Better Call Saul

[therewillbeblus]

SpoilerShow

Remember that Lalo's call didn't remove any guards from the lab by sending Mike on the mission in this latest episode, he just entered the place and waited for Gus to arrive. Lalo made the call to remove the guards in the previous episode, giving him an opportunity to infiltrate the lab and get the evidence based on his original plan, but had second thoughts when he saw the rat. If he didn't want Gus to be there, what would be the purpose of Lalo halting his opportunity to go in from his close vantage point, or diverting Mike to Jimmy's? Why the extra steps? It makes absolutely zero sense if the plan was to do what he could have done in episode 7.

Gus only wins because he's wearing a bullet proof vest. He hit Lalo in an area only an inch removed, if that, from where a vest would protect him if he was wearing that, and that has nothing to do with skill

SpoilerShow

You do see guards being removed from the laundry in this episode to deal with the situation, among them, Tyrus. He was lying back in his car waiting for guards to be removed so he could sneak into the place. He knew from surveilling for days that removing Mike wasn't enough.

Lalo didn't hit Gus in the vest, but his lower side, where the bullet would go clean through. I did like that touch where Gus had Lalo shoot him in the vest so that he wouldn't suspect he wanted him to lead him into the hole. A bulletproof vest though, loses its integrity after being shot at once.

SpoilerShow

Yea Lalo wasn't counting on Gus being at the laundromat nor did Gus count on him being there, as he told Mike. Lalo didn't count on Gus picking up that he didn't really care about "plan A" by changing his mind on who to send. Gus doesn't even know he knows about the lab, just knows that's really what he would want, and that's what drives his nagging sixth sense. In real life, each character would have different contingencies on how things would go, which we aren't going to see. If Gus didn't show then Lalo would have to improvise or fail and try again.


I was more disbelief over both Gus' lucky shot and Lalo just being able to take out Gus's men so easily. More so the latter. Lalo losing to Gus can at least be chalked up to being overconfident while being rattled/entertained by Gus's tirade and having to steady that camera, then not expecting the lights to go out and Gus having a gun somehow. Gus had six propped and steadied two-handed shots at Lalo, who was regaled to hitting a moving target in the dark one-handed.

But this episode wasn't rushed, there was nothing left to buildup after that cliffhanger, it would have been pained if they continued to drag it out beyond this episode. I liked how it neatly wrapped up Lalo with Jimmy uttering the now famous BB line "It wasn't me! I was Ignacio!", and knowing after that he'd never see or hear of Lalo again and lining up with the mentions of the characters in BB. With only five episodes left and two time jumps to hit, they gotta move it along. The next episode might be the last one we spend in the Jimmy McGill timeline.

I liked the beautiful opening shot but it took the tension out of the cliffhanger, pretty much reveals from the start that the situation gets resolved and cleaned up by the end of the episode. But it connects with the end of the episode, which they like to do. I figured Howard's death would weigh heavy on Mike and sure enough you see it in his face in the final scene. He tells his men to take it easy with handling Howard's corpse as if he feels its unfair that he would wind up in the same grave as Lalo.

SpoilerShow

I had rewatched that scene before posting to make sure I was right, but just checked again and see the guards leaving now, so I'll eat my words. Still, I think a lot of poor choices are made outside of character in this episode, including both Gus and Mike believing that Lalo would send Kim or Jimmy to kill Gus at face value. Everyone has a plan B in this world, and they all know that they do. It's how they've each survived so long. It's frustrating to see characters we've come to know and respect for their intelligence collectively lose their strengths and abilities at once to move the plot along. Though I agree, it had to end here and it could've been worse. As anticlimactic as the showdown was, it worked by inverting their skills into a blind showdown that introduces luck and skill together rather than just expert planning, which is a much better use of the Let's Upend Information to Advance the Narrative tactic than eliminate careful decision-making and critical thinking skills from everyone's brains at the same time.

