# 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:** 64
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1261 "2017-06-23T13:42:45Z")
I forgot to mention how awesome it was to see Jimmy in (what I assume is) his alma mater sweatshirt. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1262 "2017-06-23T15:01:44Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I forgot to mention how awesome it was to see Jimmy in (what I assume is) his alma mater sweatshirt. 😃 Go Land Crabs! ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1263 "2017-06-23T15:30:28Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Maybe “unnecessary” was not the right word. > What I mean is, there are various ways to use the knowledge of what Gus does, and various ways to pull info out of Lydia without just putting together a string of extremely incriminating sentences. > For example, there’s no reason for him to say Gus is a drug dealer, he just needed to make reference to Gus’ “private business” (though I guess it wouldn’t have set up her line). Like Stanislaus pointed out, Mike doesn’t go for cloak and dagger games when it’s not needed. If Lydia’s office is bugged, he’s completely screwed anyway, and if she wants to turn him in then she can regardless of the phrasing he uses. So what’s the point of dancing around what he’s saying with possibly misinterpreted words when he can ask direct questions and get real answers without confusion? Talking about “private business” would specifically be awful word choice for Mike, because it wouldn’t prompt her to talk about the extent of Gus’s business - she would assume he knew what the “private business” was and not offer the information that Gus is doing more than Mike thinks he is. This conversation doesn’t read to me like ‘Mike doesn’t know what he’s doing’, it reads to me like ‘Mike is talking directly instead of trying to be clever when it’s not needed’. Since you bring up Squat Cobbler guy, remember the conversation where Mike made it clear that Squat Cobbler was a criminal now and needs to remember that? No code words, no dancing around what they were doing, just direct talk (that, if Squat Cobbler took to heart, would have avoided a lot of trouble). ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1264 "2017-06-23T15:50:00Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > You’re not the only one. That really was one of the ugliest houses I’ve ever seen. Making it even worse is how lovely and well-decorated the inside was - so jarring! I wonder if that’s a New Mexico thing, or if it’s supposed to have some deeper meaning. It really is jarring how the interior is very nice and relaxing, with lots of wood and dark colors that match each other, while the exterior is some godawful gaudy yellow. > [@](#): > > I think Jimmy’s biggest problem is that he just can’t get out of his own way. That may be the reason he goes into the Saul business - he might pick ‘criminal scum’ as his clientele so that if his schemes do hurt them, they’re not people he cares about anyway. I also wonder if he’s going to push Kim away from him next season, instead of Kim drawing away from him like most people seemed to think. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1265 "2017-06-23T15:53:46Z")
While we’re talking about Mike, where was he in the last episode? I assume there were some real life availability issues, but it does kind of highlight that his story for this season was over once he’d met Lydia. If Gus is onto Nacho though, then presumably he will at some point discover the connection between Nacho and Mike, and that could mean trouble. Gus thinks that he can trust Mike to respect his desire to keep Salamanca alive, and has extended him considerable kindness as a result. But he’s going to find that Mike conspired with Nacho to swap out his heart medicine. We know that won’t kill Hector, but Nacho very much hopes it will and Mike is clearly willing to take that chance. It’s a bit of a slap in the face to Gus, all things considered. A conversation about loyalties and where they lie seems to be due. ---
**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 23, 2017, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1266 "2017-06-23T17:02:29Z")
Maybe Gus already knew about Nacho’s plan (through Mike)? He went to the meeting along with Bolsa to confront Hector in order to further goad Hector into a heart attack (he already saw Hector have an angina attack a few episodes ago), as well as to be there to try to revive Hector so he can do it all over again. Watching Hector suffering is what Gus wants (vs. a random sniper shot to the head). The ultimate outcome for Hector has to be beyond Gus’ wildest dreams (except for the last few seconds, of course). When Gus first stops Mike from killing Hector, Hector is still in high standing in the cartel. His murder would bring chaos. By the end of this season, Gus is bringing in way more money than Hector, Hector’s behavior is becoming more of a thorn in the cartel’s side, and he is clearly disrespecting Don Eladio. At this point Hector is dispensable, especially if he dies from natural causes so no vendetta is kicked off. The look he gave Nacho might be (1) watching Nacho’s reaction to confirm that he had actually doctored the pills and (2) sizing Nacho up as a potential ally/adversary (assuming Nacho would be running the Salamanca operation until Tuco gets out of prison - I don’t think that running the operation is in the Cousins’ skill set). ---
