Better Call Saul - Season Four Discussion & Digestion

The funky 70's car chase music that plays as Mike drives the electric cart around the warehouse cracked me up.

And I laughed at Jimmy's killer line, "Well Howard, I guess that's your cross to bear," followed by the smirk while feeding the fish...I got a kick out of Jimmy looking so pleased with himself. Vince Gilligan's twisted sense of humour is what I love about BCS and BB.

Great opening episode I thought, glad to have it back.

 

My go-to theory had been that Jimmy's name change comes from a need to disassociate from Chuck, who'd managed to disgrace the McGill name when word got out about his meltdown. But this episode and last year's finale pretty well nixed that for now, since they depict Chuck still being lionized after his death.

I loved the episode, unsurprisingly. The Gus-Hector plot is a touch less compelling to me than the other two at the moment, but you still get Michael Mando's superb performance as Nacho, and there's far less of it than Mike and Jimmy; besides, I'm sure it will pick up again, I really enjoy Giancarlo Esposito's characterization of Gus, so more of him will be welcome. Getting back to Jimmy, though, I thought his numb response to Chuck's death was realistic, both for the character and as a general representation of grief; actually, even the episode's "punchline" kind of fits with the latter description, even though I'm sure the point is to show another increment in his slight toward amoral "Saul"-dom. It's not uncommon for certain people to make pretty harsh, flippant statements under such emotional stress, or for one to lurch violently into sudden mood swings like Jimmy's at the end of the episode. I like that there's a lot of ambiguity here -- is Jimmy just being malicious? Is he acting out of guilt? Or is he just in a broken state?

Thought Rhea Seehorn did a lot with very little in this episode; she illustrates the patient, loving attitude you want your partner to have when you're hit with news like Jimmy gets at the start of the episode... but she's clearly startled by his line at the end (which, by the way, made my wife and me laugh out loud; I guess we have kind of a dark sense of humor).

This is the way I took it as well; the haunted walk home in the teaser is another manifestation of the same shadowy fear we saw him exhibit in the very first scene of the series. I was a little surprised that the fainting spell last year ended up being used primarily as a suspense sequence revolving around... hospital billing. That fixation on the menacing (or comic) in the mundane is what I love about this show. (EDIT: Oh, and I guess this goes to show that -- contrary to some of the speculation before the airdate -- Robert Forster did right by our hero!)

I said almost this exact same thing to some friends just after watching the episode. I would go for a full season of Mike getting really into the ins and outs of a potentially mundane office gig. (Honestly I'd watch him monitor grocery store security cameras.) And such a defiantly anticlimactic turn for his character would actually be in keeping with BCS's tone so far, even if it would also be gleefully trolling a lot of people.

This is a great point; I wondered about the very pointed shot of Mike glaring over at the check with evident dismay that was followed by the Madrigal sequence... and on reflection it seems possible to me that seeing his daughter in law and granddaughter prompted him to want to ensure that he's lowering his risk by appearing to be completely "above board."

 

As far as the cab driver goes, my first thought was that we are just experiencing Gene's constant paranoia. On the other hand, he did have that Albuquerque air freshener. If the driver used to live there, there is a good chance he saw one of his tv ads or billboards.

Interesting to see how/if that plays out.

 

a few thoughts:

Lots of people have criticized BCS for its overall slow pace - I never have, I like it, and enjoy sitting back and really absorbing all that's going on. Last night was the first time it bothered me a bit - that was one slow-ass episode. I guess I shouldn't say the pace was funereal, should I?

Speaking of the funeral, that was really heart-rending to see Rebecca alone and in such obvious pain. No one to comfort her or even speak to her - just a hankerchief from Howard. I'm so glad the BCS team didn't go for the obvious tv/movie cliche of having a main character give a big eulogy - it wasn't appropriate and would have detracted from what we did see. We saw just enough, and no more.

It struck me as they showed the large crowd filing into the funeral, that probably not a single person there would really consider Chuck a friend at all. They were there to honor a fellow professional and to support Jimmy.

