Better Call Saul: Season 4

[shrader]

2 hours ago, row_33 said:

 

Kai’s spirit will be broken , just like the leg of that coati that ate the fruit of the tree

 

 

That speech to Salamanca was my favorite part of the episode.  I love seeing how cold and dark Gus is.  My lasting images of him from Breaking Bad are mostly from his Pollos Hermanos front.  Here we get much less of that and he's all out evil right now.

[Soda Popinski]

13 minutes ago, shrader said:

 

That speech to Salamanca was my favorite part of the episode.  I love seeing how cold and dark Gus is.  My lasting images of him from Breaking Bad are mostly from his Pollos Hermanos front.  Here we get much less of that and he's all out evil right now.

I was thinking he views Salamanca as the animal he caught. The humane thing would be to put it down....but he kept it alive..

 

that's a dark MF right there. 

Edited September 12, 2018 by Soda Popinski

[row_33]

most of the feedback is thumbs-down on Gus's speech for being a bit too trite and long

 

it was good by me

 

to me it builds up his ego, thinking he is so far ahead of everyone, until he ran into Walt and Tio Salamanca with his dingdingdingdingdingding BOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Gus is so great a character that for the week after a lot of of people on chat were convinced he wasn't really dead.

 

-----------------

 

wait a minute, isn't Gus the caoti in the drug cartel story???

 

thank goodness for close caption or i would NEVER have figured this one out.  coyotes aren't best described as bigger than a large housecat and would not be much fun to keep around wounded and scared

 

Edited September 12, 2018 by row_33

[LeGOATski]

15 minutes ago, row_33 said:

most of the feedback is thumbs-down on Gus's speech for being a bit too trite and long

That was my reaction to it.

 

I was like "yeah...we get it."

[row_33]

11 minutes ago, LeGOATski said:

That was my reaction to it.

 

I was like "yeah...we get it."

 

in a 2 hour movie you have to provide all the background in a quick 2 minute scene, if it's Nic Cage it has him whispering or screaming the whole time while everything around him is on fire

 

they are in a bit of a good jam with BCS because some folk are just joining in and have no idea about the total daddy Gus showed himself to be in BB.

 

 

Edited September 12, 2018 by row_33

[Not at the table Karlos]

On 9/11/2018 at 6:00 AM, Fadingpain said:

The lengths Gus is going to in order to secretly build the underground meth lab are kind of absurd.  I realize this is a work of fiction and they are trying to tell an interesting story, but why in the world wouldn't he simply buy a new facility (with no one working there yet), install the meth lab under it, and then move the existing business operation from the current location to that location equipped with the meth lab? 

 

Not surprised Kim hustled her new gig at the law firm.  She is preparing to move on from Jimmy professionally and privately too.  When she dumps him, he'll go over the edge.  At least that is my theory.

 

I was reminded again in this episode that Kim and Jimmy do not have a very convincing romantic relationship.  They are almost stiff and formal around each other, like on a second date.  They don't interact with each other as  a couple living together would.

I don't fully understand why they are taking that tack with the show.

 

 

 

 

 

A lot easier to hide what you're doing in a preexisting structure. Any time I've worked on new builds there's inspectors and people from all types of places checking in on things. Once the basement is seen by someone you can't deny it's there. Police come with a warrant and they know there's a basement they'll get suspicious when there's no access and everyone's like what basement.  Now all they have to do is lock the doors and nobody knows anything. Trying to hide a new build also raises a lot of red flags and peaks an interest into why they're hiding it. Too much can go wrong.

On 9/11/2018 at 8:15 AM, row_33 said:

Good points. The show is sort of science fiction and they have to create completely new story lines to expand another two seasons.

 

I see Jimmy and Kim marriages all the time in accounting. Both are geeky/dorky/nerdy and never accomplished anything at all in life before their professional designations, and their first romantic experience is with one just like them in the same job. 

 

Gus and Mike are doing a small scale Manhattan Project 2.0 and it’s a good thing Walt is also in tiny ABQ to come along at the right moment and nobody in tiny ABQ will have a clue about any of this going on.