**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:** [June 23, 2017, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1267 "2017-06-23T18:11:36Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > I don’t think that running the operation is in the Cousins’ skill set At that point, the were busy with their day jobs - travelling back in time to kill Sarah Connor. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1268 "2017-06-23T19:46:02Z")
I was disappointed we never got another glimpse of Cinnabon Manager Jimmy in the second half of the season. What happened after he passed out on the floor after telling that kid to get a lawyer? ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1269 "2017-06-23T20:38:57Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > I was disappointed we never got another glimpse of Cinnabon Manager Jimmy in the second half of the season. What happened after he passed out on the floor after telling that kid to get a lawyer? Well, obviously he will wake up in the hospital and it will turn out that he dreamed all of the events of BCS and BB, and that he’s actually a guy who tried acting but never got a big break. The “Better Call Saul” tape that he watched was actually from an audition for TV show about lawyers that was his one chance at a good gig, but his brother Chuck was always the funny one and landed the role instead. Another really bad idea: Season 4 opens with a young Jesse Pinkman visiting his aunt’s house, where he smells smoke. Heroically he rushes towards the source, and finds Chuck’s house burning, so he rushes into the flames and drags Chuck’s body out. The recovered Chuck realizes how much he hated his path in life, and does a complete 180. He uses the $8 million from his sale of HHM to start a cheesy rock band and hire someone to make a documentary of their lives. (For those who don’t know, Chuck’s house is actually in the same neighborhood as Jesse’s aunt’s house, and Michael McKean was also David St Hubbins in Spinal tap) ---
**Author:** ![SpinyNorma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@SpinyNorma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpinyNorma)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1270 "2017-06-23T21:58:32Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Why is Norma shouting at us? Does bolding equal shouting? :eek: If so, my apologies. I’ll go now and sit quietly in the corner to contemplate my shame–at least until something shiny distracts me. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1271 "2017-06-23T23:06:37Z")
What’s keeping Chuck’s mental illness from taking over? His job, and Howard and Jimmy still looking out for him. In one episode he destroys all three barriers. It’s a classic Breaking Bad ending - tragic but completely understandable in retrospect. What’s keeping Jimmy from becoming Saul Goodman? Chuck and Kim. One down, one more to go. Season four won’t be pretty for Kim. ---
**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 23, 2017, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1272 "2017-06-23T23:56:37Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > What’s keeping Jimmy from becoming Saul Goodman? Chuck and Kim. One down, one more to go. Season four won’t be pretty for Kim. One could argue Chuck, Kim, and Jimmy’s senior clients. Two down, one to go. And to keep it in threes: what’s keeping Gus from becoming the king of meth? Hector, a place to secretly manufacture, and a cook. Two down, one to go. ---
**Author:** ![Pither](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7feea3/32.png) [@Pither](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pither)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2017, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1273 "2017-06-24T23:42:46Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > If Chuck actually made a proper will - it’s possible that he was arrogant enough and dismissive enough of his own condition that he never bothered to make one. It’s also possible that there is some flaw with the will
 I’m sure they’ll find an updated will that takes Jimmy out and leaves everything to the ex-wife. Probably makes thi gs right with Howard too. Chuck prides himself on his thoroughness, they’ll find it in a fireproof safe or it will turn up at the office. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2017, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1274 "2017-06-24T23:46:13Z")
I’m not getting what happened at the end. If Chuck was committing suicide, there’s got to be better ways than burning yourself to death. Would that even be possible? Wouldn’t you just flee out of desire to avoid the whole charred flesh thing? ---
**Author:** ![Pither](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7feea3/32.png) [@Pither](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pither)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1275 "2017-06-25T00:02:28Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Prediction: Kim joins HHM In Breaking bad, I remember Saul saying something about catching his ex-wife sleeping with his boss (ex-boss?)
