Better Call Saul ***Spoilers***

Wow, a lot of Breaking Bad callbacks in that episode. Never mind Gus or Victor, Francesca?! She looks great. She had an arc of her own in BB, albeit a small one relative to the importance of her character, but for anyone who needs their mind refreshed from BB

I liked every one of the introductions this week and how the 'new' BB characters initially weave into the current Saul universe. That said, it's great that the show isn't over-relying on these and the episode got Gus' appearance out of the way early. Yes the scene at LPHermanos was drawn out, but in the very positive style we've grown accustomed to from the BB/BCS cinematography. It looked great, from the camera panning around Jimmy as he sat in the middle of the restaurant, to the view from inside the garbage bin!

As far as Mike's introduction to Gus Fring goes, if that phone call where the episode left Mike is what leads him to Gus next week, then it was all done very well. Although secretive and then ruthless when he needs to be, Gus would have use for someone like Mike, also stealthy and ruthless when he needs be. The way Mike tracked Gus down and reversed the roles in the cat and mouse game would surely impress a drug baron on the lookout for some new muscle. Also, there's the "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" aspect with both Mike and Gus having their issues with the Salamanca cartel.

Yes, Gus and the BB crew showing up in this episode was very well done. However, the show still is very much its own beast. Kim and Jimmy, and the respective actors, were excellent. Jimmy's "He taped me?" to Kim, the heartbreak conveyed in that. Kim subsequently filling him in on some legal bright-sides regarding the tape, but Jimmy a million miles away over the emotional and familial consequences. Kim sensing some of this, but still thinking the legal upsides would be enough to soften the blow, or at least prevent a meltdown from Jimmy.

Finally, she asks Jimmy "Are you alright?", and his attempt at a reassuring "I'm fine, Kim" response were the last words he said before he clearly showed that he wasn't fine. In breaking into Chuck's house, getting violent and threatening to burn the house down, is this now the end of Jimmy McGill attorney via criminal conviction and disbarment? Is the University of American Samoa due a new mature student soon?

Other things I liked -

Howard very much out of his element trying to be stealthy himself. Climbing walls, setting off wind chimes and a dog barking, and clearly being very uncomfortable in the clandestine, under-handed nature of his journey and entrance to Chuck's house, it was amusing to watch. Also, it's little unimportant, incidental, secondary character insights like these which elevate a show like this to that level.

I didn't cop this one myself, someone on Reddit did, but in that scene where Jimmy and Kim were interviewing Francesca about the job - A lot was said about the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) and how it's called something else in New Mexico (MVD) but "it will always be the DMV to me" as far as Jimmy is concerned. In Breaking Bad, Saul called the MVD just that, the DMV ("I'll send you back to the DMV so fast Francesca, you won't even...").

Vince Gilligan has previously ret-conned something from Breaking Bad (in a later episode of BB) with why there was a whole pizza on Walt's roof. Apparently many people online pointed out that never mind anything else, it was improbable because the pizza would shatter/seperate when tossed. In a later episode, Badger ordered a pizza from the same place, and was enthused about how they don't slice their pizzas and are able to pass the savings onto the customer.

If this week's DMV dialogue was an attempt to correct something from BB and polish-up Saul's continuity, it's fine with me and a bit genius in its subtle method. I've watched BB about 3 times at this stage, and until reading this point on Reddit earlier I just though that DMV conversation was part of Jimmy's charm. Whether intentional or not, the scene had me distracted and focused on Kim's uneasiness at Jimmy's eagerness and what Kim saw as ineffective interview questions.

Anyway, TLDR, but I thought that was one of the strongest episodes of the show yet. Both in terms of how it serves to connect to where these characters end up in BB, and how it moves on with its own story-lines.

Jan_de_Bakker

Great episode, I love the way the style of the show is so similar to BB, it's like its new episodes of BB - allthough with more interesting characters,

Really glad we have seen Gus now, so he should be a main player in the remaining episodes - seeing Victor too was a bonus!

Jan_de_Bakker

From reddit :

And if they didn't mention it in BB (too lazy to check), it also explains why Saul called it the DMV in BB when it's the MVD (Motor Vehicle Division) in New Mexico. Excellent.

