# 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:** 21
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/403 "2018-09-05T00:11:26Z")
this is going to sound like stereotyping but if you give a Hispanic or Asian (who is known for being uncurious ) a nice job with benefits and tell them “that black door doesn’t exist and no one ever enters or exits it” they will mentally convince themselves that door isn’t there even if they pass by it 30 times a day and people walk in and out of it " or if they do notice it its “none of their business” Or the other method is give them sonething so intensive that they never look up or around the area (like the scene from _casino_explaining how it was possible in a old style casino for some one to walk out with cases of cash and no one even notice anyone was in the room but themselves because if they lost count it would take hours of starting over ) ---
**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:** [September 5, 2018, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/404 "2018-09-05T00:22:40Z")
As Jimmy was taking in more and more cash outside the Dog House, I was thinking “how can you be failing to realize that a lot of these sketchy characters will be noticing that you now have hundreds of dollars in your pocket?” I just didn’t buy that he would be so oblivious to the danger. No matter how much he’s hurting over Chuck’s death, Jimmy is not stupid enough to be that oblivious. For me it was a flaw in the writing. If they’d previously established that since the death Jimmy had started making stupid mistakes, putting himself in danger repeatedly, then I might have bought it. For example, there could have been scene of him putting a plugged-in radio next to the bathtub then getting in, or a scene of him driving through a railroad crossing a second ahead of an oncoming train. Or anything that would have established that he was behaving self-destructively (presumably out of a guilty reaction to the way Chuck died). They didn’t, though. Maybe I’m alone in this (I don’t see others mentioning it). But it bothered me. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/405 "2018-09-05T02:14:16Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > finding someone crooked in the construction industry who will get rid of a few tons of dirt for cash with no questions asked. Gus probably already owns the chicken farm, which is well outside of town. He could easily dump the dirt on his own land. And he might have some construction going at the chicken farm, and just order excess material and use it for the superlab. ---
**Author:** ![ebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@ebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ebb)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/406 "2018-09-05T02:40:40Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > As Jimmy was taking in more and more cash outside the Dog House, I was thinking “how can you be failing to realize that a lot of these sketchy characters will be noticing that you now have hundreds of dollars in your pocket?” I just didn’t buy that he would be so oblivious to the danger. No matter how much he’s hurting over Chuck’s death, Jimmy is not stupid enough to be that oblivious. > > For me it was a flaw in the writing. If they’d previously established that since the death Jimmy had started making stupid mistakes, putting himself in danger repeatedly, then I might have bought it. For example, there could have been scene of him putting a plugged-in radio next to the bathtub then getting in, or a scene of him driving through a railroad crossing a second ahead of an oncoming train. Or anything that would have established that he was behaving self-destructively (presumably out of a guilty reaction to the way Chuck died). They didn’t, though. > > Maybe I’m alone in this (I don’t see others mentioning it). But it bothered me. It worked for me. It’s not that Jimmy is oblivious to danger or has any kind of self-destructive wish. It’s that he’s picturing himself once again as the untouchable con man Slippin’ Jimmy, who can maneuver through the criminal ecosystem without fear. People know his reputation and treat them as one of their own, and if he does get into trouble he’ll just talk his way out of it. The problem is that he’s in a new pool now and he needs to start over as a small fish. He’s rusty and careless. Luckily he’s still really smart, and it’s unlikely he’ll make the same mistake twice. Good thing this time it was just a couple of street punks, because he’s going to be tangling with more dangerous people very soon. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/407 "2018-09-05T03:27:03Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > The effort of creation of the secret area for the lab seems really over the top here, especially as in _Breaking Bad_ they rely on numerous laundry mooks to keep their eyes shut and say nothing. This has mostly been covered, but one point to keep in mind is that this episode didn’t show the creation of the secret lab. It showed interviews of prospective contractors who might or might not be building it. Would you want that first French guy to know where your secret lab is going to be? He’s not working on it, he’s not getting paid to keep quiet, and he was happy to blab to a stranger about his secret Mexican tunnel. They haven’t indicated that the construction workers themselves are going to be brought to and from the site using the rental car + hood method. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/408 "2018-09-05T03:51:00Z")
Was there any significance to ‘Dr. Zhivago’? The movie or the music? ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/409 "2018-09-05T03:56:17Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > I don’t think they did that in the shootout scene - the knife the two guys in front, then rush in and start killing people as fast as they can before anyone can react. After the initial surprise wears off, they’re both using cover and surprise (one popping out of the door, the other sneaking around to attack from behind), and neither one is standing in the middle of the space terminator-like just shooting. I don’t see where they acted like they couldn’t be shot in the back in what we saw. Also, there were clearly two ways this could have gone badly - if it wasn’t for Nacho, the cousin using two pistols would likely have been shot by the guy with a rifle who rushed back in his truck, and if the Espinosas had actually hit the Salamancas they’d be way more prepared and the cousins likely would not have fared as well. I’m surprised someone could say this – watch it again. They walk from their car slowly and conspicuously. We don’t see them look around apart from when they were in the car. All their hand movements are slow and theatrical. Later, when it cuts back to one brother pinned down with an SMG and another sneaking around the back, that’s fine. That’s a more typical movie / TV shootout, and I’m fine suspending disbelief for that part. And, like I say, Nacho’s role was particularly well done; he’s not going to Arya around after being shot in the gut. But the early part, and most of what the brothers do in general? Nah. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/410 "2018-09-05T04:01:12Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > As I said, satellite images are used to identify unpermitted construction zones. Given that they are near the border, photos are being taken of their town at least monthly and compared to earlier ones for changes in traffic and infrastructure. Were they being taken and routinely used for that in 2004? And Albuquerque isn’t “near the border,” it’s 250 miles away. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/411 "2018-09-05T04:29:38Z")
So, has this been mentioned yet - The Dog House? Unlike any other business in BB or BCS, the Dog House isn’t fictional - it’s a real business in Albuquerque. Are there any other examples of this in the two series? I don’t recall seeing an Allsup’s or Blake’s or any other real business on the shows. Maybe a nationally known chain or company, but not a local business. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/412 "2018-09-05T04:44:00Z")
Btw, do we know what the phone call that Saul wanted Francesca to make was? Is that something from Breaking Bad I’ve just forgotten about? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/413 "2018-09-05T05:01:49Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > So, has this been mentioned yet - The Dog House? Unlike any other business in BB or BCS, the Dog House isn’t fictional - it’s a real business in Albuquerque. Are there any other examples of this in the two series? I don’t recall seeing an Allsup’s or Blake’s or any other real business on the shows. Maybe a nationally known chain or company, but not a local business. Does the place have to be named on the show? Mike’s hangout, [Louie’s Pub and Grill,](http://breakingbad.wikia.com/wiki/Louie%E2%80%99s_Pub_%26_Grill) is a [real place.](https://www.breakingbad-locations.com/locations/louies-pub-grill/) ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/414 "2018-09-05T05:20:15Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Does the place have to be named on the show? Mike’s hangout, [Louie’s Pub and Grill,](http://breakingbad.wikia.com/wiki/Louie%E2%80%99s_Pub_%26_Grill) is a [real place.](https://www.breakingbad-locations.com/locations/louies-pub-grill/) Didn’t think I’d be making rules, but I’ll allow it. BTW, in BB when they showed Jane’s apartment, I had a moment of deja vu, as I’ve spent a few nights in that apartment when a friend of mine was renting it. Well, the back section, as it was partitioned into two apartments at the time. Still kinda cool. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2018, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/415 "2018-09-05T05:42:06Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > So, has this been mentioned yet - The Dog House? Unlike any other business in BB or BCS, the Dog House isn’t fictional - it’s a real business in Albuquerque. Are there any other examples of this in the two series? I don’t recall seeing an Allsup’s or Blake’s or any other real business on the shows. Maybe a nationally known chain or company, but not a local business. Doesn’t it bother them that their free publicity involves being portrayed as a hangout for criminals and assorted lowlifes? ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/416 "2018-09-05T05:49:58Z")
Have you been to an Allsup’s? When you go, get a chimichanga or two. Remember, in New Mexico, you pick your gas station based on their breakfast burritos. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/417 "2018-09-05T06:05:54Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Doesn’t it bother them that their free publicity involves being portrayed as a hangout for criminals and assorted lowlifes? I would bet a years salary their business has, or will, take off like a rocket, doing better than they ever imagined. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2018, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/418 "2018-09-05T13:18:25Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > As Jimmy was taking in more and more cash outside the Dog House, I was thinking “how can you be failing to realize that a lot of these sketchy characters will be noticing that you now have hundreds of dollars in your pocket?” I just didn’t buy that he would be so oblivious to the danger. No matter how much he’s hurting over Chuck’s death, Jimmy is not stupid enough to be that oblivious. > > For me it was a flaw in the writing. If they’d previously established that since the death Jimmy had started making stupid mistakes, putting himself in danger repeatedly, then I might have bought it. For example, there could have been scene of him putting a plugged-in radio next to the bathtub then getting in, or a scene of him driving through a railroad crossing a second ahead of an oncoming train. Or anything that would have established that he was behaving self-destructively (presumably out of a guilty reaction to the way Chuck died). They didn’t, though. > > Maybe I’m alone in this (I don’t see others mentioning it). But it bothered me. I thought for sure he would get up and have a secret money belt or something, like he knew he might eventually get mugged. I was disappointed and annoyed that he just simply got beat up and robbed. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/419 "2018-09-05T13:45:22Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > You’re ordering a lot of concrete which comes from a concrete plant, of which you will have damn few to choose from. It’s not just a matter of keeping them quiet, it’s a matter of keeping any inspectors who happen by quiet. > [@TruCelt](#): > > As I said, satellite images are used to identify unpermitted construction zones. As I quoted and my comment was in response to, there was no mention of satellite images being used. I’ve requoted the statement I responded to, it since you seem to have missed it in my original post, and it doesn’t talk about satellite images, it talks about ‘any inspectors who happen by’. And inspectors don’t just rove around randomly inspecting buildings where they don’t think construction is going on. “Inspectors happen by” is not a problem that needs to be dealt with because it simply doesn’t happen. Coming up with objections to the implausibility of something that hasn’t even happened on the show on the basis of things that don’t happen in the real world is just silly. > [@](#): > > Given that they are near the border, photos are being taken of their town at least monthly and compared to earlier ones for changes in traffic and infrastructure. Is this ‘near the border’ in the same sense that the four minute firefight was ‘prolonged’? Albuquerque is 250 miles from the border and the laundry is somewhere near it, I don’t think that qualifies as ‘near’. And I’d like a cite for the claim that in 2003 monthly photos were being taken of every small town 250 miles from the border and compared to look for signs of construction. And I don’t see why it would be so difficult to camoflague a few trucks that it strains credibility that Gus, a man who’s hiding a drug distribution network inside of his fast food franchise, would be able to manage it, especially when he’s already acknowledged that the project will be difficult and expensive. > [@](#): > > But yes, concrete can be mixed on site. It won’t be fun, You’re arguing that a man who spends a decade running a secret criminal enterprise for the hated cartel while maintaining both the facade of a mild-mannered fast food manager to the outside world and loyal drug distributor to the cartel that killed his close friend (possibly lover) would find mixing some bags of concrete and water just too lacking in fun for him to summon the willpower to deal with? And it’s even sillier to act like mixing concrete is beyond Mike, he did it on screen in S3 E7! There’s a lot of stuff that strains credibility in this show, but “Gus and Mike manage to endure the unfun aspects of mixing concrete on site” is really, really far down the list. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/420 "2018-09-05T13:46:29Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > Btw, do we know what the phone call that Saul wanted Francesca to make was? Is that something from Breaking Bad I’ve just forgotten about? Hmmm…could that lawyer friend whose card he gives her possibly be a former roommate? ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/421 "2018-09-05T13:53:04Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I’m surprised someone could say this – watch it again. > They walk from their car slowly and conspicuously. We don’t see them look around apart from when they were in the car. All their hand movements are slow and theatrical. Of course they walk from their car slowly and conspicuously without making any suspicious movements, because **the firefight hadn’t started**. They’re walking from the car to the front door exactly the way they would if were there for some legitimate reason so that they can get close enough to knife the front door guys without them thinking anything unusual is going to happen until the knife comes out. (And they’re knifing the front door guys so that there is no gunshot sound to alert the people further in). Looking around furtively, or moving from cover to cover, would cause the guys in front to raise the alarm because it’s suspicious behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/422 "2018-09-05T14:03:26Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > So, has this been mentioned yet - The Dog House? Unlike any other business in BB or BCS, the Dog House isn’t fictional - it’s a real business in Albuquerque. Are there any other examples of this in the two series? I don’t recall seeing an Allsup’s or Blake’s or any other real business on the shows. Maybe a nationally known chain or company, but not a local business. Venezia’s Pizza is a real pizza chain that was often frequented by the cast and crew. The ‘we don’t slice the pizza and pass the savings on to you’ gimmick was made up by the show to explain why Walt had an unsliced pizza when the real reason was just that they needed an intact pizza for the throwing to work. Cinnnabon actually signed on to endorse Better Call Saul and love the publicity, Bob Odenkirk has actually been through their training and the Gene scenes were shot at a real Cinnabon. > **[Venezia's Domenick Montanile on the Pizzeria's Breaking Bad Connection](https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/restaurants/venezias-domenick-montanile-on-the-pizzerias-breaking-bad-connection-6533322)** > > Ahem, "spoiler alert." If you're not caught up on Breaking Bad, you might want to get that way before reading further. There's no way around it, Breaking Bad fans: It's almost over. On Sunday, September 29, AMC will air the final episode of the... > **[Inside 'Better Call Saul' and Cinnabon's Craziest Sponsorship Ever - TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/better-call-saul-cinnabon-sponsorship/)** > > TheWrap learns how your favorite guilty pleasure infiltrated the "Breaking Bad" universe [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792.md?page=20) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792.md?page=22)