Official Breaking Bad Thread (Vol. Better Call Saul S5)

[airtime143]

I'm kinda bummed they had to recast this guy, I thought he did a great job.

Better Call Saul Recasts Key Role Ahead of Final Episodes, New Teaser Reveals

We’ll see more of Cinnabon manager Gene in Better Call Saul‘s final episodes… but his main antagonist will look a little different. The role of Jeff, the overeager cab driver who recognized Gene in a Season 5 flash-forward, has been recast, TVLine has confirmed, with Pat Healy (Station 19)...

currently.att.yahoo.com

Didn't see the trailer and thought the return was further away... now I am pumped!

If this is the teaser, is the end of gene taking out the cabbie?
After all...he almost ducked out of Omaha before telling the vacuum guy he would tend to it himself.


One of the storyline I hope becomes a thing is Kim not telling saul that Lalo was alive.

Does Lalo kill her? Does saul send her through the vacuum guy?
Does saul realize she is psychotic? I watched the ending again, and she looked like she was suppressing a grin at times when Howard was talking...a rare sight on her face.


Shit... the way things are going it is entirely possible that she is working with fring behind Saul's back- I would believe almost anything out of her at this point.

I would even buy her breaking down and taking off, ditching saul and the situation and starting over alone.

 

[Granada]

Didn't see the trailer and thought the return was further away... now I am pumped!

If this is the teaser, is the end of gene taking out the cabbie?
After all...he almost ducked out of Omaha before telling the vacuum guy he would tend to it himself.


One of the storyline I hope becomes a thing is Kim not telling saul that Lalo was alive.

Does Lalo kill her? Does saul send her through the vacuum guy?
Does saul realize she is psychotic? I watched the ending again, and she looked like she was suppressing a grin at times when Howard was talking...a rare sight on her face.


Shit... the way things are going it is entirely possible that she is working with fring behind Saul's back- I would believe almost anything out of her at this point.

I would even buy her breaking down and taking off, ditching saul and the situation and starting over alone.

Anything is possible man! I still kinda think the cabbie is some private detective that Kim hired or something. I definitely think she got erased by vacuum dude -- maybe because she ends up killing Lalo?? Gene and Kim reunion (after both being erased and years apart from each other) to end the series?? Why not, lol. I mean, he did say, "after all that, a happy ending."

 

[airtime143]

Anything is possible man! I still kinda think the cabbie is some private detective that Kim hired or something. I definitely think she got erased by vacuum dude -- maybe because she ends up killing Lalo?? Gene and Kim reunion (after both being erased and years apart from each other) to end the series?? Why not, lol. I mean, he did say, "after all that, a happy ending."

I think that might be super misleading...
Just a feeling.

I can't wait to see the end, but don't want it to be over!

 

[ZOMBIE@CTESPN]

Part 2 starts tomorrow!

 

[airtime143]

You know what would suck? If this weeks episode jumps to Mike and gus and leaves saul and Kim hanging.

They didn't mean to have a mid-season cliffhanger, it was just the heart attack that caused it... so they might not resolve it tonight.

I sure hope not.

 

[airtime143]

Great episode... let me know when you all have watched it!

 

[ZOMBIE@CTESPN]

Lots of loose ends resolved all in one episode!

 

[Granada]

Yeah not bad. Maybe a macguffin or two, but at this point, you just have to accept that.

 

[airtime143]

Spoiler: all spoilers

The only thing I really didnt love was the extension cord and gun- I literally called that earlier this season when he set it up.
They could have done better.


As for what i really liked....
The surprise to me was that kim was absolutely going to murder someone, and she was too shaken to think her way out or call mike for help- she completely folded.

Saul thought he was saving kims life and sacrificing his own... What he didnt know is that Lalo knew whoever went to Frings was going to get smoked.
He was aware the phone was tapped, and he set up the "surprise" as a cover.
He knew full well Frings place would be guarded top to bottom.

So Lalo sends kim... one in a million chance she gets lucky and kills fring, but mostly to make fring think she was a hired gun that failed,.. the camera being a stage prop. He hoped Fring would see that as the surprise, and send his men to check the lab and get rid of the body.

what he didnt know was Mike knew who she was, knew she wasnt a hired gun, and talked to her.
Fring and mike see it for what it is- Mike goes for saul hoping to catch lalo.
Fring knows it was a distraction.

Lalo still had zero evidence of frings plan, so Fring knew that he had to get it before killing him, and the only sources the Don would buy were frings admission or the lab itself.

It was a chess match and fring won.


For whatever reason, it was the electric cord that bugged me. seemed a little too psychic.


Now, moving forward we have the Kim/ saul dynamic and the prosecutor that will be coming for saul.
Remember, he fumbled the name lalo to her.
We also have Howards disappearance and the influx of money that will hit now that sandpiper is going to settle.

