Better Call Saul 6.11.

Aug 02, 2022 11:45



In which we get a mixture of Gene black and white post BB and BB era Saul, to wit, the Saul pov of his initial debut in season 2 of Breaking Bad. Were the new Walt and Jesse scenes strictly necessary? No, they could have reused BB material to make the point they wanted to make about how Saul initially saw Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, and to underline the paralels to the Gene & Jeff & Third Guy Whose Name I don't Remember set up. Were they good fan service? Absolutely. Sure, Aaron Paul needs a lot of bad lightning to pass for s2 era Jesse Pinkman in his early 20s these days, but the Walt and Jesse bickering complete with Walt's lecturing on how a car battery works (or doesn't) was great fun.

This said, the most emotional moment certainly was Gene's conversation with Francesca - both by itself, and btw, good to know what happened to Francesca, and for the moment she mentioned that Kim called in the aftermath of the great Walter White scandal, both to find out about Francesca and to ask whether Jimmy was still alive. You could see Gene-Saul-Jimmy melt and regain hope right there. Now, since we didn't get to hear the ensueing phone call to Florida and only saw him react, and based on what he does afterwards, I would venture to guess whatever Kim is doing in Florida, she's not in a good state, and the reason why Gene suddenly needs to make cash fast is because he thinks she needs it for some reason. (That, and he likes feeling alive and scamming again, but really I think the main motive is whatever is currently happening with Kim.)

(Can't decide whether Kim having cancer would be too much or fit thematically.)

Regarding the BB era Saul flashbacks: it makes very much sense that Saul thought Walt and Jesse were just the kind of (useful) mooks Jeff and his friend are, remarkable only in that Walt could cook that shiny blue meth, and that Walt having cancer was if anything a plus, since it meant he would not be around for long (much as Gene argues about the last of Gene's marks). Mike's warnings that Walt is a complete amateur and that Saul should therefore let him be thus are destined to remain unheard. (Mind you, Mike manages to be right and wrong about Walt at the same time - Walt WAS a complete amateur, but the reason why everyone should have stayed away from him wasn't because he didn't have enough criminal expertise, and he would get the lot of them killed or life-ruined for another reason altogether.)

I forgot to mention this last week, but note how both the scenes where Jeff finds his mother Marian with Gene are filmed. Yes, on one level it's Slippin' Jimmy doing his endearing himself to the elderly thing, but on another level it's hardened criminal Saul/Gene pulling the oldest Mafia trick in the book - the implicit threat that says "I can get to the person you care about most at any time". In short, exactly what Lalo did to him and Kim.

Re: the scam with the photographed credit and id cards and passwords - presumably to weasel away money with the marks noticing only months later when they get the bills, and no idea who did it and why. That our antihero uses the pseudonym "Viktor" - as in, Viktor and Giselle, the first time Kim joined him in a con - for this further convinces me he's doing this for Kim somewhow (or thinks he does). Btw, I also think he didn't talk with Kim directly, he talked with someone who told him about how she's doing. That Gene knows exactly where Kim lives and how to reach her - note he didn't have to ask Francesca for this - indicates he kept an eye to where she went in his Saul years, but respected her wish to remain apart, with now Francesca's news that Kim asked about him (and his loneliness) overriding this.

Lastly, Gene going back to the last mark despite the heightened risk factor: like I said. He would never do this just on his own account, not in the sitiuation he's in. He'd do it for Kim.

Guesses for the future: a few more Saul flashbacks perhaps, but not necessarily. Possibly a reunion with Jesse, though I don't think so. Definitely a reunion with Kim, though whether happy or sad, I have no idea.

episode review, better call saul, breaking bad

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