S03.E07: Expenses

[kieyra]

Interesting that it hasn't been renewed (yet). I'm out of the ratings-worry habit since so many shows I watch are delivered in somewhat stable, binge-able packages now. Did a Google, there's an article from April about BCS hitting a series low in ratings recently.

I'm one of the people who gets lectured for not being able to properly appreciate the long, long, long, dialogue-free scenes, and I hate that the Jimmy/Chuck conflict is the engine of the show. I remember when I realized (quite late, really) that this would be true throughout--that Chuck wasn't going anywhere. I've been significantly less invested since then. (I was holding out hope he'd killed himself when he wouldn't answer the door recently, one of those many times he's refused to answer the door.)

I think the showrunners fell in love with their actors, especially McKean, and with this alternate-reality take on Saul Goodman. And might have followed if off a cliff. It just feels too disconnected from the world of BB, even as they hastily try to backfill those details (while shoving more Chuck down our throats). 

Remember back in S1 when it seemed like fast-talking Jimmy was going to get hauled into the drug-dealing underworld not entirely of his own accord? I wish we could have seen that show instead.

Just some thoughts re: ratings, especially as I'm rewatching BB and on S3 there. And yes, I know live ratings numbers aren't as important as they used to be. 

Edited May 30, 2017 by kieyra

[Macbeth]

On 5/23/2017 at 3:05 PM, rue721 said:

Jimmy was also taking care of Chuck and propping up his lifestyle for years, and all that care and propping was nearly invisible. Even Howard was basically in the dark about it until after Jimmy and Chuck had already fallen out and Jimmy gave Howard that list of his duties. I think the invisibility of all that care and propping-up made it really easy to pretend that things were more "fine" than they were, and Chuck wasn't as sick as he really was. Everyone could live in delusion as long as Jimmy (or Ernie) showed up with the morning ice.

I just can't not have a soft spot for Jimmy because of that. That he would take on such a thankless job for so long gives me a lot of respect for him. YMMV.

I don't think that Jimmy has secretly been Saul this whole time. I think that Chuck betraying him was painful, and his response to that pain was to harden his heart.

IMO his behavior gets so amoral and chaotic because he doesn't really have a "code" (aka rules) to keep him in line, and he doesn't have a big ego or (arguably) even a strong sense of identity that he has to behave in any particular way in order to feed, so without his heart to guide him, either, he doesn't have any limits.

I 100% agree.  This episode was hard to watch.  I love the character of Jimmy and it is so sad to see him change into Saul.

[PeterPirate]

1 hour ago, Bryce Lynch said:

This is 100% correct.  It was totally dark when the papers were delivered.  Also, the thuds of the papers hitting the pavement were very loud.  Mike took his pistol out of the glove compartment and loaded the chamber when he heard them.

I think it's somewhat fanciful to think that the sound of newspapers hitting pavement could be mistaken for gunshots.  

That said, this is TV, so I am going to go with this explanation. If Mike thought he heard gunshots, then Stacey thought so too.

Also, I think Stacey's choice for a new home had to do with getting into a good school district. 

[Ohwell]

51 minutes ago, kieyra said:

I'm one of the people who gets lectured for not being able to properly appreciate the long, long, long, dialogue-free scenes, and I hate that the Jimmy/Chuck conflict is the engine of the show. I remember when I realized (quite late, really) that this would be true throughout--that Chuck wasn't going anywhere. I've been significantly less invested since then. (I was holding out hope he'd killed himself when he wouldn't answer the door recently, one of those many times he's refused to answer the door.)

I agree with this.  I'm very disappointed that the Jimmy/Chuck dynamic is still going on.  I want Chuck to walk out into traffic and get hit by a bus, or die in his sleep, or get sent away to a mental hospital.  Anything.  Just go away.

I really hope that this show is renewed but if it isn't I'm betting that the reason is that Chuck has been in the story for far too long.

[Irlandesa]

2 hours ago, PeterPirate said:

I think it's somewhat fanciful to think that the sound of newspapers hitting pavement could be mistaken for gunshots.

For most people, yes.  But for someone sleepy who may have a touch of PTSD as Stacey may have, I could see the mistake being made.

