S06.E06: Axe and Grind

[Eulipian 5k]

3 minutes ago, SimplexFish said:

Thank you...that's a lot of scratch but after taxes it should would not pay for that golden toileted mansion from the season opener!

Walt paid for the golden throne, Have an A-1 day.

[Bannon]

4 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

As it happens, yesterday I was reading about Sandpiper at the Breaking Bad wiki. It says $1.16M.

That would be a nice windfall for Saul, giving him plenty of capital to set up a functioning money laundering business, which I suspect was far and away the most lucrative part of his business we saw in BB. Howard doesn't have to be completely ruined to force a Sandpiper settlement, he just has to be damaged enough to spook Cliff. Is it possible that Howard is damaged, but not ruined, Saul cashes in, while Kim gets ruined by the plot coming to light, but she falls on her sword, thus proving her genuine love for Jimmy?

[peeayebee]

I just watched this video about why Jimmy & Kim are targeting Howard. 

(Is it possible to embed a video here?)

Edited May 19, 2022 by peeayebee

[PeterPirate]

24 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

I just watched this video about why Jimmy & Kim are targeting Howard. 

(Is it possible to embed a video here?)

Pasting the URL works for me.  The system automatically grabs the video.  Very convenient.  However, add a few lines beforehand or you won't be able to type anything.  

[SimplexFish]

1 hour ago, peeayebee said:

I just watched this video about why Jimmy & Kim are targeting Howard. 

That was a pretty good video...I don't agree 100% with his takes but it did leave me liking Howard more.

Of course next to that YouTube video was a list of more BCS vids. I just watched a "spoiler" from a longtime fan based on the Episode 7 Trailer and some still phones that have been posted by the cast and WOW, especially the off scene still photo posted by Bob Odenkirk of he and Howard!!

I'm not gonna comment on it because some people here lose their minds if some possible upcoming scenario is written about. However, if ya wanna see it look up: YouTuber Pete Peppers S6 EPISODE 7 PREVIEW

Edited May 19, 2022 by SimplexFish

[peeayebee]

2 minutes ago, SimplexFish said:

Of course next to that YouTube video was a list of more BCS vids.

I watched the compilation of the three Bob Odenkirk appearances on Drunk History. I think I've seen all the eps from that show, but I only remembered one of them.

[PeterPirate]

On 5/16/2022 at 11:52 PM, ahmerali said:

This is also a way to keep both the Kim/Saul fallout and Lalo's plot going into next season.   

I think you mean the first season of Wexter.

[Cinnabon]

6 hours ago, Eulipian 5k said:

But whose resources is Lalo tapping into in Germany, (tracking, transport, weapons), without revealing that he is alive? and Madrigal doesn't notice Werner's crew is being attacked? (plotus holus!)

Also - are we to believe that he eluded TSA and somehow flew internationally with his own gun? Because it’s not easy to buy a gun in Germany.

https://germanculture.com.ua/daily/gun-laws-in-germany/

To get a gun, Germans must first obtain a firearms ownership license (Waffenbesitzkarte) – and you may need a different one for each weapon you buy – or a license to carry (Waffenschein).

Applicants for a license must be at least 18 years old and undergo what’s called a reliability check, which includes checking for criminal records, whether the person is an alcohol or drug addict, whether they have mental illness or any other attributes that might make them questionable to authorities.

The also have to pass a “specialized knowledge test” on guns and people younger than 25 applying for their first license must go through a psychiatric evaluation.

One must also prove a specific and approved need for the weapon, which is mainly limited to use by hunters, competitive marksmen, collectors and security workers – not for self-defence.

Once you have a license, you’re also limited in the number of and kinds of guns you may own, depending on what kind of license you have: Fully automatic weapons are banned for all, while semiautomatic firearms are banned for anything other than hunting or competitive shooting.

Under the reforms passed in the wake of a 2009 mass shooting, gun owners are also subject to continued monitoring by the government with officials able to ask gun owners at any time to enter their private property and check that they are properly storing their weapons.
 

And yes, I’m now so envious of Germans! If only I could speak German, I’d seriously think of moving there.

 

[peeayebee]

21 minutes ago, Cinnabon said:

Also - are we to believe that he eluded TSA and somehow flew internationally with his own gun?

Yes. Yes we are.

