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***Official "Space Blanket" for Better Call Saul*** (5 Viewers)

The consensus on last week's episode was that it was easily the strongest hour of "Saul" to date, and a lot of you stated your desire to see the show pivot more into that direction, not only by giving Jonathan Banks more to do as Mike, but by returning to the dark emotional palette of "Breaking Bad" rather than the light comic antics of Jimmy McGill, elder care lawyer.When I spoke with Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould (and editor Curtis Thurber) about the show's ever-changing opening title sequence, we also briefly discussed the response to "Five-O," and Gilligan said that while they like having the ability to experiment — to do an episode where Mike is now the main character and Jimmy a minor supporting player, and where the tone is so different from the previous installments — they were enjoying the primary mode of the show too much to suddenly turn it into "Better Fear Mike," and said of the rest of the season, "I would say people shouldn't expect too many more police officers to get murdered this season, but other than that, there's a lot of surprising, fun stuff coming out."

I think that's as it should be. "Five-O" was fantastic on just about every level, but I don't know that I would want that every week, particularly because I'm finding so much pleasure in seeing Jimmy slowly but surely evolve into Saul.

"Bingo" passes the baton from Mike back to Jimmy, and sees our hero still viewing himself as exactly that: a modestly successful elder care attorney loved in the senior citizen community, and possibly rich enough (albeit with the help of the "retainer" the Kettlemans gave him a few weeks ago) to rent out a fancy new office that could lure Kim away from HHM. Life looks pretty damn sweet — and peaceful, for that matter — for Jimmy McGill early in "Bingo," and for a few minutes it's hard to imagine how his life and career might turn him into Albuquerque's most popular storefront shyster.

Unfortunately, the original sin of the money from the Kettlemans tears his dream down around him. Where Betsy Kettleman's unrelenting awfulness could potentially have been the wedge needed to separate Kim from Howard Hamlin, Jimmy instead has to get involved because he took their money — and because, much as he wishes it weren't so, he feels compelled to do the right thing by Kim, and by the larger process. With a bit of help from Mike — and what a pleasure it was to see Mr. Ehrmantraut in action again inside the Albuquerque city limits — he pushes Craig to take the deal, but in the process mends things between Kim and Howard, while also giving away the money that would have helped him rent out that swanky new office.

But this season has been filled with examples of him doing the right thing and suffering awful consequences. As we see Jimmy howling on the floor of the corner office he hoped to give to Kim — for reasons both professional and personal — it's not a moment as gut-wrenching as Mike wailing, "I BROKE MY BOY!," but it does light up a clear path from where Jimmy is now to where we know he's going. Doing the right thing brings him headaches and misery; being a criminal lawyer in every sense of the word seems just fun.

So, no, "Five-O" didn't signal a radical shift of what "Better Call Saul" is going to look like. But when the show's regular mode is this funny and slick and well put-together, I don't need — or even want — my heart to be torn out of my chest every week.

Some other thoughts:

* I loved the way director Larysa Kondracki (a newcomer to the "BB"/"BCS" universe) framed the opening scene with Mike sitting in front of the wanted posters, and always looking like a man who could and probably should be on one of them. (I also loved the Bingo-cam shot from the scene where Jimmy is at the senior center, working with a "Match Game"-style microphone.) That scene does suggest that Mike may have seen the last of his old friends from Philadelphia, but we'll see if the hot-headed younger detective can let this go.

* The return of Jimmy to center stage also brought the return of Chuck dealing with his health problems, and for the first time in a while trying to be proactive about it by building up a tolerance to electromagnetic energy. Since we know all of that is in his head, the more valuable thing may be Jimmy deliberately leaving case files in the house to trick Chuck into focusing on the law again.

* Certain aspects of Jimmy's past — including the exact nature of his prior relationship with Kim (dating? sex buddies?) and when it ended — have remained a mystery, but when he refers to the east wing of the HHM offices as "the cornfield" (referencing this iconic "Twilight Zone" episode), it's with the disdainful familiarity of someone who used to work in (or at least near) said cornfield. Did Chuck get his brother a job at his firm? And if so, did Jimmy lose that job before or after Chuck's health crisis?

* It took me a moment to figure out exactly what Mike was doing with the money, so for those of you who maybe didn't follow: he took some of the cash the Kettlemans had given to Jimmy and put it on one of the Kettleman kids' toys in the backyard, knowing Craig would find it and assume that the kids had somehow gotten into the stash (hence them seeming to scold the kids while Mike watched and ate his fruit). Because Mike had sprayed the money with a chemical, Craig's fingerprints showed up nice and bright under the UV light, and Mike could follow to where exactly he hid that cash — and all the rest of it — once the Kettleman clan was fast asleep.
Click to expand...
 
