I don’t know how long it’s been since the last season, but it occurred to me as I sat down to enjoy the season premier that I don’t remember anything that happened last year. There was a big cliffhanger, but for the life of me I couldn’t recall what it was (which tells me it's been waaaaay too long since the last season).
And as the new episode unfolded, some memories of last season did begin to surface. It was not a great season as I now recall. There was a lot of filler. A couple of compelling sequences but not like the earlier years of the series, and not nearly as consistently excellent as BREAKING BAD.
So why was I excited?
Because I’ve become so attached to these characters that I care about them way more than I should. And because at any time they’re capable of truly extraordinary storytelling. Unlike LOST, they answer questions and tie up loose ends. So you feel you’re in for a satisfying conclusion.
And they have an amazing ability to surprise you. You can’t outguess them.
Ultimately, BREAKING BAD fans know the ending. It’s where we meet Saul when he enters the BREAKING BAD world. But will that be the ending? I’m guessing not. I’m guessing we’re in for some surprises. Maybe big surprises. And for that I’m all in, despite bumps in the road last season and a forgettable cliffhanger. I’m ready to go on that ride wherever it takes me.
Just don’t kill Kim.
But will it be more entertaining than when Johnny Depp takes the stand today to give evidence?
ReplyDeleteWell, the scenes in Better Call Saul which seem to take place today (in black and white) show him working at a Cinabon as a clerk and trying to avoid being recognized from his past. So he's clearly not a lawyer any more, leading one to think he got disbarred for his misconduct.
ReplyDeleteFQ: I was just watching a TV show and at the end of the credits there were probably half a dozen end cards for the various producers' companies. What determines which producers/companies get an end card? Obviously, the showrunner would get one. But what about the others? Do those companies have an ownership stake in the show? Is there usually a certain threshold for involvement in the production to get one? I know these are coveted, prestigious elements of a show because I remember a DVD commentary or interview from BUFFY or ANGEL where someone was complaining that the Kuzuis (directors of the original BUFFY movie) got an EP credit and end card despite never stepping foot on set just because of their involvement with the movie, so I was just curious about how these things are determined.
ReplyDeleteI am so relieved that you were able to watch it without remembering anything about the cliffhanger, since I can't remember anything about the entire last season, let alone the cliffhanger.
ReplyDeleteI am waiting to watch the whole series in a binge. I watched "Breaking Bad" three times.
ReplyDelete@James
He's not "practicing law" in the "present," because he paid to go into "deep undercover" at the end of "Breaking Bad." He's in hiding.
I purposefully read a recap of last year‘s storylines so that I would be up to speed to watch the final season of “Better Call Saul”. And, I’ve gone back to rewatch the first scene of season one so that I can pick up on all the items in the house. I am so looking forward to seeing how this plays out and I’m so happy Bob Odenkirk is well.
ReplyDeleteBeen too long for sure. I had to look it up. BCS was last on the air in April of 2020! So yeah, it's good to see everyone again, especially Bob Odenkirk after that heart attack. Whew.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what will happen with Kim, but I sure want to see Rhea Seehorn in everything after this. What a talent.
It HAS been too long since the last season. Ended with Ignacio "betraying" that dark, smooth, scary relative of his boss, whom he switched drug on.
ReplyDeleteTHAT guy rivals the future Gustavo Fring on the scary meter.
IF this were a "review" I'd ask what constitutes "filler". Maybe that walk in the desert, what else?
I don't look forward to this series ending - can't get enough of Rhea Seehorn, you know.
Justified and The Americans also had slightly inferior penultimate seasons. It seems like maybe there's some difficulty in getting from where you are to where you want to be for the big finish and having enough material to properly fill that next to last season.
ReplyDeleteUltimately, BREAKING BAD fans know the ending. It’s where we meet Saul when he enters the BREAKING BAD world. But will that be the ending? I’m guessing not.
ReplyDeleteMy recollection: at the beginning of Season Five (which was two years ago so I'm not doing SPOILER ALERT! for anyone catching up oh wait I guess I am), we saw Saul/Jimmy/Gene in the Omaha mall getting ID'd by that creepy cab driver guy, and getting ready to do another skip with his loose diamonds, before changing his mind and (apparently) deciding to head back to Albuquerque to settle some shit, and the whole Gene of Cinnabon arc was post-Walter White.