[Cinnabon]

4 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

Yes. Yes we are.

Lalo the magic criminal strikes again!

[PeterPirate]

39 minutes ago, Cinnabon said:

Also - are we to believe that he eluded TSA and somehow flew internationally with his own gun? Because it’s not easy to buy a gun in Germany. 

Lalo got to Germany from Mexico.  At the end of the first episode he drove south away from the border.  

[peeayebee]

25 minutes ago, Cinnabon said:

Lalo the magic criminal strikes again!

With his magic ankles!

[Bannon]

1 hour ago, Cinnabon said:

Also - are we to believe that he eluded TSA and somehow flew internationally with his own gun? Because it’s not easy to buy a gun in Germany.

https://germanculture.com.ua/daily/gun-laws-in-germany/

To get a gun, Germans must first obtain a firearms ownership license (Waffenbesitzkarte) – and you may need a different one for each weapon you buy – or a license to carry (Waffenschein).

Applicants for a license must be at least 18 years old and undergo what’s called a reliability check, which includes checking for criminal records, whether the person is an alcohol or drug addict, whether they have mental illness or any other attributes that might make them questionable to authorities.

The also have to pass a “specialized knowledge test” on guns and people younger than 25 applying for their first license must go through a psychiatric evaluation.

One must also prove a specific and approved need for the weapon, which is mainly limited to use by hunters, competitive marksmen, collectors and security workers – not for self-defence.

Once you have a license, you’re also limited in the number of and kinds of guns you may own, depending on what kind of license you have: Fully automatic weapons are banned for all, while semiautomatic firearms are banned for anything other than hunting or competitive shooting.

Under the reforms passed in the wake of a 2009 mass shooting, gun owners are also subject to continued monitoring by the government with officials able to ask gun owners at any time to enter their private property and check that they are properly storing their weapons.
 

And yes, I’m now so envious of Germans! If only I could speak German, I’d seriously think of moving there.

 

There are criminals in Europe, and they do traffic in weapons. Criminals still use false IDs to travel, and getting into Europe isn't like North Korea. Especially for somebody who can access 7 million in a day or two.

Edited May 19, 2022 by Bannon

[Bannon]

3 hours ago, PeterPirate said:

I think you mean the first season of Wexter.

Or first season of Giselle's, a show about a disbarred lawyer, with a penchant for holding a grudge,  who opens a high end tequila bar, where it's ill-advised to try to solicit new clients, or get involved with anybody's problems you overhear on a phone conversation.

[Constantinople]

Here's what I know

• Lalo possessed a gun in Germany
• Germany was a member of the EU when this episode was set (and still is)
• The Czech Republic joined the EU in 2004 though I don't know exactly when
• In the Breaking Bad timeline, there are a lot of meth addicts in the Czech Republic
• The cartel is in the meth business
• The Czech Republic borders Germany
• Spain is a member of the EU
• FWIW, the UK was also a member of the EU at the time of this episode
• There are lots of movies, and probably television shows, showing people carrying guns with them across countries within the EU, or acquiring them illegally within the EU. Not just James Bond movies. Standard gangster movies.

Here's what I don't know

• The country listed on Lalo's fake passport
• Whether gun sales are governed by EU law, local country law or some combination, and therefore if there are other EU countries with laxer gun laws than Germany
• Whether Lalo flew directly to Germany or another country within the EU
• If Lalo has a EU identity under which he can travel, similar to his American identity under which he was charged for murder in ABQ
• What bank accounts he or his identity have access to in Europe
• If someone born in the US or Mexico who has a Spanish citizen as a parent is eligible for Spanish citizenship and thus an EU passport

Here's what I don't know but think is true

• It's easier to travel across European borders within the EU if you're traveling with an EU passport than with an American or Mexican passport
• Mexican drug cartels had international connections in the mid eighties beyond the Americas
• Gun smuggling and illegal gun purchases are not as easy as in real life as the movies, but do happen
• Castilian and other Spanish accents from Spain are different from Spanish accents from Mexico or the US

So perhaps Lalo flew to Europe under a fake identity with an EU passport. Possibly he flew into Germany, but maybe some other EU country with laxer gun laws. If anyone asks why he speaks Spanish with a Mexican or American accent, he can say he was born in Mexico or the US but his mother or father was from Spain. Lalo bought a gun, possibly under his EU identity but more likely under the table. Then he met up with Casper.

