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***Official "Space Blanket" for Better Call Saul*** (2 Viewers)

This is the question that ran through my mind as well.  It could be as simple as something like reward money, but I wonder if there could be something more to it yet to be revealed.  Jeff was mixed up with bad people in Albuquerque. He recognized Saul, seemingly from commercials, but maybe he was just taunting him with that in Omaha.  Perhaps there is some Jeff/Walt...Jeff/Gus...Jeff/Cartel loose connection that we see in an upcoming episode when we jump back in time where we realize Jeff knows a little more than we are lead to believe.
ABQ bad people = Badger and Skinny Pete. 

The Walter/Jesse cameo reports have all been a red herring.  Brandon and Pete incoming!  They are like the C3PO and R2D2 of the BB/BCS universe. 

 
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I just thought it was a big stretch going from Gene being so paranoid and cautious about his life that he would do a 180 and let a complete stranger potentially sabotage his existence/identity through a plan that had to work perfectly.


He got found out, so he had nothing to lose, maybe? Taxi guy could drop the dime on him. Might as well take a shot before giving up and getting extracted by the vacuum repair service.

 
I just thought it was a big stretch going from Gene being so paranoid and cautious about his life that he would do a 180 and let a complete stranger potentially sabotage his existence/identity through a plan that had to work perfectly.


The complete stranger had already "made" him, though.  At that point, there was an imbalance - Jeff had something on him, while Gene had nothing on Jeff in return.  At least now Jeff has some reason not to share what he knows.

 
He got found out, so he had nothing to lose, maybe? Taxi guy could drop the dime on him. Might as well take a shot before giving up and getting extracted by the vacuum repair service.


You beat me to it.  :)   I also like the point someone made about the fact Jeff knows enough about Saul to have some fear of him now, particularly since Saul so easily inserted himself into Jeff's mom's life.  I don't think he'll risk mama.

 
I just thought it was a big stretch going from Gene being so paranoid and cautious about his life that he would do a 180 and let a complete stranger potentially sabotage his existence/identity through a plan that had to work perfectly.
I looked at it the other way - that Gene needed to nip this in the bud BECAUSE he's so paranoid. There was no doubt Jeffy knew who he really was. I think the rush Gene got from the con job was an unintended result. I do agree that the heist itself was goofy, but most of them in BB & BCS were.

 
You beat me to it:)   I also like the point someone made about the fact Jeff knows enough about Saul to have some fear of him now, particularly since Saul so easily inserted himself into Jeff's mom's life.  I don't think he'll risk mama.
Looks like I'm even slower :lol:

 
Leeroy Jenkins said:
Looking at that timeline, did we ever see or know why Saul asked Francesca to  be at a telephone booth on November 12, 2010 (Jimmy's birthday) at 3 p.m. to receive a call?
I could only find theories online, most think it's going to be a call from Jimmy checking up or a birthday call from Kim. 

 
He got found out, so he had nothing to lose, maybe? Taxi guy could drop the dime on him. Might as well take a shot before giving up and getting extracted by the vacuum repair service.
And he was totally bored with his life. This gave him a new con which to him is fun. He wanted to see if he still had it. And if it didn’t work out he still had vacuum cleaner guy option. 

 
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And he was totally bored with his life. This gave him a new con which to him is fun. He wanted to see if he still had it. And if it didn’t work out he still had vacuum cleaner guy option. 


Totally agree with this, I think he just had it with living in pure fear all the time, especially when the cabbie made him.  I think him totally breaking down afterwards out of sight of the camera was a direct result of his speech that he's essentially on his own and he realized all of it is his own doing.  I really think we haven't seen the last of Gene and Kim.  There is no way they don't at least talk in the final episode.  Kim was just as big a character in this series as Saul, we need to find out what happened to her...I think Saul needs to find out what happened to her. 

 
I looked at it the other way - that Gene needed to nip this in the bud BECAUSE he's so paranoid. There was no doubt Jeffy knew who he really was. I think the rush Gene got from the con job was an unintended result. I do agree that the heist itself was goofy, but most of them in BB & BCS were.
Remember that his initial instinct was to run, and then he told vacuum cleaner guy he would handle it himself. I think he realized he still had enough Saul Goodman in him that he could take Jeff no problem. Think of it like a retired boxer getting bullied by some jerk in a bar, and thinking, "I may no longer be heavyweight champion, but I can at least knock this loser's teeth out."

The real question, of course, was whether the final moment where he puts the shirt and tie back represented him shutting down Saul for good or was a sign that he's being tempted back to Saul-ness and will eventually give in

 
Remember that his initial instinct was to run, and then he told vacuum cleaner guy he would handle it himself. I think he realized he still had enough Saul Goodman in him that he could take Jeff no problem. Think of it like a retired boxer getting bullied by some jerk in a bar, and thinking, "I may no longer be heavyweight champion, but I can at least knock this loser's teeth out."