 

Saul in the opening of the last episode  provides orders to his assistant, which sounded to me like he has his own legal counsel.....  which could be the brilliant criminal lawyer Kim????

 

 

 

Gale Boetticher was the chemist before walt was considered. Gus also had gale testing other cooks work.

Edited September 12, 2018 by Not at the table Karlos

[row_33]

20 minutes ago, Not at the table Karlos said:

 

Gale Boetticher was the chemist before walt was considered. Gus also had gale testing other cooks work.

 

another great role by David Costabile, some day he will play a likeable and/or normal person

 

 

Gale was the student for the scholarship Gus set up for his murdered co-founder (lover?)

 

Gus got this info out on the quick during his interrogation with Hank

 

then Gus got on the elevator staring straight ahead and reverting to his mental composure trick of almost flexing his fingers and thumb as he cooled down

 

a better way to provide background than a 3 minute speech to a man in a coma

 

 

[shrader]

1 hour ago, row_33 said:

 

a better way to provide background than a 3 minute speech to a man in a coma

 

 

 

I still love it.  Gus will do whatever he wants to Salamanca and there's absolutely nothing he can do about it.  And he's telling him as much when he literally can't do anything.

[row_33]

11 minutes ago, shrader said:

 

I still love it.  Gus will do whatever he wants to Salamanca and there's absolutely nothing he can do about it.  And he's telling him as much when he literally can't do anything.

 

i was 50/50 on it, so how does Hector break away to live with Tuco?

 

one of my favourite moments was Walt and Jesse in terror on the couch waiting for Tio to use only a bell to tell Tuco how W&J were trying to punk him out.

 

 

i guess we'll get Gus's background for the Pinochet terror years in Chile at some point, maybe the "It's Gus!" spinoff show

 

 

[shrader]

Just now, row_33 said:

 

i was 50/50 on it, so how does Hector break away to live with Tuco?

 

one of my favourite moments was Walt and Jesse in terror on the couch waiting for Tio to use only a bell to tell Tuco how W&J were trying to punk him out.

 

 

i guess we'll get Gus's background for the Pinochet terror years in Chile at some point, maybe the "It's Gus!" spinoff show

 

 

 

I look forward to finding out how we winds up back with Tuco.  Back when he was introduced in Breaking Bad, my immediate thought was that I wanted far more of him in the show.  We were robbed of that way too quickly.

[row_33]

and Tuco already knows Mike from getting his car dinged and beating the hell out of Mike, so I'm interested in how this goes forward with Gus and Mike and Tuco.

 

maybe they just laugh about it and forget about it

 

 

 

i guess Tuco was the responsible nephew after the twins found they couldn't deal with the old man in a wheelchair, he never smiles.

 

 

[gomper]

I'm loving this show. It has a degree of nuance that is very deep. I know some people want the the sword swallowers and jugglers of BB. It's a different show. I know I'm in the minority but I love the way they take their time. To me it's the cherry on the sundae this show is on. 

[Taro T]

On Wednesday, September 12, 2018 at 4:52 PM, gomper said:

I'm loving this show. It has a degree of nuance that is very deep. I know some people want the the sword swallowers and jugglers of BB. It's a different show. I know I'm in the minority but I love the way they take their time. To me it's the cherry on the sundae this show is on. 

 

Considering we know there IS a fixed end point to this tale (unless they decide to show some of what Saul was doing / working on while he was Walt & Jesse's lawyer - which would be kind of cool), really don't mind them stretching out the journey.

 

And Gus' story for Hector was awesome & EXTREMELY dark.  Much like Gus.  One of the best written villians ever.

[Jay_Fixit]

There are people who didn’t like the Gus speech to Hector?

 

You people must have hooves.

[mrags]

1 hour ago, Jay_Fixit said:

There are people who didn’t like the Gus speech to Hector?

 

You people must have hooves.

Ok Michael Bolton 

[row_33]

Gus is too cautious to make a big speech like that

 

 

[meazza]

40 minutes ago, row_33 said:

Gus is too cautious to make a big speech like that

 

 

Not when it comes to Hector which is why he let his guard down and died in Breaking Bad.