Edited May 20, 2022 by Constantinople
Correct typos and similar errors

[scenario]

42 minutes ago, Constantinople said:

Here's what I know

• Lalo possessed a gun in Germany
• Germany was a member of the EU when this episode was set (and still is)
• The Czech Republic joined the EU in 2004 though I don't know exactly when
• In the Breaking Bad timeline, there are a lot of meth addicts in the Czech Republic
• The cartel is in the meth business
• The Czech Republic borders Germany
• Spain is a member of the EU
• FWIW, the UK was also a member of the EU at the time of this episode
• There are lots of movies, and probably television shows, showing people carrying guns with them across countries within the EU, or acquiring them illegally within the EU. Not just James Bond movies. Standard gangster movies.

Here's what I don't know

• The country listed on Lalo's fake passport
• Whether gun sales are governed by EU law, local country law or some combination, and therefore if there are other EU countries with laxer gun laws than Germany
• Whether Lalo flew directly to Germany or another country within the EU
• If Lalo has a EU identity under which he can travel, similar to his American identity under which he was charged for murder in ABQ
• What bank accounts he or his identity have access to in Europe
• If someone born in the US or Mexico who has a Spanish citizen as a parent is eligible for Spanish citizenship and thus an EU passport

Here's what I don't know but think is true

• It's easier to travel across European borders within the EU if you're traveling with an EU passport than with an American or Mexican passport
• Mexican drug cartels had international connections in the mid eighties beyond the Americas
• Gun smuggling and illegal gun purchases are not as easy as in real life as the movies, but do happen
• Castilian and other Spanish accents from Spain are different from Spanish accents from Mexico or the US

So perhaps Lalo flew to Europe under a fake identity with an EU passport. Possibly he flew into Germany, but maybe some other EU country with laser gun laws. If anyone asks why he speaks Spanish with a Mexican or Spanish accent, he can say he was born in Mexico or the US but his mother or father was from Spain. Lalo bought a gun, possibly under his EU identity but more likely under the table. Then he met up with Casper.

The basic answer is that he has a lot of money.

Which scenario is more reasonable.

Lalo all by himself, with no help at all and no preparation flew to Europe to find Casper.

Or

Lalo is a drug lord who knew that he might have to run from the police or other drug lords at any time. He made contacts all around the world and had money stashed all around the world. He knew about Werner months ago and paid someone somewhere in Europe to get information for him. They got the stuff that was public domain or easy to obtain. A picture of his wife. Their address. Her patterns, where she worked. Where she hung out, etc. 

Lalo has a few trusted friends he's known since childhood. Many of them were killed during the hit but not all of them. He called one of them and they got him to a safe place where he had stored a bunch of fake Ids from various countries, cash etc. and flew somewhere in the EU and then went to Germany, either by public transportation or by car. He got the gun from contacts somewhere in the EU. Or maybe he went through Africa and came over on a smugglers boat to the EU and picked the gun up in Africa where the laws are less strict.

Nothing about what Lalo did in Europe seems to be especially extreme if you assume that he had everything partially planned long before it happened. 

[Cinnabon]

53 minutes ago, scenario said:

The basic answer is that he has a lot of money.

Which scenario is more reasonable.

Lalo all by himself, with no help at all and no preparation flew to Europe to find Casper.

Or

Lalo is a drug lord who knew that he might have to run from the police or other drug lords at any time. He made contacts all around the world and had money stashed all around the world. He knew about Werner months ago and paid someone somewhere in Europe to get information for him. They got the stuff that was public domain or easy to obtain. A picture of his wife. Their address. Her patterns, where she worked. Where she hung out, etc. 

Lalo has a few trusted friends he's known since childhood. Many of them were killed during the hit but not all of them. He called one of them and they got him to a safe place where he had stored a bunch of fake Ids from various countries, cash etc. and flew somewhere in the EU and then went to Germany, either by public transportation or by car. He got the gun from contacts somewhere in the EU. Or maybe he went through Africa and came over on a smugglers boat to the EU and picked the gun up in Africa where the laws are less strict.

Nothing about what Lalo did in Europe seems to be especially extreme if you assume that he had everything partially planned long before it happened. 

