S04.E08: Coushatta

[Tighthead]

1 hour ago, maystone said:

I didn't know about that reference. For me it immediately brings up the lyrics to "Willin'" I've been from Tucson to Tucumcari, Tehachapi to Tonapah. And the song has been an ear worm since Monday night :)
 

Same here. Classic.

“I’ve driven every kind of rig that’s ever been may-aaade, I’ve driven the backroads so I wouldn’t get weigh-aaade”

One of the lullabies I sang to my girls.

[heisenberg]

23 hours ago, SailorGirl said:

Giselle is back in da' house! But now I think they're going to pull another trick and she's the one who is going to get busted and he isn't, and that's what happens to Kim in BrBa world. I hope not, but . . . 

Looks like it, but things are not always simple in that show.  She could also get killed,  get Sued by MVD and then go to jail,  or Jimmy could smell bad things coming and get rid of her in an horrible way so she wont come back and be safe, etc...  This is another reason why I love this show and loved BB.

Edited September 26, 2018 by heisenberg

[Eulipian 5k]

What is Jimmy's and Kim's exposure in the letter campaign scam? The letters are not evidence presented in court. They did not falsely report any crime; they did not lie about a material issue in a case; - even the website did not solicit $ under false pretenses since the charity is real (just not the church). Kim could be brought before the bar but what is their legal exposure? Perry Mason did much worse to the DA in his day!

[Eulipian 5k]

11 minutes ago, heisenberg said:

get Sued by MVD and then go to jail, 

Heh, Francine's old employer? And I still say it's DMV dammit! (Mesa Verde is a bank, BTW)

[Irlandesa]

6 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

I think it would be fairly easy to discover the fan letter fraud. 

Quite possibly if someone were motivated or willing to spend the time investigating.

But when it comes down to it, I think the ADA would only want to satisfy her curiosity.  Exposure could lead to consequences for Kim and Huell.  But it'd also publicly reveal that they were easily conned.  I don't think Huell or Kim would be worth the embarrassment to the DA's office.

[Bannon]

1 hour ago, Eulipian 5k said:

What is Jimmy's and Kim's exposure in the letter campaign scam? The letters are not evidence presented in court. They did not falsely report any crime; they did not lie about a material issue in a case; - even the website did not solicit $ under false pretenses since the charity is real (just not the church). Kim could be brought before the bar but what is their legal exposure? Perry Mason did much worse to the DA in his day!

Here's a case where a lawyer lied about his mother dying, outside of court,  to get a trial date delayed, and thus faced possible contempt charges....

https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2016/04/16/lawyer-who-lied-about-moms-death-still-cant-tell-the-truth/amp/

[Conan Troutman]

12 hours ago, monagatuna said:

Could you imagine being the prostitutes hired for such a prospect? They'd have to wear hoods, ride in the back of a windowless van for who knows how long, not know where they're going or who their client is. Terrifying. While the German workers had to go through the same thing, the additional layer of nuance for abduction, trafficking, and violence against sex workers would make this a "not for all the money in the world" prospect for some of even the most hardened working girls. I'm not disagreeing with you, but the whole idea of it makes me shudder.

Also, I'm pretty sure Werner mentioned they needed fresh air. Sex would only go so far--the guys needed to get out of that dungeon for a night.

Oh with "everyone" I was just referring to the German workers. The prostitues would simply be instructed not to talk about it. No need to put them through the whole ordeal. 

[MBayGal]

8 hours ago, qtpye said:

They have really made Werner lovable, even Mike is not immune to his charm. I am wondering how much he is getting paid to be a "criminal" civil engineer? My guess is a million dollars and he is of the mind that this is his last job and after this big score, he and his beloved wife can retire and be set for life.

This is why i think the Germans, or at least Werner, will not get out alive. The fact that he was almost misty-eyed about his love for his wife, and how he missed her, having never been apart so long, makes me expect a tragic end for him.. 

8 hours ago, qtpye said:

 

Edited September 26, 2018 by MBayGal

[PeterPirate]

5 hours ago, Eulipian 5k said:

What is Jimmy's and Kim's exposure in the letter campaign scam? The letters are not evidence presented in court. They did not falsely report any crime; they did not lie about a material issue in a case; - even the website did not solicit $ under false pretenses since the charity is real (just not the church). Kim could be brought before the bar but what is their legal exposure? Perry Mason did much worse to the DA in his day!

