Margaux and I get the band back together to talk about last night’s stellar episode of Better Call Saul.
Trevor:Better Call Saul (and its parent program, Breaking Bad) gets a lot of attention for its gorgeous desert panoramas, and the claustrophobia of its offices and houses. And that’s all great! But what struck me during “Smoke” was just how striking the black and white cinematography by Marshall Adams is. It’s far from a gimmick (although it does differentiate between the show’s timelines). It’s an obvious point to make, but becoming Gene Takavic literally sucked the color out of Jimmy McGill’s life. But the scenes are no less poetic for that. I mean, how beautiful can you make a damn Cinnabon? This beautiful, it turns out. Obviously, I really liked “Smoke.” Every time I watch BCS I’m struck with the realization that it’s probably the best show on the air (its standing seems even firmer now that Halt and Catch Fire and The Americans are over). How did you like it?
Margaux: I think what I love the most about the black and white cold opens at the top of every season, and to your point about Jimmy/Saul/Gene’s life has had the color sucked out of it, there is something a bit sinister about the monochrome. There’s an unease to Gene’s life now where he’s forever looking over his shoulder constantly, always on guard. And it wasn’t the moment of paranoia about his social security number not going through at the hospital (the bit about Pacific Northwest SS numbers starting with 532 is true…fun fact!), even though that was just as tense as Nacho practicing the pill bottle toss from last season, but small things that seem like minor inconveniences turn into full blown espionage when you’re always worried when the other shoe will drop. I didn’t think an RN would be the one to do Gene in, but that cab ride completely creeped me out. From the ABQ air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror (that’s a nod to Walt and Breaking Bad, right?), to the driver missing a greenlight; I’ve had a couple uncomfortable Uber/Lyft rides before and there’s no greater sinking feeling of dread than to think, oh shit – I’m trapped in this goddamn car with a stranger who is possibly a lunatic.
Trevor: Those are all excellent points, and I’m glad you brought them up, because during “Smoke” I found myself somewhat awestruck that Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould took a prequel series about Breaking Bad’s ostensible comic relief, and filled it with so much dread and tension. That scene with the nurse is a perfect example. First she asks for his license number, then his social, then he has to repeat the social, and then she calls him back to return his license. Director Minkie Spiro (Downton Abbey) does a great job here of twisting the screws, making sure Jimmy/Saul/Gene has to keep dealing with one more thing, any of which could blow his cover. Also, side note, I love how differently Bob Odenkirk plays Jimmy’s incarnations. There’s no mistaking Gene for Jimmy, and so on and so forth. Also, I hope we get more of these black and white sections, now that BCS is slowly catching up to the Breaking Bad timeline.
Margaux: I was about to say, Odenkirk’s performance on this show is so subtle; he’s not flop sweating and stuttering, trying to get out of sticky situations, it’s a small and steady burn – no pun intended. Even the way Gene tells the cab driver to let him out before his destination, he cool and calm under pressure, that is until he’s a safe enough distance to have a mild panic attack. Or a full blown one at the Cinnabon. I wonder, since Chuck’s death isn’t really touched upon in Breaking Bad if we’ll see future Gene deal with that emotional fallout because as it stands now, it seems like Jimmy was all too happy to let Howard feel guilty about Chuck’s suicide and keep on keepin’ on, making coffee while whistling (which is some psycho shit).
Trevor: Now I’m hoping that Gene will somehow meet back up with Kim Wexler, because there is no such thing as enough Rhea Seehorn. What works really well about “Smoke” is that we get to see everyone’s reaction to Chuck’s death. I’d seen those promo photos of Jimmy at the funeral, so I assumed that’s all we’d get. But Howard’s phone call as wonderfully handled: “It’s Chuck.” And then Jimmy knows. On that note, the funeral was well-done, too, in that we didn’t see it. We know what funerals look like. It takes a lot of confidence to skip a scene with such dramatic potential, and I love seeing BCS take swings like that and connect.
Margaux: The editing between Jimmy getting the phone call from Howard, showing up to what’s left of Chuck’s house, Howard calling Jimmy to basically run down Chuck’s accomplishments (graduated high school at 14? Calm down, Doogie Howser), and then funeral, was incredibly elegant and didn’t hit you the over head with “YOU FEEL SAD NOW.” If you’ve ever had to deal with a death in your family, you know how it goes. Better Call Saul always makes sure to focus on what and how the characters are feeling, less about what’s actually happening, and that’s also what lends a hand to being such a tense and oftentimes dark show.
Trevor: I’m glad you brought up Howard’s phone call, because that was maybe my favorite scene of “Smoke,” just in terms of how it shows the exacting attention to detail that this show approaches its characters with. First, there’s the litany of Chuck’s accomplishments, which over time becomes funny as it just goes on and on. But what I loved was seeing Howard stand up and walk around his office: he’s memorized this, or at least part of it. Howard Hamlin (and Patrick Fabian’s performance of him) is a perfect example of how BCS does characters. He’s a prick, yeah, but the show gives him room to be a prick and also a human being. His phone call is a perfect example of that mentality.
