As I am sure many of y'all already know, a spinoff of "Breaking Bad" titled "Better Call Saul" will be airing in 2014. This is going to be a prequel to Breaking Bad and will be based on the character of Saul Goodman from "Breaking Bad."
I, for one, will be watching. I'm sure the majority of all of you other "Breaking Bad" fans will be as well. Might as well get the discussion going sooner rather than later.
So... what are your hopes, expectations and/or concerns with the show? Here are some of mine:
Hopes: I hope to see Saul do his thing in the courtroom. I hope to see strong, unique supporting characters. I hope to see Breaking Bad foreshadowing. I hope he has an intriguing paralegal and/or assistant. I hope to see Breaking Bad characters such as Fring, Mike, etc...whoever. I hope the show kicks ass.
Expectations: I don't expect it to be as good as "Breaking Bad" (because nothing else is, really), but I expect it to be good since Vince Gilligan is writing. I somewhat expect it to have an even balance of comedy and drama...since Saul undeniably provides a substantial amount of comedic relief in "Breaking Bad." I expect to see "courtroom Saul." I expect the "Breaking Bad" references and character cameos to be less than what I hope. If it isn't even a fraction as good as "Breaking Bad," I expect it to be better than 95% of everything else on TV, since there is some shitty shit on TV these days.
Concerns: I'd be a liar if I were to say that I didn't think this show has potential of flopping and certainly failing to meet the presumed high expectations of the audience. Don't get me wrong, I think it will be good... but I think it COULD suck if not executed properly. My main concern is Saul ultimately proving himself to be a "little dab will do ya" type of character, which would lead to a show centered around his character not working out. I am hoping that the character of Saul will not be so over-used and constantly over the top, that he becomes annoying to me, thus ruining his character for me altogether... Not saying I think this will be how it goes down...just saying I think there is a CHANCE of this being the case, which prompts me to believe that a strong supporting cast is VITAL in terms of the amount of success/quality this show will accumulate. All in all, I don't think VG will steer us in an unfortunate direction though...I think they'll pull it off.
Originally Posted by B_Ambuehl:
Of course she knows it. There was a tape of Jimmy confessing to it which she heard in court. She never gave much of a damn because she is the one that put in the work to get the account & Howard went out of his way several times to screw her over on that deal. Remember, she put in the work getting mesa verde at a time when Hamlin was punishing her for Jimmy's nursing home commercial incident (which she didn't even know about) by putting her in the basement doing billing. She went out and hustled up that Mesa Verde account all by herself, then Hamlin rewarded her by keeping her in the basement doing billing, not even letting her work the case. Next, she decided to quit Hamlin & start her own practice, the first client she called was Mesa Verde and met with Paige. Paige sounded enthusiastic about working with her, but then Chuck scheduled a meeting with them (mesa verde) and convinced them to stay with Hamlin. Only then did Jimmy execute the "switching addresses" incident. At this point Kim had been screwed over 3 times as it pertains to HHM & Mesa Verde. I don't think she feels much guilt at all over that deal with mesa verde.
I think she probably feels bad about having to expose Chuck in court the way they did and she knows that is what led to his demise, and is torn between that and Chucks hatred of Jimmy and how badly it affected Jimmy. So a situation like the letter from Chuck creates a big time emotional conflict for her. It would have been easier had the letter painted Chuck as the asshole towards Jimmy that she knew.
Your post is a great example of why this series needs to be watched all at once, again, once it ends.
So many plot points get missed or forgotten over time. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Baby Lee:
She knows Chuck alleged it. But she also knows how outlandish an allegation it is, and how Chuck went loony and passed out at the Kinkos trying bully the kid at the counter to prove it.
I don't think we've had a scene to firmly establish Kim's suspicions either way. She could think it's possible, but she probably thinks it's crazy.
I was inline with your thinking until I came back across the episode last night. Now, I believe even before hearing the tape she knew, or strongly believed, that Jimmy did actually do everything that Chuck alleged.
After Chuck accused Jimmy of changing the address, her and Jimmy were laying in bed together. She told him basically that Chuck was a shark and if he tasted one tiny bit of blood he would never stop - basically saying if Jimmy left one tiny bit of evidence, Chuck would find it and never stop until he proved it. That was the point that Jimmy grabbed his keys & headed over to the all night copy place.
To me, she assumed Jimmy had done it and told him to clean it up so that there was no evidence of it. [Reply]
The audio and visuals coalesce nicely. The transactions occur from the POV of the trunk, and the soundtrack is Street Life I originally used in Jackie Brown. . . :-)
Originally Posted by Baby Lee:
She knows Chuck alleged it. But she also knows how outlandish an allegation it is, and how Chuck went loony and passed out at the Kinkos trying bully the kid at the counter to prove it.
I don't think we've had a scene to firmly establish Kim's suspicions either way. She could think it's possible, but she probably thinks it's crazy.
That's why you and I view her emotions differently.
I think she knows he did it. I think as a trained lawyer, she'd know about mnemonics training and in the dark recesses of her soul, knows full well that Chuck was telling the truth and Jimmy changed those numbers.
That's why I say her response was guilt - I think she knows that these gains are ill-gotten, even if she wasn't directly responsible. [Reply]
^^ It was pretty clear Kim knew that Jimmy had the ability skirt the law all the way back to when she refused to open the law firm with him as partners. [Reply]
What's up w/Kim dissing Mesa Verde for some low life? I think they're starting the downfall of Kim. I could see her having a bad ending, leading to the ultimate reason Jimmy ends up working at Cinnabon. [Reply]
Originally Posted by MahiMike:
What's up w/Kim dissing Mesa Verde for some low life? I think they're starting the downfall of Kim. I could see her having a bad ending, leading to the ultimate reason Jimmy ends up working at Cinnabon.
I think it needs to be said that BCS continues to explore the intricacies of morality in ways that other shows simply don't have the acumen to even try.
We've moved on from Jimmy-v-Chuck, where the conversation was 'is being moral is determining from the outset your are 'good' and following a strict set of rules from then on, or is it striving every day to do your best and improve on the past?'
Is moral what you are? Or what you strive towards?
Now, there is an interesting dynamic between Jimmy and Kim.
Both have have a safe, moral, lawful, etc. path.
Jimmy earn his daily wage at the cellular store until his licensure is restored
Kim earn her retainer being constantly available and prepared to meet her client's needs.
It seems on the surface that Jimmy is delving into something devious, dangerous and shady by going out after hours and marketing his wares for their less honorable capabilities. And this surface judgment is reinforced by the 'shady' people he interacts with, and the thugs who roll him for his profits when they spy a chance.
But what is he doing that is amoral? He's being proactive in advancing his employer's interests. He's connecting the [legal] product to people who would eventually think to seek it out themselves [recall, a big plot point in The Wire was the crew sending corner boys up and down the coast to buy burners 1 or 2 at a time at every random convenience store they came across].
He's serving his employer well, and being a good laborer by tapping into a legal need, even if the supposition is that it is a need that eventually fills nefarious purposes.
OTOH, Kim has a clear directive as counsel on retainer to Mesa Verde. They pay her handsomely and she pledges to devote her skills exclusively [or at least explicitly primarily] to their interests. But the same pain, wanderlust and ego drives her to ply her wares surreptitiously as pro bono counsel in the petty criminal courts.
Again, on the surface, her actions are altruistic and noble. But she, unlike Jimmy, is more explicitly undermining her employer's expectations.
I really enjoy how far and wide the show can make you just sit and ponder 'who exactly is in the wrong here? If anybody . . . ' [Reply]