1 hour ago, Ohwell said:

I really hope that this show is renewed but if it isn't I'm betting that the reason is that Chuck has been in the story for far too long.

If it's not renewed, it'll be because of money and what AMC wants to pay.  I'd bet money that some other network, like Netflix, would pick it up.  As for the ratings, while it's easy to place it on things we don't like, a simpler explanation is that it's exceptionally rare for ratings to hold steady or go up these days. Down is the majority direction by a long shot.

Of course, my bias is that I like Chuck. I like all the stories that it feels like the season is too short for all of it.

Edited May 30, 2017 by Irlandesa

[Jextella]

My bad on the newspaper thing.  Y'all were right.  Papers were dropped before the sun rose.  I think I had in my mind the very next scene when a neighbor picks up her newspaper - which was after the sun started rising.

Also, Stacey says she heard the shots at 2:13 a.m.  which seems to me to be far too early for paper deliveries.

3 hours ago, PeterPirate said:

I think it's somewhat fanciful to think that the sound of newspapers hitting pavement could be mistaken for gunshots.  

That said, this is TV, so I am going to go with this explanation. If Mike thought he heard gunshots, then Stacey thought so too.

Also, I think Stacey's choice for a new home had to do with getting into a good school district. 

Mike asked Stacey if she could have been dreaming.  She said "No! I was here, you weren't".  Although we know he was. Then he says he's moving her to a new home.  Also, on the summary page on the AMC website, it says Mike knows that Stacey hearing shots was "impossible".  Either her timing of events doesn't jive with the paper delivery time or Mike agrees that the sound of newspapers doesn't pass as gun shots - although when he first started hearing them, he pulled out his gun.  

I'm not sure it will go anywhere, but it seems the writers left this open for something more down the road - should there be a need.

Edited May 30, 2017 by Jextella

[Bryce Lynch]

4 hours ago, Jextella said:

My bad on the newspaper thing.  Y'all were right.  Papers were dropped before the sun rose.  I think I had in my mind the very next scene when a neighbor picks up her newspaper - which was after the sun started rising.

Also, Stacey says she heard the shots at 2:13 a.m.  which seems to me to be far too early for paper deliveries.

Mike asked Stacey if she could have been dreaming.  She said "No! I was here, you weren't".  Although we know he was. Then he says he's moving her to a new home.  Also, on the summary page on the AMC website, it says Mike knows that Stacey hearing shots was "impossible".  Either her timing of events doesn't jive with the paper delivery time or Mike agrees that the sound of newspapers doesn't pass as gun shots - although when he first started hearing them, he pulled out his gun.  

I'm not sure it will go anywhere, but it seems the writers left this open for something more down the road - should there be a need.

I don't see why 2:13 AM is too early for newspaper deliveries.  They clearly happened before the sun even began to rise. 

Mike new it was impossible that she actually heard gunshots.  That does not mean that he doesn't believe she imagined the newspaper thuds were gunshots.  

[SunnyBeBe]

11 hours ago, kieyra said:

Interesting that it hasn't been renewed (yet). I'm out of the ratings-worry habit since so many shows I watch are delivered in somewhat stable, binge-able packages now. Did a Google, there's an article from April about BCS hitting a series low in ratings recently.

I'm one of the people who gets lectured for not being able to properly appreciate the long, long, long, dialogue-free scenes, and I hate that the Jimmy/Chuck conflict is the engine of the show. I remember when I realized (quite late, really) that this would be true throughout--that Chuck wasn't going anywhere. I've been significantly less invested since then. (I was holding out hope he'd killed himself when he wouldn't answer the door recently, one of those many times he's refused to answer the door.)

I think the showrunners fell in love with their actors, especially McKean, and with this alternate-reality take on Saul Goodman. And might have followed if off a cliff. It just feels too disconnected from the world of BB, even as they hastily try to backfill those details (while shoving more Chuck down our throats). 

Remember back in S1 when it seemed like fast-talking Jimmy was going to get hauled into the drug-dealing underworld not entirely of his own accord? I wish we could have seen that show instead.

