Better Call Saul ***Spoilers***

Penfailed

PieOhMy wrote: »

Not sure if I missed it but did they explain why Mike was in the desert tracking Jimmy? Was he there to protect him or intending to rob him for himself or for Gus?

He was there to make sure that the money went to where it was supposed to go.

arccosh

Penfailed wrote: »

Thinking about it though, when you see the characters for the first time on BB having watched BCS first isn't going to have the same effect as them appearing in BCS having watched BB first...if that makes sense.

Its the main reason I'm watching BCS....to get the back story on the characters in BB

seligehgit

TBH it would make sense to watch Better Call Saul first.

I wish I'd been afforded that opportunity.

Class MayDresser

seligehgit wrote: »

TBH it would make sense to watch Better Call Saul first.

I wish I'd been afforded that opportunity.

I'd agree, but it'd be hard work getting through the whole Chuck saga without knowing of Saul Goodman in Jimmy's later life. After that, everything is nicely laid out to feed into BB imo.

Penn

seligehgit wrote: »

TBH it would make sense to watch Better Call Saul first.

I wish I'd been afforded that opportunity.

I disagree. For example, Gus in Breaking Bad starts off very unassuming. You dont know what he's capable of. As time goes on, you learn that while Walt is also learning it. Same with Mike, starts off as just some guy Saul knows, but then you learn he works for Gus, again at the same time Walt knows. Then you start to learn what he's capable of. If you've only watched BCS first, those slow reveals mean nothing.

With BCS, we know what those characters are like from the off because we've learnt it in BB, and so they act that way from the start. We know why Gus is going up against the Salamancas and Cartel because of what we've learnt in BB. Even the introduction of Lalo means more having watched BB first because in Saul's first episode he thinks it was Lalo's men who took him out to the desert, which means we know from his introduction in BCS that Saul's going to end up in trouble with him.

I think it works both ways, but I think BB then BCS is the best way. BCS is predicated on the idea most of the audience will have seen BB.

Dyr

I watched BCS before I watched Breaking Bad, it works out better that way, mainly because the character development in BCS is better than Breaking Bad and you dont get to enjoy it to the same degree if you know whats ahead and whats ahead is not as well done as BCS

Phoenix Wright

Best season so far, disappointed it's coming to an end soon

Collie D

Had been saving this season up and for a while and have got through it all over the last week or so. Great season so far.

Jimmy/Saul is an absolute ****. There was always a bit of a loveable rogue about him that made you overlook his flaws but the “You caused Chuck’s death” quote was the one that pushed over he line for me.

Kim, why did you go to see Lalo (a great character BTW)?A real head in hands “Oh ****” moment.

I see the twins (or cousins) aren’t getting much love here. I like them. From their very first scene in BB I found them terrifying. I think the silence adds to their menace.

Hannibal_Smith

Bambi wrote: »

I watched BCS before I watched Breaking Bad, it works out better that way, mainly because the character development in BCS is better than Breaking Bad and you dont get to enjoy it to the same degree if you know whats ahead and whats ahead is not as well done as BCS

I don't think that's very true. The characters that were at the root of BB were absolutely developed and explored. Walt and Jessie were explored as much as they could be. Maybe the character development of different characters is what you mean?

I don't know how it could work better watching BCS first. It's an awful lot of weight in characters that didn't evolve for a long time in BB. Would you not get bored not seeing a 'fave' built up in BCS for a while in BB?

Having said that, its fantastic that people can watch BCS without seeing BB and enjoy it. I love that. I always wondered whether you could jump in with BCS first. Its great that it can work.

gormdubhgorm

Bambi wrote: »

I watched BCS before I watched Breaking Bad, it works out better that way, mainly because the character development in BCS is better than Breaking Bad and you dont get to enjoy it to the same degree if you know whats ahead and whats ahead is not as well done as BCS

Must be way more drama in it alright. Even so they still manage to create tension when there is danger for BB characters in BCS. I don't know how they do it. Maybe it is just the almost surgical attention to detail the writers seem to go into?

gormdubhgorm

Behind the scenes of the last episode

Also found this discussion on Kim's fate.

leggo

I think you need to watch BB, or at least be aware of a lot in it, to fully appreciate BCS. Part of the tension that makes the show for me is knowing where things go, trying to do the maths and the knot in your stomach when you try to connect dots. Plus I think the first few seasons of BCS could drag for a non-BB viewer: we know Saul as this absolute dirtbag so the fun in those seasons was getting to see him as a nice guy, which was unbelievable at first but they made it palatable to the point we still kinda like him even though he’s become more akin to the guy we originally met. If you don’t experience what he becomes, you can’t feel any of that and it’s just a legal drama about a dude whose brother is a bit of a dick.