Kinda weird to see Howard in a sweater and jeans, lol - have we ever seen him before when he isn't in one of his Hamlindigo blue suits? I don't remember what he was wearing at the funeral, but I'm sure it was tasteful, expensive, and perfectly-tailored.

The Mike section was enjoyable - really dug the music choice. He demonstrated the universal rule of how to fit in in an office - carry a clipboard around.
i think we will eventually find out there was a lot more to this than Mike wanting to appear as a legit employee - how many of Mike's "operations" have started off mysterious and baffling only to later be shown to be incredibly well thought-out and thorough and leading to a conclusion we couldn't fathom at the time? It will be a blast to see Lydia's reaction to all this!

I have more thoughts, just throwing these out there for now.


h

 

At the very beginning of the first season Howard was trying to buy Chuck out of the firm. Jimmy was totally on Chuck's side trying to get a bigger settlement. Jimmy was Chuck's advocate.
What if with Howard's "confession" Jimmy tries to turn that into a wrongful death suit?

 

Rolling Stone points out: "Did the cabbie recognize Gene as Saul? One clue is that he was played by Don Harvey, a busy character actor (he’s one of the uniform cops on The Deuce), whom the production wouldn’t have spent money to fly in from out of town for a nothing part."

 

One of the most interesting things to me: Jimmy McGill in "the present," working in the Cinnabon in Omaha, has a lot more wrinkles in his face (and less hair). It's interesting how much younger he looks in the Albuquerque years, I'm guessing 10 years earlier. They did a very good job with that.

I think that character and the scene was a total red herring just to freak us out.

 

Almost every season starts off a bit slow. Or it seems slow if one hasnt accepted that BCS aint anything like BB. Ive had to come to terms that I was thinking of this show completely wrong. This show is almost as much about what we dont know the characters are thinking as it is what we see and hear. Its a good idea to remind myself of this after being away from the show for over a year.

In musical terms its like the drummer who plays bombastically and every fill. That is Breaking Bad. Compared to the drummer who one says of "It isnt what he plays that makes the song great, its what he doesnt play that makes the song great.". That is Better Call Saul.

Hell half of the Jimmy scenes were him sitting, walking and standing looking completely lost with a look on his face that makes the audience feel completely uncomfortable. That we dont know exactly what Jimmy is thinking is what makes the show inner'esting. Its one of the big reasons we want to see the next episode.

Just what exactly is going on in Jimmy's mind? How will this affect Howard and his smug confidence? What will this all do to Kim? Chuck in death may be a bigger PIA than he was in life.

This is a thinking mans show. It isnt slow. Its intense and uncomfortable. Its unknown. We could see the wreck happening with Walter. And we rubbernecked to see every spin of the mangled mess. With Better Call Saul we know that Jimmy (and most likely nearly everyone he is close to) ends up in a disasterous tragedy. But the wreck is several blocks down and the exact details of how it happened, what the injuries will be and how the persons involved end up are not known. Breaking Bad was built more on the emotion of the true nature of people. Better Call Saul is built on the true nature of people and those characters thoughts. BCS is very different but just as strong a show.

I dont think we will know until the end of the show the complete picture of Jimmy and his way of thinking. And then the true tragedies will come into focus. The mystery of intense silence and all other aspects of motivation will be apparent when we finally see the tow truck come haul Jimmy away and Saul drives off in his white cadillac.

 

I do think this was a near perfect way to start the season off. Chuck is dead. We forget that we were all a bit shocked at this. We needed a part two of the last episode of season 3. We needed the empathetic numbness. I felt somewhat lost and in intense thought right along with Jimmy.