Raider Nation said:
The consensus on last week's episode was that it was easily the strongest hour of "Saul" to date, and a lot of you stated your desire to see the show pivot more into that direction, not only by giving Jonathan Banks more to do as Mike, but by returning to the dark emotional palette of "Breaking Bad" rather than the light comic antics of Jimmy McGill, elder care lawyer.When I spoke with Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould (and editor Curtis Thurber) about the show's ever-changing opening title sequence, we also briefly discussed the response to "Five-O," and Gilligan said that while they like having the ability to experiment — to do an episode where Mike is now the main character and Jimmy a minor supporting player, and where the tone is so different from the previous installments — they were enjoying the primary mode of the show too much to suddenly turn it into "Better Fear Mike," and said of the rest of the season, "I would say people shouldn't expect too many more police officers to get murdered this season, but other than that, there's a lot of surprising, fun stuff coming out."

I think that's as it should be. "Five-O" was fantastic on just about every level, but I don't know that I would want that every week, particularly because I'm finding so much pleasure in seeing Jimmy slowly but surely evolve into Saul.

"Bingo" passes the baton from Mike back to Jimmy, and sees our hero still viewing himself as exactly that: a modestly successful elder care attorney loved in the senior citizen community, and possibly rich enough (albeit with the help of the "retainer" the Kettlemans gave him a few weeks ago) to rent out a fancy new office that could lure Kim away from HHM. Life looks pretty damn sweet — and peaceful, for that matter — for Jimmy McGill early in "Bingo," and for a few minutes it's hard to imagine how his life and career might turn him into Albuquerque's most popular storefront shyster.

Unfortunately, the original sin of the money from the Kettlemans tears his dream down around him. Where Betsy Kettleman's unrelenting awfulness could potentially have been the wedge needed to separate Kim from Howard Hamlin, Jimmy instead has to get involved because he took their money — and because, much as he wishes it weren't so, he feels compelled to do the right thing by Kim, and by the larger process. With a bit of help from Mike — and what a pleasure it was to see Mr. Ehrmantraut in action again inside the Albuquerque city limits — he pushes Craig to take the deal, but in the process mends things between Kim and Howard, while also giving away the money that would have helped him rent out that swanky new office.

But this season has been filled with examples of him doing the right thing and suffering awful consequences. As we see Jimmy howling on the floor of the corner office he hoped to give to Kim — for reasons both professional and personal — it's not a moment as gut-wrenching as Mike wailing, "I BROKE MY BOY!," but it does light up a clear path from where Jimmy is now to where we know he's going. Doing the right thing brings him headaches and misery; being a criminal lawyer in every sense of the word seems just fun.

So, no, "Five-O" didn't signal a radical shift of what "Better Call Saul" is going to look like. But when the show's regular mode is this funny and slick and well put-together, I don't need — or even want — my heart to be torn out of my chest every week.

Some other thoughts:

* I loved the way director Larysa Kondracki (a newcomer to the "BB"/"BCS" universe) framed the opening scene with Mike sitting in front of the wanted posters, and always looking like a man who could and probably should be on one of them. (I also loved the Bingo-cam shot from the scene where Jimmy is at the senior center, working with a "Match Game"-style microphone.) That scene does suggest that Mike may have seen the last of his old friends from Philadelphia, but we'll see if the hot-headed younger detective can let this go.

* The return of Jimmy to center stage also brought the return of Chuck dealing with his health problems, and for the first time in a while trying to be proactive about it by building up a tolerance to electromagnetic energy. Since we know all of that is in his head, the more valuable thing may be Jimmy deliberately leaving case files in the house to trick Chuck into focusing on the law again.

* Certain aspects of Jimmy's past — including the exact nature of his prior relationship with Kim (dating? sex buddies?) and when it ended — have remained a mystery, but when he refers to the east wing of the HHM offices as "the cornfield" (referencing this iconic "Twilight Zone" episode), it's with the disdainful familiarity of someone who used to work in (or at least near) said cornfield. Did Chuck get his brother a job at his firm? And if so, did Jimmy lose that job before or after Chuck's health crisis?

