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Better Call Saul S3 |OT| Gus Who's Back - Mondays 10/9c on AMC

G

-griffy-

Banned
Saul will probably be very valuable to Mike/Gus in that he can help with the legal issues of their low-level guys working the streets.
 
L

Lord of Castamere

Member
SpaceWolf said:
"I caught my second wife screwing my step dad, it's a cruel world, grow up!"
Saul Goodman, Breaking Bad.

If taken at face value, I've got a feeling this line is going to prove troublesome for the writers later down the line.
Click to expand...

Why exactly? The dad was confirmed to have died while Jimmy was still young. Jimmy didn't move to New Mexico until he was 31. It's entirely possible that he married twice and divorced twice in that time. Honestly, I don't think they'll go into it either way. Unless Chuck is involved, I don't see how it would matter to the plot.
 
V

Veelk

Banned
Lord of Castamere said:
Why exactly? The dad was confirmed to have died while Jimmy was still young. Jimmy didn't move to New Mexico until he was 31. It's entirely possible that he married twice and divorced twice in that time. Honestly, I don't think they'll go into it either way. Unless Chuck is involved, I don't see how it would matter to the plot.
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Maybe Chuck disguised himself as Jimmy's step dad and did the screwing.

duckroll said:
Does anyone other than Chuck ever interact with Jimmy and not end up liking him. The dude has like max charisma stat or something. Lol. I mean, the simple answer would just be that Jimmy is a resourceful guy who, when freed from the constrains of "legit" legal work, becomes useful for people doing criminal stuff. Why wouldn't Mike keep in contact with him? Also, having a liaison to connect people who isn't in Gus' pocket could be very useful for Mike too. Given how he doesn't completely trust anyone.
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A lot of people actually. It's just a matter of how long before they catch wind of his decietfulness.

Howard actually showed respect to him once Chuck's lie between them has been cleared up, but once he was shown the tape, "Your brother is one world class son of a bitch" and was around to hear Jimmy threaten Chuck. Mike finds him all around annoying and sees him for what he is. People he scams like the air force guy, the Skater Brothers, etc. Cliff Main is probably the most drastic example. He was a very likable guy who went out of his way to help Jimmy. How does he feel about him now? "I think you're an asshole."

Max stat in charisma is probably the best way to describe him. Jimmy knows exactly how to present an image of himself as likable. But once you start digging even a little deeper, many people are turned off by him. Kim is the sole exception, and I think she's an exception specifically because Jimmy considers her family and thus offlimits to scamming.
 
S

sinkfla87

Member
I just have to say after watching other shows, it's nice to watch a show where things actually happen and characters truly develop (looking at you Americans, Season 5). I honestly think this is the best season of BCS yet. I love the stuff with Mike and can't wait to see how everyone gets brought together.
 
S

smisk

Member
Caught up on Ep. 3 last night (AMC has one of the better proprietary video players fortunately) and goddamn am I loving this season. Even aside from the great characters the show is just a joy to watch, almost every frame is beautiful. I truly think this show has the best cinematography on television, the only thing I've seen that even spits on it is Fargo.
I love how Gilligan tends to use close ups of objects as an establishing shot, his love of putting the camera inside things, and in weird locations. Also great use of color.
 
F

Fuu

Formerly Alaluef (not Aladuf)
Minor thing I noticed: the Pollos truck and the old sneakers weren't the only hints that the scene was in the future – the Alto sign was also full of bullet holes. When Mike goes there in the present the sign is spotless.

We might get a shootout scene there.
 
C

Cornballer

Member
- Den of Geek interview with Gilligan from earlier in the week
On that note then, Chuck and Jimmy's relationship continues to get pushed further and become more frayed. You can only go so far here. Breaking Bad’s third season is when things really started to accelerate. With that show you had a set five-year plan that you more or less stuck to. Now that you’re three seasons into Saul, do you know how long this show is going to end up running?

You're exactly right. We couldn't really give you an exact amount of episodes. The reason being—and I'm not being coy here—it’s just hard to know exactly. But you did put your finger on something important. Just from watching this show you can tell that it's a finite story. And we know that even further from the fact that this show has to butt up against the beginning of Breaking Bad. So there is a finite nature here. But there's one difference in Better Call Saul’s finite nature that wasn't there with Breaking Bad, which is that there is yet again the possibility of a whole other story to be told through the black-and-white beginnings of a post-Breaking Bad world that we've put at the top of each season. So while I think that there is a definite end in sight for the pre-Breaking Bad story, there still seems like there could be a lot in the post-Breaking Bad world. I'm kind of fascinated by that, simply as one of the first fans of the series. What could come out of that? No promises, but it seems to me that there's a little more opportunity for scope there than there even was in Breaking Bad.
Click to expand...
Lastly, do you feel like this season of Better Call Saul carries a certain theme to it? Is there a great overarching sort of message that’s being reiterated here?

