time to give it, to see if you liked it. If pacing is your issue, waiting until the series is finished and binge watching is always an option.

Tabnabs

I loved the scene between Gus and Nacho, so much tension and danger. You could feel the tone shift dramatically once Gus was driven away.

Giancarlo Esposito plays a great character in The Mandalorien if anyone likes him, he's in the final two episodes of the first series.

gormdubhgorm

Tabnabs wrote: »

I loved the scene between Gus and Nacho, so much tension and danger. You could feel the tone shift dramatically once Gus was driven away.

Giancarlo Esposito plays a great character in The Mandalorien if anyone likes him, he's in the final two episodes of the first series.

Giancarlo Esposito said his character of Gus was originally only meant to be in it a short cameo role. But he deliberately played him as if he had something hide, so he could get more regular work in the series.

Gus Fring's first appearance in BB spoilers if you have not seen it.

rubadub

Hunky Monster wrote: »

I’ve recommended it to loads of people and it’s marmite,

I absolutely hate marmite, but for nigh on 35 years now I have been force feeding myself it every day, I retch at the thought of eating it, but a lad in work keeps banging on about how great it tastes so I soldier on in the hope one day I might grow to like it.

If this the 80s and all you had was RTE 1&2 I could understand people watching stuff they are not fond of, but these days it's just bizarre...

Let's get married? Wtf?

This show mixed the sublime with soap operatic

RedRochey

Deleted User wrote: »

Let's get married? Wtf?

This show mixed the sublime with soap operatic

The way I see it is Kim's either fully in or fully out, so in this instance they either break up and she's not involved in his schemes anymore or they getting married and therefore she doesn't have to testify against him

Dyr

Mervyn Skidmore wrote: »

Anyone watching this that thinks it's a steaming pile of $hite? I watch it because I loved breaking bad and I love the character of Saul but the show has nothing in comparison. It's basically close ups of Mikes withered head mixed with plot lines that wouldn't be far off a soap opera, particularly in relation to the legal references. I'll still watch it though.

I've watched most of BB over the course of this lockdown and I'd consider Better Call Saul far superior.

Breaking Bad being mentioned in the same breath as The Sopranos and The Wire is weird to me. It's seems more like the Shield but without the relentless pace that series possesed.

StockTwat29

StockTwat29 wrote: »

The way I see it is Kim's either fully in or fully out, so in this instance they either break up and she's not involved in his schemes anymore or they getting married and therefore she doesn't have to testify against him

Their relationship is such a weak point in this show. I don't see why they'd get married at all. She constantly seems to be disapproving of him. I genuinely laughed when she said get married. It doesn't make sense at all to me.

sabat

Kim doesn't really want to get married-she blurted that out when she actually wanted to break up with Jimmy because of her abandonment/father issues as signposted in the flashback scene.

artvanderlay

Bambi wrote: »

I've watched most of BB over the course of this lockdown and I'd consider Better Call Saul far superior.

Breaking Bad being mentioned in the same breath as The Sopranos and The Wire is weird to me. It's seems more like the Shield but without the relentless pace that series possesed.

I agree. BB is exactly at the level of the Shield, but on HBO, so more swearing and violence. As badass as the Shield was, it was still an FX show, so couldn't go to the places BB does, but it was still great all the same. BCS is better than BB, but The Wire and Sopranos are at a total different level.

Homelander

Breaking Bad is AMC? Has profanity and violence but nothing out of the ordinary for any cable network, FX is the same as AMC usually - profanity and violence are fine, nudity is a big no-no.

Muahahaha

Deleted User wrote: »

Their relationship is such a weak point in this show. I don't see why they'd get married at all. She constantly seems to be disapproving of him. I genuinely laughed when she said get married. It doesn't make sense at all to me.