When Hector asked him for “proof,” he wasn’t sure what he might have right away. It later dawned on him that he might find some proof by investigating Werner. I’m  not sure how far ahead he planned the trip to Germany.

[Eulipian 5k]

Lalo planning a "secret" body double is believable for a drug lord under constant threat from competitors; look at Gus or any numbers of dictators. BUT having Jason Bourne type operations pre-imbedded for Europe seems far fetched. Gus is presented as super meticulous and forward thinking for his connection to Madrigal and the buried superlab; the Salamancas have not been shown that way. Tuco? the Cousins?? (Hector can't see farther than taking over a Mom & Pop furniture repair to find trucks). Lalo couldn't even move 7 MILLION dollars CASH without using someone he's only had 3 conversations with. He's not going to "engage the European assets" without word spreading that  a BIG MEXICAN DRUG LORD is ALIVE and in Germany.

I like Lalo, he's resourceful and clever, but his family's operation has never been shown to be this big, not even Bolsa or Don Eladio are shown to have half of the foresight of Gus' operation. Lalo in Germany is being presented as a one-man Fring/Madrigal/Ermentraut enterprise. Just my "wait, what?" takeaway from Lalo's excellent adventure.

[Eulipian 5k]

14 hours ago, scenario said:

Lalo has a few trusted friends he's known since childhood. Many of them were killed during the hit but not all of them. He called one of them

He hasn't even told his cousins that he is alive, he's gonna trust a friend in Europe to keep that secret? Remember Kim's rant: "Get your sh#t together! If you can't trust ANYONE  with your $7M, you've got a lot more problems than with Jimmy McGill"

[SimplexFish]

14 hours ago, Cinnabon said:

When Hector asked him for “proof,” he wasn’t sure what he might have right away. It later dawned on him that he might find some proof by investigating Werner. I’m  not sure how far ahead he planned the trip to Germany.

Wasn't the only proof that Hector was asking for was proving Gus was behind the assignation attempt? 

[Adiba]

1 minute ago, SimplexFish said:

Wasn't the only proof that Hector was asking for was proving Gus was behind the assignation attempt? 

I think Lalo is searching for proof that Gus wants him dead because of his suspicions about Gus’ operations (the super lab, which will squeeze out the cartel ‘s meth trade)? Lalo’s intuition is telling him that Gus’ “construction project” and the attempt on his life are somehow connected.

1 hour ago, Eulipian 5k said:

He hasn't even told his cousins that he is alive, he's gonna trust a friend in Europe to keep that secret? Remember Kim's rant: "Get your sh#t together! If you can't trust ANYONE  with your $7M, you've got a lot more problems than with Jimmy McGill"

There is a lot of “willing suspension of disbelief” involved when watching the Lalo storyline. Same goes for the Saul and Kim revenge on Howard storyline. I try to not let it affect my enjoyment of the show, though. It is fun to come here and read everyone else’s thoughts about the likelihood of events happening in real life the way they are portrayed in the episodes.

 

[Gobi]

12 minutes ago, SimplexFish said:

Wasn't the only proof that Hector was asking for was proving Gus was behind the assignation attempt? 

An assignation attempt? Was that Lalo flirting with Margarethe? 😄

[scenario]

1 hour ago, Eulipian 5k said:

He hasn't even told his cousins that he is alive, he's gonna trust a friend in Europe to keep that secret? Remember Kim's rant: "Get your sh#t together! If you can't trust ANYONE  with your $7M, you've got a lot more problems than with Jimmy McGill"

The guy in Europe wasn't a friend. The friend was in Mexico. The person in Europe was a friend of a friend who didn't know his name or care as long as he had money in his hand. Lalo was always put forward as the smart one in the family. It doesn't take a Jason Borne to know the phone number of a bunch of people who know how to get you stuff.

What did he need to do what he did? 

1) Money. He had money.

2) A fake identity including passport or two. That seems to be a reasonable precaution for a drug lord to have available.

3) Friends in places who could get him stuff. The "Friends" don't even have to know his name.  People who talk about drug lords business tend to have a short life span. 

If you have money, brains and connections you can get things done. I agree about Hector and the cousins. They'd never be able to do it. Lalo was always talked about as the smart one in the family. 

