'Better Call Saul'

I did not think we'd see Lydia (or the laundry facility) in Better Call Saul, but it makes sense. I was happy to see the Gus/Mike/Salamancas story line return after being absent last week. For some reason their half of show interests me more than Chuck and Jimmy.
 
I did not think we'd see Lydia (or the laundry facility) in Better Call Saul, but it makes sense. I was happy to see the Gus/Mike/Salamancas story line return after being absent last week. For some reason their half of show interests me more than Chuck and Jimmy.

Honestly, the Jimmy McGill story just runs on too long. But, that's given the fact this is Better Call Saul rather than "Breaking Bad: Before Walt". But, seeing how it all comes together is interesting. I, too, didn't expect the laundry, or at least this early. And Lydia as well was a shock. I wasn't thinking her position with the company would include "Realtor".
 
Another quality episode last night. We see where Saul came about now, can't wait to see what happens with Chuck and Kim.
 
And Lydia as well was a shock. I wasn't thinking her position with the company would include "Realtor".

According to this fan wiki (http://breakingbad.wikia.com/wiki/Lydia_Rodarte-Quayle) Lydia is "Head of Logistics" for Madrigal during the time of Breaking Bad. It's possible that in 2003 (which is when this week's episode is to have taken place) she was a lower level logistics manager responsible for Los Pollos Hermanos' shipping operations. Perhaps she caught wind of what Gus was doing--or Gus brought Lydia into his trust--and she will use her position at Madrigal to buy the laundry.
 
According to this fan wiki (http://breakingbad.wikia.com/wiki/Lydia_Rodarte-Quayle) Lydia is "Head of Logistics" for Madrigal during the time of Breaking Bad. It's possible that in 2003 (which is when this week's episode is to have taken place) she was a lower level logistics manager responsible for Los Pollos Hermanos' shipping operations. Perhaps she caught wind of what Gus was doing--or Gus brought Lydia into his trust--and she will use her position at Madrigal to buy the laundry.

Well, that makes some sense. But, if she does know he's 'up to something', why, and how? And is Gus letting her linger because she has blackmail? Or he needs her? At the time, he's not exporting. And importing is done on his own trucks (which would not be the little box trucks making cross-border several hundred mile trips, either, but that's a minor quibble). It could be THIS is how they get hooked up to do business and this is just the first contact.

But, other than selling him the property/leasing the property, what exactly is going to get them to cross paths into the drug trade? We know Madrigal makes the commercial-grade air purifier, so it is possible that he places the order and being she's based in the southwest, her terminal or facility comes into contact with that freight shipment, and realizes it's going to a laundry and investigates, sticks her foot in the door to 'help out' with what he needs.

Just another thing for BSC to work on explaining.


As for how Saul Goodman starts, this was pretty entertaining. My guess he gets so popular AS Goodman he changes his name legally before his suspension is up, and just goes to Saul Goodman, Esq as a cover for some of the seedier things he's been doing during his year off (thanks to Mike among others), AND we still need to know what happens to Kim.

Marriage was hinted at in BB, so it would make sense this would be the leadup during his suspension.
 
It must take Gus a few years to build the meth lab and get all the equipment together. It does seem early for that to show up.

I think it just confirmed that Lydia was in on the whole operation from the start. She supplies Gus the chemicals and likely all the lab stuff as well. IIRC, Hank links everything together through Madrigal.
 
Loose strings coming together. Great episode, not as great as last weeks but entertaining nonetheless.

I'm VERY curious to see where the Nacho/Hector dynamic takes us. Nacho is an interesting character, and is one of the bad guys you root for because they show him having a conscious. Him sewing into his hand and keeping that pill? A turncoat to Gus? Gus HAS to be the one that poisons Hector in some fashion so he can torment him while he sits in a nursing home right? Is the pill Nacho hid with his foot too obvious?

One thing we know for sure is we never see Nacho, Kim, and Chuck in BB so getting to that point wand understanding why will be interesting.
 
*SPOILERS*


Definitely finished on a high note. The upward trajectory of Kim seems to be completely stopped now. She was working herself to death. Almost literally. Jimmy's own conscience torpedoed his own potential clients and this is obviously the cause of becoming more of the 'bus stop bench ad' lawyer you're more aware of from Breaking Bad.