[Kracker]

SpoilerShow

I had rewatched that scene before posting to make sure I was right, but just checked again and see the guards leaving now, so I'll eat my words. Still, I think a lot of poor choices are made outside of character in this episode, including both Gus and Mike believing that Lalo would send Kim or Jimmy to kill Gus at face value. Everyone has a plan B in this world, and they all know that they do. It's how they've each survived so long. It's frustrating to see characters we've come to know and respect for their intelligence collectively lose their strengths and abilities at once to move the plot along. Though I agree, it had to end here and it could've been worse. As anticlimactic as the showdown was, it worked by inverting their skills into a blind showdown that introduces luck and skill together rather than just expert planning, which is a much better use of the Let's Upend Information to Advance the Narrative tactic than eliminate careful decision-making and critical thinking skills from everyone's brains at the same time.

SpoilerShow

Well, once again, neither Mike nor Gus knows Lalo knows about the laundry so as far as they know Gus's house is the only target and all they have to go on is that Lalo might be at Jimmy's apartment. They wouldn't be able to fathom that Lalo crossed the pond all the way to Germany and managed to track down someone like Casper after all their due diligence, which I'm in way more disbelief of. And characters, no matter how intelligent are always subject to making a faulty choice due to not knowing or seeing something, they aren't invincible in that way, they're human. The sloppiness is way more realistic imo. In a game of chess, two masters still usually yield one loser.

[therewillbeblus]

SpoilerShow

Yeah, I'm arguing the same in that they're fallible human beings, which is why the showdown comes off as successful in hitting that point. It's not unbelievable that one character could make an error in judgment after reacting with pause throughout the series, but for multiple to at once just feels like the writers didn't know how to close the loop and discarded those skills for their three smartest characters all at once. I hear your points, and they're well-taken. I can give the characters a bit more rope. But whether or not they knew that Lalo was staking out the lab, went to Germany, etc., Mike and Gus should have still seen through the shallow facade that Lalo would wait in hiding for such a long time and then send an inexperienced errand boy/girl to do his dirty work right at the front door, and then just wait around the apt. assuming she was gonna kill him with no issues. Like, come on. I'm not drinking the kool-aid on that one

[Kracker]

SpoilerShow

True, but what were they going to do? Mike probably knew that things weren't as they seemed from the moment Kim was spotted on cameras, which is why he didn't treat Kim like he would an actual assassin, he was just trying to get information. And all they had to go on was that Lalo was at Jimmy's apartment, and furthermore, Jimmy's life was in jeopardy after Mike make the mistake of pulling guys off his place, so he had to send a squad as if Lalo was still there rather than chance that he wasn't.

[therewillbeblus]

SpoilerShow

Of course an action needed to be committed regarding follow-up on the lead, but the irregularity of Mike's responses you point out only serves the problems I'm having. Mike was perceptive and patient around the nonsensical variable of Kim's participation in an assassination maneuver. However, when she mentions that Lalo is at her place, Mike jumps on it, and pulls almost all the guys into a sting op without considering that this is a ruse. Even worse, he was able to see through the ruse of Kim but only on a surface level, and not anticipate that Lalo, who he's been afraid of and planning around day and night as a mastermind with an unknown plan for months(?) now, would be tricking him. He doesn't allocate resources and put detail at points A, B, and C per typical measured, safe, consider-all-angles Mike behavior. No, he just takes them all and bets on red when all his training and life experience should tell him there's at least a possibility the game is being rigged. I agree that he had to follow up on going to Jimmy's residence, but the process of how that goes down is silly and out of character. Mike is right to tell Gus that it didn't have to go down that way, but Mike should also probably look in the mirror on this one. I can appreciate that the writers are doing their best, but when I break it down, it feels like they're exorcising some key elements that make these characters who they are, and that feels disingenuous.

[flyonthewall2983]

SpoilerShow

I think what we see in Mike at that moment is maybe him in grief of Nacho, and his men who died that night. The guy is a born leader and as such how we see him with guys who are more then just mindless thugs at the whim of a freakishly sadistic drug dealer like any of the Salamancas for example. Realizing how this carries through to what is ultimately Mike’s own demise makes that moment looking into that makeshift grave all the more chilling even as I’m sitting here writing it.

[therewillbeblus]

That's ever fleshed out enough by what we're shown to hold water for the filmmakers' intentions, but it's an interesting thought. I feel like in order to apologize for the flaws in the episode, we need to reach or project onto the narrative when the show has been so careful to earn character motive and consequences.