- Probably used that to correct the mistake in BB .

Attention to detail is something else in these shows!

rubadub

stankratz wrote: »

"it will always be the DMV to me" as far as Jimmy is concerned. In Breaking Bad, Saul called the MVD just that, the DMV ("I'll send you back to the DMV so fast Francesca, you won't even...").

Jan_de_Bakker wrote: »

- Probably used that to correct the mistake in BB.

I would have thought most people would call it the DMV in the US regardless, just like people say "road tax" instead of "motor tax". People outside the US would even know what the DMV was, maybe not full name but I certainly knew it's where you got the licence and if he had said MVD I would not have had a clue what he was on about. I guess many people in other states would not have known either. So even if the writers were all fully aware they could have said DMV.

I wonder is Gilligan really reading sites with pedants and "error searchers" and getting upset by them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Motor_Vehicles#United_States

The name "DMV" is not used in every state or province, nor are the traditional DMV functions handled by a single agency in every state, but the generic term is universally understood, particularly in the context of driver's license issuance and renewal...

The Uniform Vehicle Code prefers the name "Department of Motor Vehicles".[1] The acronym "DMV" is most commonly used to describe the agency (where it exists); however, diverse titles are used in different jurisdictions.

RobbingBandit

Gus appearing with the broom was a warning to the guy with the bag the restaurant would have cameras up to the gills inside and outside him being the manager would be watching everything inside and outside he knows who mike is but not jimmy so suited guy coming into such a place would raise alarm bells Gus is working with the cartel so he would be used to people coming and going and would have heavy surveillance in and outside and probably on the approach to the place too. He'd have cues for people he'd be meeting too, this is Gus after all.

ILikeBoats

It's so good.

I really hate Chuck.

Hombre Lobo

Great episode this week.

Really love the way some of the scenes are shot in this as they stand out much more than other shows.

Last week had a great shot of Mike checking his car in the desert for a tracker with a thunderstorm rolling in the background.
There was another well shot scene this week where Mike is parked on a bridge looking over at one of Gus' men slide down the embankment and pick up something in one of the drainage pipes. Just the wide angle shot and lighting of the whole scene really stood out.

Jan_de_Bakker

Hombre Lobo wrote: »

Great episode this week.

Really love the way some of the scenes are shot in this as they stand out much more than other shows.

Last week had a great shot of Mike checking his car in the desert for a tracker with a thunderstorm rolling in the background.
There was another well shot scene this week where Mike is parked on a bridge looking over at one of Gus' men slide down the embankment and pick up something in one of the drainage pipes. Just the wide angle shot and lighting of the whole scene really stood out.

Yep was fantastic the way the city lights in the background were blurred (bokeh) and the bridge in focus.

Like BrBa the cinematography is fantastic, love those New Mexico road shots, and the tension .... just amazing ..

Birneybau

Jan_de_Bakker wrote: »

Yep was fantastic the way the city lights in the background were blurred (bokeh) and the bridge in focus.

Like BrBa the cinematography is fantastic, love those New Mexico road shots, and the tension .... just amazing ..

I thought a bit of tilt shift was used on that scene:

Jan_de_Bakker

Birneybau wrote: »

I thought a bit of tilt shift was used on that scene:

Yes!!

was thinking the same .



It's like BrBa never ended , we have this brand new show ... but it's still BrBa !!!

dark crystal

Cloudio9 wrote: »

Good episode on the Mike front. Good tension when he was out in the sticks. Thought he was going to be set up for an ambush in the desert.

The Chuck-Jimmy stuff is ok but kind of want to see the back of Chuck at this stage. He's just too annoying.

Yeah, unlike everone else it seems, I've been finding BCS slightly tough going. Very little happened last season and tbh, it was only the thought of Gus turning up this season that kept me watching.

I find the Chuck character more than annoying - he's just a boring, bratty little pr*ck at this stage. Every scene between him and Jimmy is a slog to watch I find. Just the same crap over and over again. I'm hoping for an exit for his character this season (maybe electrocuted or some such ironic thing).