As for getting rid of kim... here is a thought- The sandpiper money buys her new identity, and Mike sets it up and sends her off after Fring tells him to kill her.

Consider- She was given a description. She was sent to a house. She had no clue who she was there for, but piecing together the description and finding out who owns that house is a really easy task.

She is a loose end to Fring, She can point a finger at him, and he is walking around with a bullet wound.
Fring is going to want her gone.

Mike showed conscience with Howards body- he looked disgusted and sad, and told his guy to be easy.
He has always fought for those not in the game.
I think he is sent to kill kim and he contacts his vet pal, gets the book, gives it to saul, and has him send her away.

 

[Granada]

Spoiler: all spoilers

The only thing I really didnt love was the extension cord and gun- I literally called that earlier this season when he set it up.
They could have done better.


As for what i really liked....
The surprise to me was that kim was absolutely going to murder someone, and she was too shaken to think her way out or call mike for help- she completely folded.

Saul thought he was saving kims life and sacrificing his own... What he didnt know is that Lalo knew whoever went to Frings was going to get smoked.
He was aware the phone was tapped, and he set up the "surprise" as a cover.
He knew full well Frings place would be guarded top to bottom.

So Lalo sends kim... one in a million chance she gets lucky and kills fring, but mostly to make fring think she was a hired gun that failed,.. the camera being a stage prop. He hoped Fring would see that as the surprise, and send his men to check the lab and get rid of the body.

what he didnt know was Mike knew who she was, knew she wasnt a hired gun, and talked to her.
Fring and mike see it for what it is- Mike goes for saul hoping to catch lalo.
Fring knows it was a distraction.

Lalo still had zero evidence of frings plan, so Fring knew that he had to get it before killing him, and the only sources the Don would buy were frings admission or the lab itself.

It was a chess match and fring won.


For whatever reason, it was the electric cord that bugged me. seemed a little too psychic.


Now, moving forward we have the Kim/ saul dynamic and the prosecutor that will be coming for saul.
Remember, he fumbled the name lalo to her.
We also have Howards disappearance and the influx of money that will hit now that sandpiper is going to settle.

As for getting rid of kim... here is a thought- The sandpiper money buys her new identity, and Mike sets it up and sends her off after Fring tells him to kill her.

Consider- She was given a description. She was sent to a house. She had no clue who she was there for, but piecing together the description and finding out who owns that house is a really easy task.

She is a loose end to Fring, She can point a finger at him, and he is walking around with a bullet wound.
Fring is going to want her gone.

Mike showed conscience with Howards body- he looked disgusted and sad, and told his guy to be easy.
He has always fought for those not in the game.
I think he is sent to kill kim and he contacts his vet pal, gets the book, gives it to saul, and has him send her away.

Spoiler

Yeah the one thing that really drove me nuts was how Lalo broke into the Laundry factory. It shows him on the camera but the security guard just so happened to be up from his post; and when he gets back, of course Lalo isn't on camera anymore. I mean I get it, I guess it's somewhat of a distraction when Fring himself arrives at the factory, but come on man, it's like Rule #1 you never leave your post, especially when you're monitoring all those cameras and there were a plethora of other guards to meet him. But anyways...

I could be wrong here, but Lalo knew Kim would never successfully kill him, even if she wanted. He used her as a pure distraction and to throw off Mike, just as he did with the phone call in the mid-season finale.

Fring took a huge gamble leaving. He could have just stayed there and remained safe, but he wanted to end this now.

I'm pretty surprised they killed Lalo with five episodes left; I thought that would come closer to the finale, but I'm not complaining.

 

[zack54attack]

What a start for the final 6.

Spoiler

- Lalo had a good plan but Gus was one step ahead of him. The other dude in there that Kim pointed to when they asked who she was supposed to kill. Setup perfect. They knew Lalo was coming or sending someone.
- I remembered the gun but I forgot if he placed the switch in a certain spot?
- They have the details down on Howard and his coke addiction death story.
- Buried Howard with his killer. Ruthless.
- Lalo talking about cooking Meth down there brought me back to BB memories.
- With 5 left.. waiting to see Walt/Jesse and now what happens to Kim.
- The writing on this show is top notch.

 

[airtime143]

Side note on fring... mistake, subterfuge or real?

Fring had walt over to his house in BB.
There were toys on the floor and when Walt mentioned them, fring said the wife and kids were out of town.

Was that a way to trick Walter in to thinking he was a family man and gain trust?

Or was it a plot they decided to ignore in breaking bad and then said fuck it in bcs?

Or, least likely, do we find out they exist and are elsewhere?

That exchange on breaking bad still bugs me.

