S03.E01: Mabel

[ghoulina]

32 minutes ago, nodorothyparker said:

It's sometimes hard to get a clear read on Howard, but this looked like a case where he was trying to shut the whole thing down before they could open themselves up to that.  Chuck, of course, has his own reasons.

That's why I really enjoy Howard. I can't ever figure him out! He was a douche who inexplicably hated Jimmy and was trying to placate Chuck to avoid having to cash him out. Then he was secretly rooting for Jimmy and doing the dirty work for his ill partner. And it just continues to get muddier. How does he REALLY feel about Jimmy? How does he REALLY feel about Chuck? It's fun. 

[Bryce Lynch]

21 minutes ago, nodorothyparker said:

I found it pretty telling that the seeming inadmissibility of the tape was what the conversation focused on and not that Jimmy had just had to assume temporary guardianship of Chuck not for the first time just what? a couple of days ago showtime and that that was likely to come up.  That would hit uncomfortably close to the larger issue of Chuck's competency if they tried to legally pursue it.  Chuck's seeming denial on the subject may be bigger than all of Egypt but Howard has to be aware of how it's going to reflect on HHM if they get embroiled in a case that would quickly come to center on a senior partner's mental stability and his handling of a former client's private files.  We know from what the recruiter of the competing law firm said to Kim last season that there's already talk of Chuck's mental issues at least within the local legal community, and that was before Chuck belligerently argued with a client about their own address in court.

It's sometimes hard to get a clear read on Howard, but this looked like a case where he was trying to shut the whole thing down before they could open themselves up to that.  Chuck, of course, has his own reasons.

Now that you mention it, it is quite possible Howard was thinking, "We can't take this to court!  Chuck will look like a nutcase and Jimmy will come across as the hero, willing to do anything to make his nutty brother feel better.", but instead came up with the dubious admissibility and reliability of the tape issues to convince Chuck not to take it to court, without offending him.

[nodorothyparker]

6 minutes ago, ghoulina said:

That's why I really enjoy Howard. I can't ever figure him out! He was a douche who inexplicably hated Jimmy and was trying to placate Chuck to avoid having to cash him out. Then he was secretly rooting for Jimmy and doing the dirty work for his ill partner. And it just continues to get muddier. How does he REALLY feel about Jimmy? How does he REALLY feel about Chuck? It's fun. 

I kept trying to parse out Howard's expression when he agreed after hearing the tape that he believes Chuck that Jimmy is an asshole.  Did he mean what he said or was he saying what he knew Chuck wanted to hear to try to prevent further escalation?  I honestly could see it going either way.  He spent years playing asshole cover for Chuck where Jimmy's concerned and he knows how thorny this is.

[peeayebee]

4 hours ago, Eulipian 5k said:

Him spotting the gas cap on the sales rack was an aha! moment straight out of "The Usual Suspects".

Before he spots the gas caps, he's reading all the stuff tacked to the walls, just like the detective is doing in "The Usual Suspects" before he puts it all together. That made the homage even clearer.

I did enjoy this ep. First off, it's always great to see Cinnabon Gene. Question: What was it that the kid was shoplifting?

I loved watching Mike find the tracker and then set about the trap in order to find out who Mr Don't is. Like most people, I think, I was lost at first as to what he was doing, but I knew it would become clearer. That was pretty clever.

When Jimmy blew up at the military guy in his office, he said something that made it seem like he was talking to Chuck. He's obviously concerned with their relationship and what exactly Chuck is going to do. The lieutenant (or whatever he was) was berating him like Chuck would do. Jimmy reacted as if it were Chuck.

I worry for Kim. 

And yes, it looked like Chuck had set things up so that Ernie would hear the tape. After Chuck warned him so belligerently, as Chuck walked away, he had a slight, smug smile.

BTW, I don't know if anything is to be made of this, but I realized that we had one character struggling to handle electronics and such as he worked on his plan, while another character was easily and confidently working with electronics for his own plan.

[Ohwell]

I really want to snip that damn curly ponytail off of Kim's head.  It annoys me to no end the way it bobs around, and it looks rather unprofessional for an attorney.

[Shriekingeel]

That shot from the gas-cap's point of view was very Breaking Bad in the way we'd see things from the viewpoint of inanimate objects like Jesse's Roomba. 

[JudyObscure]

5 hours ago, MaryPatShelby said:

Great.  We have to avail ourselves of supplemental content, again, to determine what the show we just watched "meant".  While I love the way TV has improved over the years, this is one aspect I don't care for.