I was so happy to see Gus back. I was afraid they'd keep us waiting until the finale! Hopefully this is the start of some pay off for sticking with the series' (so far) very slow pacing.

expectationlost

don't get the Chuck hate ok so his sickness is silly but Jimmy screwed him over. Chuck will be relationship of the show even with Gus around.

expectationlost

was Gus hearing the car or realising that the guy was paying too much attention to the trash or both?

frozenfrozen

dark crystal wrote: »

Yeah, unlike everone else it seems, I've been finding BCS slightly tough going. Very little happened last season and tbh, it was only the thought of Gus turning up this season that kept me watching.

I find the Chuck character more than annoying - he's just a boring, bratty little pr*ck at this stage. Every scene between him and Jimmy is a slog to watch I find. Just the same crap over and over again. I'm hoping for an exit for his character this season (maybe electrocuted or some such ironic thing).

I was so happy to see Gus back. I was afraid they'd keep us waiting until the finale! Hopefully this is the start of some pay off for sticking with the series' (so far) very slow pacing.

I hope they keep doing their own thing and don't for a second start paying off anything or anyone for sticking around. Seriously I'm a massive fanboy of it but if you find scenes between chuck and jimmy boring then wait a few years and binge watch the 5 series because the pacing just must not be your thing and it'll ruin your enjoyment if you can't keep up with the slow pace

expectationlost

expectationlost wrote: »

was Gus hearing the car or realising that the guy was paying too much attention to the trash or both?

Watching the scene, I thought Jimmy stuck out like a sore thumb from the minute he approached the counter. It was made very obvious that he was out of his element doing this stake-out in LPHermanos for Mike, no matter how eager Jimmy was to do it. He appeared quite distracted and fidgety since he entered, he barely looked at his food or even touched it, just sipping out of his coffee as he scanned around the room.

Then when the guy pulls up outside in the green Chevy, Jimmy is even more alert and it would be obvious to an onlooker (Gus) that Jimmy was tailing the Chevy guy - from hopping up and running over to the condiments station and checking out Chevy guy, to moving to a closer seat once Chevy guy sits down.

This is all additional to the fact that Jimmy was the only one in the restaurant dressed in business attire and therefore already standing out no matter how he acted.

From what we know of Gus in BB with his honed foresight and the caution he exercises, I wouldn't be surprised if Gus copped Jimmy on the cctv feed from his office very early after Jimmy came into LPH. If this drugs/money drop is a regular thing, I imagine Gus is always on the lookout for suspicious activity just before his henchman arrives.

If Gus senses anything is off, then he does exactly what happened in last night's episode - leaves the bag on the floor with Chevy guy who then takes it away from the restaurant.

Even though we know the fate of these characters from BB, I still found it a suspenseful scene, especially the more I realised Gus was going to show up at any moment. The show is very good at doing that in fairness, with characters we know aren't going to die before BB, like with Mike when he is in a dangerous or conflict situation.

rubadub

rubadub wrote: »

I would have thought most people would call it the DMV in the US regardless, just like people say "road tax" instead of "motor tax". People outside the US would even know what the DMV was, maybe not full name but I certainly knew it's where you got the licence and if he had said MVD I would not have had a clue what he was on about. I guess many people in other states would not have known either. So even if the writers were all fully aware they could have said DMV.

I wonder is Gilligan really reading sites with pedants and "error searchers" and getting upset by them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Motor_Vehicles#United_States

I wouldn't say he is reading sites with pendants and error spotters trying to pick up errors on his show and getting upset by them, not at all.

I would say that he regularly interacts with the fanbase because that's what he seems to do, and he has serious attention for small details.

From one of the two Reddit AMAs he has done so far (which are great reads for any fans of BB, Saul or the X-Files, btw)...

pee_diddy 4093 points 1 month ago

Hello Vince!

Was badger and skinny pete's conversation at Jesse's party about the pizzas not being sliced written in after the fact to explain how Walters pizza landed on the roof intact? Everyone knows a sliced pizza would have come apart.
Thanks, Vince! Brilliant show. Gets better every time I watch it.