No formal exposure, I think.  But I imagine Judge Neelix will hit the roof if informed he got played.  And that word will go out that prosecutors are not to plea bargain her clients and to go for the max each and every time.  That will dry up Kim's client base pretty quick.   

Edited September 26, 2018 by PeterPirate

[Clanstarling]

On 9/24/2018 at 10:40 PM, Bannon said:

So Kim is going to be her own agent of destruction. Shoulda' seen that coming in Gilligan and Gould's Albuquerque universe. The look on her face, alone in her office, after the Mesa Verde meeting, was horribly sad ( and a tribute to Seehorn's acting); she's had the hideous experience of slaving away for years to obtain a prize, has won it, only to discover that it is no prize. Ugh.

That's the beauty of BB and BCS. Everyone is pretty much the agents of their own destruction (except for the innocents killed along the way).

23 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

If secrecy was supposed to be such a priority, I think falling a couple of days more behind schedule would be a small price to pay to maintain it.  

I thought it was more than a couple of days.

23 hours ago, PeterPirate said:

As they* say, "Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac".  Kim got one over on the prosecutor, and it was a turn-on.  

* I looked it up, and it turns out that "they" was Henry Kissinger.  Ick.    

I could almost believe he said that to explain how he got the women he did. Because, he did have his fair share.

21 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

No, they don’t. His accent was atrocious! 

OMG, it was SO bad. Anyone with the slightest familiarity with the accent would know it was awful (guess she didn't watch Emeril).

20 hours ago, Tighthead said:

I was thinking the same thing. Kim has to have some grifting or something in her background. 

I think that's been hinted at all along. I'm eager to see some of her backstory.

20 hours ago, PeterPirate said:

I think the "two wives" thing was intended to be the truth at the time it was written.  Just like when Saul told Walt that "he knew a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy" when referring to Gus, when in reality there was only one middleman (Mike), not two.  

Well, if Saul counts himself as the "guy" who knows a guy who knows a guy, then it's not exactly a lie...

13 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

The internet was pretty robust by 2004.  I'm sure they had online white pages by then.

It was. They did.

13 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

 I thought Bob Odenkirk seemed to purposely let his fake Cajun accent slip, but maybe that was just BO stoking the tension of the risks of them getting caught in their scam rather than anything in the script or direction. Regardless, through a number of little potential slips throughout the episode (e.g., Jimmy allowing his finger prints to be deposited on the letters) the audience gets a taste of the excitement of the risk of the con that attracts Kim and Jimmy.

I thought it was deliberate too.

[peeayebee]

2 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

OMG, it was SO bad. Anyone with the slightest familiarity with the accent would know it was awful (guess she didn't watch Emeril).

He reminded me of the Crazy Cajun, esp when he was in bed with Kim talking about crawdads in his pants. 

[benteen]

10 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Quite possibly if someone were motivated or willing to spend the time investigating.

But when it comes down to it, I think the ADA would only want to satisfy her curiosity.  Exposure could lead to consequences for Kim and Huell.  But it'd also publicly reveal that they were easily conned.  I don't think Huell or Kim would be worth the embarrassment to the DA's office.

Yeah, not wanting to be publicly embarrassed, risking the ire of that judge and the fact that Huell isn't exactly a criminal mastermind might be the only things that protect Kim in the long run from a vengeful DA.  She's be likely to try to sabotage Kim privately.

[Blakeston]

I think bringing the Germans to a legal brothel in Nevada would have been far less risky, and far more sensible, than bringing them to a strip club in Albuquerque.

That way no one would remember a bunch of Germans being in the area. The workers would actually burn off some of their sexual energy, instead of just having their libidos revved up. And if someone blabbed to a prostitute about a construction project, it would probably just go in one ear and out the other.

[Tighthead]

13 hours ago, Eulipian 5k said:

What is Jimmy's and Kim's exposure in the letter campaign scam? The letters are not evidence presented in court. They did not falsely report any crime; they did not lie about a material issue in a case; - even the website did not solicit $ under false pretenses since the charity is real (just not the church). Kim could be brought before the bar but what is their legal exposure? Perry Mason did much worse to the DA in his day!

