S03.E02: Witness

[Bryce Lynch]

Just now, RealReality said:

I like Mike's story because, to me, it makes sense.  If, earlier, you had the gas cap and the phone in the middle of the road it wouldn't make as much sense.

But now I wonder where and how it all went left.  When did Gus know, how did he know, who saw him.  Mike has seemingly been meticulous at every turn, so what went wrong?

Good questions.  I think Gus was definitely on to Mike after Jimmy's bumbling stakeout.  Whether he knew Mike was tracking his men before that is unclear.  In BB Gus had cameras all over the place, so maybe he caught Mike on one of those.

[Bannon]

Just now, RealReality said:

I like Mike's story because, to me, it makes sense.  If, earlier, you had the gas cap and the phone in the middle of the road it wouldn't make as much sense.

But now I wonder where and how it all went left.  When did Gus know, how did he know, who saw him.  Mike has seemingly been meticulous at every turn, so what went wrong?

I think Jimmy's being kind of squirrely in the restaurant tipped off Gus that the bagman was being watched, and Gus had a preplanned verbal cue for the bagman to scram. Something to do with the broom and dustpan.

To me, the most questionable aspect to the episode was Jimmy being so squirrely, for a guy who is very practiced at concealment. True, he was on the other side of things this time, but it didn't quite add up to me.

[Bryce Lynch]

2 minutes ago, Bannon said:

Sure it would be in their interest to do so. That's true for a large percentage of disputes that are litigated. People just aren't reliably rational. I've had attorneys making $500 an hour smirk at me from across a table, where I've been a third party lending some specialized expertise,  because the attorney knew the underlying dispute was pretty much trivial, but the parties to the dispute couldn't accept the triviality of the dispute, because the personality conflicts dominated the thinking. Happens is expensive divorces, both marriages and business partnerships, all the time.

It could go the way you envision, but I think the bugging of Jimmy, and Jimmy's explosive response, which no doubt lends extremely flammable accelerant to Chuck's inner rage, has greatly reduced the chance of a rational resolution to this conflict.

Well, we know Jimmy keeps his law license so it is pretty clear he doesn't get convicted of anything serious in the Chuck matter.  We also know he changes his name to Saul Goodman, and I can't see much reason for that, unless Chuck demanded it (unless he was telling Walt the truth when he said it was because the home boys wanted a pipe-hitting member of the tribe, so to speak).

[ghoulina]

3 hours ago, Eulipian 5k said:

What was Howard doing all that skulking about for? Even Chuck saw that he parked 2 blocks away. I thought he was going to steal the tape.

That is EXACTLY what I thought. He already seemed very apprehensive about what Chuck might do with the tape. I figured he just wanted to be done with it. 

 

1 hour ago, Dianaofthehunt said:

This question is for Vince Gilligan as much as anyone else, but I can’t figure out why HHM keeps Chuck on the payroll. He’s an obvious nut-job, does no actual day-to-day work, an embarrassment (what with the phone & watch collecting, lights-off meetings when he deigns to come in) and an all-around liability to the company.

Why don’t they insist on therapy as a condition of his continued employment? It’s just not plausible to me that he still has a job with them. It’s obvious that Howard is at the end of his rope with him (although the last scene throws that statement out the win

He's a founder of the firm, I believe. It was explained in season one that Jimmy, at least, believes it would cost too much to buy Chuck out. So it's actually cheaper to keep him, in whatever capacity he can work right now. 

 

1 hour ago, Bryce Lynch said:

I wouldn't be surprised to see Hamlin and Jimmy conspire together to make the charges go away or reach a settlement to avoid the firm being harmed by Chuck's mental health issues becoming public record.   It could be in their mutual interest.

Agreed. And I would actually really like to see that. Ever since it was revealed that Howard wasn't QUITE the snotty dick Jimmy thought he was, but that he was often doing Chuck's dirty work, I've wanted to see more of Jimmy and Howard together. 

[RealReality]

15 hours ago, Sharper2002 said:

Jimmy taunting Chuck about his wife leaving him really hit him where it hurts. I had to give a little (internal) cheer when Jimmy said that. I know Chuck is technically on the "right" side of the law, but I really loathe him so much.