And lastly it’s worth watching just to appreciate how good BB is and how they went out and essentially made a show on equal par about the backstory of people who wouldn’t even be considered main characters in the grand scheme of things. Walt Jr was in more episodes of the show than Saul like!

deandean

One of those tiny Vince Gilligan details...did anyone notice that Mike kept the petrol tank cap off Saul's car before they ditched it in the desert? That connects to a plot in BB ��

Class MayDresser

deandean wrote: »

One of those tiny Vince Gilligan details...did anyone notice that Mike kept the petrol tank cap off Saul's car before they ditched it in the desert? That connects to a plot in BB ��

He had a GPS tracker in it, that's why he retrieved it I thought no?

rubadub

Bambi wrote: »

I watched BCS before I watched Breaking Bad

But you haven't, since BCS is not finished yet... And that is what people are really talking about.

Were you not awful confused about the flash foward black & white bits? I have seen BB and did not know what was going on at first.

After what season of BCS did you start watching BB?

The problem with it is now you have spoilers e.g.

you know Mike is alive in BB, therefore he is not killed in BCS, and if I had not seen BB I would have been on the edge of my seat seeing Mike going after the street gangsters not once but twice. Same goes for other characters like Hector

I would presume BCS is written in a way to give people who have viewed BB more enjoyment, as I expect a much higher % of viewers did watch BB first and so he would want to pull in max viewing figures.

gormdubhgorm

deandean wrote: »

One of those tiny Vince Gilligan details...did anyone notice that Mike kept the petrol tank cap off Saul's car before they ditched it in the desert? That connects to a plot in BB ��

Yeah I twigged that one straight away.
My mind went oh the petrol cap - BB.
They must spend ages debating ever line and movement of each actor in the planning stages. There is no such thing as throw away. Plus, that Gilligan fella seems so unassuming and unpretentious. The last thing you would expect from an 'arty' type producer.

Dyr

rubadub wrote: »

After what season of BCS did you start watching BB?

The problem with it is now you have spoilers e.g.

you know Mike is alive in BB, therefore he is not killed in BCS, and if I had not seen BB I would have been on the edge of my seat seeing Mike going after the street gangsters not once but twice. Same goes for other characters like Hector

I only started watching BB since we went into lockdown. The flash forwards were fine with me, you don't need things laid out on a plate, you can infer and connect the dots.

rubadub

deandean wrote: »

One of those tiny Vince Gilligan details...did anyone notice that Mike kept the petrol tank cap off Saul's car before they ditched it in the desert? That connects to a plot in BB ��

gormdubhgorm wrote: »

Yeah I twigged that one straight away.
My mind went oh the petrol cap - BB..

dunno what plot you are going on about, but Mike tears the car apart in BCS

Nerdlingr wrote: »

One thing I don't get is that in BB mike tears the car apart looking for the tracker. Before he realises it's in the hub cap all along. Would that not have been the first place he looked considering we now know he uses that exact same technique in BCS?
Just an observation. Very good episode.

Hector Savage wrote: »

No that scene where he took the car completely apart was also BCS, season or 2 back ...

gormdubhgorm

rubadub wrote: »

dunno what plot you are going on about, but Mike tears the car apart in BCS

Yeah you are correct, it is all getting blurred for me a bit at this stage!

Snake Plisken

Another fantastic episode but Oh My God the stress I just went through in the last 15 minutes of this week's episode, almost unbearable to watch! Great performances all round from Rhea Sewhorn, Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks and Tony Dalton as Lalo.

ISOP

Unbelievable tension!

Un1corn

Wow!

wadacrack

Snake Plisken wrote: »

Another fantastic episode but Oh My God the stress I just went through in the last 15 minutes of this week's episode, almost unbearable to watch! Great performances all round from Rhea Sewhorn, Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks and Tony Dalton as Lalo.

Very good acting with the Lalo character. Seems like he has not played many major roles before. Pretty surprising

JeffKenna

Those old phones had a great battery. Wouldn't get that nowadays.

krustydoyle

That was absolutely amazing.. Give them all Emmys for that alone

alroley

That final scene had my heart racing. Amazing acting all round.

Penn

Fantastic episode. That final scene, the tension was off the charts, and the guy who plays Lalo is just superb.

But star of the episode is definitely Mike for that look he gave Saul when he complained Mike was the only one he could talk to about things

Smegging hell

Such a good episode this week, I'll miss the show when this season is over.

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

Skipped the last few posts. Will be sitting down to this tonight. Can’t wait. Should be a belter.

Clareman

That scene was just amazing, Lalo just tapping the fish tank just heightened things up a notch, top class writing, cinematography, acting, everything