 

It may not be criminal fraud, but the discipline measures from the state bar would be massive, quite possibly disbarment. 

Jimmy mentioned that it was mail fraud. I do know that mail fraud seems like a very broad net, basically using the mail to perpetrate any deception. 

[Juliegirlj]

Why go to all that trouble to keep their location secret, keep the workers in line, etc, to then take them to a strip bar ?! They should have hired some “private escorts” to come to the bunker. Guess we are watching Mike learn the hard way about half measures. 

[LoneHaranguer]

15 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

The internet was pretty robust by 2004.  I'm sure they had online white pages by then.

The tools were there, but the data wasn't reliable.

32 minutes ago, Blakeston said:

I think bringing the Germans to a legal brothel in Nevada would have been far less risky, and far more sensible, than bringing them to a strip club in Albuquerque.

Some strippers are prostitutes, but any strip club that doesn't have local law enforcement willing to look the other way will have a strict no-touching (i.e. take it elsewhere) policy. We don't know what services were received by the guys who followed the policy.

15 hours ago, peggy06 said:

How she went from being upset with Jimmy for selling drop phones, to concocting a completely fraudulent scheme, is something I can't figure.

I once saw a defense attorney put on a show to pretend that her client couldn't speak enough English to know a cop wanted him to stop; the client blew it by being so eager to answer a question he forgot to wait for the translator. The fake letters didn't even make it to court and are in the same ballpark as Kim telling her PD clients to dress up in something they wouldn't normally wear; anything to make the defendant look good.

[Captanne]

I had a chance to watch the episode last night and absolutely loved it.  Just everything about it.

Thinking it through about the relationship between Jimmy and Kim, though -- *sigh*

Spoiler

I can see it going only one way -- What would trigger him to become a solo practitioner, no sign of Kim at all, but still be in the business that she clearly loves and most enjoys (that of the grift?) -- she dies.  I am afraid that what is coming up is Kim's last caper. 

[PeterPirate]

2 hours ago, benteen said:

Yeah, not wanting to be publicly embarrassed, risking the ire of that judge and the fact that Huell isn't exactly a criminal mastermind might be the only things that protect Kim in the long run from a vengeful DA.  She's be likely to try to sabotage Kim privately.

Or, the ADA could use this as an opportunity to go on the warpath and make a name for herself by exposing two "scumbag" attorneys who perpetrated a fraud on the court.   Let's not forget that Huell admitted at Jimmy's hearing that he planted evidence at Jimmy's behest.  And there's still that phone call Kim made to the repair company from her own office phone.  Maybe there isn't one single big thing that will bring down Kim and Jimmy, but the small things will add up. 

[Clanstarling]

5 minutes ago, Captanne said:

I had a chance to watch the episode last night and absolutely loved it.  Just everything about it.

Thinking it through about the relationship between Jimmy and Kim, though -- *sigh*

  Reveal hidden contents

I can see it going only one way -- What would trigger him to become a solo practitioner, no sign of Kim at all, but still be in the business that she clearly loves and most enjoys (that of the grift?) -- she dies.  I am afraid that what is coming up is Kim's last caper. 

There is an alternative.

Spoiler

Kim is in prison.

[Bannon]

33 minutes ago, Tighthead said:

 

It may not be criminal fraud, but the discipline measures from the state bar would be massive, quite possibly disbarment. 

Jimmy mentioned that it was mail fraud. I do know that mail fraud seems like a very broad net, basically using the mail to perpetrate any deception. 

Federal mail fraud statutes are extremely vague, to the point that many, from all political perspectives, have opined that they are unconstitutional, and several convictions have been overturned. It's hard to fit Jimmy and Kim's letters into that box, because there was no element of economic gain for them, or an attempt to corrupt a public or even private sector official, which you could call a deprivation of honest services. I suppose a claim could be made that the police officer or the larger public was deprived of the honest services of the judge and prosecutor, when they were deceived via the fraudulent letters, but that seems an extreme stretch to me. I think it more likely that being held in contempt by the court, and suspension or disbarment by the Bar Association, would be the greatest danger.

[Tikichick]

On 9/25/2018 at 8:18 AM, icemiser69 said:

Well, it does seem like Kim has a thing for the bad boy.  She also seems to enjoy the dangerous aspect of pulling a con, it is a turn on for her.   I am surprised she isn't into having sex in public, just the prospect of getting caught while doing it.

