Better Call Saul ***Spoilers***

Completely disagree. I thought it was class.

First one of these I've watched. What yer man's saying is plausible (if not a little bit of a stretch for some parts). However it's also equally possible they won't feature again!

It's an awful waste to establish that Gene can be "made" post BB but develop a scheme to protect himself from being exposed? I don't see anything wasteful about that plot and think with 3 episodes to go, it's exactly what should be told.

I've wanted to see what Gene is like. I've wanted and full post BB episode. I really don't care about Saul during the BB timeline and they've really established how Jimmy became Saul. I will take 3 more of those episodes if they develop Gene and show us what he becomes in the end and why. I don't want to see Walter White, Jessie, Jimmy, or Saul again

I think it serves a couple of different purposes; it resolves almost all of the previous Gene scenes we've gotten at the start and end of previous seasons, it shows how much he misses the grift and getting one over on people (rather than going with the vacuum repair guy he decided to handle it himself), and it shows that that side of him is still there. No matter how mundane and boring his life has become, Saul is still there. I think even picking up the colourful tie and shirt at the end before putting them down, in some ways it could be seen as Gene saying goodbye to Saul, but it can also be seen as him knowing he doesn't need the Saul persona to do what he does.

We don't know if other stuff in this episode will end up leading to anything, but I think it was also a purposeful comedown after the energy of the last few episodes. One that serves as a soft reset as the Jimmy-prequel era is finished, and they need to segue and ease people into the Gene era for the last few episodes.

Let's face it, in Breaking Bad the second last episode was sandwiched in between two of the best episodes of TV; Ozymandias and the final episode. But it wasn't a great episode itself. It helped set things up for the final and had some strong character moments for Walt, and had a brilliant ending to build up tension for the final episode, but it was a definite comedown from the previous episodes. It was needed though, just like I think this one is.

And it establishes that he is still willing to do all that as Gene. He's not going to be bullied or shy away from it. It starts the Gene story properly and it's one we can tie up in 3 episodes. There's nothing self indulgent about it.

I do not understand people drawing parallels to the Fly episode in BB.

I don't understand the comparisons either. It's not like they set out to make the episode controversial either.

I think they have subtly laid the ground work for future traps against Saul/Gene based on the Jeff stuff. The writers rarely do anything without a purpose. I have already seen theories that Jeff's mother could be Saul/Gene's downfall or even the shop manager he rigged the heist on.

There was one excellent theory I saw that the change of casting (to the actor who played Jeff) necessitated a rewrite. But there is no proof of this. To be honest the Nippy episode will go down as one of my favourites it was memorable, well paced, full of nuance. And there is still a hint that Gene et al have not got away with things. Excellently written and well acted. It willbe spoken about for years.

Personally I think there are some who watch BCS for the crash bang wallop - Cartel stuff. If I remember correctly there were gripes from that cohort on here about the Kim/Jimmy relationship that it was boring etc. It was also said the Howard stuff was boring, by many of the same cohort.

I pointed out that the two worlds - (Cartel and Kim/Howard) will likely converge at some point. It did.

And when it did it got a massive reaction on these boards. I think viewers just need to show a bit of patience, the writers know where they are going. And if they put as much attention to detail as Jimmy McGill does to his scams. There is bound to be lots of drama left in the remaining episodes with a twist or two along the way.

BCS is not undisputed as the greatest show ever. Plenty of other contenders 60’s ‘The Man from Uncle’ - ‘Batman’ ‘I dream of Jeanie’ ‘Bewitched’ . 70’s ‘Happy Days’ ‘Columbo’ 80’s ‘Dallas’ ‘MacGyver’ ‘The A Team’ ‘Glenroe’ .90s Sopranos - Baywatch.

None of those shows were flawless (neither is BCS)

In their pomp they were all popular and they all caught the imagination in their time. Life is not as simple as ‘greatest xyz’ and ‘worst xyz.’ That is the way children talk, and YouTubers frame things looking for clicks.

