Better Call Saul

[03]

there was a fantastic interview with peter gould and jonathan banks on fresh air a few minutes ago.

[03]

Oh.my.god.
Maybe one of the best episodes of television, period.

[jonas]

Yes, just a fantastic episode all around. High marks in everything from acting, to lighting to pacing.

Even the minimal scenes with Saul/Jimmy were great, with the whole coffee spill "routine" done in one long shot. Plus he got in a couple of verbal gems: “No, I look like a young Paul Newman dressed as Matlock.” and "Don't let Mr. Ehrmantraut's dancing eyes and bubbly bon vivant personality fool you: He's actually, believe it or not, somewhat taciturn."

Fans of BB have been waiting for this story and they really nailed it. Can't wait to see what Saul/Jimmy does to help Mike get rid of his visitors.

 

[polkablues]

I'm blown away by how an actor of Jonathan Banks' caliber flew under the radar for so long without the world realizing how incredible he is.

[ono]

"I abandoned broke my boy."

"You know what happened.  The question is, can you live with it?"

Chills.

Oh, and it's been a long time, but I sort of got an L.A. Confidential vibe from the episode, too.  Don't remember how accurate that is, though.

[Jeremy Blackman]

Yeah, great episode. I'm impressed that they just went for it, full Breaking Bad style. They're establishing quite early that the show can have a multitude of tones. Which opens up a lot dark possibilities.

Some of the dialogue writing was quite weird, like it was going for realism but overshot. This was most apparent in Stacy's dialogue, which honestly might have been more convincing if she had an accent. Also, there was a particularly Yoda-esque backwards sentence uttered by the bartender.

I'm nitpicking, though. The power of Jonathan Banks kind of melted everything else away.

[03]

You are definitely nitpicking but I totally understand what youmean and I agree.
 
Best stuff:
. final monologue. Like ono said, chills
. janitor!
. every interrogation scene. Flawless
. how'd you know I'd do it?
.banks acting as an as actor acting (sounded like Jenkins there)
. and as aforementioned, the tear welling ''I broke my boy, I made him lesser, and the bastards killed him anyway"
. mike unloading the gun he had on him
Absolute fucking brilliance

[N]

Mmm loving this show and all the things going on in it. Everything about this latest episode was just great. Now another week of waiting.

[jonas]

"I know it was you, Fredo Chuck. You broke my heart."

Another great episode, so happy with this series.

The Jimmy/Chuck scenes are all making a lot more sense now. Not sure how the final episode will play out, are we going to see the first of "Saul"? What part will Kim play in his transformation?

I also feel like I have a bit of respect for Hamlin, knowing now that he was taking the heat for Chuck. Confused feels 

Oh, and Mike is a bad ass (nothing new).

[Drenk]

That's some great storytelling and character development. That last scene broke my heart.

[Garam]

This show is just ok.

[diggler]

That Bingo monologue was amazing.

[Fernando]

SPOILS SEASON 1 FINALE.

that ending makes Jimmy's story really similar to Walter White's, both had a way out of being a crook, like Walt with grey matter, Jimmy had that offer by some big law firm, instead he chose a different road.

[Drenk]

SPOILERS

Yeah, but it was Walter's ego. Walter was lying to himself. Jimmy isn't. Jimmy's story is more heartbreaking than Walter's -- in the first season, I speak -- because Jimmy really tried to do good. He tried. He could. The world didn't care.

[polkablues]

SPOILERS

Yeah, but it was Walter's ego. Walter was lying to himself. Jimmy isn't. Jimmy's story is more heartbreaking than Walter's -- in the first season, I speak -- because Jimmy really tried to do good. He tried. He could. The world didn't care.

But the fact that he has the chance at signing on with the big law firm at the end but bails on it is very telling. I agree it's not necessarily ego with Jimmy in the same way it was with Walt. Walt believed he was better than everyone, Jimmy simply believes he's better than the box the world keeps trying to force him into. The biggest similarity is that in both cases, the characters viewed their decisions as choosing a form of freedom (independence, self-reliance) over a form of imprisonment (surrendering their personal agency to another). And of course, both decisions will ultimately cost them dearly.