S01.E02: Mijo

[Muffyn]

Umbelina, you articulated so much of what I have been thinking about this show.  Building complex characters takes some time.  We are getting a sense of who Jimmy/Saul really is at heart.  As for the lack of secondary characters that some have complained about, we have electromagnetic guy, Tuco and Nacho brought in as what seem like they will be long term characters in just two episodes.  I really enjoyed this episode and will give the show time to build.  

[Bryce Lynch]

Just a speculation - we've already seen Jimmy use *five* names: "Slippin' Jimmy", Jimmy McGill, FBI Agent Jeffrey Steele, Saul Goodman, and Gene the Cinnabon manager.  I wonder if Saul Goodman isn't his next name, only the one that he ends up with by the beginning of BB.  Maybe he'll go through several identities over the show's arc.  And who's to say that Jimmy McGill is actually his original name?

Don't forget Kevin Costner.  I wonder if he is any relation to notorious spoon thief, Tori Costner.  :)

[Catherinewriter]

Well, I love it, even with scenes that are too long (the grandmother on the steps, i.e.). 

 

I especially love imagining the filming of the two skateboarders in the desert. "Now, guys, I know it's hot and the tape on your mouths is uncomfortable, but here's what I want you to do. Pay attention to the dialogue between Saul and the others and whimper, whine, scream, try to shout 'No', move your bodies around frantically, etc.,  whenever it's appropriate given the dialogue. We'll let you wash the sand out of your mouth when we're finished." 

 

And I think Odenkirk is a treasure. Not to go back to BB, but he's a much more decent person than WW. WW wasn't even decent before he broke bad. 

[JellyFishQueen]

My problem with this show, (And all prequels for that matter) during the desert scene I really didn't feel that much tention because I knew Saul surive and lived to have his adventures with breakin bad. So that's little negative for me having no tension or fear of saul character dying.

[carrps]

I loved the "It's Showtime!" stuff.  I didn't feel like it was there just for the gag, "It's from a movie!"

 

For me, it was an easy and short way to introduce what Saul's work life was like, an endless parade of low lifes, for $700 each, trial or no trial, he made the same money for a plea deal that he made for a (long) court battle.  I also felt it was his was of psyching himself up to be ON.  That it wasn't his deep down nature to be that smooth talking lawyer type, with the tricks and machinations it takes, and the air of confidence to get his clients off.  He had to put on that persona like a set of clothes.   He didn't just need it for the courtroom, he needed it to wheel and deal with the prosecutor. 

 

In the desert scene, you could see him stretching to pull it off without the bathroom ritual of prep, he was pulling it up from somewhere deep inside, almost by the roots, and it wasn't as smooth or as easy for him to do that.  Sure, that was mostly being terrified, but I felt that the larger part was, out in the desert, he was just Jimmy again, the guy who apparently failed in the big firm, the guy who needed a few moments to psych himself up to be able to walk in and act confident in court.

 

It humanized Jimmy/Saul for me, and gave me huge clues into who he really is.  When you combine that with what he did in the desert by not just walking away with his life, and instead staying there to fight for the skateboarding scums lives, we got to know his soul, and his morale and professional code.  He's a good man, in spite of the whole "sleazy lawyer" vibe.  He's also a damn good lawyer, in spite of the sad brown suit, and beat up car, and pathetic office. 

 

There is something THERE there, someone worth getting to know.

 

This isn't a Breaking Bad spoiler, but those scenes did remind me of Breaking Bad's STYLE of storytelling.  Scenes play out, and the non verbal small moments breathe, it's not dialogue/dialogue/dialogue let's fill ever second with words way of telling a story.  It's a style that really grows on you, and has a reality that many shows never reach, because in real life, it's the quiet before the words, or in between them, it's the reactions just as much as the actions that meld together and deliver.  I think they really achieved that in this episode.  THAT's why it reminded me of BB, not simply the desert scenes or Tuco.

 

Simply discussing those two scenes, the montage of "It's showtime!" and the desert?  They fit together, and the fusion is what made them great.  Alone, they would still be "good" scenes, but when combined, the whole became a great deal more than the parts.

