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

[Penny Traitor]

I think we see Kim again, but a quick appearance or a flashback. I believe we are fully into BB timeline now for the final four episodes.

Yep.

Bryan Cranston even confirmed that he and Aaron Paul shot scenes for the show earlier this year. Gonna guess Jesse gets brought in first and Walter shows up in the second to last episode.

I am hoping the final episode is devoted to present day Jimmy/Saul/Gene.

 

[Granada]

Is anyone else a little disappointed (for lack of a better word) that they just skipped right from the breakup to Saul-time? I don't know, just feels a little bit lazy. I mean honestly, I wouldn't have really given a shit if we never arrived at BB time during this show. I was entertained enough without it and would have been fine if maybe they saved that until the very end of the last episode. That's just me.

It sort of feels like, they're running out of shit to do now. I mean, they got rid of Nacho, Lalo, now Kim's gone. "But we got to fill these last 3 episodes somehow." I'm a little worried they're going to blow this.

We need an entire Gene episode. That's really the only thing I'm interested in at this point. I don't care about Walt and Jesse; and I don't like the decision to bring them back. Hopefully the writers prove me wrong and it's awesome and not just fan service.

 

[airtime143]

Yep.

Bryan Cranston even confirmed that he and Aaron Paul shot scenes for the show earlier this year. Gonna guess Jesse gets brought in first and Walter shows up in the second to last episode.

I am hoping the final episode is devoted to present day Jimmy/Saul/Gene.

IMDB says this monday is when Walt and Jesse show up.


Back to the kim argument- there is one little statement she made as they broke up that shows who she really is....

When she said "I knew what you would do if I told you", she ends it with a pretty clear cut statement that she was driving the bus on this and wrecking howard was all that mattered.
"I knew you would think it is your fault and you would want to protect me, and make sure I was safe and then we would pull the plug on howard and then we would break up, and I didnt want that because I was having too much fun"

Lets remember she blew off her dream job to get it done as well.


If you break it all down, and compare her actions with what she knew jimmy would do, She comes across as the mastermind here- so much so that she would ditch her dream job and even leave Jimmy if she didnt finish the game, no matter what danger Lalo presented.
Jimmy would have dropped the game and thought of Kims safety.
Kim chose to risk Jimmys life.



I know it likely wont happen, but I am still hoping to find out Kim had some sort of hidden grudge against Howard that Saul learns after she leaves, causing Jimmy to think he was being played by kim all along.

As it stands, I am good with the jump to saul. I would like to see flashbacks of pertinent events, but the creation of Saul was solid.
He gets his money.
He is compromised by the cartel- they could sink him with the Lalo thing or the death of howard... he is in it with no way out.
His brothers house has burned, His legacy erased with HHM closing.
His one ally left him cold .
He cant even stay in his condo because of the memory of Howard.
He mentions immediately on the phone that he wants to talk to his Xanax guy- probably had therapy and got on the anti depressant train.
A guy with no past, nobody around for him, millions of dollars and nothing but crippling loneliness, his descent in to Saul is pretty predictable.

 

[Penny Traitor]

Is anyone else a little disappointed (for lack of a better word) that they just skipped right from the breakup to Saul-time? I don't know, just feels a little bit lazy. I mean honestly, I wouldn't have really given a shit if we never arrived at BB time during this show.

Nah, I liked the montage. Did you really want to see another three episodes of Saul defending scumbags?

I don't think it's necessary to bring Walt & Jesse into the story, but if the actors were willing to do it...why not? There are only four episodes left, so bring back the boys to give you a clear moment the stories overlap.

Then, as we both mentioned, flashforward to Gene in Omaha and finish the story in the present day since they have been teasing us with clips from episode one.

 

[airtime143]

Nah, I liked the montage. Did you really want to see another three episodes of Saul defending scumbags?

I don't think it's necessary to bring Walt & Jesse into the story, but if the actors were willing to do it...why not? There are only four episodes left, so bring back the boys to give you a clear moment the stories overlap.

Then, as we both mentioned, flashforward to Gene in Omaha and finish the story in the present day since they have been teasing us with clips from episode one.

I will be interested to see the return of tuco- the security Tuco had at his place when we first meet him is pretty outlandish even for a drug dealer.
I wonder if Fring is going after Tuco while the walter/tuco thing plays out.
I am also interested to see what conversations occur on Frings side of things regarding walt before contact.

 

[airtime143]

Now- a couple extra things I really liked about this last episode... just little bits of detail and parallels.

Gus sits at his bar, swirling his drink and in a good mood. Then, he takes a drink and his smile fades, and he gets up to do whatever he needs to do... moving on and moving forward.

Then, we have the same perspective of saul, he drinks his coffee and begins his day with gusto. 2 busy guys, exact opposites, same shot.
Neat parallel.

There were 2 little throwbacks in the shot of saul at his desk.
#1- his "worlds greatest lawyer" mug. Kim got him the coffee mug and painted "2nd" on it. Him drinking from that mug feels like a **** you to kim.
#2- as he readies himself and calls his receptionist, he says "Let justice be done though the heavens fall".
That doesnt bode well for Saul.
That is exactly what Chuck said before the hearing with Jimmy, where chuck was confident of victory and Jimmy pulled the battery in the pocket trick on him, eventually leading to his disgrace and suicide.
Not a very lucky declaration.

