Cinebinge : Better Call Saul 608-609

George you are 100% valid in your feelings towards Howards fate. His death is supposed to be tragic and abrupt and dirty and brutal because it is meant to show Jimmy and Kim's affect on the people around them. Him being such a nice and good person makes it even more tragic, and our reaction to it is the exact same as Jimmy and Kim's for a reason. Different deaths suit different story arcs, Mike's needed to be calm because he's been yearning for a quiet life with his family since he started his decent into the criminal underworld. He finally got his quiet moment but in a karmic way. Howard has been a kind person -- for the most part -- for his whole time on the show, and this makes his unceremonious death hit even harder. Jimmy and Kim didn't want him dead but because of how connected they've become to the criminal underworld, they can't keep the two disconnected anymore. His death feels like a punch to the gut in the worst way, and we're meant to feel like we didn't get enough time to see his character be redeemed and rise back up, because he himself did not get that opportunity. Howards story is so tragic.

Lewis Ward

2025-08-05 14:58:39 +0000 UTC

to comment on what George talked about at the beginning and about Howard's arc. obviously my own opinion and with respect to everyone's own opinion. the part i liked about Howard's arc is that it was used to show the real bad consequences of Jimmy and Kim's actions. because crime's consequences, like drugs and murder etc , are known and clear. however throughout the show even knowing what Jimmy does is illegal or gray area at best, he is still mainly lovable and can even be excused for some of his actions. i think the point here is to show that its all fun and games until someone loses an eye .

Kaz5209

2025-08-05 05:07:37 +0000 UTC

BCS starts in 2002, which I think was the same year as the Dasher software came out. I tried it out some 20 years ago, and it's pretty easy. The only issue is you start to get a bit hypnotized. I think Hector could use his finger well enough for a little joystick. Get the man a laptop on his wheelchair, and he'd being able to write like you see in the animated GIF: https://www.inference.org.uk/dasher/DasherSummary2.html

Gary Fixler

2025-07-23 04:40:28 +0000 UTC

Okay, it drives me nuts. I read "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" a long time ago, which is a book by the editor of French Elle Magazine, Jean-Dominique Bauby, who randomly went into a waking coma. It's called "locked-in syndrome," where you're awake, but you can't move or speak. It's a living hell. They didn't know if he was even in there, until someone (a nurse?) figured out she could communicate with him through him blinking his left eye. That's all he had. She laboriously pointed to a board of letters every day, "letra por letra" as they said in the show here, and he'd blink at the right letter. The book is very thin, and very tragic. Now Hector is doing this, and it's so wasteful! I mean, I like that he can't say much, because he's evil, but at least sort the letters by frequency. Use the old "ETAOIN SHRDLU" thing ("e" is 13% of letters in most texts, "t" is 9%, "a" is 8%, "o" is 7.5%, etc.), or pick the Spanish equivalent. The way they do it, a word like "these" is 57 pointings by the nurse, starting from "A" and going forward. Sorted, it's 19. Over time, it adds up to a huge number, and would let him say so, so much more in the same amount of time. I just looked it up again, and it turns out Bauby's helpers did use a letter list that was in French frequency order, so that's a relief.

Gary Fixler

2025-07-23 04:32:56 +0000 UTC

I think you confused Bolsas death with a death from a certain film by Denis Villeneuve by the way haha. Bolsa dies in his home, surrounded by federales because Gus made the whole attack on Hank happen and it heightened tensions between the D.E.A and the cartel. Bolsa is assassinated during the raid on his home. Spoiler The death you were thinking of happens to someone in Sicario

Ashton Lewis

2025-07-22 21:44:26 +0000 UTC

what they do to Howard's wife is so sad

James

2025-07-22 02:36:09 +0000 UTC

That joke about wine "hints of after birth", I think that's from The Office (US), the episode Dinner Party, Michael (Steve Carrell) says something about wine like "it has an oaky afterbirth." And Jim is like "What was that?" But they move right on to the next joke, as they do. Also, Don Eladio making fun of Hector reminded me of some posts I've seen about how funny but utterly offensive and borderline cruel Latino nicknames are. Some examples: the uncle who just got an electric wheelchair, El Tesla; the uncle who never uses GPS when they're on vacation trying to find a new place and gets everyone lost, Cristobál Colón (Christopher Columbus), the uncle with vitligo, El Mapa (The Map), the uncle who lost a leg to diabetes, El Pixar, dad's big friend Benjamin, Benjamón (jamón is ham), a guy called Punto y coma (period and coma) because he had a limp where he would stomp one foot and drag the other.... It goes on, but if a Latino makes fun of you too your face, I mean if we know you, it usually means we really love you, if we don't we'll say it behind your back. Oh btw I was Pinnochio when I was a kid, a was skinny with a big nose. Then I told someone later in life that, and they said something like, no you don't have a big nose, it matches you, you do have huge ears though Dumbo.

MacGuffinStuff

2025-07-17 07:51:28 +0000 UTC

Howard's End, not the movie, haven't actually seen that one, but yeah that was a bummer, it reminded me of The Counselor, a Ridley Scott movie that I don't think got a lot of praise despite an amazing cast including, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz, and Michael Fassbender. Spoiler alert: you probably won't watch it but I won't describe it in detail, suffices to say, it's also about the drug business and the way it ended had me depressed over it for a like a week, especially at the thought that, this probably happens all the time, and it just left me feeling absolutely gutted.