[Kracker]

SpoilerShow

Of course an action needed to be committed regarding follow-up on the lead, but the irregularity of Mike's responses you point out only serves the problems I'm having. Mike was perceptive and patient around the nonsensical variable of Kim's participation in an assassination maneuver. However, when she mentions that Lalo is at her place, Mike jumps on it, and pulls almost all the guys into a sting op without considering that this is a ruse. Even worse, he was able to see through the ruse of Kim but only on a surface level, and not anticipate that Lalo, who he's been afraid of and planning around day and night as a mastermind with an unknown plan for months(?) now, would be tricking him. He doesn't allocate resources and put detail at points A, B, and C per typical measured, safe, consider-all-angles Mike behavior. No, he just takes them all and bets on red when all his training and life experience should tell him there's at least a possibility the game is being rigged. I agree that he had to follow up on going to Jimmy's residence, but the process of how that goes down is silly and out of character. Mike is right to tell Gus that it didn't have to go down that way, but Mike should also probably look in the mirror on this one. I can appreciate that the writers are doing their best, but when I break it down, it feels like they're exorcising some key elements that make these characters who they are, and that feels disingenuous.

SpoilerShow

You're leaving out that Jimmy is at the residence though. It wasn't just a follow-up lead. It was a rescue. Mike not caring about Jimmy and not treating his predicament with such seriousness is what would have been disingenuous and out of character. Whether it was a ruse or not didn't matter, Mike's job is making sure Gus is safe, then making sure people like Jimmy are safe second. He had to go save Jimmy. Now that is who is he is. If Jimmy wasn't a hostage in danger then Mike wouldn't have rushed bringing the cavalry. He just couldn't pull people off Gus, so he had to pull from the laundry which Lalo was supposed to have no way of knowing about. Mike, only hours before, had been well convinced Lalo was dead, not afraid of him. Only person who insisted Lalo was even alive was Gus and was the only reason for the guard detail. All of a sudden, Mike's supposed to see through some mastermind plan he's been making for weeks rather than just trying to cross the border alone, even though it doesn't endanger his objective of protecting Gus? Mike had Gus secure where Lalo could not get to him and that was all that mattered since Lalo was only trying to kill Gus and they had no reason to believe otherwise. Always being several steps ahead of the antagonist somehow isn't a character quality because no way they can always do that and it isn't a moral decision but an intellectual one which has to be set up with information available to the character.


I would maybe argue instead that having goons stationed at the laundry would be dangerous and pointless from their point of view. Disassemble the secret door mechanism and the place is an ordinary laundry building with one non-functional laundry machine in no need of protecting and no way anyone like Lalo could ever find the hole. No guards and Lalo would just suspect Casper fed him a bogus story.

I did expect some disbelief because the writers might have been in a bind, trying to patch the hole where they had to kill Lalo so the meth lab could continue full steam ahead but in a way that he's still a threat in the back of Jimmy's mind so that the Nacho/Lalo lines in BB make sense, and they accomplished that without a whole lot of disbelief at all imo. Mike's reactions weren't a stretch but something he would actually do given the situation.

[therewillbeblus]

SpoilerShow

I'm not saying that Mike doesn't care about Jimmy or that treating the predicament as superfluous would be in character, nor that Mike is supposed to know or assume what Lalo's mastermind plan is- that would be absurd. It just seems out of character for a guy like Mike not to pivot with new information and consider that this might be a ruse. We're given no indication of that. Once he receives this information from Kim he immediately goes to follow up on the lead. I mean, he's probably internalizing some care about Jimmy's safety but we're given no information about that from how he reacts in the scene nor by what he says, so it doesn't seem like the priority that's on his mind, and that feels like a leap to conclude that this is within character because Mike just has to be thinking and feeling things about Jimmy vs his employer in the heat of the moment. I'll grant you that it's not as outside of character as my initial impressions suggested, so I appreciate this back-and-forth, but it just feels like such a stretch to make this fit comfortably within character, and I think you're making a lot of assumptions about Mike's psychology in this moment to fit those parameters that he and the writers aren't offering.