Either Chuck dies, or winds up in a mental hospital after trying to take his own life. Especially if they see the way he destroyed his house before setting it ablaze. My guess is the whole thing doesn't burn down anyways. So, survival isn't going to be a free Chuck. Personally, though, i think he dies in the fire. My guess is despite everything, Chuck leaves some of his estate to Jimmy, which is going to include a percentage of that first check. Only question then is what requirements does HHM have to his estate to pay the rest given they triggered his buyout.

Season 4's big arc is going to be Saul getting more involved with Mike, his relationship with Kim and probably how it falls apart, during his remaining time before his suspension is over and he can resume his newer practice we're aware.
 
*SPOILERS*


Definitely finished on a high note. The upward trajectory of Kim seems to be completely stopped now. She was working herself to death. Almost literally. Jimmy's own conscience torpedoed his own potential clients and this is obviously the cause of becoming more of the 'bus stop bench ad' lawyer you're more aware of from Breaking Bad.

Either Chuck dies, or winds up in a mental hospital after trying to take his own life. Especially if they see the way he destroyed his house before setting it ablaze. My guess is the whole thing doesn't burn down anyways. So, survival isn't going to be a free Chuck. Personally, though, i think he dies in the fire. My guess is despite everything, Chuck leaves some of his estate to Jimmy, which is going to include a percentage of that first check. Only question then is what requirements does HHM have to his estate to pay the rest given they triggered his buyout.

Season 4's big arc is going to be Saul getting more involved with Mike, his relationship with Kim and probably how it falls apart, during his remaining time before his suspension is over and he can resume his newer practice we're aware.

Pretty cool voiceover work in the beginning showing a father-like older brother Chuck reading to Jimmy as kids.

I agree with the Chuck synopsis. Tough to imagine he got out and the house did not burn to the ground after you watch it go so fast in the one room.

So this begs the question, if Hamlin paid Chuck out of his own pocket and yet there were no witnesses to the 3 million dollar check AND assuming Chuck never cashed the check did it ever happen? Chuck did not tell anyone and more than likely did not cash the check yet was paraded in front of the whole firm with a standing applause send off. My guess is Hamlin's next move would be to never allow Jimmy to practice under the name McGill. Something to that effect.

My second guess is Kim winds up at Hamlin. There is some major rift that will occur between her and Jimmy. You get the feel that she loves the hopeless side of Jimmy because she knows he is a good guy but I get the gist that she doesn't quite know exactly how corrupt he can be.

I watch this show and is all I can think about is how I know at least 5 Jimmy McGills. That guy whose heart is in the right place and is highly intelligent but you've learned to distance yourself from him because he cannot get out of his own way and everything he touches eventually becomes a dumpster fire.

Jimmy comes out of the Sandpiper gig doing something noble in order to save the friendships of old women that he had destroyed yet is hated by every side involved. That is Jimmy to a TEE.

Still really like the Nacho character. From day one he seemed more like a Gus guy than a Hector guy. Very cool and calculated. That last scene with Gus looking to him makes me wonder? I also wonder if Hector's heart attack causes the stroke that essentially incapacitates him? Will be interesting to see where the Nacho character goes from here.
 
Pretty cool voiceover work in the beginning showing a father-like older brother Chuck reading to Jimmy as kids.

I agree with the Chuck synopsis. Tough to imagine he got out and the house did not burn to the ground after you watch it go so fast in the one room.

So this begs the question, if Hamlin paid Chuck out of his own pocket and yet there were no witnesses to the 3 million dollar check AND assuming Chuck never cashed the check did it ever happen? Chuck did not tell anyone and more than likely did not cash the check yet was paraded in front of the whole firm with a standing applause send off. My guess is Hamlin's next move would be to never allow Jimmy to practice under the name McGill. Something to that effect.

My guess is there will be some issue with Jimmy practicing under the McGill name simply because HHM already uses that name, and there was the big dust up when Jimmy did the billboard stunt after trying to mimic HHM right down to the pinstripe suit.

But, I think the far-reaching issue is the $3 million. What is the time-frame between that lobby farewell and him knocking over the lantern? The curious thing is, did Chuck already know that this was the end? Without the law, Chuck is nothing. That's been his life. His world. And it was just taken away. Without HHM to fight over his malpractice insurance, he couldn't really go it alone. Nor, would he want his name dragged through the mud after what happened with him on the witness stand?

So, would he even have considered cashing the check if he knew his 'life was over'? As you said, I don't think so. And without the check being issues from HHM's accountant, instead of Hamlin's own personal account, my guess is that might be all we ever hear of it.