* It took me a moment to figure out exactly what Mike was doing with the money, so for those of you who maybe didn't follow: he took some of the cash the Kettlemans had given to Jimmy and put it on one of the Kettleman kids' toys in the backyard, knowing Craig would find it and assume that the kids had somehow gotten into the stash (hence them seeming to scold the kids while Mike watched and ate his fruit). Because Mike had sprayed the money with a chemical, Craig's fingerprints showed up nice and bright under the UV light, and Mike could follow to where exactly he hid that cash — and all the rest of it — once the Kettleman clan was fast asleep.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Don't we already know that Jimmy did work in the Mailroom at HHM? Didn't Chuck reference Jimmy's friends from there potentially losing their jobs if he cashed out, possibly destroying the firm?

I had to look up the movie, the 25th hour. Two options there, and Edward Norton one which would be clearly applicable, and an Anthony Quinn one which would not.

Kim's Makeup has changed. She looked several years younger.

We need a morning scene at the Kettleman's with them discussing the deal while Mrs. Kettleman gets dressed.

 
Odenkirk has to get an Emmy nomination. Every scene, every line, every facial expression is just right. The comedy sometimes masks what a complex character Saul is, but it's all there. And you can tell Odenkirk, Gilligan and the writers all have the same vision of who Saul is and where the show is going. It's obviously not easy to achieve that chemistry, judging by all the crap that's on TV.

I'm curious if we'll see Tuco and/or his buddy Taco or whatever his name was again this season.

 
McGarnicle said:
Odenkirk has to get an Emmy nomination. Every scene, every line, every facial expression is just right. The comedy sometimes masks what a complex character Saul is, but it's all there. And you can tell Odenkirk, Gilligan and the writers all have the same vision of who Saul is and where the show is going. It's obviously not easy to achieve that chemistry, judging by all the crap that's on TV.

I'm curious if we'll see Tuco and/or his buddy Taco or whatever his name was again this season.
Click to expand...
At this point, I've almost forgotten about the Breaking Bad connection to the show. It's so good, it stands alone.

 
Thought this one was more Fargo then Breaking Bad. Ridiculous.

They are under investigation yet have the money in their house? Come on.

It was still entertaining but kind of disappointed that a ridiculous plot point brought Saul and Mike together on the other side of the law. Missed opportunity.

Hey Mike you want to clear your legal 2k debt with me by stealing 1.5million? Who cares if you yourself are also under investigation. :loco:

 
Tune Down from Sticks by Chris Joss

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxH1PxMZ2Uo

During the scene when Mike was outside the Kettleman's, the soundtrack music started to creep up on me, and half way into the scene, I paused it, thinking this sounds like the theme song for the greatest '70s Blaxploitation film never made (masterful period perfect instrumental with understated but BUMPIN bass, analog electric keyboard wash accents, subterranean but sweeping low brass and tasty minimalist funky blues rhythm guitar). A quick check of IMDB led to the song info. In somewhat of a coincidence, it mentions the musician put out an album that was part of a late '90s trend called Imaginary Soundtracks for movies that were never made.

 
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Bob Magaw said:
During the scene when Mike was outside the Kettleman's, the soundtrack music started to creep up on me, and half way into the scene, I paused it, thinking this sounds like the theme song for the greatest '70s Blaxploitation film never made (masterful period perfect instrumental with understated but BUMPIN bass, analog electric keyboard wash accents, subterranean but sweeping low brass and tasty minimalist funky blues rhythm guitar).
Click to expand...
It sounded like a bad Steely Dan cover band.

 
I never thought of Steely Dan as sounding like circa Blaxploitation era soundtrack instrumental funk.

The album this is drawn from is currently Amazon's best selling title in the acid jazz genre, ahead of a few Prestige artists I was familiar with, Johnny "Hammond" Smith and Melvin Sparks.

 
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Daywalker said:
Thought this one was more Fargo then Breaking Bad. Ridiculous.

They are under investigation yet have the money in their house? Come on.

It was still entertaining but kind of disappointed that a ridiculous plot point brought Saul and Mike together on the other side of the law. Missed opportunity.

Hey Mike you want to clear your legal 2k debt with me by stealing 1.5million? Who cares if you yourself are also under investigation. :loco:
Click to expand...
You get out of here now.
 
First episode that had some clunkers for me. Mike gave Jimmy the "assist" when the Kettlemans went missing, then Jimmy spilled the coffee, so they were "even." Yet somehow Jimmy convinces him to do a B&E/home invasion?

The Kettlemans were completely overplayed in this episode. They became caricatures.

Also had a hard time buying that a firm the size of HHM the Kettlemans are that big a deal, that losing them would scuttle a whole career.

