# 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:** 42
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/823 "2018-09-25T17:24:24Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > ETA: Although it certainly broke all kinds of ethics rules and laws as Jimmy pointed out, this really was something done out of the goodness of his (and Kim’s) heart. Huell didn’t really deserve that jail time; and him becoming a fugitive for the rest of his life was not a great plan. Yeah, I think that was what got Kim’s foot in the door. The actual felony charge was over the top and absurd for what he did, and that let her justify going into Slippin’ Jimmy territory. Once she was in, though, she found that she loved the thrill of it, and I suspect that if she doesn’t turn back, she’s going to be looking for this kind of thing instead of stumbling on it. Honestly, I was disappointed that Huell got time served and probation. I really wanted Huell to get put on house arrest for 6 instead of jail, because it would prepare him for his years in the safehouse in Breaking Bad 🙂 (For people who don’t remember, in BB Hank and Gomez had him hide out in a safehouse, then went to confront Walt and died without sending anyone for Huell. While in ‘reality’ there was another cop who knew he was there, the joke is that Huell ended up just waiting in the safehouse until the present day since no one alive knew he was there. They even made a fake sitcom ad for it [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8domW4NwpBQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8domW4NwpBQ) ) > [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > I don’t know enough about American telephony to know but I’ve got some questions: Wouldn’t the DA be able to recognise that the numbers being called are to a mobile provider; in the UK It’s simple, mobile numbers begin 07 and in 2003 all landlines began 01. American numbers I think are not so neat but should be recognisable as mobile, right? Even if not, what did Jimmy do, buy 100 SIMs whilst in Louisiana to keep the area code right? Was it easy to just buy SIM cards in 2003? US Mobile numbers aren’t generally in their own exchange, and it’s not (or wasn’t) uncommon for people to move a landline number to their mobile phone. (There are some specific exchanges for special purposes, but general mobile phones don’t use them). There’s just not a general ‘rule’ for spotting a mobile number vs a local one. Getting a Louisiana area code would take a little effort, but it’s pretty common to be able to pick what area code you want on a new number now, and I think it was even easier back in 2003. You didn’t need to buy a specific SIM card from a particular area to do it, you’d just talk to the carrier about it. I’m not exactly sure how that works with prepaid phones, but I wouldn’t expect it to be hard. > [@salinqmind](#): > > I find it curious that the German engineer blabbing secrets in an Albuquerque bar found not one, but TWO interested young parties holding onto his every word. :dubious:Why, what are the chances??:rolleyes: How did that conversation come about? Mike leaves him alone at the bar for, what, 20 minutes, and comes back to find him talking about pouring cement on a secret project to a couple of rapt strangers… I don’t find it at all surprising that two drunk guys listened to someone who was excited and has an unusual accent for 15 minutes, having weird drunk or semi-drunk conversations is a pretty normal part of being in a bar in my experience. It’s not that they had a deep appreciation of concrete pouring, it’s that this guy seems friendly and he’s excited about the subject so with your buzz you’re feeling excited even if you don’t understand it. Plus he’s got an amusing accent and will probably teach you some German insults you can mutter at your boss when you get annoyed at him later. And even if you don’t get into it, you’ll at least listen long enough to drink the beer he paid for. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/824 "2018-09-25T17:45:46Z")
The weird thing is that we know the building of the lab is successful (well uh, spoilers…?) so it’s pretty useless to get invested in “can they build it without getting caught?” whether it be from the engineering standpoint or the blabbermouth standpoint. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/825 "2018-09-25T17:52:42Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > While in ‘reality’ there was another cop who knew he was there, the joke is that Huell ended up just waiting in the safehouse until the present day since no one alive knew he was there. They even made a fake sitcom ad for it [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8domW4NwpBQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8domW4NwpBQ) ) That show would be Huellarious. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/826 "2018-09-25T17:57:29Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > The weird thing is that we know the building of the lab is successful (well uh, spoilers…?) so it’s pretty useless to get invested in “can they build it without getting caught?” whether it be from the engineering standpoint or the blabbermouth standpoint. We know it’s successful _five years later_. A lot of things can happen before then that would be ample fodder for a dramatic TV show. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2018, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/827 "2018-09-25T18:01:37Z")
