Better Call Saul

Is solution to Tuco really a Half Measure? It got ride of Tuco at a lower risk than what would have occurred if he killed him. What I want to know if the word of Mike's action here is what draws the attention of Gus to him. Gus seems like the type of guy that would have observe what is going with the different Salamancas.

Maybe it's both? Nacho explained that Mike would be in danger when Tuco gets out. Gus could take notice of Mike's resourcefulness and offer to protect him from the Salamancas as part of his terms of employment.

The one who was at lower risk for this plan was Nacho. Mike put himself at greater risk by not just sniping Tuco and taking the bigger payout.

edited 10th Mar '16 8:50:24 PM by StateOfBedlam

It would also be a possible risk for Mike. How the cartel would likely work everyone over to discover who killed Tuco to a much greater degree than Tuco will work to find the old man that dinged his car.

So if you could only punch one in the face who would you chose Chuck or Howard?

Chuck, Howard is representing the firm.

Chuck betrayed his own brother. The brother that looked after him daily.

I'd punch Chuck, he's a total jerkass. Though Hamlin isn't a peach either.

Yeah, Howard is a douche but he seems like a douche that would admit to be a douche and wouldn't hide it. While, Chuck has the whole self-righteous aspect also going on.

So this is the first episode that has felt more like setup for story than a story of its own. But holy shit, was it something to see Uncle Hector walking and talking, and the previews hinting at the presence of the Twins in the next episode.

I feel the last two episodes have been setup for bigger things. It's been a bit frustrating, I feel. It wasn't like the buildup to the big reveal last season, where it was a natural progression with every episode still feeling like things were happening. Here, it feels like nothing is happening.

You were dead on about the Twins. Terrifying as ever, though Foregone Conclusion takes much of the drama out of the situation. The only person whose fate is unknown is Nacho. It's also unclear why the Twins ended up back in Mexico, but that might be answered nearer the time that Gus enters this series.

For the above reasons, this could end up being the sort of thing that makes for more dramatic viewing when you watch the prequel first, before Breaking Bad.

Nice little Hope Spot too for Kim and Jimmy, I do have to wonder how this is going to all fall apart for the two of them, as Kim isn't as far as we know in Saul's life.

"Inflatable" is probably my favorite episode of the season thus far. It certainly was the funniest. Though, as always, it ends with some very grim foreshadowing. That bit with the Wexler-Mc Gill card split was very unnerving to me...

• bump*

Holy crap! That episode, guys! Simply amazing.

That episode explains so much about why Saul is how he is, and why the Breaking Bad doesn't have Better Call Saul parts.

Chuck is such a prick. A brilliant prick who isn't always wrong or not entirely wrong, but god, what an ungrateful, stuck up, arrogant prick he is.

And because he is brilliant and he is arrogant, he really is not able to opening his mind to anything new or changing it once he makes it up or comes to a judgement about someone or something. The man needs a hell of a shaking.

I guess Fring really is back.

edited 18th Apr '16 9:37:41 PM by TheWanderer

Rearrange the episode titles and you get this:

Fifi

Rebecca

Inflatable

Nailed

Gloves Off

Switch

Bali H'ai

Amarillo

Cobbler

Klick

So it's probably safe to assume that one of his henchmen left the note

edited 19th Apr '16 2:44:05 AM by Millardkillmoore

Hence why I phrased the spoiler text the way I did. I know Giligan had fun hiding a sentence in the episode titles of season 2 of Breaking Bad, but I had my doubts about this theory, I thought maybe it was the result of people who spent too much time playing with decoder rings as a kid.

I'm delighted to be proven wrong.

My feelings about this finale sum up my overall feelings about the season: utterly disappointed. Way too much attention was given to building up to something without actually getting to what that something was. I let it slide with earlier episodes because I was certain that by the finale all the tension they were building was going to lead to... well anything. And honestly I don't think it did. To be perfectly honest, this season finale gave me a larger case of blue balls than The Walking Dead's.

So anyone else kinda rooting for Chuck at this point? I know he's motivated more by jealousy than anything, but his criticisms of Jimmy are completely valid. Jimmy can't go five minutes without breaking the law, permanently damaged HHM's reputation, and completely screwed over an innocent client. No matter how good his motivations are, that in no way justifies all of the crap he's been pulling.

edited 19th Apr '16 11:51:39 AM by Millardkillmoore

It's probably just my personal politics talking but I can't really get too angry at Jimmy for humiliating a massive law firm that treats its employees like dirt and the bank that has half a million to drop annually on employing them. Chuck, Hamlin, and Wachtell make more money than I'll ever see in a lifetime. They'll be fine.