 

[Penny Traitor]

Spoiler

I agree that Lalo was using Jimmy & Kim solely as a distraction. He had no intention of going back to Jimmy's apartment regardless of the outcome at Fring's house or who did the shooting or not.

He only wanted his video evidence for the Don and to put a bullet in the Chicken Man's head...then run back to Mexico a hero to the Cartel.

It's why he so easily sided with Jimmy's sudden curve ball to insist Kim goes and why Fring figures out Lalo's plan as soon as Kim says Jimmy talked Lalo "out of it". Why else would Lalo be so easily swayed out of his plan? Because it was not really the plan at all.

Great episode!

So wild to finally see Kim truly panic and bittersweet to see Lalo go. He was by far and away my favorite Salamanca. Loved his devious grin so much...I was thrilled that was his parting shot.

 

[airtime143]

I am going without spoiler tags here.. seems like everyone following has seen it.
Won't get too in depth but if anyone hasn't seen it there are a couple plot points here so back on out.


I think Lalo was completely genuine in his narration when he talked about fring being an unexpected gift.
The way he worked the time out I think he thought he could get the proof and grab fring at a later date to do exactly what he said...take him piece by piece.

The more I think about fring dropping the gun, the more logical a move it is.

Fring is surrounded by security 24 7. If anyone gets through and kills them all, what good would his ankle mounted revolver do?

Fring knew Lalo was sniffing around for the lab, and showing it to Lalo would be his final bargaining chip.
If Lalo somehow caught him, he would have taken any weapon fring had.
Leaving one in the place where Lalo was focused on was a logical emergency plan.

I do think being hunted by fring is kims way out of the show.
What I am wondering about now is why saul doesn't join her.
They both have reason to be mad... her for getting dragged in to this and him for Kim not telling him Lalo was alive.
Is their breakup that simple?

Or, Is saul kept back because he is being tailed by the law over the lalo/ deguzman thing and can't dissappear?
Does fring expect him to be a lawyer for his guys, and would know Kim was alive if saul disappeared at the same time Kim did?

There is a lot to clear up.

 

[Penny Traitor]

I am going without spoiler tags here.. seems like everyone following has seen it.

I almost did not use mine. I would hope anyone following the show should expect spoilers, like the Walking Dead thread.

I think Lalo was completely genuine in his narration when he talked about fring being an unexpected gift.
The way he worked the time out I think he thought he could get the proof and grab fring at a later date to do exactly what he said...take him piece by piece.

Totes.

He just wanted proof for the Don. He gets that video back to Mexico, the full wrath of the Cartel comes down on Fring until they drag him back to Mexico to possibly be skinned alive as Lalo said.

Getting Fring alone at gunpoint was just too good to pass on.

Fring knew Lalo was sniffing around for the lab, and showing it to Lalo would be his final bargaining chip.
If Lalo somehow caught him, he would have taken any weapon fring had.
Leaving one in the place where Lalo was focused on was a logical emergency plan.

Yeah. I buy it. It's Fring's trademark to be almost unstoppablely methodical. Also your comment about the BB scene with Walt, I would totally buy that Fring planted those toys to "bond" with Walt.

Gus Fring is a chameleon, he will be whatever he thinks he should be to get what he wants out of you.

Whether he is buying lunch for the DEA or managing a fast food restaurant while getting stitches.

I do think being hunted by fring is kims way out of the show.
What I am wondering about now is why saul doesn't join her.
They both have reason to be mad... her for getting dragged in to this and him for Kim not telling him Lalo was alive.
Is their breakup that simple?

I am not convinced Fring is going to go after Kim. She only ever sees his body double at the house and he obviously finds Jimmy useful in the long run. Why go after his wife?

So my two biggest questions left are obviously what happens to Kim and also what happens to Mike. He has a great relationship with his son's wife in this show, but they are not even on speaking terms in BB.

What horrible thing is going to drive that wedge?

 

[Granada]

Yeah I'm tempted to agree with you guys and think that Lalo was never going to return to Saul, but then again, he did say something like, "And then you're going to tell me what really happened (in the desert)" just before he leaves after binding him. Who knows if the writers themselves have an answer, but it's fun to speculate.

If Lalo was successful in killing Fring, yeah I doubt he would return to Saul's place. But if Fring somehow eluded him and/or he wasn't able to get into the laundry factory, etc. then maybe he would have returned there, as he'd essentially be out of all other options.

What I found interesting was, when Fring was talking to Kim and she tells him that Saul talked Lalo out of his original plan, Fring is surprised. He also seems to be very impressed by the fact that Saul was able to do that. So, I'm expecting some sort of meetup between the two in these last episodes; maybe Fring wants Saul (and Kim?) to work for him?