He also wore his pants so high he had to pretty much open his fly to see.

The problem with it is that Jimmy is the one that licked all of the envelopes and his finger prints are on all the postcards and letters he wrote.  Plus I assume that he mailed all of the postcards and letters so his prints would be on the outside of them.  Of course all of the postal workers would have their finger prints on the outside of all of those post cards and letters.  I was surprised that the prosecutor wasn't wearing gloves when she was checking out the postcards and envelopes.

Except for the huge expense of DNA labwork.  Real prosecutors and police spend an incredible amount of time considering which pieces of evidence will be tested in major murder investigations.  In major cases like armed robbery it often doesn't come down to which, but if they will send anything for testing.  Real world budgets for this stuff are incredibly tight. 

[Captanne]

Good alternative, Clanstarling!   But is that enough to make him take the deep, deep dive into becoming Saul Goodman?  It seems to me Saul Goodman is a much more cynical version of Jimmy McGill.  (All of this is just speculation -- but it's based on the breadcrumbs sprinkled liberally through this episode and culminating in Kim's desire to keep doing the con-games.  She is so inscrutable most of the time that the bombshell of the last line of the episode was perfectly setup.)

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, Juliegirlj said:

Why go to all that trouble to keep their location secret, keep the workers in line, etc, to then take them to a strip bar ?! They should have hired some “private escorts” to come to the bunker. Guess we are watching Mike learn the hard way about half measures. 

I figured that was what they were going to do, have the ladies come to the warehouse. 

[Bryce Lynch]

10 hours ago, PeterPirate said:

No formal exposure, I think.  But I imagine Judge Neelix will hit the roof if informed he got played.  And that word will go out that prosecutors are not to plea bargain her clients and to go for the max each and every time.  That will dry up Kim's client base pretty quick.   

I have little doubt the scam could get Kim disbarred.  She had fraudulent letters sent to the judge in an attempt to influence the case.  While they were never entered into evidence, I have to think it is a huge ethics violation.   

If they used the names of real people from Coushatta, I'd imagine some sort of impersonation charges might also be in play.  Some have also mentioned it could be mail fraud, but I'm not sure of the laws regarding that.  

39 minutes ago, Tikichick said:

Except for the huge expense of DNA labwork.  Real prosecutors and police spend an incredible amount of time considering which pieces of evidence will be tested in major murder investigations.  In major cases like armed robbery it often doesn't come down to which, but if they will send anything for testing.  Real world budgets for this stuff are incredibly tight. 

DNA would be expensive, but I don't think fingerprints would be.  Plus, they could probably get the postal employees to identify Jimmy as the guy who brought a big bag of letters to the post office.  Wasn't he wearing his University of American Samoa t shirt?  

[Tikichick]

36 minutes ago, Bryce Lynch said:

DNA would be expensive, but I don't think fingerprints would be.  Plus, they could probably get the postal employees to identify Jimmy as the guy who brought a big bag of letters to the post office.  Wasn't he wearing his University of American Samoa t shirt?  

Fingerprints aren't anywhere near as expensive as DNA testing.  Fingerprints aren't actually as commonly picked up as TV and movies lead us to believe -- particularly on items we know were handled by multiple people on the bus, at the Coushatta post office, at all the subsequent postal handling centers along the way, at the destination post office, then at the court, finally the ADA herself.   Personally I'd expect the ADA to be more likely to be looking for signs of a scheme where they paid people of Coushatta to actually write the letters, NOT that they wrote them themselves simply because of all of the elaborate logistics Jimmy and Kim undertook to produce the letters.

ETA  It's also most common to wind up with partial prints that are only sometimes in good enough condition to make a match.  This case doesn't rise anywhere near the level where it wouldn't attract attention to be spending that type of resources.

 

What I feel led Kim to come up with the plan to thwart the ADA was that she knew there was something wrong with what Huell was being charged with, and the penalty he was being subjected to.  That didn't sit well with Kim.  Then she let her creative instincts flow.  She's hooked on the adrenaline rush from the con, particularly in the face of zero satisfaction she's taking out of the MV drudgery -- and the scorn she feels about Kevin wanting to trash all of the work put into extremely tricky negotiations for another upcoming branch simply because using a bigger, splashier architectural choice will likely turn a profitable expansion into an incredibly profitable expansion because it has elsewhere.  The MV work isn't fulfilling her.  She was trying to fill the hole with criminal defense work.  When she ran into an obstacle she created a solution and found herself thrilled by it.  Will she be like Kevin now, some fulfillment being pushed aside for fulfillment with a thrill? 