MacGuffinStuff

2025-07-17 07:08:45 +0000 UTC

I feel for you, George lol. I think season 6 is a bit divisive and I wonder if some people are quick to defend it because of that.

Chris

2025-07-16 23:39:15 +0000 UTC

I thought Huell ate her.

Helly R

2025-07-16 15:42:17 +0000 UTC

Howard and Lalo, together forever.

Ampersander7

2025-07-16 14:08:03 +0000 UTC

Another couple of reactors said this show is everyone's Breaking Bad. Gus' Breaking Bad, Mike's Breaking Bad, Jimmy becoming Saul Goodman. We see times Jimmy wanting to change, but Chuck and Kim unintentionally pushing Jimmy further into his bad habits. Jimmy told Kim he won't do it no more, he is done, but then Kim says "let's do it again." Becoming worse than "Slipping Jimmy" instead of "Charlie Hustle." This is a drama that has action and the camera angles, dollies, and pans contribute to the drama and suspense. When Jimmy falls to the ground zip tied to the chair, that reminds us of Walt handcuff and laying on the ground facing Hank dead. Also Gus forced to face his partner Max by the pool. I feel Gus was seeing how his life would be like at the restaurant, but he knew he could never live or have that kind of life due to his war with the Salamanca's and how much of a different person he has become so bent on revenge, When we go back and watch Breaking Bad and see Walt and Gale for the first time in the lab, we now know Lalo and Howard are under it. I do like Mike telling Nacho's dad what happened. Both men who lost their sons to bad people.

K!ll Molli

2025-07-16 14:03:03 +0000 UTC

I guess Kim ran off to Mexico with Lalo in the multiverse. I still uphold my theory

Ben

2025-07-16 12:47:40 +0000 UTC

I agree. I think when Gus heard that Lalo accepted Jimmy's offer to send Kim in his place, he knew that the assassination attempt was a feint. He knew Lalo would never send Kim or Jimmy to kill him: he'd want to kill him, himself, face to face. What he learned talking to Kim was that, one, she didn't know who her intended victim was, and, two, that Lalo didn't care which frightened lawyer he sent to breech the walls of Gus's well armed fortress by ringing the doorbell. The plot to kill him was so poorly planned that it could never be what Lalo truly had in mind for him. Hearing that Jimmy convinced him to alter a detail of what should have been a precise, intricate attack just confirmed his suspicions.

Simon Pegged Me

2025-07-16 10:18:24 +0000 UTC

One of my favorite shows! Andre Braugher in particular was so good, although I think the whole cast shined. It’s actually available right now on Tubi. I’ve been rewatching it.

JenM

2025-07-16 06:02:41 +0000 UTC

So Gus’s crush, the bartender, was on a show called Homicide Life on the Streets. Ran before the prestige television of the era that started with the Sopranos. One of the creators would create the Wire. My brother got me hooked on the show. So good, I would recommend but it would be hard to find?

SpankTheMonk

2025-07-16 05:19:25 +0000 UTC

I thought the reason he doesn't pursue him is that he believes getting involved with anyone would put that person at risk, due to his past experience with Max getting murdered by Hector

Tyrian

2025-07-16 04:44:11 +0000 UTC

The Ballad of Lyle a Better Caul Saul short written by Joel and Ethan Cohen directed by Spike Lee. That episode 9 intro music sounds like the Drive soundtrack 🎶

SpankTheMonk

2025-07-16 04:42:48 +0000 UTC

To me the Howard stuffs purpose is to finally give Jimmy and Kim their consequences for not choosing the right path. Also, I interpreted that gus talking to kim moment as him realising lalo is going to the laundry place, not respecting Jimmy's talking skills. But I could be wrong, maybe it was both.

Zoran24

2025-07-16 04:14:26 +0000 UTC

As to this universe, yes, it is heightened realism. Like Shakespeare's plays, this is a tragedy.

sarCC

2025-07-16 03:43:00 +0000 UTC

Howard's death was earned just like everyone else's; it wasn't a key point of his character's arc; instead, it was the inevitable and defining moment of Jimmy and Kim's arc.

Ste Rawlings

2025-07-16 03:39:13 +0000 UTC

Just on the point about the universe being heightened reality, that would also mean the outcomes and consequences are more extreme than real life which only makes Howard's death even more in keeping with the rest of the universe no?

Ste Rawlings

2025-07-16 03:28:30 +0000 UTC

Since I think both Simone and George asked about commentary from the creators. There is in fact commentary from both creators and actors for every single Breaking Bad and BCS episode, it's really interesting to get their interpretations and reasoning. It can be found either with the DVD copies, or there's a YouTube channel that has uploaded all of them https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIdtDgoGJI34ZlSN_0oQ6kPWMkTCdYsDN

Pat. N

2025-07-16 02:39:10 +0000 UTC

Maybe the Lyle spinoff should actually be Lyle and Ernie. A half hour sitcom kind of like The Odd Couple, except they're both kinda Felix Unger?

Angzarr

2025-07-16 02:36:39 +0000 UTC

George, the show isn't smarter than you. Both you and the show are smart and it's fun seeing you both intersect.