Jimmy always eventually explodes. We will see that. And he will vomit his reasons out. But will they be truthfully what is going on with him? I dont think Jimmy (like many of us) understands himself very well. He says what he is feeling but doesnt understand what turns the wheels of the vehicle into oncoming traffic. Chuck was right about many of the things concerning Jimmy. I think Jimmy will come to accept this. Maybe in his mind he already is. Sure wish I knew what he is thinking. Kim does also. Howard is a bit baffled too. Yes, some of it is shock. But I have a feeling that if we could read Jimmy's mind we would be somewhat surprised at what we see.

Anyway, very good way to start the season.

And the cinnabon glazed butter knife being peeled away from Gene's head was hillarious.

Random thought:

"Cinnabon is an American chain of baked goods stores and kiosks, normally found in areas with high pedestrian traffic such as malls, airports and rest stops"

Kind of weird that Gene, a person completely tail tucked and in growing fear of being revealed picks one of the most public places of exposure to work at.

 

Creating value for himself, maybe this will be a future drug depot that he will be in charge of?? Gotta tighten up some major loose ends first.

 

Most enjoyable! I liked it very much.. at this point, I trust Vince Gilligan and his writers and directors.

 

Depending on what year the black & white segments are taking place (has that been established? post-2009, obviously), the mall may actually be a pretty good place to disappear considering what's happened / is happening to most of them!

 

All the black-and-white scenes are from the future (Gene). So, all those scenes are even past the future BB.

Personally, I think Jimmy's change of mood after Howard's confession (smiling face while asking if anyone wants coffee) is his movement to Saul. It's all starting to come together for Saul's new law practice.

 

Someone made a timeline (dunno how accurate it is though) — the "Gene" B&W sequences are supposed to be set in 2057!

An Actually Useful 'Better Call Saul' Timeline (And Where 'Breaking Bad' Fits In)

 

Although there have been times when Jimmy has sent zingers, that line was probably his first to really turn totally to who gives a crap about a conscience. Jimmy does have a knack to be tough amongst snivelers.

 

I can't believe they published that but.... someone in the comments figured out that 2012 is the date it's probably supposed to be.

 

I'll venture that Jimmy felt complete responsibility for Chuck's death in this split second, and he simply "shut off" emotionally rather than face that potential reality.

 

That’s not an unreasonable inference.

 

That's a goof unless the 1857 date and Bicentennial are correct. There's no way Gene is 95 or even near that age in the hospital scenes.

 

This is indeed an interesting point, but I actually looked at it from a larger sense -- Jimmy and Howard have always crossed paths as "opponents" given the situation. As Jimmy morphs into Saul, he begins to look strictly at strategy -- why diffuse someone's "guilt" when it's always better to have your business "opponents" coming to the table with some type of emotional baggage? It will always weaken then. It will always give you the advantage.

The look on Kim's face is indeed the reaction of the audience because we are seeing how insensitive it is in the moment... But the evolving "Saul" is now just focused on the long game -- he will be able to "use" Howard's state of mind down the road.

 

I think you could be on to something there. I had thought, perhaps too cynically, that Jimmy's pleased with himself smile as he feeds the fish, was out of schadenfreud for Howard's suffering, or worse, was because he was glad at discovering that his own actions had been the catalyst of his brother's demise. But it makes more sense that in that moment of contemplation just after Howard's confession and before delivering the 'cross to bear' line, Jimmy is inspired by the idea of an exploitable legal angle. Is that what he's so pleased with himself about? Has Howard, in an off-guard moment of weakness while feeling grief and guilt about the death of a man he admired immensely, sown the seeds of his own and the firm's destruction?

I think it's a credit to the writers and Bob's acting that 'what on earth is going on in Jimmy's mind' is a compelling mystery!

 

^^^ What if Jimmy recorded that conversation with Howard? That would be a nice throwback to last season.

 

Am I remembering the beginning of the series incorrectly? I thought Jimmy was trying to cash Chuck out of the firm but Howard maintained Chuck would return.

 

Excellent analysis.


Dan

 

Just had another idea. Symbolically, the fish=shark, or maybe bottom feeder/Saul and Howard's admission=the food that fed them?


Dan