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

[dabears70]

I’d put it well above Sons of Anarchy on horseback (Yellowstone). I swear they kill and brand more people on that show, than cows. Riding on horseback w/ Leverguns in the dark of night, into a Militia that has fully automatic weapons, night vision goggles, and behind cover…not a scratch for the cowboys. Beth’s introduction scene, with the hostile takeover. The dialog was ridiculous.

It’s entertaining, but not thought provoking, and difficult to watch at times inasmuch as suspending belief.

Hahaha that's a good one. I have SOA right up there with Breaking Bad, Ozark and Yellowstone. Better Call Saul is good and does start off slow and get way better as it goes on but it's under those 3 for me.

 

[airtime143]

I agree with those that thought the past episode felt like filler.
Liked the episode a lot, but there is so much more to cover.
It bugged me that they are running out of shows and they used a whole episode to pull the teeth out of the cabbie- there isnt a damn thing he can do.

Saul made certain the crime would check enough boxes to ruin both their lives if they decided to try and collect the reward on Saul. They could even get busted for harboring a criminal- they knew who he was but did nothing.

I thought it was cool as hell that Saul used Walter Whites trick- it mirrored the Methlamene heist.
Steal the goodies in a way where the victims wont know they were robbed.

When Saul said he would deal with the cabbie on his own, I didnt know what he would do- but he handled it exactly how you would imagine a crafty criminal lawyer might.

In order to round out the series, here is what I must have-
Closure on kim. Does Saul hate her? does he feel like he was conned? After she popped off about why she never told him about Lalo, Jimmy didnt say a word. He begged her to stay, then when she dropped that bomb Saul was thunderstruck.

Closure on the D.A.- Saul fucked up and refered to "Lalo" in front of her and the detective. What of that? Is it possible he tries to pin that on Kim now that she is out of law?

Closure on Tuco, Hector, and Fring. Hector will be bending Tuco's ear. Tuco is a maniac, and paranoid as hell. He would buy what Hector is selling.
It would seem logical that the Breaking Bad story line of Tuco stealing Walt and Jesse and Taking Hector out of the country should play in to that.
Tuco finds out from Hector what Fring is up to with the secret lab.
He takes Hector from the living facility, and takes Walter and Jesse to mexico to do what Fring was planning on doing.



Now- a bonus bit of info I would have loved to see is Frings background.
I would have loved a full episode about what he was and what they were referring to about his past in Chile... If there were more than a few shows left.
I hope they dont toss out a quick cheap bit on it... maybe revisit it with a limited series of 2 or 3 episodes- a miniseries special.
If they are ever going to cover Frings past, I would expect a long explanation- something they cannot properly address with the time they have left.

 

[airtime143]

Oh- i also wanna know how he got inflatable lady liberty from the kettlemens.
Maybe them having it on their tax trailer was an Easter egg for the viewer, but to go from his beautiful Goodman and associates to that monstrosity is a big swing.

 

[Granada]

Oh- i also wanna know how he got inflatable lady liberty from the kettlemens.
Maybe them having it on their tax trailer was an Easter egg for the viewer, but to go from his beautiful Goodman and associates to that monstrosity is a big swing.

Yeah I've been waiting for that too.

Spoiler

So it was a flash-forward -- or wait, I guess it's a flashback now -- with Jesse and Walt, which I was okay with overall. I was glad it wasn't a scenario where Jesse knew Saul before, but rather, it was simply an extension of the first time they all met in BB. Still seemed a bit fan-servicey, but whatever.

Perhaps I missed it, but I was confused as to how exactly Saul got in touch with his former receptionist. How did she know that he would call at three at the phonebooth, on that day? Perhaps the writers left it ambiguous.

I think when Saul tries to call Kim from the phonebooth, he's yelling at the person who won't let him talk to Kim. He's not yelling at Kim. Maybe she works with her family (at a sprinkler company in Florida, if I heard right) and obviously any family member wouldn't want Saul to contact their loved one.

Was that Buzz from Home Alone (Gene's first identity-theft mark)?