Jesse Coombs

2025-07-16 01:57:44 +0000 UTC

You really need to listen to the bcs podcast. It adds so much to every episode. It’s with the show runners and cast.

Michele

2025-07-16 01:20:28 +0000 UTC

One of the most subtly savage Kim moments: when she tells Cheryl about catching Howard doing cola. Kim knew they were estranged, as Howard mentioned it when he was confronting them. That last dig…Cheryl, you were his wife; YOU would have noticed…surely played against Cheryl’s guilt of separating from her husband, right before he met his demise. Chef’s kiss…of f*cked up manipulation. Good on George, for remembering Mike’s comment: they sold it well…maybe even better than it needed. Not sure he was talking specifically about this moment (yes, Mike is a superhero…but I’m not sure how he would have been privy to this exchange); but I think it was definitely a nod. These two can really spin when they need to. As Lalo said…the mouths on them 😬

CD

2025-07-16 01:18:05 +0000 UTC

OAKY afterbirth!

CD

2025-07-16 01:00:46 +0000 UTC

I think Gus was sexually attracted to the wine guy. The way he smiled when he saw the man was there makes me think he goes there just to see him, but knows that the age difference would never work.

Vwlss Nvwls

2025-07-16 00:45:18 +0000 UTC

George, referring to the wine's "afterbirth" is a Michael Scott line from The Office.

Justin Leone

2025-07-16 00:40:21 +0000 UTC

They took the pictures from his Instagram, which also means Howard was an early adopter of the selfie with the show being set in 2004

Brady Walton

2025-07-16 00:04:40 +0000 UTC

Couple things, in ep 8 i interpreted Gus saying “lalo changed his mind” as realizing it wasn’t important to lalo and therefore it was a distraction. Also at Howard’s memorial I read those are Patrick Fabian (Howard’s actor)’s real vacation photos. So yes he does smile that way every time.

Brady Walton

2025-07-16 00:03:23 +0000 UTC

George thinks I'm too stupid to understand him?!? How dare he!

Gishgali

2025-07-15 22:24:12 +0000 UTC

"Keep telling the lie you've been telling" Mike lost respect for Jimmy for getting someone not in the game killed.

MarisoL

2025-07-15 21:09:12 +0000 UTC

I think because of how many fandoms are today people find it hard to express when they dislike a character even if you are meant to dislike them.

Adam Vialpando

2025-07-15 20:57:50 +0000 UTC

And everyone who would know Howard is buried there are dead. They might dig it up to build something else, but in all likelihood they would fill it in instead since it would be easier.

Adam Vialpando

2025-07-15 20:54:59 +0000 UTC

I think it's also interesting to see the contrast with the way Gus lives versus the way Jimmy lives. Jimmy has a big, opulent mansion that's essentially empty other than him and his clothes and "things" and feels just absurd. He doesn't have people there. There's nothing that makes it feel like home. Gus, meanwhile, has a very, very nice home that actually feels like someone lives there, without all of the opulence. Gus is content with his life, Jimmy definitely is not.

Jeff K

2025-07-15 20:01:56 +0000 UTC

And, if I'm not mistaken, Patrick Fabian (Howard) was the person who found him, and he and Rhea Seehorn (Kim - and G&S, in case you say her name in the future, Rhea is pronounced "Ray") are the two people Bob thanks for saving his life because they were the two people closest to him (literally and figuratively) when he had his heart attack, and found him because if they hadn't been nearby, no one would have seen/found him until it was too late.

Jeff K

2025-07-15 19:59:18 +0000 UTC

I was wondering that too!

Jeff K

2025-07-15 19:56:15 +0000 UTC

I’ll get to ep later but Simone!! Girl how did you get that massive bruise?? Looks painful as hell. And George, you do make sense. I hear you about being misunderstood though. And fully agree, I liked Howard and it wasn’t fun to see him subjected to so much awful in the end. That doesn’t mean you thought the season was bad at all

Katie I

2025-07-15 19:53:54 +0000 UTC

These two episodes are so brutal. One thing to remember is that the super lab ended up having finished concrete flooring with colored tiles and a whole system of pipes and drainage. Lalo and Howard were buried deep beneath all of that. Walt and Jesse burn the lab down at the end of season 4, but the DEA would have had to dig through the floors with a jackhammer to expose the ground underneath and then dig down further to find more bodies. The DEA end up finding Tyrus and another Gus Goon, but nobody else. They had no reason to go digging for more corpses. They would have also had to know exactly where to dig and that place was huge. With Lalo, nobody cares. Knowing Howard will never be found is the show's biggest tragedy IMO. Another thing to remember from Breaking Bad is that Jimmy and Gus never met. If you're Gus and trying to present yourself to the world as an honest businessman, Saul Goodman is the last guy you would want to be seen around, even by accident. Jimmy is only aware of Gus' existence through Mike (and later Walt), by knowing he works for someone powerful.

Brandon

2025-07-15 19:41:06 +0000 UTC

I forgot to add to my comments before, speaking of his mansion, I wonder how many times Jimmy has used that giant dining room table for anyone other than himself. I suspect he does not throw a lot of dinner parties. He had the bowl of breakfast bars and offered one to the prostitute but I suspect that is the only sort of sharing of food he does with anybody at that point. I think it’s even more pathetic to have a huge table like that and never have anyone eating with you than to have a small table and share it with one other person, like he did with Kim.