Why did he hire Jimmy? Expendability. Jimmy was well known at the courthouse and had some limited connections. If some high powered $500 an hour lawyer walked in as an unknown guy's lawyer, heads would turn. They'd expect a scumbag like Saul. And if he tried to take off with the money, he'd be dead. The plan fell apart when someone outside the family found out about the money. Lalo's mistake was to rely on his family to watch Jimmy closely enough. His family trusted the wrong people. 

[scenario]

1 hour ago, Eulipian 5k said:

He hasn't even told his cousins that he is alive, he's gonna trust a friend in Europe to keep that secret? Remember Kim's rant: "Get your sh#t together! If you can't trust ANYONE  with your $7M, you've got a lot more problems than with Jimmy McGill"

Lalo's smart. His family are idiots who get where they are by violence. They'd have hired a $500 an hour lawyer who'd blow Lalo's cover. They are the ones who let the wrong person find out about the money. He couldn't exactly give detailed instructions sitting in prison. 

You don't have to be a superhero to fly to a country and do some simple detective work when you've got money. Who'd be looking for Lalo? He's dead. The gun would be a pain to get but millions of dollars helps.

Mr. John Smith from somewhere in Texas walks into a PI's office in Germany. He asks him to track down an old friend of his. He pays the PI in Euros. The guy takes the money and gives him a report a few hours or days later. He's dead but his widow lives at such and such address and she hangs out in such and such a bar. That's all that he'd need. 

None of that requires extreme intelligence or a whole network of friends. Just a fake id, money and a couple of people who will do things for cash. 

[Eulipian 5k]

So Lalo has guys guarding a warehouse of cash in Mexico, and doesn't have a trustworthy Bagman to move cash, in an all cash business, but his Germany operation is so tight that he can do all that he did, secretly? .

[Dev F]

1 hour ago, SimplexFish said:

Wasn't the only proof that Hector was asking for was proving Gus was behind the assignation attempt? 

No, all Hector said was that he should find "proof" before coming after Gus, presumably because the cartel would not take kindly to the Salamancas murdering their top earner if they had no reason to believe he'd been disloyal.

Maybe at first he meant they needed proof that Gus was behind the attempted assassination, but Nacho's sacrifice made that impossible, so the secret lab is Lalo's only other lead.

[Lalo Lives]

Re: Kim's earrings.

I THINK she was wearing different earrings when she crashed.

They were still triangles, but hollowed out.

I wonder if any significance can be attributed to this. Or...... I either have a bad TV or bad eyes.

Did anybody else notice this?

[peeayebee]

I just watched the relevant video, and yes her earrings are like hollow triangles. 

Does anyone knows when we first saw her wearing the shoplifted earrings? I'm assuming it was this season, not before. Or maybe not. Maybe the wardrobe people had just a few different earrings that she wore, probably all simple and understated, then for this season and the flashback about the shoplifting, the show picked one of the pairs she had worn and made that the one from her childhood.

Maybe the hollow triangle earrings were just another simple style of earring that fit the character of Kim rather than being anything symbolic.

[scenario]

29 minutes ago, Eulipian 5k said:

So Lalo has guys guarding a warehouse of cash in Mexico, and doesn't have a trustworthy Bagman to move cash, in an all cash business, but his Germany operation is so tight that he can do all that he did, secretly? .

Lalo had people to bring the cash from Mexico across the border and into the US where they give it to Saul. Where should they do the exchange, in the court parking lot?  Once Saul got the cash it was a straight ride into town on pretty open roads. If no one knew he had the money, the only real risk was Saul himself. 

If his family hadn't been so sloppy and let way to many people know that there was $7 million dollars in cash floating about it would have been fine. It didn't matter where they gave Saul the money if a whole bunch of people knew he was going to get it. They should have had the cousins follow him from a distance. But Lalo's family has the subtlety of a bomb and messed it all up. Lalo's family are fools who succeed by being very violent and terrifying. They don't succeed by their intelligence, except for Lalo. 

He doesn't have any German operations. He has a few contacts in Germany. Does it really take millions of dollars to get a fake passport? Fly to Germany. Find a widow whose hiding in plain site. Break into her house. Find some evidence that points to the information he really needs. Visit the guy who made the trophy and find out where his ultimate target is. Rent a car under a fake name and travel to torture his target to get the information he needs, kill him and bury him in a shallow grave until he's long out of town. 

