S03.E01: Mabel

[SlackerInc]

2 hours ago, ketose said:

One can assume that "New Mexico school teacher becomes meth kingpin" is a story that got national attention. I wouldn't be surprised if some true crime show didn't make an episode out of Saul Goodman and where he went. Cinnabon Gene's withdrawal from the world might be what he needs to do to keep from getting the wrong attention.

I get that, but being behind the counter at a mall Cinnabon is a bad way to avoid being recognized, is my point.  Other than being a TV anchor, there aren't many jobs with more visibility.

[ketose]

10 minutes ago, SlackerInc said:

I get that, but being behind the counter at a mall Cinnabon is a bad way to avoid being recognized, is my point.  Other than being a TV anchor, there aren't many jobs with more visibility.

It's possible to poke holes in any identity someone creates to hide. The advantage of the Cinnabon is that his coworkers probably don't stay that long and the customers don't really pay attention.

[Clanstarling]

16 minutes ago, SlackerInc said:

I get that, but being behind the counter at a mall Cinnabon is a bad way to avoid being recognized, is my point.  Other than being a TV anchor, there aren't many jobs with more visibility.

True, but who really looks at the people serving them in mall food outlets? The uniforms give them a certain anonymity, unless they're exceptionally attractive or distinctive in some other way. For the most part people are looking at the menu or those delicious, but evil, cinnamon/cream cheese frosting goodies on display. They probably don't even look at the worker's face. So, it might work on a hide in plain sight kind of way.

[SlackerInc]

Until you keel over in front of everyone.  (Look at how I brought it back to the episode!)

[attica]

My take while watching it was that Gene calculated that pointing out the kid in the photo booth allowed the cops to catch him red-handed, and therefore not require witness statements. If he didn't, the cops might have wanted to talk to him officially. Which is slim, I think, but sometimes slim is too much to bet on.

[Bryce Lynch]

23 hours ago, SlackerInc said:

I get that, but being behind the counter at a mall Cinnabon is a bad way to avoid being recognized, is my point.  Other than being a TV anchor, there aren't many jobs with more visibility.

I don't think Cinabon manager is quite as visible as you say, but there are certainly jobs with far less exposure to the public.

They writers of BB probably weren't thinking that far ahead when Saul told Walt that his best case scenario would be managing a Cinabon in Omaha.  I LOVE that they made that come true in BCS, though, even if it wasn't the most logical type of job for a fugitive.

[NYCFree]

I got the impression that Gene was surprised when his finger pointed out the guy in the photo booth. After his ginger moved, he looked down at it, in a questioning manner like "why did you do that?"

[shapeshifter]

The book referenced in the title of this episode is available via the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/adventuresmabel00peckgoog

[ShadowFacts]

What was the book he was reading at lunch?  I caught 'moon' and 'balloon', I think.

[nodorothyparker]

The Moon's a Balloon.  It's David Niven's memoir of a pretty incredible life as a British war hero, movie star, and celebrity.

[attica]

How is a David Niven memoir something I've never read?!?  ::off to library...::

[RealReality]

On 4/14/2017 at 7:40 AM, TedisnotTed2 said:

It makes no sense for Gene to have talked to the cops. What if he is called as a witness if this kid claims police brutality? He should have just told the cops he didn't see the kid. That's what you do when you're on the lam! I don't see how his do it yourself witness protection can be very successful. I guess he has a fake social security number or the number of someone who died as a child, but isn't it easy for any government agency to run that number and see what contributions you've made to social security? It seems like the Gene personna would fall apart pretty fast. Wouldn't it make more sense to get out of the country? I have to confess, I don't know what Chuck is up to. Clearly he wants to blackmail or humiliate Jimmy. Is this how he gets him to change his name? And if he so badly wants to disassociate himself from Jimmy, why not insist he move to another city or state? Neither of them is from New Mexico. Also, having served many years in "prestigious" large NYC law firms, I love they way they are able to pretend that Albequerque is some kind of legal hot bed. Bring back Dennis Boustikaris and his Moscow Mule!