Howard scaling the wall was hilarious. Doing dirty work is clearly not his thing.

A part of me cringed when I heard his fancy shoes scrape against the wall.  I have some favorite shoes and I would have probably just gone barefoot instead of risking them like that.

When Jimmy went off, I almost saw a glint of something in Chucks eyes....almost like regret, or something.  It didn't stop him from continuing to behave like an insufferable asshole, but maybe there is something there.

14 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

I might not agree with Jimmy about everything, but he was right about this, at least: from my experience, older people do seem to like Cracker Barrel...

Well, that was nuts.  I figured it was all a set-up by Chuck to have Jimmy sneak in and steal the tape, and have him arrested, but instead, Jimmy just kicks the door down, and destroys the tape in front of him.  Granted, he's still in deep shit and will likely get arrested for destroying private property (among other things), but I still kind of love that, once again, Chuck doesn't know Jimmy like he thinks he does.  He was so sure Jimmy was going to be sneaky and hide in the shadows, and instead, Jimmy confronts him in daylight and finally gives him an earful.  I don't care how cruel it was: I loved Jimmy's dig about Chuck's wife.  Jimmy isn't perfect and maybe he shouldn't be a lawyer, but Chuck has never showed him any support or affection, even when Jimmy was helping his sorry ass.  Chuck can fuck off.

At long last, Gus Fring has arrived!  The long reveal was maybe a bit much, but it was still great when Giancarlo Espositio's smile showed up again.  It's like he never left!  Not surprised he saw through Mike's plan, even if Jimmy wasn't the world's worst spy.  I do hope this will give Mike's storyline a good kick, but it is still going a bit too slow for my taste.  At least Jonathan Banks doesn't have to memorize many lines for these past two episodes.

Hey, Francesca!  So, that's how Saul knows her!

Poor Ernesto.  Poor Kim too.  I hope she survives whatever fallout happens (which will no doubt happen), and ends up being some kind of badass, successful lawyer elsewhere. 

Harold sneaking around in backyards in his slick suits was a hilarious image.

Overall, a good improvement over the premiere, although I wonder how long it's going to take to check in on good old Nacho!

Kim needs to worry about Mesa Verde, because she will almost certainly lose that account when this all comes out in the wash.  What a win for Chuck, he gets to ruin a young attorneys career over a petty vendetta.....but he was right, so theres that.

11 hours ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

Jimmy's velcro wallet was everything.  I know.  I am not normal.  :) 

I smiled at that too, I love the attention to detail.  

[Bannon]

11 minutes ago, Bryce Lynch said:

Well, we know Jimmy keeps his law license so it is pretty clear he doesn't get convicted of anything serious in the Chuck matter.  We also know he changes his name to Saul Goodman, and I can't see much reason for that, unless Chuck demanded it (unless he was telling Walt the truth when he said it was because the home boys wanted a pipe-hitting member of the tribe, so to speak).

Jimmy may have been telling the truth, and his fallout with Chuck may have made the change amenable to him. I've actually heard people with experience with the criminal justice system, from the least desirable end, say a person in trouble with the law should always hire a Jewish lawyer. Ethnic stereotypes abound.

Edited April 18, 2017 by Bannon
typo

[RealReality]

11 minutes ago, Bannon said:

I think Jimmy's being kind of squirrely in the restaurant tipped off Gus that the bagman was being watched, and Gus had a preplanned verbal cue for the bagman to scram. Something to do with the broom and dustpan.

To me, the most questionable aspect to the episode was Jimmy being so squirrely, for a guy who is very practiced at concealment. True, he was on the other side of things this time, but it didn't quite add up to me.

True, but how did he connect Jimmy and Mike so quickly?  I can't remember if Jimmy represented Mike in an official capacity, I mostly remember him going in with Mike when the cops wanted to talk to him.

I think Jimmy was also concerned about doing a good job for Mike, which probably made him nervous.  He clearly wants Mike to like him, IMO.

[nodorothyparker]

18 minutes ago, Bannon said:

I think Jimmy's being kind of squirrely in the restaurant tipped off Gus that the bagman was being watched, and Gus had a preplanned verbal cue for the bagman to scram. Something to do with the broom and dustpan.