[row_33]

6 minutes ago, meazza said:

Not when it comes to Hector which is why he let his guard down and died in Breaking Bad.

 

Yes, he does like rehearsing his Hamlet impersonations in front of Hector, good point!

 

 

[/dev/null]

46 minutes ago, row_33 said:

Gus is too cautious to make a big speech like that

 

 

 

I loved the camera work in that scene.  Gus has always hidden in plain sight and that soliloquy was in the shadows: in the dark except for the glare of his glasses

[row_33]

Just now, /dev/null said:

 

I loved the camera work in that scene.  Gus has always hidden in plain sight and that soliloquy was in the shadows: in the dark except for the glare of his glasses

 

Setting up Hector Coati as his wounded pet

[Jay_Fixit]

14 hours ago, mrags said:

Ok Michael Bolton 

Why should I change? He’s the one who sucks.

[The Poojer]

I literally gasped out loud when the bat stopped on the one punk's face in the pinata scene.  These past 2 episodes have been great.  I love the speculation here that Saul is talking to Howard or Kim in that opening scene in episode 5.  That thought NEVER crossed my mind.

[row_33]

23 minutes ago, The Poojer said:

I literally gasped out loud when the bat stopped on the one punk's face in the pinata scene.  These past 2 episodes have been great.  I love the speculation here that Saul is talking to Howard or Kim in that opening scene in episode 5.  That thought NEVER crossed my mind.

 

how could one ever completely walk away from Jimmy until death do you part

 

[Fadingpain]

15 hours ago, row_33 said:

Gus is too cautious to make a big speech like that

 

 

Do you mean b/c of fear that he would be overheard by someone in the hospital?

 

I think it was meant as a soliloquy, the viewer is to accept that the words spoken by Gus were really his thoughts.

 

One of the reasons Gus is a great character is because he is filled with complexity, which is just another way to say "contradiction".

 

On the one hand he conscientiously sweeps up the floor at his restaurant and if a patron left their wallet on a table, I think Gus would genuinely rush out to return it and be glad the person did not lose the item.

 

On the other hand, he is suffocating Arturo inside a plastic bag, which is a pretty hands-on, visceral way to go about killing someone.  

 

He indulges in common courtesy and politeness, but in the next moment he's going to great expense and bother to revive Hector, only so he can slowly torture and kill him on his own terms.

 

And best of all, ultimately, he is likable, and very intelligent.

 

All too often, characters are too stupid to be taken seriously in fiction. 

 

This show is a master class in how to go about writing a script for a TV show.

 

 

[row_33]

12 minutes ago, Fadingpain said:

Do you mean b/c of fear that he would be overheard by someone in the hospital?

 

I think it was meant as a soliloquy, the viewer is to accept that the words spoken by Gus were really his thoughts.

 

One of the reasons Gus is a great character is because he is filled with complexity, which is just another way to say "contradiction".

 

On the one hand he conscientiously sweeps up the floor at his restaurant and if a patron left their wallet on a table, I think Gus would genuinely rush out to return it and be glad the person did not lose the item.

 

On the other hand, he is suffocating Arturo inside a plastic bag, which is a pretty hands-on, visceral way to go about killing someone.  

 

He indulges in common courtesy and politeness, but in the next moment he's going to great expense and bother to revive Hector, only so he can slowly torture and kill him on his own terms.

 

And best of all, ultimately, he is likable, and very intelligent.

 

All too often, characters are too stupid to be taken seriously in fiction. 

 

This show is a master class in how to go about writing a script for a TV show.

 

 

 

yup

[The Poojer]

Isn't Hector in a private hospital(not even sure he's in a hospital), or is it that they brought in private doctors to take care of him

 

 

15 hours ago, row_33 said:

Gus is too cautious to make a big speech like that

 

 

[row_33]

12 minutes ago, The Poojer said:

Isn't Hector in a private hospital(not even sure he's in a hospital), or is it that they brought in private doctors to take care of him

 

 

 

If Gus can arrange for a surgical team out in the desert after drinking hemlock?? spiked tequila then he can do anything back in the US

 

 

[Fadingpain]

So who watched Episode 7? 