RealVinceGilliganURL="https://www.reddit.com/r/television/comments/5zrxsx/i_am_vince_gilligan_creator_of_breaking_bad_and/"]S[/URL 7101 points 1 month ago

Yes! We had a long discussion before we shot the pizza on the roof scene about whether or not the pizza should be sliced -- because, as all you physicists know, a thrown, sliced pizza would come apart due to centrifugal force or angular momentum (or something like that).
And yet, you are right: no self-respecting pizza parlor sells an unsliced pizza. So we figured we needed to explain it (in the 'They pass the savings on to you' scene), or else face our audience's righteous wrath!

From this AMA (Ask Me Anything) - https://www.reddit.com/r/television/comments/5zrxsx/i_am_vince_gilligan_creator_of_breaking_bad_and/

I don't get too bothered about the odd continuity error myself. As I said earlier when talking about that DMV scene from this week's episode of BCS, I wouldn't have even copped it but someone else mentioned it on Reddit. If there are people getting upset over such things rather than merely observing them, then it could aptly be compared to that Simpson's scene which satires the extremes of fandom and pedantry -

"In episode 2F09 when Itchy plays Scratchy's skeleton like a xylophone, he strikes the same rib twice in succession, yet he produces two clearly different tones. I mean, what are we to believe, that this is some sort of a magic xylophone or something? Boy, I really hope somebody got fired for that blunder."

Given the scope of social media these days and the huge fora which exist for such shows on the likes of Reddit - For every few quiet, interview-despising, fandom-avoiding show creators/writers, there's a Vince Gilligan or Kevin Smith who enjoy diving into the social media interactions and seem to get something out of them. Even if that's just some feedback from people who are genuinely interested in their art/product.

Anyway, I have little doubt that the DMV/MVD dialogue was intentional, but I respect anyone's opinion which disagrees with that.

scamalert

stankratz wrote: »

From one of the two Reddit AMAs he has done so far (which are great reads for any fans of BB, Saul or the X-Files, btw)...

well not sure was Giligan in charge of x-files relaunch but that was cluster f for series ending.that said he has proven over decades how good director writer he is.

Only thing that dont see people mentioning the phone call Mike got,wonder is it threat to stay away and leave ,until Mike cops on to realize that his target is at los polos,thus doing swing back situation like it was between wault and jessie turning up which Gus was disgusted until Wault sat it out alone,think following bb scenario this would be the scene to repeat.

The Black Oil

gormdubhgorm wrote: »

I love the way they add in those little touches.

<snip>

Mike also parked somewhere near a street sign that said Dead End - felt like that was a visual cue re what was going to happen with the tracker situation.

-=al=-

Yeah it was "dead end" and "hump in the road" or something.

Jimmy saying everybody is a little crooked like the "WM" logo also stuck out

So many details in there

expectationlost

stankratz wrote: »

Watching the scene, I thought Jimmy stuck out like a sore thumb from the minute he approached the counter. It was made very obvious that he was out of his element doing this stake-out in LPHermanos for Mike, no matter how eager Jimmy was to do it. He appeared quite distracted and fidgety since he entered, he barely looked at his food or even touched it, just sipping out of his coffee as he scanned around the room.

Then when the guy pulls up outside in the green Chevy, Jimmy is even more alert and it would be obvious to an onlooker (Gus) that Jimmy was tailing the Chevy guy - from hopping up and running over to the condiments station and checking out Chevy guy, to moving to a closer seat once Chevy guy sits down.

This is all additional to the fact that Jimmy was the only one in the restaurant dressed in business attire and therefore already standing out no matter how he acted.

From what we know of Gus in BB with his honed foresight and the caution he exercises, I wouldn't be surprised if Gus copped Jimmy on the cctv feed from his office very early after Jimmy came into LPH. If this drugs/money drop is a regular thing, I imagine Gus is always on the lookout for suspicious activity just before his henchman arrives.

If Gus senses anything is off, then he does exactly what happened in last night's episode - leaves the bag on the floor with Chevy guy who then takes it away from the restaurant.

