# 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:** 55
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1081 "2017-06-16T16:10:27Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I’m sure a multi-national corporation is depositing or moving millions of dollars a day. I don’t think an extra $200k would cause any additional reporting requirements. > > Isn’t that why Lydia (is it Lydia) was sort of laughing? At the fact that Mike thought that $200k would mean anything to anybody in a huge corporation. They are not depositing millions of dollars in _cash_ every day, except at their retail-level subsidiaries - and that amount would be spread over many locations, each making much smaller deposits. _That’s_ where you get _cash_ into the system without leaving a suspicious paper trail - in a large number of small, fake transactions which are (1) reasonably expected to be cash transactions and (2) impossible to verify or trace. Lydia is laughing because she is an arrogant, self-important ass. Mike wants to make sure that Lydia has a justifiable reason for Madrigal to be paying him. That’s why he insists she change the job description from logistics consultant to security consultant - in case the corporate auditors want to investigate. Lydia is trying to belittle Mike by saying what she will be paying him is too small for the auditors to notice. Guess what? Mike is right. She is paying him $10k per week; she said that the weekly budget for her operation is (if I remember correctly) $500l-$1M per week. Mike’s “salary” is 1-2% of that - plenty large enough to be on the auditor’s radar. Remember, one of the auditor’s jobs is to look for small discrepancies which might be the sign of malfeasance. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1082 "2017-06-16T16:29:03Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > _That’s_ where you get _cash_ into the system without leaving a suspicious paper trail - in a large number of small, fake transactions which are (1) reasonably expected to be cash transactions and (2) impossible to verify or trace I agree that is one way it could be done. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1083 "2017-06-16T17:23:16Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Question about the drug distribution from a non-BB fan. During the conference call, wasn’t it said that distribution was going to be through Gus? Which got Hector all angry? I thought that got Nacho’s dad off the hook. Hector originally wanted to use Gus’s network temporarily, and forcing Gus to do it let Hector swing his dick a bit and show dominance. Hector was angry about the call because using Gus’s network permanently means that Hector isn’t really in charge of his own operation anymore; instead of being an independent operator, he’s really just another distributor for Gus. Formally his status hasn’t changed, but this definitely weakens his position, so he doesn’t want to do it, so he’s still planning to set up his own operation. > [@](#): > > Why - after that - did Nacho tell his dad that Hector would be contacting him? Did Nacho know Hector would ignore his bosses? Nacho doesn’t have to guess at what Hector wants - Hector said they’re going to use Nacho’s dad, and hasn’t said that he’s changed his mind, so either the plan goes on or Nacho defies him directly, which will lead to Nacho’s death. > [@](#): > > I also agree with the opinion that Howard’s reaction towards Jimmy was more out of frustration than hatred. I’d go a little farther than that - I think that Howard really dislikes Jimmy now and thinks he’s dishonest scum, it just doesn’t rise to anything that I’d call ‘hatred’. He wants nothing to do with Jimmy and is annoyed that Jimmy is coming around trying to manipulate him, but he doesn’t actually want to do anything against Jimmy. He’s not planning to mess with Jimmy’s share of the settlement, he’s not not planning to try to get Jimmy disbarred, he’s not going to actively push people away from Jimmy’s practice when it starts back, and so on. > [@](#): > > A couple of INCREDIIBLY MINOR points - I got a kick out of the silly kitten cookies, but was surprised that Jimmy would try to pass them off as homemade. And would he really need that many shoes to get one close to Irene’s size? If he was trying to cover sizes 6 to 10.5 including half sizes, which seems like a reasonable range to me, that would be 10 boxes of shoes, which looks like about like what he had. > [@](#): > > When Kim’s car got stuck, my wife said, “It’s a small car - push it!” And I said, “Or put something under the wheels.” Whaddya know - she did both! 😃 I also noticed that Kim was smart enough to wear pants and flat-soled boots for her trip to the desert. She would have had a much more difficult time if she did the heels and skirt look. Funny thing I heard in an interview - they actually do the filming in winter, and it gets COLD in the desert; she commented that it was hard to keep from shivering and teeth chattering during those scenes. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1084 "2017-06-16T17:30:22Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > Funny thing I heard in an interview - they actually do the filming in winter, and it gets COLD in the desert; she commented that it was hard to keep from shivering and teeth chattering during those scenes. I was driving through ABQ in late April and got stuck in a snowstorm, so yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1085 "2017-06-16T17:40:56Z")
