# 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:** 44
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/863 "2018-09-26T16:50:26Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > The stuff about the super lab plays into I guess the characterization of Gus and Mike as being super detail-oriented and cautious, but I frankly find it a little silly. The reality is America is a huge country, and it’s not a police state. The level of security is hilarious compared to the actual threat. We don’t have state police running around checking every building for meth labs, there’s probably far more meth labs that have just been thrown together in the U.S. and never discovered than have ever been found. The level of security and control they’re exerting over the crew is frankly overblown, and to be honest the whole scheme is questionable. A much lower risk thing would’ve been to buy a commercial/industrial property that had suitable underground facilities already. I think the level of security is actually wildly inconsistent - on one hand they go through the trouble to quarantine the engineers in a warehouse with a security ‘airlock’ and 24-hour monitoring. On the other hand they have the engineers seeing the name of the laundry, wandering through the laundry while workers are still busy, and now hanging out in a strip club in town. If they kept the security super high the whole time then it would work for me, but they seem to have a weird mix of over-the-top, spare-no-expense measures sometimes, and half-assed ‘lets just rent out a strip club downtown’ at others. I would have a much easier time buying it if it was consistent, whether it was paranoid over-the-top or ‘eh, whatever’. Also the security isn’t really needed for the police, Gus’s big concern is keeping the lab secret from the Cartel, since he needs to keep their noses out of it until the BB era. ---
**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 26, 2018, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/864 "2018-09-26T17:20:44Z")
I agree, the inconsistency is a significant flaw. It’s a shame, because I would enjoy seeing them maintain the initial level. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/865 "2018-09-26T17:24:27Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I was marveling at the four lawyers Kim brought to the meeting. As the ADA said, they were in the $200-300 per hour range, and Jimmy’s bus trip also added to the expense. So how much, overall, do you think they spent on the deal? $10,000? $20,000? They definitely spent more than Jimmy typically does. The lawyers were $1000-$2000 for the time we saw (more if they did real work), the tableful of phones was probably another $500 (Jimmy gets them for $20 apiece when he buys by the pallet), the film students were probably around $500, the website would probably be another $500-$1000 (you need someone to build the website quickly, register the domain, and host it on a real provider), bus ticket is probably $500 round trip, then whatever they paid for materials and bus people to write cards. So that comes up to around $5000 pretty easily, but $10-$20k seems a bit much. > [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > This whole episode demonstrates that Kim is really, really good at engineering scams. Much better than Jimmy - her attention to detail is much better so she leaves fewer untied loose ends. This could head in an interesting direction. I don’t know about that - Kim covered more bases during the scheme, but Jimmy’s schemes usually only involve him, a trusted partner, and interested people, so there really aren’t a lot of loose ends to worry about once it’s over. Mike and Pryce were the only ones who could tell anyone about Squat Cobbler, for example, and both of them had strong reasons to never reveal it. His various schemes with Marco and Kim only involve that partner. Huell certainly isn’t going to reveal anything in this case, but the film students, website guy (someone created, registered, and arranged hosting the website), and people from the bus could all talk. There’s an awful lot of people who could blow the lid and don’t have strong incentive to stay silent. This is definitely an expansion in scope for 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 26, 2018, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/866 "2018-09-26T18:29:16Z")
I think that the film students have been in on enough of Jimmy’s schemes of questionable legality (the slip and fall at the music store, unauthorized filming at the Air Force base, etc.) that he considers them trusted partners. The website guy doesn’t need to know about the scam, all he might know is he was approached by someone to set up a fundraising page for some church. The people on the bus - I don’t think that was in Kim’s plan, I think Jimmy improvised it when his hand started cramping up. He also went overboard with the number of letters - Coushatta has a total population of just under 2000 and six Baptist churches. Subtlety is not Jimmy’s strong suit. Kim probably wanted a few dozen letters and the threat of a busload of parishioners showing up in Judge Munsinger’s courtroom. ---