Sometimes it's tough to know what the message of any given season is because in the writers’ room we sometimes can't see the forest through the trees. But I'll tell you, I can say without any fear of equivocation, this is our best season yet. I say that, and oddly enough this is the season where I've taken a bit of a step back and Peter Gould and all of the wonderful writers and people behind the camera are making the show with less involvement from me than in past seasons. I'm still obviously around. I say this with a great deal of pride, especially with this being our best season yet. So maybe a little less of an omnipresence from me is a good thing.

I think this season is a season in which fans of Breaking Bad are going to be really satisfied. This year, more than ever before, there's more of a conjoining and nexus of the worlds between the two shows. The best way that I can put it is that I was saying to Peter Gould after I finished watching the mix of an upcoming episode, "Man, I feel like I just watched the 63rd episode of Breaking Bad." I was so pleased and blown away. I think folks who love Breaking Bad are in for a real treat and on the other hand, folks who really only know Better Call Saul or perhaps Breaking Bad was a little too rough and violent for them, they're still going to love this season. It's still its own world and story. It's just the best of both this season, whether you're a fan of Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, or somewhere in between.
Click to expand...
 
D

Darth Pinche

Member
Oh man, Vince is teasing a possible future of the show moving fully into a post-Breaking Bad timeline! That would be amazing! Better Call Gene?
 
Sapiens

Sapiens

Member
Darth Pinche said:
Oh man, Vince is teasing a possible future of the show moving fully into a post-Breaking Bad timeline! That would be amazing! Better Call Gene?
Click to expand...

I really wonder what remains of the Jimmy world after he comes Saul. Maybe they'll have him return and explore the remnants. Lots of potential.

Secret best show on TV right now.
 
S

Skyzard

Banned
Season 3 has been built up real nice, can't wait for the next episode.

Love that they're merging somewhat more with breaking bad's story.

As soon as I saw the manager stop behind Saul (with most of him off-camera) while he was in the fast food place and saw him staring at the target, I knew!

I'm guessing he was supposed to go get the bag but didn't.
 
F

Fuu

Formerly Alaluef (not Aladuf)
And to think that I felt that a Saul spin-off was a dumb idea when they first talked about it. Execution really is everything.
 
C

Cornballer

Member
While continuing to tell stories in the BB/BCS world is enticing on some level, I'm also a little wary of them stretching things out past their sell date or working in what feels like too much fan service. I don't think they've come anywhere near that yet, but the continued BB cameos on BCS could be an issue if they're too heavy handed. The creators are aware that this could be a problem, and they've discussed it on the podcast a few times. It's also good to hear Gilligan acknowledge BCS' finite nature. I just hope they're careful and continue crafting stories that stand on their own merits, as well as have the willingness to finish things when they need to be ended. So far, so good.
 
?

____

Member
Cornballer said:
While continuing to tell stories in the BB/BCS world is enticing on some level, I'm also a little wary of them stretching things out past their sell date or working in what feels like too much fan service. I don't think they've come anywhere near that yet, but the continued BB camoes on BCS could be an issue if they're too heavy handed. The creators are aware that this could be a problem, and they've discussed it on the podcast a few times. It's also good to hear Gilligan acknowledge BCS' finite nature. I just hope they're careful and continue crafting stories that stand on their own merits, as well as have the willingness to finish things when they need to be ended. So far, so good.
Click to expand...

I definitely agree with this. I've said it before, (it's even more noticeable now that I'm re-watching BB in between the week-long wait for new episodes of BCS.), but almost every single scene in BCS seems to be shot with an extreme amount of deliberation, there's not much filler here. The first few seasons of BB, imo, have a lot more filler, but I'm still early on.
 
K

kevin1025

Banned
If the season is building toward Jimmy cross-examining Chuck on the stand and basically torturing him with electronic evidence, it'll all be worth it! Making him press play on the recorder without help or salad tongs would be so satisfying.

(I feel wrong for wanting that due to his condition, but... he's not a nice dude.)

I never thought of Gene stories beyond just season openers, that would be too good to be true. I would love for it to do something similar to Breaking Bad, and jump forward to that to cap the series off for a few episodes and see what has become of poor Jimmy McGill.
 
?

____

Member
kevin1025 said:
I never thought of Gene stories beyond just season openers, that would be too good to be true. I would love for it to do something similar to Breaking Bad, and jump forward to that to cap the series off for a few episodes and see what has become of poor Jimmy McGill.
Click to expand...

We know what becomes of poor Jimmy McGill. We need to know what happens to poor Saul Goodman!
 
R

RecRoulette

Member
Sapiens said:
Some BB fans are totally sleeping on it. I've heard a couple times that people just could not get into it. Their loss.
Click to expand...

