Better call Saul

[inkman]

I'm getting excited... :beer:

Edited February 16, 2016 by inkman

[inkman]

Mikey Ehrmantrout makes me smile. Love everything about his character.

[bunomatic]

Mike is also my fave. As he was on breaking bad. I'd want him in my corner when the shite hits the fan.

[nfreeman]

I really enjoyed it!

[inkman]

Me too they are obviously really stretching out the plot line which I don't have a problem with. With the limited shelf of of supporting characters like Mike and so on.

[WildCard]

Me too they are obviously really stretching out the plot line which I don't have a problem with. With the limited shelf of of supporting characters like Mike and so on.

Agreed. Much better than the True Detective approach to season 2, where they just had 10 different running story lines and no way to cohesively bridge them or end them

[qwksndmonster]

That was a hell of a lot funnier than I expected. Jimmy's scam with Kim was so fun, and we finally got to hear "brotherman" guy talk to a client instead of like a douche.  In season 1 of Breaking Bad Walt blew his car up, whereas Jimmy just cons him into paying for an entire bottle of super expensive tequila one shot at a time.  That's a pretty accurate comparison between those two characters. (The tequila, zafiro añejo, is the same fictional liquor that Gus used to poison Don Eladio).

 

I didn't foresee Jimmy not making his turn away from his legit lawyer life yet.  Learning that there was a scene between Jimmy being in the parking lot (with all the space in the frame behind his head) and talking to Mike on his way out was very interesting.  I've spent a lot of time thinking about what exactly was happening there, so it feels really weird to learn about an extra scene that we didn't see the first time around.  At the end of the episode when he accepted the Davis and Main job it made me really sad.  They really want Jimmy there, but he's basically just teasing them because he wants to feel good for a while. He's aimlessly drifting along in the world of legitimate lawyers.  The unlit fireplace in his office was a nice callback to Kim's cigarette and the Kettleman's fireplace from season 1.

 

It broke my heart that Jimmy didn't want Kim to leave her bedroom/didn't want to leave it himself.  I'm afraid for Jimmy that it was just a one night thing for Kim.  And having the girl you like is a great thing, but it can't be the only thing in your life.

 

I love that Pryce's storyline picked right back up where we left it in episode 9 last year. Everything was so deliciously poorly done on his part, from refusing Mike, to letting Nacho chill in his hummer, to calling the freakin' cops.  The brand spankin' new H2 is a nice temporal aspect to add to a story that's taking place in 2002.

 

That episode felt like it took 15 minutes to watch, such a blast.

[qwksndmonster]

I still don't know how I feel about the "SG WAS HERE" teaser.  The teaser of the pilot (Address Unknown) was so amazing and meaningful that I think revisiting Saul's post BB life without a lot more to say was a strange decision.  We already know that he misses being Saul Goodman and we know that he feels stuck in his current life.  It does slightly reveal that he misses being Saul and not Jimmy, I suppose.  The fact that Gene is afraid of opening the alarm door and that Jimmy wants to flip the light switch for no reason gives a lot of context for his current (2002) place as a character and how different it will be for him in the future, but revisiting that black and white world of misery for that felt a little cheap.

 

It feels so good not to know what's going on, and what means what.  I've seen season 1 so much that I have at the very least a rough understanding of what I think everything means.  The electricity, the colors, the bingo machine, the coffee, the fire, the blacklight; all these things are cataloged and have great meaning to me.  Whereas in season 2 episode 1, there are plenty of new symbols that I have no clue about.  Jimmy drifting in the pool with his cellphone in a plastic bag and his food tied to the chair, the painting in his office, Pryce; they all have an air of mystery behind them because I trust the showrunners so implicitly.

 

If the Kettlemans were a symbol for Jimmy's denial, what is Pryce?  A symbol for his naivete?  Of Mike's?

Mikey Ehrmantrout makes me smile. Love everything about his character.

All he had to do in episode one was show up and say "No, I don't think so."  And he was still amazing.

[bunomatic]

I still don't know how I feel about the "SG WAS HERE" teaser.  The teaser of the pilot (Address Unknown) was so amazing and meaningful that I think revisiting Saul's post BB life without a lot more to say was a strange decision.  We already know that he misses being Saul Goodman and we know that he feels stuck in his current life.  It does slightly reveal that he misses being Saul and not Jimmy, I suppose.  The fact that Gene is afraid of opening the alarm door and that Jimmy wants to flip the light switch for no reason gives a lot of context for his current (2002) place as a character and how different it will be for him in the future, but revisiting that black and white world of misery for that felt a little cheap.