Edited September 26, 2018 by Tikichick

[wendyg]

19 hours ago, LoneHaranguer said:

I think you're overestimating the state of the internet back then.

In 2004? Trust me (since I've been online since 1991 and make my living writing about the Internet), in 2004 the ADA could easily have found an online phone book with the number of the Coushatta police, probably they could also have found a website belonging to the Louisiana state police, if not the local police in Coushatta. They would also likely have found websites belonging to the local newspapers. *One* phone call would establish whether the church existed and who its pastor was. 2004 was the year Google went public; the year Facebook was founded. There was ten years of web before then.

[Tikichick]

18 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

Not only was Chuck right about Jimmy, Kim's behavior shows that Howard was probably right not to start trusting her again, and let her out of doc review, as soon as she recruited MV.

If Howard was so in the know about Kim being untrustworthy at that point it implies he already had indications before that time.  That doesn't make a lot of sense since she'd worked there a significant amount of time and HHM paid her law school tuition.  That means Howard had been deliberately turning a blind eye to Kim's bad character for some time.  

Doesn't really seem to hold water in a way that demonstrates good judgment on Howard's part any way you slice it.

[Eulipian 5k]

I think the ship has sailed, hit the iceberg, and sunk, on Gus Fring being a cold blooded killer.  (BB bullets & spoilers next)

• After poisoning everybody at the pool he calmly went up to the bathroom, took out a bath towel, so he could kneel to barf- no sign of celebration or satisfaction
• He calmly changed out of his street clothes , slid the box-cutter blade just so, went down  into the lab to slice his loyal henchman's throat,t and then calmly changed back and left - not a word, no "This is why I did it"
• All of his victims last words would have been "Like, W-T-F ! gurgle, gurgle......"
• Even after the face off, he calmly fixed his tie, and left for the Pollos Hermanos in the sky.
• He doesn't seem to brag or taunt about his killings the way I imagine Hector would.

He's fire and fury when he threatens, but he's very out of the blue when he kills. The only thing Gus will never betray or let slip, is his image, the facade of the pillar of the community.

I also think he would have thought about or discussed what would happen to the lab construction crew before they hired anyone.

[benteen]

33 minutes ago, wendyg said:

In 2004? Trust me (since I've been online since 1991 and make my living writing about the Internet), in 2004 the ADA could easily have found an online phone book with the number of the Coushatta police, probably they could also have found a website belonging to the Louisiana state police, if not the local police in Coushatta. They would also likely have found websites belonging to the local newspapers. *One* phone call would establish whether the church existed and who its pastor was. 2004 was the year Google went public; the year Facebook was founded. There was ten years of web before then.

Yeah, I think the biggest hole was that church fire story that Jimmy made up, which the ADA easily could have looked up.

As great as Breaking Bad was, there were times that I felt that the only reason Walt and Jesse survived was because they were the main characters.  Not to mention ridiculous stuff like the whole magnet caper.  The only reason that Jimmy and Kim's plan worked again is because they were the main characters and the script said their plan had to work.

Edited September 26, 2018 by benteen

[Eulipian 5k]

I haven't re watched yet, but I thought it was the sheriff that got the letters. In court last time, it was the Defense, Kim, who got up to announce to the Judge, what the settlement,/plea bargain , was. I don't think, (or know), whether anything about why they settled, or the letters, need to be brought up in court. Isn't it "Your Honor, the docket's packed, we reached a settlement"... Judge reviews,... "Prosecution agrees?...Next case!"?

Edited September 26, 2018 by Eulipian 5k

[Bannon]

26 minutes ago, benteen said:

Yeah, I think the biggest hole was that church fire story that Jimmy made up, which the ADA easily could have looked up.

As great as Breaking Bad was, there were times that I felt that the only reason Walt and Jesse survived was because they were the main characters.  Not to mention ridiculous stuff like the whole magnet caper.  The only reason that Jimmy and Kim's plan worked again is because they were the main characters and the script said their plan had to work.