For sure, I know a ton of people fell off hard during the first season because it was too slow for them. Not enough crazy action.

That was actually my biggest worry about this show when it debuted, that it was going to be too close to BB. Thankfully they didn't go that route, and as you said, their loss if they can't enjoy it.
 
F

Fury451

Banned
This show is weird for me- it's a slower pace and often less surface level "exciting" than BB, but....I think I actually like it more than BB. Saul, Mike, and now Gus and the whole cast overall are just way more compelling as far as backstories go than they have any right to be.
 
B

BlueTsunami

there is joy in sucking dick
Cornballer said:
While continuing to tell stories in the BB/BCS world is enticing on some level, I'm also a little wary of them stretching things out past their sell date or working in what feels like too much fan service. I don't think they've come anywhere near that yet, but the continued BB cameos on BCS could be an issue if they're too heavy handed. The creators are aware that this could be a problem, and they've discussed it on the podcast a few times. It's also good to hear Gilligan acknowledge BCS' finite nature. I just hope they're careful and continue crafting stories that stand on their own merits, as well as have the willingness to finish things when they need to be ended. So far, so good.
Click to expand...

I'm curious as to how they approach Jimmys fall from relative grace, the Breaking Bad era, and post era. Something will be protracted but it definitely feels filled with narrative landmines. They're, overtly, dangling Sauls post Breaking Bad scenario and I'm kind of jonseing for it.
 
J

JoshuaJSlone

Member
Sapiens said:
Some BB fans are totally sleeping on it. I've heard a couple times that people just could not get into it. Their loss.
Click to expand...
Not dissing Breaking Bad, but the proposition of "Breaking Bad, but with a funny lead instead of a mopey megalomaniac" was a total "Yes, please!"
 
Grizzlyjin

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
Fury451 said:
This show is weird for me- it's a slower pace and often less surface level "exciting" than BB, but....I think I actually like it more than BB. Saul, Mike, and now Gus and the whole cast overall are just way more compelling as far as backstories go than they have any right to be.
Click to expand...

I enjoy the dialogue way more. Jimmy, Kim, and Chuck all have great moments in that regard.
 
D

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
Did some catching up.

Kim's morning montage was fun.

The plot to get the truck snagged at the border was clever and cool, if perhaps a little too clever.

Kim referencing the sunk cost fallacy was fantastic, and unfortunately sums up a lot of her relationship with Jimmy.
 
S

SpaceWolf

Banned
I'm entirely uncertain whether or not I want the entire last season of this show to be see in the post-BB timeline, or just the last couple of episodes.
 
S

Socreges

Banned
Dan said:
Did some catching up.

Kim's morning montage was fun.

The plot to get the truck snagged at the border was clever and cool, if perhaps a little clever.

Kim referencing the sunk cost fallacy was fantastic, and unfortunately sums up a lot of her relationship with Jimmy.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'm glad they made her self aware. That's actually a good way of doing exposition.

And I was relieved to see that Mike wasn't planning on killing those guys. Had me thinking that they were ham-fisting the motive since they needed to maintain an exciting criminal element and Mike was the natural catalyst. I still think it's a bit contrived, though, that he's deadset on spiting Salamanca.
 
T

TrynUrLuck

Member
Not the most exciting show but damn is it good. Finally caught up with all of season 2 and whats played of season 3 in two days. Can't wait to see what's next!
 
L

Lord of Castamere

Member
Yeah. I could honestly see, at least, 5 more seasons. One more season as Jimmy, I think he'll a major step towards Saul this season, but not all the way. At least three as Saul, with him full criminal, with his henchmen, etc. Also maybe, one or two remaking Breaking Bad through Sauls/Mikes/Gus' perspective, but only the first two or three seasons of BB, past that it would be pointless. They all had plenty of screen time in season 4-5 . Crap, I could even see a season with Gene.

Would anyone be upset if Better Call Saul went longer than Breaking Bad?
 
T

Tender Joe

Member
Cornballer said:
While continuing to tell stories in the BB/BCS world is enticing on some level, I'm also a little wary of them stretching things out past their sell date or working in what feels like too much fan service. I don't think they've come anywhere near that yet, but the continued BB cameos on BCS could be an issue if they're too heavy handed. The creators are aware that this could be a problem, and they've discussed it on the podcast a few times. It's also good to hear Gilligan acknowledge BCS' finite nature. I just hope they're careful and continue crafting stories that stand on their own merits, as well as have the willingness to finish things when they need to be ended. So far, so good.
Click to expand...


I feel the same way and had apprehension at the idea of BCS altogether when it was announced.

The way they handled BB as an entire work and the first two seasons of this show have put my mind at ease. Gilligan seems to understand where other shows fail and what makes the BB-verse special.

Nothing but faith in these guys to pull it off.
 