 

I thought it was another excellent show.  Lots of stuff continues to brew under the surface.

 

 

[mrags]

58 minutes ago, Fadingpain said:

So who watched Episode 7? 

 

I thought it was another excellent show.  Lots of stuff continues to brew under the surface.

 

 

It started slow. Picked up. Loved it. Right from the opening credits you could see Kim and Jimmy becoming distant.  

 

I think we may be into something that Kim is the unseen cleaner that has been talked about. 

 

They are definitely on different paths and it’s never been more noticeable 

[row_33]

They grow apart, she has no clue what Jimmy has been doing for 8 months, besides collecting tacky tracksuits. But she jumps over to his dark side at the end with something up her sleeve more sinister than Jimmy to get Huell out of jail, involves a lot of office supplies??!!!!! She is “Giselle” again and way smarter than “Victor” Jimmy..... the prosecutor’s pigheaded, probably racist, refusal turns her.

 

horny Hector is off to Tuco’s tight ranch with a bell to tap as his highest improvement. The parallel with Hank’s recovery is shown as BB Hank’s is fueled by the love of his crazed and devoted wife.

 

Mike gets to scout out a cathouse for the next year for the Germans? He’s not an orgy guy.

 

good use of Pete Seeger’s BRCM, a hobo song of the Depression that was sanitized and turned into a children’s song by the 1960s

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did they hold German POWs in Arizona during and after WW2? With some escapes?

 

 

 

Edited September 18, 2018 by row_33

[Fadingpain]

1 hour ago, row_33 said:

They grow apart, she has no clue what Jimmy has been doing for 8 months, besides collecting tacky tracksuits. But she jumps over to his dark side at the end with something up her sleeve more sinister than Jimmy to get Huell out of jail, involves a lot of office supplies??!!!!! She is “Giselle” again and way smarter than “Victor” Jimmy..... the prosecutor’s pigheaded, probably racist, refusal turns her.

 

horny Hector is off to Tuco’s tight ranch with a bell to tap as his highest improvement. The parallel with Hank’s recovery is shown as BB Hank’s is fueled by the love of his crazed and devoted wife.

 

Mike gets to scout out a cathouse for the next year for the Germans? He’s not an orgy guy.

 

good use of Pete Seeger’s BRCM, a hobo song of the Depression that was sanitized and turned into a children’s song by the 1960s

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did they hold German POWs in Arizona during and after WW2? With some escapes?

 

 

 

It's possible they held Germans in AZ; definitely had tons of them in Texas.

 

A provision of the Geneva Convention was that troops captured in battle had to be held captive in a climate similar to where they surrendered.  For that reason, when the entire DAK collapsed in May 1943, many went to Texas, where the arid climate was considered comparable to N. Africa.

 

I didn't get the scene down in the meth lab, when the German workers started fighting with each other.

 

Mike, whose character is clearly portrayed as not being able to speak German, breaks up the fight by shouting "Jungs kommt runter!" which is an idiom basically meaning "Boys, calm down!"

 

There's no way in the world his character would know how to say that.  He can't even say "Prost!" when he drinks beer with the lead architect/construction dude.

 

Where that came from or where the show was going with the German in the meth lab, I don't know.

 

Loved the scene where Gus realized Hector was still himself, and how he determined that...and how that was all totally missed by the female doctor.

 

Gus was like "Yep, he's himself.  This will work" and like that the doctor was dismissed, her work being done.

 

Curious as to what Kim's master plan is that was hinted at at the end of the show.  I've been saying for a while she's going to dump Jimmy and it still looks that way.

 

 

 

Edited September 18, 2018 by Fadingpain

[row_33]

Thanks for the history, I recall there was an escape in the Arizona desert of officers with nowhere to go and a return to their confines. Someone here will have better details.

 

 

Kim  still loves him, she switches between an Iron Lady at work and back to the relationship away from work. She wouldn’t be exasperated with him if she didn’t care.