The real question, of course, was whether the final moment where he puts the shirt and tie back represented him shutting down Saul for good or was a sign that he's being tempted back to Saul-ness and will eventually give in
The "avatar" (not sure that's the correct word) that AMC is using for this season shows Jimmy from the back in a B&W photo, except he's either putting on or taking off a bright red jacket - something Saul would wear. 

 
The "avatar" (not sure that's the correct word) that AMC is using for this season shows Jimmy from the back in a B&W photo, except he's either putting on or taking off a bright red jacket - something Saul would wear. 
And it’s clearly B/W Gene with the bright red jacket. But is he putting it on or taking it off? 2 totally different meanings 

 
And it’s clearly B/W Gene with the bright red jacket. But is he putting it on or taking it off? 2 totally different meanings 
And surely that's on purpose, which is why I brought it up in response reilly's post. I still don't know the answer.

 
I'm surprised no one has nitpicked the security guard sitting on the wrong side of the table every time.
I took it as that was his routine and based on that Gene planned his attack.  If he did something else Gene would have to plan around that.  Plus those security guards are mall cops in the Paul Blart mold

 
I think the producers and cast are messing with us in interviews and podcasts.  It was all but confirmed that this was going to be the episode we saw Walt and Jesse.

They have also said that these last few episodes would be non-linear in that it would go from Gene/BB-era/jimmy era in non-linear order.  

 
I think the producers and cast are messing with us in interviews and podcasts.  It was all but confirmed that this was going to be the episode we saw Walt and Jesse.

They have also said that these last few episodes would be non-linear in that it would go from Gene/BB-era/jimmy era in non-linear order.  
They definitely are. The description for this episode was “a new player enters the game” — the entire world thought that meant Walt and it ends up being this doofus from
Omaha. 

 
Also what do we make of the video messing up and going to blue screen during the opening credits?  
The "VHS quality" of the intro has been disintegrating throughout the Better Call Saul series.  Sort of an analogy of the disintegration of Jimmy into Saul.  Both have now been completed at the end of episode 9.  We may have reached the end of the tape or the tape is now beyond repair...end of the prequel timeline in the series... and everything else we will see is set in the BB timeline or Gene's.  Maybe all new episodes will start with blue screen OR perhaps we get a nice, crystal clear introduction of DVD quality for the remaining episodes.  I guess we will know more at the start of the next episode.

 
The "VHS quality" of the intro has been disintegrating throughout the Better Call Saul series.  Sort of an analogy of the disintegration of Jimmy into Saul.  Both have now been completed at the end of episode 9.  We may have reached the end of the tape or the tape is now beyond repair...end of the prequel timeline in the series... and everything else we will see is set in the BB timeline or Gene's.  Maybe all new episodes will start with blue screen OR perhaps we get a nice, crystal clear introduction of DVD quality for the remaining episodes.  I guess we will know more at the start of the next episode.


IIRC, "Gene" keeps a stash of his old commercials on VHS and pulls them out whenever he gets the blues for the old days. So the more worn they are, maybe the more Gene has been rewinding and rewatching. 

 
IIRC, "Gene" keeps a stash of his old commercials on VHS and pulls them out whenever he gets the blues for the old days. So the more worn they are, maybe the more Gene has been rewinding and rewatching. 
Right when it flashed blue, I thought I saw a "REC" in the upper corner.  Maybe Gene erasing the old Saul tapes as he realizes he doesn't need or want the Saul persona anymore (which goes along with him putting the garish shirt and tie back on the rack). 

 
Right when it flashed blue, I thought I saw a "REC" in the upper corner.  Maybe Gene erasing the old Saul tapes as he realizes he doesn't need or want the Saul persona anymore (which goes along with him putting the garish shirt and tie back on the rack). 


Or maybe it was just literally about the episode it happened before talking about surveillance tapes erasing after 72 hrs.

 
Or maybe it was just literally about the episode it happened before talking about surveillance tapes erasing after 72 hrs.
That's one of the things that is so fun about this show, so many different interpretations and possibilities of the smallest things.  

Like the season promo photo.  All season I just assumed it was Gene slipping on the red jacket again.  Now I feel it's him taking it off for good.  Can't wait to see how they finish this out. 

 
That's one of the things that is so fun about this show, so many different interpretations and possibilities of the smallest things.  

Like the season promo photo.  All season I just assumed it was Gene slipping on the red jacket again.  Now I feel it's him taking it off for good.  Can't wait to see how they finish this out. 