The detail they throw in to this show is amazing.

So much so that I actually froze the shot of saul in the office to compare his clothes to his first meeting with walter, to see if that is the very day walt walks in.
The clothes did not match.... but the handicap placard on his car says 2008, which is when BB kicked of. So we are there.

 

[KittiesKorner]

idk the clothes continuity is something they pay a script continuity supervisor to do, not a stroke of genius by the writer. I always thought vince gilligan was a bit juvenile in his writing and it is showing here with gus and mike pulling off these comic-book-worthy feats of anticipation, but bob odenkirk and rhea seehorn's charisma make it worth watching

 

[airtime143]

idk the clothes continuity is something they pay a script continuity supervisor to do, not a stroke of genius by the writer. I always thought vince gilligan was a bit juvenile in his writing and it is showing here with gus and mike pulling off these comic-book-worthy feats of anticipation, but bob odenkirk and rhea seehorn's charisma make it worth watching

I think you misread my point regarding clothing.
I checked because I thought it was possible Walter was the next client through the door.
The clothing says it won't be.

As for the batman level planning... I was actually good with all of it until Lalo had his corpse-double... that was a bit much.
I could have accepted it if lets say Lalo had never been arrested and this guy was getting paid to do time as Lalo if he ever did get busted.

Fring putting the gun in the lab was fine, but the extension cord was over the top.

As far as Mike goes, he just seems thorough, nothing outlandish.
With a lifetime of being a cop, he is hyper aware of how things will be looked at by authorities.
Beyond that, we have seen him slip up and guess wrong. He actually has human moments, unlike fring and Lalo.

 

[KittiesKorner]

All fair points. I really loved the original Breaking Bad through the first three seasons, after which it started getting a little "implausible" at points to me. Better Call Saul has been a lot more compelling without having to resort to that implausibility for me... until this season, specifically the Lalo thing.

Fun fact, where Lalo told Jimmy/Saul and Kim to turn off near Carlisle last episode is near where we used to live in ABQ lol, but it's not a nice area

 

[Granada]

Nah, I liked the montage. Did you really want to see another three episodes of Saul defending scumbags?

I don't think it's necessary to bring Walt & Jesse into the story, but if the actors were willing to do it...why not? There are only four episodes left, so bring back the boys to give you a clear moment the stories overlap.

Then, as we both mentioned, flashforward to Gene in Omaha and finish the story in the present day since they have been teasing us with clips from episode one.

Well no, but it's a matter of pacing and milking it. It's like they blew their load with four episodes left, so now they just have to jump to BB time. Maybe not have a mid-season finale and shorten the final season, but no, they just have to milk it.

I'm not on board with doing something just to do it. That's just me. I mean, there is zero indication that either Jesse and/or Walt know Saul in BB, so if they go that route, it's just dumb and star-wars-y.

Hell, I'd be fine with multiple episodes about Gene. I guess it's just a matter of preference and you make good points.

 

[Granada]

idk the clothes continuity is something they pay a script continuity supervisor to do, not a stroke of genius by the writer. I always thought vince gilligan was a bit juvenile in his writing and it is showing here with gus and mike pulling off these comic-book-worthy feats of anticipation, but bob odenkirk and rhea seehorn's charisma make it worth watching

Yeah great point about Gus' and Mike's anticipation, totally agree. There are some eye-rolling moments when it comes to certain moments (Lalo sneaking into the laundry factory so easily still bugs me, lol), but Odenkirk and Seahorn are just fantastic, so you let it slide.

 

[airtime143]

Well no, but it's a matter of pacing and milking it. It's like they blew their load with four episodes left, so now they just have to jump to BB time. Maybe not have a mid-season finale and shorten the final season, but no, they just have to milk it.

I'm not on board with doing something just to do it. That's just me. I mean, there is zero indication that either Jesse and/or Walt know Saul in BB, so if they go that route, it's just dumb and star-wars-y.

Hell, I'd be fine with multiple episodes about Gene. I guess it's just a matter of preference and you make good points.

I have been trying to puzzle out what the last 4 episodes could be, what the final struggle is.

Just flinging shit on the wall here, but tuco has to come back, and that should be a full episode.
Maybe tuco finds something to shoot holes in the nacho/ peruvian story.

I also expect flashbacks to the time we just skipped.

I still wonder if Kim is in danger.
She knows too much, and leaving saul gives fring no leverage to control her.
I still think her knowing the address she went to is a massive liability for fring.

Maybe that is the final hurdle... Saul might think he has a chance to reconcile but fring puts an end to that hope via Mike.

I still have to remind myself while watching that saul has zero clue who fring is.

 

[Granada]

I have been trying to puzzle out what the last 4 episodes could be, what the final struggle is.

Just flinging shit on the wall here, but tuco has to come back, and that should be a full episode.
Maybe tuco finds something to shoot holes in the nacho/ peruvian story.