Predictions for the finale: Chuck’s house won’t burn down. The ‘lantern’ title is metaphorical and won’t get used so directly. Chuck probably does burn himself out (not literally) with all of his ‘look at me using an immersion blender’ stunts. Chuck, Irene, or both end up either dead or in the hospital in bad shape. Hamlin rejects Chuck’s ‘we can fix this with a handshake’ offer, he’s going to either fight Chuck or figured out a way to come up with the cash. Decent odds that Howard and Jimmy end up doing something against Chuck. Would love to see a scene like “I’m sorry I called you Gollum.” “Well, I called you a pigfucker, so I guess we’re even.” Kim leaves the partnership and semi-relationship with Jimmy, quite possibly while he’s getting the Sandpiper payout. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1086 "2017-06-16T17:57:18Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > Chuck, Irene, or both end up either dead or in the hospital in bad shape. A while back I predicted Chuck, Irene, and Hector all in the same ICU in the finale. > [@Pantastic](#): > > Hamlin rejects Chuck’s ‘we can fix this with a handshake’ offer, he’s going to either fight Chuck or figured out a way to come up with the cash. He can get part of the cash by convincing the Sandpiper clients to settle. > [@Pantastic](#): > > Decent odds that Howard and Jimmy end up doing something against Chuck. Would love to see a scene like “I’m sorry I called you Gollum.” “Well, I called you a pigfucker, so I guess we’re even.” I’ve got this feeling too. Hey, if Chuck croaks before he is bought out would Jimmy inherit his partnership in HHM? ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1087 "2017-06-16T18:21:34Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > Hey, if Chuck croaks before he is bought out would Jimmy inherit his partnership in HHM? Chuck probably wrote Jimmy out of his will back when he changed the locks, if he dies his money is likely going to his ex-wife or a charity of some sort. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1088 "2017-06-16T18:34:33Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > Decent odds that Howard and Jimmy end up doing something against Chuck. Yeah - a good part of many types of lawyering involves working with folk you do not respect, like, or believe to be honest. Just this morning, for example… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1089 "2017-06-16T18:57:04Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I’m not so sympathetic towards Irene as most seem. She was allowing herself to be played by the law firms. Shouldn’t get into a position of responsibility, if you aren’t going to pay minimal attention. Agree. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1090 "2017-06-16T19:06:49Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > They are not depositing millions of dollars in _cash_ every day, except at their retail-level subsidiaries - and that amount would be spread over many locations, each making much smaller deposits. _That’s_ where you get _cash_ into the system without leaving a suspicious paper trail - in a large number of small, fake transactions which are (1) reasonably expected to be cash transactions and (2) impossible to verify or trace. > > Lydia is laughing because she is an arrogant, self-important ass. Mike wants to make sure that Lydia has a justifiable reason for Madrigal to be paying him. That’s why he insists she change the job description from logistics consultant to security consultant - in case the corporate auditors want to investigate. Lydia is trying to belittle Mike by saying what she will be paying him is too small for the auditors to notice. > > Guess what? Mike is right. She is paying him $10k per week; she said that the weekly budget for her operation is (if I remember correctly) $500l-$1M per week. Mike’s “salary” is 1-2% of that - plenty large enough to be on the auditor’s radar. Remember, one of the auditor’s jobs is to look for small discrepancies which might be the sign of malfeasance. Laundering is not as simple as just writing up extra fake sales then depositing the drug money as if it vame from customers. I would think any competent auditor would check to make sure that increases in sales are matched by an equivalent increase in inventory costs. If you order 5,000 chickens per month, and then your sales of chicken go up by 20%, there had better be an increase of 1000 chickens in your supply chain. A large increase in sales should accompany an increase in staffing costs, etc. So large scale money laundering might have to include multiple companies, faking receipt of goods, etc. In Gus’s case, his supply is also his drug source, so he can probably fake that out. But a really diligent auditor could find all sorts of other discrepancies like that. No increase in the use of water to wash 20% more dishes, etc. That’s probably why Gus works so hard to stay far enough below the radar that there will never be a full forensic audit. He can probably withstand a casual IRS audit looking for tax compliance, but if he became a suspect in money laundering and a full criminal audit was done, it would be very hard to hide the shenanigans. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1091 "2017-06-16T19:12:39Z")
