Better Talk Saul: BCS Only!

[JFParnell]

I got tired of waiting for AMC to rerun its own show on its own network and caved to a pretty darn good Amazon Prime Day deal on season 3. Time to start prepping! I'm more excited about this than I should be. lol

Edited July 17, 2018 by JFParnell

[shapeshifter]

17 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

On Demand has: "A Look At Season 4".  I haven't watched it.  I don't like spoilers.

According to my tv cable box schedule, the first three episodes of season 3 air overnight on August 1st, starting at 2:10am est.  Three in a row back to back to back on AMC.

Episodes four thru six of season 3 air on August 2nd, starting at 2:30am est. Three in a row back to back to back on AMC.

 

I hate that kind of scheduling. I've quit shows for switching to a binge format. I do occasionally watch binge shows, but not after I've grown accustomed to watching episodes once per week and discussing them over the next week or so.

ETA: So glad this is not how they are airing the new season! —Which I erroneously thought.

Edited July 22, 2018 by shapeshifter

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

I hate that kind of scheduling. I've quit shows for switching to a binge format. I do occasionally watch binge shows, but not after I've grown accustomed to watching episodes once per week and discussing them over the next week or so.

If I'm reading your post wrong, I apologize but the show will still air once a week.  The mini-binge format is for the repeats of last season. 

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

If I'm reading your post wrong, I apologize but the show will still air once a week.  The mini-binge format is for the repeats of last season. 

O-o-oh! Thank you for pointing out my confusion about season numbers!

[OoogleEyes]

I am currently re-watching season three. It's a damn shame Michael McKean didn't get an emmy nod for that courtroom scene.  It was stunning. 

[JFParnell]

On 7/23/2018 at 8:37 PM, OoogleEyes said:

I am currently re-watching season three. It's a damn shame Michael McKean didn't get an emmy nod for that courtroom scene.  It was stunning. 

I just hit that scene last night in MY re-watch. So true. So well done. I know Michael McKean really nailed that role because I have never despised a fictional character as much as Chuck in my entire life. Surpassing even Dana Brody and Tony Soprano's mother! lol. That said, even though Chuck was just a fake person in the TV, it's sa bit uncomfortable to be happy that someone is dead. :)

[ByTor]

On 7/26/2018 at 9:13 AM, JFParnell said:

I know Michael McKean really nailed that role because I have never despised a fictional character as much as Chuck in my entire life.

LOL he was really good at making you hate him, but I can still never hate anyone more than I irrationally hate Jax Teller *blech*

[JFParnell]

18 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

I have no idea why AMC didn't air them over  a weekend or during prime time.

Zombies. Not enough zombies. Not ANY zombies. Everyone on BCS is either alive or dead. Which is a capital crime in AMC world. If they'd arranged for Chuck to come back as a walker, AMC would have given it the whole marathon treatment.

 

18 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

The closing scene of the final episode of the third season where Chuck kicked over the lantern and started the fire was truly tragic. 

Wow, yup. That long sequence as the house slowly comes apart, along with its owner, is SO unsettling -- they really captured what the tipping point of madness must look like. I appreciated it more on re-viewing than on first airing.

[Bannon]

22 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

I hadn't realized how short the third season was.  I DVR'd all of the episodes since AMC aired the reruns prior to season 4 overnight over several days instead of at a more convenient time.  I have no idea why AMC didn't air them over  a weekend or during prime time.

The closing scene of the final episode of the third season where Chuck kicked over the lantern and started the fire was truly tragic.  Yeah, Chuck's an asshole, so is Jimmy.   They are opposite sides of the same coin.  Still, Chuck is an incredibly bitter man who did all he could to destroy Jimmy.  Jimmy pretty much did the same thing to Chuck.

I don't want to paint Jimmy as a wonderful human being, or avoid the fact that Sol will be an awful human being, but I think it is fair to say that Chuck directed pure malice at Jimmy for a long time, before Jimmy returned it. Even after the Bar Association hearing, and Jimmy narcing on Chuck to the malpractice insurer, I think the relationship may have been salvageable, up until the point where Chuck stated to Jimmy that he never cared for Jimmy very much. Chuck said that to Jimmy because he knew it would wound him, and of course it did. Chuck killed himself because he thought  it would haunt Jimmy forever, and I suspect it will.