But what I can’t understand how some people who have watched BCS and BB seem perplexed as to where the direction of the show is going.

Because the writers have a certain style in how they paint a story.

They like to tie things up have interwoven storylines. While at the same time given a nod to BB or taking time to flesh out BB character backgrounds.

All the while doing so they still have to give a satisfactory ending to BB/BCS through Jimmy/Saul/Gene.

I think the writers have set themselves a difficult task given these constraints.

Yeah, there have been a few minor missteps along the way. But all in all I feel (with BCS so far) the viewer has got good in-depth character development. Intertwining of worlds.

And plenty of drama/tension following particularly following slow build ups in story arcs.

The characters are rarely wooden/one dimensional. Unless you count ‘the cousins’ who are put in for the black comedy element.

It was an episode that in some ways was in line with how this season has tackled the dangling questions of the previous season, ie it dealt with them quickly and effectively.

We had Nachos narrative arc completed quickly this season, the Lalo arc came to an abrupt end after his relative absence, the Kim question was dealt with in manner that nobody really predicted.

The remaining issue was the cab driver recognizing Saul and what it meant in terms of Gene's ability to keep his cover intact. This was a light hearted caper that dealt with the big existential threat to Gene, he has tied the hands of the one person who could blow his cover.

We have no items left on the agenda of what we thought the end of this story would be going into this season.

The writers have left the viewers unsure of what the narrative will be in the final three episodes, there are no real hints (like the bedraggled Heisenberg from the cold opening of the first episode of Breaking Bad's final season) to leave a trail for the viewers to connect to.

Sure a lot of people didn't enjoy it, but it's a bold move to leave the audience completely unsure of where the show goes from here at this point in its run.

If you have not watched the latest one yet I would recommend reading over this to refresh your memory of BB (i.e. I wish I had, I think I will watch it later)

https://breakingbad.fandom.com/wiki/Better_Call_Saul_(episode)

They showed Marion (Jeff's mother) in her bed watching cat videos, which showed she was not just playing along with the whole thing. I saw some theories that she was totally wise to Jimmy and acting like a simple auld granny to keep him off guard. She still might be but thought she may have been playing along about being clueless about the internet. Maybe she starts investigating Gene on the internet and finds him.

I liked the mis-direction the show does where you think Saul is going to pass on scamming the mark with cancer. When he flips out after getting the phone call I initially thought it was because Jeff and the other guy had gone ahead with the scam against his instructions.

Enjoyed the phone call with Kim also. At this point Kim knows the full details of what he was up to with Heisenberg and the scene works regardless of whether he got through to Kim or was thwarted in his attempt.

I wonder how BB or BCS would have worked out if people just took Mike's advice. Probably a lot more profitable for some of the protagonists but a lot duller for us. 😄

Another point is that Kim did not have to get her vacuum repaired and still using her real name and she works at a company called Palm Coast Sprinklers and next episode is titled Waterworks. I think Jimmy is going out of his way to get caught and thrown in Jail.

I also think we will hear what was said in the phone booth maybe from Kim's prospective

Enjoyed that ‘Breaking Bad’ BCS episode. Liked the way they framed the wrong road travelled. And left the ‘What if?’

Plus there is a large dollop of juxtaposition of characters underestimating others. Mike calling Walt ‘a complete amateur’. Saul saying he has a ‘good feeling’ about Walt.

And Gene again potentially underestimating Jeff’s mother, and underestimating the man with Cancer the easy ‘Mark’. I initially thought Gene/Jimmy would call the scam off. So I was very surprised when he forced it through. Reminiscent of Kim with the Howard scam.

When it opened with the ‘Did Lalo send you?’ scene in the Met Lab Mobile.

First thing I did was check the BB original scene. They got the same tie correct anyway. Also I thought it was clever of the writers to return to that scene. Simply because the hats and darkness hide Cranston’s and Aaron Paul’s ageing a bit.

Good Breakdown.