To me, the most questionable aspect to the episode was Jimmy being so squirrely, for a guy who is very practiced at concealment. True, he was on the other side of things this time, but it didn't quite add up to me.

It does seem strange that Jimmy was just so very bad at basic surveillance without drawing a ton of attention to himself, doesn't it?  I finally chalked it up to his excitement over Mike including him in the caper and wanting to do a good job for him.  There was such a sense of longing and eagerness in being a part of whatever Mike's doing when they were in the car afterward and he was so clearly disappointed that Mike gave him the brushoff.   He may be good at senior law and having people like him as Francesca pointed out but it's obviously not giving him the same rush that being part of something shady does.  It's also interesting to me how he seems to value Mike's approval in almost the same way that he once wanted Chuck's.

[Bannon]

1 minute ago, nodorothyparker said:

It does seem strange that Jimmy was just so very bad at basic surveillance without drawing a ton of attention to himself, doesn't it?  I finally chalked it up to his excitement over Mike including him in the caper and wanting to do a good job for him.  There was such a sense of longing and eagerness in being a part of whatever Mike's doing when they were in the car afterward and he was so clearly disappointed that Mike gave him the brushoff.  It's interesting to me how he seems to value Mike's approval in almost the same way that he once wanted Chuck's.   He may be good at senior law and having people like him as Francesca pointed out but it's obviously not giving him the same rush that being part of something shady does.

Oh, I definitely think that Jimmy is transferring some of his need for big brother's approval from Chuck to Mike, which is yet another unfortunate mistake, given Mike's own self loathing, cynicism, and depression.

[RealReality]

@Lonesome Rhodes -- she did give the knapsack guy the upsell questions, he went with the salsa and not the catsup :)

[Eulipian 5k]

4 minutes ago, RealReality said:

True, but how did he connect Jimmy and Mike so quickly?  I can't remember if Jimmy represented Mike in an official capacity, I mostly remember him going in with Mike when the cops wanted to talk to him.

Didn't Jimmygo sit in Mike's car near LPH before going into his own jalopy? Gus was lurking in the background throughout that scene. Plus he knows Mike's in his business then Jimmy "Clousseau" shows up..... 2 + 2 = ...

[Bannon]

11 minutes ago, RealReality said:

True, but how did he connect Jimmy and Mike so quickly?  I can't remember if Jimmy represented Mike in an official capacity, I mostly remember him going in with Mike when the cops wanted to talk to him.

I think Jimmy was also concerned about doing a good job for Mike, which probably made him nervous.  He clearly wants Mike to like him, IMO.

I think Jimmy could be observed going back to Mike's car. 

[RealReality]

Just now, Eulipian 5k said:

Didn't Jimmygo sit in Mike's car near LPH before going into his own jalopy? Gus was lurking in the background throughout that scene. Plus he knows Mike's in his business then Jimmy "Clousseau" shows up..... 2 + 2 = ...

 

Just now, Bannon said:

I think Jimmy could be observed going back to Mike's car. 

True, true.  Although I thought Mike bought a new car?  Wasn't that where he was when he was talking to the pip?

[Tsunami1981]

Mike is a pro's pro, and no one puts one over on him, unless, of course, that person is Gus Fring. Saying Fring has all his bases covered is an understatement. Nothing gets past Gus. I'm looking forward to seeing how these two mix it up this season. 

Professionally, Jimmy and Kim are on opposite ends of the spectrum, but she's proven that she's loyal and will tow the line for a friend. Unfortunately, there will be a breaking point, and I just wonder how long it will be.

Chuck is a turd. He selfishly denigrates and persecutes his own brother out of petty rivalry. How can anyone say that Chuck's actions were justified? He was fine with Jimmy working in the copy room, but his refusal to even entertain the idea of his brother working as a lawyer for HHM is patronizingly petty. Their relationship reminds me of a quote I love from James Baldwin: "We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist."

[ShadowFacts]

53 minutes ago, Bannon said:

To me, the most questionable aspect to the episode was Jimmy being so squirrely, for a guy who is very practiced at concealment. True, he was on the other side of things this time, but it didn't quite add up to me.

