Better call Saul

[jsb]

Chucks a prick for that one. I think Jimmy should make HHM pay more up front for screwing him outta his case. It sucks that the season finale is neXT week already, I'm gonna jones for Saul to come back!

Good first season though, every show adds something to the character. Wow, slice your own brother's gonads, Chuck's a big one, I agree.

[qwksndmonster]

Well, the show named after me has concluded its first season.  The finale was a bit of a pace changer.  This is the kind of episode that makes total sense in a binge-watch, but watching it as a finale left me a bit underwhelmed.

 

I love the ring, I loved some of the shots, but last week was the bang.  Seems like everyone follows the GoT method of the penultimate episode having the excitement and the finale being mainly denouement.

 

I feel a bit more comfortable getting into shot-by-shot nitpicking now.  Unfortunately, I still have no time to do so.

[Robviously]

Well, the show named after me has concluded its first season.  The finale was a bit of a pace changer.  This is the kind of episode that makes total sense in a binge-watch, but watching it as a finale left me a bit underwhelmed.

 

I love the ring, I loved some of the shots, but last week was the bang.  Seems like everyone follows the GoT method of the penultimate episode having the excitement and the finale being mainly denouement.

 

I feel a bit more comfortable getting into shot-by-shot nitpicking now.  Unfortunately, I still have no time to do so.

Right there with you.  This show completely won me over in its first few episodes and had some episodes that can go toe to toe with Breaking Bad's best: Mike's episode and last week's, especially.  

 

Last night's was just OK.  I didn't think all the stuff with Jimmy back in Chicago was all that compelling and I even thought his turn to the dark side in the parking lot was a little weak as well.  The long bingo freakout scene was more uncomfortable than it was interesting too.  

 

I guess last week's blowout led to Jimmy going back to Chicago for a week of re-living his past as a con man and that week-long binge, coupled with his friend's death, made him unable to even try to play it straight anymore.  I guess I was hoping for more in terms of what would finally, completely push him over the edge.

[bunomatic]

I agree with both qwksand and Robviously on this. Last nights wasn't the best but this series has me by the short curlys. 

[Stoner]

I thought it was fantastic. I appreciate the non-finale finale. I didn't need some big payoff. That's how I started off thinking about how Jimmy would become Saul — maybe Kim gets tangled up in Nacho's net and dies or something. The drip drip drip of Jimmy's life has been fascinating. It's much more true to life. What pushes some people over the edge is sometimes one final nudge.

 

Anyone else think of Jessie's escape in the series finale of Breaking Bad when Jimmy was driving off?

Well, the show named after me has concluded its first season.  The finale was a bit of a pace changer.  This is the kind of episode that makes total sense in a binge-watch, but watching it as a finale left me a bit underwhelmed.

 

I love the ring, I loved some of the shots, but last week was the bang.  Seems like everyone follows the GoT method of the penultimate episode having the excitement and the finale being mainly denouement.

 

I feel a bit more comfortable getting into shot-by-shot nitpicking now.  Unfortunately, I still have no time to do so.

Great name!

[Robviously]

I thought it was fantastic. I appreciate the non-finale finale. I didn't need some big payoff. That's how I started off thinking about how Jimmy would become Saul — maybe Kim gets tangled up in Nacho's net and dies or something. The drip drip drip of Jimmy's life has been fascinating. It's much more true to life. What pushes some people over the edge is sometimes one final nudge.

 

Anyone else think of Jessie's escape in the series finale of Breaking Bad when Jimmy was driving off?

Great name!

The drip drip drip is awesome but the final nudge felt hollow.  

 

Through the course of the season we've seen Kim decide not to accept his offer to join him as a partner, Jimmy lose his money and his fancy new office, and Jimmy find out that his brother had turned his back on him without him every knowing it (and while Jimmy was taking care of him).  