 

[airtime143]

Yeah I'm tempted to agree with you guys and think that Lalo was never going to return to Saul, but then again, he did say something like, "And then you're going to tell me what really happened (in the desert)" just before he leaves after binding him. Who knows if the writers themselves have an answer, but it's fun to speculate.

If Lalo was successful in killing Fring, yeah I doubt he would return to Saul's place. But if Fring somehow eluded him and/or he wasn't able to get into the laundry factory, etc. then maybe he would have returned there, as he'd essentially be out of all other options.

What I found interesting was, when Fring was talking to Kim and she tells him that Saul talked Lalo out of his original plan, Fring is surprised. He also seems to be very impressed by the fact that Saul was able to do that. So, I'm expecting some sort of meetup between the two in these last episodes; maybe Fring wants Saul (and Kim?) to work for him?

I think Lalo being easily talked in to sending kim is what keyed Fring in to the assault being a subterfuge. Someone as dangerous as Lalo with the resources lalo has wouldnt be so sloppy.
Kim and or saul were disposable proxies to pull Frings men away from the laundry and gain access.
My guess is Lalo assumed kim would get slaughtered, they would find the gun and camera, and spend some time trying to figure out who this broad was- by which time lalo would have been and gone from the laundry.
What Lalo didnt know was that Mike knew kim, had a chat with her, and saw that she was just a pawn.

As for saul and fring meeting- Saul could have been bullshitting, but he told walt he had zero clue who fring was.
I could go either way on that... Fring is threatening enough to scare Saul in to never saying a thing about him. He is also careful enough for me to believe Saul is tasked his duties solely by Mike.

 

[airtime143]

I almost did not use mine. I would hope anyone following the show should expect spoilers, like the Walking Dead thread.



Totes.

He just wanted proof for the Don. He gets that video back to Mexico, the full wrath of the Cartel comes down on Fring until they drag him back to Mexico to possibly be skinned alive as Lalo said.

Getting Fring alone at gunpoint was just too good to pass on.



Yeah. I buy it. It's Fring's trademark to be almost unstoppablely methodical. Also your comment about the BB scene with Walt, I would totally buy that Fring planted those toys to "bond" with Walt.

Gus Fring is a chameleon, he will be whatever he thinks he should be to get what he wants out of you.

Whether he is buying lunch for the DEA or managing a fast food restaurant while getting stitches.



I am not convinced Fring is going to go after Kim. She only ever sees his body double at the house and he obviously finds Jimmy useful in the long run. Why go after his wife?

So my two biggest questions left are obviously what happens to Kim and also what happens to Mike. He has a great relationship with his son's wife in this show, but they are not even on speaking terms in BB.

What horrible thing is going to drive that wedge?

Kim only sees the dude who looks like fring... but how easy would it be for her to look up who owns that house?
If a drug lord killed someone in my home and sent me to kill someone, I would sure as hell look in to who the person was I was supposed to kill once I knew I was safe.
Lets not forget that Fring had Werner killed for trying to spend a couple days with his wife.
My guess is he views saul as a controllable asset and kim as an uncontrol able threat.


As for mike and his daughter in law... she has been milking him dry for money.
There was that incident a few seasons back when she told mike there were shootings in her neighborhood, and mike had been there all night and heard nothing.
My guess is he just comes to the conclusion he is being used by her- perhaps when she meets a guy or something.

 

[Penny Traitor]

Kim only sees the dude who looks like fring... but how easy would it be for her to look up who owns that house?
If a drug lord killed someone in my home and sent me to kill someone, I would sure as hell look in to who the person was I was supposed to kill once I knew I was safe.

Can't dispute that and falls in line with Kim's character who is usually just as meticulously detailed as Fring.

Lets not forget that Fring had Werner killed for trying to spend a couple days with his wife.
My guess is he views saul as a controllable asset and kim as an uncontrol able threat.

Maybe, but I still don't think she posed herself as a threat as much as she proved how loyal she is to Jimmy. So if Fring thinks Jimmy is useful...you imagine Kim becomes just as useful by proxy.

I think it plays out more like Fring shows genuine interest in both, but Kim is way too shook to do this any longer and that starts the rift between Kim & Jimmy.

At that point, maybe Fring gets involved to limit Jimmy's options in any "it's them or me" ultimatums.

As for mike and his daughter in law... she has been milking him dry for money.
There was that incident a few seasons back when she told mike there were shootings in her neighborhood, and mike had been there all night and heard nothing.

Oh yeah, forgot about that.

I binged seasons 4 & 5 when this season kicked off, but it feels like 3 or 4 lifetimes since I watched those first three seasons.

Remember 2016??? That was like a different world, man!

 

[zack54attack]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1547253757624233984