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Thread: Better Call Saul

  1. #51
    Bark! Go away Russ's Avatar
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    "We eventually managed to find them near Biskupin, where demonstrations of prehistoric farming are organized. These oxen couldn't be transported to anywhere else, so we had to built the entire studio around them. A scene that lasted twenty-something seconds took us a year and a half to prepare."

  2. #52
    This is precisely the kind of finale that will likely frustrate those who are expecting something comparable to the particular thrills of Breaking Bad's later seasons ("Face Off" or "Full Measure" it is not). That's not a complaint. Kudos to the writers for prioritizing the integrity of the story and committing to its distinct pace, rhythm, and concerns. It asks those who were onboard for Breaking Bad's season 5B roller coaster to slow down and acclimate to something comparatively more languid and nascent (this isn't an evaluative point; just noting the obvious differences between the two).

    Some folks are struggling with this, though, and were clearly expecting a more shocking or intense cliffhanger. I've seen people complaining about Gould's strikingly gaudy montage, and arguing that this ought to have been cut. Ridiculous. Making allowances for that sort of thing is part of the unique flavour of this show.

    Tuco seemed a bit shoehorned in near the beginning, and felt very much like an awkward way to ingratiate BB fans. It wasn't a preposterous development, and it gave us a new character (Nacho), but still, I'm glad the show ended up marching to the beat of its own drum.

    Should we have seen more of Marco and Jimmy's relationship throughout the season, though? I'm still undecided about that.
    Last edited by Gittes; 04-07-2015 at 10:45 PM.

  3. #53
    Winston* Classic Winston*'s Avatar
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    Oh. I didn't realise that was the final episode. Ending makes more sense now.

  4. #54
    By the way, Emily Nussbaum has finally weighed in. Unsurprisingly, it's a good piece. Liked these quoted bits (see below) in particular. In the second quote, her compelling argument recalls Irish's complaint from the first page (as he put it, "a distinct lack of focus"). I understand the criticism, but I still think there's enough connective thematic tissue and coherence here, even if Gilligan et al's "by the seat of our pants" writing tendencies (i.e. no rigorous, long-term planning) feels more noticeable.

    As for her next point, in the same quote bubble, I agree. I really hope Betsy Kettleman returns next season. I already liked the character whole lot, but Nussbaum really crystallizes the appeal and makes me feel more assured in thinking of her as one of the season's major draws.

    Taste has its own algorithms. Do you enjoy neon signs, closeups of coffee cups, and men smiling with angry eyes? (I do.) Do you think an extended gag about a toilet-training potty that says “Gosh, you’re big” is hilarious? (I did not.) Do you fantasize about being as confident in your macho wisdom as Mike? (Maybe?)

    It’s a pungent, anarchic sequence, but after that episode the show seemed to lose focus, hopping from case to case, from style to style. One week, it’s a thriller; another, it’s a quirky procedural, full of thickly drawn portraits of loser clients; then it’s a solemn noir about Mike Ehrmantraut’s past. Ideas are invoked but not fully developed: Jimmy pulls off a phony-baloney P.R. stunt; he gets into elder law and plans to sue an old-age home. During more inconsistent episodes, I found myself craving the return of “Better Call Saul”’s standout character, the normcore grifter Betsy Kettleman, a suburban mom who stashes her cash in the bathroom of her McMansion. As played by Julie Ann Emery, with a fabulous air of unearned outrage, Betsy feels as dangerous as any thug: there’s weird comedy in her intractable insistence—even to the lawyer who saw her bag of cash—that she’s innocent. With her pursed lips and her bland bob, the character has echoes of “Breaking Bad”’s uptight Lydia, and of the whole nagging-wife dynamic that haunted Skyler White. But Emery’s oddball intensity makes Betsy feel like an original, less grounded in nostalgia than the show around her is, but well matched to its noir satisfactions.
    Last edited by Gittes; 04-07-2015 at 09:31 PM.

