Better Call Saul: Season 6 Discussion Thread

[91Joe95]

BCS is better, by a wide margin, IMO. Saul is a much more compelling character than Walter, and BB doesn’t have Kim, one of the great characters in the history of television. But, it’s nice to compare, for example, Mike’s relationship with Jesse and his relationship with Nacho.

Michael McKeon, who has done some excellent work over the years, was the initial "hook" that made me want to take a look at BCS. When I look back to the initial seasons, the show has changed quite a bit, yet it doesn't feel forced or gimmicky. It is written in such a way as to feel very natural and fluid. I'm still trying to figure out how the writers manage to pull it off.

 

[LionJim]

Michael McKeon, who has done some excellent work over the years, was the initial "hook" that made me want to take a look at BCS. When I look back to the initial seasons, the show has changed quite a bit, yet it doesn't feel forced or gimmicky. It is written in such a way as to feel very natural and fluid. I'm still trying to figure out how the writers manage to pull it off.

There are millions to be made if somehow the BCS storyboards were published. Just imagine.

 

[NEPA Lion]

There are millions to be made if somehow the BCS storyboards were published. Just imagine.

 

[LionJim]

Dang. That was awesome. I’m dazzled.

 

[LionJim]

I’m spending way too much time on this thread and will take a break for the day. (This is one of my life hacks: say publicly that I’m going to do something or other and then follow through. I was like that at my job, too; I was Mr. Reliable.) Cheers. Awesome thread, please keep it rolling. #teamnacho.

 

[psu]

BCS is better, by a wide margin, IMO. Saul is a much more compelling character than Walter, and BB doesn’t have Kim, one of the great characters in the history of television. But, it’s nice to compare, for example, Mike’s relationship with Jesse and his relationship with Nacho.

You are completely wrong, by a wide margin. I'm not even going to say more than that but it's not even remotely close. I like BCS, good show other than the stupid obsession with Jimmy's brother, but to say BCS is better than BB is .. well ..

 

[Auxgym]

BCS is better, by a wide margin, IMO. Saul is a much more compelling character than Walter, and BB doesn’t have Kim, one of the great characters in the history of television. But, it’s nice to compare, for example, Mike’s relationship with Jesse and his relationship with Nacho.

Hmmm that's painting with a broad brush. The role of the Disappear Man who sends Walt away to the snowy north is hard to beat. The thrilling end of Bad followed by El Camino will also be difficult to top......in my opinion.....

 

[bbrown]

There are millions to be made if somehow the BCS storyboards were published. Just imagine.

Another gorgeously filmed episode. From the beginning with the rain pelting the bluebonnet and piece of glass to the scene where the parking lot attendant is coming down the steps as the car key is being duplicated was brilliant.
I'm going to miss Nacho. I liked him. I never really felt he was a "bad" guy.

 

[LionJim]

I wouldn't doubt that the majority would show a preference of BB over BCS. I can understand that. Maybe my own preference stems in part from the fact that I'm more familiar with BCS than BB. But the backstories and sidestories in BCS are so compelling, Mike, Kim, Nacho, even Howard. There's a lot left to happen in this final season, and I am fully prepared to be blown away.

My wife is fully into BCS now. I asked her about the opening scene, she didn't catch the significance either.

 

[LionJim]

Kim, in her conversation with Erickson, the ADA, wow. "His name is Saul." "You want him to rat?" She's the one pushing the Caddy, too. Right now G&G are clearly insuiating that Kim is the primary instigator in the transformation of Jimmy into Saul. Why exactly is she doing this? Out of love or just for kicks? Probably a combination. Right now they're talking a softer game on Howard but I bet you anything it escalates. Kim's gonna snap.

 

[LionJim]

Another gorgeously filmed episode. From the beginning with the rain pelting the bluebonnet and piece of glass to the scene where the parking lot attendant is coming down the steps as the car key is being duplicated was brilliant.
I'm going to miss Nacho. I liked him. I never really felt he was a "bad" guy.

Erickson, the ADA, called it perfectly: “I bet it was just an accident Jimmy became the cartel’s lawyer.” I’ve been thinking that Nacho had seen his own share of accidents. Damn, the man loved his father. I was always very touched by their interactions.