I'd argue that, yes, Chuck is very much right about Jimmy in every way. However, Chuck is ultimately the one who pushed Jimmy to where he is now. Had he just given Jimmy a chance when he wanted to work at HHM, none of this would've happened. Jimmy's loyalty and love for his brother supersedes his desire to break bad, even now.

I've thoroughly enjoyed this season, but I had no idea this was the finale.

I'm more sympathetic to Chuck now than I was at the end of the first season, but I'm definitely rooting for Jimmy. In Chuck, they've successfully created a genuinely hateable Lawful Good antagonist without compromising his morality or making him so sympathetic that most people take his side. But you're right, he has mostly legitimate grievances so it makes sense that some viewers would still take his side.

edited 19th Apr '16 6:36:27 PM by StateOfBedlam

Don't get me wrong, Chuck should not have allowed Jimmy to work at HHM. But what he should have done when Jimmy told him about passing the bar was have a sober, serious chat with Jimmy about the following things: why HHM couldn't hire someone of Jimmy's background and method of getting a degree, (especially since it would appear like rank nepotism) how a good reputation and name means everything in the legal business, and how it is adopting a code of conduct that means no shortcuts, no corners cut, no Slippin' Jimmy cons, etc.

After that wish Jimmy well, promise to support him and be there to advise him if needed, and let him make his way or fall on his face.

Instead, Chuck sabotaged and undermined him 24/7 for over a year, got other people to play the bad guy for him, let his personal feelings and resentments get the better of him, used HHM to hound Jimmy in every possible way, (remember them wanting to prevent Jimmy from using his own last name on his business in season 1?) cut off any possible path where Jimmy could be a legitimate success, all while pretending to be virtually Jimmy's only friend and ally. And in the end, when it all came out, the Broken Pedestal that Chuck became was a big part of pushing Jimmy to the point of Then Let Me Be Evil.

I mean, Jimmy had lived on the straight and narrow for years in HHM's mailroom, studying for the degree at night, and then spent at least another year working as a lawyer, during which he turned down bribes from the Kettlemans, warned them when they were in danger from Nacho, declined the opportunity to steal $1 million dollars, saved the Ungrateful Bastard twins from getting murdered by Tuco at the risk of his own life, taking care of Chuck, etc.

Over the course of those years in HHM's mailroom and the year as a lawyer, Jimmy showed some genuine character. If Chuck had nurtured that, maybe Jimmy could have done something with himself without becoming Saul. But my take, as of now, is that Chuck's actions squashed all that and was part (not all, but part) of pushing Jimmy back into his old ways. (See Jimmy's comment from the end of season 1 "I know what was stopping me... [to wit, modeling himself after Chuck] and I'm never letting it stop me again.)

And Chuck being enough of a snake to repeatedly use the way Jimmy cares about Chuck against him? (Taunting Jimmy about how he's going to be late to work at Davis and Main because Jimmy spent the whole night looking out for Chuck or using the fact that Jimmy rushed to be by his side in the copy shop instead of doing what Walter White did when he watched Jane choke to death.) Chuck may meet the letter of the law for Lawful Good, but certainly not the spirit.

edited 19th Apr '16 9:15:32 PM by TheWanderer

I definitely agree with you there. Again, some parts of Chuck's argument about Jimmy are very much valid, but if he hadn't been such a backstabbing turd there's no doubt that things would've ended better for both of them. Still, given the various flashbacks we've seen, it's clear that Chuck's disdain for Jimmy stems from the fact that he gets along with everyone much better than Chuck does, even when it's his own wife. I think, deep down, Chuck is far more petty than Jimmy, he just hides it in a cloak of self-righteousness. Not to mention, Chuck is clearly unhinged.

x4

It's really not Chuck's fault that Jimmy immediately torpedoed his own career at Davis & Main. The guy just can't keep himself on the straight and narrow and would've gone back to his old ways at HHM. Hell, he was taking bribes and playing fast and loose with the law well before he found out about Chuck's betrayal.

In Chuck's position, I wouldn't have hired Jimmy either, although refusing to actually admit to it and letting Howard take the blame was pretty damn low. I think that's why I like Chuck as a character so much. His particular mix of of "petty, self-righteous, Green-Eyed Monster" and "correct about everything he says" makes for a very compelling antagonist.

edited 19th Apr '16 9:49:20 PM by Millardkillmoore

Yeah, I love Chuck's character, but think he's a jackass. I loved when he was running around in the penultimate S2 episode sounding completely bonkers but actually right about his suspicions.

edited 22nd Apr '16 2:21:58 AM by Phoenixflame