  5. #55
    Winston* Classic Winston*'s Avatar
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    Never noticed the ring in Breaking Bad.


  6. #56
    A Platypus Grouchy's Avatar
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    Wow, that ring thing is an amazing detail. I didn't notice it either.

    Was this a season finale? Fuck. I didn't watch it with that in mind.

  7. #57
    What is best in life? D_Davis's Avatar
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    Amazing.

    The bingo speech was exceptional, masterful delivery.

    I like this SO MUCH more than the first season of Breaking Bad, but then again I don't think I'd be nearly as interested in it if it weren't for Breaking Bad.

    I guess that's an impossible question for me to answer.

    All I do know is that I love the show, and Odenkirk is fucking brilliant.
    Last edited by D_Davis; 04-14-2015 at 10:35 PM.

  8. #58
    Since 1929 Morris Schæffer's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Gittes (view post)
    (Odenkirk was hyping an upcoming Mike-centric episode during a recent interview: "I know there's one episode with a great focus on the Mike character that is as dark as anything they've written [...] that, I've heard, is just a powerhouse").
    Which I saw today and my God he wasn't kidding! Take a bow Mr. Banks, that was brilliantly acted. I'm surprised and delighted by how smoothly this show's gone down so far. I was skeptical what with this being a spin-off, but it manages to make time fly by and somehow keeping Breaking Bad pretty much out of it. It's extraordinary, and manages to be so despite plots we've seen a million times before. Sometimes it doesn't even feel like there's much happening at all, but then I've finally become an Odenkirk devotee. Man just kills every scene.

    Edit: "Nacho is not-cho guy."
    Last edited by Morris Schæffer; 08-02-2015 at 03:15 PM.
    [+] closer to next rating / [-] closer to previous rating

    • Dark (S3) ✦✦✦½ [-]
    • Fall (Mann, 2022) ✦✦✦½ [-]
    • Ms. Marvel (S1) ✦½ [+]
    • Dark (S2) ✦✦✦✦
    • Moon Knight (S1) ✦✦½ [-]
    • Get Carter (Hodges, 1971) ✦✦✦½ [+]
    • Prey (Trachtenberg, 2022) ✦✦✦ [-]
    • Black Bird (S1) ✦✦✦✦
    • Better Call Saul (S6) ✦✦✦½ [+]
    • Halo (S1) ✦✦✦ [-]
    • Slow Horses (S1) ✦✦✦½ [+]
    • H4Z4RD (Govaerts, 2022/BE) ✦✦½ [-]
    • Gangs of London (S1) ✦✦✦½ [+]
    • We Own This City (S1) ✦✦✦½ [+]
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  9. #59
    Since 1929 Morris Schæffer's Avatar
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    S'all good. Pretty great really. Powerful and when it ever so slightly detours into tension territory, as tense as any great thriller. By the way, I didn't notice at all, but my brother did. In the penultimate episode, in that parking garage:

    [+] closer to next rating / [-] closer to previous rating

    • Dark (S3) ✦✦✦½ [-]
    • Fall (Mann, 2022) ✦✦✦½ [-]
    • Ms. Marvel (S1) ✦½ [+]
    • Dark (S2) ✦✦✦✦
    • Moon Knight (S1) ✦✦½ [-]
    • Get Carter (Hodges, 1971) ✦✦✦½ [+]
    • Prey (Trachtenberg, 2022) ✦✦✦ [-]
    • Black Bird (S1) ✦✦✦✦
    • Better Call Saul (S6) ✦✦✦½ [+]
    • Halo (S1) ✦✦✦ [-]
    • Slow Horses (S1) ✦✦✦½ [+]
    • H4Z4RD (Govaerts, 2022/BE) ✦✦½ [-]
    • Gangs of London (S1) ✦✦✦½ [+]
    • We Own This City (S1) ✦✦✦½ [+]
    • Thor: Love and Thunder (Waititi, 2022) ✦✦ [+]


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