[Boosmahn]

SpoilerShow

I do agree that Mike's and Gus' behaviors had to be bent a little for the way things went down in the most recent episode. I was expecting Mike to take partial responsibility when he told Gus the events could have played out differently (or even Gus to call out Mike's mistake). However, I wonder if we can consider Mike's reaction to Jimmy being in danger to be an indication of a personality change from Better Call Saul to Breaking Bad? It's not like he doesn't care about other people in BB, but he has taken more steps to ensure others' safety in BCS.

Regarding the opening scene on the beach, I don't mind it showing the cover-up for Howard's death early. This episode was very focused on Lalo's plan, so a calm (yet tragic) moment only about him was as best a tribute you could get. (We also already knew that his murder couldn't connect to at least Jimmy in a criminal way.) It could have been moved to the beginning of the next episode or possibly the ending of this one, although the latter would be entirely unlike how BB or BCS ends their episodes.

[Kracker]

"Point and Shoot" (not next week's episode) is the one they were filming when Bob had his heart attack but it happened off set while he was on his exercise bike and Rhea and Patrick saw him fall over. They had wait five weeks to shoot the rest of Bob's scenes in the apartment which mainly consisted of him being tied to the chair.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv ... 235179022/
https://variety.com/2022/awards/feature ... 235292645/

I do agree that Mike is a lot colder in BB than BCS and the events in this episode probably contribute to that, but as someone pointed out, his loyalty ultimately became his undoing.

[Boosmahn]

SpoilerShow

Oh, it does. I was just thinking about how while this might be out of character for BB Mike, it isn't too far of a stretch for BCS Mike. I think any suspicions Mike would have had about Lalo's plans at that moment were overshadowed by his desire to save Jimmy, with Kim's line about him failing to protect them causing his quick reaction. This isn't supported by hard evidence in the episode, though, so I admit that I am making some assumptions! (I also really like BCS, and as such, I could be biased and trying to work within the belief that his decision makes sense.)

[RIP Film]

I thought it was a muddled episode. Maybe it made sense on paper or in the writers’ room, but not enough was telegraphed to the audience— like twbb said, you had to project your own ideas onto what was happening. To have such a buildup for Lalo, who we’ve had to suffer for a few seasons, and then just treat him like a loose end to be tied up… Well, what’s to come better make up for that sort of economy. I will say though in regard to the characters’ actions, I found Gus to be the most true. He had previously shown contempt for wearing the kevlar jacket and for having to hide, and I think he saw the portentous events around him as an intuitive signal to reject a victimized mentality just because one man is looking for him; that compounded with it obviously being a diversion when given a moments thought. Gus has shown similar bravado before, like when he faced down the sniper shooting at his men in BB. The other side of his calculating nature is that when he has played all of his moves, he defaults to a kind of fearless resignation.

But the most interesting and devastating part of this episode was

SpoilerShow

Jimmy and Kim, still deer in the headlights, having to commit to “killing” Howard all over again, and for their prank/story to be the seesaw on which they are able to claim innocence. It felt like there was some deeper meaning to burying Howard with Lalo, as if it were closing the distance between these two disparate sides of Jimmy’s life and concluding there’s no longer any difference.

[therewillbeblus]

Agreed on Gus' response, it's the reaction that makes the most sense across the board given the information we have about the character. Also, great thoughts on blending those two people - so vastly dissonant across the spectrum of morality - into one muddled grave of relativity to evoke Jimmy's own devolution in that regard

[therewillbeblus]

Episode 9 was just a perfect antidote to 8; an economically-sewn, soft climax that remained respectful to the characters through careful honesty in expressing their psychologies

SpoilerShow

I love how Kim's exit was so much less violent or positionally victimized than we all feared over the years, and fit right in with the show's mature presentation of stalemate relationship dynamics, starting with Jimmy and Chuck. All these characters are so desperately contending with the elusive dream of collectivist comfort in another, even Gus who entertains his crush for about five minutes every whoknowshowlong before he snaps back into gear. He has a wine he is saving for a time that he will never give himself. Kim and Jimmy also resign themselves to individualistic existences of loneliness, and each's transitional departure from this timeline is a tragic loss for themselves and the others that might benefit from knowing their good parts, because of the detrimental consequences of their bad ones.