I can't help but think that Bill Oakley will return and maybe even serve as Gene's defense lawyer.

Anyways, looks like Gene is reverting back to Saul, and maybe even worse.

 

[ZOMBIE@CTESPN]

There has to be more to Kim it can’t end the way it did with her that was just too weak sauce

 

[airtime143]

I was completely underwhelmed by this past episode. It seemed like total fan service and I dont think it did shit for the plot.
Maybe saul gets killed breaking in to the cancer dudes house, maybe he gets caught, maybe the Mom calls the cops- the scene of her looking out the window looking concerned must have been for a purpose. Maybe she is worried about jeffrey falling in to a bad crowd again.

There was slight movement, but not enough moving towards the end.

The biggest disappointment is that it appears they will completely ignore Tuco getting out of prison- Tuco was dead by the time Walt and Jesse kidnapped saul.

It was nothing more than Sauls perspective and it added zero to the world. Literally the only new bit of info we got was that they decided to have Saul be the origin of the Heisenberg alias.
The scene of Saul going in to the school is nothing earth shattering- we saw that play out in BB.

For what it is worth, I do think saul was talking to kim.
She was at work, he would not have given his real name, and she had no way of knowing he would be calling.

There also was one little throwback in the episode I enjoyed, and that was the location of the pay phone saul called.
That was the gas station (now closed) where Hank got his first glimpse of the RV Jesse was driving- where he pulled the pic from the ATM.

 

[airtime143]

Yeah I've been waiting for that too.

Spoiler

So it was a flash-forward -- or wait, I guess it's a flashback now -- with Jesse and Walt, which I was okay with overall. I was glad it wasn't a scenario where Jesse knew Saul before, but rather, it was simply an extension of the first time they all met in BB. Still seemed a bit fan-servicey, but whatever.

Perhaps I missed it, but I was confused as to how exactly Saul got in touch with his former receptionist. How did she know that he would call at three at the phonebooth, on that day? Perhaps the writers left it ambiguous.

I think when Saul tries to call Kim from the phonebooth, he's yelling at the person who won't let him talk to Kim. He's not yelling at Kim. Maybe she works with her family (at a sprinkler company in Florida, if I heard right) and obviously any family member wouldn't want Saul to contact their loved one.

Was that Buzz from Home Alone (Gene's first identity-theft mark)?

I can't help but think that Bill Oakley will return and maybe even serve as Gene's defense lawyer.

Anyways, looks like Gene is reverting back to Saul, and maybe even worse.

To your last question about Francesca- that was set up a couple seasons back, had to dig through a couple episodes to find it.
It was season 4 episode 5, the open was Saul tearing his office to pieces gathering his shit to go after BB blew up... the moment he made his call to the vacuum guy.
He is gathering his shit (and among the shit was the shoebox hidden behind the constitution in the drywall, the shoebox he has hidden away as gene).
He says to francesca "where are you going to be, november 12th at 3pm?"
She says "I will be there, but if it doesnt ring at 3 on the dot I am gone".


I sometimes felt in this show that they casted about for the final ending to this, and then something like that- a phone call set up several years ago in an opening- pops up and I am like "man, they really did a good job setting this up".

I have a feeling I may be disappointed in the lack of resolution on some things, but they did put a ton of work in to this show.

 

[airtime143]

Moving forward-
Francesca has been followed over the months between when saul left and the call was made.
It is entirely possible that her car has a gps, and it is entirely possible that the DEA tracked her to that phone and had the call traced. After all, what else would she be doing at an abandoned gas station in the middle of nowhere?
We heard her hanging up from sauls perspective, assuming she was being her gruff self.
She could have hung up seeing the dea approaching.
It would be a good cat and mouse tactic for the DEA to let her see she was being tailed, and then when she saw the tail drop she would feel safe, while the DEA knows every movement she makes remotely. they could bait her in to feeling safe and tipping her hand.



