Better Call Saul - Season Five Discussion

A thread to discuss Season Five of 'Better Call Saul' on the AMC network.

Better Call Saul

 

Season Five filming wraps:

'Better Call Saul' Season 5 Filming Wraps; Actors Share Photo, Video

Interview with Bob Odenkirk on Season Five:

‘Better Call Saul’s Bob Odenkirk Teases “Shattering” Season 5 – Deadline

 

Do we know if this is the last season of BCS?

 

I think they've said definitely one more, possibly one after that.

 

’There Will Be Six Seasons,’ Says ’Better Call Saul’ Star

 

Well, at least that's something, could be way worse. TBS has been notoriously tight-lipped about their comedy series Search Party, having wrapped 3rd Season shooting a year-and-a-half ago, and only reported during Upfront ceremonies that "it's coming back" with no date...yet, they've been consistently running shots of the characters in network bump shots from the renewed/canceled/renewed series for literally TWO YEARS now, with no announced return date, OR a hint of when they're going to announce it.

I'm so sick of netlets pulling this crap. A DVR needs to plan, ya know...?

 

I feel confident that Better Call Saul will end the exact way the creators want it to end with no interference from AMC.

 

I don't mind speculation about the upcoming season, of course, but use your spoiler button if you are summarizing or quoting what one of the series participants says about what might or will transpire. I'm not confident they won't give something away.

 

I am in for the duration, but I have to admit that the slow pace has sucked away most of my enthusiasm. Quite a few friends/co-workers (who were huge Breaking Bad fans) stopped watching at various points the last two seasons because they were so bored with it. I like the show, but I don't love it.

 

can't wait. best drama on tv right now.

 

Any predictions on how the traditional B&W season opening scene(s) with Gene as our favorite Cinnabon Manager play out?

I started wondering if we can possibly predict where things are heading if we look at what has been presented to us thus far. I think there is a big change in what we see in Season Four. More on that below.

Season One - We firmly establish that Saul (Now Gene) has been relocated to Omaha and is a manager at Cinnabon. We see him at home as he pulls out a box of VHS tapes and watches his old Saul Goodman lawyer commercials.

Season Two - Gene closes up the store but accidentally locks himself in the dumster room. He briefly considers opening the emergency exit but realizes the police will be called so he waits for the janitor to eventually let him out. Whilst waiting, he scrawls SG WAS HERE on the wall.

Season Three - Gene eats a sandwich in the mall where he works. He spots a shoplifter running from security. The shoplifter is caught and Gene calls out for him to remain silent and hire a lawyer. Gene returns to work and collapses.

Season Four - For the first time, we continue on directly from the last sequence. Gene is taken to the the hospital. They let him leave as he did not suffer a heart attack. The hospital receptionist at first has problems processing Gene's fake I.D. and Social Security number but eventually sorts it out. Gene takes a taxi home but realizes that the driver keeps glancing at him. An Albuquerque Isotopes air freshener dangles from the drivers rear view mirror. Gene exits the cab before reaching his home and quickly walks around the corner.

Some interesting things to note. The first two sequences take place independently of each other. The first three sequences show Gene being pro-active in reaching out to his past. In the first, he watches his old commercials as Saul and something lights up in him. The reflection in his glasses are in color. In the second, although he is wary of the Police by not opening the emergency exit, he writes SG WAS HERE on the wall. In the third, his caution about the police is gone. For the first time, the third and fourth sequences are connected.

There is a progression happening. How long can Gene keep Saul on the inside?

A big change happens in the Season Four opener however. Gene does nothing to explore his past and he takes no active risks in giving away his past. Instead his past now seems to be catching up to him by themselves. He has no choice to go to the hospital and risk exposure with his fake I.D.. He had no idea that his cab driver might be from Albuquerque and might possibly recognize him. Someone in another thread noticed that the actor playing the cab driver (Don Harvey) is a fairly well known character actor. Will he return? The last two sequences were connected. Are we picking up right where we left off?

What say you?