 

But Jimmy decides to completely embrace "Slippin' Jimmy" at the exact moment he has a six-figure income and steady work in grasp?  It's not like he gave in to temptation after a string of indignities; it was more like he turned his back on success in favor of....nothing.

 

I'm nit-picking.  It was a so-so ending to an incredible first season and this is the best new show I've seen in years. 

[bunomatic]

Was he embracing slippin Jimmy or becoming Saul Goodman ?

[Robviously]

Was he embracing slippin Jimmy or becoming Saul Goodman ?

"S'all good, man!"

[Stoner]

Was he embracing slippin Jimmy or becoming Saul Goodman ?

Is he Saul yet? Maybe there are more nudges to come.

[Andrew Amerk]

Good first season.

[Taro T]

Is he Saul yet? Maybe there are more nudges to come.

Have to believe there are more taps pushing him towards Saul. And I'd expect the 1st few episodes of season 2 have him in conflict between Elder-law James and Slippin' Jimmy and he finally settles on Saul when he realizes he's both. I'd expect the final push will be Chuck giving him 1 final FU.

[Stoner]

But Jimmy decides to completely embrace "Slippin' Jimmy" at the exact moment he has a six-figure income and steady work in grasp?  It's not like he gave in to temptation after a string of indignities; it was more like he turned his back on success in favor of....nothing.

Or in favor of getting back at Kim. "I know why I did it," he told Mike about why he had the million bucks and more sent to the DA. "And I won't do it again." It was so Kim could get the Kettleman's back as a client and get out of Howard's doghouse. Yeah, no one said Jimmy is all that smart, or deep.

[qwksndmonster]

I gave the finale a second watch.  I like it a lot more now,

 

Chuck and Jimmy missing one another like ships passing in the night was sad.  Especially after Jimmy professes some sort of loyalty to him (or did he just not want to bring up Kim to Marco?).  I wonder if they'll ever meet on decent terms again.

 

This (episode opening) shot reminds me of Jimmy talking to Mike about the money at the end.  "Why didn't we just take it?  What was I thinking?"  When Jimmy was tryna do the "right thing," he was the stupid kid slowly trying to finesse the bill from under the quarters. Speaking of which:

 

Rocking the fake Rolex and Marco's pinky ring.  Two mainstays in Saul Goodman's wardrobe.

 

An important takeaway from this is scene is that Jimmy is forgetting (mayhaps willfully) that Kim was the reason that he did "the right thing" with the money.  I think another aspect of Jimmy's turn at the end is that it really broke his heart that she didn't want to partner with him (legally and otherwise).  That, and the Chicago montage really hit home that scamming is Jimmy's Drug.  Just like making drugs is Walter's drug.

Before Jimmy's turn:

 

Nice lighting.

 

All the space is behind him.  Jimmy's looking east, to the American past instead of the frontier.  Becoming a "good lawyer" like Chuck isn't important to him anymore, he's letting it go.

Right there with you.  This show completely won me over in its first few episodes and had some episodes that can go toe to toe with Breaking Bad's best: Mike's episode and last week's, especially.  

 

Last night's was just OK.  I didn't think all the stuff with Jimmy back in Chicago was all that compelling and I even thought his turn to the dark side in the parking lot was a little weak as well.  The long bingo freakout scene was more uncomfortable than it was interesting too.  

 

I guess last week's blowout led to Jimmy going back to Chicago for a week of re-living his past as a con man and that week-long binge, coupled with his friend's death, made him unable to even try to play it straight anymore.  I guess I was hoping for more in terms of what would finally, completely push him over the edge.

It didn't have the full impact this time.  When Walt got a chance to solve his family's problems forever in Gray Matter (S1Ep5), he rejected it because of his pride.

 

This time around it perhaps felt a bit disingenuous.  Jimmy's already getting decent money from HHM, and this new position gets offered to him in the last 10 minutes of the episode.  I don't think this conundrum had enough time to breathe.