REDR58

2025-07-15 19:40:39 +0000 UTC

I get that, what George said. I find it very, very, very cringe when someone gets blamed for something incorrectly. They are victimized, while others only see the false claim. And I feel like I see it all the time. I've become so cynical, in fact, that I hardly believe anything anyone says about anyone. The one time I disagreed with George was in Breaking Bad when Walt, Jr., told the police dispatcher that Walt pulled a knife on Skyler. Of course, Walt didn't do that. The difference here is that Walt, Jr., isn't making an actual claim. He's not victimizing Walt. He is simply trying to paint a quick picture for the dispatcher, making the situation sound as bad as possible. "Our lives are threatened" is the message. That's how I took it. Walt, Jr., was shouting out whatever sounded the worst, for effect.

LazyArtist

2025-07-15 19:27:02 +0000 UTC

Episode 8 It’s interesting to see Gus take off a real tie instead of the clip on one like he did before. Body armor might stop the bullet, but it won’t stop you from getting tissue damage or broken bones, especially at such a close range that Gus was shot at. George, check out these secret doors (I have no affiliation with the company): https://murphydoor.com/collections/door-solutions Episode 9 The “Perfect Day” song is a cover by Dresage and Slow Silver: https://open.spotify.com/track/7x3PDe2wqgIoGEApGslnKN Speaking of thorough cleanup after gunshot, there was a shooting near my neighborhood a few months ago on a nice quiet street (guy barricaded himself in parents’ house and had a shootout with police and then he ended it permanently) and the clean up and remediation crews were there for almost 2 weeks afterwards. The red Ferrari 1983 Ferrari 308 QV GTSi gifted to Eladio by Lalo earlier was still in the parking lot there when Gus visited Eladio. You can see it from above when Gus arrives in his car.. Just about allof the cars seen at Eladios’s are older so it doesn’t matter what the car manufacturers think about them appearing in the show, for good or ill. The show producers probably just rented them from classic car suppliers. It is another thing entirely to ask for and get a new car from a manufacturer for use on a show or movie. Speaking of the Ferrari 308 GTS Eladio that still has here, when the original “Magnum p.i.” was looking for a sports car for the lead character to drive, Ferrari provided a number of Ferrari 308 GTS cars and then took them back after the snow ended. Originally the show producers wanted to use a Porsche 928, but the Porsche company wasn’t interested in supplying customized cars, so the Ferrari was used instead. Too bad for Porsche, as the Ferrari 308 is one of the most famous TV cars of all time. The James Bond movies famously feature the then-current Aston Martin and the are provided by the company. It’s basically free advertising for AM.

REDR58

2025-07-15 19:26:16 +0000 UTC

Jimmy asked Mike once when he would stop thinking about the ambush and all the horror her witnessed. Mike told him one day he would get up, go along his day and then realize he did not think about it. Jimmy never forgot about the horrible things he had done and witnessed. When Kim left him he tries everything to distract himself from his own thoughts. The second he wakes up he is on the phone. He never stops. Even when he is alone in his office for a few seconds he makes some random noises just so he has anything else to do but to deal with his own thoughts.

Fipse

2025-07-15 19:26:13 +0000 UTC

Gus was not impressed Jimmy talked Lalo out of his plan because he knows nobody talks Lalo out of anything. The fact Lalo so easily decided to use Kim instead showed that it didn't matter to him who went because it was just a distraction

Adam Vialpando

2025-07-15 19:23:18 +0000 UTC

There'a YouTube channel from a guy who watched BCS first and when he watched BB he made a note of how his viewing experience differed from others who watched it in release order.

Adam Vialpando

2025-07-15 19:16:07 +0000 UTC

Somehow, I knew that. I think I saw it as a kid. That was a LONG time ago. Must've made an impact on me.

LazyArtist

2025-07-15 19:03:48 +0000 UTC

not sure if someone else had mentioned it, but clarifying for George & Simone: in Breaking Bad, there was no actual connection between Saul and Gus. Saul worked with Mike who worked with Gus, Saul "knew a guy, who knows a guy, who knows a guy." (they removed that 3rd connection, lol). Saul never worked for Gus.

Jay Willis

2025-07-15 18:50:49 +0000 UTC

Definitely little confusion there!

REDR58

2025-07-15 18:48:22 +0000 UTC

ya how dare they convey their feelings! what is this a reaction channel?? why dont they just sit and watch and not talk about their thoughts as its happening!

robodong

2025-07-15 18:25:10 +0000 UTC

Just watch the damn show and you'll understand why they did what they did with Howard

Chris DeLuca

2025-07-15 17:53:20 +0000 UTC

Jimmy and Kim are watching the movie "Born Yesterday" (1950) directed by George Cukor and starring William Holden and Judy Holliday. The movie was paused in episode seven and of course Lalo unpaused it here.

REDR58

2025-07-15 17:37:19 +0000 UTC

That’s interesting because secondhand embarrassment is not even a thing that exists in my mind. I don’t even get embarrassed firsthand. Early in high school, I got embarrassed a lot for all kinds of stupid reasons and then just decided one day I had enough of feeling bad about myself because of things that happened that were not my responsibility or under my control. So I never get embarrassed, about anything, ever.

