Margaux and I talk foreshadowing on this week’s Better Call Saul.
Trevor: I will never get tired of Bob Odenkirk’s flashback mullet. That opening was nicely strange, even before we found out it was all a scam.
Margaux: You’re usually wooed by butthole talk. But one thing I noticed before I even hit play on my DVR was, every episode of Better Call Saul ends in “O.” I’m not sure what to make of that, that’s for people smarter than me, but felt compelled to say something. You know, see something, say something style.
Trevor: Maybe eventually it’ll say something, like “737,” “Down, Over” and “ABQ” in Breaking Bad’s second season. Except “Uno mijo Nacho hero” means absolutely nothing.
Margaux: Cool, glad to have wasted the time and brain space. So, other than that pointless observation, “Hero” was written by my favorite Breaking Bad alum, Gennifer Hutchinson. She nailed the character of Betsy Kettleman, what a perfectly hateable bitch.
Trevor: The Kettlemans are so fucking delusional you have to laugh at it. Betsy really believes that they’re entitled to that money. And she definitely wears the pants in that relationship, there’s no way her husband is behind that embezzlement scheme.
Margaux: That was sort of a given from their first meeting with Jimmy in that diner. I just thought how she presented it all to Jimmy, after being caught red-handed, it took a lot of vagina to be that much of a cunt. I mean, not only does she think her family is entitled to the money they embezzled, in the name of “fairness” (them saying that in unison cracked me up but also made me want to punch them). It was the tap dance Jimmy put himself through AFTER she bribed him, repeatedly, and says to him as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world, “you’re the lawyer guilty people hire.” BITCH YOU ARE BRIBING HIM IN THE WOODS, CLAP THE FUCK BACK.
Trevor: That whole scene was kind of pathetically funny, from the Kettlemans’ piss-poor defense and their sense of entitlement, to Jimmy trying in vain to turn them into clients. At least he got the money, so you know what that means – TREAT YO’ SELF!
Margaux: Well, sort of. At first, I was like, hell yeah – get dat seed money from them crooks. THEN, when it came to light that Jimmy was basically pulling a Catfish on HHM, everything got pathetically funny again. But I did like seeing more of Jimmy’s interactions with Kim, they’re so oddly sweet and loaded with subtext you’re not sure you want to get into, I wonder if ends up being one of Saul’s ex-wives…
Trevor: “Hero” was definitely more funny than dramatic, which obviously Better Call Saul can handle just fine, but it didn’t have as much narrative momentum as the previous three episodes. Nacho showed up and then left, Mike was only in one scene…I guess a lot of “Hero” was more of an origin story for Saul Goodman. Not only did Jimmy introduce himself that way in the cold open, but at the tailor’s he was looking at a very loud orange shirt/tie combo.
Margaux: I noticed Jimmy eyeing Saul’s power orange in the tailor shop too. Though I loved the cold open, I didn’t know what to make of it, I almost wanted to stay there. I ended up having more questions than answers but I trust the minds behind this show enough to know it’ll be revealed soon but still. Did S’all Good Man originate in Chicago? His passed out accomplice in the alley had an Illinois drivers license. Was that flashback pre or post “Chicago Sunroof”? One thing of value I did take away from that scene though was that continuing sense of how gifted at gab Jimmy is – no matter what name he’s going by. I honestly thought him and that mark were friends for ten years until he asked Jimmy/Saul his name.
Trevor: Yeah and the way he pled his case to the judge was pretty good too. I loved that scene for two reasons: one, I’m going to paint my house Hamlindigo, and two, the way Hamlin pointed out to Jimmy “You are dressed exactly like me.” After that I couldn’t unsee it and it was really funny.
Margaux: THAT HAIR THOUGH. I know he was going for Tony Curtis in Spartacus but if I were Hamlin, I’d mainly be mad at that mop in Jimmy’s billboard.
Trevor: I don’t know what’s better, his little orphan Annie ringlets or his epic combover at the end of Breaking Bad.
How quickly did you catch on that the guy hanging off the billboard was planned? I figured it out pretty quick – cause I’m super smart and handsome – but it was fun nonetheless. He’s becoming more Saul every day.
Margaux: Not that quick, actually. I didn’t pick up on that whole thing being staged till they shook hands after Jimmy saved him. Mainly because I have a deathly fear of heights and that scene caused some anxiety for me, I couldn’t even write the note, “I’m getting anxiety from the height,” that’s how tense I was.
I’m gonna go ahead and skip to the end-ish, when we’re in Chuck-vision, wrapped in a space blanket (like Linus if he were an old man), running across the street to “buy” your neighbors local paper. How does Chuck get up everyday if this what his life feels like?! Holy shit dude, I’d just kill myself.
Trevor: Colin Bucksey (who directed the best episode of Fargo, “Buridan’s Ass”) handled the high-tension scenes well, i.e. the billboard and Chuck’s newspaper caper. Chuck’s life looks terrifying. Michael McKean is doing a great job at conveying his anxieties.
Margaux: And the perfect way to break up that anxiety was to give us the perspective of a neighbor watching it all go down. I laughed so hard, that woman was the audience, it was pitch perfect. But, like you said, “Hero” had more humor than plot advancement. Do you think Nacho is going to come after Jimmy after he all but told Nacho, yeah – called the Kettleman’s! I was biting my nails when Jimmy launched into the, “someone was worried about those kids” speech. STOP SHOWING YOUR HAND, WALK AWAY SILENTLY.
Trevor: Seriously, his poker face needs improvement. He’s okay when talking to Hamlin or the Kettlemans, but he tends to yammer on when talking to an actual scary person, which is how we got the immortal name Jeffrey Steele.
Margaux: You mean, FBI agent, Jeffrey Steele. Yeah, there are only certain high pressure situations Jimmy is capable of handling. And even as Saul, as we’ve seen on Breaking Bad, it doesn’t necessarily get any better.
Trevor: So for “Hero” I’m thinking four stars. Better Call Saul is unlikely to have any bad episodes, but a lot of “Hero” was transitional so it didn’t have the same oomph as the first three installments.
Margaux: The comedic side of this drama lands so well, I didn’t even notice the plot didn’t go too far from home until credits rolls, I’m good with the four stars.
And if Better Call Saul can share a director from Fargo, it can also earn our praise of it most likely never having a bad episode. Just less oomph-ish.
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