 

ETA

The same thing happened when he was on his date with boobs girl and the bread sticks.  Even though he saved the skateboarders lives out there, he still felt sickened and some guilt that their legs were broken.  He was thrown, was that the best he could do?  Did he fail?  Yes, we had his moment of "I just got a death sentence reduced to 6 months probation, I'm the best lawyer EVER!"  Later, we got the other side of Jimmy/Saul, at that dinner.  The doubts, WAS he good enough?

 

Every scene is connected, or combined, almost like a dinner of carefully chosen foods and wines. 

 

Yes. Excellent post.

 

I also wanted to mention that Jimmy has used the "it's from a movie" twice now. He also said it to the HHM guys when he does the Ned Beatty "primal forces of nature" speech. Goes along with his having to psych himself up to "get in character." A lot of what Jimmy becomes by turning into Saul is putting on a personna. It's not a simple name change.

[Catherinewriter]

Jellyfish Queen, I think that will be a problem throughout the series for those of us who have seen BB, but I'll trust Gilligan and Odenkirk to make it work.

 

For me, even knowing that he wouldn't die, there was the pleasure of the convoluted and passionate ways he escaped dying, in addition to saving the skateboarders' lives. 

[Umbelina]

Also, just wanted to mention, from the BB DVD's?  Doing those montage scenes which take up a minute or two on screen is VERY expensive and time consuming.  They have a little joke they say in the commentary about "montage" being French for expensive or something like that.  They take days to shoot, have more extras, and they cost. 

Edited February 11, 2015 by Umbelina

[Bryce Lynch]

My problem with this show, (And all prequels for that matter) during the desert scene I really didn't feel that much tention because I knew Saul surive and lived to have his adventures with breakin bad. So that's little negative for me having no tension or fear of saul character dying.

True, but I didn't know what would become of the skaters.  When watching BB, I pretty much knew WW wasn't going to die or get caught until the end, but I still felt tension and suspense when it seemed his life was in danger or he was about to get busted (which was pretty much all the time). 

[pasdetrois]

 

It was nice to see Jaime Luner again (the woman in the bar), I always liked her.

I noticed the actress without knowing anything about her. We didn't hear her say anything, or anything much as the bread sticks crunched away, but she caught my attention.

 

Maybe the brother/uncle has schizotypal personality disorder rather than schizophrenia. I know someone who has it, and it is said that patients may have odd beliefs or superstitions.

 

[TVFan17]

I think the Breaking Bad talk is a result of the show being so new.  That may drop the more the show develops into its own entity.  I'd have to re-read but I will say that I don't know that there have been any major BB spoilers dropped here.  (If there have been, then i must have glossed over them because they didn't stand out.)  I think that's because Saul, while an important part of the BB universe, was on the outskirts of much of that action. 

 

That said, I do think a non-BB viewers thread is a good idea.  Because Mike wasn't on the outskirts and the more the show dives into what makes him tick, the more likely we'll get spoiler talk.

 

I totally agree.  To be honest, right now, when the show is still so new and so many Breaking Bad references (and characters) are involved, it's hard to not talk about Breaking Bad.  It's hard to talk about Tuco in BCS without referencing his appearances in Breaking Bad in some ways.  It's like we'd have to pretend we never saw the evolution of his character, or of Mike's, or of Saul's, etc.  I would find it too restrictive to try to refrain from making some references to Breaking Bad while discussing certain people/events on BCS, and would probably just end up not posting or commenting. 

 

So maybe a separate thread just for the (very few) BCS viewers who have never watched Breaking Bad should be started?

Edited February 11, 2015 by Sherry67

[LoneHaranguer]

 

My problem with this show, (And all prequels for that matter) during the desert scene I really didn't feel that much tention because I knew Saul surive and lived to have his adventures with breakin bad.

Isn't that really the case for any drama that puts the lead character "in danger"? Even when there's no single lead, were the producers really going to kill off one of Charlie's Angels or a member of The A-Team? The tension is in how he escapes and maybe with what consequences.

[editorgrrl]

Maybe the brother/uncle has schizotypal personality disorder rather than schizophrenia. I know someone who has it, and it is said that patients may have odd beliefs or superstitions.

 

According to the character page at AMCtv.com, Chuck McGill is Jimmy's older brother.