REDR58

2025-07-15 17:32:07 +0000 UTC

Yeah, but it's also a device to motivate Kim to leave and thereby break Jimmy enough to turn into Saul. It's the "logical endpoint" of their actions, which is something that Breaking Bad does - actions have consequences. I still root for Kim in particular though, even if what she does in Fun and Games is absolutely despicable. I'm just glad she at least finally did learn something. Jimmy on the other hand, just can't deal with his emotions as always, and depressingly just backslides into Saul. We all knew it was coming, but what a gutpunch.

Helly R

2025-07-15 17:23:42 +0000 UTC

The physical media has commentaries on every episode. They're on YT as well.

Helly R

2025-07-15 17:16:08 +0000 UTC

Given the political situation in the US and other parts of the world (from MY point of view AND I’m not going to discuss it further beyond this post), what happens in the BB/BCS universe, characters not getting their just due or what they “deserve” and all of the unfair or bad things that happen to them seems almost quaint. The real world is far crazier as far as I’m concerned.

REDR58

2025-07-15 17:09:12 +0000 UTC

The end of Fun and Games breaks me. I love that Better Call Saul ended up being a love story. It wasn't planned or intended from the start, but somewhere along they realized that's what they were making. A frequently toxic and destructive one but there's real love there is well. It's great. It gives it a real different vibe to BB.

Helly R

2025-07-15 17:04:49 +0000 UTC

What dou you mean done? There is still 6 episodes of Slippin' Jimmy!

Dragonhunter

2025-07-15 17:00:17 +0000 UTC

In the intro, Simone mentions wishing that there was a commentary with the showrunner, etc... With this show as well as Breaking Bad, AMC produced a companion podcast each week the day following the show airing. It's called the Better Call Saul Insider podcast. It's typically hosted by the editors and Vince Gilligan with the directors, actors and director of photography. I'd rush to that the next days after these episodes! Might be a fun listen for you. Especially for certain episodes.

Aaron

2025-07-15 16:54:57 +0000 UTC

We also see the human underneath Gus' facade- we get confirmation that he IS gay, that he is "flirting" with the male wine steward and then leaves when he realizes that he can't be tied to someone when he is a cartel boss. Gus also is obsessed with avenging Max and can't move on. We saw the same thing with Mike and Anita (the African American widow of the "Navy man") from the support group in season 5- he pushes her away since he can't be tied down and be in the life. Jesse tried and Jane and Andrea died as a result, Walter tried to hide his crimes from Skyler and it wrecked his marriage. Kim "gets it" and leaves- but Jimmy just resorts to prostitutes as we see in the flash-forward

Actuarial Lurker

2025-07-15 16:51:44 +0000 UTC

So, I'm curious... how different do you think the Breaking Bad experience would be if you had watched Better Call Saul first? Would you have different feelings toward Gus? Would Mike be even more epic a character? Would BB be even better overall?

8bitAndy

2025-07-15 16:51:04 +0000 UTC

George is correct- they left of with Saul/Gene deciding not to run again. Simone- the cab driver is who Gene is thinking of running from- the driver who took him home FROM the hospital

Actuarial Lurker

2025-07-15 16:45:13 +0000 UTC

Don Eladio and the cartel ARE loosely based on real life...a mixture of Pablo Acosta Viareal and Amado Carillo Fuentes....

Actuarial Lurker

2025-07-15 16:24:19 +0000 UTC

The hosts are in for a treat if they were surprised that there are still four more episodes left after what felt like a series finale. The next two Tuesdays can't arrive quickly enough.

Deadly Ramon

2025-07-15 16:06:49 +0000 UTC

I feel like the character of Howard could have disappeared from the show after Chuck's death and no one would have said much about it. He was secondary to Jimmy and Chuck's relationship, and once Jimmy moves on from everything HHM, Howard's character had little to do with Saul and his new direction. It feels like the show intentionally brought Saul and Howard together again with this new conflict so that they could use Howard as a device to make audiences turn against Saul and Kim. To that point in the show, people are still rooting for and making excuses for that toxic couple. Now audiences know they're awful and we should have been rooting against them all along.

8bitAndy

2025-07-15 15:59:58 +0000 UTC

Not so fun fact: Bob Odenkirk nearly died of a heart attack while filming the scenes with Lalo and Kim in the apartment in this episode. Production was shut down for 5 weeks while he recovered.

Kevin

2025-07-15 15:48:56 +0000 UTC

Honestly when i first watched this episode I didnt even realize they recast the role, i completely forgot what the guy looked like. I remembered his character but not his face.

Stugotz

2025-07-15 15:41:31 +0000 UTC

I think for someone like Gus the money is incidental. He lives comfortably enough obviously, but I think for him it's being the boss and having that power is what drives him, not the money. He doesnt seem to care about having a large mansion with a pool and a bunch of cars and boats, all that shit is meaningless to him. Aside from revenge, his main ambition seems to be just running the drug game in the Southwest and maybe even expanding past that.

Stugotz

2025-07-15 15:39:17 +0000 UTC

lmao Why are we debating the realism of the franchise to justify having a negative reaction to something you're supposed to have a negative reaction to?