 

[LionJim]

Kim, in her conversation with Erickson, the ADA, wow. "His name is Saul." "You want him to rat?" She's the one pushing the Caddy, too. Right now G&G are clearly insuiating that Kim is the primary instigator in the transformation of Jimmy into Saul. Why exactly is she doing this? Out of love or just for kicks? Probably a combination. Right now they're talking a softer game on Howard but I bet you anything it escalates. Kim's gonna snap.

Lalo told Kim that she was in the game. Maybe all this is Kim thinking that there’s no coming back from breaking bad, might as well cash in while you can. To Jimmy: “You’re the cartel’s lawyer, or you’re a rat.” Rat = Witness Protection Program. At what point will we need to believe that this applies to her, too?

 

[rudedude]

Lalo told Kim that she was in the game. Maybe all this is Kim thinking that there’s no coming back from breaking bad, might as well cash in while you can. To Jimmy: “You’re the cartel’s lawyer, or you’re a rat.” Rat = Witness Protection Program. At what point will we need to believe that this applies to her, too?

Lalo knows Jimmy got help escaping the hit men trying to steal the $7 million. Remember he was there to end Jimmy and Kim and Kim had the balls to throw him off. A possibility is Jimmy working with Mike for Gus to end Lalo.

 

[LionJim]

Lalo knows Jimmy got help escaping the hit men trying to steal the $7 million. Remember he was there to end Jimmy and Kim and Kim had the balls to throw him off. A possibility is Jimmy working with Mike for Gus to end Lalo.

Something to consider: Gus works with Bolsa in BB, which means that Bolsa does not blame Gus for Lalo’s demise, whenever it may come. Let’s all play a game and stipulate for the moment that the only players who know Lalo is alive are Hector, Gus, Mike, and Lalo himself. Read my mind: there’s a way to tie all this up into a pretty bow.

 

[Got GSPs]

In for a dime, in for a dollar.

I can't remember which happened first, but I am making the assumption that Mike cracked Nacho's safe before Gus realized that Lalo was alive.

First thing we need to remember is that It was Don Eladio (through Juan Bolsa), not Gus, who unleashed the dogs on Nacho. You'll remember that Lalo introduced Nacho to Don Eladio, which is how the cartel knew that Nacho was a traitor when they couldn't find him after the ambush. Gus, knowing that this was a possibility, set up the switching of the safes. (If Mike knew that the information about Nacho's hotel would be planted in the safe, I would expect that Gilligan and Gould would have had him bring up the issue with Gus. On the other hand, it's not like Mike to plant something without knowing what it is. This is a very weak construction, jmo.)

So, we need to assume that Gus would have been okay with Nacho being killed at the hotel. (The phone call with Tyrus confirms this.) Why try to kill Nacho at the hotel after passing up the opportunity to have him killed at the ambush? The hotel information was planted in the safe before Gus knew that Lalo had survived, so the reason for planting the information which set up the shootout at the hotel doesn't rely on the fact that Lalo is alive. The only thing I can think of is that Gus, by allowing Bolsa to discover Nacho's location, is encouraging Bolsa to believe that Gus had nothing to do with the attempted hit on Lalo. Gus has plausible deniability that he has any knowledge of Nacho's existence. I'm just now thinking that Mike has convinced himself (and therefore Gus) that there was zero chance Nacho would allow himself to be taken alive. (This kinda sorta addresses the concerns in the last sentence of my previous paragraph.) Gus gave Nacho a fighter's chance to save himself but making it too easy for Nacho to escape would surely raise suspicions within the cartel. The cartel will now take Bolsa's discovery of the hotel as being evidence that Gus was not involved on the attempted hit on Lalo. Also, Nacho was identified as a traitor because he met with Eladio; it’s plausible that the hotel shootout would not have happened had this meeting not taken place.

I don't think Gus wanted Nacho to live at all, and Mike was OK with him dying as it's part of the game. Mike drew the line at Nacho's father though, which I respect.

What I'm cloudy on is the history between Gus and Mike. In BB, Mike was always involved with Gus, I think. But in BCS, Mike was working as a parking attendant at the courthouse and Jimmy/Saul had to convince Mike to get involved in one or two of his capers. Was Mike working for Gus all along, with the parking attendand job as a cover?