[millennium]

My problem with this show, (And all prequels for that matter) during the desert scene I really didn't feel that much tention because I knew Saul surive and lived to have his adventures with breakin bad. So that's little negative for me having no tension or fear of saul character dying.

 

But that's generally the deal with any show: chances are 99.9% the main character isn't going to die.

 

This is a tough room.

Isn't that really the case for any drama that puts the lead character "in danger"? Even when there's no single lead, were the producers really going to kill off one of Charlie's Angels or a member of The A-Team? The tension is in how he escapes and maybe with what consequences.

 

Aha.  You beat me to it.

[millennium]

I totally agree.  To be honest, right now, when the show is still so new and so many Breaking Bad references (and characters) are involved, it's hard to not talk about Breaking Bad. 

 

That's because BB and BCS are inseparable.   Would it be natural to discuss an arm without referencing its relationship to the rest of the body?

 

Walt, Jesse, and the rest of the BB crew are all characters in BCS.  They're just offscreen.   If you've seen BB, you can't get away from that feeling.  Nor should you.  BCS was made for the Breaking Bad audience.   Breaking Bad is a critical ingredient in the BCS recipe.   I doubt a show like BCS would have ever been green-lighted for a pilot if not for the Breaking Bad tie-in.   To ignore or try to overlook Breaking Bad when considering BCS would be unnatural. 

[shapeshifter]

Maybe the brother/uncle has schizotypal personality disorder rather than schizophrenia. I know someone who has it, and it is said that patients may have odd beliefs or superstitions.

Then that would fit. I was thinking more of a type of Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder--for the same reasons. I don't mean to discount those who are genuinely sensitive to electricity, but I think it's pretty clear that the show means for Chuck's problems to be primarily psychological. Anyway, I consider most psychological and psychiatric conditions to exist somewhere on a continuum, so the point of Chuck's condition would be that he has tipped over to a point where he is not able to function enough to support himself. He has a disabling condition, whether or not it is totally psychological, and they seem to plan to use it for both comic and tragic purposes in the show.

[TVFan17]

That's because BB and BCS are inseparable.   Would it be natural to discuss an arm without referencing its relationship to the rest of the body?

 

Walt, Jesse, and the rest of the BB crew are all characters in BCS.  They're just offscreen.   If you've seen BB, you can't get away from that feeling.  Nor should you.  BCS was made for the Breaking Bad audience.   Breaking Bad is a critical ingredient in the BCS recipe.   I doubt a show like BCS would have ever been green-lighted for a pilot if not for the Breaking Bad tie-in.   To ignore or try to overlook Breaking Bad when considering BCS would be unnatural. 

 

Absolutely.  We're in total agreement.  I am certainly not in a position with BCS just yet to be able to separate it from BB in my mind -- there are too many connections, references and questions that harken back to BB's characters and events (which I love, by the way).   I think the only people who could totally separate one show from the other in their minds are the ones who actually never saw Breaking Bad.  Otherwise, from the very first scene in the first episode of BCS, we are automatically thinking back to BB and how Saul got from where we left him in BB to where he is in BCS, who he thinks the guy staring at him (but not really) in Cinnabon might be, etc.  And the final scene in the first episode of BCS has us thinking about the Tuco of BB.   The two shows are inextricably linked.

[Conan Troutman]

Just a speculation - we've already seen Jimmy use *five* names: "Slippin' Jimmy", Jimmy McGill, FBI Agent Jeffrey Steele, Saul Goodman, and Gene the Cinnabon manager.  I wonder if Saul Goodman isn't his next name, only the one that he ends up with by the beginning of BB.  Maybe he'll go through several identities over the show's arc.  And who's to say that Jimmy McGill is actually his original name?

 

The creators, acutally. Jimmy's brother is also named McGill, as in "Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill" and there's no reason to assume that both brothers operate under the same fake name. I can see a couple of different aliases however, until he eventually settles for Saul Goodman. But I doubt they'd last long and would probably be played for comedic effect.

 

 

I agree that this episode was much better already. Not that the pilot was bad, but it was a pilot and while accomplishing it's goal, it was mostly setup with very little payoff. Good to see we already got some of that payoff just in the very next episode. Tuco and Nacho and the rest of the gang seem to be regulars, which is definitly a good thing. Tuco's always been highly entertaining, and a toned down, slightly less batshit crazy version of himself can also shoulder more screen time than the flat out donkey-balls insane version from BB could, so I hope that wasn't just a one-off cameo. I, too, really enjoyed Michael Mando on Orphan Black, and the more serious, but also decidedly more dangerous and hopefully bigger role suits him well. Looking forward to his arc as well.