I think it just went to show that gene is trying so hard not to be Jimmy.  To do the legal, good citizen thing.  But Jimmy peeks through  (maybe more and more) because he can't help who he is.  Saul, slippin' Jimmy, gene or any other name, he is always going to want to stand up against authority and defend the little guy.  He is still a fighter, he can't help it.

[Clanstarling]

2 hours ago, attica said:

How is a David Niven memoir something I've never read?!?  ::off to library...::

That was a blast from the past, I think I read it when I was in high school (or early college) - around the time David Niven had the witty line about the streaker at the Oscars.

[Gobi]

In line with what others have said, Jimmy is what is known as a rainmaker. He has that gift of attracting people to him and getting them to put their trust in him. Someone like Jimmy is invaluable to a law firm. Chuck, for all his brilliance and expertise, probably has brought few, if any clients, to the firm. And that must anger him no end (even before Jimmy became a lawyer). 

As a colleague once said, you don't have to be a brilliant attorney to have a successful law firm. You have to be able to get clients in the door, then you can hire a brilliant attorney to do the work.

Properly mentored, Jimmy would have been a real asset to HHM. Chuck, though, would never have accepted that.

[MisterBluxom]

On 2017-04-10 at 11:13 PM, mattie0808 said:

I need to pay more attention, lol. Someone help...

-- What was the great punctuation crisis Kim was having between a dash and semi-colon?

-- Does Ernesto now know Chuck's got Jimmy on tape?

Absolutely still HATE CHUCK.

I HATE the fact that we have to wait longer and longer for a season to begin and the season then is shorter and shorter. Who the *bleep* do these people think they are fooling?

There is bound to be a new form of entertainment soon. Movies just keep getting worse (or more accurately ... the movie-going experience keeps getting worse.

TV shows keep getting worse.

I'm guessing there is a giant opportunity here and sooner (rather than later) someone will figure out a new form of entertainment and make a billion dollars and from then on ... the entertainment industry will be changed forever and we will no longer be saddled with the current crappy kinds of entertainment.

I saw a very interesting documentary recently about the band 30 Seconds to Mars and how they are fighting a 30 million dollar lawsuit from their record company and how record companies just treat music artists like crap. I hope the guys in 30 Seconds to Mars will figure out a way to punish the lazy pigs who own this record company and force them into bankruptcy. They sure do deserve that. I better stop now before I get too far off topic.

[Ottis]

Love how thorough Mike is. He *knew* there was a bug on his car somewhere. And he was going to keep looking until he found it. Though missing the gas cap maybe was a sign of not being through. You figure a bug has to be somewhere easy to access, and that's among the easiest sports (and easily removed).

I'm also amazed at his patience, sitting by the window.

It puzzled me that Mike used his real name when ordering a taxi from the junkyard. Why leave that trail? 

I would so love it if Jimmy outsmarted his brother in the end. he seems unable to do that because he so wants his approval, but still.

I really missed all the wide shots of the sky from BCS (and BB).

[Hanahope]

51 minutes ago, Ottis said:

 

Love how thorough Mike is. He *knew* there was a bug on his car somewhere. And he was going to keep looking until he found it. Though missing the gas cap maybe was a sign of not being through. You figure a bug has to be somewhere easy to access, and that's among the easiest sports (and easily removed).

 

Either easily accessible/removable, or so well hidden that no one would ever find it.  In this case, it was pretty much both.

I'm going to assume it was placed by Gus, since we know he's coming.  Gus is a smart man, who probably saw Mike watching and following Hector (or more likely someone working for Gus saw him and reported to Gus).

I wonder what exactly Chuck is trying to do with the tape.  Obviously, he's expecting Ernie to tell Jimmy.  What would Jimmy do then?  Is he expecting Jimmy to try and steal the tape from his house?  Does he imagine he's going to call the cops on Jimmy for breaking and entering, and Jimmy will merely say to the cops, hey look at this place, I was merely trying to help out my mentally sick brother find something.  

Is he going to try and blackmail Jimmy, say leave Kim, leave the practice or I'll play the tape to her and Mesa Verde?  Is that then why Jimmy leaves Kim and because he can't leave law altogether, becomes Saul Goodman (and Chuck would never realize Saul is Jimmy?)

