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.
And Mike is already a certified badass. I was thinking he developed that post Philadelphia - now I am even more curious about his activities back east.
Originally Posted by KC_Connection: So it was Chuck's betrayal that was the catalyst behind Jimmy's transformation into Saul. Heartbreaking. All because Chuck couldn't accept his own brother as any kind of an equal. It's a shame, because unlike the despicable Walt who enjoyed his own fall in BB, Jimmy clearly never wanted to be that person.
I thinks that remains to be seen. But it's a good start!
Originally Posted by eDave:
I thinks that remains to be seen. But it's a good start!
Oh, if Chuck actually supported Jimmy rather than selfishly stabbing him in the back, I think it's pretty safe to say now that his Saul turn never happens. [Reply]
Originally Posted by KC_Connection:
Oh, if Chuck actually supported Jimmy rather than selfishly stabbing him in the back, I think it's pretty safe to say now that his Saul turn never happens.
From a narrative standpoint, the best thing about last night's episode is that it answered the question of why Chuck would work with Howard. Hamlin is a scumbag, but he can't hold a candle to the cocksuckery of Chuck.
I think it was Baby Lee who posted the Michael-Fredo clip earlier. Now, imagine if Fredo had busted his ass from a grunt to a trusted counsel, kept Michael afloat after some of the other families tried to freeze him out and/or off him, and secured a massive casino deal for Michael that was legitimate and sustainable. Then Michael shot him in the fucking head.
Because of where he got his law degree?
That would be like Vito Corleone whacking Tom Hagen because he was Irish. [Reply]
In the real world, if you were a by the book attorney, WOULD you hire Jimmy? He's trying, but he does still slip back into insurance scams for $$ and faked rescues for publicity. Maybe Chuck owes him more as a brother, but how much more as a Partner in a firm responsible for 100s of employees and 1000s of clients?
And how much is Hamlin an asshole? Or how much is he just a committed heel in Chuck's machinations? How much does his nature conveniently coincide with Chuck's directives? [Reply]
Chuck is in a mental institution right now if not for Jimmy, HHM is liquidated, and Jimmy likely has control of millions of dollars.
If he was as lecherous as Chuck claimed, Chuck would be stuffing his mylar blanket over fluorescent lights in a padded room. Chuck is smart enough to know this, and yet, in spite of seeing the case he made and the sacrifices he made, tirelessly, as a sign of his character and ability, he rat fucks him and then cooks up a bullshit excuse about Jimmy's character as the rationale.
Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins:
It truly is astounding.
Chuck is in a mental institution right now if not for Jimmy, HHM is liquidated, and Jimmy likely has control of millions of dollars.
If he was as lecherous as Chuck claimed, Chuck would be stuffing his mylar blanket over fluorescent lights in a padded room. Chuck is smart enough to know this, and yet, in spite of seeing the case he made and the sacrifices he made, tirelessly, as a sign of his character and ability, he rat fucks him and then cooks up a bullshit excuse about Jimmy's character as the rationale.
That's just flat out fucking evil.
Yeah, but how much of that couldn't be legitimately viewed like the legal profession's version of Cassel being a hard worker and determined student of the QB position? [Reply]
Originally Posted by Baby Lee:
Yeah, but how much of that couldn't be legitimately viewed like the legal profession's version of Cassel being a hard worker and determined student of the QB position?
And before this goes too far afield, I'm not trying to come across as a blanket Chuck apologist. I'm saying that the hints and whispers of both legitimate positions and horrible cruelty/rank unprofessionalism on both sides enrich the story. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Baby Lee:
Yeah, but how much of that couldn't be legitimately viewed like the legal profession's version of Cassel being a hard worker and determined student of the QB position?
If Jimmy's character were as poor as Chuck claimed, Chuck isn't in his home, and Chuck knows that.
Like an abusive partner, he's destroying someone's self-esteem to the point where they act in a manner that validates that low perception of their worth.
Jimmy isn't demanding to sidle up to Hamlin on the billboard. He doesn't want the franchise, he wants a spot on the team, and he's certainly earned that. [Reply]
Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins:
If Jimmy's character were as poor as Chuck claimed, Chuck isn't in his home, and Chuck knows that.
Like an abusive partner, he's destroying someone's self-esteem to the point where they act in a manner that validates that low perception of their worth.
Jimmy isn't demanding to sidle up to Hamlin on the billboard. He doesn't want the franchise, he wants a spot on the team, and he's certainly earned that.
He's not claiming Jimmy has poor character as a person, just that his character makes him susceptible to shortcuts in the law, which has actually proven both truer and less true than Chuck even knows.
Like the Cassel example, you can admire a lot about him and still not want him under center for your team in your chosen profession. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Baby Lee:
He's not claiming Jimmy has poor character as a person, just that his character makes him susceptible to shortcuts in the law, which has actually proven both truer and less true than Chuck even knows.
Like the Cassel example, you can admire a lot about him and still not want him under center for your team in your chosen profession.
I don't see the legitimacy of the analogy. Cassel is the face of the franchise. Jimmy would just be a lawyer in a massive firm. He's proven himself capable of doing grunt work and going the extra mile for clients. A seat at the table isn't the head of the table.
On top of that, HHM doesn't exactly value hard work or integrity. Look at what happened to Kim Wexler when the Kettlemans irrationally left. A non-cocksucker of a boss would see the deal she secured for them and think she did a tremendous job, because 16 months in a county jail for 1.6 million of embezzlement is pretty damned solid in an Enron climate. Furthermore, they certainly showed no qualms towards fucking the lynchpin of the firm over. [Reply]
The odd thing is that Chuck still cares about Jimmy in his own way. But out of his own pride/ego, he just can't envision a world in which the two are anything close to equal. He has an image of himself as the hard-working, righteous learned lawyer and an image of his brother as Slippin' Jimmy and refuses to alter those ideas in his mind regardless of the preponderance of evidence in front of him. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Baby Lee:
He's not claiming Jimmy has poor character as a person, just that his character makes him susceptible to shortcuts in the law, which has actually proven both truer and less true than Chuck even knows.
Like the Cassel example, you can admire a lot about him and still not want him under center for your team in your chosen profession.
Jimmy just developed a brilliant game plan and led his team through a couple of drives using nothing but his arm and moxie.. He doesn't need to be your starter, but it doesn't hurt to keep him on the team for a few weeks. [Reply]