I thought it was strange, too.  Jimmy the smooth conman was not smooth in his assignment.  Leaving aside the garbage diving, he never ate any of his food and only sipped his coffee a couple times, after moving from one table to another and was looking all around not so casually.

 

1 hour ago, RealReality said:

But now I wonder where and how it all went left.  When did Gus know, how did he know, who saw him.  Mike has seemingly been meticulous at every turn, so what went wrong?

I am thinking Gus has had Mike on his radar since Mike started watching Hector.  Gus with his fixation on Hector would probably be watching him and caught that Mike was also watching.  Mike is fallible, he doesn't see all and know all.  He misjudged how things would go down with Tuco, and he didn't foresee that a good Samaritan would be killed after he hijacked Hector's truck. 

[RealReality]

1 minute ago, ShadowFacts said:

I thought it was strange, too.  Jimmy the smooth conman was not smooth in his assignment.  Leaving aside the garbage diving, he never ate any of his food and only sipped his coffee a couple times, after moving from one table to another and was looking all around not so casually.

 

I also think Jimmy either put salt or too much sugar in his coffee because he made a face after sipping it.  Jimmy seems best when he is at ease, I think his desire to make Mike happy makes him nervous.

[knaankos]

2 hours ago, Bannon said:

Kim's the best, albeit flawed, major character in this show. I hope she gets out mostly unscathed, before getting too enmeshed in the dirty dealings, or getting largely innocently destroyed in the crossfire.

Unfortunately I doubt that she will get out of it entirely. Considering it seems that she and Jimmy have no relationship anymore by the time Breaking Bad comes around. it has to be something he does to get her in deep trouble. 

[Knuckles]

7 hours ago, teddysmom said:

Don Eladio (sp)  killed Gus' closest friend and partner

Technically, it was Tio that put the bullet in Gus' lover's head. in front of Gus, but it was on Don Eladio's orders. 

[knaankos]

1 hour ago, Bannon said:

I think Jimmy's being kind of squirrely in the restaurant tipped off Gus that the bagman was being watched, and Gus had a preplanned verbal cue for the bagman to scram. Something to do with the broom and dustpan.

To me, the most questionable aspect to the episode was Jimmy being so squirrely, for a guy who is very practiced at concealment. True, he was on the other side of things this time, but it didn't quite add up to me.

It seems that he would be a pretty poor poker player. He gives away a lot with the looks he puts on his face

[Bannon]

22 minutes ago, knaankos said:

It seems that he would be a pretty poor poker player. He gives away a lot with the looks he puts on his face

Not when he is running a con.

[RealReality]

39 minutes ago, knaankos said:

Unfortunately I doubt that she will get out of it entirely. Considering it seems that she and Jimmy have no relationship anymore by the time Breaking Bad comes around. it has to be something he does to get her in deep trouble. 

At the very least I imagine she is going to lose mess verde....her ONLY client.  The one client that could have led her to other big banking clients.  Kim doesn't want to do wills for the aarp set, she may only want to work with corporate clients.

[LoneHaranguer]

17 hours ago, acid burn said:

I love that Francesca came to Jimmy/Saul from the DMV. Of course she did. 

Wasn't it MVD? "DMV" isn't as universal as Jimmy thinks. Massachusetts calls theirs the RMV, for Registry of Motor Vehicles, and in Maine it's the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

[Shriekingeel]

2 hours ago, RealReality said:

I also think Jimmy either put salt or too much sugar in his coffee because he made a face after sipping it

I thought Jimmy put soda into his coffee at the drink fountain while trying to look discreet, and the face was from tasting the combination. 

[FortKnox]

Question, did anyone else not realize Francesca at first?

It took me a minute to place her. I think it had to do with the fact she was smiling and happy. When in Breaking Bad she was always scowling and pissed off. Something tells me that years of working with Jimmy/Saul and all the shit it involves had something to do with it.

[Ohwell]

I loved how Francesca calmly stood up to Kim, who was trying to do her best to rattle her.

[knaankos]

3 hours ago, Bannon said:

Not when he is running a con.