This a thousand times.  Even apart from the fact that it greatly messes with my suspension of disbelief, I like to form my own opinions of what I just saw without an authority figure telling me I'm wrong..  I absolutely loved every episode of "Mad Men," but tried to avoid anything Matthew Weiner said about it, because I often wondered if he understood his characters as well as we did; and I love his writing!  I think sometimes the end product of the writer, director, actor collaberation is something different than any one of them intended.

[shapeshifter]

12 hours ago, nodorothyparker said:

. . . The opening on Gene is making me anxious to see what happens to him.  But since we only get one that one brief glimpse at the beginning of each season, this will go down as one of the longer teases ever.  . .

IIRC, there was a season of Breaking Bad that began with an eyeball of a child's toy floating in a swimming pool, and then every episode that season began that way too (or maybe ended with that shot?), until finally we learned that it was from

Spoiler

an airplane crash caused by (I think) the grief-distracted air traffic controller who was the father of Jesse's girlfriend who died from choking on her drug-induced vomit when Walt made the decision to not save her because she was a bad influence on Jesse who Walt needed to help him make drugs

which was not revealed until the end of the season. So maybe we won't find out Gene's fate until the season finale.

Edited April 12, 2017 by shapeshifter
remembered more

[SoSueMe]

I'm in the "loving the slow burn" camp. I missed this show so much. I marvel at things like the interior of the junkyard "office" location, I loved the water stains in the ceiling. My husband had to explain to me that Mike is now tracking the guys that think they're tracking him, lol. 

I hate Chuck more than ever, and yet Lenny (Laverne and Shirley) was such a benign idiot. MM played them both so well.

I loved seeing the vet again but I am at a total loss as to what Mike wants from him. Some kind of drug or maybe a restraint contraption or something?

It never occurred to me that Chuck wanted Ernie to hear part of the recording, but it could explain his cocky little tong toss 'n catch.

My heart breaks for the tragedy waiting to happen that is Kim and Jimmy.

[peggy06]

I liked the episode fine. I was sorry when it ended. 

Kim is in a really bad spot. She should just come clean. I don't think she's going to enjoy having a solo practice that's founded on a lie. Better to get out now. But I doubt the show is going to go that way. More like, this created a wedge between Jimmy and Kim that is going to push deeper and deeper till they crack.

Pretty down episode for Jimmy, but he did earn it.

I have to mention one gorgeous moment of cinematography: the oncoming storm when Mike stops on the road to examine the car. The bright foreground against the livid clouds - amazing.

[RealReality]

22 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

I don't know what the text was.  I am not sure, but I think the idea was that the "mistake" that Chuck made on the Mesa Verde address has given Kim an obsessive-compulsive fear of making even the smallest mistake.

The em dash and the semi colon give different emphasis to the text that comes after it.  If you really want to make a point, use the em dash.  Not so much emphasis or you want to hide it the comma.  It's mostly stylistic.  But it's funny because in legal writing...for something important it is something you would obsess about.

[ShadowFacts]

49 minutes ago, SoSueMe said:

I loved seeing the vet again but I am at a total loss as to what Mike wants from him. Some kind of drug or maybe a restraint contraption or something?

I thought it was the tracking device. 

 

49 minutes ago, peggy06 said:

I have to mention one gorgeous moment of cinematography: the oncoming storm when Mike stops on the road to examine the car. The bright foreground against the livid clouds - amazing.

Yeah, that was beautiful.  There was that flash of lightning, then thunder, too. 

[peeayebee]

51 minutes ago, SoSueMe said:

I loved seeing the vet again but I am at a total loss as to what Mike wants from him. Some kind of drug or maybe a restraint contraption or something?

I thought Mike wanted the exact same type of tracking device that was in his gas cap. We didn't see the vet give it to him. I just assumed time passed and Mike had the device.

[Dobian]

Cinnabon: Where lawyers go to die.

BCS is a slow burn show, so I did not mind at all the slow pace of the first episode.  Gave me time to mentally catch up with how last season ended instead of watching all confused while crazy stuff started happening right away.  Chuck is one miserable human being.  I liked the scene with Howard, because even though Chuck was vindicated, he really wasn't.  You could see Howard thinking, okay, you really didn't screw up and were scammed by Jimmy.  But in a way, you did screw up because he's your brother and you let him do this to you.  And this petty revenge thing doesn't really concern my firm, and we're all sick and tired of the whole electricalphobia thing anyway.  I still love the mundane settings of this show and BB, like when Mike was sitting in the junkyard office and you can see the belts and gas caps on display.  Just feels authentic.  Poor Kim, I hope her conscience doesn't cause her to do something stupid and give up that big account, it was hers to begin with.

Edited April 12, 2017 by Dobian

[Starchild]

On the Saul side:
Patrick Fabian is killing it as Howard. A fascinating character.

