Better Call Saul

ahem, German engineer

As well as the possible alibi, Fring keeping the manager back shows us something of him that we haven’t met before. He’s not been an asshole boss in the past, he’s caring and respectful of people despite his very precise and demanding expectations. But here we get to see his weakness and stress during the bust under the gathered, mannered exterior, via him channeling his anger onto an innocent bystander. He has to endure this massive blow to his business without being able to ever show that he knows it’s his partner who’s responsible, and he vents that by making someone else inexplicably suffer at work, through no fault of their own.

Yes, well-put.

I thought the deal with the manager was just about Fring not wanting to be alone in the building when the call came in about the DEA sting. There was also a conversation on the way out between the manager and one of the staff about the fryer not being done properly (the manager said something about how he would fix it) so it wasn't just Fring being picky.

Uh, besides whatever of his own reasons Fring had for keeping the kid around, it was very explicitly about Fring being picky! Not sure how you read it another way.

it was all those things. but these were also all things we already knew about Fring.

I'll be honest: I'm finding some of the Fring/dead-drop plot a little confusing right now. I like having Fring still there, though...agree his story's a closed book, but I just like the character.

haha yeah I too have trouble following all the convoluted double-crossings and elliptical maneuverings. I content myself with the fact that none of it really matters.

Basically Gus paid 800K to protect his man in Lalo's inner circle.

Yeah, it more-or-less makes sense in my head but my gf was lost and I tried to lay it all out and, uh, well...

Nacho is stuck between overtly working for Lalo and covertly working for Gus
Gus forced Nacho to gain Lalo's confidence
Lalo is trying to take down Gus the only way he can (via his money, because execution is a no-go)
Crazy Eight got busted and was made a confidential informant contingent upon providing actionable intel to the DEA, and he's also reporting DEA info back to Lalo
The DEA followed a tip from Crazy Eight on a money drop
Nacho convinced Gus that he had to let the DEA grab the cash or Lalo would smell a rat
Gus deemed the money drop an acceptable loss and arranged a situation wherein the DEA would snag the money while the pick-up man got away

???
Profit!

haha

the only part of that I didn't get was why it was important that the pick-up man get away

Sacrifice pawns, protect rooks.

Can I just profess my absolute mortification over only just recently realizing that Crazy Eight was Crazy Eight? In my defense, it's been forever since I've seen the first season of Breaking Bad but I still can't believe I never put two and two together until they basically stuck a neon sign reading 'HEY VIEWERS, LOOK, IT'S THE GUY WALTER WHITE KILLED WITH A BIKE LOCK' under his face this season.

I would gather that Gus takes great pains to ensure that none of his men get arrested and wind up, say, becoming DEA informants.

Some of the most fan servicey things on this show have been the v superfluous origin stories like how crazy eight got his name or how hector got his bell (the latter explained in a long monologue lol)

Sacrifice pawns, protect rooks.

^^^

Can I just profess my absolute mortification over only just recently realizing that Crazy Eight was Crazy Eight?

I manage to forget this every season. If I ever rewatch Breaking Bad it'll probably come as a surprise when that nice quiet guy from the restaurant turns up as a nasty baddie.

I didn't make the connection either. Till just now. Onward.

I’ve forgotten everything the happens in Breaking Bad, which makes BCS more enjoyable, I think, and the alleged ‘fan service” goes over my head

Tbh I think it’s stretching it when every callback and character bit gets labelled as “fan service” - I’m not sure it’s a useful critique?

Aside from that I think this season’s been terrific - it’s always enjoyable but season 4 felt like a stepdown at the time

Almost forgot this last night--missed the 9:00, caught it at 11:00. Slightly confused by the end re Kim and her firm. (Not the photo, which I know will be explained. Just...in general.) I thought for sure I'd spotted Laurie Metcalf digging up soil at the site, but I checked, and no. Was that Kim?

lol at Mike wiring up his own cell phone charger

and Saul’s increasingly complicated schemes to keep the guy’s house standing

amazing work

This season has been so much fun, particularly compared to much of S4's morose wheel spinning.

Some great analysis in this thread.

This was definitely the funniest episode in some time. Jimmy and Kim recreating Kim's conversation with her client had me rolling. I needed that.

I had the same thought re the relative lightness of this ep and how needed it was

the only really dark turn was Jimmy explaining that he'd done all of the normal tricks and they were entering a different phase, only for Kim to immediately jump on board

I feel like there's this balance right now where he and Kim are going to end up pushing each other closer to the edge

Oh yeah, egging each other on in mutual bottle-throwing is not a path that ends anywhere good I fear. I love that they’ve gone this way with Kim and it isn’t merely jimmy dragging her unwilling into his bullshit

So I guess mike hooks up with gus out of count of Monte cristo game recognise game. Also I can’t remember how long he’s lived in New Mexico but I would have expected him to have at least a little Spanish - then again he doesn’t talk to that many people

The fall of Slippin' Kimmy is going to be so painful. This is the best tv show ever invented.

Agreed. I'm scared that the last time we see her is going to be in a dark alley where she's just handing goons envelopes of cash to go break someone's legs. Well, maybe not that bad, but you get the picture

Getting bored of the Acker storyline tbh. I couldn't give a fuck whether the old bastard gets kicked out of his house or not

Then think of it as the Kim storyline, since it is.

Is it me or was that last episode really boring?

It was you.

This storyline isn’t about Acker, it’s about Kim’s self-destructiveness, her frustration, and her moral compass

it was boring

So who was Max? Did I miss something?

yeah that escaped me also, so many details lost over the seasons

https://breakingbad.fandom.com/wiki/Max_Arciniega

my presumption is that they were a couple prior to Salamanca murdering him; the internets generally agree but it's open to interpretation

ah, thanks, never would have dug that one out

I should watch this show w/ the wiki open

yeah that was my interpretation too

it explains the deeeeeep need for revenge & the way the Salamancas have always treated Fring

Somebody, I think Lalo, referred to Fring with a homophobic slur and referred to Max's murder earlier this season. They're laying out there for the attentive viewer.

Which would make Gale Boetticher on Breaking Bad kind of an echo of Max? (Gus also paid for his education, I think...or least he said something about a scholarship when he tried to explain their relationship to Hank.)

yep

I never suspected a sexual relationship between gus and gale tbh

yes me neither

i dont get that vibe from them at all

Between gus and max otoh, definitely

def