 

I do like the karmic feel it has, though.  Jimmy did the hard work to be a good lawyer, and even though Chuck tried to keep him down, he still got offered a good gig.  It's a lot more Saul (rather than Walt) that he'd turn it down because he'd rather be a scumbag, That's what he loves, and he's 1000X more self aware than Walter.

I thought it was fantastic. I appreciate the non-finale finale. I didn't need some big payoff. That's how I started off thinking about how Jimmy would become Saul — maybe Kim gets tangled up in Nacho's net and dies or something. The drip drip drip of Jimmy's life has been fascinating. It's much more true to life. What pushes some people over the edge is sometimes one final nudge.

 

Anyone else think of Jessie's escape in the series finale of Breaking Bad when Jimmy was driving off?

Great name!

To the bolded, no I did not.  I thought of Mathew McConaughey in Wolf of Wall Street.

 

And thanks, but they spelt it wrong.

Edited April 8, 2015 by qwksndmonster

[Taro T]

Or in favor of getting back at Kim. "I know why I did it," he told Mike about why he had the million bucks and more sent to the DA. "And I won't do it again." It was so Kim could get the Kettleman's back as a client and get out of Howard's doghouse. Yeah, no one said Jimmy is all that smart, or deep.

Interesting take.  (Probably right, too.)

 

Or was it that he'd been trying to stay on the staight and narrow to follow in his hero's footsteps and eventually be treated as an equal so desperately that finding out his brother would always look down on him finally broke him bad?  The flaw in that is that it'd mean he is now Saul and I'd expect the transformation to take a season. 

[Stoner]

An important takeaway from this is scene is that Jimmy is forgetting (mayhaps willfully) that Kim was the reason that he did "the right thing" with the money.  I think another aspect of Jimmy's turn at the end is that it really broke his heart that she didn't want to partner with him (legally and otherwise).  That, and the Chicago montage really hit home that scamming is Jimmy's Drug.  Just like making drugs is Walter's drug.

Good stuff. You should have a Better Call Saul blog. You're wasting your brilliance on us. :)

 

I don't think he forgot why he did the right thing. I thought the final scenes were all about Jimmy finally letting go of Kim. He wasn't going to take her advice anymore and join that firm, when she had turned him down, and he wasn't going to try and be the good guy anymore to try and impress her. He's not going to be whipped anymore.

Edited April 8, 2015 by @fakegorbyportwinestain

[Robviously]

 

All the space is behind him.  Jimmy's looking east, to the American past instead of the frontier.  Becoming a "good lawyer" like Chuck isn't important to him anymore, he's letting it go.

This shot really stood out to me during the show but I couldn't put my finger on why.  And I actually read a different take on it yesterday talking about him looking East *to his past as a scammer* versus West (to his future as a legitimate, well-paid lawyer).  It's a shot of him looking the wrong way.

Good stuff. You should have a Better Call Saul blog. You're wasting your brilliance on us. :)

 

I don't think he forgot why he did the right thing. I thought the final scenes were all about Jimmy finally letting go of Kim. He wasn't going to take her advice anymore and join that firm, when she had turned him down, and he wasn't going to try and be the good guy anymore to try and impress her. He's not going to be whipped anymore.

If you don't want to be whipped, take the job with the six-figure income and the incredible career potential.  Succeed there and you won't need help from Kim or Chuck or anyone else.

 

Again, it would have made more sense for him to break free by deciding to do something for a quick score.  He didn't gain anything but walking away, and he left a lot on the table by doing it.  It's just weird.

[qwksndmonster]

This shot really stood out to me during the show but I couldn't put my finger on why.  And I actually read a different take on it yesterday talking about him looking East *to his past as a scammer* versus West (to his future as a legitimate, well-paid lawyer).  It's a shot of him looking the wrong way.

If you don't want to be whipped, take the job with the six-figure income and the incredible career potential.  Succeed there and you won't need help from Kim or Chuck or anyone else.