K Murray

2025-07-15 15:35:01 +0000 UTC

"It wasn't me, it was Ignazio!" First thing Saul Goodman said to Jesse and Walt once he realized he is being sat down in front of his own grave in the desert. Back when all he had to do was save Badger from jail. Edit: Lyle is a great employee, for the most part he got a boss that appreciates him and doesn't totally exploit him.. must feel nice!

Thall

2025-07-15 15:34:07 +0000 UTC

mike approaching nacho's dad at all--a callback to when he went to the support group, and the woman from SVU talked about how it fucked with her when they never found her husband or knew how he died. have to make good use of that abandoned plotline, lol

lisa

2025-07-15 15:25:00 +0000 UTC

all of the photos were him alone. it felt like such a sad statement

lisa

2025-07-15 15:20:42 +0000 UTC

Episode 9, to me, is one of those episodes that really separates BCS from other shows. We get pretty much the wrap up to the Gus/Mike storyline, and its just so full of unspoken, subtle character moments its insane. One of my fav moments in the series is the scene between Mike and Nacho’s father. Two fathers who have lost their sons, literally standing on 2 sides of the same fence, and Nacho’s dad tells Mike “you’re all the same.” Mike’s whole journey is that yeah, he’s a “bad guy” but he’s not really a bad guy, he’s a moral criminal. And Nacho’s dad just takes a piss all over that.

Daniel Bjork

2025-07-15 14:57:51 +0000 UTC

George's "Nuke the Whales" really takes me back. In the 80's, my buddy had that for a bumper sticker. You see the weirdest things on a military base with nothing but thousands of programmers. One guy had a "Baby on Board" sign in his car window next to it a doll nailed through the head to a board. Military nerds are the best. 😂

Jonathan Eaton

2025-07-15 14:56:09 +0000 UTC

I love that they used this picture at his memorial lmao

Ira K.

2025-07-15 14:50:11 +0000 UTC

I've noticed that George also has an aversion to second hand embarrasemnt which I do too. It doesnt really bother me in movies and TV shows as those are scripted and I know the embarassment isn't real, but I cannot watch real life footage of people doing embarassing things, it makes me cringe so hard.

Stugotz

2025-07-15 14:44:39 +0000 UTC

For the last 4 episodes they had to change the actor who play the cab driver who made Saul say the line. So if you’re think “who tf this supposed to be” it’s the cab driver

Phillyman!!

2025-07-15 14:43:44 +0000 UTC

On the day episode 8 ran, Patrick Fabian posted the tweet: https://x.com/PatrickFabian/status/1547253757624233984

fforw

2025-07-15 14:32:59 +0000 UTC

Only Kim has that superpower. Although Jimmy talked Tuco out of killing someone one time, which is also insane

Inkpendude

2025-07-15 14:28:21 +0000 UTC

I would suggest it’s not realism in the sense of “this is what happens in real life.” It is grounded in real life but the realism is more about “this is how these characters would actually act and respond based on the things happening.”

Sam C

2025-07-15 14:22:26 +0000 UTC

I think you misinterpreted the whole "Jimmy talked Lalo out of it" thing, Gus wasnt impressed with Jimmy, he just knew it was too simple for Lalo to be "talked out of it" by anyobody.

Char

2025-07-15 14:21:50 +0000 UTC

So about that spinny thing with the can that Howard showed - I've actually developed a habit of always spinning the can before opening it after watching that episode! Howard and Chuck's wisdom lives on!

Ira K.

2025-07-15 14:10:59 +0000 UTC

The bodies they find aren't Lalo and Howard, they are the two guys that Walt killed while he rescued Jesse after killing Gus.

Stugotz

2025-07-15 14:10:25 +0000 UTC

Gus was not really impressed by Jimmy talking out Lalo. Instead he just realized that, this is distraction, since it didn't matter for Lalo who does the shooting.

Areokh

2025-07-15 14:08:09 +0000 UTC

Regarding the "realism" aspect, it's not binary is it? You can have fantastical and exagerrated characters in your story but also interweave it with realistic themes and story points. Sci-fi does it all the time. Just becuase there are certain "unrealistic" aspects to the show doesn't mean a character like Howard shouldnt get a "realistic" outcome to his story. The point of Howards fate is that it was supposed to be fucked up and it's supposed to make you feel horrible for him. His death is a direct a consequence of our main character's actions. Whether it's "earned" or not i feel is irrelevant. That's just my 2 cents. I understand why G and S feel this way though, it is a shocking thing that happened. Personally i thought Howards death was handled great, it was fucked up and shocking but to me it made perfect sense and fit in well with the events that were happening in the show.

Stugotz

2025-07-15 14:06:31 +0000 UTC

I don't know much about white people hair, but Simone's hair looks extra nice in this reaction.

ShoNuff3000

2025-07-15 14:01:34 +0000 UTC

Simone, I think you're confusing Bolsa with the cartel boss in Sicario :) The latter got shot by Benicio del Toro at the dinner table after watching his family get killed. Bolsa was shot opening his front door while speaking on the phone with Gus.

Maiki

2025-07-15 14:00:36 +0000 UTC

cant believe the bb universe is done in 2 weeks, will be interesting to see the next poll

David Bencze

2025-07-15 13:58:59 +0000 UTC

Episode 8 man, truly f'ed fate for Howard. An impressive stunt from Gus though, and you are right, the music is truly dark in this episode. Now the bodies in the basement situation: you might get many comments like this - In BB the police find two bodies in the burned out lab, now this might be another plot loop back for BCS. BUT it more plausibly is just the two guards Walter shot there, and this grave stays hidden. There is no specific reason to dig in the unstable environment after the fire.