It's likely not about the episode surveillance tapes cuz the intros are literally setup as Better Caul Saul commercials so it was his commercials going blank or wearing out.   I just thought I'd throw some other random thoughts out there, lol

 
Finally watched the episode and loved it.  Laughed a whole bunch.  The fact that it was completely unexpected was also great.  It didn't feel like The Fly at all to me.  

 
Stuff from this episode's podcast

- This episode was placed where it was on purpose in terms of episode sequence and the events in it will have importance and make more sense later on.

- The actor playing Jeff passed out during the scene where he's running through the store due to Albuquerque's altitude and the number of takes.  He had to be given oxygen and was treated for dehydration.

- The fat security guard did eat a lot of cinnamon rolls, but he also did a lot of spitting.

 
Something I'd forgotten about was the November 12 "phone call" involving Francesca that was mentioned in a previous episode that flashbacked to when Saul closes his office.  

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

So somebody's going to be calling Francesca on November 12 at 3 pm.

From the Reddit

The football discussion in the previous episode confirms that the timeline of “Nippy" was late October 2010 meaning that we have roughly 2-3 weeks until we get to see Francesca's phone call mentioned in "Quite a Ride" on November 12th. It also means it’s been roughly 7-8 weeks since Walt died since his death was on September 7th, 2010.

 
Stuff from this episode's podcast

- This episode was placed where it was on purpose in terms of episode sequence and the events in it will have importance and make more sense later on.


Yeah, that my thinking as well.  If they're going to recast Jeff that whole storyline has to be significant or they'd just pivot. 

 
Something I'd forgotten about was the November 12 "phone call" involving Francesca that was mentioned in a previous episode that flashbacked to when Saul closes his office.  

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

So somebody's going to be calling Francesca on November 12 at 3 pm.

From the Reddit


Just noticed that what he had hidden behind his wall in that scene was the shoebox he grabs stuff from a few times in Gene's timeline.  Full of pictures and the diamonds -- why hide the photos?

 
Yeah, that my thinking as well.  If they're going to recast Jeff that whole storyline has to be significant or they'd just pivot. 


Good point - they could have just left the previous interaction in the mall alone and not continued that story line, so it must be important.

It bothered me whole episode that the actor was different.  I kept second-guessing myself, "that is supposed to be the cab driver from before who confronted Gene in the mall, right?"  I understand the reason they weren't able to cast the same actor. If it was a guy who looked a bit different but had a similar vibe / personality I would have adjusted more easily. But it still bugs me that they made new Jeff's personality so different from old Jeff.

 
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Always good to see Jerry, er Garry, Gergich back on TV. 

Although I could easily go the rest of my life without seeing him lick his fingers or devour a Cinnabon again. 
He went by the name Jerry, Garry, Larry, and Terry on Parks and Rec. I don't think it was a coincidence they picked this actor to be in scenes with a character named Jimmy/Saul/Gene

 
Good point - they could have just left the previous interaction in the mall alone and not continued that story line, so it must be important.

It bothered me whole episode that the actor was different.  I kept second-guessing myself, "that is supposed to be the cab driver from before who confronted Gene in the mall, right?"  I understand the reason they weren't able to cast the same actor. If it was a guy who looked a bit different but had a similar vibe / personality I would have adjusted more easily. But it still bugs me that they made new Jeff's personality so different from old Jeff.


Same here.  Initially, the plot never made much sense because I assumed they were different characters.  

 
Same here.  Initially, the plot never made much sense because I assumed they were different characters.  


At the least, they should have either put out a tweet before the episode, or, reshot the old scenes with the new actor in a "previously on" segment attached to the episode 

 
Next episode is titled "Breaking Bad" and is directed by Thomas Schnauz (same guy who did the mid-season finale). Hold onto your butts.

 
I mean, I’ve enjoyed BCS and loved a lot of it - but please don’t tell me this compares to the last season of Breaking Bad.
This is a great show stretched over way too many seasons and there have been several bad episodes. To call this one of the best shows ever is an insult to good tv and I enjoy this show. 

 
Which means it will probably not have Walt and Jesse in it. Remember the discussion just in the past page or so of all the Red Herrings and the Producers giving incorrect tips?   Almost like they are pulling a light con on all of us. Hmmmmmm….

 
Just watched it last night - liked it a lot.

I don't know what people are expecting at this point. After Kim left, they flash forwarded to him being Saul with the house and the hooker. So that's it - transformation complete. If they didn't tease Walt and Jessie appearing, that entire pre-BB timeline could almost be put to bed, because what else is there?  Is there another big thing that has to happen for him to "become" Saul? I don't think there is. I think we have enough. 

These last few episodes are likely setting up the "happily ever after" (or whatever will pass for that) for Gene. Even if they go back in time, they'll probably have some connection to the Gene timeline.  The cab driver getting in with some bad people in Albuquerque has promise. Maybe he worked for Vacuum guy? 

 
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