Starchild

Unfortunately for Howard, he never knew Kim was gunning for him. He told his wife about everything going on, but blamed it on Jimmy. When Kim spoke up, she had credibility with Cheryl that Jimmy just didn't (along with a great acting job). If Howard had implicated Kim as well, that conversation could have gone quite differently.

I wonder if the series finale will have Gene finally coming to terms with everything, with brutal honestly about himself. That seems fitting, live or die. I've already gone through a couple of interpretations of the scene between Kim and Cheryl, and I've been rethinking it yet again. Previously, I thought she had her revelation of "too far, it's time to get out of here" when they were on their way down to the parking garage. She already knew it was over and she was leaving, and she gave Jimmy that goodbye kiss. But now I'm thinking that she made the decision before she shattered Cheryl. She saw Jimmy floundering, figured if this went on much longer he would expose himself out of guilt, and decided to shut Cheryl down then and there to protect him. I don't think she wanted to do it, but she needed to for Jimmy. And then it was time to leave, to save both of them. I was disappointed with how things were left with Cliff. I thought he might make at least a half-hearted effort to give Howard the benefit of the doubt and try to investigate. But it seems not. I see it differently. I agree she burned her soul, but not to give Cheryl closure. It was to give Jimmy cover. Because all of that would implicate Jimmy and she wants to protect him. Right? OMG I think that's the best acting I've ever seen him do. Up there with the brothers' first confrontation. Both times it's when the person he loves most utterly betrays him. No wonder Saul decides never to really care about anyone again.

I'll do it

I had all the feelings. What a rollercoaster. She does know. One last bit of cold-blooded ruthlessness to secure her and Jimmy's own safety.

Just thinking the same thing. Kim knew exactly what she was doing. That comment was meant to ratchet up the guilt to 11, effectively deflecting the guilt away from her and Jimmy and onto Cheryl. Cold.

re: the first point above, I liked the shot during the conversation at the fence between Mike and Nacho's dad, where it was framed to look like Mike was in a cage. re: the second point, I noticed over the seasons how they were bad for each other. When they would get into a scheme and one would pull back, have second thoughts, the other would push forward. A yin-yang of spiritual degradation. It may be a reference to that old saying "it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye". Or much worse, in Howard's case. Their fatal flaw as a couple is bringing out the worst in each other. Would that ever go away? Maybe it's better for them (and everyone around them) if they never get together again. Also, wasn't it Eladio who sent the guys after Jimmy in the desert, because they didn't really want Lalo to get out of jail? I expect Eladio is fine with how this all shook out. He would be relieved that Hector can't prove it, because then he'd have to do something about it. I don't think Max was his brother.

If there's a season 5 it probably won't be that soon lol

How was this only an hour, so much happened? What was the song in the cold open? Shazam couldn't find it. Gus with the waiter. That's the most animated, dare I say happy, I've ever seen Gus. The stories the guy was telling were boring as hell, so I can only assume Gus was smitten with him. Then he remembers Max, or perhaps just generally comes back to earth knowing he can never bring another partner into this world, it would only end badly. Poor lonely Gus. I was horrified with the lie Kim told Cheryl. Yes she was jumping to Jimmy's defense after he abased himself trying to make Cheryl feel even a little better, but that just seemed like salt in the wound, and her effortlessness with it suggested she was OK with it. Then, when she kissed Jimmy in the parking garage, I was appalled thinking is this turning her on too? Even this? But when she drove away alone, I thought it might have been a goodbye kiss. I'm not entirely satisfied with the time jump. I don't feel I've seen enough to justify Jimmy becoming fully immersed in Saul Goodman. There's stuff missing still, like why did the sign get upgraded, then downgraded, how did he get Lady Liberty? There's still story there, not just cosmetic details but important character stuff for Jimmy-to-Saul. I have to trust they'll come back to it, but until that happens I feel there's a hole in Jimmy's character arc.

Or perhaps the strategy is to try to wake her up gently. Rather than getting in her face and telling her she's not a human but a robot housing a sentient AI, he uses subtle clues, language, etc. to try to coax her into remembering it for herself. I suppose it would be slightly less traumatizing that way, though it would take longer.

Possibly, but my TV-watching instincts are telling me that he is fully aware, and that Bernard sent him to Christina as part of his save-humanity plan.

I really hope they can clarify this, seems pointless otherwise. Other than slaves to keep the world working, and fodder for entertainment (robots doing whatever they want to humans in their version of WW), what else is happening? Why keep them pretending to live free.? And how long can she torment William? He's human, he has to die soon. Also, how many actual WW robot personas are there? Only a handful, can probably count them on one hand. I suppose it's possible she's making copies of humans to turn them into robots until no humans are left, and she has to keep them docile until then. 5 robots vs. 7 billion humans, could take a while. She should at least shut down their drive to procreate.

I got the same impression though. To me, Marsden's performance had a hint of you-don't-remember-me wistfulness.

Wouldn't creating a spontaneous gay bar in a private home be a violation of residential zoning laws or something?

I haven't gone back to watch it, so it could be. Either way, I stand by my general statement on the skill and talent of the showrunners and writers of BB/BCS.

Oh and not only that line, but I read an article that reiterated that in BB, when Hank investigated the lab explosion, he mentioned finding two bodies under it. My god, the attention to detail. The extraordinary skill at weaving these very disparate threads together into a breathtaking television tapestry with such artistry. I've never felt in better showrunner hands than these ones. No superlatives are too much.

The elegance of the writing to accomplish the tie-in to that throwaway line in BB... I can't even. This show is so good.

This universe is big on unintended consequences.

BCS in the FAR FAR future lol

I get what y'all are saying, I do, but random dinner invitations and family visits are one thing. It's quite another to engage in deceitful, damaging behaviour that just so happens to lead to even more dire circumstances than intended. They were already doing something they never should have been doing, and that it resulted, even tangentially, in their victim's death, should have them on their knees begging for forgiveness from the karma gods. If I were Cinnabon's friend, I would not blame myself for what happened, as nothing I did to bring my loved ones to me was ill-intentioned. If I were J&K, I definitely would. They didn't need to do what they did to him, it was for kicks, like he said, and they know Howard would never have ended up in their condo at the same time as Lalo (unexpected as he may have been) if they had just left him alone. Although, of course, if I were J&K I clearly would be able to compartmentalize the shit out if it.

Because of Kim & Jimmy. If they hadn't pulled their long con on him, he'd still be alive. Not the kind of cause and effect that would land them in jail, but any decent human being would feel horrible guilt over it.

Cliff is a key figure. The one provable fact he could tell police is that someone tricked Howard's firm into entering false contact info for their regular PI firm. It will be interesting to see if that clue is followed up. I'm also really interested in seeing how Kim responds to Cliff asking why she skipped that meeting on the same day Howard so eloquently outlined J&K's scheme to Cliff. Not to mention that's the same day he disappeared, never to be found again.

Since that would have had the same results (distracting security away from the laundry), I think it would have gone down exactly the same way. Hey a man's gotta eat

Well, in Gus' case specifically, we know he's alone and why, based on scenes from BB. But I get what you're saying.

Everyone is so good, but Laszlo is the VIP of this series. Blood sprinklers?!

I think it's also a way of streamlining the story-telling, making it more efficient. How events might affect these other peoples' partners is not central to the story, with the exception of Jimmy and Kim, since they are both central characters and married to each other.