# Better Call Saul: Season IV **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 30, 2018, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792 "2018-07-30T04:48:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2018, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/201 "2018-08-21T13:40:29Z")
Another explanation for Kim’s reaction to the letter is that she knew what the letter said, but what Jimmy “read” wasn’t that. The reality that Jimmy really is a sleaze is dawning on her. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2018, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/202 "2018-08-21T13:52:45Z")
> [@LVBoPeep](#): > > That falls in with Kim’s reaction - she is realizing Howard did that for Jimmy, not Chuck. I couldn’t imagine Chuck writing that letter after working so hard to undermine Jimmy for years though …would Howard know about their mother’s preference for Jimmy? I think you’ve got the timing of that undated letter wrong - I believe Chuck wrote the letter back while Jimmy was working in the mail room, before he finished his University of American Samoa degree. That makes what Chuck said in the letter true at the time - Chuck was happy to see Jimmy working a legitimate job, and thought he was in an appropriate place, working on the right side of the law in a position where he can’t cause much harm and where Chuck can keep him reigned in. In other words, the letter is a snapshot of Chuck’s thoughts before he felt the need to work to undermine Jimmy, and the fact that Chuck betrayed Jimmy later gives it a much darker subtext. > [@TruCelt](#): > > Speaking of cognitive dissonance, I’m having a hard time rewiring my understanding of Nacho. Realizing that all that time he was taking care of Salamanca in the that little cabin out in the woods, he was doing it at Gus’s behest. Urk?! I think you’re getting badly mixed up, if you’re talking about Breaking Bad. Nacho never appears in Breaking Bad, he’s just mentioned by Saul during Saul’s first episode. The only cabin in the woods was Walt’s hidey hole at the end. The person taking care of Hector in the house in the desert was Tuco Salamanca, the one who Jimmy talked out of killing the two con-boys and who Mike goaded into punching him. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2018, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/203 "2018-08-21T14:08:17Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I don’t understand why Gus goes through all that trouble to keep Nacho on the payroll. Why not just shoot him dead in the desert? Perhaps because he’s very good at what he does and seems to be one of the few people that always seems to have a steady disposition, almost similar to Gus. > [@california\_jobcase](#): > > Another explanation for Kim’s reaction to the letter is that she knew what the letter said, but what Jimmy “read” wasn’t that. The reality that Jimmy really is a sleaze is dawning on her. How would she know what it said? ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2018, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/204 "2018-08-21T14:16:47Z")
> [@soonerblue](#): > > What if Chuck didn’t write that letter? Maybe Howard did. Yes, " . . . the HHM family" sounds more like Howard than Chuck. But Pantastic makes a good point about the timing. If Chuck had Jimmy cheerfully toiling away in a menial support position the letter makes a lot more sense. It also supports Chuck’s guilt at never having told Jimmy his mother’s last words. The letter comes as close as he could bear to telling Jimmy. Which is another possible explanation for Kim’s tears as well. If she caught the meaning of the words about how Jimmy brought Mom a happiness nothing else ever did. She may have finally figured out Chuck’s basic jealousy and the searing cause of all this destruction. Chuck had to substitute achievement for feeling loved. He couldn’t accept Jimmy getting to have both. > [@TruCelt](#): > > Speaking of cognitive dissonance, I’m having a hard time rewiring my understanding of Nacho. Realizing that all that time he was taking care of Salamanca in the that little cabin out in the woods, he was doing it at Gus’s behest. Urk?! Desert. Cabin was in the desert. > [@LVBoPeep](#): > > Wasn’t it his grandson, Tuco, that was taking care of him in Breaking Bad? You are right; thank you! > [@california\_jobcase](#): > > Another explanation for Kim’s reaction to the letter is that she knew what the letter said, but what Jimmy “read” wasn’t that. The reality that Jimmy really is a sleaze is dawning on her. That would explain him saying “new paragraph” liars tend to add unnecessary detail. But if that’s the case I don’t think it’s the sleaze factor upsetting her. I think it’s the fact that she realizes his calm facade is there to protect her. Also, her upset about the models, do you think it’s because she realizes she can’t do all this herself? It was nice watching her learn to delegate - many good professionals go down because they can’t do it. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2018, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/205 "2018-08-21T14:20:51Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > . . . > I think you’re getting badly mixed up, . . . I was. :smack: Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2018, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/206 "2018-08-21T15:21:00Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I don’t understand why Gus goes through all that trouble to keep Nacho on the payroll. Why not just shoot him dead in the desert? Why would Gus want to shoot him dead in the desert - he doesn’t gain anything from that? By leaving Nacho alive, he makes sure that there is someone believable to tell the cartel that the hit was from a rival gang, which he needs for his long-term plans. If he just kills Nacho, he needs someone else to be a witness to the attack, who they might not believe. Surviving the attack gives Nacho credibility with the Cartel, and the other lieutenant being dead means he’ll be doing more work in Hector’s organization, so he’s an even more valuable asset to Gus. There’s a lot of gain in keeping Nacho around. Also, ‘on the payroll’ isn’t correct if you mean Gus’s payroll - Gus isn’t paying Nacho to work for him, he’s holding the threat of revealing Nacho’s treachery to the Salamancas over him. That’s a lot stronger than just offering him some cash would be, because if Gus reveals what he did then the cartel will kill him and likely his father, so there’s no real ‘out’ for him. If it was just cash, he could say ‘I took the money to find out what his plan is, I’m still loyal’. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2018, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/207 "2018-08-21T15:38:47Z")
I liked the fake ambush scene, it shows how good Gus is a quickly taking advantages of opportunities mixed in with long-term planning and manipulating people. He needs to push the Cartel into using local suppliers to end up with the operation that he has in Breaking Bad, and Nacho gives him a great opportunity to do that. I think that he’s quite happy that the product Gale (who we’re seeing for the first time) tests is low-quality - being able to flood the market with much better product is part of his long-term plan. I loved the office burglary scene, it’s hilarious and unexpected but perfectly believable. Nice intro for Jimmy meeting the (future?) owner of Vanamos pest control. I’m not surprised that Mike turned the job down, and he was right to point out that this doesn’t fit Jimmy. Jimmy does scams and tricks and clever lawyering, straight burglary is out of character for him. I think it’s both a sign that he’s changing his acceptable methods to include more of the ‘Saul’ toolbox, and that he’s thrown off from his usual self after Chuck’s suicide. There are so many things that Kim could be upset at after Chuck’s letter. I don’t think she gave him a fake letter or that Jimmy read off something that wasn’t the actual letter, I think she’s worried about the effect the letter will have on Jimmy. But I’ve been reading her wrong a lot. > [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](#): > > “Just a large cheese…yes, sliced.” > > 😃 “Can you throw in some dipping sticks too?” I didn’t catch that at first, but it’s a great easter egg. (For the non-BB people, the pizza place is the same one that made the pizza for the well-known scene where Walt gets angry and throws a whole pizza on the roof, who have a gimmick of ‘we don’t slice our pizza, and we pass the savings on to you’) ---
**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:** [August 21, 2018, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/208 "2018-08-21T15:45:13Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > Also, ‘on the payroll’ isn’t correct if you mean Gus’s payroll - Gus isn’t paying Nacho to work for him, he’s holding the threat of revealing Nacho’s treachery to the Salamancas over him. That’s a lot stronger than just offering him some cash would be, because if Gus reveals what he did then the cartel will kill him and likely his father, so there’s no real ‘out’ for him. If it was just cash, he could say ‘I took the money to find out what his plan is, I’m still loyal’. He’s working for Gus. That’s what I mean by “on the payroll”. ---
**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:** [August 21, 2018, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/209 "2018-08-21T15:52:45Z")
> [@soonerblue](#): > > What if Chuck didn’t write that letter? Maybe Howard did. I can’t see that. Both Kim and Howard have a sense of honour that makes them do things by the book. Maybe that letter is exactly what Chuck wanted to say, but he wrote it a while back (it was undated). ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2018, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/210 "2018-08-21T16:01:08Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > I can’t see that. Both Kim and Howard have a sense of honour that makes them do things by the book. Maybe that letter is exactly what Chuck wanted to say, but he wrote it a while back (it was undated). Howard especially has not so much honor as ‘this is the way things are done’. His experience has been that if you keep doing all of the right things, then money just keeps flowing in. He wants to execute Chuck’s will properly and have everyone execute their part, that’s why he offered Jimmy a position on the board of Chuck’s scholarship. Faking a letter from Chuck is just anathema to him, and doing it as part of an official legal proceeding is even more out of character IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2018, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/211 "2018-08-21T16:51:39Z")