I forget why Kim was handling some of Jimmy's clients (or former clients).

[ShadowFacts]

20 minutes ago, Hanahope said:

Is he going to try and blackmail Jimmy, say leave Kim, leave the practice or I'll play the tape to her and Mesa Verde?  Is that then why Jimmy leaves Kim and because he can't leave law altogether, becomes Saul Goodman (and Chuck would never realize Saul is Jimmy?)

Chuck would know that Saul is Jimmy, Saul had a big presence in Albuquerque; even if Chuck never recovered from his fear of electromagnetism and thus didn't watch television, he would know from other sources like people at HHM, the newspaper, etc.

I also can't figure why Chuck needs to have Ernie hear the tape and leak it to Jimmy.  If Chuck intends to hurt/blackmail Jimmy, why not just directly?  I guess we'll find out soon. 

[NYCFree]

I bet Chuck will die or be institutionalized. It doesn't seem possible that he could co-exist with Saul Goodman.

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, ShadowFacts said:

I also can't figure why Chuck needs to have Ernie hear the tape and leak it to Jimmy.  If Chuck intends to hurt/blackmail Jimmy, why not just directly?  I guess we'll find out soon. 

If Chuck and Jimmy had a contest of Deviousness and Conniving, I'm not sure which one would win--but then maybe the winner would/will really be the loser.

[Ottis]

5 hours ago, Hanahope said:

Either easily accessible/removable, or so well hidden that no one would ever find it.

It couldn't be that. Anything that well hidden would likely also be as difficult to remove and recharge, so it had to be somewhere easily accessible AND hard to spot. That's what I meant

5 hours ago, Hanahope said:

I wonder what exactly Chuck is trying to do with the tape.  Obviously, he's expecting Ernie to tell Jimmy.  What would Jimmy do then?  Is he expecting Jimmy to try and steal the tape from his house?  Does he imagine he's going to call the cops on Jimmy for breaking and entering, and Jimmy will merely say to the cops, hey look at this place, I was merely trying to help out my mentally sick brother find something.  

As I read this well-reasoned conjecture, I realized how disappointed I am that the Jimmy vs. Chuck thing is back. They both do ridiculous and/or hateful things, and have done so all their lives (to others, and to each other). And they can't seem to let each other be. Neither of them is bad or sympathetic as they appear, they each have issues. I'm way more interested in every other plot in BCS than this one, at this point. 

[ketose]

20 hours ago, MissBluxom said:

I HATE the fact that we have to wait longer and longer for a season to begin and the season then is shorter and shorter. Who the *bleep* do these people think they are fooling?

I kind of wonder about that. The most you get on cable / streaming is a 13 episode season. The other series don't air one after another and there usually aren't reruns. You're almost better off not watching and just binge it on Netflix. I ended up watching all 4 seasons of Rectify that way.

[jamestraher]

The writers and producers have expressed in interviews that it's kind of sad for them to know where the series ends: with Jimmy degrading into Saul. Given that post-Beaking-Bad scenes continue to be shown, will the show likely balance the potential sadness of turning Jimmy into Saul with a long segment of the post-Breaking-Bad timeline where, because of his memories (of what's going on in the show now) and conflict, he makes the decision to be Jimmy again or make some other big decision, in some sort of high note end to the series? Or do you think the post-Breaking-Bad timeline isn't going anywhere?

[jamestraher]

The writers and producers have expressed in interviews that it's kind of sad for them to know where the series ends: with Jimmy degrading into Saul. Given that post-Beaking-Bad scenes continue to be shown, will the show likely balance the potential sadness of turning Jimmy into Saul with a long segment of the post-Breaking-Bad timeline where, because of his memories (of what's going on in the show now) and conflict, he makes the decision to be Jimmy again or make some other big decision, in some sort of high note end to the series? Or do you think the post-Breaking-Bad timeline isn't going anywhere?