I agree with others that Chuck's tape is not intended for professional censure. It's going to be used for personal revenge, and for Jimmy that means going after his weak spot: Kim.

On the Mike side:

Is anyone else hoping that the person who retrieved the tracker is Victor?

[Irlandesa]

10 hours ago, MaryPatShelby said:

Great.  We have to avail ourselves of supplemental content, again, to determine what the show we just watched "meant".  While I love the way TV has improved over the years, this is one aspect I don't care for.

I don't think we need to avail ourselves of that content.  Plenty of people picked up on those nuances in that scene without the show runners pointing it out specifically.  I just didn't last night until I heard/read more discussion of the episode. 

And Gilligan tends not to be prescriptive about scenes anyway because as long as the text works, there is room for multiple subtext interpretations.  I took Kim's grammar obsession to be about her guilt regarding the way she got Mesa Verde.  Are people wrong to conclude that she's obsessed more out of a desire not to screw it up? Does it matter? Does thinking Chuck set up Ernesto change the fact that he made a big deal over Ernesto hearing the most damning part of the tape?  Whether or not we pick up on that nuance, it's likely the next step of the story will make sense even if they don't get more clear about what was really happening in the scene.

 

20 hours ago, SinInTheCamp said:

Mike drained the battery of the tracker the unknown person placed on the car parked outside his house so that he'd come and retrieve it, thinking it's no longer working.

He's lucky they didn't just replace the batteries. 

Quote

I flippin love this show, but this was....not the best opener. I do think waiting so long between season was an issue (I swear it usually starts in January).

February

15 hours ago, ghoulina said:

I still wasn't sure how he knew it was there in the first place. He was out in the desert last season, ready to assassinate Tio/Hector. He couldn't get a clean shot, and then hears the car horn blaring. He goes and finds the stick holding it down and the note, warning him. I assumed that was Nacho, trying to tell him to back off. So what led him to think someone had planted a GPS on that car? That wasn't even his regular car, right? Because he left it in pieces at the junk yard. So he goes back home and there's ANOTHER tracker on his regular car? In the same place? I'm sorry if I'm really missing something here, but this just did not all flow for me. 

As you said, they were in the desert.  He knew he would have known if he had been followed as there's nowhere to hide.  Therefore, he concluded that he must have been tracked.  It looks like they placed trackers in each of the cars he owned.

[LittleIggy]

Ditto on hating Chuck so, so much. He is loathsome.

[Lizzing]

I knew what Mike was doing stripping the station wagon looking for the tracker, but I was really annoyed that the gas cap he took off the station wagon was not the same one he picked up off the ground when he went back out to find the tracker.  The one on the station wagon, when he opened the fuel door, had white writing on it (much as the one on his regular car parked outside his house).  The one he picked up off the ground had no writing on it; it was solid black.  Since Gilligan & Co. are so particular, I was surprised at the discrepancy.  I just don't think the entire junk yard was strewn with plain black gas caps with trackers in them. LOL!

Kim agonizing over punctuation, while it can have multiple meanings, rang 1000% true for me.  In my practicing days, clients could be obsessively particular about the slightest things.  I had one berate me for writing "ensure", as was in the statute I was quoting, because in his wisdom, it should have been "insure."  I couldn't tell him to take it up with the legislature.  Of course, Kim was also motivated by not wanting to screw up like Chuck did and wanted to control what she could, but it was also very relatable and quite amusing.

[Bryce Lynch]

11 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

This a thousand times.  Even apart from the fact that it greatly messes with my suspension of disbelief, I like to form my own opinions of what I just saw without an authority figure telling me I'm wrong..  I absolutely loved every episode of "Mad Men," but tried to avoid anything Matthew Weiner said about it, because I often wondered if he understood his characters as well as we did; and I love his writing!  I think sometimes the end product of the writer, director, actor collaberation is something different than any one of them intended.

The good thing about Gilligan and the other BB/BCS creators, is that they generally don't make dogmatic statements about what characters were thinking or that sort of thing.

They will give definitive clarifications about factial matters, like "Was it Bob or Joe shot Fred?".  But the usually only give opinions about characters' thoughts and motivations, while leaving it open to different interpretations by viewers.

I only watched a few minutes of Talking Saul, as I couldn't stand watching them congratulate themselves over mediocre episode.  The funny thing is, I figured out some of the stuff that was apparently clarified on TS, on my own after the show was over.

BCS sometimes seems to be more fun to think about, analyze and discuss than it is to watch.

[Bryce Lynch]

8 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I thought Mike wanted the exact same type of tracking device that was in his gas cap. We didn't see the vet give it to him. I just assumed time passed and Mike had the device.

Yes, Mike wanted the vet to get him the tracking device.  He wrote down the model number earlier.

