Better Call Saul - Season Four Discussion & Digestion

To quote Kerouac, "The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars."

On the other hand, the TV fictional character whom I most identified with in my life was Nate Fisher on "Six Feet Under", who wasn't Dean Moriarty by any stretch of the imagination.

So I guess I'd go with "a little bit of both". Part of the reason I enjoy "BCS" more than I did "BB" is that BB lacked, for me, likeable and relatable characters. I never liked Walter White, not even from the first episode. By the 200th "I'm doing this for my family" moment I'd really had enough of the guy.

 

I suppose I've known a handful of lawyers approaching Jimmy McGill in attitude. One in particular I remember was constantly hitting the mute button during a conference call with a running commentary about the person on the other end of the call. I'm glad he was confident of his muting skills. I wasn't. I don't think he cared.

Caller: Hi Bob. I just wanted to see where we were with the motion schedule.
"McGill": Hey John [mute] this guy's such an a**hole [unmute] I've been thinking it over [mute] watch me gas this sucker [unmute] and I think we should . . .

You get the idea.

Criminal defense attorneys, however, were never like Jimmy. Some were clowns, but not intentionally so. A few were the type you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley (along the lines of Bruiser Stone). Others seemed to be on the verge of suicide or were such pompous, self-proclaimed saviors of humanity that I wanted to kill them. None were like Kim. Not even close.

 

Never saw the Sopranos, never had any interest in it. Same goes for Breaking Bad - until I saw season one of Better Call Saul, which I saw because I am a huge fan of Bob Odenkirk. Then came the long wait for season two of BCS, so I decided to give Breaking Bad a try. I thought many episodes were really good, others were either too intense or too gory for me. I don't believe in X being "better" than "Y," but I do enjoy Better Call Saul a lot more than Breaking Bad.

 

I feel like there was a healthy streak of black humour that lasted through all of Breaking Bad's run. Two words: "Table-side guacamole."

The Funniest Moments on "Breaking Bad"Table-side Guac

 

That is the action that led to the severance, obviously. The turning point.

 

I was really struck by Jimmy’s outdoor speech to the student who did not win the scholarship.
It sounded to me like Jimmy was giving advice to himself, a pep talk to himself.

 

I sympathize with those who liked BB but did not care for the Sopranos because of finding it hard to like mobsters. There's a justification for this distinction, and someone here wrote it well earlier. I don't have time to repeat but it is 100% consistent to love BB yet at the same time dislike the Sopranos because the Mob and the characters were evil people, hard to relate to.

 

It was really weird for him to blab like that to a complete stranger. It's nothing he hasn't said before in various ways.

Lots of actions led to it. I don't see how you could point to that as "the one" any more than planting the phone on Chuck, or Jimmy's courtroom drubbing of Chuck or Chuck's own missteps, such as the mistreatment of Jimmy and of Kim, and hiding behind Howard for both.

 

Mad Men was a crowning achievement, possibly the best show ever. But Chase had nothing to do with it, other than he might have taught Matthew Weiner a thing or two.

 

Man I don't know about that, but I sure love the series. I have watched that twice through and will likely have another go.

Make no mistake I enjoy BB and to a lessor extent BCS, but I still look forward to a rewatch of those as well. Vince has a different vision for sure. For all that we criticize I am so glad the shows exist.

 

Yeah, my mistake.

 

Implicit in the comparison of BB and BCS, and the inclusion of “The Sopranos” in the conversation, is that all three shows, to some extent, are about moral philosophy — why do the characters do what they do; are those things “good” or “bad;” how do those actions affect others; and how do they ultimately shape the characters themselves? These are really interesting questions—no matter what your point of view—and you can evaluate the shows based on the subtlety and intelligence with which they engage these questions.

I think BCS is near the top of this particular heap. It paints with subtler colors, which makes it harder to figure out. We LIKE Jimmy, which makes it hard to evaluate his conduct. I keep coming back to the scene where he dangled the Beanie Baby in front of the court clerk. He’s charming, it seems like no big deal. But it is a flat-out bribe, something that sets him apart. It’s not like Walt suffocating Jane, or Tony shooting Big *****. It’s a blink-and-you’ll miss-it moment. But if you’re paying close attention, it tells you no less clearly how this character is wired.

 

It's the big domino that led to him being suspended for a year and forced to reinvent himself again. That and Chuck's death - big events in the life of the show. What Chuck represented - a home of sorts - went down in flames, with Chuck, literally and symbolically at last season's end - and all tied to the same domino; 'collateral damage', if you will.

 

This is where my head falls on all of this as well.

I thought Walter White was an interesting character, and that Bryan Cranston did a fine job acting and developing the character, but... once we got to the point of him constantly walking around with the black hat calling himself "Heisenberg" with the action-hero facial expressions with the "Say my name" and "You're God damn right" moments, it got a bit cartoonish for me. Of course, just one man's opinion.

 

Then someone would come along and stick him with a cattle prod.

 

BB was kind of like a live-action graphic novel. Its flaws seem less important to me when viewed in that manner. One reason why I think BCS had been better is that it wasn't cartoonish.

 

well said.

 

It struck me how very similar Mike's story to the clerk in the money wiring store, about needing to get the missing Werner his insulin, was to the story of the con man in Jimmy's father's store, who also said that he needed help because of a diabetic son not getting his insulin.

 

Lots of comparisons here between Tony S and Walter W (and their respective shows). Between the complexity of the supporting cast, the writing, and especially the brilliance of the acting, I find the Sopranos as the best series I have ever seen. To me it holds up well on repeated viewing. The last season was a disappointment but only in comparison to the first five seasons. Tony Soprano played a sociopath very well. Sociopaths can be sympathetic one minute, and diabolical the next. Not quite sure what Walter White was. What both characters had in common was using justifying taking care of their families through diabolical means. In Sopranos case the parallel thread of sorting out how Tony got to be the way he was helped explain him. Did find out why Walter broke bad? And further I found most of the supporting cast in BB to be boring or annoying.

I cannot think of too many great series that had a strong finish. Perhaps Mad Men?

 

I also was never a huge fan of BB. It seems like the most vocal fans of BCS are the ones who were big on BB. And the legal eagles!

 

Halt and Catch Fire was tremendous, IMO.

Also, The Wire.

 

now that season 4 is over i would say generally speaking that this was the most uneven season so far. lots to like about it but not quite as good as the previous three.

 

Werner's finale was a thing of beauty and the last scene... wow, it left me speechless. Kim and Jimmy are SO done. Impossible to go back.

However, the final episode was not truly the big bang I had expected. Nacho was completely left out, for example. So hooked on season 5 already!

 

I don't think this will happen quickly. In spite of the arguing and tension, it seems as though Kim has a lot of affection for Jimmie. I suspect it will be a gradual slide as part of next year's premise.

 

That insulin dodge is as old as the hills. We used to try and use it to get out and in at concerts and ball games.