[ketose]

20 minutes ago, jamestraher said:

The writers and producers have expressed in interviews that it's kind of sad for them to know where the series ends: with Jimmy degrading into Saul. Given that post-Beaking-Bad scenes continue to be shown, will the show likely balance the potential sadness of turning Jimmy into Saul with a long segment of the post-Breaking-Bad timeline where, because of his memories (of what's going on in the show now) and conflict, he makes the decision to be Jimmy again or make some other big decision, in some sort of high note end to the series? Or do you think the post-Breaking-Bad timeline isn't going anywhere?

I would imagine Saul at the beginning of BB was better off than Jimmy at the beginning of BCS, broke and living with his brother / back of a nail salon. They wrote him a promising legal career, now they have to figure out how to write the transition.

[jamestraher]

1 minute ago, ketose said:

I would imagine Saul at the beginning of BB was better off than Jimmy at the beginning of BCS, broke and living with his brother / back of a nail salon. They wrote him a promising legal career, now they have to figure out how to write the transition.

Well yeah, he is better off financially, etc, but he is without friends (without Kim) and his moral character is more compromised and he has just given up for the sake of finding worldly comforts instead of real relationships. No? What could the writers/producers be talking about then when they say they are sad about what he becomes by the end of this show? To hear what I'm talking about, watch the beginning of the Better Talk Saul show that played after the Season 3 premiere.

[SignGuy77]

They've invested three lengthy season intros into the post-BrBa world of Gene. And hopefully we don't leave future-Jimmy passed out on the Cinnabon floor with icing on his face. But the way these writers operate, as of this post they might not even be sure exactly where they plan to take the flashforward stuff. I can't wait to find out.

[scenario]

On 4/12/2017 at 0:39 PM, 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. 

Jimmy's fingerprints are almost certainly on file. He was arrested multiple times when he was younger. Dna wouldn't matter unless they suspected him of a violent crime. It's costs a lot of money to process DNA and it wouldn't make sense for them to run a check on Gene just because he's in the hospital. 

[queenanne]

On 4/11/2017 at 5:42 PM, peeayebee said:

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.

I feel like the kid stole a CD with that obnoxious plastic packaging around it, but I didn't pause to look at it.  

The Mike scene could have run shorter, but I for one thought at first he was looking for a bomb, thus had no problem with the long lead time before the big reveal.  

Great observation about Air Force captain/Jimmy, also I wouldn't be surprised to see a "name actor" return for a bigger role in the future (I had the same thought about the first-episode appearance of Jesse Plemons on BrBa, "isn't the kid kind of high-profile to show up for a role where he's so far been literally mute?")

On 4/13/2017 at 10:15 AM, SlackerInc said:

This is true!  And that I think is my main point: his primary reaction was not, I think, "Damn that Jimmy for sabotaging us" but rather that this is, as you say, a "hot mess of crazy" and he's just trying to think of the most diplomatic thing to say, regardless of what the truth may or may not be.

Sure, I think we all understand this.  But there are plenty of ways to have fun, without attracting the police's attention but also not turning into a pathetic milquetoast.  It's already been made clear that he didn't have to do like Walt in "Granite State" and hole up in a cabin.  He has to see members of the public all day in his job, so there's no reason he can't go out on the town in his off hours (as long as he stays away from bars that attract lowlifes and 911 calls,).  Or at least go eat at nice restaurants.

I would assume that Gene can't frequent nice restaurants because Gene in fact makes relative peanuts at a mall storefront.  I worked mall sales after college for a few months, I grant not as a manager, but I wound up actually racking up credit card debt at said job, while living at home (and my mother assumed I didn't need brown bagging help, because I'd be 'eating at the food court').  With taxes and tip, it's rare to get out of any sit-down place without paying $10, unless you drink water and/or have a coupon for a free entree.

Plus, I suspect Gene is both suffering from PTSD plus thinking that with all the bad things he's done and all the people he's hurt, he doesn't deserve any better than this mousy joyless life.

Edited April 23, 2017 by queenanne

[Bryce Lynch]

On 4/23/2017 at 10:05 AM, queenanne said:

I feel like the kid stole a CD with that obnoxious plastic packaging around it, but I didn't pause to look at it.  