Margaux: Exactly! Howard, like most real life people, contains multitudes, but “Smoke” did a lot to endear him after the way he treated Kim last season, and it mostly worked for me. Howard was clearly distraught and blames himself for Jimmy’s death, and it’s almost sweet how much Howard seems to be leaning on Jimmy for emotional support. Howard could’ve been a total dick to Jimmy about Chuck’s funeral, but he seems to really want to be there for Jimmy and Kim, and it also seems like he could use the support as well. Although I shouldn’t be as surprised by this as I am, but I was floored that Jimmy was downright delighted to tell Howard that his guilt over Chuck’s death is his “cross to bear.” That is, in layman’s terms, incredibly fucked up.
Trevor: And in that scene, who do we feel sympathy for? Howard. Incredible storytelling. Jesus, I get so psyched whenever we talk about Better Call Saul. You want to talk about Nacho, or Mike?
Margaux: Oh sure, since, especially Mike, provided the only kind of comic relief over the course of the hour. His undercover boss security inspection was the funny version of him doing all his intricate research last season (and something we’ve seen Mike do humorlessly in BCS and Breaking Bad). Except, unlike ABCs Undercover Boss no one cries at the end when the reveal happens, instead you get Mike telling some underling what an incompetent moron he is and how much they’ve all jeopardized the safety of this operation. Unfortunately, I don’t think his personal recon mission will go over well with someone like Lydia, a woman who makes Gwyneth Paltrow look sane and relaxed.
Trevor: It was pretty funny watching Mike name-drop Lydia, because you could tell he was so disappointed that he had to. And this show is so goddamn confident in its pacing, and so faithful in its viewers’ attention, that it can devote several minutes of screentime to a brief glimpse into the life of the man whose ID Mike had stolen. Watching that guy – Barry Hedberg – I kept thinking, “This show has a deep roster, should I know him?” Nope, he only exists for this purpose, but, as always, BCS doesn’t believe in static characters. Not to disparage Breaking Bad, but Gomey wouldn’t have gotten away with being so flat if he were on this show instead.
Margaux: RIP Gomey!!! But, you’re right. I’d also have to point out that comparing Gomey and Mike to be apples and oranges though; by design, due his job, Gomey had to be more boring.
Anyway, let’s check in with Nacho before we wrap this up. All I have to say is, Nacho…you in danger girl! He needs to throw away his gas cap cause his ass is getting followed! Trust no bitch! Also, I feel like Nacho went through all this only to be in the exact same spot as before. And Hector didn’t even die.
Trevor: A lot of times, Nacho is the most sympathetic character on this show (with the exception of Kim, who is perfect, but who we’re not talking about because she wasn’t in “Smoke” a whole lot). Michael Mando is an incredibly gifted silent actor, allowing the viewer to see the full spectrum of Nacho’s emotions on his face, while still somehow hiding it from the characters he shares scenes with. I don’t predict a happy ending for him, but I do predict it to be heartbreaking.
Margaux: That’s the blessing and curse of Better Call Saul, you know who “makes it” to Breaking Bad, which I suppose if you’re that kind of asshole, is a spoiler. What keeps me hooked (apart from, well, how much I love this show and these characters and actors and direction and writing) is what happens to everyone else in Jimmy’s life before he becomes Saul? It’s been teased leading up to this season that it’s only going to get darker and more heartbreaking, so your prediction of capital S something bad is gonna happen to Nacho is spot on. But what untold horrors await him? We’ll have to wait and find out.
Trevor: Here’s my theory, then we can wrap up (if you want to): we’re going to meet Hank at some point. Gus very pointedly said that a turf war will bring unwanted attention from the DEA, and any viewer of BB or BCS associates the DEA with one person. Vince Gilligan has been going around saying that Walt and Jesse might appear on BCS, so it’ll be really interesting to see how/if the Saul team decides that the show is no longer a prequel but its own parallel series.
Margaux: All excellent points, good catch on the DEA/turf war foreshadowing, but I’m a terrible at conspiracy theories, but your theory seems to check out. For being a prequel, I always look forward to how Better Call Saul will surprise and desvastate me next!
Trevor: Love to tune in for my weekly dose of engrossing misery (and occasional dark humor). You want to talk stars?
Margaux: I almost want to preemptively give this whole season five stars already, but I suppose that’d be a cop out (even though I think this show produces more five stars episodes than not). Better Call Saul is back and wants us to know, it only get worse for our merry band of lawyers drug dealing associates and, as the kids say, I’m here for it.
5/5
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