 ---
**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 25, 2017, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1276 "2017-06-25T01:59:44Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > I’m not getting what happened at the end. If Chuck was committing suicide, there’s got to be better ways than burning yourself to death. Would that even be possible? Wouldn’t you just flee out of desire to avoid the whole charred flesh thing? You would think! But there are those monks who stay calm while self-immolating. Or maybe he lost consciousness from smoke inhalation first? > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > In one episode of Breaking Bad, Walt visited Gus at his house, where Gus was preparing dinner. I thought Gus mentioned children (and possibly a wife?). Yes, and there were toys around. But IIRC, it later became pretty clear that was all an elaborate ruse to get Walt to empathize with him. > [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > As others have said, I think that was a direct homage to I thought the same, but I wish people wouldn’t bring this up outside of a discussion of the earlier film, as it spoils the ending of a cinematic masterpiece. > [@voltaire](#): > > Jimmy was very careful in how he ran the con. As he said while wearing the microphone, he never told a lie. I’d think the more prevalent danger would be with the bar association, but even then, if he never acted as a lawyer and didn’t actually lie, he would seem to be in the clear. Didn’t he lie to them about the origin of Irene’s shoes? ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1277 "2017-06-25T02:04:54Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > I’m not getting what happened at the end. If Chuck was committing suicide, there’s got to be better ways than burning yourself to death. Would that even be possible? Wouldn’t you just flee out of desire to avoid the whole charred flesh thing? Well, the rather famous picture that won the 1963 World Press Photo of the year shows ThĂ­ch QuáșŁng Đức burning himself to death in protest, so it’s definitely possible: [https://theartstack.com/artist/malcolm-browne/untitled-1963-world-pr](https://theartstack.com/artist/malcolm-browne/untitled-1963-world-pr) . Here’s a couple of examples of people who aren’t Buddhist Monks doing so [http://www.wral.com/man-fatally-burned-at-jordan-lake/11671033/](http://www.wral.com/man-fatally-burned-at-jordan-lake/11671033/) [Man dies after setting himself on fire inside car](http://nypost.com/2017/04/19/man-burned-to-death-after-car-bursts-into-flames/) . While it’s not common, people do commit suicide by burning themselves to death, the show runners didn’t invent the idea. I’m not really sure what you mean by ‘there are better ways’, Chuck is clearly not thinking rationally by the end of the season so he’s not going to make a rational decision his method of suicide. Also by the time he dies Chuck has spent years feeling burns from electricity, and spent the weeks before his death deliberately burning himself to overcome his condition and to convince others that he’d getting better, so he probably wasn’t as scared of burning as other people would be. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1278 "2017-06-25T08:19:34Z")
I binged the season over the last week and skimmed the last couple pages, sorry if I repeat anything. There were parallels between Hector and Chuck. Both were prideful over building organizations from scratch and both were angry they were diminished by young upstarts they didn’t respect, and both were ruined for it. The differences between Hector and Gus amused me. Hector’s money is delivered in rubber banded wads that roll off the table. Gus’s money is shrink-wrapped in neat, tidy cubes. Hector’s idea of a power play is strolling into Gus’s restaurant in the middle of the day, drawing attention, smoking a cigar, and scratching dirt off his shoes onto Gus’s desk, while Gus is all about cloak and dagger and making friends with the cops. Gus’s operation is like a well oiled machine, while Hector runs out of a dingy parlor that looks like some stereotypical mob hang out, with guys who don’t make their cut getting beat up right outside the door in broad daylight. Mike’s scene where he shoots the shoe full of drugs was like something from a Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner cartoon, except it actually worked. Maybe it’s obvious, but I think the scene where Kim’s car is stuck and she almost pushes it into a fence around an oil rig symbolizes how she’s pushing herself too hard. For some