 

Agree about the brother, so far it's the one part of the show that doesn't work for me. But I trust the creators enough that I don't think they'd include some pointless character just for the sake of it, so we'll see where that goes.

 

Seems like the "scheme for the rich fraud's money" will be the door that opens the way for Saul becoming a really criminal lawyer. Wonder how long it takes until he takes the offer. End of season or next episode?

 

I'm also curious about Mike's role in all of this. Is that really his current job or is it a cover? That he keeps working for small fish Saul despite being a big player in Gus' operation would suggest that Saul's the one who introduces him to his new job and he's doing it purely out of loyalty. On the other hand, are a couple of years really enough to rise through the ranks to one of the highest ranked henchmen/cleaners/killers (or whatever his job description is) in the whole state? Anyway, I'm excited to find out. Also, as funny as the running gag with the stamps has been, I doubt this was simply to give JB some screen time. I'm guessing they're setting up something either dramatic or hilarious (or both) with this.

[Umbelina]

Another thing we know about this production team is that they DO adjust to characters.  The keep the really good ones that work (Mike was only supposed to be on for an episode or two originally) and Jesse was supposed to die season 1.  The more talented the actor/actress?  The more likely they will write them into the plot, if they can, and it makes good story. 

 

I keep wondering it this will be more procedural eventually, not so much "a case a week" with an ongoing back-story, but a little bit more like that.  The people Saul ends up representing may stick around longer than intended if the chemistry works?  Just musing.  The montage was to move things along (and for other reasons I mentioned previously) in Jimmy-to-Saul I thing, but once he settles down and becomes Saul, I think we'll see more of his cases, and the people involved in them.

 

ETA

I keep thinking Mike is undercover and keeping an eye on the crooks and cops and judges and lawyers from a very good vantage point.  Also, how easy would it be to pass pay off money or information with that job?  I think he is probably already well into being a player.  Maybe not, this could be his job after leaving the force too I guess, but it's not the vibe I got.

Edited February 12, 2015 by Umbelina

[Irlandesa]

But that's generally the deal with any show: chances are 99.9% the main character isn't going to die.

 

This is a tough room.

To be fair, it's a pet peeve of mine on other shows too.  Maybe it was just the desert scene and perhaps Tuco.  He doesn't have the menacing lethality of a Gus who was scary even when I didn't think he'd kill the main character. 

 

And a lot of the BB suspense came from people I believed the show might kill.  I never feared for Walter White. 

[car54]

I actually like the brother character.   Jimmy is the little brother, whose big successful brother told him all their lives to just do good work, and the money will come.

And the brother is out of commission, and Jimmy finds out working hard, trying to do good work does NOT pay off--and he has the responsibility for taking care of him.

It's part of the journey--to becoming Saul--who will take any kind of work if there's money in it.   

I thought Mike's back story was he was a dirty cop and lost his job doing that.  I kind of wonder if a bad cop would get hired at a court-house though--even as a parking attendant--although-it's possible that whoever runs the parking at that location is a separate business.    You'd think he would run into a lot of old acquaintences if that is his history. 

[Umbelina]

He was from another state.

[Conan Troutman]

I keep wondering it this will be more procedural eventually, not so much "a case a week" with an ongoing back-story, but a little bit more like that.  The people Saul ends up representing may stick around longer than intended if the chemistry works?  Just musing.  The montage was to move things along (and for other reasons I mentioned previously) in Jimmy-to-Saul I thing, but once he settles down and becomes Saul, I think we'll see more of his cases, and the people involved in them.

Thought about that, too. I tend to agree, even if BB was highly serialized, the lawyer theme lends itself well to a more episodic structure. My best guess is that a lot of the episodes are split thematically, with one storyline focusing on the case (and this could be a great source of comedy, like the necrophilia stuff from the pilot) and the other plot(s) being about the greater scheme of things.