Philipp Roensch

2025-07-15 13:56:48 +0000 UTC

Also fair warning: there’s gonna be a character that shows up that you will have seen before, but he had to be recast due to the original actor being unable to shoot because the show delayed with Bob’s heart attack

newhastings

2025-07-15 13:52:50 +0000 UTC

I’ll always upvote a Sepinwall recommendation. My favorite TV critic by a wide margin.

Jeff K

2025-07-15 13:10:18 +0000 UTC

Recommend checking out the book/audiobook "Saul Goodman v. Jimmy McGill: The Complete Critical Companion to Better Call Saul" by Alan Sepinwall -One chapter per episode so you don't have to wait until you've watched the whole season/series There is one called "Breaking Bad 101: The Complete Critical Companion" also by the same author.

Alex

2025-07-15 13:07:17 +0000 UTC

There's a reference to Lalo and Howard being buried under the laundry in Breaking Bad. After Walt and Jesse set the place on fire, Hank finds two buried bodies that will never be identified because their teeth did the "popcorn thing" from the heat of the fire.

Paul Davey

2025-07-15 13:03:30 +0000 UTC

For the memorial scene they used real pictures from Patrick Fabian’s instagram, however they had to edit one of them because Tony Dalton was in one lol

newhastings

2025-07-15 12:58:26 +0000 UTC

I read Howard’s death as serving the story in the sense of the writers telling you, “Hey, these two likable characters you’re rooting for? They’re BAD PEOPLE.” It’s a wake up call for both the characters as they understand that they’re punching waaaaaaay above their weight class and their fun and games weren’t such fun games, and to the audience to say, “Hey, you’ve been cheering on terrible people who hurt people.” (I love them both and Kim in particular is one of my favorite TV characters of all-time but they have clearly done awful, awful things and Howard’s death is their reckoning.)

Jeff K

2025-07-15 12:44:04 +0000 UTC

Agreed. It serves as a massive wake up call for Jimmy and Kim, but mostly Kim. It serves to underscore that they think they’re playing and having fun doing less than good things, only to realize there are very real consequences to those duplicitous actions.

Jeff K

2025-07-15 12:35:05 +0000 UTC

well I think that Howard ending is very simple. It is just showing the unexpectedly brutal result of Sauls and Kims actions. Sometimes similar thngs happen in real life too, so it is kinda realistik. The whole pranks and games brought Howard to wrong place at the wrong time and nobody could have imagined that. And basically show should end somethow Howards arc... so kinda one plus another makes good ending for that character. Good in terms of the show and not fairnes as you mentioned, George hehe :)

Sergei Tereshkin

2025-07-15 12:25:10 +0000 UTC

George is who Nina Simone was singing about all those decades ago.

robodong

2025-07-15 12:16:35 +0000 UTC

just the most neurodivergent intro about communication trauma, lollll. i'm with ya, george!

lisa

2025-07-15 12:14:10 +0000 UTC

Better Call Saul 608-609

Comments

what they do to Howard's wife is so sad

I feel for you, George lol. I think season 6 is a bit divisive and I wonder if some people are quick to defend it because of that.

I thought Huell ate her.

Howard and Lalo, together forever.

I guess Kim ran off to Mexico with Lalo in the multiverse. I still uphold my theory

One of my favorite shows! Andre Braugher in particular was so good, although I think the whole cast shined. It’s actually available right now on Tubi. I’ve been rewatching it.

So Gus’s crush, the bartender, was on a show called Homicide Life on the Streets. Ran before the prestige television of the era that started with the Sopranos. One of the creators would create the Wire. My brother got me hooked on the show. So good, I would recommend but it would be hard to find?

I thought the reason he doesn't pursue him is that he believes getting involved with anyone would put that person at risk, due to his past experience with Max getting murdered by Hector

The Ballad of Lyle a Better Caul Saul short written by Joel and Ethan Cohen directed by Spike Lee. That episode 9 intro music sounds like the Drive soundtrack 🎶

As to this universe, yes, it is heightened realism. Like Shakespeare's plays, this is a tragedy.

Howard's death was earned just like everyone else's; it wasn't a key point of his character's arc; instead, it was the inevitable and defining moment of Jimmy and Kim's arc.

Just on the point about the universe being heightened reality, that would also mean the outcomes and consequences are more extreme than real life which only makes Howard's death even more in keeping with the rest of the universe no?

Maybe the Lyle spinoff should actually be Lyle and Ernie. A half hour sitcom kind of like The Odd Couple, except they're both kinda Felix Unger?

George, the show isn't smarter than you. Both you and the show are smart and it's fun seeing you both intersect.

You really need to listen to the bcs podcast. It adds so much to every episode. It’s with the show runners and cast.

OAKY afterbirth!

I think Gus was sexually attracted to the wine guy. The way he smiled when he saw the man was there makes me think he goes there just to see him, but knows that the age difference would never work.

George, referring to the wine's "afterbirth" is a Michael Scott line from The Office.

