Margaux and I are back on our dumb shit, reviewing last night’s excellent Better Call Saul.
Trevor: The confidence level behind Better Call Saul is absurd. I think it’s a by-product of always working with the same writers and directors (only 12 unique directors as of “Sabrosito”). But I can’t think of many other shows that would go 33 minutes before showing us the title character. Imagine tuning in to Bones and not seeing Jennifer Bones for 33 minutes. Would never happen. But BCS can do that because it knows the stories it’s telling are so compelling, and because it’s trained us to be patient viewers. How did you like “Sabrosito”?
Margaux: I didn’t even notice we hadn’t checked in with Jimmy and Kim until we came back from commercial to Kim making her way through the phone book’s handymen of Albuquerque. It was a breath of fresh after the intense deep dive into Gus and Hector’s long-simmering feud. This show is so smart and trusts its audience so much that it follows the narrative thread from the opening shot from the bottom of the pool that Don Eladio will eventually die in and doesn’t let up until Gus gets to give his inspiring, “this is America, dammit” (with so many echoes of Walter White laced throughout) speech, and you watch him sink a crumpled burrito wrapper three into a trashcan. In a lot of ways, Better Call Saul is a prequel for Breaking Bad’s most interesting supporting characters.
Trevor: I’m glad you said that, because it dovetails nicely with something I loved, which was the framing on that entire Don Eladio cold open. The whole time, there’s a liquor bottle on the table, acting as some visual foreshadowing to his eventual death in season four of Breaking Bad. A lesser show would have had him drink some and say some shit like “This stuff’s going to kill me,” so it came as a huge relief that not only was the bottle not interacted with or commented upon, it was barely in the shot most of hte time. But hey, maybe I’m reading too far into something, but we both know Gilligan and Gould don’t do anything by chance.
Margaux: I haven’t finished listening to the Better Call Saul Insider Podcast for “Sabrosito” yet, but I do know as a listener in general, Gilligan and Gould love Easter eggs and subtext through set dressing, so I’m sure you’re onto something with the bottle.
Trevor: But back to Gus. I don’t need to go on and on about how great Giancarlo Esposito is in the role, because it’s ground that’s been covered. One thing that did occur to me during “Sabrosito,” though, is that now he has another chance to win an Emmy for the role. And sure, awards are trinkets – unless they go to the right people. So my point is: give Esposito an Emmy.
Margaux: What I loved the most about the front half of “Sabrosito” is how deep we dive into Hector and Gus’s psyche and ultimately how they came to truly hate each other. Mister-hide-in-plain-sight versus Old-School-Gangster; the difference between Hector and Gus is: Gus has a cover for his cover, and cover for that too, all Hector has is front that can be easily raided by the DEA (I think we’re going to see Hank this season – more on that in a sec). And Gus, for all his murdering and drug dealing, does seem like a genuinely good boss who cares if his business succeeds. The problem is, as long Hector is around, it’s going to be hard to keep the Lyles (“Please, sir, look at the sign, no fumar!”) and Nachos separated amicably.
Trevor: Michael Mando has so much fuckin’ presence, I swear to God. All Nacho did here was shake his damn head and I was transfixed.
Margaux: How does one stand so menacingly by a trash can? The Salamanca crew strong armed an entire restaurant into leaving without saying a word or lifting a pinky. It IS about the implication!
Trevor: In regards to what you said before, the Jimmy/Kim stuff really did feel like a breath of fresh air, a release of some kind. The Gus/Hector stuff is so damn tense, and Jimmy’s storyline is not without its narrative heft, but I think it’s meant to balance out the tone of the episode, which it does nicely (it’s even lit brighter). That said, my main concern about the season so far is that it feels as though its storylines are diverging, and where once everyone’s story interacted with Jimmy – who is, after all, the title character – it sometimes feels like we’re watching Better Call Saul and Mike. Not that “more Mike Ehrmantraut” is a problem, but I think you see what I’m trying to say. It’s as compelling as it’s ever been, but maybe a tad less cohesive. I’m sure I’ll eat major crow when the season wraps up, but as of now it’s a mild cause of concern.
Margaux: I’m not really concerned, because of two scenes. One, Jimmy employs Mike, the “Ansel Adams of covert photography,” to actually fix Chuck’s door and take pictures of his Hoarders-like house. That scene was the most comical moment of the episode (and probably the season thus far), Mike, wielding the battery powered drill like the sniper rifle he shot off last week, drives Chuck further and further away with each “WHRRRRR-WHRRR”; it was not only clever staging, writing, and acting, it was completely in character for everyone and was a much needed chuckle. And the second scene was when Gus comes to visit Mike at the parking lot to offer him a job.
Trevor: Oh, yeah, both great scenes, and I want to clarify what I said above: at no point have I thought to myself, “Boy, I really hope Gilligan and Gould can pull out of this tailspin!” Like, I know I’m going to be proven wrong. I’m kind of looking forward to it.
Margaux: I know, I was only pointing out the table setting for their storylines to intersect once again.
Trevor: I’m also glad that I don’t know fuck-all about the law, because it really makes that cliffhanger enticing. Kim gets Chuck to admit that there was a duplicate to the tape, and she’s…happy about it? I love watching this show and knowing that the characters know way more than me. Also, I should point out, that shows how well-drawn the characters are. I didn’t think, “Writer Jonathan Glatzer really knows his stuff,” I thought, “Man, Kim Wexler is so damn smart.”
Margaux: Not sure how the picture of a lantern on top of a stack of old newspapers and the discovery that Jimmy only “destroyed” the backup tape and the original one is “under lock and key” somewhere amount to anything, but I sure hope it takes Chuck out. He’s such a faker, and he has Hay charmed to such an annoying degree, it’ll be very satisfying if/when she turns on Chuck. Chuck and Hector should go into Petty Bastards Business together, Je-sus. The way Chuck argued for Jimmy to pay him for the broken tape too – how much could a cassette cost, thirteen cents? – to Hector scraping dog shit off his shoe onto Gus’s desk, they are one and the same to me. Dickholes.
Trevor: Nice, I didn’t pick up on the parallels there, but man, this show loves letting you know which characters are assholes. I think this was a great rebound from last week’s “Sunk Costs,” which we both liked but weren’t nuts about. Do you want to talk stars for “Sabrosito”?
Margaux: One more, am-I-reading-too-much-into-this theory, re: Hank’s return. When Lyle calls Gus, Gus is – as he is wont to do – hanging out with law enforcement of some kind. Between that and the raid, I think we might see Hank come into play.
Trevor: Also, one of those DEA agents at the Winking Greek looked bald. Coincidence? I think not!
Margaux: I can’t tell if you’re being facetious or not…
Trevor: I am 100% serious. It’s in my notes and everything. “Hank???” So I’m glad you brought it up.
Margaux: Alright, back to final judgements on “Sabrosito.” It was an excellent hour of Better Call Saul, dare I use the most irritating word in TV/Movie reviewing, riveting. And although Kim and Jimmy seem to strut out of the courthouse happy, we all know happiness is fleeting in this universe.
5/5
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