I dont know if it is just an easter egg or maybe it leads somewhere, but saul asked about several people. Ira, Huell, Kuby, and "danny".
Heull and Kuby we all know- his BB henchmen.
Ira is the owner of Vamanos pest.
Danny is the weird one. for whatever reason, they tossed him n to the mix, and the BB director confirmed it was Daniel Wormald, the guy with the hummer that Nacho robbed, the one Mike worked for.
He is the owner of the laser tag place that saul kept pimping.
Since he was such a fool, is it possible he got caught and is working with the feds to track saul?

Who knows.
They have so many callbacks, some mean nothing, some mean everything.

 

[Granada]

To your last question about Francesca- that was set up a couple seasons back, had to dig through a couple episodes to find it.
It was season 4 episode 5, the open was Saul tearing his office to pieces gathering his shit to go after BB blew up... the moment he made his call to the vacuum guy.
He is gathering his shit (and among the shit was the shoebox hidden behind the constitution in the drywall, the shoebox he has hidden away as gene).
He says to francesca "where are you going to be, november 12th at 3pm?"
She says "I will be there, but if it doesnt ring at 3 on the dot I am gone".


I sometimes felt in this show that they casted about for the final ending to this, and then something like that- a phone call set up several years ago in an opening- pops up and I am like "man, they really did a good job setting this up".

I have a feeling I may be disappointed in the lack of resolution on some things, but they did put a ton of work in to this show.

Damn, you remembered that?! Well done.

 

[KittiesKorner]

I was completely underwhelmed by this past episode. It seemed like total fan service and I dont think it did shit for the plot.
Maybe saul gets killed breaking in to the cancer dudes house, maybe he gets caught, maybe the Mom calls the cops- the scene of her looking out the window looking concerned must have been for a purpose. Maybe she is worried about jeffrey falling in to a bad crowd again.

There was slight movement, but not enough moving towards the end.

The biggest disappointment is that it appears they will completely ignore Tuco getting out of prison- Tuco was dead by the time Walt and Jesse kidnapped saul.

It was nothing more than Sauls perspective and it added zero to the world. Literally the only new bit of info we got was that they decided to have Saul be the origin of the Heisenberg alias.
The scene of Saul going in to the school is nothing earth shattering- we saw that play out in BB.

For what it is worth, I do think saul was talking to kim.
She was at work, he would not have given his real name, and she had no way of knowing he would be calling.

There also was one little throwback in the episode I enjoyed, and that was the location of the pay phone saul called.
That was the gas station (now closed) where Hank got his first glimpse of the RV Jesse was driving- where he pulled the pic from the ATM.

was also underwhelmed. also, just to piggy-back on your meh reaction, and as someone who was living in ABQ around when they started shooting BB, I get annoyed by how they use ABQ locations (like the mall) and even street names when Saul/Gene is supposed to be in Nebraska. I get it, budget constraints and trivial to the story being told, but it got on my teats (like, at least fake the street names?)

 

[airtime143]

Damn, you remembered that?! Well done.

To be fair, I didn't remember it verbatim- I remembered the document destruction and the gathering cash scene, but I felt as though there was contact instructions so I looked it up.


Another thing I pieced together after this episode that really blows my mind- the gene timeline we are at is literally 2 months after Walter's death.

It felt like it should be a year based on how long it seemed Walter was in New Hampshire... but Walter was really only there for a few months.
The snow on the ground and the statement from Ed that "the oil should last through the winter" always made me think Walter was there for like a year.
In reality, they never should have had snow on the ground when he went back to finish things.
He turned 52 as he was headed back to town, his birthday is early September, so maximum 2 months has passed since Walter died and saul called Francesca.

 

[airtime143]

So here is my guess on the ending.
Saul dies at the hand of the cancer dude.

Here is my reasoning- my pops actually died of pancreatic cancer.
Jeffries friend mentioned his dad had the same and he recognized the pills.

I remember my dads doc mentioning the amount of painkillers my dad was on towards the end would be fatal to someone just starting them, but he had built a tolerance for them.