 

Jimmy showed his charm and wit and lack of intellectual and high-tea powers at the firm party. He fits in with her concern for the underclass, she was really ticked when the prosecutor unknowingly attacked her man.

 

i guess Mike has picked up a lot of the German language from supervising this work camp project, he has none of their culture or irony despite his last name. 

 

The show sure has little respect for the ethics of lawyers and doctors, this brilliant woman is bought off with a new wing for her specialty and leaves Hector with no thought at all. A female House MD.

 

could be worse, The Wire spent too long a season nursing a grudge the creative mind had for newspaper ethics, also with Costabile being his scene-capturing annoying self.

 

 

 

 

 

[Doc Brown]

3 hours ago, Fadingpain said:

Loved the scene where Gus realized Hector was still himself, and how he determined that...and how that was all totally missed by the female doctor.

Also, by haltering his progress he knows he can torment Salamanca without him being able to speak the rest of his life.  Cold blooded.

[Not at the table Karlos]

6 hours ago, Fadingpain said:

It's possible they held Germans in AZ; definitely had tons of them in Texas.

 

A provision of the Geneva Convention was that troops captured in battle had to be held captive in a climate similar to where they surrendered.  For that reason, when the entire DAK collapsed in May 1943, many went to Texas, where the arid climate was considered comparable to N. Africa.

 

I didn't get the scene down in the meth lab, when the German workers started fighting with each other.

 

Mike, whose character is clearly portrayed as not being able to speak German, breaks up the fight by shouting "Jungs kommt runter!" which is an idiom basically meaning "Boys, calm down!"

 

There's no way in the world his character would know how to say that.  He can't even say "Prost!" when he drinks beer with the lead architect/construction dude.

 

Where that came from or where the show was going with the German in the meth lab, I don't know.

 

Loved the scene where Gus realized Hector was still himself, and how he determined that...and how that was all totally missed by the female doctor.

 

Gus was like "Yep, he's himself.  This will work" and like that the doctor was dismissed, her work being done.

 

Curious as to what Kim's master plan is that was hinted at at the end of the show.  I've been saying for a while she's going to dump Jimmy and it still looks that way.

 

 

 

No way in the world that he learned how to say three words in a few months?  Just wondering why you think that's so far fetched?  My co workers learned to say it in 5 seconds. Why should it take Mike years? 

Edited September 18, 2018 by Not at the table Karlos

[row_33]

37 minutes ago, Not at the table Karlos said:

No way in the world that he learned how to say three words in a few months?  Just wondering why you think that's so far fetched?  My co workers learned to say it in 5 seconds. Why should it take Mike years? 

 

it's TV, they can do anything they want to

 

[shrader]

This one really didn't do much for me, but it flew by.  That has to be a sign of great tv.

[row_33]

13 minutes ago, shrader said:

This one really didn't do much for me, but it flew by.  That has to be a sign of great tv.

 

the story is unfolded like a mental patient methodically and slowing removing cat hair from their sweater

 

lets you stretch it out for 30 more episodes

 

sometimes shows take too much advantage of this

[shrader]

Just now, row_33 said:

 

the story is unfolded like a mental patient methodically and slowing removing cat hair from their sweater

 

lets you stretch it out for 30 more episodes

 

sometimes shows take too much advantage of this

 

I have absolutely no complaints about it.  I was a bit distracted yesterday, but when the end credits rolled, I immediately thought "wait, already?".  Some AMC shows are much better with cliff hanger endings than others.

[row_33]

49 minutes ago, shrader said:

 

I have absolutely no complaints about it.  I was a bit distracted yesterday, but when the end credits rolled, I immediately thought "wait, already?".  Some AMC shows are much better with cliff hanger endings than others.

 

i really like the show, i was getting a bit frayed with the way BB was defying physics and poetic license by the time it finished.

 

not much else on to follow as it's released these days, not a binge watcher.... BCS has been a great show

 

 

 

[Dante]

54 minutes ago, shrader said:

This one really didn't do much for me, but it flew by.  That has to be a sign of great tv.

I have commented more than a few times how fast the hour goes by when watching this show.