 

I keep thinking Mike is undercover and keeping an eye on the crooks and cops and judges and lawyers from a very good vantage point.  Also, how easy would it be to pass pay off money or information with that job?  I think he is probably already well into being a player.  Maybe not, this could be his job after leaving the force too I guess, but it's not the vibe I got.

It would be a good cover, but I'm having trouble finding out what for. What's he trying to do that requires him to stand in a toll booth all day long and couldn't be accomplished in a less time consuming fashion? Maybe he's a PI now? He could be trying to find out if a judge is cheating on his wife or something like that, where knowing when somebody leaves would indeed be helpful. And he might get payed by the hour, so standing/sitting there all day won't bother him.

Edited February 12, 2015 by Conan Troutman

[editorgrrl]

Mike was a beat cop in Philadelphia for ten years.

http://www.amctv.com/shows/better-call-saul/cast/mike-ehrmantraut

Before he was Saul's fixer, Mike Ehrmantraut was a cop in Philadelphia–that is, until he took an early retirement due to a series of dark events that he'd prefer to keep buried in the past. A recent transplant to the Southwest, Mike has come to Albuquerque to pursue a quiet life as a grandfather. However, his specialized skill set lends itself easily to the criminal world, and he soon finds his talents are in high demand.

His job at the parking garage job offers ample opportunity to distribute & receive information, drugs, money, etc.

Edited February 12, 2015 by editorgrrl

[millennium]

To be fair, it's a pet peeve of mine on other shows too.  Maybe it was just the desert scene and perhaps Tuco.  He doesn't have the menacing lethality of a Gus who was scary even when I didn't think he'd kill the main character. 

 

And a lot of the BB suspense came from people I believed the show might kill.  I never feared for Walter White. 

 

What made Gus scary wasn't the possibility that he might kill Walter.   Giancarlo Esposito's portrayal was so forceful and persuasive, and Bryan Cranston's so empathetic, that what we really feared, is that Gus might kill us.    They were magicians in that sense: one moment we're part of the audience, the next, we're out of our chairs and in the desert with them.

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

 

What made Gus scary wasn't the possibility that he might kill Walter.   Giancarlo Esposito's portrayal was so forceful and persuasive, and Bryan Cranston's so empathetic, that what we really feared, is that Gus might kill u

I found Gus so much scarier when I saw his backstory - where his friend was killed right in front o him - he was like this ticking time bomb and IMHO his very deliberate movements got scarier and scarier. 

[Toaster Strudel]

The cinematography is very artistic and I savor every moment of it.

[ghoulina]

My problem with this show, (And all prequels for that matter) during the desert scene I really didn't feel that much tention because I knew Saul surive and lived to have his adventures with breakin bad. So that's little negative for me having no tension or fear of saul character dying.

 

I think that would only be a problem for me if it were the very end of the series. I mean, it's Better Call Saul. He's the title character. Even if I had never seen BB, I would have known he wasn't going to die that day in the desert. That goes for a lot of main characters on shows. It's all about how the actor plays it. I didn't see that desert scene as being a "will they or won't they" in regards to Saul's life. I saw it as showing us the core of Saul, and the skills he really has to orate and manipulate and work people. 

 

The cinematography is very artistic and I savor every moment of it.

 

Amen! 

[Pike Ludwell]

The cinematography is very artistic and I savor every moment of it.

 

In terms of the clouds, clearly the filming was at several different times, maybe even different days. In some scenes the clouds and formations looked quite different from others. Lots of storm clouds were brewing in some scenes - maybe symbolism for what lies ahead.

Edited February 12, 2015 by riverclown

[LoneHaranguer]

 

And a lot of the BB suspense came from people I believed the show might kill.  I never feared for Walter White.

There's more that could have happened to Walt than to be killed, as we saw with Hank, and the same goes for Saul.

[James Moar]

"Even if I had never seen BB, I would have known he wasn't going to die that day in the desert."

CUT TO: Chuck, fighting desperately with his electromagnetic sensitivity, makes a phone call.

"I've got some bad news about your twin brother Jimmy, Saul...."

[Ohwell]

Just a speculation - we've already seen Jimmy use *five* names: "Slippin' Jimmy", Jimmy McGill, FBI Agent Jeffrey Steele, Saul Goodman, and Gene the Cinnabon manager.  I wonder if Saul Goodman isn't his next name, only the one that he ends up with by the beginning of BB.  Maybe he'll go through several identities over the show's arc.  And who's to say that Jimmy McGill is actually his original name?