 

Not going to predict the story, but I suspect we'll still only see him in the season premieres, but then the last episode, maybe two, will be intercut with the two stories. It will also end with a montage featuring the main theme only it won't be abruptly cut; we'll get the full version, only it doesn't end the way we think it will (the cut-off note isn't the last note), like the story.

 

Excellent analysis. I had forgotten (or did not notice at the time) the details you mention. I will refrain from advancing any of my (typically erroneous) predictions, but I still like my Giselle theory (which could mean Kim is still alive in Gene's time). How that precisely would play out in the BCS narrative is not certain. I have some vague ideas, but my track record is at best spotty. Giselle - Wikipedia

 

Well, the first thing I say is that I'm terrible at trying to predict anything on this show, so I'm not even going to try.

To me, the progression in those intros is all about escalating danger. Where that will lead? No idea, but I guess a safe bet is that the next intro will involve even more danger to Jimmy.

I read in several places about Don Harvey (I didn't know anything about him prior to this) so I'd say it's about a 50/50 bet we will see him again. Haven't we seen some other pretty well known character actors show up like this for one episode - that's a question, not stating it as fact, I honestly can't remember.

 

When does it air?

 

They haven't announced a date yet. Possibly Spring 2020.

 

Thanks

 

Is Saul Goodman in the BB movie (2019)?

 

I think the driver really was some sort of threat: The way he looked at Gene was clearly evil and the Albuquerque thing dangling there was too much of a coincidence. So next season will begin where that left off and that opening sequence will end with a sort of cliffhanger. Saul's pre-Gene story will be resolved in the next-to-last episode. Then the final episode will be exclusively about the Gene story, and will be in color.

 

Just my prediction - those Gene flashbacks are glimpses of Jimmy/Saul after he succumbs to stress-induced mental illness. He becomes delusional....Just like....his brother! He'll have every reason to be paranoid, so that will blur the lines between realities. Which suits Jimmy's personality.

Really like the show, but I have a hard time recalling what happened with all these breaks and the subtle pace of the overall plot.

 

I wait until the dvd's come out and then watch it uninterrupted so it will probably be fall 2020 before I see what happens in season 5.

 

I also have a hard time remembering what all has happened - I remember the main plot points, but they pack so much detail into every episode, after this much time there is no way to remember it.

As far as the mental illness - it's definitely possible. We are given very little to go on as far as the origin of Chuck's mental illness - it doesn't SEEM to be related to genetics, but maybe there is some kind of family propensity.

As different as the two were, you could easily make the case that both are highly driven by their egos and their self-perceived power and superioriy over their "inferiors" - it's just that Jimmy sees them as "suckers" ripe for the taking, while Chuck tended to think of every human being as his lesser and sometimes would deign to condescendingly assist them because they'd be lost without his help - example: when he would correct everything that Ernesto would do to help him, I'm sure he thought he was doing him a favor by politely letting him know what he had failed at so he could learn to do better. It would never even occur to him to be thankful that someone was helping him. In his world he deserved all the help anyone would give him (as long as it was done to his standards) simply because of who he was as an outstanding human being.

Jimmy, on the other hand, felt he deserved anything that he gained because the world (and Chuck)was constantly screwing him over regardless of whether he attempted to play by the rules or subvert them to his own purposes. You could argue that at least Jimmy TRIED to play the game, but it's still an incredibly self-centered view of life and it's still all about himself. So now, when he pulls his scams on people and manipulates situations it's his RIGHT, because they are too ignorant to stop it or see what's even happening. If they are suckers, that's on THEM right?

 

Only two actors are confirmed for 'El Camino' thus far. Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman and Charles Baker as Skinny Pete.

 

It’s been shown in a few weeks and their still keeping schtum about the complete cast.
Element of surprise i guess.

 

Some interesting thoughts. Since we've seen no egregious symptoms in Jimmy/Saul thus far, I wonder if the writers would want to introduce that this late in the game. Gene seems to have plenty of genuine reasons to be uber paranoid. His accelerated risky behavior seems only to be brought on by himself. Can he hide Saul forever? Will he ever be able to control his impulse to ignore the warning and turn the switch off?