Interesting comment from the “Chuck Retrospective” is that he was originally going to be a weak character, who was basically helpless without Jimmy. Him being as manipulative, prideful, and strong-willed as he ended up is entirely due to Micheal McKean’s acting.
Yes, and from what they’ve said Chuck is still a prominent character in spite of being dead. No ‘oh he actually survived’ cop-out, but the Jimmy side of the show is going to be focused on people coping with Chuck’s death and the aftermath. I wouldn’t be surprised if something interesting happens with Howard too, since he was the person second closest to Chuck (behind Jimmy).
Not surprisingly, this episode didn’t have a whole lot happen but sets things in motion for this season. No one seems to suspect foul play in Hector’s death, though I am pretty sure things will eventually turn bad for Nacho because of the way his name came up in Breaking Bad. It looks like whatever war happens with the Salamanca family is what will drive Mike into becoming Gus’s right hand man. I don’t find it surprising that Mike can’t just laze around doing nothing and collecting a check. I think the most interesting development is that Howard blames his pushing Chuck out for the suicide, and that Jimmy said nothing about his little improv skit at the insurance company. I think Jimmy’s happy ‘who wants coffee’ at the end is just him putting on a brave face, and that he’s actually really disturbed that his insurance shenanigans may have set Chuck’s end in motion. Will be interesting to see where they go with that.
I’m pretty sure this is it. I think he is genuinely hurting over the loss of his brother, and now even more so since he learned of the insurance effect.
I thought it was awesome that Mike just walked into the warehouse and started wandering around without anyone questioning him.
After last night’s season premiere, I have a theory :
SPOILERS AHEAD:
We saw Gus eyeballing the pills that Nacho gave to the EMT. We saw Nacho throw those pills off a bridge, but we also saw Victor witness this. Obviously Gus had Victor follow Nacho because he’s suspicious.
So, based on that, and referring back to the classic scene in Breaking Bad, when Jesse and Walt kidnap Saul while wearing ski masks…Saul yells out, “it wasn’t me it was Ignacio, he’s the one!”
Saul must have thought that Walt & Jesse were the TWINS…who were attempting to avenge their Uncle’s assassination attempt.
Yeah, his ‘happy’ seemed too happy. I’m sure he enjoys sticking it to Howard since the last time they talked Hoard insulted him and compared him to a pan handler, but I don’t think he actually feels that peppy about being the cause of what pushed Chuck over the edge.
I wonder if Lydia appreciates having an actual security consultant on payroll, because she’s stuck with him now unless she wants to admit she was money laundering.
Mike is, as always, covering ALL the bases. He realizes that getting 10K checks while he farts around playing with his granddaughter and scratching his ass is going to draw attention, he has every right to poke around Madrigal because what are they going to say, “We hired this guy as a security consultant but he’s not allowed on the premises?” That would raise some eyebrows. He wants to know more about the company he’s in bed with and how it relates to Gus’ operation so he’s just gonna get right in there and exploit his access for all it’s worth. He wants to make sure his ass is protected as he’s getting his cash laundered. Dude is always the smartest guy in the room unless Gus is there too, then they sit on opposite corners like two huge tomcats, blinking at each other but each wisely deciding not to push the issue of dominance.
Gus definitely noticed that Nacho has more knowledge of why Hector had his stroke but what he doesn’t know is WHY, so he’s finding out.
Am I the only one who thinks there was a definite “Ha, I’ll show 'em and THEN they’ll be sorry” aspect to Chuck’s suicide? Yeah, he was crazy and despondent, but he was absolutely out to cause as much pain as he could to those he held responsible. He was such an asshole.
That cold open in Omaha was a goddamned nail biter, but I’ve seen it brought up, and it’s a good point, but is anyone really looking for Jimmy/Saul/Gene at that point? Everyone’s dead, the cartel has nobody left and why look at Saul anyway, since he was just a money guy? Skyler could put a finger on him, but why would she bother since he implicates her too and getting him busted just makes the DEA more likely to give her the hairy eyeball. I think he’s living this uber-paranoid life basically for no reason. “The wicked man flees when no man pursueth” indeed.
I wonder if the amount on the check or something else written on it is going to be significant. There was a zoom to the check, but I don’t know if that was just ‘Mike’s thinking about how much they’re paying him’ or next week we’re going to see him calling Lydia out on something that’s off.