reason I thought she would accidentally transpose important numbers and lose professional standing, like Chuck did under Saul’s conspiracy. My memory of Kim/Saul’s relationship is a little foggy. That was their first kiss, right? And it wasn’t really romantic, more of a peck. I remember Saul giving her foot rubs back in the nail salon, but that never went anywhere, did it? They’ve hugged before, I think, and maybe they pretended to be a couple when they were conning people. Saul taking care of Kim after the car accident made me laugh, like an idea from a shipper to make two characters get with each other. Hollywood has trained me to expect every onscreen opposite sex pair who spend time together to fall for each other, but I’ve noticed in recent years there’s been more platonic relationships. I wonder if theirs will remain chaste the next season, or sex will be part of what ruins their friendship. And there better be another season. I want to see Saul become a _criminal_ lawyer. ---
**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 25, 2017, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1279 "2017-06-25T09:55:33Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > I binged the season over the last week and skimmed the last couple pages, sorry if I repeat anything. > > There were parallels between Hector and Chuck. Both were prideful over building organizations from scratch and both were angry they were diminished by young upstarts they didn’t respect, and both were ruined for it. > > The differences between Hector and Gus amused me. Hector’s money is delivered in rubber banded wads that roll off the table. Gus’s money is shrink-wrapped in neat, tidy cubes. Hector’s idea of a power play is strolling into Gus’s restaurant in the middle of the day, drawing attention, smoking a cigar, and scratching dirt off his shoes onto Gus’s desk, while Gus is all about cloak and dagger and making friends with the cops. Gus’s operation is like a well oiled machine, while Hector runs out of a dingy parlor that looks like some stereotypical mob hang out, with guys who don’t make their cut getting beat up right outside the door in broad daylight. > > Mike’s scene where he shoots the shoe full of drugs was like something from a Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner cartoon, except it actually worked. > > Maybe it’s obvious, but I think the scene where Kim’s car is stuck and she almost pushes it into a fence around an oil rig symbolizes how she’s pushing herself too hard. For some reason I thought she would accidentally transpose important numbers and lose professional standing, like Chuck did under Saul’s conspiracy. > > My memory of Kim/Saul’s relationship is a little foggy. That was their first kiss, right? And it wasn’t really romantic, more of a peck. I remember Saul giving her foot rubs back in the nail salon, but that never went anywhere, did it? They’ve hugged before, I think, and maybe they pretended to be a couple when they were conning people. > > Saul taking care of Kim after the car accident made me laugh, like an idea from a shipper to make two characters get with each other. Hollywood has trained me to expect every onscreen opposite sex pair who spend time together to fall for each other, but I’ve noticed in recent years there’s been more platonic relationships. I wonder if theirs will remain chaste the next season, or sex will be part of what ruins their friendship. > > And there better be another season. I want to see Saul become a _criminal_ lawyer. I agree with all of your observations except the last one. Kim and Jimmy have been a couple for quite some time. Just because they don’t show them outright doing the nasty doesn’t mean they don’t. That’s my take at least. ---
**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:** [June 25, 2017, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040/1280 "2017-06-25T10:22:15Z")
> [@Pither](#): > > In Breaking bad, I remember Saul saying something about catching his ex-wife sleeping with his boss (ex-boss?)
 Yes, but that kind of line - “My third wife” etc - is a standard trope from ancient comedians. I never took it as a statement of fact, just a throwaway joke. BB and BCS have a history of creating backstories from single lines, but they can’t make every comment every character makes the basis for an elaborate origin story. At some point you just have to accept that not every comment is factual or meaningful. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040.md?page=63) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-3/784040.md?page=65)