Since they drug their marks with barbiturates, my guess is the guy wakes up much faster than expected- perhaps his alarm goes off for his next round of pills as saul is there
Dude shoots saul or saul has to kill him after the guy calls the cops or whatnot, and saul gets taken out.

 

[Penny Traitor]

Spoiler

Okay, NOW I think Kim has been redeemed

^^^ @Granada ^^^

(only AFTER you have seen the latest episode, of course)

Also for everyone else...

Spoiler

I far preferred the cameo this episode to the one last week in the RV. Felt more natural and reminded me that I love Jesse Pinkman almost as much as I love the demise of Saul Goodman comming at the hands of Carol Burnett.

*chef's kiss*

Talk more when you all are caught up!

 

[airtime143]

1 word.
Yup....yup.....yup.....yup.....yup....


I almost fell off the couch laughing.
Will post about the actual episode shortly.

 

[Granada]

Spoiler

Okay, NOW I think Kim has been redeemed

^^^ @Granada ^^^

(only AFTER you have seen the latest episode, of course)

Also for everyone else...

Spoiler

I far preferred the cameo this episode to the one last week in the RV. Felt more natural and reminded me that I love Jesse Pinkman almost as much as I love the demise of Saul Goodman comming at the hands of Carol Burnett.

*chef's kiss*

Talk more when you all are caught up!

Spoiler

Yeah she definitely completed the redemption arc she started, which was great.

When I saw her cutting the potatoes in black and white, I almost shit myself. What a great way to bring her back.

This was one of my favorite episodes of the entire series. I just thought it was incredibly well-done from start to finish. I agree, I loved Jesse's cameo in this episode compared to the last one with Walt. This cameo was fantastic because it actually had a purpose, in that completed Kim's story. It also serves the story of Saul and cements his transformation when she says, "he was good when I knew him." Obviously, she wasn't just commenting on his lawyer-skills. There's no turning back for Saul now, unlike Kim.

I'd be surprised if we see Kim again in the last episode. I just think the last moment of her running out into the downpour was just perfect -- that should be her last scene of the series, it just works so well as a character's ending. So damn memorable too. I really hope they leave that and don't bring her back.

 

[airtime143]

Spoiler: Dissenting opinion

I am going the opposite way on kim.
Saul is absolutely responsible for what he became. He could have been whoever he wanted to be, especially with the sandpiper money.

That said, Kim destroyed him repeatedly, and this was just another case of Kim looking out for herself.

Lets look objectively at the 2 of them at critical points.
Saul works his ass off alone to become a lawyer. shady past, but he did everything himself to become a lawyer.
Kim gets her degree paid for by HHM.

Saul, because of prejudice on his past, can never become part of HHM, no matter what he brings to the table, no matter how clean he stays, no matter how much he does for the M in HHM.
Kim has the keys to the kingdom.

Kim gets horned up running a scam.
Saul wants to go straight and partner with kim.
Kim wont partner with him. She will share an office, but wont partner with him. Saul just isnt good enough.

HHM Takes Mesa verde, Saul fixes it at the cost of his rep. Even despite everyone fucking him over and over, Saul choses to admit his wrongdoing to his brother for the sole purpose of helping his brothers mental state.

Kim escapes that situation without damage, and lands a partner track gig at schweicart.
Kim comes up with the Huell scam.
Kim unleashes Saul on mesa verde for personal reasons, to help that old dude. Saul does the dirty work for kim, Kim suffers not a single ill effect in the eyes of Mesa verde.
Then she walks away from it all on a whim.

Then, Lalo. Howard. She was driving the bus on that, and she did it for amusement. Saul pays the price. She repeatedly encouraged Saul to take the worst path, and at a moment when they could have pulled the plug, should have pulled the plug for many reasons, she chose not to. Then, when it all blew up, she fucked off to parts unknown.

In a crafty move, she takes no money from the sandpiper deal- she absolved herself from guilt by profiting.

Now we hit last night. She hates her life. Her boyfriend is a mental midget. Her job is monotonous. She is discussing tuna salad with miracle whip. signing birthday cards, and typing sprinkler descriptions.
But it is her life, her name, free and clear.