The money laundering scheme that can withstand detailed scrutiny has not been invented yet. At least not without bought off auditors or regulators, or at least sympathetic ones. I wonder if Madrigal has bought off the local IRS auditors. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1092 "2017-06-16T19:19:58Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > Predictions for the finale: > > Chuck’s house won’t burn down. The ‘lantern’ title is metaphorical and won’t get used so directly. Chuck probably does burn himself out (not literally) with all of his ‘look at me using an immersion blender’ stunts. > Chuck, Irene, or both end up either dead or in the hospital in bad shape. > Hamlin rejects Chuck’s ‘we can fix this with a handshake’ offer, he’s going to either fight Chuck or figured out a way to come up with the cash. > Decent odds that Howard and Jimmy end up doing something against Chuck. Would love to see a scene like “I’m sorry I called you Gollum.” “Well, I called you a pigfucker, so I guess we’re even.” > Kim leaves the partnership and semi-relationship with Jimmy, quite possibly while he’s getting the Sandpiper payout. I think Kim is out of action as a lawyer and has to drop the new case (all the papers went flying too). She’s FUBAR’d for a while and won’t be able to keep up her end of the office rent. Jimmy’s rolling in the cash for now, but like Gift of the Maji, it won’t matter much. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1093 "2017-06-16T19:22:49Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > A while back I predicted Chuck, Irene, and Hector all in the same ICU in the finale. > > He can get part of the cash by convincing the Sandpiper clients to settle. > > I’ve got this feeling too. > > Hey, if Chuck croaks before he is bought out would Jimmy inherit his partnership in HHM? Depends on what Chuck’s will states. Right now, I don’t think Chuck has warm. And fuzzy feelings toward Jimmy and his will probably reflects that. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1094 "2017-06-16T19:49:45Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > Depends on what Chuck’s will states. Right now, I don’t think Chuck has warm. And fuzzy feelings toward Jimmy and his will probably reflects that. I was kind of making a joke, I’m sure the partnership agreement has language to handle the death of one of the partners. Plus the only way Jimmy would inherit would be if Chuck dies intestate, I can’t see any time in their mutual history where he would have left anything to Jimmy outside of a trust fund. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1095 "2017-06-16T20:05:35Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > The money laundering scheme that can withstand detailed scrutiny has not been invented yet. Saul’s Lazer Tag scheme comes close. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1096 "2017-06-16T21:00:32Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > I was kind of making a joke, I’m sure the partnership agreement has language to handle the death of one of the partners. I think the partnership agreement is probably worded to give Chuck much more power than it would be if they were drafting it ‘today’. At the time they created the firm it was just two guys in a small office, and they probably made a fairly simple buyout clause without really considering ‘what if we’re a multi-million dollar entity with a hundred employees?’. ---
**Author:** ![Lubricious\_Integument](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@Lubricious\_Integument](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lubricious_Integument)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1097 "2017-06-16T21:22:21Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Saul’s Lazer Tag scheme comes close. I had the same thought a while back when I took my son to a birthday party at a place with trampolines and foam pits. You pay $20 at the door of an old warehouse and go jump around for two hours and then leave. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1098 "2017-06-16T22:25:20Z")
Yeah, unless they sit and count patrons all day, every day… ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1099 "2017-06-16T22:49:05Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Yeah, unless they sit and count patrons all day, every day… Like Skyler did in BB when she was trying to estimate the revenue of the car wash? ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2017, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1100 "2017-06-17T16:56:02Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > I think Kim is out of action as a lawyer and has to drop the new case (all the papers went flying too). She’s FUBAR’d for a while and won’t be able to keep up her end of the office rent. Jimmy’s rolling in the cash for now, but like Gift of the Maji, it won’t matter much. I don’t know about that. She was able to walk out of the car after the crash, and all we see in the preview is a cast on her arm. She might just need a night in the hospital to be sure there’s no concussion complications, plus the cast on a broken arm. If that’s the case, she can be back to work in a couple of days, though she might need someone to take dictation for a few weeks (which she can certainly afford if she’s still working for MV). It will be even easier if she does hire someone to help out with the legal work, and she was interviewing people earlier in the season. The oil case can still use her solution - they may have another lawyer finalize the deal, but it’s possible that they will appreciate her work and see the accident as just something that happened (the case will be over since it’s a one-shot, but she might still be a ‘miracle worker’). It’s certainly not impossible that she is out of action for a while, but it doesn’t have to be the case from the injuries they’ve shown, and I could definitely see them deciding to have her able to work but not wanting to semi-partner with Jimmy any more. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040.md?page=54) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040.md?page=56)