 

[LionJim]

I don't think Gus wanted Nacho to live at all, and Mike was OK with him dying as it's part of the game. Mike drew the line at Nacho's father though, which I respect.

What I'm cloudy on is the history between Gus and Mike. In BB, Mike was always involved with Gus, I think. But in BCS, Mike was working as a parking attendant at the courthouse and Jimmy/Saul had to convince Mike to get involved in one or two of his capers. Was Mike working for Gus all along, with the parking attendand job as a cover?

No, Mike was going to go after Hector (for threatening his granddaughter), and actually almost had him in the sights of his sniper’s rifle but Gus stopped him in a very Gus Fring way. This happened in Season 2.10.

 

[rudedude]

I don't think Gus wanted Nacho to live at all, and Mike was OK with him dying as it's part of the game. Mike drew the line at Nacho's father though, which I respect.

What I'm cloudy on is the history between Gus and Mike. In BB, Mike was always involved with Gus, I think. But in BCS, Mike was working as a parking attendant at the courthouse and Jimmy/Saul had to convince Mike to get involved in one or two of his capers. Was Mike working for Gus all along, with the parking attendand job as a cover?

After the Tuco/Hector incident, Gus took in Mike to oversee the construction of the underground meth lab. Jimmy took on the Tuco case and Hector pressured Mike to tell police it was his gun in the fight. Jimmy got Tuco a reduced sentence but Tuco stabbed a guy in prison. Jimmy gets involved with Lalo when Krazy8 gets arrested and Lalo sets up Gus to lose money by having Krazy8 tell Hank and Gomez about Gus’ dead drops.

 

[Got GSPs]

No, Mike was going to go after Hector (for threatening his granddaughter), and actually almost had him in the sights of his sniper’s rifle but Gus stopped him in a very Gus Fring way. This happened in Season 2.10.

After the Tuco/Hector incident, Gus took in Mike to oversee the construction of the underground meth lab. Jimmy took on the Tuco case and Hector pressured Mike to tell police it was his gun in the fight. Jimmy got Tuco a reduced sentence but Tuco stabbed a guy in prison. Jimmy gets involved with Lalo when Krazy8 gets arrested and Lalo sets up Gus to lose money by having Krazy8 tell Hank and Gomez about Gus’ dead drops.

Thanks for refreshing my memory…. This is why I should rewatch prior to new seasons starting

 

[Auxgym]

Kim, in her conversation with Erickson, the ADA, wow. "His name is Saul." "You want him to rat?" She's the one pushing the Caddy, too. Right now G&G are clearly insuiating that Kim is the primary instigator in the transformation of Jimmy into Saul. Why exactly is she doing this? Out of love or just for kicks? Probably a combination. Right now they're talking a softer game on Howard but I bet you anything it escalates. Kim's gonna snap.

To me it's very simple.....Jimmy opened her eyes to the fact that she was in the herd of sheep.....Baa....Baa.......welcome to the Wolf Pack Kim......

 

[91Joe95]

I have a theory, which will of course be proven wrong, that Kim most likely ends up in witness protection. I just can't see the writers leaving Kim as an unseen background character in BB. Kim is "in the game" but only Lalo knows it, so she's relatively safe from the cartels. Even Saul is still under their radar for the most part. If Lalo kills Kim, or tries to, then Saul should be an even bigger target, because let's face it, Lalo is both focused, thorough, and paranoid. Kim may want to crush Howard, but the DA laying out that kid's life seemed to hit her. If she's dead, no real reason for Saul to pretend she never existed. On the other hand, if she's in witness protection, then Saul has that reason. Hey, Kim grew up in Nebraska. Saul's Cinnabon is in Nebraska. I need more Cinnabon!

 

[LionJim]

That’s crossed my mind, that Kim goes into WPP. It’s also crossed my mind that somehow Kim helps Gene take care of his problem with the cab driver.

 

[Still in State Colllege]

With all this discussion I am reminded of a fake quote attributed to Sigmund Freud, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." I know we all like to dive deep into symbolism and meanings but sometimes it is exactly what it seems to be.

 

[LionJim]

With all this discussion I am reminded of a fake quote attributed to Sigmund Freud, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." I know we all like to dive deep into symbolism and meanings but sometimes it is exactly what it seems to be.