I loved how the vet was so concerned about the health and happiness of Mike/Kaylee's dog.  Gilligan and crew love to give bad guys some little redeeming qualities.  Jesse loves kids. Tuco loves old people.  Todd is polite. 

[beeziebee]

The absolute best part of this snoozer of an episode was the Hardee's/Carl's Jr. commercial featuring Chip Esten.  That is all.

[paigow]

2 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

Tuco loves old people. 

Unless they are careless drivers...

[peeayebee]

10 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

He's lucky they didn't just replace the batteries. 

Mike probably knew it would have taken too long to pop the top off the gas cap, take out the tracker, open it, replace the battery, then reassemble it all. Much quicker and safer to just replace the gas cap.

[dinkysquid]

Disappointing opener. Slow, slow, slow. Between Mike's pulling a car apart and pistachio-eating, not a hell of a lot happening. 

Oh yeah....I hate Chuck even more than last year......and that was an epic hate!!!!

If not for Gus showing up, I might give up on this show but I want to see the brilliant Mr. Esposito. And could we maybe move things along a bit? These shows that only come around once a year and they've got to stop wasting precious time on boring, stupid shit. We only have so many episodes and they go too fast as it is!

[attica]

I like how long it took for Mike to puzzle this out. I think the show is careful to demonstrate how hard, how much time it takes, to be good at being bad. It's easy to be bad, but it's hard to be good at it. Plus, Mike's methodical approach just appeals to me on a visceral level. I like taking my time to figure things out -- as long as nobody's watching me do it. By the time I do something the second time, I've got it down.

It's been pointed out before, but it's a marvel to see actors who come from comedy like Odenkirk and McKean kick so much dramatic ass. Comedy really is tragedy plus time.

Most amazing thing in the ep? A paint that could cover that rainbow in one coat!

[Eulipian 5k]

What is truly fascinating about today's television is that after hearing evvvry TV critic rant about how MTV shortened our attention span with quick cuts and sharp edits, we have a show that spends ~13 wordless minutes of minutiae with Mike . Yet at the same time we realize that there were very deliberate (and admitted) references to such Oscar winning films as The French Connection (where the tracker wasn't), The Conversation, (tear everything apart to find the bug), and the The Usual Suspects, (the aha moment with the gas cap). Not to mention Pulp Fiction, and even Goldfinger ! (can we ever see a wide open sky junk yard without seeing "The Wolf" or Oddjob?). A major leap for "the Idiot Box". Bravo,

[shapeshifter]

31 minutes ago, dinkysquid said:

Disappointing opener. Slow, slow, slow. Between Mike's pulling a car apart and pistachio-eating, not a hell of a lot happening. . . .

24 minutes ago, attica said:

I like how long it took for Mike to puzzle this out. . . .
Mike's methodical approach just appeals to me on a visceral level. I like taking my time to figure things out -- as long as nobody's watching me do it. By the time I do something the second time, I've got it down. . . .

This episode is polarizing in the same way as was the Breaking Bad episode, "The Fly." I appreciated both episodes, probably mostly for the reasons @attica describes above, but I totally get the camp in which @dinkysquid resides too.

 

11 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

22 hours ago, MaryPatShelby said:

Great.  We have to avail ourselves of supplemental content, again, to determine what the show we just watched "meant".  While I love the way TV has improved over the years, this is one aspect I don't care for. . . .

I don't think we need to avail ourselves of that content.  Plenty of people picked up on those nuances in that scene without the show runners pointing it out specifically.  I just didn't last night until I heard/read more discussion of the episode. . . .

Here I'm in the same camp as @Irlandesa.
"Takes all kinds. . ."   :>)

[ShadowFacts]

52 minutes ago, attica said:

I like how long it took for Mike to puzzle this out. I think the show is careful to demonstrate how hard, how much time it takes, to be good at being bad. It's easy to be bad, but it's hard to be good at it. Plus, Mike's methodical approach just appeals to me on a visceral level. I like taking my time to figure things out -- as long as nobody's watching me do it. By the time I do something the second time, I've got it down.

I was a little more interested in how Mike planned the ambush of Tio's truck last season.  This gas cap thing was more of a snooze and figuring it out was more a stroke of luck.  I thought it was a bit careless of Mike to give his real name to the junkyard guy calling him a cab.  I know he figures whoever is following him knows his name already, but just for generally staying under the radar you'd think he would toss out a fake name. 

[Tikichick]

On 4/11/2017 at 8:46 AM, BeatrixK said:

I thought that was just a lovely, deft touch with the Royals bag.  Isn't kim originally from KC?  I can't recall if she's from KC or Omaha, but her Royals fandom from either place would be no surprise (KC has a farm team in Omaha -- or at least they did.  They may have moved...but I digress.)  It was nice to see a very subtle detail like that.