He would put Will Kassouf to shame with the table talk. (Any poker fans in here will get me) 

[acid burn]

2 hours ago, LoneHaranguer said:

Wasn't it MVD? "DMV" isn't as universal as Jimmy thinks. Massachusetts calls theirs the RMV, for Registry of Motor Vehicles, and in Maine it's the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

Yes, it was. I'm like Jimmy--I just always call it the DMV.

 

1 hour ago, FortKnox said:

Question, did anyone else not realize Francesca at first?

Right there with you. I actually didn't recognize her when she walked in.

[millennium]

13 hours ago, theodyssey said:

I'd kind of accept Jesse in a season or two, after "Jimmy" has taken on his new name. Jesse and Saul seemed to have met before when Breaking Bad introduced Saul. But I still think they should avoid it really. It just draws comparisons. This is a different show.

I think a Jesse appearance would be a major mistake.    Saul and Mike have aged conspicuously since Breaking Bad, and have no business in a prequel looking 5-10 years older than they first appeared in BB.   We accept it and look the other way for the sake of the story, but it's there.

Jesse matured even more noticeably during the filming of Breaking Bad, to the point that the Jesse flashbacks in the final episodes -- where he makes the wooden box, for example, or in Ozymandias (I think) when they flash back to the first Walt/Jesse cook with a new scene) -- were simply unbelievable as anything but modern retcons.   But again, we silenced those objections for the sake of the story.   

That was FIVE years ago, and already Jesse's resemblance to Season 1 Jesse wasn't close enough.      To imagine Aaron Paul now playing a version of Jesse younger than Season 1 Jesse  makes me cringe.  

[millennium]

1 hour ago, FortKnox said:

Question, did anyone else not realize Francesca at first?

It took me a minute to place her. I think it had to do with the fact she was smiling and happy. When in Breaking Bad she was always scowling and pissed off. Something tells me that years of working with Jimmy/Saul and all the shit it involves had something to do with it.

I didn't recognize her either and only put it together after googling to verify my recollection that Saul's secretary was named Francesca.

[Tsunami1981]

9 hours ago, Tara Ariano said:

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

Better Call Saul Shows Us The Grubby Moment Jimmy Met Gus

Now here are a couple of guys who aren't afraid to get their hands dirty.

 

Enjoyed reading that. Very well done.

[millennium]

13 hours ago, benteen said:

Fair enough but it is the most overrated show on television and I find the praise for it to be truly inexplicable.

I think the praise is predicated on the better show lurking in the background.

On its own, BCS probably wouldn't have cleared Season 1.   Now it's devolved into a show of two entirely different stories that occasionally cross paths, and even when they do it seems contrived.   I think Mike's story is more interesting, but the Saul story sets a pretty low bar.    Full disclosure: I can't stand Michael McKean in anything.   He'll always be Lenny.

Back in the BB days, I always assumed Saul and Mike met Gus separately, especially since Mike frequently seemed like something of an unknown quantity to Saul, and Saul was in fact afraid of him.   It seemed to me then that Mike was involved with Gus long before ever meeting Saul.   Nothing in BB hinted that Saul knew Mike in any capacity beyond his role as Gus's fixer.

Edited April 19, 2017 by millennium

[RealReality]

2 hours ago, Shriekingeel said:

I thought Jimmy put soda into his coffee at the drink fountain while trying to look discreet, and the face was from tasting the combination. 

I think he just knocked the soda fountain lever at the end.  But he had put like 10 packets of something in his coffee.

[Bryce Lynch]

4 hours ago, LoneHaranguer said:

Wasn't it MVD? "DMV" isn't as universal as Jimmy thinks. Massachusetts calls theirs the RMV, for Registry of Motor Vehicles, and in Maine it's the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

I am sure the writers added in the MVD/DMW conversation with Jimmy saying for him it is DMV all the way, was to cover up for their minor mistake in "Blood Money", when Saul told Jesse if Francesca keeps him waiting again she would end up back at the DMV.

[Bryce Lynch]

11 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I love that awkward run/walk he was doing with his arms at his sides.

 

I like her ponytail.