Just some thoughts re: ratings, especially as I'm rewatching BB and on S3 there. And yes, I know live ratings numbers aren't as important as they used to be. 

Thanks for that info and insightful perspective.  I'm not a regular around here, but popped in after watching a marathon last night. I share your opinion about the Chuck/Jimmy dynamic and had to take a break from the show due to that. I posted about that here previously.  

 I was hoping that Chuck would somehow disappear, (I don't care how.) and the show would be enjoyable for me.  That same old love/hate war is excruciating to watch, IMO.  This story has SO MUCH potential.  I guess I'll have to ff through the Chuck scenes.

 Your explanation as to why the creators are so in love with the Chuck character makes sense, except, I do NOT share that love.  If I stop watching again, it'll be because I can't take anymore of Chuck.  I feel about Chuck, the way he feels over electricity.  lol  

I really like the rest of the show, characters, actors, writing, directing, etc.  I LOVE that I was able to see how Saul was born.  lol 

[JFParnell]

5 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I think the showrunners fell in love with their actors, especially McKean, and with this alternate-reality take on Saul Goodman. And might have followed if off a cliff. It just feels too disconnected from the world of BB, even as they hastily try to backfill those details (while shoving more Chuck down our throats).

Agree 100%. I have never wanted a fictional character to die as much as I have Chuck McGill. lol. I never really bought his disorder, from a storytelling perspective. It has always sounded too writerly -- too much like writers in a room trying to come up with something unusual. Truth is, Chuck could just have been a domineering, stick-up-his-butt brother and that would have worked just as well as wrapping Michael McKean in tinfoil. In fact, Chuck's illness/disorder whatever took me RIGHT out of the story almost immediately. It was just too jarring and "wtf??"

Personally I wish -- early on anyway, it's getting so much better now! -- someone had reminded them that they did not pitch a show fresh to AMC about how a lawyer turns bad and then earn a series order on those merits. They were always kiting off a built-in Breaking Bad audience and should not have been so in love, for so long, with their own whimsy. It's not a sin to give people what they want :)

/soapbox!

[SunnyBeBe]

Am I supposed to feel compassion for Kim since she feels bad for the Bar hearing ordeal and Chuck?  Honestly, I suppose that I despise Chuck so much, that I wouldn't care what happened to him at the hearing or otherwise.  To be so fragile, Chuck sure is a tough old bird. 

[Bryce Lynch]

39 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Am I supposed to feel compassion for Kim since she feels bad for the Bar hearing ordeal and Chuck?  Honestly, I suppose that I despise Chuck so much, that I wouldn't care what happened to him at the hearing or otherwise.  To be so fragile, Chuck sure is a tough old bird. 

I totally get why Kim feels guilty.  She got her only client through Jimmy committing multiple felonies to steal them back from HHM.  Then in order to protect Jimmy she conspired with him to humiliate Chuck and give the ethics panel the false impression that Chuck screwed up the MV documents and conjured up a delusional tale of Jimmy doctoring the documents.   I think she really wants to come clean with MV about this, but cannot due to attorney-client privilege.   

In addition, she realizes that Chuck is mentally ill, and thought that does not excuse all his treatment of Jimmy, it does make their efforts to destroy him all the more distasteful.  

She also participated in an unethical and illegal scheme to cancel Chuck's real door repair appointment to get Mike in to take photos and go through his personal papers to get Rebecca's contact information.  That goes way beyond vigorously defending her client.  

She might also have doubts as to whether she really did it all to protect Jimmy or if she might also have been motivated by more selfish desires to keep MV and protect her own reputation.  

Edited May 30, 2017 by Bryce Lynch

[Clanstarling]

12 hours ago, PeterPirate said:

I think it's somewhat fanciful to think that the sound of newspapers hitting pavement could be mistaken for gunshots.  

That said, this is TV, so I am going to go with this explanation. If Mike thought he heard gunshots, then Stacey thought so too.

Also, I think Stacey's choice for a new home had to do with getting into a good school district. 

The two times I heard gunshots in the middle of the night (was awake once, and sleeping the other time) I thought they were something else (even though after the first time I definitely knew what it sounded like).  So I don't see why hearing something else could be mistaken for gunshots. Also, iirc, there is a sleep syndrome (I think) where people hear loud noises that didn't actually happen. So I'm cutting Stacey some slack.