Up until HHM getting Mesa Verde baxk from Kim, I think obtaining Chuck's approval was something Jimmy deeply craved, and if Chuck had been willing to support Jimmy in his professional aspirations, even if not as an associate at HHM, Jimmy may have taken a different path. This is not an excuse for the path Sol chooses, of course.

[SailorGirl]

1 hour ago, Bannon said:

I don't want to paint Jimmy as a wonderful human being, or avoid the fact that Sol will be an awful human being, but I think it is fair to say that Chuck directed pure malice at Jimmy for a long time, before Jimmy returned it. Even after the Bar Association hearing, and Jimmy narcing on Chuck to the malpractice insurer, I think the relationship may have been salvageable, up until the point where Chuck stated to Jimmy that he never cared for Jimmy very much. Chuck said that to Jimmy because he knew it would wound him, and of course it did. Chuck killed himself because he thought  it would haunt Jimmy forever, and I suspect it will.

Up until HHM getting Mesa Verde baxk from Kim, I think obtaining Chuck's approval was something Jimmy deeply craved, and if Chuck had been willing to support Jimmy in his professional aspirations, even if not as an associate at HHM, Jimmy may have taken a different path. This is not an excuse for the path Sol chooses, of course.

I have to respectfully disagree. No relationship is salvagable unless both individuals want it to be -- if someone doesn't care for the other person, then there is nothing to be salvaged because there was never anything real there worth saving. Chuck tolerated Jimmy because it made him feel superior and fed his ego -- the ONLY thing that Chuck got out of, and brought to, the relationship, was a sense of entitlement and feeling as though he was somehow better than his brother. And as long as Jimmy fed into it, and kept coming back, and wanting Chuck's attention and approval, then Chuck was happy to keep the relationship going.

Once that stopped and Chuck realized it had stopped, Chuck couldn't handle it. He never got over feeling slighted because Jimmy was allowed to "get away" with the hustles and games of his childhood and feeling like Jimmy was the favorite. Once their father died, Chuck seized his opportunity to get back at Jimmy because he knew Jimmy looked up to him and wanted his approval, and he lorded it over Jimmy. But after his brother publicly outed him as a fraud, he lost his power over his brother. 

I think he killed himself not to torture Jimmy -- that would be giving Jimmy too much respect and power -- but because when he lost HHM, he realized that he wasn't such a special snowflake and that his firm could, and would, go on without him, and be better off without him. That, added to the fact that Jimmy was still going on with his life, finding ways to get by and even have a few successes even though Chuck didn't approve of or make them happen for Jimmy, is what drove him over the edge. He realized that maybe he didn't have so much power over other people after all, and if that's all he thought he had, and now it is gone, then what does he have to live for -- everything he knew, everything he based his life and sense of self-worth and purpose on, was not only gone, but taken from him without his say so -- for someone who is controlling, that is unimaginable -- that they aren't all they think they are and that they realize they don't have power over those they thought they did. 

I know this firsthand -- I have a sister who is four years older than me. She has despised me since I was born, solely because I was born. I was sick as a child and in the hospital quite a bit. So, in her mind, I got all the attention. There was lots more growing up but nothing that wasn't normal kid/sibling stuff, and my parents treated us both equally. But, as she told me when we were in our late 20s -- "my life was perfect until you came along." Did I mention she's only four years older? So yeah, not sure how perfect your four-year-old life was that my coming along ruined it for you, but whatever. . . 

Edited August 6, 2018 by SailorGirl

[Bannon]

43 minutes ago, SailorGirl said:

I have to respectfully disagree. No relationship is salvagable unless both individuals want it to be -- if someone doesn't care for the other person, then there is nothing to be salvaged because there was never anything real there worth saving. Chuck tolerated Jimmy because it made him feel superior and fed his ego -- the ONLY thing that Chuck got out of, and brought to, the relationship, was a sense of entitlement and feeling as though he was somehow better than his brother. And as long as Jimmy fed into it, and kept coming back, and wanting Chuck's attention and approval, then Chuck was happy to keep the relationship going.

Once that stopped and Chuck realized it had stopped, Chuck couldn't handle it. He never got over feeling slighted because Jimmy was allowed to "get away" with the hustles and games of his childhood and feeling like Jimmy was the favorite. Once their father died, Chuck seized his opportunity to get back at Jimmy because he knew Jimmy looked up to him and wanted his approval, and he lorded it over Jimmy. But after his brother publicly outed him as a fraud, he lost his power over his brother. 