The security lapses might just be a sign that everyone (including Mike) is getting worn out by the whole ordeal. Mike allowed himself to develop a soft spot for Werner, which led to Werner getting himself in trouble. Gus is really unhappy with the Germans, both from a schedule and a security standpoint. Wouldn’t surprise me if he cans them after the blasting is done for the elevator shaft - the difficult engineering would be done at that point, the rest is manual labor. He might mothball the whole thing for a while to make sure that Werner’s slip-up has no consequences - that would put its completion closer to the BB timeline (although we don’t know how long Gale had been cooking with an inferior recipe before Walt showed up). And I get the feeling that at least some of the Germans are destined to never see das Vaterland again. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/828 "2018-09-25T18:08:18Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > In the ‘examining the show’ sense, I think this puts Kim into extreme danger - when she was on the drifting away track, I expected her story to end with her walking out of Jimmy’s life. Now I think she’s much more likely to get mixed up in Saul’s “Criminal Lawyer” schemes and end up deceased or disappeared. Or disbarred. Or in _prison_ :eek:. It hadn’t occurred to me before this episode but Kim doing a few years in a minimum security pokey for fraud or some such would be a pretty good cover for the BB years and still allow for the possibility of a “happy” ending. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/829 "2018-09-25T18:17:14Z")
Pretty sure she participated in some pretty serious federal crimes. Mail fraud for one. Is this the most “Saul” we have seen Jimmy? ---
**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:** [September 25, 2018, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/830 "2018-09-25T18:38:39Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Is this the most “Saul” we have seen Jimmy? Not really. Remember, unlike previous scams, _Kim_ was the mastermind behind this one. Maybe Kim will be the one to teach Jimmy how to con the legal system - she could be the brains behind Saul Goodman. At least for a while. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2018, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/831 "2018-09-25T18:40:54Z")
The Heull Babineaux legal defense fund raising is a nice Easter egg referencing the fake medical expense fundraising website Jimmy set up for Walt to launder some of his early meth profits. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/832 "2018-09-25T20:32:42Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Or disbarred. Or in _prison_ :eek:. It hadn’t occurred to me before this episode but Kim doing a few years in a minimum security pokey for fraud or some such would be a pretty good cover for the BB years and still allow for the possibility of a “happy” ending. Yeah I was just thinking before I read this thread today that would be a nice twist if \*\*Kim \*\*was the one who took it to far and ended up disbarred. Great minds think alike. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/833 "2018-09-25T20:42:32Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > That show would be Huellarious. And it wouldn’t be possible if not for the efforts of the Free Will Baptist Church: [http://www.freewill-baptistchurch.com/](http://www.freewill-baptistchurch.com/) > [@Tamerlane](#): > > Or disbarred. Or in _prison_ :eek:. It hadn’t occurred to me before this episode but Kim doing a few years in a minimum security pokey for fraud or some such would be a pretty good cover for the BB years and still allow for the possibility of a “happy” ending. That’s an interesting take, if that happens then maybe she is scheduled to get out a bit after Saul turns to Gene, and the number he gave Francesca to call has to do with letter her know where Jimmy is. Typically the scams they show either have effects within one episode (or ‘started on one, resolved the next’ like the figurine stealing) or are major plot points and utter calamities like the Chuck sabotage or mall walking. > [@AK84](#): > > Pretty sure she participated in some pretty serious federal crimes. Mail fraud for one. > > Is this the most “Saul” we have seen Jimmy? From looking at the Federal Statute, it might not be mail fraud - there’s no effort to defraud anyone of money, and that seems to be required. Still plenty of felonies to go around though. I think Jimmy’s mall walking plot was more “Saul” - this one isn’t for personal gain (they genuinely want to help Huell) and doesn’t actually hurt a person (while the goal in mall walking was to isolate Irene, at least temporarily). He backed down from that one in the end by ‘accidentally’ telling everyone what he did, but it has a much darker feel to me. > [@ZipperJJ](#): > > The weird thing is that we know the building of the lab is successful (well uh, spoilers…?) so it’s pretty useless to get invested in “can they build it without getting caught?” whether it be from the engineering standpoint or the blabbermouth standpoint. I think the speculation is more ‘can they build it without having to kill some or all of the engineers’. It’s not impossible that they could have a major accident, the engineers die, and Gus brings in another crew a year later to actually finish the job, for example. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/834 "2018-09-25T21:04:23Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > Gus is really unhappy with the Germans, both from a schedule and a security standpoint. Wouldn’t surprise me if he cans them after the blasting is done for the elevator shaft - the difficult engineering would be done at that point, the rest is manual labor. Although bear in mind that Gus and Mike are still on excellent terms in BB (as far as we know), so it’s unlikely that Gus does anything too extreme without Mike’s buy-in. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/835 "2018-09-25T22:11:41Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > The Babineaux hoax (Babinheaux?) also seems to be on shaky ground…seems like there are a hell of a lot of ways that thing could fall apart under scrutiny. I can’t see it not leaking out to a reporter at the courthouse. Literal sacks of mail sent to a judge in support of a defendant who is apparently an angel back home? I can see a reporter taking that and running with it as a fun little story. Once that happens I don’t see how it stands up. ---
**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 25, 2018, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/836 "2018-09-25T22:32:25Z")
But the judge didn’t want it to become a “thing”, so reporters might not become aware of it. > [@Pantastic](#): > > Did anyone else think the drink Mrs. Nguyen brought Jimmy was the cucumber water at first? I thought she was giving him ‘customers only’ water to show how much she cared. I really like how all of these incidental background characters seem to be real people, it would be really easy not to give her any depth like that. Yeah, I thought the same on both counts until I saw the way Jimmy drank it. Was it supposed to be just vodka, or some kind of Asian liquor? ---
**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:** [September 25, 2018, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/837 "2018-09-25T22:38:06Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > I can’t see it not leaking out to a reporter at the courthouse. Literal sacks of mail sent to a judge in support of a defendant who is apparently an angel back home? I can see a reporter taking that and running with it as a fun little story. Once that happens I don’t see how it stands up. But the case is over, would the news still be interested? ---
**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:** [September 25, 2018, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/838 "2018-09-25T22:44:09Z")
> [@simple\_homer](#): > > " I was driving…saw your esteem in the parking lot…" That’s his car model. Yellow Suzuki Esteem. ---
**Author:** ![McDeath\_the\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@McDeath\_the\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/McDeath_the_Mad)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/839 "2018-09-25T23:25:20Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Was it supposed to be just vodka, or some kind of Asian liquor? I thought it was Saki or some other rice base spirits. MtM ---
**Author:** ![soonerblue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soonerblue/32/3302_2.png) [@soonerblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soonerblue)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/840 "2018-09-26T00:01:34Z")
> [@simple\_homer](#): > > " I was driving…saw your esteem in the parking lot…" 😉 A little joke? Leaving one’s respect or honor behind to go look at a rat-infested office space? ---
**Author:** ![pdhenry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pdhenry/32/5561_2.png) [@pdhenry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pdhenry)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/841 "2018-09-26T00:02:22Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > And it wouldn’t be possible if not for the efforts of the Free Will Baptist Church: [http://www.freewill-baptistchurch.com/](http://www.freewill-baptistchurch.com/) The Church website has a number - 318-426-9662. Call it and you get the “pastor’s” voicemail (Jimmy doing the accent that Kim likes so much). ---
**Author:** ![Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8baadc/32.png) [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nicest_of_the_Damned)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/842 "2018-09-26T00:08:53Z")
> [@pdhenry](#): > > The Church website has a number - 318-426-9662. Call it and you get the “pastor’s” voicemail (Jimmy doing the accent that Kim likes so much). And the donate button takes you to a Louisiana food bank site. You have the option to name someone your donation is in honor of. I hope they get a lot of donations in Huell’s name. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792.md?page=41) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792.md?page=43)