I think 'Gene's' issue is going to end up being his downfall.  If he goes to the hospital, isn't there a chance his real identity could be discovered via DNA or blood or something?  Hospitalization usually doesn't lend well to flying under the radar.

 

McKean...you are one of my favorite actors...and the fact you made me loathe you is truly impressive.  That being said.....DIAF, Chuck!

I cannot come up with a single reason why Jimmy's, or Saul's for that matter, DNA would be in CODIS.  Fingerprints in AFIS  or another database is possible, however Gene would have to be unconscious.  Conscious Gene is never going to consent to fingerprinting without a warrant obviously. 

[Tikichick]

On 4/11/2017 at 9:05 AM, ghoulina said:

I 100% agree with you. Jimmy has done some uncool things to his brother, but no matter how bad things got between them, he was always concerned about his brother. He'd try to pull back, but then he'd be right back in there went things when haywire for Chuck. He'd be wrapping him in space blankets and calling him "buddy" and you could tell he was genuinely concerned for Chuck. 

When, during any of JIMMY'S misfortunes, has Chuck appeared to worry about him? To feel empathy, even if he knows Jimmy is a screwup? Never, from where I'm sitting. He only has helped Jimmy out of family obligation, but then he secretly tries to undermine his brother. For no reason other than to prove himself right about what a fuckup Jimmy is. 

I have a feeling Chuck's issue with Jimmy has been lifelong.  People inherently like Jimmy for Jimmy.  Chuck's trying to always be "the best" in everything, yet Jimmy simply being himself trumps Chuck every time.  You could see it strongly in the flashback last season when "screwup" Jimmy came to town for a visit and to dinner and charmed Chuck's wife?(cannot remember her name right now), even though she knew the score, was prompted with Chuck's script to disapprove of Jimmy -- and she went completely off script and found Jimmy charming and even laughed at his jokes.  Chuck wasn't having it, not at all.  For Chuck that drove an immovable wedge between them, and is probably responsible for Chuck being alone in that house today.

[Tikichick]

21 hours ago, Bannon said:

Oh, I really suspect that Jimmy is tied to the end of Chuck's marriage, even if Jimmy is unaware of it. If Chuck's wife ever expressed a sexual attraction to Jimmy, for instance, Chuck's inner rage would be like the sea of magma below Yellowstone National Park. 

We saw the magma at the dinner table when she laughed at Jimmy's jokes, despite having been given a primer beforehand of what a waste of humanity Jimmy was from Chuck's narrative.  Then she continued to find Jimmy funny and charming in the scene after they were alone.  It was obvious Chuck was completely undone that she too had "fallen under Jimmy's spell". 

[jnymph]

23 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

Great re-cap.

I see what you did there. ;)  I like it. 

[Tikichick]

On 4/11/2017 at 1:08 PM, MaryPatShelby said:

Great.  We have to avail ourselves of supplemental content, again, to determine what the show we just watched "meant".  While I love the way TV has improved over the years, this is one aspect I don't care for.

Agreed; I am loving the process. And speaking of being in a hurry to get somewhere, my UO is that I'm not going squee, or squeal, or clap, or whatever when Gus Fring becomes part of this story.  He was a great character on BB, definitely, and I'll be very interested to see the back story.  But I don't watch this show looking for BB sightings.

You must be more mechanically inclined than me, and maybe some of the earlier commenters, because I had no clue what Mike was doing.  I'm not convinced that I do now but I've appreciated the explanations. I think not knowing might have made it better for me, because I kept feeling a level of tension throughout Mike's scenes.

IMO today we have access to more insight behind the intent and meaning of shows because we have greater access to a writer's thoughts through things like Talking Saul, podcasts, etc.  It's not as if we must have it to watch the show, but it's enjoyable for those who want to avail themselves of the opportunity.

This was the first episode where I actually was looking for a BB sighting.  For me BCS is the better show and I'm content to enjoy it without BB references.  I simply expected the episode to end with Mike pulling up to Los Pollo Hermanos and was surprised when it did not. 

[Bannon]

7 minutes ago, Tikichick said:

IMO today we have access to more insight behind the intent and meaning of shows because we have greater access to a writer's thoughts through things like Talking Saul, podcasts, etc.  It's not as if we must have it to watch the show, but it's enjoyable for those who want to avail themselves of the opportunity.

This was the first episode where I actually was looking for a BB sighting.  For me BCS is the better show and I'm content to enjoy it without BB references.  I simply expected the episode to end with Mike pulling up to Los Pollo Hermanos and was surprised when it did not. 