The people in Germany don't know him. He comes into their office and says "I'm Joe Smith from Texas. Diego sent me. Here's a pile of euros. I needs X,Y and Z." Why does anyone have to know his name?

Does the vet know the real name of all his customers or do people come in saying "Lalo sent me. How much do you want for me to do xyz?"

I don't know why you think that everyone knows a drug dealer from New Mexico. He doesn't need a whole organization in Germany. He just needs the equivalent of the Vet who knows has a few contacts and will get what you need, no questions asked if you have the cash. 

[Cinnabon]

6 hours ago, Eulipian 5k said:

Lalo planning a "secret" body double is believable for a drug lord under constant threat from competitors; look at Gus or any numbers of dictators. BUT having Jason Bourne type operations pre-imbedded for Europe seems far fetched. Gus is presented as super meticulous and forward thinking for his connection to Madrigal and the buried superlab; the Salamancas have not been shown that way. Tuco? the Cousins?? (Hector can't see farther than taking over a Mom & Pop furniture repair to find trucks). Lalo couldn't even move 7 MILLION dollars CASH without using someone he's only had 3 conversations with. He's not going to "engage the European assets" without word spreading that  a BIG MEXICAN DRUG LORD is ALIVE and in Germany.

I like Lalo, he's resourceful and clever, but his family's operation has never been shown to be this big, not even Bolsa or Don Eladio are shown to have half of the foresight of Gus' operation. Lalo in Germany is being presented as a one-man Fring/Madrigal/Ermentraut enterprise. Just my "wait, what?" takeaway from Lalo's excellent adventure.

Very well said.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Casper kind of looked like a very tall Keanu Reeves to me. (And Keanu isn't exactly short.)

Quote

Maybe Saul is counting on the PI taking shots of his own.  But he was quite insistent about the art student getting a non-blurry photo. 

"Tell Cersei Howard it was me. It want her him to know it was me."

 

[Gobi]

5 minutes ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Casper kind of looked like a very tall Keanu Reeves to me. (And Keanu isn't exactly short.)

"Tell Cersei Howard it was me. It want her him to know it was me."

 

Casper is short one foot compared to Keanu.

[PeterPirate]

I wonder if Lalo let Casper live after interrogating him, or if Casper is toest.

[SimplexFish]

3 minutes ago, PeterPirate said:

I wonder if Lalo let Casper live after interrogating him, or if Casper is toast.

No way...Lalo wouldn't leave any loose ends that could come back to haunt him. 

Funny how Casper just happens to live out in the middle of no where, alone. 😒

Edited May 21, 2022 by SimplexFish

[Joimiaroxeu]

24 minutes ago, Gobi said:

Casper is short one foot compared to Keanu.

I see what you did there. One foot. 🤭

[SimplexFish]

27 minutes ago, Gobi said:

Casper is short one foot compared to Keanu.

I see what ya did there...LOL

[PeterPirate]

46 minutes ago, SimplexFish said:

No way...Lalo wouldn't leave any loose ends that could come back to haunt him. 

True.  But Casper could come back as a ghost. 

[peeayebee]

Yeah, Caspar is most certainly dead now. I like that Lalo had him tie off his leg so he wouldn't bleed to death. Of course the only reason Lalo did that was so he could interrogate him.

[NeenerNeener]

On 5/17/2022 at 8:51 AM, SimplexFish said:

I do think that Kim's mother was in on the shoplifting, she even stole something herself

I thought it looked like she was hiding things under her clothes and had stuffed her purse with merchandise too.

[peeayebee]

I don't think so, but I wouldn't be surprised. That was a BIG purse. I noticed that she smiled at it as she shifted it to her right arm, when she and Kim left the store. I thought that was because she had the necklace/earrings in it. But who knows!

[SimplexFish]

2 hours ago, PeterPirate said:

True.  But Casper could come back as a ghost. 

Y'all are on a roll today... LOL

Edited May 21, 2022 by SimplexFish

[PeterPirate]

I'm not going to weigh in on the discussion about Howard and Cheryl's marriage.  She is obviously treating him very coldly, but at least she asked him how he was sleeping.  Whatever the case, they are trying to make Howard look more sympathetic.  