Balancing unconditional empathy with stark realism, but always returning to zoom in on the former under deeper layers of vulnerability, rather than zooming out to moralize against its characters... that's the tone that this show has successfully executed miles better than its predecessor, and this episode was a terrific culmination of that ethos. I'm very impressed at what they were able to pull off in under an hour without forcing the drama

[Boosmahn]

Spoilers for the new episode, Fun and Games:

SpoilerShow

So ends the Better Call Saul timeline. I'm still processing this episode, but I think I "like" the way Kim departed. Despite it being so sudden, it makes sense for her character. Plus, while cutting right from that scene to BB-era Jimmy/Saul (without a commercial break, if I'm remembering correctly) sounds like a cardinal pacing sin, I think it works. (Yet I still wonder if the pause could have been longer... I'll need to rewatch that transition a few times.) Oh, and the "public masturbator" is undoubtedly Badger.

The scene with Gus and the waiter seemed bizarre at first but turned out to be great (and 100% convinced me of the theory that Gus was in a romantic relationship with Max). Even though Gus has done atrocious things throughout BB and BCS, it's still devastating to think about how he pulls himself away from happiness to focus solely on revenge. Someone on the BCS Reddit pointed out how the scene mirrors Jimmy's echo of Mike's words about moving on from trauma.

[Kracker]

Initial thoughts for Fun and Games:

SpoilerShow

A very anti-climatic yet heartbreaking end to Jimmy and Kim, before the time jump to the Breaking Bad or "Saul" timeline. Yeah, no commercial break or that would have definitely defeated what they were going for with what is probably the most impactful jump cut in TV history, suggesting that scene as the butterfly effect moment that explains what set Jimmy on course to become Saul we know from Breaking Bad. The instant I saw those tiger pattern sheets I knew we had made the jump. A huge contrast from the perfect song on that beautiful montage we got for the opener, the final montage is presented with no score. A very sullen quiet tone for the end of this part of the story.

I definitely wasn't expecting an intimidating presence suddenly in the form of Howard's ex-wife, Cheryl, who was introduced as being cold, uncaring, and insensitive but yet wound being the one to break Kim with her tears, after she did one last double down to try and stamp out the fire and having her foot burned in the process.

It feels like a contrast to the violence we saw in the past two episodes, they aimed to do a lot with very little, right down to the look on Cliff's face when asked if Howard did drugs sending Cheryl into a breakdown. The Jimmy/Kim relationship ends with the distant sounds of duct taping boxes. Also the sad sting on Jimmy's face when Rich says "end of an era" referring to HMM being no more which also appropriately enough now means the McGill name disappearing as well.

A lot more Gus/Mike than I expected for this episode but there were still a few things to wrap up like Hector's reaction to now-missing Lalo and Nacho's dad being informed of his death. I thought it would have been fitting to end Gus on Don Eladio telling him he has hate in his eyes before cutting to the oh-so familiar shot of him looking into the pool where his partner was murdered, a perfect nod and lead-in to his BB story. But we had an unnecessary scene where he is told everything is cleaned up and tells Mike to resume work on the lab, which is well assumed already. Followed by that wine scene which I have yet to really figure out fully, it's the final Gus and rather long so i figured it had to have some great significance. Btw I thought it had already been pretty much established that Gus and Max were more than just business partners.

Very excited for the next episode where we get to go to the 'Saul' timeline. I would say we could even hit the 'Gene' timeline first but the next episode is directed by Michelle MacLaren who has directed the most episodes of Breaking Bad but only a couple of BCS episodes, one of them being the Tuco episode from first season.

And the ultimate fate of Kim still remains a mystery, she's still very much in play to show up in the later timelines or we could get a flashback to what else happened that night..

[mfunk9786]

All I want to see at this point is a) what's happening with Jimmy in the B&W flash forwards and b) what's happening with Kim. So of course we'll spend a lot more time with Gus and Mike, I'm sure. Maybe we can check in on some cartel guys we haven't even been introduced to yet(!)

[RIP Film]

A very graceful end to the Jimmy McGill timeline, presumably.