While I like last week's deliberateness with Mike taking apart his car and then setting up the tracking device, I was a little bored with his tracking and surveilling his prey this week. It seemed too self-conscious to me. Still, I got a kick out of hearing someone sweeping while Jimmy sat in LPH, and then seeing the yellow shirt approaching.

Didn't the guy with the backpack leave something on the floor where his pack had been? I thought there was a dark rectangle of something. I thought Gus was supposed to sweep it up, but maybe Gus had already made Jimmy by that point.

Poor Jimmy. I felt terrible when he learned Chuck had taped him, that Chuck was not out of his mind at that time but had set him up. 

I like how nice and bubbly Francesca is right now. It's funny imagining how she basically reverts to the stereotypical DMV employee.

I just watched the LPH scene again.  The black rectangle was just a floor tile. 

[Conan Troutman]

8 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

Good questions.  I think Gus was definitely on to Mike after Jimmy's bumbling stakeout.  Whether he knew Mike was tracking his men before that is unclear.  In BB Gus had cameras all over the place, so maybe he caught Mike on one of those.

I wouldn't even put it past Gus to have Mike observed all the time in addition to the tracker. We know how totally paranoid Gus is (and rightfully so...) and he doesn't seem the type to put all his eggs in one basket - doubly so when it's technology, which I guess Gus doesn't trust 100% to start with. So I can totally see Gus being informed about every little step Mike takes - and he'd have to be pretty impressed by his efforts, which is my best guess how the two got to work together. 

The other option is that Mike got a bit too close to LPH and that Gus has people watching out the windows with binoculars 24/7 checking every parked car etc. out of principle. Sounds a bit far fetched maybe, but this is Gus we're talking about, so who knows? Jimmy's hilariously incompetent spy impression sure didn't help any either. 

Edited April 19, 2017 by Conan Troutman

[SailorGirl]

15 hours ago, benteen said:

Fair enough but it is the most overrated show on television and I find the praise for it to be truly inexplicable.

Then I have to ask . . . why are you watching it, and posting here and engaging in discussion about it? If you feel this way, there's a very simple solution. Personally, if I feel this way about a show, I just don't watch it. . . .  

Edited April 19, 2017 by SailorGirl

[knaankos]

One thing I forgot to mention. It's about time Mike got busted for his car sitting. How many hours have we watched Mike sit in a car to spy in this series? He thinks its the ultimate invincibility shield. I think he forgets that he isn't invisible in there.

[Beth64]

16 hours ago, ghoulina said:

I thought we were going to get just ONE BB character this week, but THREE? What a treat! 

I thoroughly enjoyed the scenes with Francesca. I don't think she was given enough on BB for me to have a real opinion of her. But she was quite a delight tonight. I absolutely loved when she was trying to put Mike on hold and whispered to Jimmy, "this one really doesn't want to talk about Cracker Barrel". 

Fucking Cracker Barrel. I wonder if Jimmy can get justice for Brad's wife. 

And I really really loved all the first glimpses of Gus. I have to say that that scene of Jimmy scoping out Los Pollos could have been dull as dirt, if not for Odenkirk. He played it beautifully, all his facial expressions. It was quite obvious that while Jimmy is great with the old people, doing a stakeout for Mike gives him more of the thrill he desires. He was a disappointed little kid when Mike cut him loose. But I just loved the unfocused, blurry Gus in the background, sweeping up. You saw the yellow shirt....and you KNEW. 

I'm hanging in there, but the Mike stuff is still perplexing me a bit. I get that he's now tailing the guys who were tailing him. The Victor sighting makes it clear that Gus is the one ultimately tailing Mike. But what I'm a bit confused about is HOW is he still tailing them (the one guy)? Are we to believe that the dude is carrying around that other gas cap all the time? Forgive me if I'm missing something, but I have to admit I'm quite tired on Monday nights and always struggle to stay awake, no matter how good it is. But it's also often very dark in Mike's scenes and I'll admit I probably don't catch everything. 