I heard in a review video that--based on the symbol on the canister he used--Howard's tea was chamomile, which is caffeine-free.  

This is not a speculation.  All of the signs in this episode point to Howard having a severe reaction to the topical he is about the receive from Kim and Saul.  And to my knowledge this show does not use mis-direction from one episode to the next--although I'm sure people will point out counterexamples if they exist.  

Just getting ready for the mid-season finale.  

Also, fwiw, another scene that made me like Howard from the start was in Episode 1-4, wherein Howard took Kim to look at Jimmy's billboard.  He treated her with a lot of respect, more like a colleague than a boss.  YMMV.  

Edited May 22, 2022 by PeterPirate

[gallimaufry]

Two more thoughts on this linked to the U-turn.

A reason for Kim to be determined to punish Howard:

Kim had a deep response to Chuck's death.  She was clearly wracked with guilt in 306 about what they did and was devastated in 403.  She also was very clear with Howard in 307 and later that he was the one misrepresenting the situation with Chuck for his own profit.  Is it possible that one of the reasons she feels so comfortable targeting Howard is because he reminds her of the relatives who took advantage of her grandmother and she actually feels some sympathy (or at least empathy) for Chuck's mental health condition?  It would need some explaining but I guess I could see something like this at least going some way to squaring the circle on Kim's character.

A reason for Kim to want to avoid Cliff's donors lunch:

The idea of people who "give a little bit to charity" to undo the harms they do was mocked by Everett Acker and we've seen the strings-attached hypocrisy of this sort of thing in the lawyer world as in 410.  She was fairly free at S&C to pursue her pro bono clients but then had her collar pulled about what "keeps the lights on".  She doesn't like to be beholden to others so self-financing her endeavours (albeit via grifting) probably seems like a more stable option -- she's always had to be self-reliant and she of course has that hot-and-cold mother to warn her off relying on others.

Of course, both theories require us to ignore/doubt evidence in the way she reacted - e.g., in this episode, delighted at the news from Cliff.

[peeayebee]

1 hour ago, gallimaufry said:

the relatives who took advantage of her grandmother

Can you remind me of this?

How do you remember all these details?

[SimplexFish]

1 hour ago, gallimaufry said:

A reason for Kim to want to avoid Cliff's donors lunch:

The idea of people who "give a little bit to charity" to undo the harms they do was mocked by Everett Acker and we've seen the strings-attached hypocrisy of this sort of thing in the lawyer world as in 410.  She was fairly free at S&C to pursue her pro bono clients but then had her collar pulled about what "keeps the lights on".  She doesn't like to be beholden to others so self-financing her endeavours (albeit via grifting) probably seems like a more stable option -- she's always had to be self-reliant and she of course has that hot-and-cold mother to warn her off relying on others.

Of course, both theories require us to ignore/doubt evidence in the way she reacted - e.g., in this episode, delighted at the news from Cliff.

I'm personally not on board with this theory at all...but I have been wrong before.

[gallimaufry]

10 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

Can you remind me of this?

How do you remember all these details?

It was in 105 when she talked about Jimmy getting into elder law:

Quote

"No, I'm serious. I... I've thought about getting into elder law myself. I watched my grandmother at the end. It's... It's awful what people have to deal with... Insurance companies, my scumbag cousins stealing her savings and her pain meds. Getting old sucks. Seniors need someone on their side."

As for remembering - well I try to do a rewatch before each new season as the show rewards close attention so some of the earlier episodes I've seen quite a bit now.  Plus if you vaguely remember a quote or a few key words you can usually find a transcript (as above) or if you vaguely remember the episode, it's usually easy enough to scan through to find the scene on Netflix thanks to the image preview window.

[MaryPatShelby]

On 5/17/2022 at 1:37 AM, Cinnabon said:

I also enjoyed the episode. This isn’t a show for those who want lots of action, it’s a character study and that’s what I love. 

Not all of us were disappointed in this episode because it didn't have lots of action. 

[nodorothyparker]

MOD NOTE

A number of recent posts have been moved to the S06.E07: Plan and Execution thread because they either alluded to or directly discussed the ending of that episode. Only discussion of events through this episode are allowed in this episode thread. Please be mindful of where you're posting so as not to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen that episode yet.