Oh, one piece of speculation that I forgot: Kim reacted weirdly when Mesa Verde was talking about expanding into other states, and she seemed to lose focus right after they showed the Nebraska office model. It’s possible she was just worried about the expansion, but I wonder if we’re going to find there’s something specific in her past in Nebraska that she’s worried about. Could be tied to her visiting the courthouse too, as there doesn’t seem to be anything else prompting that. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2018, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/212 "2018-08-21T16:55:48Z")
Maybe a stupid question, but: who was the guy breaking in to the copier place ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2018, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/213 "2018-08-21T16:57:36Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > I wonder if we’re going to find there’s something specific in her past in Nebraska that she’s worried about. That old incident with a sticky pastry in Nebraska’s largest city, perhaps? :eek: ---
**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:** [August 21, 2018, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/214 "2018-08-21T17:20:50Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > Oh, one piece of speculation that I forgot: Kim reacted weirdly when Mesa Verde was talking about expanding into other states, and she seemed to lose focus right after they showed the Nebraska office model. It’s possible she was just worried about the expansion, but I wonder if we’re going to find there’s something specific in her past in Nebraska that she’s worried about. Could be tied to her visiting the courthouse too, as there doesn’t seem to be anything else prompting that. I think she was just overwhelmed by how much work all that was going to be. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2018, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/215 "2018-08-21T17:57:40Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Maybe a stupid question, but: who was the guy breaking in to the copier place That’s the head of Vamanos Pest from _Breaking Bad_, who ran the burglary crew of pest control guys. I thought it was the gun runner working a side job until he was identified in a post above. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2018, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/216 "2018-08-21T18:02:24Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I think she was just overwhelmed by how much work all that was going to be. I’m wondering if she realized they were expanding beyond their ability to support it, and the company would come crashing down. How do you tell your employer they’re doing something stupid? I figured the courthouse thing was to check into some other background stuff on the company that would help shed light if they were. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2018, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/217 "2018-08-21T18:15:36Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > clip… > > I loved the office burglary scene, it’s hilarious and unexpected but perfectly believable. Nice intro for Jimmy meeting the (future?) owner of Vanamos pest control. I’m not surprised that Mike turned the job down, and he was right to point out that this doesn’t fit Jimmy. Jimmy does scams and tricks and clever lawyering, straight burglary is out of character for him. I think it’s both a sign that he’s changing his acceptable methods to include more of the ‘Saul’ toolbox, and that he’s thrown off from his usual self after Chuck’s suicide. > > clip I’m not surprised Mike turned down the job either. It occurred to me watching the whole heist scene that Mike would have done a more thorough job casing the place and and end up realizing someone was living out of their office. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2018, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/218 "2018-08-21T18:30:28Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I don’t understand why Gus goes through all that trouble to keep Nacho on the payroll. Why not just shoot him dead in the desert? More valuable as a “man on the inside”. What doesn’t make sense is the extreme effort the cousins did to keep him alive. Unless they were ordered to save him, it would have been wiser to snuff him out on that lonely road. I’m not impressed with the Hummel heist. 15 minutes of filler and padding. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2018, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/219 "2018-08-21T18:33:13Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > I can’t see that. Both Kim and Howard have a sense of honour that makes them do things by the book. And Howard seemed truly upset with himself when Kim yelled at him. I’m not sure he knows how deep that sibling rivalry runs. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2018, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/220 "2018-08-21T19:55:37Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I think she was just overwhelmed by how much work all that was going to be. She did seem to lose focus specifically as he talked about Nebraska, like an old memory was coming to mind. It’s possible that she just sees more work than she can handle, or something large enough that it really is suited to a firm like HHM, but the timing makes me think there may be something more than that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792.md?page=12)