[Bryce Lynch]

10 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

The two times I heard gunshots in the middle of the night (was awake once, and sleeping the other time) I thought they were something else (even though after the first time I definitely knew what it sounded like).  So I don't see why hearing something else could be mistaken for gunshots. Also, iirc, there is a sleep syndrome (I think) where people hear loud noises that didn't actually happen. So I'm cutting Stacey some slack.

Most people rarely hear gunshots, so it is common for them to mistake other sounds for gunshots or vice versa.  This would be especially true of someone who is asleep or half asleep at 2:13 AM.   

I also think our fears, expectations, suppositions, etc., tend to affect how we interpret unidentified noises.  Stacey seems somewhat paranoid and to be suffering from something akin to PTSD, so it would make sense that she would interpret sounds as gunshots, especially after she got it into her head that it happened the night before.

When the papers first started hitting the pavement, they sounded a bit like gunshots, in the distance to me.  I think that might be what the showrunners were going for, as I am not sure newspapers would normally sound that way.  

Edited May 30, 2017 by Bryce Lynch

[kieyra]

36 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

The two times I heard gunshots in the middle of the night (was awake once, and sleeping the other time) I thought they were something else (even though after the first time I definitely knew what it sounded like).  So I don't see why hearing something else could be mistaken for gunshots. Also, iirc, there is a sleep syndrome (I think) where people hear loud noises that didn't actually happen. So I'm cutting Stacey some slack.

The alarmingly-named Exploding Head Syndrome!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploding_head_syndrome

[PeterPirate]

Here is an instance when people delivering newspapers where shot by police.  

Christopher Dorner shootings and manhunt

[ByTor]

On 5/24/2017 at 9:03 AM, LotusFlower said:

I don't think Mike trying to track down the missing husband's death as nonsensical at all.

Not picking on you, but I do...in fact I'm shocked that such an interpretation has even been mentioned.  Why would Mike have any reason to believe Anita's husband's presumed death was drug related?  Even if that were a reasonable belief (which I don't think it is), why would he use Nacho (who I presume is kinda low on the drug-enterprise totem pole) to get information?  And again, assuming the drug theory is reasonable I don't know how discrete Nacho is, but how could anybody discretely start sniffing around about an 8 year old murder?  Sure, this show is ambiguous, but I don't see any ambiguity in this instance.  I agree with whomever had the theory that Mike was writing down the name of the shady veterinarian.

[ByTor]

On 5/24/2017 at 9:07 AM, Adiba said:

For me, the final scene this week was the best of the episode because of that ambiguity. I did not think that Jimmy went in there with a dastardly plan to f--- Chuck one more time. I thought  he truly went in there hoping to talk her into some sort of refund, and when he realized it was not going to happen, along with the raised premiums, his mind clicked about Chuck. Some of the tears were real-- tears of frustration, rage, hurt --and to Jimmy's mind-- betrayal,  that morphed into an act of vengeance. I know many disagree with this interpretation, but it's much more interesting and entertaining for me to think of it this way. 

That's my interpretation as well.  I thought in the beginning the tears were real, and as it clicked that Chuck was the cause of those tears, the wheels in his head quickly spun & he realized he had an opportunity to get even with Chuck.

 Of course it could have been planned from the start.  I've seen the argument that Jimmy wouldn't know who insured Chuck, but it is possible that Jimmy knew who the carrier was from working in the mailroom...and that could be that Jimmy chose them for himself because he remembered that HHM used them.  

[ByTor]

On 5/24/2017 at 9:22 AM, RealReality said:

shit sandwich

I see what you did there :)

[ByTor]

On 5/24/2017 at 9:44 AM, GussieK said:

The malpractice insurer was not apprised of the number-switching incident, which might have resulted in a malpractice claim from Mesa Verde.   I think that's what the insurance lady was jotting down.

Maybe I'm remembering this incorrectly, but I thought she started writing after Jimmy said something about Chuck working with the lanterns (fire hazard) instead of electricity.

