I 100% agree that the title and description is a fake out.
*** Better Call Saul - Season 6 ***
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Last: 7 mo ago by YNWA_AG
Jack Cheese said:
I must be the only one that loved the Cinnabon eating scenes. The guy from Parks and Rec was perfect in that role, he was so regimented about how he ate - expert with fork and knife, spinning the plate halfway through each time, he was like a professional eater. And the fact that Gene/Saul recognized this and exploited it is brilliant.
Loved it.
Agreed 100%
Sorry for kicking this ant pile again, but after reading all the posts since Monday night, I think I can finally put my finger on what I didn't like about this last episode, and it had nothing to do with the pace or the art direction: when portrayed by the previous actor, the cab driver was menacing, in a position of power over Gene, and able to scare him (and the viewer) into thinking that he was going to blow Saul's cover and ruin him forever. That created some real tension that hung over our heads for several episodes (and several months for those of us who are watching in real time). I couldn't wait to see how Saul was going to fight back.
But by the end of the opening sequence, we already got our answer. All of a sudden the cab driver is played by a new, less-menacing actor (no fault of the writers, obviously), but come to find out, he still lives with his mom. The minute he walks in and sees Gene sitting at the table with Carol Burnett, we know Gene has gotten the upper hand. And while I obviously don't want to sit through an entire montage of Gene scouting out his mom's route to and from the grocery store so he could be in the right place at the right time putting up his flyers, it just seemed abrupt to me. And then when we saw how easily manipulated he was and how hapless he looked running around the department store (especially when he slipped and fell), I couldn't help but thinking "I realize the actor is different, but is this even the same character? How did this absolute nobody put the fear of God into the same guy who went toe-to-toe with the cartel just a few episodes earlier?"
I remember being let down in Breaking Bad when they spent all those opening sequences showing the wreckage in Walt's pool that led you to believe his house must have exploded or the cops raided it, only to have that tension resolved with a reveal that felt like the writers were saying "lol just kidding it was a plane crash this whole time, silly!" And this kinda felt the same way to me. The heist itself was brilliant, as was Gene's confession to the security guard.
But by the end of the opening sequence, we already got our answer. All of a sudden the cab driver is played by a new, less-menacing actor (no fault of the writers, obviously), but come to find out, he still lives with his mom. The minute he walks in and sees Gene sitting at the table with Carol Burnett, we know Gene has gotten the upper hand. And while I obviously don't want to sit through an entire montage of Gene scouting out his mom's route to and from the grocery store so he could be in the right place at the right time putting up his flyers, it just seemed abrupt to me. And then when we saw how easily manipulated he was and how hapless he looked running around the department store (especially when he slipped and fell), I couldn't help but thinking "I realize the actor is different, but is this even the same character? How did this absolute nobody put the fear of God into the same guy who went toe-to-toe with the cartel just a few episodes earlier?"
I remember being let down in Breaking Bad when they spent all those opening sequences showing the wreckage in Walt's pool that led you to believe his house must have exploded or the cops raided it, only to have that tension resolved with a reveal that felt like the writers were saying "lol just kidding it was a plane crash this whole time, silly!" And this kinda felt the same way to me. The heist itself was brilliant, as was Gene's confession to the security guard.
See, I had a completely different reaction, in that I never once thought of the old actor or the character himself as a menacing threat. It wasn't the character that put the fear of god in Jimmy, it was the *idea* of getting outed/caught. It could have been a five-year-old kid who recognized him in the mall and Jimmy would have been just as worried. For me it wasn't the man, it was what he represented. So casting a less threatening actor didn't really phase me.
Gotta disagree, I felt that actor played it perfectly. There was a menace, a bullying aspect to his performance - but you could also just see it as a dim witted dumbass who wasn't connecting well with Saul. Yes, Jimmy fears anyone identifying him - one flashback had him uptight just because a guy was sternly looking his way only to reveal he was looking past Jimmy to his family in the background. So you are right, how the character was played wasn't necessary to indicate threat. However, how he was played was great because you didn't know what Jimmy was thinking, or how he was going to "handle it himself". I think the writers didn't change anything based on the actor replacement, they would have had the original actor also instantly be cowed when seeing Jimmy with his mom, but I would have liked to see how the original actor played it. This actor had a completely different energy in the role. It was unfortunate, this is a staff of creators and writers who like to use the same knife Walt used to protect his family from Tuco to later be wielded by Skylar as she cuts Walt. Or to show dented paper towel dispensers or trash cans seasons after the denting. But, it was out of their hands.