 
I have been wondering where the Kettleman's cash came from. I mean I get that he was/is the County Treasurer. I get that he could redirect or embezzle funds or money, but that would seem to be checks or credit. Is he then suppose to have not redirected those funds to off shore accounts, but to have written checks to himself, and then to have cashed those checks at local banks, converting them to nice even bundles of hundred dollar bills?

I appreciate that criminals can be mind-bogglingly stupid, but this seems beyond the pale. No matter, the cash is a nice plot device. Still, it is pushing it, and then to have Nacho also assume that they had it in cash, and that the cash would be in the home, well it seems a real stretch. Would Nacho really assume that someone who is a County Treasurer, with presumably some financial sophistication to obtain that position, really have embezzled funds in the house in cash or even negotiable instruments?

Regardless, I am still loving this show.

 
Thorn said:
First episode that had some clunkers for me. Mike gave Jimmy the "assist" when the Kettlemans went missing, then Jimmy spilled the coffee, so they were "even." Yet somehow Jimmy convinces him to do a B&E/home invasion?

The Kettlemans were completely overplayed in this episode. They became caricatures.

Also had a hard time buying that a firm the size of HHM the Kettlemans are that big a deal, that losing them would scuttle a whole career.
Click to expand...
In my experience large firms are based on transactional matters and High powered criminal defense tends to come from more boutique firms specializing, but I do know several large firms with a criminal defense potential to help serve their clients, and certainly embezzlement matters would entail some of the financial expertise from large firms.

As for losing this one client, well it would be a locally famous client which would be a tough loss publicity-wise.

 
Thorn said:
First episode that had some clunkers for me. Mike gave Jimmy the "assist" when the Kettlemans went missing, then Jimmy spilled the coffee, so they were "even." Yet somehow

Jimmy convinces him to do a B&E/home invasion?

The Kettlemans were completely overplayed in

this episode. They became caricatures.

Also had a hard time buying that a firm the size of HHM the Kettlemans are that big a deal, that

losing them would scuttle a whole career.
Click to expand...
Agreed to an extent at least as to the losing the kettlemans. If New Mexico's ethical rules regarding criminal fee agreements is at all like Arizona's, then it's very likely a flat fee. So, generally, when an unreasonable client fires you, it could actually be a blessing. There'd have to be a fee look back, but sounds like Kim did plenty of work that they could probably justify the fee agreement. Plus I can't imagine Kim's boss punishing her for giving sound advice only to have the client act so irrationally. So that scene bothered me slightly, but I overlooks it. The mike favor thing didn't bother me at all though. Saul really stuck his neck out for him by bringing the notebook back and concocting a story for him. Made sense to me that mike owed him a bit more.

 
Oh yeah, and one other thing, "some rocks you don't turn over." WTF was that? Almost straight out of Spinal Tap - "some crimes are best left unsolved."

 
Ditkaless Wonders said:
I have been wondering where the Kettleman's cash came from. I mean I get that he was/is the County Treasurer. I get that he could redirect or embezzle funds or money, but that would seem to be checks or credit. Is he then suppose to have not redirected those funds to off shore accounts, but to have written checks to himself, and then to have cashed those checks at local banks, converting them to nice even bundles of hundred dollar bills?

I appreciate that criminals can be mind-bogglingly stupid, but this seems beyond the pale. No matter, the cash is a nice plot device. Still, it is pushing it, and then to have Nacho also assume that they had it in cash, and that the cash would be in the home, well it seems a real stretch. Would Nacho really assume that someone who is a County Treasurer, with presumably some financial sophistication to obtain that position, really have embezzled funds in the house in cash or even negotiable instruments?

Regardless, I am still loving this show.
Click to expand...
Swiping a bunch of cashed checks from under the bathroom sink would have been a much worse plot line.

 
Ditkaless Wonders said:
I have been wondering where the Kettleman's cash came from. I mean I get that he was/is the County Treasurer. I get that he could redirect or embezzle funds or money, but that would seem to be checks or credit. Is he then suppose to have not redirected those funds to off shore accounts, but to have written checks to himself, and then to have cashed those checks at local banks, converting them to nice even bundles of hundred dollar bills?

I appreciate that criminals can be mind-bogglingly stupid, but this seems beyond the pale. No matter, the cash is a nice plot device. Still, it is pushing it, and then to have Nacho also assume that they had it in cash, and that the cash would be in the home, well it seems a real stretch. Would Nacho really assume that someone who is a County Treasurer, with presumably some financial sophistication to obtain that position, really have embezzled funds in the house in cash or even negotiable instruments?

Regardless, I am still loving this show.
Click to expand...
There is the possibility that Nacho AND the Kettlemans are, in fact, that stupid.

 
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