[Tatum]

48 minutes ago, ByTor said:

  I agree with whomever had the theory that Mike was writing down the name of the shady veterinarian.

Wait, what? Why? I mean, what would writing down the vet's name solve?

I agree that Mike thinking he's going to solve an 8 year murder via Nacho is a little far fetched. I mean, someone goes missing while camping, body never found, my first thought wouldn't be, well he must have had a run in with the cartel.  And it seems a little Saved by the Bell to me that the missing man would have ties to the one bad guy/group in which Mike has an "in".

 

Nacho's place on the cartel totem pole is interesting. I think he goes way back with Hector and probably could've been higher up, but he has displays of conscience and regret that Hector considers a weakness.

[Clanstarling]

6 hours ago, kieyra said:

The alarmingly-named Exploding Head Syndrome!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploding_head_syndrome

That's the one. Thanks.

[LotusFlower]

1 hour ago, ByTor said:

Not picking on you, but I do...in fact I'm shocked that such an interpretation has even been mentioned.  Why would Mike have any reason to believe Anita's husband's presumed death was drug related?  Even if that were a reasonable belief (which I don't think it is), why would he use Nacho (who I presume is kinda low on the drug-enterprise totem pole) to get information?  And again, assuming the drug theory is reasonable I don't know how discrete Nacho is, but how could anybody discretely start sniffing around about an 8 year old murder?  Sure, this show is ambiguous, but I don't see any ambiguity in this instance.  I agree with whomever had the theory that Mike was writing down the name of the shady veterinarian.

In the support group scene when Anita was telling Mike about her husband's disappearance, someone mentioned that the site where he went hiking was a known dumping ground for the cartel.  When Anita ponders what could have happened, Mike's eyes widen when she says something like "maybe someone didn't like the look of him."  In Mike's line of work, he's predisposed to thinking that people don't just vanish.  He's also sympathetic to people's need for closure.  On that note, others have speculated that he's asking Nacho about the Good Samaritan's whereabouts, which was maybe triggered by Anita's story and desire for resolution.  It's just a working theory, but one that makes sense, to me at least.  

[ByTor]

1 hour ago, Tatum said:

Wait, what? Why? I mean, what would writing down the vet's name solve?

Perhaps help to solve the problem about how to tamper with Hector's pills.

[Tatum]

10 minutes ago, LotusFlower said:

In the support group scene when Anita was telling Mike about her husband's disappearance, someone mentioned that the site where he went hiking was a known dumping ground for the cartel. 

I don't remember that, but that would give a little more credence to Mike thinking the dead husband could be related to the cartel. I suppose it couldn't hurt to ask Nacho if he knew anything about a former military camp store owner going missing, but if Nacho said no, I would think that would be a dead end.  Guess we will have to wait to find out.

 

I really liked Mike's concern for Nacho, as far as inviting the ire of Gus and how to cover his tracks.

[ByTor]

9 minutes ago, LotusFlower said:

In the support group scene when Anita was telling Mike about her husband's disappearance, someone mentioned that the site where he went hiking was a known dumping ground for the cartel.  When Anita ponders what could have happened, Mike's eyes widen when she says something like "maybe someone didn't like the look of him."  In Mike's line of work, he's predisposed to thinking that people don't just vanish.  He's also sympathetic to people's need for closure.  On that note, others have speculated that he's asking Nacho about the Good Samaritan's whereabouts, which was maybe triggered by Anita's story and desire for resolution.  It's just a working theory, but one that makes sense, to me at least.  

Maybe it was a dumping ground for the cartel (I don't remember that being mentioned, but I'm not shocked that I missed it), but why/how ask Nacho to get the information?  No way would Nacho ask; his asking for information regarding cartel business would likely result in his getting killed, and Mike knows this.  I've seen conjecture that Mike knows it would get his family killed, but IMO the cartel wouldn't link it back to Mike, they'd think Nacho turned and was a DEA informant.

[LotusFlower]

2 minutes ago, ByTor said:

No way would Nacho ask; his asking for information regarding cartel business would likely result in his getting killed, and Mike knows this. 

It's not like he would ask Hector.  I think he's pretty high up in the food chain, so maybe he'd ask guys under him.  