 

Again, it would have made more sense for him to break free by deciding to do something for a quick score.  He didn't gain anything but walking away, and he left a lot on the table by doing it.  It's just weird.

To the bolded, interesting stuff.  I hadn't considered it like that.

[chuck schick]

This shot really stood out to me during the show but I couldn't put my finger on why.  And I actually read a different take on it yesterday talking about him looking East *to his past as a scammer* versus West (to his future as a legitimate, well-paid lawyer).  It's a shot of him looking the wrong way.

If you don't want to be whipped, take the job with the six-figure income and the incredible career potential.  Succeed there and you won't need help from Kim or Chuck or anyone else.

 

Again, it would have made more sense for him to break free by deciding to do something for a quick score.  He didn't gain anything but walking away, and he left a lot on the table by doing it.  It's just weird.

I think this episode made Jimmy wake up to a couple of realities. One is that he thrives and enjoys the hustle/scamming that he's been made to feel ashamed of (by people whose opinions suddenly don't mean so much any more). This brings him to the realization that the life and career he is about to step into doesn't give him the satisfaction he thought it would. And finally, the role that money plays in Jimmy's life is not as cut-and-dried as he/we originally thought. He's obviously a very generous person, and quite unselfish. But he loves to outwit people and get rewarded financially for it. He was FAR more excited to get the $110 from the guy at the bar than he was receiving the $20K from HHM. Earning a six figure income and drawing up wills for the next 20 years probably didn't sound too great.

[SwampD]

He's the opposite of WW. He's a good guy at heart that does bad things because of his environment. Walter was a bad guy at heart that was only good because of his surroundings. Once he had an excuse, his true self came out.

[Hoss]

If you've seen Avengers: Age of Ulton you'll hear a familiar voice: F.R.I.D.A.Y (Tony Stark's female AI) is voiced by Mike's daughter-in-law Stacey from the show.

[Stoner]

If you've seen Avengers: Age of Ulton you'll hear a familiar voice: F.R.I.D.A.Y (Tony Stark's female AI) is voiced by Mike's daughter-in-law Stacey from the show.

You made that up.

[qwksndmonster]

First season is up on Netflix! You have until February 15th to get a re-watch in.  Then it's season 2 time.

[Stoner]

Yes!

[qwksndmonster]

It's really strange to read my initial reaction to the finale. It's now my favorite episode, and I hold it in high esteem with the likes of Breaking Bad Season 5 episode 14 and True Detective Season 1 episode 5.

 

It just wraps up the season so pefectly. Jimmy's bingo breakdown followed by his triumphant return to Cicero is so amazing. To hear Jimmy phrase the current era of his life as starting with the Chicago Sunroof "THAT'S WHY I'M HERE!" is so satisfying. Especially when that era of Jimmy's life ends in the courtroom parking lot when he makes his turn.

 

The use of Season of the Witch when Jimmy is checking out his old Cutlass outside of Marco's haunt is perfect. I actually like the version they use better than the Donavan version (except for his voice, you can't beat Donavan). And the East is the dawn of the new day/the American past, West is the sunset/the American frontier continues to boggle my mind.

 

I've come to the conclusion that Robviously and I are both right. I think the writers wanted to depict that this is the right and wrong decision for Jimmy to make in a miriad of ways. Jimmy embraces his past and becomes Saul Goodman. He's no longer living to try to be like his big brother. But, this sets into motion a series of events that ends with him in the teaser of the pilot, depressed with all the fun sucked out of his life. He still became a lawyer, but he is very upfront that the bottom line is what's important to him. And, most importantly, he's finally happy. He finally feels in control of his own destiny, for the first time since Chuck bailed his ass out.

 

I love that Saul Goodman bends the law to help those who are most vulnerable. He's helping poor criminals (like he used to be) and living in defiance of Chuck's core tenets (THE LAW IS SACRED!).

Edited February 5, 2016 by qwksndmonster

[inkman]

>hugs qwk<