Must say I find how their relationship is portrayed a bit bizarre. Theres no warmth between them, no holding hands, pecks on the cheek, etc. Its more like they are work colleagues who are friendly than a proper relationship. Which made the marriage proposal a bit bizarre, if the purpose of it is to avoid testifying against him then fair enough but it did come completely out of the blue.

leggo

Again lads, it’s supposed to feel off. We know where this is going and know Kim isn’t in BB. So once we get to that, it should be inevitable, which makes it heartbreaking because we all like Kim and can see that Jimmy could’ve had such a good life with an amazing woman who’s way out of his league and we now know was at one stage willing to marry him. This show is supposed to be tragedy...if it felt warm, fuzzy and right it wouldn’t be.

If it was bad acting leading to lack of chemistry? Different story. But I think we can all agree that Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn are both knocking it out of the park.

artvanderlay

I wonder is that the end of Lalo now, after he was picked up for the murder of that young guy working in the Western Union office? A shame if it is.

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

artvanderlay wrote: »

I wonder is that the end of Lalo now, after he was picked up for the murder of that young guy working in the Western Union office? A shame if it is.

I would highly doubt it. I’m sure Saul will have some sort of scam to get him out of this. We’re still a year or so from the start of BB so he could even be around next season. I think it would be a waste of such a great character if that was that for him and Vince Gillian has a way of keeping great characters even if they were only meant to be in one season or one episode, Jesse - 1 season, Mike 1 episode etc.

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

I’ll ask a hypothetical here.

I prefer BCS to BB in pretty much every way. I’ve rewatched BB several times and enjoyed it every single time. Have people here rewatched BCS or have you the urge to? I love this show but I don’t think I could watch the likes of the kettlemen stories again or chuck going slowly insane again.

Is this show rewatchable?

I can’t wait for it all to end and watch in chronological order. From the start of BCS to BB and then hopefully hopefully what “gene” gets up to afterwards...IF that’s what they do.

Fluorescence

Hunky Monster wrote: »

I’ll ask a hypothetical here.

I prefer BCS to BB in pretty much every way. I’ve rewatched BB several times and enjoyed it every single time. Have people here rewatched BCS or have you the urge to? I love this show but I don’t think I could watch the likes of the kettlemen stories again or chuck going slowly insane again.

Is this show rewatchable?

I can’t wait for it all to end and watch in chronological order. From the start of BCS to BB and then hopefully hopefully what “gene” gets up to afterwards...IF that’s what they do.

I rewatched it earlier this year before the new season aired and have to say, it definitely holds up. You'll notice details you didnt catch the first time round. Excellent show!

Penn

Hunky Monster wrote: »

I’ll ask a hypothetical here.

I prefer BCS to BB in pretty much every way. I’ve rewatched BB several times and enjoyed it every single time. Have people here rewatched BCS or have you the urge to? I love this show but I don’t think I could watch the likes of the kettlemen stories again or chuck going slowly insane again.

Is this show rewatchable?

I can’t wait for it all to end and watch in chronological order. From the start of BCS to BB and then hopefully hopefully what “gene” gets up to afterwards...IF that’s what they do.

I think it'd be an easier rewatch because it's a much slower show than BB, so being able to binge it will make it feel less slow. The weekly wait between episodes in the earlier seasons made BCS feel very, very slow. For me it was only Season 3 where BCS started to hit a much better pace comparable to BB.

I can't see how BCS could ever beat BB for me though, if only for the fact that we pretty much know where most of the characters end up. We might not know how they get there, but we know where they end up. The biggest mystery is what happens to Saul/Gene in the future, post-BB, and what happens to Kim.

steve_r

I generally rewatch the last season of a show before the new season comes back to refresh myself (if the show is worth it).

I've always done that for BCS and appreciated it. There are so many little details (like the outfits characters have - Jimmys suits) or larger details (for example the dynamic with Howard when we know the full picture) that really add to it.

Having said that - I'm not sure I'll do a full rewatch when its all over, in the same way I struggle with going back to BB - there are parts of it that didn't grab me first time around so going through it all again might be a challenge.

Penn

steve_r wrote: »

I generally rewatch the last season of a show before the new season comes back to refresh myself (if the show is worth it).

