And then after seeing Kim do all that work to FINALLY get that big close we're somewhat invested in her struggle and when Hamlin kicks her in the gut we feel it too....
There really was nothing relevant or of substance that couldn't have been covered in 15 mins. It's like when you were in HS and you had a 6 page double typed essay due and you didn't really know what to write about so you messed around with the font, paragraphs spacing and rambled on about **** that wasn't really pertinent to meet the minimum requirement. We've all been there at one point or another. I think the reason why a lot of people are frustrated is because there actually is a lot of important stuff and exciting storylines and action that we've been neglected from this season (thus far).
I think more people enjoy these episodes rather than being frustrated... Hence why they continue to watch. I agree that not much actually happens from episode to episode... Yet they are still more entertaining than the usual formulaic prime time dramas with umpteen story-lines and over-the-top events. Why do you think that is?
I watch it because the acting is brilliant and the build up especially the previews week to week makes it seem like it's really about to pop off but it's been disappointing IMO. I'll continue to watch but I'd be lying if I said the last episode was satisfying even in the least bit.
I'll stop you right there- you can say what you want about not liking it, but by no means is it because of filler. If anything, they literally have several different ways they can go on this- and if you don't like their choices, fine, but it has absolutely nothing to do with filler.
OK, I didn't get to respond at length b/c I've been traveling from California back to Texas, but I went to the Paley Festival last Saturday to watch the Better Call Saul event, and I had a 4th row ticket- right behind were 6 seats labeled Reserved. Well, turns out that it was the writers of BCS, including Gordon Smith and the lady who wrote Rebecca - her name's Anne or Anna or something- and the director John Shibian or something like that. Anyway, I talked to them before and after the show b/c the writer was literally in the seat behind me- if they ever put up a video of the event, you'll see b/c they panned the camera out twice to recognize- anyway, I told her that this was the Kim episode and also, as an Administrator of a BCS Facebook fan page, I knew that inevitably some were gonna say it was slow. Her response, paraphrasing, was that it was all about the characters not getting to where they wanted to be - Jimmy wants free reign and now he's being babysat, Kim wants to move up - or at least get out of doc review but Hamlin's holding her back, and Mike just wanted this to be a one-time incident to get $25,000 for Tuco beating him up, and now Hector's in the picture. and the reason they gave Kim so much screen time was that we already know Jimmy and Mike's dilemma and can sum them up easily- they wanted to emphasize Kim b/c this act- Hamlin's dickishness- after all her hard work spurs her to big decisions later in the season. Some of that is paraphrased, but she did say that was the common theme among all 3 of those characters and that they all made a "together" decision to show Kim's persistence at length. So, take it for what it's worth. I have a feeling that, now that each has this albatross on their back- they make decisions that affect the rest of the season, and it picks up. But we had the same complaints from a few on the Facebook page- too slow, filler- I agree with the slow, but definitely not with the filler.
You're probably asking the wrong person- you're talking about someone who drove from Lubbock to Hollywood to attend the Better Call Saul event at the Paley Festival- so it would take a lot for me not to watch all the episodes. But sure, if it's too boring, I wouldn't watch. I just don't happen to find it boring- then again, I'm not expecting it to be as compelling as Breaking Bad. I like Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti way more than I do In Through the Out Door (I'll listen to Physical Graffiti once a month and rate it as one of the top 10 albums of all time), but I'm going to listen to In Through The Out Door regularly as opposed to other group's albums which I'll probably listen to very rarely.
That's fair. I mean, I really do get it. For myself, I'm a ravenous Robin Hobb / Elderlings fan. There isn't really anything you could say about an Elderlings book to get me to not read it. Plus, a lot of the books (most of all the latest two) I see frequently criticized for "nothing happens." I mean, 80% of Fool's Assassin is basically the main character sitting around on a farm, with very little consequential plot to it. That drove a lot of people CRAZY, but for myself I genuinely enjoyed it. It served to illustrate the nature of his new life, and to develop new characters (even if said development came via mundane events). On the other hand, there are also parts of the good books (looking at you, first 1/4 of Fool's Errand) that are really dragged out more than they strictly need to be to get the point across. She could've gotten the plot of the first quarter of the book in a tenth of the time... and she could've maintained the "slow burn" feel by spending half the time she did. What she actually did though, is ultimately just hard to read... and I'm saying this as a guy who reads these books at least once every couple years. I don't hate it enough that I skip the section on subsequent reads... I still read it, but I'm making long-suffering sighs and looking forward to the good stuff the whole time. Then there are cases (entire Rain Wilds Chronicles, some of the shorts) where she just mailed the whole damn thing in, and it devolved into boring and pointless love triangles and filler. This last episode of BCS, for me, was like my item #2 above (whereas for you it was a #1, in other words "not boring at all"). I greatly enjoy the characters and the narrative as a whole, and I enjoy nothing more than a good slow-burn, well-developed, character-rich story. But sometimes, even writers I shamelessly name myself a fanboy of can produce a segment that makes me wish they'd left a little more on the cutting room floor. To each their own, though.