 

Other than the failure to kill Jesse pretty early on (which I let go, because, hey, they want to keep the show on the air,  and the audience loved Jesse) the magnet caper and the simulteaneous assassination of nine witnesses were the two plot elements of BB that had me rolling my eyes hard. I forgave the magnet stuff because it was funny. The assasinations were just kind of dumb.

I really don't see this con that way. I think it could work,  because it seems so pointless, in proportion to the work required, that I could see an overtaxed ADA, saying "The hell with this, let's go work on something important".

Edited September 26, 2018 by Bannon

[LoneHaranguer]

22 minutes ago, wendyg said:

2004 was the year Google went public; the year Facebook was founded. There was ten years of web before then.

"Went public" as in their August 19 IPO that got them the money to turn their concept into something worthwhile. I've been on the web longer than IE, from back when "browser compatibility" meant Lynx and Netscape. Yahoo might have turned up something useful if the ADA was tech-savvy enough. Others, like Altavista, were still likely to return a screen full of porn sites pretending to be other things.

[Scaeva]

13 hours ago, MBayGal said:

This is why i think the Germans, or at least Werner, will not get out alive. The fact that he was almost misty-eyed about his love for his wife, and how he missed her, having never been apart so long, makes me expect a tragic end for him.. 

Poor Werner was a goner the moment his wife got mentioned. No way he makes it out of BCS alive.

That he and Mike were bonding probably didn't bode well for his chances, either. Mike probably is going to be the one to do it.

[benteen]

The first time I ever remember hearing about Google was in a business class in 2002.  So it was definitely a thing before 2004.

[PeterPirate]

2 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

I have little doubt the scam could get Kim disbarred.  She had fraudulent letters sent to the judge in an attempt to influence the case.  While they were never entered into evidence, I have to think it is a huge ethics violation.   

If they used the names of real people from Coushatta, I'd imagine some sort of impersonation charges might also be in play.  Some have also mentioned it could be mail fraud, but I'm not sure of the laws regarding that.  

DNA would be expensive, but I don't think fingerprints would be.  Plus, they could probably get the postal employees to identify Jimmy as the guy who brought a big bag of letters to the post office.  Wasn't he wearing his University of American Samoa t shirt?  

They would still need to prove Kim had knowledge of the scheme.  Jimmy, for one, could take the blame and not flip on her.  In that event I don't know how the system could prove she was in on it, given her squeaky-clean reputation.  People would naturally suspect Kim, and some might believe she was guilty, but it would be another thing to prove it to the Bar.  Maybe if they got a record of her purchase of the supplies, especially of the greeting cards, which can be quite distinctive.  

Edited September 26, 2018 by PeterPirate

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, wendyg said:

In 2004? Trust me (since I've been online since 1991 and make my living writing about the Internet), in 2004 the ADA could easily have found an online phone book with the number of the Coushatta police, probably they could also have found a website belonging to the Louisiana state police, if not the local police in Coushatta. They would also likely have found websites belonging to the local newspapers. *One* phone call would establish whether the church existed and who its pastor was. 2004 was the year Google went public; the year Facebook was founded. There was ten years of web before then.

Indeed. I worked on the internet from the get go. Not as a coder, but as a subset of my job.

1 hour ago, LoneHaranguer said:

"Went public" as in their August 19 IPO that got them the money to turn their concept into something worthwhile. I've been on the web longer than IE, from back when "browser compatibility" meant Lynx and Netscape. Yahoo might have turned up something useful if the ADA was tech-savvy enough. Others, like Altavista, were still likely to return a screen full of porn sites pretending to be other things.

They may have been, but I researched my current small town entirely on the internet in 1999. It wasn't that hard for anyone who was determined to look. 2004 was a breeze in comparison.

[WritinMan]

On 9/25/2018 at 7:33 AM, Bryce Lynch said:

I did a Finder-Spyder search and found a link to Huell's church! :)

 

http://www.freewill-baptistchurch.com/index.php

That's really cool! and very nice that the "Donate" button goes to the Food Bank of NW Louisiana.

Edited September 27, 2018 by WritinMan
Typo!