At this point in the respective shows, I also consider BCS better than BB, and I know most will differ, and some think it ridiculous. This probably isn't the right thread to explore why, so I won't say more. Might be a good seperate topic thread: How do the two shows compare?

[Quando]

On 4/11/2017 at 10:08 AM, MaryPatShelby said:

On 4/10/2017 at 10:46 PM, Irlandesa said:

But after thinking about it and watching Talking Saul, his freakout was a way to make sure that Ernesto knew what he heard was important. 

Great.  We have to avail ourselves of supplemental content, again, to determine what the show we just watched "meant".  While I love the way TV has improved over the years, this is one aspect I don't care for.

I think that was conveyed clearly at the end of the scene.  Right after Ernesto walked away, Chuck's face changed from stressed to calm to a kind of smirk, and then he casually flipped the wooden salad tongs in his hand.

[attica]

I found myself surprised to hear Bob Odenkirk's voice come out of Gene in the mall bit. Is this the first time we've heard Gene speak? Which just goes to show what a different characterization he's doing with Gene as opposed to Jimmy/Saul. Or maybe I'm just weird.

[Quando]

22 hours ago, knaankos said:

That's why there still may be some credence to the "Jimmy knew he was being recorded" theory.

Hmmm.  I don't think Jimmy knew he was being recorded at the time.  However, after Jimmy goes outside to make his phone call then comes back in and sees Chuck is already starting to take down the mylar sheets, you can see Jimmy react like he wonders whether Chuck may have just done something to set him up (or trap him in some way) and he even looks around a little as if he's checking for a recorder or camera.  His reaction for about 5 seconds is like he knows something is not quite right about the situation, but he doesn't know what.

[Dobian]

23 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I feel like Chuck is a better guy on paper then Jimmy, but Jimmy is a better guy in practice. Jimmy is a liar and a crook and a manipulator, but I do think he means well, while Chuck plays by the letter of the law and has worked hard to be successful, but he's also a pretentious asshole who just wants to be The Winner, even if the contest is non existent. I think if Chuck had supported Jimmy and his ambitions more early on, he might have ended up on the up and up. But Chuck has basically decided he's a loser and a conman, and nothing will ever shake that.

If they were D&D characters, I would say Chuck is lawful evil while Jimmy is chaotic neutral.

Edited April 12, 2017 by Dobian

[Quando]

5 minutes ago, Dobian said:

If they were D&D characters, I would say Chuck is lawful evil while Jimmy is chaotic neutral.

That's funny!  But I would probably peg Chuck more as lawful neutral.  To continue the analogy, I guess Hector would be chaotic evil, and Mike would be lawful evil (honor among thieves).

[Evagirl]

Did anyone catch Gus in the preview?  I read an interview the actor gave who plays him.  He said he was over the moon when they asked him to be a part of BCS.  Looks like he might show up next week.

[dinkysquid]

4 minutes ago, Evagirl said:

Did anyone catch Gus in the preview?  I read an interview the actor gave who plays him.  He said he was over the moon when they asked him to be a part of BCS.  Looks like he might show up next week.

The amazing and talented Giancarlo Esposito is coming back as Gus and I can't wait. Maybe he'll get things moving.

[paigow]

2 hours ago, Tikichick said:

I cannot come up with a single reason why Jimmy's, or Saul's for that matter, DNA would be in CODIS.  Fingerprints in AFIS  or another database is possible, however Gene would have to be unconscious.  Conscious Gene is never going to consent to fingerprinting without a warrant obviously. 

Maybe it varies by state, but are officers of the court required to put their fingerprints on file?

[ghoulina]

17 hours ago, peggy06 said:

I have to mention one gorgeous moment of cinematography: the oncoming storm when Mike stops on the road to examine the car. The bright foreground against the livid clouds - amazing.

Yes. I loved that as well. And his car was smack dab in the middle of two roads, with the foreboding storm clouds behind him. 

[Tikichick]

On 4/12/2017 at 3:32 PM, paigow said:

Maybe it varies by state, but are officers of the court required to put their fingerprints on file?

Strongly doubt it, but can't say for sure no states have it.  Even if it's not an overall, statewide requirement in a state there may be specialized circumstances requiring it for some.

Knowing how CODIS works, I can say for certain Jimmy's/Saul's/Gene's DNA would not be in there.

In any case Gene would have to be involved as a suspect in a criminal matter for authorities to be seeking to identify him with fingerprints or DNA -- or unconscious or unable to communicate and his identity found to be false and medical staff looking to legal authorities to locate next of kin. 