 

10 minutes ago, Tatum said:

I really liked Mike's concern for Nacho, as far as inviting the ire of Gus and how to cover his tracks.

Was it genuine concern, or was it quid pro quo?  I think it could have been both, but remember, Mike wanted nothing to do with this operation until his conversation with Anita.  Something made him "want in," and it wasn't concern for Nacho.

[Tatum]

4 minutes ago, LotusFlower said:

 

Was it genuine concern, or was it quid pro quo?  I think it could have been both, but remember, Mike wanted nothing to do with this operation until his conversation with Anita.  Something made him "want in," and it wasn't concern for Nacho.

I don't mean his concern for Nacho is what prompted him to get involved, I mean once he already decided to get involved he wanted to make sure Nacho wouldn't face retaliation from Gus.

 

ETA: I don't think Nacho would be willing to ask around, even the guys under him. It could still get back to Hector. It's worth a shot asking Nacho if he remembers anything, but I think the buck would have to stop with Nacho.

Edited May 30, 2017 by Tatum

[Bryce Lynch]

3 hours ago, ByTor said:

Not picking on you, but I do...in fact I'm shocked that such an interpretation has even been mentioned.  Why would Mike have any reason to believe Anita's husband's presumed death was drug related?  Even if that were a reasonable belief (which I don't think it is), why would he use Nacho (who I presume is kinda low on the drug-enterprise totem pole) to get information?  And again, assuming the drug theory is reasonable I don't know how discrete Nacho is, but how could anybody discretely start sniffing around about an 8 year old murder?  Sure, this show is ambiguous, but I don't see any ambiguity in this instance.  I agree with whomever had the theory that Mike was writing down the name of the shady veterinarian.

The theory that Mike was writing down the name of the veterinarian does not make sense.  Nacho already knows the vet and uses his services.  He arranged to hire Mike through the vet, for what was originally supposed to be killing Tuco.

Apparently every criminal in ABQ from clueless newbs like Daniel to cartel members like Nacho, know the vet. :)

[smorbie]

9 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

there is a sleep syndrome (I think) where people hear loud noises that didn't actually happen.

It's called Exploding Head Syndrome.  That just sounds like fun, doesn't it?

[ByTor]

1 hour ago, LotusFlower said:

It's not like he would ask Hector.  I think he's pretty high up in the food chain, so maybe he'd ask guys under him.  

As if it wouldn't get back to Hector?  Sorry, but this argument about grief group woman's husband is REALLY a reach.

[Jextella]

My money is on the idea that Anita's husband is the guy who put the "don't" sign on Mike's car and Mike asks Nacho to track him down.

[ByTor]

2 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

The theory that Mike was writing down the name of the veterinarian does not make sense.  Nacho already knows the vet and uses his services.  He arranged to hire Mike through the vet, for what was originally supposed to be killing Tuco.

Apparently every criminal in ABQ from clueless newbs like Daniel to cartel members like Nacho, know the vet. :)

Makes more sense than Mike writing down a request to find some random woman's husband

Edited May 31, 2017 by ByTor

[Tatum]

3 minutes ago, Jextella said:

My money is on the idea that Anita's husband is the guy who put the "don't" sign on Mike's car and Mike asks Nacho to track him down.

I thought it was established that Gus is the one that did that? Or at least had one of his goons do it? Mike showed him the note and asked what it was about. 

[Jextella]

10 minutes ago, Tatum said:

I thought it was established that Gus is the one that did that? Or at least had one of his goons do it? Mike showed him the note and asked what it was about. 

I'm going by what I heard on a podcast.  Mike doesn't see nor hear anyone following him.   Mike is really good at his job and he would have noticed, so Vince is wondering who put it there - and how?  

My take is that its someone who knows how to navigate the outdoors/deserts on foot and incognito such as someone from the military and/or someone who likes to camp.

Pure speculation on my part but it would add up IMO.

Here is a bigger stretch...Anita said the business had a mail order component and that she'd help out with it.  Writers could have given her any store at all about her helping out, but they chose mail order which seems a little left-field to not mean anything.   I recall in BB wondering how the shipping connections were made between Lydia, etc.  Could be another tie-in somehow.

