Drama Better Call Saul! - Breaking Bad Spinoff A Go At AMC - Part 1

[Drizzle]

I thought someone owned the White house, did they get sick of fans or something and sell it...?

That rotting old pizza on the roof was probably getting to them.

 

[Kane52630]

F**kin incredible. Probably the best bow of a series finale to ever be put on a show(s). It encapsulates everything I've always loved about how Vince Gillian and co. operate in this world. No other show(s) has really got my attention to every little speck of detail like they do. And nobody does fanservice like they do because it actually adds to the overall narrative rather than be empty calories. Better Call Saul is probably going to be best remembered as the show that answers the question: "Can a spinoff of a beloved scripted drama be as good as the original?"

 

[Kane52630]

 

[P Supreme]

I was expecting Skyler White to show up since

Spoiler

since Marie showed up

my only complaint and that just me not getting one of my theories right lol

 

[Kane52630]

I can see why they didn't want to include Skyler because she was culpable with Walt. Marie was innocent aside from petty theft.

 

[kvz5]

From Reddit:

Kim was the one juror he needed to convince

 

[shauner111]

Anyone who knows me in real life will know how much of a Better Call Saul fan I've been. So I'm disappointed to say this but I absolutely hated the final episode last night. It was a complete bore. The last few eps have done nothing for me. Ever since a certain someone died, it just went downhill for me (I didn't care for the way they handled that either).

The fan service has been unnecessary and corny. Not believable at all as flashbacks.

The diamonds were for...thaaat? Really? What was the point of connecting Kim to Nebraska and then doing absolutely nothing with it once Saul goes there? Florida instead? Why? Nothing more with Huell? Or Burr? Nothing with Mike and Gus or Mike and his granddaughter? It's like everything just stopped at a halt once Kim skips town. As if they couldn't be bothered and just said "ehh can we get to future scenes already?".

As slow and dull as the season has been since they've been living in the black and white world...Even Kim's motivation for the whole Howard thing never really made sense to me. I was always waiting for a proper explanation (especially with how cold she was about it afterward).

I dunno, I'm not impressed at all. It felt like a super tired, lazy finale.

 

[antsman41]

Anyone who knows me in real life will know how much of a Better Call Saul fan I've been. So I'm disappointed to say this but I absolutely hated the final episode last night. It was a complete bore. The last few eps have done nothing for me. Ever since a certain someone died, it just went downhill for me (I didn't care for the way they handled that either).

The fan service has been unnecessary and corny. Not believable at all as flashbacks.

The diamonds were for...thaaat? Really? What was the point of connecting Kim to Nebraska and then doing absolutely nothing with it once Saul goes there? Florida instead? Why? Nothing more with Huell? Or Burr? Nothing with Mike and Gus or Mike and his granddaughter? It's like everything just stopped at a halt once Kim skips town. As if they couldn't be bothered and just said "ehh can we get to future scenes already?".

As slow and dull as the season has been since they've been living in the black and white world...Even Kim's motivation for the whole Howard thing never really made sense to me. I was always waiting for a proper explanation (especially with how cold she was about it afterward).

I dunno, I'm not impressed at all. It felt like a super tired, lazy finale.

Sounds like you didn't like "Better Call Saul" and you are a bigger fan of the "The Rise Of Gus Fringe" side of things... I'm sorry, because while that part is entertaining it's not the heart of this show.

Also, every flashback during the finale was poignant to the proceeding scene.

 

[Kane52630]

 

[Kane52630]

 

[Pennywise]

 

[antsman41]

[tears]

 

[Detective Conan]

I was expecting Skyler White to show up since

Spoiler

since Marie showed up

my only complaint and that just me not getting one of my theories right lol

Spoiler

Peter Gould(who obviously wrote and directed this ep) said that if this episode was longer he would’ve had Skyler return in this episode.

 

[BatLobster]

To me, BCS was a show that was a bit more like The Sopranos than Breaking Bad was. Breaking Bad was more operatic, dare I say a bit more 'cartoony' in places (honestly, the version of Saul we meet in BB is way more of a cartoon character than the person we get to know in this series), and all about tying up every loose end. The Sopranos was more about the subtlety and ambiguity, letting the audience fill in the gaps. And it was richer for it. BCS, to me, was kind of like a combination of both approaches.