**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:** [September 26, 2018, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/867 "2018-09-26T18:36:03Z")
> [@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: > . . . Doesn’t surprise me at all. In a place like ABQ any foreigner is a novelty, and those guys may well have been in construction. Even if not, an older guy who knows his stuff is interesting. There’s a tendency to assume a foreign person is someone important. > [@Lamoral](#): > > . . . > Why does the lead German engineer need to know he’s in Albuquerque? > . . . > I was gobsmacked that Mike’s idea of R&R was to take a bunch of Germans to a public bar where they could get into who the hell knows what kind of trouble - potentially far more severe than what actually happened with that one unruly worker, mind you. > . . . > 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. > . . . Telling Werner he’s in ABQ may well be the slip that gets him killed. Mike’s not going to like that. Yep, just dumb. Mike knew that Kai at least wanted more than a dance. I don’t think we’ve heard the last of that ADA. Jimmy’s fingerprints are on every one of those letters. > [@Pantastic](#): > > Kim’s physical 180 last week was a metaphorical one too - I definitely didn’t see her diving into a Jimmy scheme so enthusiastically. > . . . > Their scheme also seemed a LOT riskier than past ones - Squat Cobbler, for example, only required Pryce, Mike, and Nacho to stay quiet, and all of them have good reason to. > . . . > I was right that the Kai setup was all misdirection, though I didn’t expect Werner to be the problem child. > . . . > Liked the look at Lalo deliberately antagonizing Nacho with the loud music and cooking. Will be interesting to see what kind of person he ends up being, he’s the last major reference from Breaking Bad that needed to be filled in. I suspect that whatever he does will drive Nacho back to working with Jimmy. The Kim story line completely surprised me too. Which is what I love about this show. I can usually see things coming but these guys continually catch me off guard. I still think Kai doesn’t make it. No way would I trust him to keep his trap shut. And I foresee him getting worse rather than better. Snatching that earring was so gross. When Nacho was in the front chair he hated those tactics.Now he has all the stress, and certainly nothing about his home is providing solace. He’s got everything he thought he wanted but nothing that he wants. > [@friedo](#): > > His accent isn’t really _supposed_ to great - he’s pulling a cheap scam, after all. It just has to be good enough to fool an overworked DA in Albuquerque. > > “I got crawdads in mah pants!” Shoulda said “mudbugs.” ---
**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 26, 2018, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/868 "2018-09-26T18:59:44Z")
Ol’ Kim gets hot for the con! ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/869 "2018-09-26T19:04:31Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Telling Werner he’s in ABQ may well be the slip that gets him killed. Mike’s not going to like that. Well, they’ve also let them see the name of the laundry on the van, the license plate of the laundry van, any newspapers or flyers left by workers in the laundry building, the name of the strip club, and probably more. If they’re trying to keep them from knowing where they are, they’ve already failed pretty badly. (And this is what I mean about inconsistent security). > [@](#): > > I don’t think we’ve heard the last of that ADA. Jimmy’s fingerprints are on every one of those letters. Well, this wasn’t the first of her either - I pointed out a while ago that she was the one trying to prosecute Tuco when Mike changed his testimony with Jimmy representing him. So regardless of whether she figures out that the letters are fake, I think she’s going to be back as a foil for Jimmy and Kim in some capacity. > [@](#): > > The Kim story line completely surprised me too. Which is what I love about this show. I can usually see things coming but these guys continually catch me off guard. What I like is that they don’t do it in a cheap way, the surprises don’t contradict what we know of the characters or come completely out of nowhere. We’ve seen that Kim enjoys scams throughout the series, she’s just been averse to the risks and trying to live legitimately. It’s not like they decided to have Howard or Chuck suddenly join in one Jimmy’s tricks, or have Mike decide he likes Cracker Barrel. > [@](#): > > I still think Kai doesn’t make it. No way would I trust him to keep his trap shut. And I foresee him getting worse rather than better. Werner talked about how much he misses his wife back home, said this is the longest he’s been away from her, and made plans to tell Mike a story once this is over. I think he’s a goner. Talking about loved ones is setting you up for the pathos! > [@](#): > > He’s got everything he thought he wanted but nothing that he wants This show loves doing that to people. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/870 "2018-09-26T19:47:06Z")