The Mike scene could have run shorter, but I for one thought at first he was looking for a bomb, thus had no problem with the long lead time before the big reveal.  

Great observation about Air Force captain/Jimmy, also I wouldn't be surprised to see a "name actor" return for a bigger role in the future (I had the same thought about the first-episode appearance of Jesse Plemons on BrBa, "isn't the kid kind of high-profile to show up for a role where he's so far been literally mute?")

I would assume that Gene can't frequent nice restaurants because Gene in fact makes relative peanuts at a mall storefront.  I worked mall sales after college for a few months, I grant not as a manager, but I wound up actually racking up credit card debt at said job, while living at home (and my mother assumed I didn't need brown bagging help, because I'd be 'eating at the food court').  With taxes and tip, it's rare to get out of any sit-down place without paying $10, unless you drink water and/or have a coupon for a free entree.

Plus, I suspect Gene is both suffering from PTSD plus thinking that with all the bad things he's done and all the people he's hurt, he doesn't deserve any better than this mousy joyless life.

I agree that Gene probably isn't rolling in dough, except at work :).  

I'm not so sure about PTSD, as much as just living in constant fear of getting caught.  Other than getting beat up by Jesse and having Walt threaten him, Saul didn't deal with a lot of gory or scary stuff up close.

I also wonder if he is really feeling any guilt.  If he felt guilty,  I suspect he might have watched his old videos of his "Gimme Jimmy" ads rather than the "Better Call Saul" ads, in the series premiere.  Also, in the 2nd season Gene Scene, he writes, "SG Was Here" on the wall, not "JM Was Here".  It seems like he misses being Saul, who did all the terrible things, not being Jimmy, who was relatively harmless.  

[magdrides]

Mike  get's the "Don't" message.  He takes his car to the junk yard, tears it apart, presumably looking for some sort of a tracking device.  Then he thinks of looking in the gas tank cap (why didn't he do that before?) and pries it apart and finds some sort of a chip with a number on it which he writes down.  I think he buys a similar one and puts it in another cap on another car. But I really can't tell what's going on or why.    Can anyone explain, based on  what's shown in this Mable episode?..  Or perhaps based on what you've learned from following episodes (which I haven't watched yet). 

[magdrides]

never mind -- I found this http://www.vulture.com/2017/04/better-call-saul-recap-season-3-episode-1.html

[Juliegirlj]

Poor Gene- he made himself physically sick by turning that kid in to the cops. Then, in a knee jerk reaction he throws caution to the wind, and yells "Get a lawyer" to the kid. Jimmy's true nature is still alive and well, even as Gene in his post Walter White private hell. 

God, I love to hate Chuck. He and Jimmy are kind of like two sides of the same coin. Both have an intense love of the law. Chuck wants to uphold the literal interpretation of it, but Jimmy takes a more creative version. 

Jimmy always comes from a place of caring, even while carrying out his misdeeds, while Chuck comes from a place of bitterness, jealousy and anger. How could anyone not root for Jimmy?!

Edited May 10, 2017 by Juliegirlj

[Bryce Lynch]

Why didn't Fring's guy just quickly put a fresh battery in the RF tracker instead of taking it with him?  

[Clanstarling]

18 minutes ago, Bryce Lynch said:

Why didn't Fring's guy just quickly put a fresh battery in the RF tracker instead of taking it with him?  

It's been a while, but my guess would be because it's easier and faster to swap out the gas cap than to open it up and take out and put in fiddly batteries in the middle of the night. More stealth, less chance of being caught.

[Bryce Lynch]

40 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

It's been a while, but my guess would be because it's easier and faster to swap out the gas cap than to open it up and take out and put in fiddly batteries in the middle of the night. More stealth, less chance of being caught.

True, but if time was an issue, he could have swapped out a new gas cap, preloaded with another RF tracker 

[Clanstarling]

23 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

True, but if time was an issue, he could have swapped out a new gas cap, preloaded with another RF tracker 

Like I said, it's been a while, because that's what I thought he did.