[PrincessSteel]

I am a bit baffled as to why everyone here thinks that the Germans are doomed. Gus kills when he has to but is businesslike about it. Killing off a gang of workers would be bad business...either they were trustworthy enough to hire in the first place (after a ton of vetting by Gus and/or Mike) or a crew that could be trusted would've been found. If there is a network of people prepared to do such work--and Mike didn't find Werner in a phone book--then there also has to be MUTUAL trust that the workers will STFU about the job in exchange for not being sent to Belieze once the job was done. Gus can't afford to get a name for being an unreliable employer. 

[Gobi]

Pure speculation here. Saul was a secondary character in BrB, not known for honesty. There's no reason why his stories about ex-wives had to be true. Similarly, there's no reason why he had to mention his real wife, or even to show her in BrB, especially if they did everything possible to keep Mrs. McGill separate from Saul Goodman's activities. Therefore, I suggest (hope, really) that Kim and Jimmy were married the whole time, and that a great deal of his sorrow post BrB is due to having to separate from and lose all contact with Kim.

[Ottis]

On 9/25/2018 at 5:52 PM, Bryce Lynch said:

Not only was Chuck right about Jimmy, Kim's behavior shows that Howard was probably right not to start trusting her again, and let her out of doc review, as soon as she recruited MV.

On top of that, Chuck was right that Jimmy's presence brings down *other* people as well. Without Jimmy, would Kim have ever started down a path of thrills from cons?

I guessed last season that Kim was attracted to Jimmy's cons, and the thrill of the execution of them. This week confirmed it. I'm hoping now that her ultimate fate is maybe a temporary disbarment (like Jimmy) and not execution by drug lords., which is what I have been fearing.

This show is all about people becoming who they really are, in the right circumstances. Jimmy is Exhibit A. Walt was the same in BB. To various degrees, Kim is another example, as is Mike. I think it's beyond the question of events causing people to break bad. It's more that they always had that in them, and they were held back due to other restraints until the right circumstances arose.

21 hours ago, benteen said:

The only reason that Jimmy and Kim's plan worked again is because they were the main characters and the script said their plan had to work.

Agree. We were throwing out a bunch of things that could have been done to poke holes in the scam, starting with having the lawyer's team call multiple numbers at once and having them all ring in Jimmy's lair. But OK, it's a TV show.

Edited September 27, 2018 by Ottis
I type like a drunken monkey

[PeterPirate]

On 9/27/2018 at 5:33 AM, Gobi said:

Pure speculation here. Saul was a secondary character in BrB, not known for honesty. There's no reason why his stories about ex-wives had to be true. Similarly, there's no reason why he had to mention his real wife, or even to show her in BrB, especially if they did everything possible to keep Mrs. McGill separate from Saul Goodman's activities. Therefore, I suggest (hope, really) that Kim and Jimmy were married the whole time, and that a great deal of his sorrow post BrB is due to having to separate from and lose all contact with Kim.

This is my thinking too, in general.  I think Kim is alive, and they remain a couple in one form or another, although I don't think she is living in proximity to Jimmy.  

For all we know, she's been living in Germany, and we will see them meet again. 

Edited September 28, 2018 by PeterPirate

[Ellaria]

9 hours ago, PrincessSteel said:

I am a bit baffled as to why everyone here thinks that the Germans are doomed. Gus kills when he has to but is businesslike about it. Killing off a gang of workers would be bad business...either they were trustworthy enough to hire in the first place (after a ton of vetting by Gus and/or Mike) or a crew that could be trusted would've been found. If there is a network of people prepared to do such work--and Mike didn't find Werner in a phone book--then there also has to be MUTUAL trust that the workers will STFU about the job in exchange for not being sent to Belieze once the job was done. Gus can't afford to get a name for being an unreliable employer. 

Here is why I think that all or some of the Germans are doomed:

Werner was hired because he was cautious, practical and discreet...everything that the French engineer was not. Then, during R&R that Werner suggested, he suddenly is none of those things. While his behavior may be understandable, it was kind of alarming.

Then, we have Kai who seems to have a big red arrow pointing at him. He is shown to be a bit of a rogue - loud, brazen and perhaps a bit reckless. Kai's plot line could go one of two ways: 1) he will do something stupid and call unwanted attention to the meth lab project OR 2) he will be the one to "save" the project when someone else goes rogue (Werner?). Knowing Gilligan, the first option seems much too obvious.