So I think we’re seeing the seeds of the end of Jimmy and Kim’s relationship. He’s a very bad influence on her. You could just see how utterly bored Kim has become with her banking law work - it can’t hold a candle to the excitement and adrenaline rush she’s getting from pulling scams with Jimmy. She may even become more reckless than Jimmy. He seems to be an opportunistic scammer - only pulling a scam when an opportunity to do so lands in his lap, or when necessity seems to require it. Kim wants to go looking for another one just because she gets off on it. That’s really dangerous. She’s either going to get caught in one of these scams (maybe the last one - I don’t think we’ve seen the end of that DA) and be disbarred in the state, or she’s going to realize she’s destroying herself being with Jimmy. Either way she eventually packs up and leaves the state, and Jimmy, behind. That’s my guess anyway. I also suspect that Gus is going to solve the German engineer problem by having them murdered after the project is finished. Or at least, by having the foreman murdered because he’s shown a willingness to blab about a ‘secret’ project. That will be the incident that eventually causes Mike to ultimately betray Gus. As for the Nacho storyline - Having a Salamanca stooge show up to take over is an interesting development, but how it plays out will depend entirely on Gus’s reaction. Gus thought he had solved his Salamanca problem by putting Nacho in charge, since he ‘owns’ Nacho. Having another Salamanca show up throws a wrench into that, but killing him could be bad news with the Cartel, since this probably has the Cartel’s blessing. So Nacho is really caught between a rock and a hard place. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/871 "2018-09-26T20:10:19Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > That will be the incident that eventually causes Mike to ultimately betray Gus. Why are you expecting that? Mike doesn’t betray Gus in BB, Mike kept loyally working for Gus until Walt killed Gus without any help from Mike. He beat the crap out of Walt when Walt tried to get him to conspire against Gus, and even laments how Walt destroyed the ‘good thing’ they had going once it’s over. If you expect him to betray Gus in BCS, how do you expect him to end up working as a higher up for Gus when BB rolls around? ---
**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 26, 2018, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/872 "2018-09-26T22:18:13Z")
I’ll bet Mike _totally loves_ Cracker Barrel! ---
**Author:** ![DrForrester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@DrForrester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrForrester)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/873 "2018-09-26T22:38:38Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Having a Salamanca stooge show up to take over is an interesting development, but how it plays out will depend entirely on Gus’s reaction. Gus thought he had solved his Salamanca problem by putting Nacho in charge, since he ‘owns’ Nacho. Having another Salamanca show up throws a wrench into that, but killing him could be bad news with the Cartel, since this probably has the Cartel’s blessing. So Nacho is really caught between a rock and a hard place. Gus has anticipated this eventuality. He told Nacho to rest & that he wasn’t done yet. I expect this will be a substantial part of the next season (assuming there will be another season). I think it is safe to assume that Lalo is dead by the time of BB because Gus tells Hector that he (Hector) is all alone, that he (Gus) has killed everyone, even Hector’s grandson. I loved seeing Crazy 8 sitting in the front chair. He looked absolutely terrified… especially when Lalo was in the kitchen. Even if we don’t know much about Lalo, it seems clear that Crazy 8 knows all that he needs to know about the guy. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/874 "2018-09-26T23:40:17Z")
It was announced that there will be a fifth season. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/875 "2018-09-27T00:52:13Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > Why are you expecting that? Mike doesn’t betray Gus in BB, Mike kept loyally working for Gus until Walt killed Gus without any help from Mike. He beat the crap out of Walt when Walt tried to get him to conspire against Gus, and even laments how Walt destroyed the ‘good thing’ they had going once it’s over. If you expect him to betray Gus in BCS, how do you expect him to end up working as a higher up for Gus when BB rolls around? Gah. It’s been too long. I thought Mike had turned on Gus at one point, but I guess not. ---