K

kevin1025

Banned
HP_Wuvcraft said:
The slow burn that they have going is not conductive to five seasons if we are already at season three.
Click to expand...

This is mega speculation, and I know I'm 100% wrong, but it feels like this season is all about Jimmy vs Chuck, maybe even getting to trial where they square off. It fails spectacularly, and then next season is Jimmy picking up the pieces as Saul. After that recent interview talking about Gene and maybe seeing more of that, it'd be neat if we get a fifth season of full on Saul, and keep seeing defeated Gene trying to claim some victory in his life.

But given the writing talent behind this show, it'll be a complete 180 on what I said and be way cooler.
 
C

Chumley

Banned
kevin1025 said:
This is mega speculation, and I know I'm 100% wrong, but it feels like this season is all about Jimmy vs Chuck, maybe even getting to trial where they square off. It fails spectacularly, and then next season is Jimmy picking up the pieces as Saul. After that recent interview talking about Gene and maybe seeing more of that, it'd be neat if we get a fifth season of full on Saul, and keep seeing defeated Gene trying to claim some victory in his life.
Click to expand...

I don't know why, but I feel like Chuck's story is done by the end of this season. Season 4 is Saul coming together, and Season 5 leads right up to Breaking Bad and then time jumps into present day to resolve the cinnabon stuff.
 
K

kevin1025

Banned
Chumley said:
I don't know why, but I feel like Chuck's story is done by the end of this season. Season 4 is Saul coming together, and Season 5 leads right up to Breaking Bad and then time jumps into present day.
Click to expand...

Yep, I'm getting the same feeling. I mentioned it earlier, where I feel like it's going to be Chuck on the stand, Jimmy torturing his electronic problem with pressing play on the tape recorder and such, and we start to finally feel bad for Chuck... until Chuck just wrecks Jimmy for good and completely tears his life apart.

Or something cooler, haha. They're setting Chuck vs Jimmy up really well, and it feels like this season is the crescendo.
 
P

Permanently A

Junior Member
Just caught up, wow. I'm pleasantly surprised at the pace, in the first 3 episodes we got three things that could have been end of season stingers. (Gus reveal, Jimmy confronts Chuck, Jimmy in jail). Very well done.

I have to say in episode 2 and the start of 3, I was very much angry at Chuck. His whole "I'm doing this to help you" reminded me of classic narcissist parenting. However Chuck manages to redeem himself to and extent by offering Jimmy the deal. I think here, Jimmy is in the wrong for not taking this deal. Jimmy did fuck up and there should be consequences for his illegal actions. I thought the deal Chuck offered him was more than fair and much, much better than what Chuck originally was planning.
 
O

Oddduck

Member
Chumley said:
I don't know why, but I feel like Chuck's story is done by the end of this season. Season 4 is Saul coming together, and Season 5 leads right up to Breaking Bad and then time jumps into present day to resolve the cinnabon stuff.
Click to expand...

HP_Wuvcraft said:
I really do not see this as a five season show. Maybe seven.
Click to expand...


In a Variety interview, Vince Gilligan said, "Dominoes start to topple at the end of Season 3. Season 4, if there is one, should be a rollercoaster ride."

That leads me to believe that this season will end in a very tragic manner for Jimmy, Chuck, and Kim.
 
T

Toxi

Banned
duckroll said:
You know, Chuck is a dick but... he sure is right about Jimmy. Destroys himself. Destroys everyone. RIP.
Click to expand...
Chuck also does that though.

Both brothers are basically nuclear waste dumps. You either get the happy face waste dump or the technically legal waste dump, but both are still radioactive.
 
Kadayi

Kadayi

Banned
Really enjoying this season, though in truth it's mainly because of the Mike stuff. Jimmy is a bit of a fuck up really, and in many ways, I see that as a problem because I'm struggling to see how he's going to turn it around and become this sleazy, but seemingly effective lawyer.

Also yeah, despite many people I know who loved breaking bad, very few have stuck with BCS. The glacial pace of that first season coupled with too much lawyering kind of killed their interest in it.

Hopefully, AMC will let it run its course, but I'm not envisioning it going beyond a fourth season.
 
P

| Praxis |

Banned
Kadayi said:
Really enjoying this season, though in truth it's mainly because of the Mike stuff. Jimmy is a bit of a fuck up really, and in many ways, I see that as a problem because I'm struggling to see how he's going to turn it around and become this sleazy, but seemingly effective lawyer.

Also yeah, despite many people I know who loved breaking bad, very few have stuck with BCS. The glacial pace of that first season coupled with too much lawyering kind of killed their interest in it.

Hopefully, AMC will let it run its course, but I'm not envisioning it going beyond a fourth season.
Click to expand...

I really hope you're wrong. It's my favourite show since Breaking Bad.
 
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