Edited May 30, 2017 by Jextella

[Tatum]

5 minutes ago, Jextella said:

I'm going by what I heard on a podcast.  Mike doesn't see nor hear anyone following him.   Mike is really good at his job and he would have noticed, so Vince is wondering who put it there - and how?  

My take is that its someone who knows how to navigate the outdoors/deserts on foot and incognito such as someone from the military and/or someone who likes to camp.

Pure speculation on my part but it would add up IMO.

Here is a bigger stretch...Anita said the business had a mail order component and that she'd help out with it.  Writers could have given her any store at all about her helping out, but they chose mail order which seems a little left-field to not mean anything.   I recall in BB wondering how the shipping connections were made between Lydia, etc.  Could be another tie-in somehow.

But Gus is the one who put the tracker in Mike's car (or someone did it on Gus's command). I suppose the missing husband could BE on Gus's payroll, but the note, the tracker, and the warning are all tied to Gus. 

[Gobi]

7 minutes ago, Jextella said:

I'm going by what I heard on a podcast.  Mike doesn't see nor hear anyone following him.   Mike is really good at his job and he would have noticed, so Vince is wondering who put it there - and how?  

My take is that its someone who knows how to navigate the outdoors/deserts on foot and incognito such as someone from the military and/or someone who likes to camp.

Pure speculation on my part but it would add up IMO.

Slight problem with that, as Anita's husband died eight years ago.

[Tatum]

Well he went missing 8 years ago. No body. 

[Jextella]

On 5/30/2017 at 7:04 PM, Tatum said:

But Gus is the one who put the tracker in Mike's car (or someone did it on Gus's command). I suppose the missing husband could BE on Gus's payroll, but the note, the tracker, and the warning are all tied to Gus. 

(Preface: take what I say with the proverbial grain of salt)

My sense is that the husband's involved in the drug trade - and likely with Gus as you mention.  

I can't recall where I read or hear it, but both Salamanca and Gus are up-and-comers.  In the BB prequel, they are building up to what they have in BB.  Some said it would be better to keep the other around at this juncture - even though they are competitors.  Something like that.

On 5/30/2017 at 7:07 PM, Tatum said:

Well he went missing 8 years ago. No body. 

8 years is a long time to be out in the desert!  Assuming he's alive and working with Gus, he must do other stuff!  

Edited June 2, 2017 by Jextella

[PeterPirate]

But how much do we really know about Gus Fring?  Hank could not find any record on him in Chile. 

If a Navy man wanted to break bad, he would need some sort of cover story to tell the cartel. "Escapee from the Pinochet regime" works as well as anything.

Edited May 31, 2017 by PeterPirate

[Bryce Lynch]

19 minutes ago, ByTor said:

Makes more sense than Mike writing down a request to find some random woman's husband :)

She isn't a random woman.  Mike seems to feel a connection to her and might have romantic interest.  

I think people are grossly underestimating Mike, if they don't think he (and his ingenious team of writers) can come up with a clever way to get info on Anita's husband without endangering himself or those he cares about 

This is the guy who took out 4 cartel guys with a bunch of balloons and a lady's shoe, got the drop on an assassin with a toy pig, tricks the police into telling him where Fring's laptop was by posing as a postal inspector, made a burglar alarm out of carbon paper and laced a cartel truck with drugs with a pair of sneakers and a rifle, etc, etc.  

Maybe we can't figure out how to safely get information, but Mike is much, much smarter than us  :)

[ByTor]

9 minutes ago, Bryce Lynch said:

She isn't a random woman.

Sure she is.  Prediction...Anita's husband has ZERO to do with the rest of BCS.  The circular argument for something that makes no sense whatsoever really isn't worth further discussion IMO.

1 hour ago, Tatum said:

I thought it was established that Gus is the one that did that? Or at least had one of his goons do it? Mike showed him the note and asked what it was about. 

It was.

[ShadowFacts]

10 minutes ago, Bryce Lynch said:

Maybe we can't figure out how to safely get information, but Mike is much, much smarter than us  :)

Well, he was, until he continued doing business with a criminal he considered a loose cannon, and got himself killed by said loose cannon.  And all his clever machinations were for naught since Kaylee didn't get a red cent. 