SpoilerShow

Lesser TV has taught us to expect bombast or some defining moment, but instead we have sobering emotions giving way to quiet realizations, that perhaps we could see as the audience but not to the characters themselves until now. “Character is destiny” and now it becomes obvious how different Jimmy and Kim always were, and the seams between them finally splitting. There was also that look on Jimmy’s face when told that HHM is downsizing and changing its name, as if maybe for a nano second he caught a glimpse of himself and how taking down this firm is unconsciously what he had always wanted.

Also really appreciated the scenes with Gus and Mike. With Ignacio’s father hitting the nail on the head in regard to justice, and those words echoing as we see the last of these two; and the irony of seeing Gus actually being a person, but then choosing the other path which we know where it leads.

[pianocrash]

Maybe we can check in on some cartel guys we haven't even been introduced to yet(!)

SpoilerShow

New synopsis just leaked

S6 E10 - "Nippy"
"Doña Oreja (TV legend Carol Burnett) arrives via Nutri-Grain Mobile; Lyle steps up."

[therewillbeblus]

Could that be a connection to the Nutri-Grain bars Jimmy has on his table, that received a seemingly superfluous close up shot? Should’ve known better

[Boosmahn]

SpoilerShow

A lot more Gus/Mike than I expected for this episode but there were still a few things to wrap up like Hector's reaction to now-missing Lalo and Nacho's dad being informed of his death. I thought it would have been fitting to end Gus on Don Eladio telling him he has hate in his eyes before cutting to the oh-so familiar shot of him looking into the pool where his partner was murdered, a perfect nod and lead-in to his BB story. But we had an unnecessary scene where he is told everything is cleaned up and tells Mike to resume work on the lab, which is well assumed already. Followed by that wine scene which I have yet to really figure out fully, it's the final Gus and rather long so i figured it had to have some great significance. Btw I thought it had already been pretty much established that Gus and Max were more than just business partners.

SpoilerShow

It had been! I was just saying that I am now fully convinced of it; there is pretty much no longer any other interpretation that fits with all of the material shown.

The significance, I think, comes from the callback that Reddit user pointed out. After Gus returns home, he ceremoniously opens his windows and then goes out for a celebratory drink. He entertains the idea of entering a relationship (or having a one-time liaison) with the waiter... and then realizes he hasn't thought about Max all day. Earlier, Jimmy said something like this is proof you can move on, but here, Gus is displeased with himself and instead steps back into his plan of vengeance.

[therewillbeblus]

Therein lies the tragedy of the characters in this world (and more broadly, universal life for all of us): That we cannot ‘forget’ or absolve ourselves of the parts of us that are hurt, that have broken bad, that feel pain and anger and sadness directed at ourselves and others; nor can we wholly distract from our morality and vulnerable needs. Every choice they make to simplify their lives doesn’t work in the way they hope

[mfunk9786]

Maybe we can check in on some cartel guys we haven't even been introduced to yet(!)

SpoilerShow

New synopsis just leaked

S6 E10 - "Nippy"
"Doña Oreja (TV legend Carol Burnett) arrives via Nutri-Grain Mobile; Lyle steps up."

Lyle? Gus' employee? See, I knew we weren't truly finished with that plot thread. Not to sound too curmudgeonly, but it's a big miscalculation to focus attention elsewhere when we know precisely where Mike and Gus are headed. Two people we don't know the fates of? Saul and Kim. Sure, it might be pretty epic to see Gus make One More Batch of chicken, but perhaps that can be left to our imaginations

[Mario G.]

Maybe we can check in on some cartel guys we haven't even been introduced to yet(!)

SpoilerShow

New synopsis just leaked

S6 E10 - "Nippy"
"Doña Oreja (TV legend Carol Burnett) arrives via Nutri-Grain Mobile; Lyle steps up."

Lyle? Gus' employee? See, I knew we weren't truly finished with that plot thread. Not to sound too curmudgeonly, but it's a big miscalculation to focus attention elsewhere when we know precisely where Mike and Gus are headed. Two people we don't know the fates of? Saul and Kim. Sure, it might be pretty epic to see Gus make One More Batch of chicken, but perhaps that can be left to our imaginations

Maybe this bit is just over my head, but I believe that is a fake description. With the real one

SpoilerShow

S6 E10 - "Nippy"
"A new player gets in the game."

probably referring to Walt.