# Better Call Saul (Season 3) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 8, 2017, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040 "2017-04-08T04:28:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/61 "2017-04-19T15:29:16Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > It’s interesting that Chuck correctly predicted Jimmy coming for the tape, but for all the wrong reasons. He doesn’t really get his brother at all. Yeah, it’s telling that he predicted Jimmy would come in the night to steal the tape when he really got pissed and came in angrily in broad daylight and didn’t actually care about the tape itself (he destroyed it, but clearly wasn’t actually concerned about getting rid of the tape but about breaking it in front of Chuck). I really liked how much it got to Jimmy, and how believable him being bothered, putting on ‘game face’ for clients and Kim, then just cracking over time was. I’m not really sure what Chuck’s plan is - he got Jimmy to come over to his house and commit a crime in front of witnesses, but it seems like it would be easy for Jimmy to paint this as a family dispute and his actions as being because of temporary emotional disturbance if he’s going to take it to court. I don’t think courts usually lay down the hammer on this kind of thing, especially when everyone involved has (or in this case, is) a lawyer. I suspect that whatever Chuck does believing ‘its an ethical violation, they have to take him down’ is not going to work, because the court is going to see how much emotion and dysfunctional family relationship is involved. I also think we may see a Hamlindigo Goodbye before the season is over - Howard seems to be getting more and more bothered by Chuck’s progressively more insane actions. At first he was clearly a senior partner with a problem that could be handled quietly in the background, but Chuck is acting more and more unhinged, involving more people and company resources, and dragging the firm’s name into the dispute. I suspect that whatever big confrontation Chuck has with Jimmy pushes Howard over the edge into cutting ties with Chuck. Oddly, While I thought Howard was a dick at first, after seeing more of him I hope he just cashes out of the firm and goes into a quiet private practice like he always wanted, leaving ‘no phone Chuck’ to manage the firm by voice. I find it interesting that Kim didn’t advise Jimmy to just say that he way lying on the tape if it ever was used in court, like “I was worried about my brother so I told him I sabotaged him to make him feel better, it didn’t happen but it got him back on his feet.” If Jimmy was advising Kim (and certainly if Saul was advising Kim), that’s probably what he would say, but she’s much to ethical to advise him to lie under oath even though it would be the simplest way to destroy the tape’s usefulness. She didn’t even seem to think of this line of defense, when to me it was the obvious way to deal with the tape. > [@Sherrerd](#): > > That bothered me. The writers have established that Jimmy was a skilled con artist–something that requires being a master of deception and observation. Would such a person be so ridiculously obvious in his ‘spying’? He was painfully conspicuous. Nothing in the series has established that Jimmy is remotely good at surreptitiously spying on people. He’s good at finding marks and convincing them to trust him, but he’s very flashy and showy in what he does and doesn’t seem to have a lot of discretion. Just look at the season opener, where the Cinnabon manager trying to stay in hiding shouts to a shoplifter ‘get a lawyer’ - that’s not a guy who’s good at being quiet or secret. The whole over the top bit with the lost watch in the trash can is exactly the way I’d expect Slippin’ Jimmy to operate, and I’m pretty sure that it would fool some drunk guy in a bar or a normal fast food manager (and definitely not Gus Fring). ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/62 "2017-04-19T16:02:08Z")
“This guy does NOT want to talk about Cracker Barrel.” Gold. It was great to see Gus back, finally. I can’t wait to hear what he has to say to Mike next week. The beginning of a beautiful relationship… ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/63 "2017-04-19T16:18:38Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > No kidding… Gus did almost everything but hit him over the head with his broom and he still wouldn’t break his stare at the bag. Gus must have had some simple way to notify the drop was scrubbed. My guess? The drop wasn’t scrubbed. I suspect one of the tiles under the table (probably the black one) is removable from below, and someone in the basement is able to remove the contents of the duffel bag while it sits under the table while the guy eats his breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/64 "2017-04-19T16:24:36Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > Gus must have had some simple way to notify the drop was scrubbed. I’m guessing that his mere presence in the dining area was the signal. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/65 "2017-04-19T16:51:45Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > I find it interesting that Kim didn’t advise Jimmy to just say that he way lying on the tape if it ever was used in court, like “I was worried about my brother so I told him I sabotaged him to make him feel better, it didn’t happen but it got him back on his feet.” If Jimmy was advising Kim (and certainly if Saul was advising Kim), that’s probably what he would say, but she’s much to ethical to advise him to lie under oath even though it would be the simplest way to destroy the tape’s usefulness. She didn’t even seem to think of this line of defense, when to me it was the obvious way to deal with the tape. Isn’t that essentially what she said her criminal procedure professor advised; that Jimmy said what he did because his brother was unhinged? And I agree with your other point; Howard is going to cut Chuck loose from the partnership. Chuck _was_ a brilliant attorney but now is more trouble than he is worth. BTW, I liked the sequence of Mike conducting that surveillance operation. It demonstrated just how skilled he is and why, perhaps, Gus starts to work with him. There was a commercial during the show about hidden Easter eggs in these episodes. Anyone notice any? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/66 "2017-04-19T16:52:45Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > My guess? The drop wasn’t scrubbed. I suspect one of the tiles under the table (probably the black one) is removable from below, and someone in the basement is able to remove the contents of the duffel bag while it sits under the table while the guy eats his breakfast. I dunno - if I was in a restaurant and saw a bag on the floor moving by itself, I’d suspect rats or roaches. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/67 "2017-04-19T16:55:39Z")
IIRC, Saul/Jimmy never knew or met Gus until _after_ Walter White met him? ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/68 "2017-04-19T17:02:07Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > IIRC, Saul/Jimmy never knew or met Gus until _after_ Walter White met him? I’m pretty sure Saul and Gus never interacted at all during Breaking Bad. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/69 "2017-04-19T17:05:56Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > IIRC, Saul/Jimmy never knew or met Gus until _after_ Walter White met him? I believe that’s something we just don’t know for sure. Mike was the connection between the two, but whether that was the only connection or whether Gus shoveled minor work Saul’s way is an unknown. The show runners could plausibly go in either direction at this point. From a practical standpoint having a quick-thinking crooked lawyer of Saul’s low status on retainer to handle _minor_ business like arranging bail for low-level employees would still make sense. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/70 "2017-04-19T17:07:46Z")
Best line of the show “This one really doesn’t want to talk about Cracker Barrel”. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/71 "2017-04-19T17:07:47Z")
Nice to see Francesca getting hired - same character (and actress, I think) that we saw in BB after she’d grown cynical from a few years of being Saul’s receptionist. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/72 "2017-04-19T17:11:32Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Best line of the show “This one really doesn’t want to talk about Cracker Barrel”. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Isn’t that essentially what she said her criminal procedure professor advised; that Jimmy said what he did because his brother was unhinged? No, I took it the Prof was suggestions that he _confessed_ because his brother was coming unhinged. Almost like being under duress. [Oops, I meant to edit, but quoted instead. Oh well.] ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/73 "2017-04-19T17:44:16Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Nice to see Francesca getting hired - same character (and actress, I think) that we saw in BB after she’d grown cynical from a few years of being Saul’s receptionist. Good eye. It’s [Tina Parker](http://breakingbad.wikia.com/wiki/Tina_Parker) in both series. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/74 "2017-04-19T18:14:10Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Isn’t that essentially what she said her criminal procedure professor advised; that Jimmy said what he did because his brother was unhinged? No, I thought the professor’s suggestion was that they should say the confession is not admissible because his brother’s apparent mental disturbance disturbed Jimmy and put him not in his right mind, basically like having him under duress. Forgot to mention a Checkhov’s gun speculation: Something about the Casino cards with a hole through them will be significant later on, the ‘random’ conversation between Chuck and the bodyguard/PI seemed a bit too prominent to me. > [@cmyk](#): > > “This guy does NOT want to talk about Cracker Barrel.” I forgot to comment, that was probably my favorite line of the show. Mike in a diner fits him perfectly, Mike in a Cracker Barrel just… no. > [@AK84](#): > > IIRC, Saul/Jimmy never knew or met Gus until _after_ Walter White met him? That was never established in breaking bad. We didn’t see Saul interact with Gus, IIRC they never are onscreen together at all), but nothing establishes that they’ve never met. I could definitely see Saul ending up on retainer to get Gus’s minor guys out of trouble, maybe without ever meeting Gus personally. And I don’t think he has any idea that Mike works for Gus until much later in BB, he just thinks of Mike as a competent guy he can hire for some jobs ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/75 "2017-04-19T18:21:23Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > It was great to see Gus back, finally. I can’t wait to hear what he has to say to Mike next week. The beginning of a beautiful relationship… This kinda bothered me - cause I gave up on BB after 1-2 seasons, so Dos Pollos Hermanos and Gus (the black manager, right?) mean nothing to me. Except the week before this season, my DVD taped some short thing about the re-creation of the restaurant and return of Gus. As someone watching BCS on its own, it kinda ruined things for me to be able to say, “That’s a bad guy!” before anything on screen caused me to know that. If I hadn’t seen that little advert, this ep would have seemed even slower than it was. I wouldn’t have realized that the bad guy saw Jimmy and Mike talking, and wouldn’t know how Mike had been made. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/76 "2017-04-19T18:30:24Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Yep. I totally bought Jimmy’s freak out. Jimmy loves his brother and put him on a pedestal, even when he knew better. The betrayals have just been mounting and mounting and I get why this one would be the final straw. > > It’s interesting that Chuck correctly predicted Jimmy coming for the tape, but for all the wrong reasons. He doesn’t really get his brother at all. Yeah, I really liked the way they did it for these reasons. Jimmy really thought, even after confessing to Chuck, that they could still reconcile. So when he finds out that Chuck had faked his breakdown just to record him, it’s the final blow for him (hence why he’s so out of it when Kim is trying to advise him). Chuck thinks that Jimmy is just a full-on calculating schemer, and so he’ll try to break in at night, quietly… when in reality Jimmy is just overwhelmed by emotion and crashes in the middle of the day. As you said, he still doesn’t understand his brother at all. Also really liking how Howard (or maybe just our perceptions of him) has evolved over the series. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/77 "2017-04-19T19:57:06Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > He was overly eager to make a good impression on Mike. It made him nervous and careless. I guess. Not the writers’ finest hour, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/78 "2017-04-19T20:11:37Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > This kinda bothered me - cause I gave up on BB after 1-2 seasons, so Dos Pollos Hermanos and Gus (the black manager, right?) mean nothing to me. Except the week before this season, my DVD taped some short thing about the re-creation of the restaurant and return of Gus. > > As someone watching BCS on its own, it kinda ruined things for me to be able to say, “That’s a bad guy!” before anything on screen caused me to know that. > > If I hadn’t seen that little advert, this ep would have seemed even slower than it was. I wouldn’t have realized that the bad guy saw Jimmy and Mike talking, and wouldn’t know how Mike had been made. Part of the impact of BCS is that it supposes that you are familiar with the characters from BB. Did you see the guy looking out the window of the Escalade? He’s a BB character, as well. I can see how this spin-off would seem very slow and confusing to someone who isn’t that familiar with how Vince Gilligan develops his characters and plot. But if you didn’t like BB, you’re likely not going to stick with this either. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/79 "2017-04-19T20:24:02Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Part of the impact of BCS is that it supposes that you are familiar with the characters from BB. … I can see how this spin-off would seem very slow and confusing to someone who isn’t that familiar with how Vince Gilligan develops his characters and plot. But if you didn’t like BB, you’re likely not going to stick with this either. I’ve mentioned this in the past. As just about the only guy on the planet who didn’t love BB, I really appreciated how it stood as a stand alone. Thought they did a good job of appealing to both audiences. Sure, it might mean something different/more to fans of BB, but you didn’t need to be a fan of BB to enjoy BCS. My problem w/ BB wasn’t the pacing. Instead, I just didn’t give a damn about a single character sufficient to sit thru the depressing carnage. JMHO. My wife felt the same - in fact bailed on BB before I did. We were clearly in the tiny minority. We’ve both greatly appreciated BCS. We are both lawyers, and it is on a very shortlist of our favorite shows. Nothing has been confusing to date, and I haven’t minded the pace. Wasn’t aware of anything where the creators said it was intended as nothing more than BB fanwank. I acknowledge that creating for different audiences can be a tricky exercise. This was one of the first significant things I noticed that strongly suggested that it was being written for BB fans in a way that reduced the enjoyment for the non BB fan. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/80 "2017-04-19T20:45:49Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > I guess. Not the writers’ finest hour, anyway. I concur. Maybe all the episode’s flaws can be attributed to a clumsy effort to try to reconnect with _Breaking Bad_ - rushing Jimmy’s family drama and clunkily reintroducing Gus. Hopefully it’s just a temporary glitch. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040.md?page=5)