I could have sworn in an episode of BB that Saul told Walt and Jesse that his "real" name was something Hispanic.  Or am I misremembering?

[editorgrrl]

In season 2, episode 8 of Breaking Bad (titled "Better Call Saul"), Walt introduces himself to Saul as Badger's uncle, Mr. Mayhew. 

Saul Goodman: Mayhew. Is that Irish or English?

Walter White: Irish.
Saul Goodman: Faith and begorrah! A fellow potato eater! My real name's McGill. The Jew thing I just do for the homeboys. They all want a pipe-hitting member of the tribe, so to speak.

Edited February 12, 2015 by editorgrrl

[hincandenza]

I've been pondering the first two, and Umbelina's excellent post cemented my feelings: they were too long. I enjoyed them, but they would have been better served to trim it to 90 minutes and had Uno and Mijo be combined to a single introductory pilot. Then the first week arc would have introduced us to downtrodden Jimmy and his family, arranged the Tuco meeting and subsequent visit from Nacho, and then that final shot doesn't seem so abrupt after two episodes, but instead leaving us thinking about when- not if- Jimmy goes for the 'easy' money.

The other thing I'm worried about- but the cast and crew have earned a lot of latitude from viewers- is the identity of the show. Given its roots, if it becomes effectively the same BB plotarc redone with a wisecrackin' attorney instead of a monstrous narcissist... is that going to be enough? What's the difference between the two characters and their journey, what kind of show will this be, and why ultimately is the Saul story compelling? I feel like there's still a struggle between Saul as comic relief and Saul as dramatic centerpiece. I hope and have faith they'll find their genre, that the whole first season wont be one long path towards his becoming Saul Goodman, and will give this show a lot of chances to figute it out.

[peggy06]

Very good second episode. The bargaining in the desert was my favorite scene. The writing for Jimmy in these "courtroom" scenes is so good, and Bob Odenkirk makes the dialogue sound so spontaneous. His delivery and timing are a delight. That was one tense scene. As was the initial scene in Tuco's grandma's house. 

 

I'm not sure where the show's going, or how long it can be sustained, but it's off to a much better start than I envisaged. Like a couple of people posted above, I wonder if the show will consist of a series of mini-arcs relating to clients and cases, with an overriding serialized story about Jimmy getting involved with the cartel.

Edited February 13, 2015 by peggy06

[BetyBee]

I've seen this episode twice and don't recall any mention of Kevin Costner.  When did that happen and what did Jimmy say?

 

I really enjoyed the episode.  The 2nd time I watched with my daughter, who hasn't seen BB and she liked it, so that is at least one person who believes it can stand alone as entertainment.  The scene in the desert, when Jimmy just has to go back and argue for the ingrate skater dudes was my favorite.  I can't believe he even took on their medical bills.  He better break bad fast and go along with Nacho's plan!

[Bryce Lynch]

I've seen this episode twice and don't recall any mention of Kevin Costner.  When did that happen and what did Jimmy say?

 

I really enjoyed the episode.  The 2nd time I watched with my daughter, who hasn't seen BB and she liked it, so that is at least one person who believes it can stand alone as entertainment.  The scene in the desert, when Jimmy just has to go back and argue for the ingrate skater dudes was my favorite.  I can't believe he even took on their medical bills.  He better break bad fast and go along with Nacho's plan!

The Kevin Costner reference was from Breaking Bad.

 

"Breaking Bad: Abiquiu (#3.11)" (2010)

Saul Goodman: If you're committed enough, you can make any story work. I once told a woman I was Kevin Costner, and it worked because I believed it.

Edited February 13, 2015 by Bryce Lynch

[BetyBee]

 

The Kevin Costner reference was from Breaking Bad.

Thank you!  I don't remember that, but now it all makes sense.  d-oh!

[lucindabelle]

The Kevin Costner ref solidifies my comment that this is not a board for me, I didn't watch bb. Didn't know the parking attendant would mean anything. Have no idea what yall are talking about. And it's clearly not just because it's new. This is a totally spoiled place for anybody who hasn't become immersed in the BB universe. It's a pity because I'm really enjoying the show and would love to talk about it but there are not two posts together without some meta reference.