Didn't ruin the episode for me but got me out of the, I dunno, atmosphere of the show a bit.
Didn't ruin the episode for me but got me out of the, I dunno, atmosphere of the show a bit.
I agree with you 100% that the other actor was better for the role. He nailed that subtle "bullying" vibe you mentioned for sure. I guess what I'm saying is, that was just icing on the cake, and that the new guy didn't ruin my enjoyment, without that element.
I guess the fact that we can interpret the same performance so differently means he did a great job eliciting a wide range of emotions in such a short time, and I'm sure the ambiguity was intentional. For me, the bullying aspect came through in the way he got Gene to say the line, which I feel like Peak Saul never would have given up/caved so easily on. Look at all the lies/denials he gave at Howard's funeral for comparison. Given what we saw this week, though, maybe the point of this scene was to show just how beaten down Gene had become and how desperately he needed Saul to feel alive again:
Regardless, given what has taken place on this thread this week, I feel like I should go out of my way to point out that I respect all of your opinions, even if they're different than mine, and I don't hate any of you.
Regardless, given what has taken place on this thread this week, I feel like I should go out of my way to point out that I respect all of your opinions, even if they're different than mine, and I don't hate any of you.
Gene and Saul are in two COMPLETELY different places in life. To expect the same reaction out of them is crazy. Just think of what he's gone through since he had to disappear from ABQ. He has no reason to be confident and aggressive anymore. He's got to keep an extremely low profile in Omaha or risk serious consequences.
I will admit I don't remember many of the details of BB, as it ended almost 9 years ago.
Who is left that is a threat to Jimmy/Saul/Gene in the Cinnabon era? Everyone I can remember is dead.
Who is left that is a threat to Jimmy/Saul/Gene in the Cinnabon era? Everyone I can remember is dead.
No one person. It's more that he'd go to jail for years if not decades if caught.
Undead Lalo
Thanks :-)
Speaking of, I randomly rewatched Colombiana (2011) yesterday. Guess who showed up? Early in the movie, he plays "American Embassy 1". I had to do a double take to make sure it was him, but alas...Brian Earl Spilner said:
Undead Lalo
I'm no expert on the Omaha weather, but would there be snow on the ground that early in the year?
Mid-October? yeah, it wouldn't be uncommon at all for there to be a lot of snow at that time of year.hurleyag said:
I'm no expert on the Omaha weather, but would there be snow on the ground that early in the year?
They absolutely nailed that casting. The Nebraska football talk was a nice touch.Jack Cheese said:
I must be the only one that loved the Cinnabon eating scenes. The guy from Parks and Rec was perfect in that role, he was so regimented about how he ate - expert with fork and knife, spinning the plate halfway through each time, he was like a professional eater. And the fact that Gene/Saul recognized this and exploited it is brilliant.
Loved it.
It was fun to see Gene go back into 'Slipping Jimmy'.
Gene also probably collected as much snow as he could find and put it on that spot to slow her down.Know Your Enemy said:Mid-October? yeah, it wouldn't be uncommon at all for there to be a lot of snow at that time of year.hurleyag said:
I'm no expert on the Omaha weather, but would there be snow on the ground that early in the year?
Oh, interesting fan theory - I like it.Brian Earl Spilner said:
Undead Lalo
Finale might be Jimmy and Jesse reconnecting in Albuquerque, going to see a werewolf movie, having to leave movie early because Jesse gets scared. On the way home, Jimmy/Saul starts singing the Werewolf movie theme song, eventually turning into a Werewolf himself as all the dead from the Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul timelines start emerging from graves and dancing. Walker Walt, Hellhound Hank, Ghoulish Gus - biggest fan response for Haunted Howard and Limping Lalo emerging from same grave together. Episode wins Emmys for costume and choreography.
100% he did. She even said she never gets stuck there.Quad Dog said:Gene also probably collected as much snow as he could find and put it on that spot to slow her down.Know Your Enemy said:Mid-October? yeah, it wouldn't be uncommon at all for there to be a lot of snow at that time of year.hurleyag said:
I'm no expert on the Omaha weather, but would there be snow on the ground that early in the year?
its been driving me nuts trying to remember where I had seen the new taxi driver actor before.