I also expect flashbacks to the time we just skipped.

I still wonder if Kim is in danger.
She knows too much, and leaving saul gives fring no leverage to control her.
I still think her knowing the address she went to is a massive liability for fring.

Maybe that is the final hurdle... Saul might think he has a chance to reconcile but fring puts an end to that hope via Mike.

I still have to remind myself while watching that saul has zero clue who fring is.

Yeah it's tough to say. I'm starting to wonder if the time jump to BB Saul is only temporary and we return back to BCS time; or maybe fluctuate between the two. I imagine the last episode will be all about Gene; maybe the last two? Guess we'll see tonight. Fring still has to find a crew and complete the lab, unless they just leave that hanging.

 

[Penny Traitor]

I'm starting to wonder if the time jump to BB Saul is only temporary and we return back to BCS time

I kinda hope not.

I mean this whole story has been nothing but one long flashback with just small pieces of the present day, so I prefer we keep moving the story forward.

In fact, I don't think we are fully into the BB timeline. That story is supposed to take place in a two year period between 2008 - 2010. I found a cool site that has been tracking the clues to tell you approximately what the storyline dates are for each episode.

Better Call Saul Timeline

This article is about the timeline of Better Call Saul episodes. For the timeline of Breaking Bad episodes, see Breaking Bad Timeline. For the complete chronology of the universe of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, see Timeline. The following is a timeline of Better Call Saul that estimates...

breakingbad.fandom.com

So if BB premiered in January 2008, we are still about three years before Walter gets diagnosed with cancer.

That is still a good amount of time to cover in only a few remaining episodes.

I imagine the last episode will be all about Gene

Same here.

Fring still has to find a crew and complete the lab, unless they just leave that hanging

Another advantage of pushing the story several months forward, we can move to Gus preparing to open the lab.

I also agree with @airtime143 that this is the perfect time to bring Tuco into the story.

In short, don't fear this time jump so much. Plenty of story left to tell until that moment Walt first walks into Saul's office.

 

[airtime143]

They got me all befuddled on the timeline with the plate saying 05, handicap placard saying 08 and a running gag had me thinking of badger.

First thing saul says to him... "Brandon meyhew... public masturbation..."
When he was talking on the phone in the last episode,, he referenced a new public masturbator and wondered where they were all coming from.

...apparently public masturbation is his money maker... the old dude they used for a prop in his commercial was someone saul had previously defended for it.

Wtf is going on down in abq?

 

[Penny Traitor]

They got me all befuddled on the timeline with the plate saying 05, handicap placard saying 08

Plate stickers tend to expire after one year, handicap placards tend to expire after four years. If he got both in November 2004, it adds up.

 

[zack54attack]

I was thinking of spinoffs they could do for the BB/BCS World...

- Kim's life prior to Saul
- Gus
- Jesse after BB?
- Nacho prior to BCS

 

[Granada]

I was thinking of spinoffs they could do for the BB/BCS World...

- Kim's life prior to Saul
- Gus
- Jesse after BB?
- Nacho prior to BCS

This will sound a bit left-field, but you know the one character who I always wondered about and who I'd love to see get a spinoff? The kid that Walt poisoned and whose mom got murdered by the creepy ginger (sorry, forget their exact names now). I actually think you could do a ton with that kid -- losing his mom, going down a life of crime, maybe redeeming himself; maybe Jesse shows up in his life again, etc. I always thought it was weird that they just never explained what happened to that kid and Jesse just essentially bails on him. Obviously they were stretched on time, but still.

Kim will definitely get her own spinoff, she does such a good job with that character and she's a crowd pleaser. I feel like her spinoff would be what she does once she leaves Saul -- I think that would be really cool.

Nacho definitely. Lalo, maybe.

 

[Penny Traitor]

Kim's life prior to Saul

Or after Saul?

That is assuming we already saw the last of her in this show. The character is great and the actress is even better, so I would check it out.

The actor that plays Fring has been working like crazy lately and that character got a lot of milage in these two series. Again, I would check it out...I just don't see it happening.

I really like Nacho, but can he carry a show?

Maybe a spinoff that is more cartel based and focuses on the Salamancas so you can bring Nacho back.

(And more Lalo!!!)

And Jesse Pinkman got a movie on Netflix called 'El Camino". It was good, not great...but gave you some closure with the character.

 

[Granada]

Or after Saul?

That is assuming we already saw the last of her in this show. The character is great and the actress is even better, so I would check it out.

The actor that plays Fring has been working like crazy lately and that character got a lot of milage in these two series. Again, I would check it out...I just don't see it happening.

I really like Nacho, but can he carry a show?

Maybe a spinoff that is more cartel based and focuses on the Salamancas so you can bring Nacho back.

(And more Lalo!!!)

And Jesse Pinkman got a movie on Netflix called 'El Camino". It was good, not great...but gave you some closure with the character.

Believe that actor's name is Giancarlo Esposito, and he's been absolutely fantastic in every single movie I've ever seen him in. He was in the Spike Lee movie "Do the Right Thing" as Buggin'Out, again just nailed the part to where you don't even recognize the actor, but it's him.