Edited April 19, 2017 by Tikichick
Missing word

[Boilergal]

Sibling rivalry is not new and can get REALLY ugly - I have 4 kids, 2 of them have been fighting since they were 3 and 1, they are now 31 and 29.  I get Chuck's loathing/jealousy of Jimmy, doesn't matter what Jimmy does Chuck will always find fault.  It certainly doesn't help that Jimmy is so morally gray and crosses the line ethically so easily, but Chuck will NEVER find a single redeeming quality in Jimmy.   Chuck seems to be going into a spiral where his only mission in life seems to be screwing Jimmy over by whatever means possible, and he won't stop until everyone seems him the way Chuck sees him.

We re-watched last season over the weekend - and one of the things that stuck out -- when Kim was interviewing with Schumer & ? & ? they asked her where she was from and how she came to New Mexico.  She didn't go into any details but the impression I got was that she was on the wrong track of life and needed to do something to fix it and moved to start over.  I think this also plays into the punctuation insecurity - she's afraid of losing the life she has built for herself.  

If Mike had gone right to the gas cap and found the tracker there would be a TON of complaints about that.  I guess I figured that whoever left the note and wedged the horn put the tracker in, and Mike thought the same and that is why he started looking for it.  But after reading your comments, it makes more sense that somehow they placed it beforehand, and that is how they found Mike in the middle of nowhere.  BUT...he picked up the car just for that purpose, and Tuco/Nacho/(?)  wouldn't have known what he was driving. 

Agree with the couple people upthread - the Thunderstorm shot was AMAZING!!   

[Clanstarling]

On 4/11/2017 at 4:16 AM, Bryce Lynch said:

Any thoughts on Mike driving away after he found the note without bothering to take 3 extra seconds to zip up the rifle case?

Why would he drive around with a rifle, with the serial number defaced, in plain sight?

I realize it is NM, and maybe I am paranoid about these things, being a gun owner in anti-gun NY, but that seemed uncharacteristically sloppy for Mike.  Was it because he was flustered?

My main thought was - where did the rifle go? The only thing he carried with him (as I recall) at the junk yard/car lot was his tool box.

On 4/11/2017 at 5:53 AM, SlackerInc said:

That was my question too.  But I guess he had to go get the extra car at some point, and maybe when he first bought it or whatever, they tracked him with his main car and switched the gas cap after he left it to be used later?  Definitely a little confusing, but I have a vague sense of "story checks out".

That was my assumption. They had his main car tagged, and knew when he went to get the beaters he used for his jobs.

On 4/11/2017 at 9:53 AM, Bryce Lynch said:

I think the word "contempt" that you used fits much better than "hate".  I remember in "Searching for Bobby Fischer" then mean chess instructor told the boy that he needed to feel contempt for his opponents and explained that it meant he had to think they were beneath him.  That is what I think Chuck feels towards Jimmy (and perhaps the whole world), not that he hates them, but that they are beneath him.

I think once you start actively trying to hurt/harm or otherwise get revenge on the individual, you've moved from contempt to hatred.

On 4/11/2017 at 0:41 PM, Bryce Lynch said:

I think Jimmy's best defense would be that he was terribly worried about his dangerously mentally ill brother and said whatever he needed to say to calm him down and getting to stop covering his home in space blankets.  There would be many witnesses to testify how nuts Chuck was, including the ER doctor, the cops who tazered him after he stole the newspaper, employees who were forced to turn off the lights and hand over their cell phones, etc., etc.  There would also be witnesses to testify about how Jimmy went to such lengths to take care of Chuck through his "illness".   Plus, when Chuck says, "You do realize that you just confessed to a felony." Jimmy replies, "I guess, but you feel better, right?"  That would fit in perfectly with his "concerned brother going along with whatever crazy Chuck said" story.  

Yep. I think it would be a pretty easy sell, really, for all the reasons you laid out.

23 hours ago, nodorothyparker said:

I kept trying to parse out Howard's expression when he agreed after hearing the tape that he believes Chuck that Jimmy is an asshole.  Did he mean what he said or was he saying what he knew Chuck wanted to hear to try to prevent further escalation?  I honestly could see it going either way.  He spent years playing asshole cover for Chuck where Jimmy's concerned and he knows how thorny this is.

His firm lost a huge client because of Jimmy, so I'd think however complicated Howard's reaction has been to Jimmy, it's safe to say he'd think Jimmy's an asshole at this point.

21 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

This a thousand times.  Even apart from the fact that it greatly messes with my suspension of disbelief, I like to form my own opinions of what I just saw without an authority figure telling me I'm wrong..  I absolutely loved every episode of "Mad Men," but tried to avoid anything Matthew Weiner said about it, because I often wondered if he understood his characters as well as we did; and I love his writing!  I think sometimes the end product of the writer, director, actor collaberation is something different than any one of them intended.