 

It feels so good not to know what's going on, and what means what.  I've seen season 1 so much that I have at the very least a rough understanding of what I think everything means.  The electricity, the colors, the bingo machine, the coffee, the fire, the blacklight; all these things are cataloged and have great meaning to me.  Whereas in season 2 episode 1, there are plenty of new symbols that I have no clue about.  Jimmy drifting in the pool with his cellphone in a plastic bag and his food tied to the chair, the painting in his office, Pryce; they all have an air of mystery behind them because I trust the showrunners so implicitly.

 

If the Kettlemans were a symbol for Jimmy's denial, what is Pryce?  A symbol for his naivete?  Of Mike's?

All he had to do in episode one was show up and say "No, I don't think so."  And he was still amazing.

I really enjoy your take on things. Opens my eyes to subtle stuff I may have missed when I watch again . Its almost like seeing the episode for the first time. Thanks

[PromoTheRobot]

Makes me think that Vince Gilligan can spend the rest of his life creating spinoffs from BB, and I'd watch them all.

[Stoner]

I really enjoy your take on things. Opens my eyes to subtle stuff I may have missed when I watch again . Its almost like seeing the episode for the first time. Thanks

Yup. As Bobby Jones once said about Jack NIcklaus, "He's playing a game with which I am not familiar."

I still don't know how I feel about the "SG WAS HERE" teaser.  The teaser of the pilot (Address Unknown) was so amazing and meaningful that I think revisiting Saul's post BB life without a lot more to say was a strange decision.  We already know that he misses being Saul Goodman and we know that he feels stuck in his current life.  It does slightly reveal that he misses being Saul and not Jimmy, I suppose.  The fact that Gene is afraid of opening the alarm door and that Jimmy wants to flip the light switch for no reason gives a lot of context for his current (2002) place as a character and how different it will be for him in the future, but revisiting that black and white world of misery for that felt a little cheap.

 

It feels so good not to know what's going on, and what means what.  I've seen season 1 so much that I have at the very least a rough understanding of what I think everything means.  The electricity, the colors, the bingo machine, the coffee, the fire, the blacklight; all these things are cataloged and have great meaning to me.  Whereas in season 2 episode 1, there are plenty of new symbols that I have no clue about.  Jimmy drifting in the pool with his cellphone in a plastic bag and his food tied to the chair, the painting in his office, Pryce; they all have an air of mystery behind them because I trust the showrunners so implicitly.

 

If the Kettlemans were a symbol for Jimmy's denial, what is Pryce?  A symbol for his naivete?  Of Mike's?

All he had to do in episode one was show up and say "No, I don't think so."  And he was still amazing.

What do you make of Pryce's shoes?

 

And I might be an idiot, but why did the cops know to look behind the couch?

[inkman]

Yup. As Bobby Jones once said about Jack NIcklaus, "He's playing a game with which I am not familiar."

 

What do you make of Pryce's shoes?

 

And I might be an idiot, but why did the cops know to look behind the couch?

All of the junk on the floor was pushed forward in the shape of the couch

[bunomatic]

What was behind that baseboard ? Drugs/cash. Or a teenaged girl ? That cat is strange.

[K-9]

Yup. As Bobby Jones once said about Jack NIcklaus, "He's playing a game with which I am not familiar."

What do you make of Pryce's shoes?

 

And I might be an idiot, but why did the cops know to look behind the couch?

Those were some stylin' kicks. Must have cost MUCHO Ricky Bucks. 

 

I wanna know what team the writers are tipping their hats to with the red and gold/yellow color scheme? Minnesota Gophers maybe? They are maroon and gold, afterall and Pryce seems to have that Norm Gunderson vibe. 

[Stoner]

All of the junk on the floor was pushed forward in the shape of the couch

Oh OK. Thanks.

[Stoner]

The show is set in 2002. Pryce replies to Nacho's snark about Mike breaking his hip with a, "I know, right?" I said, aha! That expression wasn't around in 2002. Alas it was. I think this is what makes a great show. You know they put that one in there to make people think. And google.

[qwksndmonster]

Thanks for the kind words, PA and Bruno.