At the outset of the meth lab project, I don't think that Gus planned to kill the crew once it was completed. However, these little hiccups - including the delay in completion - indicate that something ugly and unexpected is coming, IMO.

For the most part, the "building of the meth lab" serves its primary purpose in Mike's story line. I don't think we are watching it because tons of BB fans wondered how it got there. How Mike manages this project and any crisis that develops will presumably solidify his role in Gus' empire. Maybe Mike screws up and lets his emotions dictate a response to this crew. Maybe he doesn't and is coldly efficient in his management role. 

Watching this top secret project unfold is a way of developing Mike's character arc and, simply put, giving him something to do. I would be surprised if it all goes smoothly and Mike's only purpose in it was to be a benign personnel manager. That doesn't mean that the entire crew will be killed. The project has to be completed and it would prove difficult to bring in a new crew because the previous one is buried in cement somewhere.

And frankly, I'm already a bit bored with this story line and would hate to watch a "do-over."

Edited September 27, 2018 by Ellaria Sand

[Ottis]

10 hours ago, PrincessSteel said:

I am a bit baffled as to why everyone here thinks that the Germans are doomed. Gus kills when he has to but is businesslike about it. Killing off a gang of workers would be bad business...either they were trustworthy enough to hire in the first place (after a ton of vetting by Gus and/or Mike) or a crew that could be trusted would've been found. If there is a network of people prepared to do such work--and Mike didn't find Werner in a phone book--then there also has to be MUTUAL trust that the workers will STFU about the job in exchange for not being sent to Belieze once the job was done. Gus can't afford to get a name for being an unreliable employer. 

I agree with your logic, but also, I wonder if they are collectively Germans because they might not be missed in any way that this US TV show would concern itself. If they do these kinds of jobs regularly, over long periods of time, they probably have cover stories that can be manipulated easily. They could all die in a "mine collapse," for instance. The concern would be in Germany, and BCS could move right along.  The only lesson the small number of people who know the truth will get is, don't screw with Gus.

[Rightupon]

After this episode my friend told me "I'm glad Reverand Paynus is back". And showed me this: 

Edited September 27, 2018 by Rightupon

[Julia67]

On 9/24/2018 at 11:33 PM, Irlandesa said:

With Huell's situation, she was methodical but she was basically freewheeling and reckless with the law.  On the other hand, with Mesa Verde, she was conservative when Kevin wanted to be somewhat reckless.

Haven't read all the comments but has anyone else noticed that Kim's ponytail was "free" for a few episodes there and now it's all tight again??  A hidden message perhaps?  Or it could be that while her arm was broken, she couldn't style it properly?  Either way, I love that they cover those details in this show!

On 9/25/2018 at 12:52 AM, thuganomics85 said:

Baptists actually call it the Lord's Supper instead of communion, so I wonder if that slip by Jimmy could end up being costly if the D.A. remains suspicious.

Baptist born and bred:  we definitely called it communion more than we called it the Lord's supper .

[Tighthead]

Somewhat less discussion on this episode than normal. I’m concluding that it was, in relative terms, a dud. 

[Bryce Lynch]

30 minutes ago, Tighthead said:

Somewhat less discussion on this episode than normal. I’m concluding that it was, in relative terms, a dud. 

I enjoyed watching this episode more than most of this season's episodes.  I find that some of the less enjoyable episodes to watch are more interesting to discuss.   

[PeterPirate]

1 hour ago, Tighthead said:

Somewhat less discussion on this episode than normal. I’m concluding that it was, in relative terms, a dud. 

When the episode aired I thought that might happen, because Kim's turn to the dark side might give some people pause.  Personally, I am intrigued by the notion that Kim is going to become Darth Wexler and might actually empower Saul, not hinder him.   

 

Either that, or there's been less discussion about Howard's managerial skills.  

Edited September 28, 2018 by PeterPirate

[Captanne]

It was a great episode and moved the ball forward.  

My impression about the loose ponytail was that she had a hard time putting it up with only one useful arm.  Once the cast came off, she can now screw it into the curly-q.

[Eulipian 5k]

Now, thanks to all of you, (heh) I can't watch Jesse chase that fly all over the super-lab with out screaming 'Jesse! "There are dead bodies in that retaining wall!"