I'm looking forward to finding out where Kim was for that whole arc (just don't kill her!)
One thing that surprised me watching last night: I had completely forgotten that Ed Begley Jr had a fairly big recurring role
and as long as we're talking: Anybody else think. Michael McKean should've gotten and Emmy for Chuck McGill?
The big question is what happens to Kim!
ReplyDeleteSomehow she’ll be gone by the time Walt and Jessie show up.
Friday question for you. I think you've mentioned in the past you've worked in writer's rooms that has a non-writing typist.
ReplyDeleteSince that person isn't getting writing credit, or in the writing union, if they make a joke that's worth using can you use it?
For a cheap little thrill, go back and watch the 1983 love-it-or-hate-it Al Pacino tour de force "Scarface". When Tony travels to Bolivia to see the drug kingpin Alejandro Sosa*, the nonspeaking, looming presence of his capo/bodyguard/whatever (he's the guy who arranges to off F. Murray Abraham) is played by Mark Margolis... sans wheelchair and bell. An incredible character actor, as evidenced by the terror he projects on "Better Call Saul"!
ReplyDelete(*= Played by the late Paul Shenar. If you think you've ever heard a real "radio voice", this guy flips ALL the cards!)
Great show, but it does have its slow points. Its fun seeing the characters from Breaking Bad coming into play. I'm finally watching season 5 on Netflix, so no spoilers please.
ReplyDeleteInteresting question - can (should) a TV writer use a joke from a scribe?
ReplyDeleteThis calls to a drunk Don Draper using Danny Siegel's "cure for the common breakfast" "idea" - which was "approved" by a Life Cereal exec.
Peggy called him out - so Draper offered Siegel (second offer) a hundred bucks for it. Don "rewarded" Peggy by hiring him and making her his supervisor.
@Russ - Paul Shenar played Orson Welles in the very good telefilm "The Night That Panicked America".
ReplyDeleteI know exactly how you feel about BCS. I hadn't realized how much I missed this show until I watched it last night. So we'll written and well produced. It's companion podcast is frequently pretty good, too. And, yes, I also need Kim to live.
ReplyDeleteIt felt like I'd been starving for two years and was finally sitting down to a feast. I was glued to it the entire time. You're right about the filler last season. That desert episode could have been handled in 20 minutes. I fast-forwarded through most of it. If the rest of this season is as good as last night's episodes, it's going out with a bang.
ReplyDeleteit's all good man...
ReplyDeleteTotally off subject. Watched "The Late Show" tonight. LOVE Colbert. Guest was Neil deGrasse Tyson. I'm a huge "science" person. But somehow, this person managed to come across as an annoying, egotistical JERK. Yes, I've witnessed him being interviewed for years. Tonight? I found it cartoonish. He is no longer assisting "science." We SO desperately need to understand it, in this age. I just cringed through the entire interview. Just ego on crack. UGH.
ReplyDeleteObviously they are going to kill Kim. Breaking Bad shows us how it ends.
ReplyDeleteWhat I think would be a cool ending. They don't kill Kim. She was there the whole time, and at the end of Breaking Bad, Jimmy just left without telling her.
They better give us a scene in that bathroom with that toilet. I so much loved that cold open but at the same time it made me so sad to remember this is all coming to an end soon. :(
ReplyDeleteIs it OK to discuss BCS plots? Here's mine.
ReplyDeleteThe palatial, decadent, Ozymandias-type Saul Goodman 'Temple of Justice' being cleared out, and Kim's treasured tequila stopper falling into the gutter is a huge clue. They must get the Sandpiper money to pay for that, which means Howard gets disbarred. But does he achieve the exoneration that Craig Kettleman didn't, and send Kim to jail? She can't testify against Saul. Maybe that's too much courtroom drama.
The Kettlemans? 'losing everything' to go to a trailer with an inflatable statue outside has to foreshadow Saul's fate.
I watched series 5 eps 6-10 again and have to say that in these, the Kim character really made major strides. Remember the scene of the girl (Kim) with the cello, waiting to be picked up from school?