They took the pictures from his Instagram, which also means Howard was an early adopter of the selfie with the show being set in 2004

George thinks I'm too stupid to understand him?!? How dare he!

"Keep telling the lie you've been telling" Mike lost respect for Jimmy for getting someone not in the game killed.

I think because of how many fandoms are today people find it hard to express when they dislike a character even if you are meant to dislike them.

And everyone who would know Howard is buried there are dead. They might dig it up to build something else, but in all likelihood they would fill it in instead since it would be easier.

I was wondering that too!

Gus was not impressed Jimmy talked Lalo out of his plan because he knows nobody talks Lalo out of anything. The fact Lalo so easily decided to use Kim instead showed that it didn't matter to him who went because it was just a distraction

There'a YouTube channel from a guy who watched BCS first and when he watched BB he made a note of how his viewing experience differed from others who watched it in release order.

Somehow, I knew that. I think I saw it as a kid. That was a LONG time ago. Must've made an impact on me.

Definitely little confusion there!

ya how dare they convey their feelings! what is this a reaction channel?? why dont they just sit and watch and not talk about their thoughts as its happening!

Just watch the damn show and you'll understand why they did what they did with Howard

Jimmy and Kim are watching the movie "Born Yesterday" (1950) directed by George Cukor and starring William Holden and Judy Holliday. The movie was paused in episode seven and of course Lalo unpaused it here.

The physical media has commentaries on every episode. They're on YT as well.

What dou you mean done? There is still 6 episodes of Slippin' Jimmy!

So, I'm curious... how different do you think the Breaking Bad experience would be if you had watched Better Call Saul first? Would you have different feelings toward Gus? Would Mike be even more epic a character? Would BB be even better overall?

George is correct- they left of with Saul/Gene deciding not to run again. Simone- the cab driver is who Gene is thinking of running from- the driver who took him home FROM the hospital

Don Eladio and the cartel ARE loosely based on real life...a mixture of Pablo Acosta Viareal and Amado Carillo Fuentes....

The hosts are in for a treat if they were surprised that there are still four more episodes left after what felt like a series finale. The next two Tuesdays can't arrive quickly enough.

Not so fun fact: Bob Odenkirk nearly died of a heart attack while filming the scenes with Lalo and Kim in the apartment in this episode. Production was shut down for 5 weeks while he recovered.

Honestly when i first watched this episode I didnt even realize they recast the role, i completely forgot what the guy looked like. I remembered his character but not his face.

lmao Why are we debating the realism of the franchise to justify having a negative reaction to something you're supposed to have a negative reaction to?

mike approaching nacho's dad at all--a callback to when he went to the support group, and the woman from SVU talked about how it fucked with her when they never found her husband or knew how he died. have to make good use of that abandoned plotline, lol

all of the photos were him alone. it felt like such a sad statement

I love that they used this picture at his memorial lmao

For the last 4 episodes they had to change the actor who play the cab driver who made Saul say the line. So if you’re think “who tf this supposed to be” it’s the cab driver

On the day episode 8 ran, Patrick Fabian posted the tweet: https://x.com/PatrickFabian/status/1547253757624233984

Only Kim has that superpower. Although Jimmy talked Tuco out of killing someone one time, which is also insane

I would suggest it’s not realism in the sense of “this is what happens in real life.” It is grounded in real life but the realism is more about “this is how these characters would actually act and respond based on the things happening.”

I think you misinterpreted the whole "Jimmy talked Lalo out of it" thing, Gus wasnt impressed with Jimmy, he just knew it was too simple for Lalo to be "talked out of it" by anyobody.

So about that spinny thing with the can that Howard showed - I've actually developed a habit of always spinning the can before opening it after watching that episode! Howard and Chuck's wisdom lives on!

The bodies they find aren't Lalo and Howard, they are the two guys that Walt killed while he rescued Jesse after killing Gus.

Gus was not really impressed by Jimmy talking out Lalo. Instead he just realized that, this is distraction, since it didn't matter for Lalo who does the shooting.

I don't know much about white people hair, but Simone's hair looks extra nice in this reaction.

Simone, I think you're confusing Bolsa with the cartel boss in Sicario :) The latter got shot by Benicio del Toro at the dinner table after watching his family get killed. Bolsa was shot opening his front door while speaking on the phone with Gus.

cant believe the bb universe is done in 2 weeks, will be interesting to see the next poll

Also fair warning: there’s gonna be a character that shows up that you will have seen before, but he had to be recast due to the original actor being unable to shoot because the show delayed with Bob’s heart attack

I’ll always upvote a Sepinwall recommendation. My favorite TV critic by a wide margin.

There's a reference to Lalo and Howard being buried under the laundry in Breaking Bad. After Walt and Jesse set the place on fire, Hank finds two buried bodies that will never be identified because their teeth did the "popcorn thing" from the heat of the fire.

For the memorial scene they used real pictures from Patrick Fabian’s instagram, however they had to edit one of them because Tony Dalton was in one lol

Agreed. It serves as a massive wake up call for Jimmy and Kim, but mostly Kim. It serves to underscore that they think they’re playing and having fun doing less than good things, only to realize there are very real consequences to those duplicitous actions.

George is who Nina Simone was singing about all those decades ago.

just the most neurodivergent intro about communication trauma, lollll. i'm with ya, george!

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