What did her actions in Albuquerque cost her?
Nothing.
An anonymous note to Howards widow would have covered guilt.

I am a cynic. Here is what I see.
It is november. Earlier that year, the White and Saul went on the lamb. the whole operation came out. 2 months ago, the White saga was closed. Goodman is literally the last piece of a worldwide drug operation blowing up and leaving scattered bodies everywhere.
I see a woman who had a lot of skeletons in her closet living a life he hates because she knew at any moment her past misdeeds could destroy her.
I believe packaged her statement to show Saul strong armed her in to playing along, that she pointed to his stunt with chuck, his association with lalo, and the trail of bodies as her being held captive.
I believe we will see her back as a lawyer in the last episode.

I also believe that the time frame may be slightly shifted. I think it is entirely possible that her actions back in new mexico are taking place after Saul is killed or caught- that the tears on the bus are for that.



What really REALLY makes me think all of the above is the final couple of minutes.
We can discuss this point further if anyone is interested, but I wont go in to a long winded rant on it- Saul experienced what he has experienced over and over and over to end the episode- His conscience would not allow him to put his well being over the well being of others.
He had control. He had the life alert.
But he couldnt strong arm Jeffies mom.
He put himself in someone elses hands, and as always, they stuck a knife in his back.

To me, That is the story of Saul. He will move mountains for others and trust they will respect him in kind- and every last time, he is thrown under the bus.
I think his undoing is always the same- he is a good man who will do bad things for others, but his conscience and regard for others always puts him in the losing position.
His entire life, his entire story, is searching for validation from the ones he loves. His brother was a piece of human trash, and Kim was a self centered monster.

 

[Granada]

Pretty pumped but obviously sad for the last episode. It's been a while now, so I'm going light spoilers here:

I really have no idea what's going to happen to Jimmy. Last episode, he flirted with killing a person -- twice -- but couldn't do it. Will he finally go over the edge in this episode? Will he himself die?

Maybe it's just me, but I see a parallel between him and Walt. Walt began with shady shit, but he eventually devolved and got deeper to the point where he'd murder people. Once he crossed that line, he couldn't escape. Jimmy seems to be in the same predicament now. I'd guess we will see Walt again in this episode and probably Francesca.

I still can't help but think Jimmy calls Bill Oakley to represent him. Maybe Jimmy gets busted and then he calls him, and the ending takes place in a courtroom or something and Jimmy gets sent to prison. I can't really see the show creators killing Jimmy because it would be too close to what they did with Walt in BB, but who knows.

Maybe Oakley will represent both Jimmy and Kim???

 

[ZOMBIE@CTESPN]

I can’t believe Kim had a redemption story. I thought she was just going to fall back into a scum bag. Guess seeing Howard offed got to her enough

 

[airtime143]

I am still not buying redemption.
I am waiting for the other shoe to drop on Kim, but I think we see her reclaiming her life in law after distancing herself from saul and nuking him legally.

I see Jimmy as the polar opposite of Walt.
Walt ended up as a monster. Putting the hit on Jesse and pointing out his hiding spot.
Jesse was right at the end- walt didn't save him out of love or respect.
Saving Jesse was a side effect of revenge, and he decided he had a use for him.
He wanted Jesse to finish him.

Saul at every turn destroys himself for others.
They toyed with us- he had the phone cord to strangle the old broad, but he didn't.
He had control of the life alert button, could have yanked it off and tied her up and escaped.
But he ceded control to her.

I look at all the times saul was at a crossroads- or people around him were at a crossroads... he never made the decision that benefitted him.

Walt on the other hand always made decisions for himself, and brought others in to the mix.

To me, the saddest possible ending will be getting caught.
The one I am hoping for is getting killed.
Poor dude has been abandoned and shit on by every person he ever cared for.

The only possible glimmer of a slightly less than tragic ending would be if he was caught, and Kim was his representation.

 

[TL1961]

I simultaneously cannot wait for the finale and don’t want the show to end.