I finally had to look it up to find it he played that rookie GM of the Jaguars in Draft Day
I finally had to look it up to find it he played that rookie GM of the Jaguars in Draft Day
7 pages ago.Mr.Bond said:
The cabbie is the wormy GM of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the movie draft day
One question I have after rethinking the timeline of the last episode. Does Gene realize that Walter is dead? I would have to imagine that would have been big news. Not that it really matters to the story but it makes me curious.
Know Your Enemy said:
One question I have after rethinking the timeline of the last episode. Does Gene realize that Walter is dead? I would have to imagine that would have been big news. Not that it really matters to the story but it makes me curious.
Is he? The last scene showed Walter lying down but I don't think there was ever any indication that he was deceased officially.
He died September 7th 2010 and last Better Call Saul episode went into October 2010 and showed Saul reading the newspaper for sports info, but he was still talking about Walter with Jeff. Who knows.Know Your Enemy said:
One question I have after rethinking the timeline of the last episode. Does Gene realize that Walter is dead? I would have to imagine that would have been big news. Not that it really matters to the story but it makes me curious.
PatriotAg02 said:Know Your Enemy said:
One question I have after rethinking the timeline of the last episode. Does Gene realize that Walter is dead? I would have to imagine that would have been big news. Not that it really matters to the story but it makes me curious.
Is he? The last scene showed Walter lying down but I don't think there was ever any indication that he was deceased officially.
I thought for sure that the news reports in El Camino said Walt was dead. Am I remembering wrong?
Vince Gilligan confirmed it.PatriotAg02 said:Know Your Enemy said:
One question I have after rethinking the timeline of the last episode. Does Gene realize that Walter is dead? I would have to imagine that would have been big news. Not that it really matters to the story but it makes me curious.
Is he? The last scene showed Walter lying down but I don't think there was ever any indication that he was deceased officially.
'Breaking Bad' Creator Vince Gilligan Shuts Down Theory That Walter White Is Alive
He didn't talk about him in the present tense though.Duckhook said:PatriotAg02 said:Know Your Enemy said:
One question I have after rethinking the timeline of the last episode. Does Gene realize that Walter is dead? I would have to imagine that would have been big news. Not that it really matters to the story but it makes me curious.
Is he? The last scene showed Walter lying down but I don't think there was ever any indication that he was deceased officially.
I thought for sure that the news reports in El Camino said Walt was dead. Am I remembering wrong?
Know Your Enemy said:He didn't talk about him in the present tense though.Duckhook said:PatriotAg02 said:Know Your Enemy said:
One question I have after rethinking the timeline of the last episode. Does Gene realize that Walter is dead? I would have to imagine that would have been big news. Not that it really matters to the story but it makes me curious.
Is he? The last scene showed Walter lying down but I don't think there was ever any indication that he was deceased officially.
I thought for sure that the news reports in El Camino said Walt was dead. Am I remembering wrong?
Not sure what you mean. What I was saying is that I'm sure the news reports within the El Camino movie said Walt was dead.
Quoted the wrong post. Meant to reply to Complete Idiot who referenced Gene telling his pawns about Walt.
On BCS podcast they had the actor on the played new Jeff the cabbie. They mentioned it wouldn't be the last we see of Jeff - very interesting.
I can't imagine how anyone would have expected it would be.Big Al 1992 said:
On BCS podcast they had the actor on the played new Jeff the cabbie. They mentioned it wouldn't be the last we see of Jeff - very interesting.
Well, Saul said they were done and entire character may have been used to bring Saul back out of Jimmy, have Saul execute a scam to get his way, and that lead to more Saul type antics NOT involving that character. I don't think it was clear if he would or would not return. Can't trust the low level criminal element though, and surely there is a big enough reward out there if someone turns in Saul?Know Your Enemy said:I can't imagine how anyone would have expected it would be.Big Al 1992 said:
On BCS podcast they had the actor on the played new Jeff the cabbie. They mentioned it wouldn't be the last we see of Jeff - very interesting.
I think this series ends with Gene succumbing to Saul and it getting him caught. I could see Jeffie and this heist playing some role in that
Probably didn't talk Carol Burnett into a one episode roll. Bet she has plenty to do with the return of Jeffie.
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