Even though we know the fate of these characters from BB, I still found it a suspenseful scene, especially the more I realised Gus was going to show up at any moment. The show is very good at doing that in fairness, with characters we know aren't going to die before BB, like with Mike when he is in a dangerous or conflict situation.

so what was he reacting to when jimmy pulled away?

scamalert

expectationlost wrote: »

so what was he reacting to when jimmy pulled away?

think the fact that Gus got outsmarted,and basically some sore thumb as another user said walked in to spy, given how cautious Gus is,and hitting a nerve that someone actually gotten so close to him.

expectationlost

scamalert wrote: »

think the fact that Gus got outsmarted,and basically some sore thumb as another user said walked in to spy, given how cautious Gus is,and hitting a nerve that someone actually gotten so close to him.

I was asking stankratz your answer doesn't follow his

seligehgit

Any site give a resume of the Better Call Saul storyline thus far and it's linkages into Breaking Bad?TBH it's been so long since I watched Breaking Bad and I really need to watch back the first season of Better Call Saul.

Advice from all the experts on the shows much appreciated,great thread by the way.

Occono

seligehgit wrote: »

Any site give a resume of the Better Call Saul storyline thus far and it's linkages into Breaking Bad?TBH it's been so long since I watched Breaking Bad and I really need to watch back the first season of Better Call Saul.

Advice from all the experts on the shows much appreciated,great thread by the way.

Netflix have video recaps of Season 1 and 2 up, under "Trailers and More".

_Kaiser_

Caught up tonight and I think/hope the writers have taken the snail-like pace (in terms of story advancement) complaints of S2 on-board as they seem to have moved up a gear with this episode.

I'll be honest, last week I expected another season of Mike carrying the show but to be fair, this week's "Jimmy story" really held my interest - for the first time in a LONG time

Introducing Gus and Francesca the way they did was very well done... as said, the tone of the show feels a lot more BrBa with this episode.

Hope it continues.

Lirange

expectationlost wrote: »

don't get the Chuck hate ok so his sickness is silly but Jimmy screwed him over. Chuck will be relationship of the show even with Gus around.

I actually don't think the "sickness" is silly either from a writing perspective. Athough not scientifically recognised Electromagnetic Sensitivity is a condition claimed by many. So the notion wasn't some random quirky idea plucked out of the ether by Gilligan.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jun/21/the-town-that-banned-wi-fi

rubadub

stankratz wrote: »

I wouldn't say he is reading sites with pendants and error spotters trying to pick up errors on his show and getting upset by them, not at all.

still seems to me he most certainly is

stankratz wrote: »

If this week's DMV dialogue was an attempt to correct something from BB and polish-up Saul's continuity, it's fine with me and a bit genius in its subtle method.

I don't think it was subtle, stuck out weirdly and I think it was totally unnecessary. The pizza thing I thought was a bit smart & clever, and possibly tongue in cheek and a sort of "in joke" at those complaining, taking the piss out of nerds spotting such things.

The DMV thing, if it even was an oversight (I presume it was as he went on to "correct" it), does not need explaining, people obviously do call it that, just like they "wrongly" call jobseekers allowance "the dole" or call motor tax "road tax" if I saw some lad in love/hate "correcting" himself I would similarly cringe. Some lad explicitly explaining "I know the correct term is jobseekers allowance, but I will always say the dole"

Veloce

I think this series is shaping up nicely and I am glad they didn't stretch the Gus Fring introduction.

As per what a previous poster stated - the viewers know the end result of where the characters end up and this is now the journey of how they got there. It's a slow burner but its brilliant. Looking back at BB, Vince Gilligan is a masterclass at portraying character evolution - the start to the end of Walter White - some of the best TV I have ever watched. and this thing is - I didn't really click with the show for the first two seasons - I nearly packed it in. So glad I didn't.

rob316

So glad they didn't stretch out introducing Fring, with the previous snail pace of the first 2 seasons I expected him to turn up on the last episode.

Best episode yet last week was, shaping up nicely, very nicely. It's exciting watching a show in the Breaking Bad world that isn't BB.

expectationlost

Lirange wrote: »

I actually don't think the "sickness" is silly either from a writing perspective. Athough not scientifically recognised Electromagnetic Sensitivity is a condition claimed by many. So the notion wasn't some random quirky idea plucked out of the ether by Gilligan.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jun/21/the-town-that-banned-wi-fi

I didn't suggest Gilligan was being silly. Its been shown in the first season that its psychosomatic.