hmm, my impression was Mike wants more big jobs. A "one-time incident" would have been to get $50,000 for killing Tuco. He turned down the $50k assassination in order to have a repeat customer. I think he was concerned that "ringing a bell you cannot unring" would mean he'd likely never get another job from Nacho. The scene with the gun dealer alluded to that, too. The gun dealer didn't take the money "for his trouble," and said "My business is based on repeat customers." Then Mike figures out a way to fix Tuco that isn't "a bell you cannot unring" and takes less money to do so. imo, he did that to get a repeat customer. And he now meets the big guy, Hector. I think he wanted something like that to happen. I didn't view the Hector meeting as something Mike wanted to avoid...if he did, he'd just kill Tuco for $50k, instead, as a "one-time incident" as an unknown assassin. Then again, maybe Hector becomes big trouble for Mike. I don't know. Just thought getting in with the Salamanca's (or the like) was his intention when he changed the job.
guessing Jimmy will represent Mike and do something clever but unethical to get him out of the gun charge
so good <iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Fsw2NQb5xSA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
That's tricky, because helping Hector reduce the sentence on Tuco amounts to going back on his deal with Nacho. Don't think Mike cares about a gun charge vs issues with helping reduce Tuco's sentence. Plus, $5k isn't nearly enough for Mike to do that. Maybe Mike and Jimmy figure out a way to reduce Tuco's sentence without implicating Mike in Nacho's eyes.
Their thinking was that Mike wanted this one job to get his daughter-in-law into a new house and that he'd be perfectly happy going back to taking lower-level, non-dangerous work. He's clearly not expecting Hector nor happy at all at the end- matter of fact, it's rare for Mike to show that type of angry gesture. No, "ringing the bell you can't unring" means that if he kills Tuco, that's going to stir up way more potential trouble with the cartel than an arrest- and Mike was probably figuring that there's no way the cartel would tie him in with Nacho. He was just an old man who scratched a car and got hothead Tuco all riled up. The question is, how did Hector find out that Mike was a cop? Did Nacho somehow inform on Mike? I'm telling you, I really think Mike figured this was a one-time incident to get money to move his daughter-in-law into a new house. but I could be wrong.
Chuck/Hamlin/Kim/Mike/Cliff Main are all sympathetic characters Jimmy is not. Chuck and now Kim see him as pathetic and childish. He can't help behaving unethically, like a child can't help wetting the bed. And then he tries to save the situation after the fact with smooth talking or professions of regret. Kim was correct; the way Jimmy "makes it right" is by changing his future behavior, not saving her.
I agree with you. The look in Mike's eyes shows he didn't like the situation. The only thing that makes me think he changed the Tuco job in order to get more from Nacho is the meeting with the gun dealer. The writers made a point of talking the benefits of taking less money for repeat business. Well, I guess another thing is based on what we already know from BB -- Mike's seems more concerned about Kaylee...who we see for the first time in this episode. So, I'm thinking he already has a Kaylee Trust in mind and is tired of relying on the Dentist for low-paying gigs. Besides, "non-dangerous work" and "low-level" are not really synonymous. Mike wants high-level, relatively less-dangerous work...not being a thug or hitman. And doesn't he end up with that. Basically, the head of security? He'll never get that from the Dentist.
Also, this is no big deal. Mike's name is on the police report. He's the victim. How hard can it be for Tuco's lawyer to do a quick background check on Mike as due diligence. Hector doesn't need Nacho for that. Hell, the internet met suffice, too...at least to match that he was a police officer.
HeyP, I think you are reading waaaaay too much into that line from the arms dealer. There has been nothing to this point in the season to indicate that Mike WANTS to be in that game. He did it so he could get his daughter-in-law to a better place. He did that. And he specifically took less money by coming up with the "Old Man Riles up Tuco" plan so he would have a reasonable way to STAY out of that game. His reaction to Salamanca's offer was genuine. This is going to suck him back into that world.
The show literally can't move more slowly than it currently is which is a testament to the acting and gorgeous shot selection. This last episode was amazing from a cinematography standpoint. The scene with Kim getting the call was superb. The burn in of the lights in the first scene with Chuck was also cool. Totally agree with previous poster that folks who need to be entertained should watch Scandal. People keep wanting this show to pace and act like BB when it's a totally different animal. This isn't exactly TD2 which was just disjointed and poorly acted/written. We got a tease into Chucks life, and finally get to see Kim question whether or not this "right way" is worth it which is kinda the whole underlying theme of the show.