I've always done that for BCS and appreciated it. There are so many little details (like the outfits characters have - Jimmys suits) or larger details (for example the dynamic with Howard when we know the full picture) that really add to it.

Having said that - I'm not sure I'll do a full rewatch when its all over, in the same way I struggle with going back to BB - there are parts of it that didn't grab me first time around so going through it all again might be a challenge.

Yeah I have to say I've rewatched BB a few times, but I mostly go from maybe post-Tuco onwards, skipping the first season and first half of Season 2. Some great moments in it, definitely, but I've never felt much of an urge to rewatch the episode themselves (might watch a few key scenes).

I've generally restarted from when Walt & Jesse start cooking again after Tuco.

leggo

Delighted for Howard calling Jimmy out and getting to stand on the high horse, ironically for once when he’s at a stage in his life when he’s not trying to. The last scene this week was a triumph of character development and small subtle seeds they’ve planted and let grow organically to both blossom at the same time.

Breaking Bad was great for those kind of “Are you SURE you still feel the same way you did?” moments where they’d have characters touch base at different times in their development, Walt usually being central with Jesse, Hank, Mike etc. Gilligan et al still are masters of that one particular trick.

rubadub

I am now thinking Kim definitly comes to an abrupt end. Maybe asks Jimmy to have no dealings with the cartel worried he is getting in too deep. He tries to get out of dealing with them and uses her as an excuse saying it's his wife who really has the issue with them, not him, that he would love to keep working, then she is killed and hes told by Lalo or similar "well that problem is gone now, any more problems? you work for us now"

I could see the likes of Lalo doing that, the way he was so blase about the family of the victim in the courtroom.

The actress playing Lydia is 43, I thought she looked older, one of the issues I had with BB was how on earth did this young prim & proper executive woman get so involved. She should be quite young at this stage in the timeline and I think it would need some explaining, while somebody who never say BB would find it more believable. Some actors standout more, Mike seems way too old, Banks being 73. But then the younger cast are also not plausible, like people had said no way Jesse should be in it as Aaron Paul is now 40 but should be still in school at this stage.

peddlelies

Actress who plays Kim is brilliant deserves an emmy, have no problems at all of that eyeful during the stripping scene

I love this show, Vince G is directing the next episode so bound to be good!

noodler

noodler wrote: »

Was half wondering was part of the Marriage angle to do with them not being forced to testify against each other in the future?

Good ep again.

This show surpassed BB a while back for me and is the best thing on TV imo

I had a mildly smug look on me when Saul mentioned the can't testify against each other line.

rubadub

I guess some are wondering what was going on with that chicken. I saw this before, a well known risk in the US where deep frying turkeys is popular for thanksgiving, just be sure to defrost it!

rubadub

rubadub wrote: »

I have this obsessive thing about wanting to know what ages characters are supposed to be.

This page

https://breakingbad.fandom.com/wiki/Kim_Wexler

says Kim was



and meant to be early 40s in the first season.

Now Detective Nerdo Rubadub heard them mention McNuggets, only introduced in 1981-83, and young kim looked 10-12. The car & clothes did look like 80s to me. I think the BCS time is around 2004-2005 now. Making her ~35 or younger.

Saw this on reddit, they were talking about the address but I see the dates of birth are shown.

Jimmy 1960, Kim 1968. So Jimmy is around 44-45 now, and Kim around 36-37. Others and myself thought they were meant to be closer in age.



some redditor also was trying to figure it out, and like me thinks this makes her too old, but going by music rather than the nuggets!

Kim's birthdate doesn't match up with the opening scene in "Wexler vs. McGill." When her mom met her outside the junior high school, the car radio was playing "Affair of the Heart" by Rick Springfield, which came out in the summer of '83. If Kim was born in February 1968, she'd have been in 10th grade in '83-84, too old for junior high.

The car radio should have been playing "Jessie's Girl" or "I've Done Everything For You" instead.