[shapeshifter]

Lucindabelle, I have the same problem with shows that focus on comic book superheroes, but I don't think it will be as bad here. Certainly if you need some clarification on what was said by a mumbly character, you should be able to find the answer here. And as the relationships with the new characters build, I suspect talk about BB will become less prevalent.

[NYCFree]

I had the same problem for the first several episodes of The Office, from those that had watched the Beitish version. They kept calling the American Characters by their British counterpart names, etc.

It got much better several episodes in.

[Milburn Stone]

In the desert, Jimmy proved what an amazing advocate he can be. He may have even amazed himself. I think in the back of their minds, Tuco and/or Nacho are considering whether Jimmy will make a great mouthpiece. (Not just a guy to help steal a million and a half dollars.) 

[SoSueMe]

I am re-watching the first two episodes right now and really enjoying them. I was so confused the first viewing and I didn't have any BB backgound. 

 

I think I am falling in love with Jimmy :)

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

For you eagle eyed folks that still have Episode Two on your DVRs - I'm obsessed with looking for prior BB characters. When Jimmy was giving all those impassioned speeches in the courtroom toward the end and they were shifting between defendants - did anybody see a young woman with dark hair he was representing? Perhaps Hispanic looking? I thought she looked like the young woman that worked at the gas station where Jessie talked her into letting him not pay for the gas by giving her a teensy baggie of meth and flashing his blue eyes and not-meth-ravaged pearly whites. Or am I just trying too hard (I admit my TV set is pretty small and detail is hard to distinguish)

[BradandJanet]

The Kevin Costner ref solidifies my comment that this is not a board for me, I didn't watch bb. Didn't know the parking attendant would mean anything. Have no idea what yall are talking about. And it's clearly not just because it's new. This is a totally spoiled place for anybody who hasn't become immersed in the BB universe. It's a pity because I'm really enjoying the show and would love to talk about it but there are not two posts together without some meta reference.

 

I didn't think much about the Kevin Costner reference because I think Bob Odenkirk resembles KC anyway, so it just makes sense. However, knowing Breaking Bad adds a dimension to Better Call Saul. It's not necessary, but just gives BB viewers a nudge with inside jokes. 

[jnymph]

So far, I'm diving in head first and enjoying it.   Saul / Jimmy entertained me on BB and now on BCS he seems to be carrying it off as a main character. 

 

Interesting to see Tuco not quite as deranged as in BB.   As a previous poster mentioned upstream, guess he's not hitting the meth yet.   

[ByTor]

This is a totally spoiled place for anybody who hasn't become immersed in the BB universe.

I understand it can be frustrating, but nothing from Breaking Bad is a spoiler since it's been off the air for almost a year and a half.

Edited February 20, 2015 by ByTor

[lucindabelle]

It kind of is. For this universe. I really don't need to know that a minor character is going to be a major one...

[Nashville]

It kind of is. For this universe. I really don't need to know that a minor character is going to be a major one...

Maybe, maybe not. A character who was a major player in BB won't necessarily occupy the same level of importance in BCS.

The converse is also true; a minor BB character may assume much larger significance in the World According To Saul.

[Dobian]

The episode was a lot better than the first, but the first was a lot of setup so that's expected.  Tuco was great, I loved how he had to hide is frustration at having to shoo his grandmother up the stairs over and over. (actually, Saul should have seized on that and politely excused himself from the house, or invited the grandmother to come sit with them, lol)  Lots of setup for the rest of the season, too.  And it took me awhile to remember the name of the movie where Saul got "It's Showtime!" from, (I could remember Roy Scheider doing it over and over) then it came to me that it's All That Jazz.

Edited February 20, 2015 by Dobian

[Princess Sparkle]

I LOVED this scene when Tuco was going through different options for the twins' punishment

"Blind them? I'll cut out their tongues? Columbian necktie!"

Each one was horrifying to Saul and elicited louder and louder screams from the twins. Yet, to Tuco, it was just another day at the office.

I laughed for a solid five minutes at that scene, especially when Tuco explained the Colummbian necktie and then screamed "biznitch!"