“El Camino- A Breaking Bad Movie” From Creator Vince Gilligan*

Season 1 had one of my favorite subplots, too, with the crazy Kettlemans hiding their mountain of embezzled cash and kidnapping themselves. Great story how Jimmy convinces them to go back to Kim and get the deal with the DA, and how he stands up to Nacho while also acting as his attorney, skirting both sides of the law.

I thought Mike's backstory was a little too devastating--beyond melodromatic. The acting was good on the "I broke my boy" story, but it's just too manipulative for me. Either you can relate to Mike or you can't. They really didn't need to try so hard to get you on his side with this story. It would have been enough to know Mike, like Jimmy, is comfortable on both sides of the law and dedicated to his family...but of course we already knew that from BB. So the needle doesn't move and we get a lot of teary-eyed backstory just for the sake of it.

The Tuco appearance at the end of the pilot also felt manipulative to see the gun pointed at Jimmy before he gets pulled into the house and then see a much older Tuco stick his face in front of the camera. You could just see Gilligan's gears working: "the BB-loving audience will really cream itself." I had to roll my eyes. Good entertainment value, though. Of course season 2 had even more of Tuco, with the whole Mike subplot with Nacho behind it. That's why I was surprised you didn't like season 2 more.

 

Watched it again for the fourth time.
The plausibility factor of Pinkman in Haines, Alaska… doesn’t add up, he’s going to stick out like a sore thumb the inhabitants are about 2000. Maybe being dropped 40 miles outside the town was a guise for something else. Anyway .. felt like a new series, just waiting for episide 2.

 

Scott McArthur, the guy who plays the villain Neil here, popped up recently and memorably in Halloween Kills. Can't mistake that guy, lol.