Jump to content

Better call Saul


bunomatic

Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, PerreaultForever said:

Unless they are just saving money 🙂 I'm going to assume the black and white implies a lack of colour in his life, i.e. unhappiness. 

Unhappiness about what though - contrasted with the color scenes of Jessie asking who Lalo is, and Saul saying “he’s no one” - maybe he wants to be known, he doesn’t want to be buried in some random cemetery (the grave in the desert image), but rather, wants to be recognized as an accomplished criminal?  Maybe he was secretly delighted that the police are still after him but bummed that his trail had gone cold?  
 

Or again, does he secretly want to be punished like Dostoevsky’s criminal?  The black and white = good/evil, law/order etc.?  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Cascade Youth said:

Unhappiness about what though - contrasted with the color scenes of Jessie asking who Lalo is, and Saul saying “he’s no one” - maybe he wants to be known, he doesn’t want to be buried in some random cemetery (the grave in the desert image), but rather, wants to be recognized as an accomplished criminal?  Maybe he was secretly delighted that the police are still after him but bummed that his trail had gone cold?  
 

Or again, does he secretly want to be punished like Dostoevsky’s criminal?  The black and white = good/evil, law/order etc.?  

Whatever happened with that phone call to Kim definitely sent him down a self-destructive road.  Seems as if he may not have anything to live for now, and while I can't see him wanting to get caught, I can see him going out a la Thelma and Louise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Cascade Youth said:

Unhappiness about what though - contrasted with the color scenes of Jessie asking who Lalo is, and Saul saying “he’s no one” - maybe he wants to be known, he doesn’t want to be buried in some random cemetery (the grave in the desert image), but rather, wants to be recognized as an accomplished criminal?  Maybe he was secretly delighted that the police are still after him but bummed that his trail had gone cold?  
 

Or again, does he secretly want to be punished like Dostoevsky’s criminal?  The black and white = good/evil, law/order etc.?  

My take at this point (although the last two episodes might reveal some info that changes it) is the B&W is because his life is empty and as I said, the obvious metaphor lacking colour, because he was addicted to the life, the thrills, the money and power it brought, and now that it's all gone he has nothing and finds he can't live without it. So in the end he will do something foolish and come to an end from going after that thrill/life rather than settling for a lesser boring anonymity. 

So maybe as a viewer it'll be ambiguous and you can take it as a suicide of sorts or a Dostoevsky type resolution, but I think it's just addiction. He simply can't live without being Saul rather than Jimmy or Gene. It's who/what he is, even if it's a fiction he created.

I just hope they give us a little more on how Kim left. It's a little unsatisfying at this point if she just "left" without more details. To me anyway. Everyone else we already know how they ended from Breaking Bad. 

  • Thanks (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/2/2022 at 11:59 AM, nfreeman said:

Yes — a happy ending seems pretty unlikely.  I think the consistent moral of this show and Breaking Bad is that consequences are inevitable.  

That’s a viewers wet dream. People don’t want to believe criminals can actually be happy in the long term and leave on their own terms. 
 

Kim would be the exception, having dipped her toes in and then getting away. It’s not right if she gets away unless she’s the one to turn Saul in. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/5/2022 at 9:58 AM, nfreeman said:

So I heard on a podcast that the title of the next episode is "Waterworks," and since Kim now works at a sprinkler company...it seems likely we'll see Kim again.

and she cried her eyes out on the bus so there you go, fitting title. 

I am mixed on the Kim feeling guilt/remorse angle. She started with a conscience but over time she really started to love it and was a female Jimmy so idk, I guess the idea is she lost her way under his influence. Kind of a trite female victim storyline that is overly common these days. I think it could have been more complex and interesting. 

 

  • Like (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

and she cried her eyes out on the bus so there you go, fitting title. 

I am mixed on the Kim feeling guilt/remorse angle. She started with a conscience but over time she really started to love it and was a female Jimmy so idk, I guess the idea is she lost her way under his influence. Kind of a trite female victim storyline that is overly common these days. I think it could have been more complex and interesting. 

 

Yeah I agree.  She was the one driving the anti-Howard crusade and it was never really made clear why she hated Howard to such a degree, and now the script is flipped and she’s the one feeling remorse.

  • Agree 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

and she cried her eyes out on the bus so there you go, fitting title. 

I am mixed on the Kim feeling guilt/remorse angle. She started with a conscience but over time she really started to love it and was a female Jimmy so idk, I guess the idea is she lost her way under his influence. Kind of a trite female victim storyline that is overly common these days. I think it could have been more complex and interesting. 

 

I think they've shown tidbits of her past so that one can see her as not necessarily a victim of Jimmy.  Specifically, that flashback as a child stealing from a store, then watching her mom con the manager.  Certainly Jimmy pulled out that aspect of her persona, and it was all fun games to focus on Howard who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.  The traumatic experience of his death ended it, but then had to live with it for the next 6 years or so in almost a catatonic state.  Jimmy's call brought it all back which forced her need to resolve it somehow.  At this point, I don't know how she can go on? 

  • Thanks (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, PickaPecaPickles said:

I think they've shown tidbits of her past so that one can see her as not necessarily a victim of Jimmy.  Specifically, that flashback as a child stealing from a store, then watching her mom con the manager.  Certainly Jimmy pulled out that aspect of her persona, and it was all fun games to focus on Howard who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.  The traumatic experience of his death ended it, but then had to live with it for the next 6 years or so in almost a catatonic state.  Jimmy's call brought it all back which forced her need to resolve it somehow.  At this point, I don't know how she can go on? 

I hear ya, but I still think it was a little inconsistent with what they'd set up earlier in terms of her personality and character. Jimmy certainly brought out that side of her earlier on, and there was some reluctance at first, but then later she was almost like a Lady Macbeth driving him on and exuberantly getting into things, enjoying it. 

It's not a huge thing for me in terms of the show as a whole, but I'd have preferred a different ending for her. Something more anti-hero. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Loved how Saul became the one who knocks when he showed up at Marion’s back door. The loaf of “white” bread on the counter leaving no doubt he has broken bad. Glad he stopped himself from strangling Marion with the phone cord, so maybe there’s a glimmer of hope for him. I wonder if he will take Kim’s advice and turn himself in. 

  • Like (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

I hear ya, but I still think it was a little inconsistent with what they'd set up earlier in terms of her personality and character. Jimmy certainly brought out that side of her earlier on, and there was some reluctance at first, but then later she was almost like a Lady Macbeth driving him on and exuberantly getting into things, enjoying it. 

It's not a huge thing for me in terms of the show as a whole, but I'd have preferred a different ending for her. Something more anti-hero. 

There's still time.   

  • Like (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This topic is OLD. A NEW topic should be started unless there is a VERY SPECIFIC REASON to revive this one.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...