Jimmy's realization of what Chuck was doing was just heartbreaking to me. When Jimmy fucked Chuck over (Mesa Verde) it was really all about Kim. I don't think he INTENDED to make Chuck a fool, and I do think he felt horrible with what it resulted in. When Chuck is now fucking Jimmy over, it's all about making Jimmy PAY. I don't think Jimmy would ever feel that extreme about his brother. He's no saint, but Chuck clearly has a lot more anger in his heart in regards to his brother than Jimmy does. I think Jimmy, deep down, still just wants to be like his brother and make him proud - hence the tape rolling, which actually made me really sad. 

It was clear that Jimmy was just destroyed by this turn of events. And Kim is MAD. I'm curious to see more of the fallout from her than anything. 

Did anyone catch how when Kim wanted to tell Jimmy what she knew, she made him pay her? Just like Saul does with Walt/Jess in BB? I wonder if that's just a common lawyer thing, or if Jimmy ultimately got that idea from her. Either way, I loved that callback. 

They do that to establish attorney client privilege. 

[RealReality]

2 hours ago, SailorGirl said:

Then I have to ask . . . why are you watching it, and posting here and engaging in discussion about it? If you feel this way, there's a very simple solution. Personally, if I feel this way about a show, I just don't watch it. . . .  

I find this confusing as well.  I think all shondra rimes shows are overrated.  I do not watch them.

[RealReality]

The beauty of seeing Mike be so meticulous to the point of fussiness is to show that either Gus is just that good or jimmy really sank him by being obvious.  

If it weren't for showing how careful like has been about everything I would have just assumed he screwed up somewhere along the line (even though Mike has always been presented as really competent And careful).

Had Gus known for a while and just sat on it? If so, to what end?  He shouldn't have been impressed by sending Jimmy the obvious. But he should have been impressed by the trick with the tracking device.  So why wait?  Unless the Jimmy trick tipped him off.  But it seems like a short amount of time to put it altogether.  I think it's one of Mike's few mess ups.  He should have had Jimmy meet him someplace else entirely.  Mike sitting there day after day isn't that bad, he isn't in the same car and it looked like a residential neighborhood where you would expect the same cars to be there every day.  

But who goes to a fast food chain and parks down the street instead of the parking lot? 

[Wiendish Fitch]

8 hours ago, millennium said:

I think a Jesse appearance would be a major mistake.    Saul and Mike have aged conspicuously since Breaking Bad, and have no business in a prequel looking 5-10 years older than they first appeared in BB.   We accept it and look the other way for the sake of the story, but it's there.

Jesse matured even more noticeably during the filming of Breaking Bad, to the point that the Jesse flashbacks in the final episodes -- where he makes the wooden box, for example, or in Ozymandias (I think) when they flash back to the first Walt/Jesse cook with a new scene) -- were simply unbelievable as anything but modern retcons.   But again, we silenced those objections for the sake of the story.   

That was FIVE years ago, and already Jesse's resemblance to Season 1 Jesse wasn't close enough.      To imagine Aaron Paul now playing a version of Jesse younger than Season 1 Jesse  makes me cringe.  

Agreed. Aaron Paul was convincing as mid-20s Jesse in the first season of Breaking Bad, despite pushing 30, but towards the end, his actual age became more obvious (to be fair, dealing with any of these people would age someone before their time). Paul's now almost 40 (damn, time flies), and he would just look like an idiot trying to pass himself off as young Jesse. I'd suggest getting a young stunt double, filming him from behind, and have Paul do a voiceover, but most people hate that stunt, so I got nothin'. 

Damn, I would just love to lock Chuck in a narrow little closet filled with old school boomboxes and active vibrators, wouldn't you?

[Bryce Lynch]

Rewatching, I noticed a few things:

1) Gus seems to have an "aha moment" when he is outside and Jimmy's two tone clunker comes squeaking by from where he had been parked a block or so away, next to Mike.  I think that is the moment when Gus realizes Mike has been tracking his guys.

2) I think Jimmy immediately liked Francesca because a) She couldn't stop herself from laughing at his somewhat inappropriate joke about being early. b) She told the truth about the M being crooked.  He saw that she had a sense of humor and could deal with his bawdy personality and was not a yes woman.