What's left is any equity Chuck had in HHM that gets divested upon his death. That's where the stipulation from HHM about using the McGill name may come from as they intend to keep the M in the name 'in honor' of Chuck to save face for just recently kicking him to the curb, though to the firm it appears Chuck went willingly.

My second guess is Kim winds up at Hamlin. There is some major rift that will occur between her and Jimmy. You get the feel that she loves the hopeless side of Jimmy because she knows he is a good guy but I get the gist that she doesn't quite know exactly how corrupt he can be.

I watch this show and is all I can think about is how I know at least 5 Jimmy McGills. That guy whose heart is in the right place and is highly intelligent but you've learned to distance yourself from him because he cannot get out of his own way and everything he touches eventually becomes a dumpster fire.

Jimmy comes out of the Sandpiper gig doing something noble in order to save the friendships of old women that he had destroyed yet is hated by every side involved. That is Jimmy to a TEE.

I'm not sure about Kim. That sounds plausible that she winds up back at HHM. But only with a much higher position, and with Chuck gone, that could be a spot as a junior partner given her major account she handles for Mesa Verde. That alone might be enough.

As for Jimmy. Yes, I know several Jimmy's in my life who are the exact same way. They can't help but trip over their own feet no matter how hard they attempt not to. He tries so hard to be 'the good guy' despite knowing he's conning people left and right. It reminds me of Cage's character in Matchstick Men. If they give over their money willingly, he doesn't see it as a scam. It's not like he 'took' their money. And uses that same logic when he himself gets swindled in the end.

Jimmy's heading down a dark road. We know how things go in Breaking Bad. Even near the beginning, he's no saint. So, something pushes him over the edge. And though Chuck's apparent suicide may be the nudge, I think something with Kim is what completely destroys his humanity. After that, it's just surviving. As immoral and illegitimate as needed.

Though he remains oblivious about Mike's level of involvement with Gus, he is aware of it and seems to be entirely at ease with it when Walt and Jesse come to him. Though, there is a story about Jimmy's issue with why he thought someone else had drug him into the desert with his head covered to kill him.

Still really like the Nacho character. From day one he seemed more like a Gus guy than a Hector guy. Very cool and calculated. That last scene with Gus looking to him makes me wonder? I also wonder if Hector's heart attack causes the stroke that essentially incapacitates him? Will be interesting to see where the Nacho character goes from here.

The one thing about Gus is, for a crime boss, he has a very strict code, the same as Mike. Which is why I think they respect each other as much. For as much carnage as they may do, they know the rules of the game. And that's to only deal with those 'playing the game'. The outside world, like the kid on the bike in BB, is to be left untouched. They're not part of the game. They're innocent. It's that ethic, questionable as it may be, is what lured Mike into Gus's business and essentially his right hand man in Albuquerque.

Walt and Jesse (mainly Walt), meanwhile, get involved and though they start to do business with Gus, it's actually making sense why Gus wanted Walt gone. Walt was a problem. Walt had no problem with collateral damage if it benefited him. The low-on-the-totem-pole workers in prison all getting killed was entirely his doing. That's something, I think, Gus never would even consider. But, he was also precise enough he'd never let the low-on-the-totem-pole workers at his restaurants or anywhere along his distribution chain get put into a position where their deaths would be warranted.

Walt was the true problem. Mike said so shortly before he was shot. "We had a good thing," and then before Walt shot him, said that it was Walt's ego that blew everything up. Mostly, he couldn't play by the rules.
 
Gus will probably put the hit out on Nacho if he doesn't try to bring him over. No one gets to kill Hector but him.
 
TV has been bad for me lately. The WTD/FTWD has gone off the rails. Its Always Sunny is on hiatus. GOT does not return until April?

Pretty excited for BCS to return.
 
TV has been bad for me lately. The WTD/FTWD has gone off the rails. Its Always Sunny is on hiatus. GOT does not return until April?

Pretty excited for BCS to return.

I agree, there’s not been much in terms of traditional TV. The only show I’ve watched consistently this Summer is “Succession” on HBO, and I’d only categorize it as “pretty good.”
 
AMC announced that Better Call Saul has already been renewed for a fifth season. https://deadline.com/2018/07/better-call-saul-tca-season-5-renewal-amc-1202435812/

5 seasons is the perfect length for a show in my opinion. Gives you enough time for a couple major story arcs and not too long that a show "Jumps the Shark" and starts to use stunt casting or idiotic situations to keep things fresh. Two of the best TV series in history went the 5 season route to great affect: The Wire and Breaking Bad.
 
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