I’m normally with you on this perspective (partly, I guess, because I suck at identifying symbolism) but you never know with Gilligan and Gould. This isn’t my own original take, as I read it somewhere: The only time it rains in either Breaking Bad or El Camino is when Jesse gets away in El Camino. So are we to think that the rain in the opening scene of BCS 6.3 isn’t meant to say something? If we’re scrambling now to find symbolism in G&G’s work, it’s because they’ve already gone to this well a million times.

 

[Got GSPs]

I’m normally with you on this perspective (partly, I guess, because I suck at identifying symbolism) but you never know with Gilligan and Gould. This isn’t my own original take, as I read it somewhere: The only time it rains in either Breaking Bad or El Camino is when Jesse gets away in El Camino. So are we to think that the rain in the opening scene of BCS 6.3 isn’t meant to say something? If we’re scrambling now to find symbolism in G&G’s work, it’s because they’ve already gone to this well a million times.

FYI, the rain was falling on the piece of broken glass that Nacho used to cut himself loose from the zip ties. You could see his dried blood on the glass. It could still be symbolic of his ultimate escape from that life, however final, or maybe it means nothing more than a flash forward.

 

[rudedude]

 

[NEPA Lion]

 

[LionJim]

I really don’t know what to think of this. Remember how Erickson mentioned “that 22-year old killed in cold blood” to Kim? Kim didn’t mention this to Jimmy. She’s beginning to creep me out.

 

[rudedude]

 

[LionJim]

Not original with me:

Nacho to Hector: “I put you in that chair.”

Walter to Jesse: “I let Jane die.”

Same difference. G&G know how to tell a story.

 

[NittanyBuff]

Good ole Mike such a bad ***, "They will have to go through me" to get to your old man, love it. I was hoping Nacho would get away somehow.

 

[Got GSPs]

SIAP

How Will BETTER CALL SAUL Merge Timelines with BREAKING BAD?

How will Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad's timelines converge? The fateful night Walt and Jesse kidnapped Saul is an ill-omen for Ignacio and Lalo.

trib.al

 

[91Joe95]

I rewatched episode 2. Nacho definitely changed plans for Gus' sake. Hector was trying to get Gus implemented so Nacho took all the heat off him by stating that Gus saved Hector previously.

Kim and Jimmy - both think Lalo is dead. I can't see Mike telling Jimmy Lalo is alive, so Lalo must make contact with Jimmy. I could see Kim getting unnerved by that, leading to her exit.

 

[NEPA Lion]

Not original with me:

Nacho to Hector: “I put you in that chair.”

Walter to Jesse: “I let Jane die.”

Same difference. G&G know how to tell a story.

I think Nacho got his point across with Hector plinking a corpse.

 

[Grant Green]

That’s crossed my mind, that Kim goes into WPP. It’s also crossed my mind that somehow Kim helps Gene take care of his problem with the cab driver.

As I guessed seasons ago, I believe Kim is pulling the strings behind the scene in BB.

 

[LionJim]

Good episode, the story is coming along. Rhea Seehorn directed.

 

[rudedude]

So, the Lalo watch is on! Gus has some slick house with secret passages too. And he is extremely detail oriented. A little unbelievable that Howard was totally unaware his car was moved. Kim really in the mix now with the scam on Howard. Maybe Mike put a little fear into her re: Lalo?

 

[NEPA Lion]

So, the Lalo watch is on! Gus has some slick house with secret passages too. And he is extremely detail oriented. A little unbelievable that Howard was totally unaware his car was moved. Kim really in the mix now with the scam on Howard. Maybe Mike put a little fear into her re: Lalo?

Similar entry breaker panel ala The Americans.

 

[91Joe95]

I can't see Mike telling Jimmy Lalo is alive, so Lalo must make contact with Jimmy. I could see Kim getting unnerved by that, leading to her exit.

Right off the bat Mike spills the beans re: Lalo. And this is what we call in the entertainment industry foreshadowing for all the guesses I will get wrong.

 

[LionJim]

I can’t imagine that Kim doesn’t tell Jimmy of her meeting with Mike, but it was interesting that this was left hanging.

 

[rudedude]

Kim asking Jimmy, “are we wicked?” LionJim and I are applying to be line cooks at Los Pollos Hermanos!!

As a side job, Vamonos Pest