[LotusFlower]

23 minutes ago, Bryce Lynch said:

1 hour ago, ByTor said:

 

She isn't a random woman.  Mike seems to feel a connection to her and might have romantic interest.  

Right.  Plus, they cast Tamara Tunie.  Casting is always a clue.  If the meeting was random or insignificant, I don't think they would have hired a fairly known actress.  I think we'll be seeing more of her.  

[Bryce Lynch]

1 hour ago, Jextella said:

My money is on the idea that Anita's husband is the guy who put the "don't" sign on Mike's car and Mike asks Nacho to track him down.

I think it is far fetched to think he could be alive and working in the ABQ area for 8 yeara without Anita or anyone they both knew running into him.   I think he is most likely dead, but if he is alive, he is not working for Fring or anyone else in ABQ 

[ByTor]

7 minutes ago, LotusFlower said:

Right.  Plus, they cast Tamara Tunie.  Casting is always a clue.  If the meeting was random or insignificant, I don't think they would have hired a fairly known actress.  I think we'll be seeing more of her.  

While I think TT may be on again, I don't think it will have anything to do with who her husband may/may not have been.

If I'm wrong, I'll buy you & @Bryce Lynch an Old Fashioned cocktail...but I will NOT go along with your idea to scam the loudmouth sitting by us :)

Edited May 31, 2017 by ByTor
Contradicting myself is stupid!

[Bryce Lynch]

19 minutes ago, ShadowFacts said:

Well, he was, until he continued doing business with a criminal he considered a loose cannon, and got himself killed by said loose cannon.  And all his clever machinations were for naught since Kaylee didn't get a red cent. 

Mike went wrong when he stopped following his instincts and let Lydia live  (as a result of his sexism) and went into business with that ticking time bomb named Walter White.

Actually Mike was sort of trapped into working with Walt because of the hazard pay being discovered and the DEA having 10 guys in custody who could rat on him.

At any rate, there is no disputing that Mike is brilliant when it comes to getting things done through creative methods.  

[LotusFlower]

5 minutes ago, ByTor said:

If I'm wrong, I'll buy you & @Bryce Lynch an Old Fashioned cocktail...but I will NOT go along with your idea to scam the loudmouth sitting by us :)

An Old Fashioned is my favorite drink, so you're on!

[Bryce Lynch]

7 minutes ago, ByTor said:

While I think TT may be on again, I don't think it will have anything to do with who her husband may/may not have been.

If I'm wrong, I'll buy you & @Bryce Lynch an Old Fashioned cocktail...but I will NOT go along with your idea to scam the loudmouth sitting by us :)

I doubt Anita's husband will emerge as a living member of the cartel or whatever, but I do think Mike will find out what happened to him.

And when I get that Old Fashioned, I don't want any cheap Old Overholt rye in it, like Don used when he made OFs for himself and Conrad Hilton at the country club.  I want Whistlepig, like ASAC Merkert and Vince Gilligan drink. :)

[PeterPirate]

27 minutes ago, LotusFlower said:

Right.  Plus, they cast Tamara Tunie.  Casting is always a clue.  If the meeting was random or insignificant, I don't think they would have hired a fairly known actress.  I think we'll be seeing more of her.  

She's 11 months younger than Giancarlo Esposito.  Just saying'. 

[Dev F]

4 hours ago, LotusFlower said:

In the support group scene when Anita was telling Mike about her husband's disappearance, someone mentioned that the site where he went hiking was a known dumping ground for the cartel.

I don't remember that at all, I don't see it in the transcript, and I'm not clear on how it would've even come up in the conversation, since "Hey, maybe your husband was murdered by Mexican gangsters" is not generally an element of grief counseling. Or did you mean that someone here on the boards speculated that Gila National would've been a good place for the cartel to dump bodies?

I'm gonna stick with the theory that the missing husband is just the impetus for Mike to track down the body of the Good Samaritan whose death he feels responsible for. Anything else just seems to require too many weird, melodramatic coincidences.

Edited May 31, 2017 by Dev F