3) Jimmy went into great detail about what he saw in LPH, but failed to mention to Mike that the manager had caught him with his head in the trash.  Does he not get that this might be relevant? Is he ashamed to tell Mike he screwed up? This is the sort of omission that potentially could have gotten Mike killed.

Edited April 19, 2017 by Bryce Lynch

[ghoulina]

10 hours ago, millennium said:

That was FIVE years ago, and already Jesse's resemblance to Season 1 Jesse wasn't close enough.      To imagine Aaron Paul now playing a version of Jesse younger than Season 1 Jesse  makes me cringe.  

I agree. Wouldn't Jesse have to be a teenager in the time frame we're currently seeing? I just don't think it would work. 

 

6 hours ago, Beth64 said:

They do that to establish attorney client privilege. 

I understand. I just meant I wondered if it was common enough among lawyers or would Saul have picked that up from Kim.

 

10 hours ago, millennium said:

I think the praise is predicated on the better show lurking in the background.

On its own, BCS probably wouldn't have cleared Season 1.  

I don't know about this. It's hard for me to be unbiased, since I've seen BB. But I think there are plenty of people who enjoy BCS and have never seen BB. My husband, for instance, has seen SOME BB. I tried getting him to watch it with me. He watched the first few episodes, but couldn't really get into it. But as I watched, he was in the house and so he has a general idea of who the main players are, but was never really invested in it like I am. But he LOVES Better Call Saul. LOVES it. I think the BB tie ins are fun for us fans, but I think the show could totally stand alone. 

Edited April 19, 2017 by ghoulina

[Nancypants]

How much do we All Love BOB odenkirk? DISCUSS

[Bryce Lynch]

4 minutes ago, Nancypants said:

How much do we All Love BOB odenkirk? DISCUSS

I love him more than eating a pimento cheese sandwich while sitting behind a cocobolo desk 

[Bryce Lynch]

5 hours ago, RealReality said:

I find this confusing as well.  I think all shondra rimes shows are overrated.  I do not watch them.

Hate watching can be fun.  I hate watched 2 seasons of "Under the Dome".   That said, I think hate watching is only enjoyable when the show gives you lots of mocking material.  

[Nancypants]

Don't forget the Cucumber Water with that pimento cheese sandwich! I don't care if its For Customers Only!

[Captanne]

I'm enjoying the show -- I really am.  I'm also finding it gets better as the seasons go on.  Not because of the Breaking Bad connections but because the characters are getting into their grooves for me.

As for "hate watching"?  No, I get no enjoyment out of that at all.  I don't have the time for it.  I appointment watch television and, then, only what I think is worth my rapidly diminishing free time.  For "hate watching", I used to gleefully let Television Without Pity do that for me and then read their delightful snark. It took half the time and was much more clever than I could be.  (I particularly remember losing my collective shit over Pamie's reviews of Tarzan.  I am now an Avid Vikings Fan so -- well done Travis Fimmel!  You've come a long way from "Australian Underwear Model".)

[nodorothyparker]

People are allowed to watch shows for whatever reason works for them.  I'm still hanging in with the Walking Dead universe mostly for the snarking with forum people I enjoy snarking with.

Full confession:  While I think I've probably seen all of the BB episodes over the years, it was my husband who was the huge fan.  Not me.  I know the storylines and who all the big players are, but I don't always recognize on my own a lot of the small stuff you guys point out and I never would have had any idea, for example, who a seemingly minor character like Victor was without this thread.  BB could be a pretty terrific show at times, but it never resonated with me quite the way this one does.  Probably because while most of us will never become megalomaniac drug kingpins, lots of us can relate to having toxic family relationships it took us too long to walk away from or we can point to decision points in our lives where the path not taken very likely would have been the correct one if only we hadn't gotten in our own way.  The writing and portrayals are that good for me.  The BB callbacks are fun and I'm enjoying watching this show slowly start to merge with that one, but I would have been just fine with BCS had it remained a more separate entity too.

[Bryce Lynch]

17 minutes ago, Nancypants said:

Don't forget the Cucumber Water with that pimento cheese sandwich! I don't care if its For Customers Only!

Or on a special occasion, maybe a shot of Zafiro Anejo, neat, no poison.