**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 27, 2018, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/876 "2018-09-27T01:37:44Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > I think the ADA knows she is being scammed. She spent as much resource as she could spare trying to poke holes in the scam; by the time she was talking to Jimmy as the pastor she is realizing that the scam covered the bases well enough that she was risking getting in trouble with the DA and the judge if she spent any more time on investigating it. Add to that the fact that Kim will continue to burn the ADA’s resources with motions and continuances and it is clear it’s time to move on to more easily winnable cases. Makes sense. > [@SlackerInc](#): > > … I expect this is similar to all the people who thought Marge Gunderson’s accent in the movie “Fargo” was spot-on, when people who actually live in Minnesota know it was terrible (although there were some other characters in the movie who sounded right). Could be, yes. (I just found Bob Odenkirk’s voice to be very distinctive, and accent-quality aside, thought the ADA would recognize him…but I’m happy to drop the subject. Show-world isn’t real world.) > [@TruCelt](#): > > I don’t think we’ve heard the last of that ADA. Jimmy’s fingerprints are on every one of those letters. Yes, indeed. > [@hajario](#): > > It was announced that there will be a fifth season. Yay! ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/877 "2018-09-27T02:02:19Z")
Anybody else think Jimmy’s Louisiana accent was reminiscent of his Senator Tankerbell character from Mr. Show? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/9m9Fv9O6AnU/hqdefault.jpg "Mr.Show Senator Tankerbell.avi") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m9Fv9O6AnU) ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/878 "2018-09-27T02:10:58Z")
If David Cross doesn’t have a cameo on this show at some point, even if it’s just for two seconds, I’m going to be really disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/879 "2018-09-27T02:15:18Z")
Yes, Jimmy and Kim got away with their scam (which was her idea), but what does it do for her reputation in Albuquerque legal circles? Certainly word will spread about the kind of clients she represents. Not really the sort of clients one expects from a respectable attorney, especially not one in the banking business. ---
**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 27, 2018, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/880 "2018-09-27T04:01:25Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Anybody else think Jimmy’s Louisiana accent was reminiscent of his Senator Tankerbell character from Mr. Show? > > [https://youtu.be/9m9Fv9O6AnU](https://youtu.be/9m9Fv9O6AnU) This whole thing is “Mr. Show”. ---
**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:** [September 27, 2018, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/881 "2018-09-27T04:35:07Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Yes, Jimmy and Kim got away with their scam (which was her idea), but what does it do for her reputation in Albuquerque legal circles? Certainly word will spread about the kind of clients she represents. Not really the sort of clients one expects from a respectable attorney, especially not one in the banking business. So she’s doing some pro bono work at the assignment of a judge, and really couldn’t turn it down. BTW, I think here willingness to do whatever it took to win was more a reaction to the DA calling her boyfriend a “scumbag disbarred lawyer” than any real desire to help Huell. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792/882 "2018-09-27T11:41:45Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > (you need someone to build the website quickly, register the domain, and host it on a real provider) It’s a good thing no one in the DA’s office knows how to use WHOIS: > [@](#): > > Domain Name: [freewill-baptistchurch.com](http://freewill-baptistchurch.com) > Registry Domain ID: 2251169537\_DOMAIN\_COM-VRSN > Registrar WHOIS Server: [whois.markmonitor.com](http://whois.markmonitor.com) > Registrar URL: [http://www.markmonitor.com](http://www.markmonitor.com) > Updated Date: 2018-09-05T14:52:07-0700 > Creation Date: 2018-04-11T15:48:25-0700 Obviously the date in the TV show wouldn’t have been 2018, but it would have only been a few days before the “save Huell” campaign. And this isn’t a “save Huell” website; this is the _church_ website, so presumably it would have existed long before Huell’s legal issues. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792.md?page=43) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-call-saul-season-iv/818792.md?page=45)