 

I didn't really take special notice of Pryce's shoes.  Hot colors are associated with crime, and his fiery shoes match his new H2.  I think the shoe specific shots are supposed to reference how fast everything changed for Pryce.  The first time we saw him was a shot of his boring guy loafers walking around the minivan, and he's come a "long way" since then in his 5 or so drug deals.

 

I can't get over how hilarious that hummer looks barely fitting in the parking garage.

[Stoner]

Thanks for the kind words, PA and Bruno.

 

I didn't really take special notice of Pryce's shoes.  Hot colors are associated with crime, and his fiery shoes match his new H2.  I think the shoe specific shots are supposed to reference how fast everything changed for Pryce.  The first time we saw him was a shot of his boring guy loafers walking around the minivan, and he's come a "long way" since then in his 5 or so drug deals.

 

I can't get over how hilarious that hummer looks barely fitting in the parking garage.

And same color scheme as Jimmy's car. Crime does pay.

[qwksndmonster]

Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul have always had a special thing about cars.  They're more or less metaphors for the owner's soul.

 

Walt broke Aztek's windshield very often.  It was always his fault, and always had to do with him running his business.  First the airplane debris breaks it, and he overreacts to a cop and gets himself pepper sprayed because he feels like everybody should feel bad for him (HELLFIRE RAINED DOWN ON MY HOUSE!).  Then, Jesse throws a rock through the windshield when Walt is being a douche about Jesse cooking alone (specifically right after he tells Jesse that he's going to work for Gus, and Gus only bought Jesse's meth to give Walt half of the money).  Then, it breaks again when Walt runs down two rival dealers at the end of season 3 to save Jesse.  And finally, it breaks when Walt drives out into traffic to avoid taking Hank to the laundry.

 

Then in season 5, after the Aztek gets fixed yet again the mechanic lists all of the things that were replaced and how sturdy the car is.  He finishes by saying that this car could last Walt a very, very long time.  Walt responds by selling the Aztek to the mechanic for 50 bucks and buying a fancy black Chrysler 300.  This decision reminds me so much of (season 1 episode 5) when Elliot was offering Walt a job to give him insurance to save his family from the financial blow black of Walt's cancer.  Instead of doing what's best for his family, Walt does something stupid for the sake of Walt's ego.

 

I really like that the windshield was always the part of the Aztek that broke. I think that it's meant to represent Walt's view of the world becoming more and more warped.  Hell, he thinks it should be okay that he drives around with a broken windshield, just like he rationalizes away every other obviously stupid thing that he does.

 

So Walt drives the sleek, black 300 around town pretending that he's a badass kingpin and life is good until Hank gets killed.  Then he tries to drive away from To'hajiilee but discovers a bullet hole in the gas tank.

 

And that's the end of that car.

 

 

 

I've always seen Jimmy's car in a similar light.  It's sad and kind of pathetic.  It's called the "Esteem." It gets established in the fake out shot where the camera pans from a white caddy.

 

Yellow is very much the color of Jimmy McGill during season 1.  It's the coolest hot color, reflecting how he has a slight inclination towards crime while still trying to maintain legitimacy.  Outside Chuck's house the streetlights are yellow, the soap in the bathroom of the courthouse is yellow, the window in his office/bedroom is tinted yellow.  The red door is behind the driver's seat, I've always interpreted that as his criminal past.

As far as the metaphor: Jimmy's car is routinely denied access when trying to leave his place of employment.  The parking booth is representative of Jimmy's psyche, with Mike playing the part of his conscience.  Jimmy becomes more and more comfortable breaking the law as the season goes on, which happens to run parallel with his relationship with Mike and the booth.  By the end of the season, he's going through with no charge, without having to pay anything.  The only reason it takes him a while to get through is because he himself wants to stop and talk to Mike, because Jimmy is still sorting it out.

Edited February 19, 2016 by qwksndmonster

[WildCard]

Awesome episode so far

[WildCard]

Ahhhhh shiiiitttt. This show is about to get real good

[Taro T]

Awesome episode so far

Am I the only one that likes this show more than BB?

[K-9]

Squat cobbler.

 

I await qwk's analysis of the metaphorical significance.

[bunomatic]

Am I the only one that likes this show more than BB?

I'm getting there

[Kr632]

Makes me think that Vince Gilligan can spend the rest of his life creating spinoffs from BB, and I'd watch them all.

oh god. I've been carrying on about this for a while. The could make a spin off for every character and it would be amazing. One centered around gus would be cool.