I think BCS overall was more about the subtle moments, being more like-life, letting the audience make certain connections. Particularly when it came to Jimmy/Saul and Kim's story. Less so on the cartel side of things, which was more of a Breaking Bad prequel that was connecting dots.

I also think the second half of the finale season was more of an epilogue to both shows. I think Gus and Mike's stories were left in a place where everything connected to the characters we meet in Breaking Bad. We see the event that fully turns Saul into SAUL and drives him apart from Kim. So what's left was seeing Jimmy and Kim's ultimate fate. I think the final episodes delivered on that front. I too was left with a feeling of, "that's it?" when the credits rolled...but after sleeping on it, I honestly think that it overall was the right ending for the story they told in the show. I can't say it's an ending that I'm unhappy with.

Jimmy chose prison as his retirement. Even before he realized it-- I totally believe he wanted to get caught and that's why he was acting so sloppy. His life in Nebraska was ALREADY a prison for him. At heart, he's a survivor. The crooks he's locked up with are his people. They see him as their champion. And he's getting along just fine with them. So, in the end justice is served, he gets what he deserves, but there was still a piece of him that loved Kim and wanted to try and do one last thing to set things right with her and couldn't stomach the idea of her having her life ruined. If I can buy Walter White's one last act of "good", I can buy this. In the end, the guy who made a career out of getting lowlives out of jailtime ends up representing himself in court and doing the opposite for himself. I can appreciate the irony of that.

Sure, this wasn't a mind-blowing, "OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" bombshell sort of finale, but I think it was true to the show, which has always been a slow-burn.

 

[Kane52630]

Yeah there's no way anyone watching Better Call Saul after everything they've seen and know how the mechanics work think it was going to end like Walt did in Breaking Bad where he went out in a blaze of glory. It was never going for a common big pop ending.

 

[Brother Jack]

Perfect ending. Perfect show.

 

[shauner111]

Sounds like you didn't like "Better Call Saul" and you are a bigger fan of the "The Rise Of Gus Fringe" side of things... I'm sorry, because while that part is entertaining it's not the heart of this show.

Also, every flashback during the finale was poignant to the proceeding scene.

The flashbacks with Walt and Jesse stuck out like a sore thumb. Just like in El Camino with a chubby older Jesse and fat Todd. I’d cut them all.

I’ve been a huge BcS fan. But this was not very good sorry. I’ve been rewatching Breaking Bad (I’m on season 5) and it’s still the king of television. Over Better Call Saul. Over The Sopranos.

The Kim and Jimmy stuff is the heart of the show yes, but I don’t like what they’ve done with them since she left. Even before she left, I feel like it’s been nothing but holes, fan service and boring new characters in the Gene timeline. Ending your series by introducing a bunch of brand new boring ass characters with a version of Jimmy that isn’t compelling at all. Choosing to devote your time to that dull timeline while not tying up the loose ends...meh super disappointed. Breaking Bad’s ending destroys it.

 

[shauner111]

It’s only been 2 years *everyone looks 17 years older* nice bald cap Walt.

 

[Sawyer]

So when all is said and done, the only Breaking Bad regulars to never make their way over to BCS are Skyler and Walt Jr.

 

[Drizzle]

So when all is said and done, the only Breaking Bad regulars to never make their way over to BCS are Skyler and Walt Jr.

I never expected Skyler to show up in any of the post-BB scenes in the show but it would have been hilarious if they tried to pass off an almost 30-year-old RJ Mitte as a teenager.

 

[Kane52630]

So when all is said and done, the only Breaking Bad regulars to never make their way over to BCS are Skyler and Walt Jr.

 

[Drizzle]

I could have sworn they appeared in BCS in one episode and I had to think about that one for a second before I realized I was thinking about their appearance in El Camino.

 

[Kane52630]

I just love the fact that they gave Bill Oakley his time to shine. Peter Diseth must have been excited to read that script.

 

[shauner111]

I never expected Skyler to show up in any of the post-BB scenes in the show but it would have been hilarious if they tried to pass off an almost 30-year-old RJ Mitte as a teenager.

They pulled something similar with Jesse so I’m surprised they didn’t try with Walt Jr.

 

[shauner111]

And yes I prefer the Cartel links to Breaking Bad. That’s when BcS was at its best. Lalo is the GOAT.