I don't watch or read much supplemental material (other than recaps) for any show I watch. For the well written and plotted shows like this one, I'll shrug it off and have faith it will make sense at some point. And if I come up with a different opinion than what the showrunners want - so what. There is the meaning a creator/author wants to convey - but there is also meaning that the consumer brings to it. As we see on the forums, sometimes our individual takes on what something means are quite different - but it doesn't make them invalid.

20 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

IIRC, there was a season of Breaking Bad that began with an eyeball of a child's toy floating in a swimming pool, and then every episode that season began that way too (or maybe ended with that shot?), until finally we learned that it was from

  Reveal hidden contents

an airplane crash caused by (I think) the grief-distracted air traffic controller who was the father of Jesse's girlfriend who died from choking on her drug-induced vomit when Walt made the decision to not save her because she was a bad influence on Jesse who Walt needed to help him make drugs

which was not revealed until the end of the season. So maybe we won't find out Gene's fate until the season finale.

BCS has started with Omaha Gene each season. I loved that BB technique, but given that Omaha Gene's timeline is post Breaking Bad, my take is that we won't see his ultimate end until series finale.

16 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

He's lucky they didn't just replace the batteries.

That's what I said, but the mister pointed out that replacing the battery was a bit fiddly, far easier to swap out the whole thing and be on their merry way. So Mike's a clever guy.

9 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

Yes, Mike wanted the vet to get him the tracking device.  He wrote down the model number earlier.

I loved how the vet was so concerned about the health and happiness of Mike/Kaylee's dog.  Gilligan and crew love to give bad guys some little redeeming qualities.  Jesse loves kids. Tuco loves old people.  Todd is polite. 

And here I thought he brought up the dog so that those of us (me) who didn't recognize him outside of the vet's office would remember who he was. :)

I lost track of one of the posts where someone said they could understand Chuck not wanting Jimmy to work at HHM. I agree - however, that doesn't mean he couldn't have made some effort to help him get placed at a less prestigious law firm. A loving brother would try to help, rather than expect him to remain in the mail room.

I liked the episode. Since I just finished re-watching the previous seasons (what would we do without Netflix?), it didn't feel like a let down at all, but more an immediate entry back into the story.

Edited April 12, 2017 by Clanstarling

[ghoulina]

24 minutes ago, Boilergal said:

If Mike had gone right to the gas cap and found the tracker there would be a TON of complaints about that.  I guess I figured that whoever left the note and wedged the horn put the tracker in, and Mike thought the same and that is why he started looking for it.  But after reading your comments, it makes more sense that somehow they placed it beforehand, and that is how they found Mike in the middle of nowhere.  BUT...he picked up the car just for that purpose, and Tuco/Nacho/(?)  wouldn't have known what he was driving. 

I guess I just didn't see how he came to the conclusion he had been followed. My assumption was that Tio/Hector had people scouting the area around his hideaway before, during, after....whatever. Lookouts. Making sure THEY weren't being followed or watched. And I figured that Nacho saw that Mike was there and warned him away. 

[JudyObscure]

15 minutes ago, Boilergal said:

Chuck seems to be going into a spiral where his only mission in life seems to be screwing Jimmy over by whatever means possible, and he won't stop until everyone seems him the way Chuck sees him.

Yes, until this episode I still thought Chuck cared about Jimmy on some level, but you're all starting to convince me that Chuck really hates Jimmy and I think Jimmy is starting to realize it at the same time I am -- that scene where he goes back to the office and sits by Kim saying, "For ten minutes my brother didn't hate me."  Jimmy looked so stunned and crushed I think the ten minutes of non hate brought out the contrast.

Chuck spent his childhood being good and watching Jimmy be bad, yet get all the love.  The "Rebekka," episode showed us that even  Chuck's wife liked Jimmy better and for the same, "He makes me laugh, " reason his mother gave. The only place in the world where Chuck thought he was liked and respected more than Jimmy was at HH&M and Jimmy even ruined that for him.  I get sad for both of them.

----------

Why do you all think Cinnabon Jimmy (Gene) pointed his finger at the kid in the self-photo booth?  Why didn't he just say he's been reading the whole time?

[Ohwell]

21 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

Why do you all think Cinnabon Jimmy (Gene) pointed his finger at the kid in the self-photo booth?  Why didn't he just say he's been reading the whole time?

I just thought that "Gene" was trying to do the right thing and go straight by fingering the kid.  Then Jimmy took over Gene and told the kid to get a lawyer.

[Clanstarling]

39 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

Why do you all think Cinnabon Jimmy (Gene) pointed his finger at the kid in the self-photo booth?  Why didn't he just say he's been reading the whole time?

I asked the same thing. Maybe to get the cops out of way sooner? Though, in the end, he just brought more attention to himself.