I think he killed himself not to torture Jimmy -- that would be giving Jimmy too much respect and power -- but because when he lost HHM, he realized that he wasn't such a special snowflake and that his firm could, and would, go on without him, and be better off without him. That, added to the fact that Jimmy was still going on with his life, finding ways to get by and even have a few successes even though Chuck didn't approve of or make them happen for Jimmy, is what drove him over the edge. He realized that maybe he didn't have so much power over other people after all, and if that's all he thought he had, and now it is gone, then what does he have to live for -- everything he knew, everything he based his life and sense of self-worth and purpose on, was not only gone, but taken from him without his say so -- for someone who is controlling, that is unimaginable -- that they aren't all they think they are and that they realize they don't have power over those they thought they did. 

I know this firsthand -- I have a sister who is four years older than me. She has despised me since I was born, solely because I was born. I was sick as a child and in the hospital quite a bit. So, in her mind, I got all the attention. There was lots more growing up but nothing that wasn't normal kid/sibling stuff, and my parents treated us both equally. But, as she told me when we were in our late 20s -- "my life was perfect until you came along." Did I mention she's only four years older? So yeah, not sure how perfect your four-year-old life was that my coming along ruined it for you, but whatever. . . 

You are right, of course, that no relationship is salvageable unless both parties desire it. A better way for me to say it is that Jimmy was still seeking to salvage it up until Chuck said what he did. I think that remark destroyed whatever love was left in Jimmy for Chuck.

I think there was an element of what you state in Chuck's suicide, but I think inflicting feelings of guilt and grief on Jimmy from beyond the grave, for the rest of Jimmy's life, is Chuck's ultimate act of control.

[maystone]

On 8/6/2018 at 12:45 PM, SailorGirl said:

I think he killed himself not to torture Jimmy -- that would be giving Jimmy too much respect and power -- but because when he lost HHM, he realized that he wasn't such a special snowflake and that his firm could, and would, go on without him, and be better off without him. That, added to the fact that Jimmy was still going on with his life, finding ways to get by and even have a few successes even though Chuck didn't approve of or make them happen for Jimmy, is what drove him over the edge. He realized that maybe he didn't have so much power over other people after all, and if that's all he thought he had, and now it is gone, then what does he have to live for -- everything he knew, everything he based his life and sense of self-worth and purpose on, was not only gone, but taken from him without his say so -- for someone who is controlling, that is unimaginable -- that they aren't all they think they are and that they realize they don't have power over those they thought they did. 
 

 

On 8/6/2018 at 1:35 PM, Bannon said:

I think there was an element of what you state in Chuck's suicide, but I think inflicting feelings of guilt and grief on Jimmy from beyond the grave, for the rest of Jimmy's life, is Chuck's ultimate act of control.

I think losing his position at HHM had a part to play in Chuck's suicide, although not as much as his determination to haunt Jimmy through the rest of his years. I didn't see desperation or despair in Chuck's decision, though, all I saw was spite. He was a hateful, small-minded man (brilliantly played by Michael McKean), and I think it would have delighted him no end to learn that Howard felt responsible for Chuck's death. But honestly - Jimmy was always the intended target.

[Captanne]

This is a comment on PreviouslyTV not on the episode because I haven't seen it yet and I try not to comment on anything I haven't seen (even if it's just to chime in on a general observation.)

So, here goes:  Old School Recaps are fabulous.  I mean, so wonderful.  Thank you, PreviouslyTV, for doing old school recaps again.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  It is such a joy to read one -- such a pleasant use of my time.  Thank you.

[SunnyBeBe]

I'm looking forward to seeing what transpires tonight, but, unfortunately, I won't be able to post or read much tonight or in the a.m.  I'm having a little surgery in the morning but, will return ASAP.  Have fun!  I bet there'll be 15 pages of post to read in no time. lol 

[ShadowFacts]

43 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I'm looking forward to seeing what transpires tonight, but, unfortunately, I won't be able to post or read much tonight or in the a.m.  I'm having a little surgery in the morning but, will return ASAP.  Have fun!  I bet there'll be 15 pages of post to read in no time. lol 

Good luck! 

[SunnyBeBe]

11 minutes ago, ShadowFacts said:

Good luck! 

Thanks.  Have you ever heard of being at the hospital at 6:00 AM? lol   So, I won't be able to watch it double tonight, like I normally do. lol  (It's on til 10:25 Eastern)