Has anyone figured out exactly when the Gene scenes take place? I remember a theory that it was in the winter between the main series of BB and the finale, but I don’t know if anyone pinned it down. If it’s in that time frame, then the Neo-Nazi gang might be looking for him to close up the last loose ends (which explains why the people he’s worried about all seem to be white guys with short hair). I think the DEA would also know that Saul was involved in the mess and would definitely like to arrest him, but probably wouldn’t look in Nebraska and probably aren’t actively looking for him.
I’m pretty sure the taxi guy is just Gene jumping at shadows, but there are people who would like to arrest or kill him out there.
Yeah, no idea why I wrote ‘death’ for a character that we know is immortal in this series since we’ve seen how he dies in BB.
The taxi driver appeared to be from Albuquerque, based on the thingy hanging from his rear view mirror. Maybe he recognized Gene/Saul from the old TV ads. Saul was pretty well known in Albuquerque.
Jimmy has to have a LOT of mixed feelings, seeing that the last thing Chuck said to him was “you never mattered all that much to me.”
This season’s title graphic, with Jimmy looking despairing while holding a happy-face mask in front of his face, could not be more perfect. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
This makes sense to me. Even if the Cinnabon scenes occur after Walter’s adventure at the neo-Nazi compound, Jimmy wouldn’t necessarily know the results of the adventure. And of course there’s always the possibility that someone at Madrigal might have survived–as far as Jimmy knows, Lydia may have had other confidants.
Another reason why working retail in a mall is an absurd idea for a fugitive. Saul should be working in an office or any place that he’s not seen by hundreds of people every day.
I’m so glad the Chuck business is over. Sure, Mckean is terrific, but I can’t take another ten hours of watching some guy freak out about electricity. Bring on the criminals doing criminal stuff and needing a criminal lawyer.
Agreed, his happy was way too happy, but I think it’s more than just him putting a brave face on it. Jimmy spent most of the episode morose. He spotted straight away that Chuck had regressed. He couldn’t even talk to Kim when she was trying her damnedest to help him open up and share his feelings. Chuck’s death had put him in a complete emotional spin. He knew Chuck had relapsed. He feared he’d suffered in the fire. He might well have guessed that his own clever ruse with the insurance people was potentially the reason for that. He was probably wondering how accidental the fire was, in that case.
Then Howard comes round and confirms those fears. But then does something else - he claims the guilt. Suddenly, it’s not Jimmy’s fault at all! I mean sure, he might have let something slip to the insurance company but he didn’t make them put up Chuck’s premium and he sure as hell didn’t make Howard push him out. When you think about it, isn’t Howard really the one to blame here?*
And suddenly, partly as putting on a front to cover his distress but I think mainly out of relief at finding a willing scapegoat, Jimmy flips from uncommunicative, shell-shocked misery to being blithely cheerful to the point of callousness. (The “Well, Howard, that’s just your cross to bear” line was outright cruel.) As he makes the coffee Jimmy is literally whistling past the graveyard. It will all fall apart of course, because the fantasy that he can pass all the blame on to Howard is as brittle as it is appealing.
The post opening credits shot of the sparks from the fire appearing to land first on the Mesa Verde case and then on the shared, cosy bed of Jimmy and Kim is a wonderful piece of foreshadowing.
*(The dramatic irony of Howard, who we recently learned willingly took the blame for Chuck’s treatment of Jimmy at HHM, now unwittingly taking the blame for Jimmy’s treatment of Chuck is very nicely done. An impressive guy in many ways, he’s also a patsy for the McGill brothers.)
I haven’t seen this show or thought about it since…well, I don’t know, was it last year? And I was excited about it coming back. But I have to say that episode was painfully boring. I had the thought that “at least the actors didn’t have to memorize too many lines.” I can be happy enough just looking at Bob Odenkirk for an hour, but my husband is He Who Holds the Remote, so I don’t think we’ll be watching this anymore.
His silence was the point. The usual “fast talking, always with something to say, with an angle, wriggle out of anything” Jimmy was brought to silence. Until the end, of course. It was a terrific bit of character exploration.
I hope the comment about you not getting to watch the show bc your husband controls the remote was a bit of hyperbole though…
