Better Call Saul 6.09
Jul. 19th, 2022 04:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakIn which we get the Aftermath of Recent Events on the remaining cast.
I had a feeling we'd get a time jump, but I thought we'd get it right at the start of the episode. In retrospect, another structure wasn't possible because of Kim. More about this later. First of all, the one sequence I didn't get was Gus and the wine chef, because it felt like it was going on and on with no point, and then I thought: what if Gus is in love with this guy, David? Maybe he thinks this is how the late Max the cook would have been at that age had Don Eladio not killed him? Maybe he doesn't see a similarity, but is taken by David nonetheless, but can't really say something because his Grand Quest of Revenge is not completed yet?
Or maybe I'm missing something and we did see David before. If so, do tell. Anyway, the Gus and David scene was the only one which somewhat threw me. Everything else worked seamlessly. It figures Mike would identity with Nacho's Dad and would want to tell him that his son was dead (as opposed to leaving the father in uncertainty for the rest of his life) - but what truly made the scene is taht Varga Snr. without meaning to rejected that identification and pity and made Mike face the truth. "You're not talking about justice. You're talking about revenge." And revenge, to him, would be pointless, because his son is dead. Mike, who thinks of himself as an honorabl eman with a code, left the difference between justice and revenge behind a long time ago, and when Mr. Varga refers to him as a gangster together with the rest of the bunch (whom Nacho has acidly described just before his death), it's the truth Mike possibly hadn't truly acknwoledged until now.
When Jimmy and Kim went through their daily routine in the opening montage, as advised by Mike last episode, I already thought "the Macbeths", and when they are at HHM for Howard's wake, the vibe got even stronger, as Cheryl confronted them, and they each lied as best they can (and they can do it very well). But I didn't expect Jimmy to (misquote) the Scottish play when they finally talk about everything in the big episode climax. Seriously, he does. "What's done can be undone." Except that's not how the line goes, and Kim knows it. Kim is, at the core of her, both more ruthless than Jimmy (look how each dealt with Cheryl; Jimmy attempted to distract her from her question by telling a self-hurting truth - that part of his issue wth Howard might have been that Chuck respected Howard, but never Jimmy - whereas Kim went for the Cheryl hurting cocaine lie) and more honest with herself. She saw that she had crossed a line, that what was done cannot be undone, and she drew the consequences by giving up what she had dedicated her life to: being a lawyer. And she gave up the person who means most to her, Jimmy. That entire confrontation was written and acted subllimely, with Kim rejecting any self-excusing explanations, including for why she didn't tell Jimmy that Lalo was still alive after learning it from Mike. And then we get the time jump to Full Saul Goodman, with the only thing missing from the Breaking Bad era Saul the Declaration of Independence projected behind him. The "a morning in the life of Saul Goodman" sequence works as an epilogue, the logical consequence of what has happened before, and now I'm really curious what the remaining episodes will be about, because the remaining regulars' developments are all wrapped up. So will there be another time jump to Gene in Nebraska? Or an episode covering in fast forward what Kim did during Breaking Bad, where she went to?
In any event, Kim's realisation - I have turned into a poisonous person, I cannot represent the law anymore - couldn't have been one that was dragged out over months or years, however long the time jump to this episode's final scene is. It fits her character far better to face the consequences she has drawn for herself immedaitely. No one saves her (or dooms her). She saves, or dooms herself. That's Kim.
I had a feeling we'd get a time jump, but I thought we'd get it right at the start of the episode. In retrospect, another structure wasn't possible because of Kim. More about this later. First of all, the one sequence I didn't get was Gus and the wine chef, because it felt like it was going on and on with no point, and then I thought: what if Gus is in love with this guy, David? Maybe he thinks this is how the late Max the cook would have been at that age had Don Eladio not killed him? Maybe he doesn't see a similarity, but is taken by David nonetheless, but can't really say something because his Grand Quest of Revenge is not completed yet?
Or maybe I'm missing something and we did see David before. If so, do tell. Anyway, the Gus and David scene was the only one which somewhat threw me. Everything else worked seamlessly. It figures Mike would identity with Nacho's Dad and would want to tell him that his son was dead (as opposed to leaving the father in uncertainty for the rest of his life) - but what truly made the scene is taht Varga Snr. without meaning to rejected that identification and pity and made Mike face the truth. "You're not talking about justice. You're talking about revenge." And revenge, to him, would be pointless, because his son is dead. Mike, who thinks of himself as an honorabl eman with a code, left the difference between justice and revenge behind a long time ago, and when Mr. Varga refers to him as a gangster together with the rest of the bunch (whom Nacho has acidly described just before his death), it's the truth Mike possibly hadn't truly acknwoledged until now.
When Jimmy and Kim went through their daily routine in the opening montage, as advised by Mike last episode, I already thought "the Macbeths", and when they are at HHM for Howard's wake, the vibe got even stronger, as Cheryl confronted them, and they each lied as best they can (and they can do it very well). But I didn't expect Jimmy to (misquote) the Scottish play when they finally talk about everything in the big episode climax. Seriously, he does. "What's done can be undone." Except that's not how the line goes, and Kim knows it. Kim is, at the core of her, both more ruthless than Jimmy (look how each dealt with Cheryl; Jimmy attempted to distract her from her question by telling a self-hurting truth - that part of his issue wth Howard might have been that Chuck respected Howard, but never Jimmy - whereas Kim went for the Cheryl hurting cocaine lie) and more honest with herself. She saw that she had crossed a line, that what was done cannot be undone, and she drew the consequences by giving up what she had dedicated her life to: being a lawyer. And she gave up the person who means most to her, Jimmy. That entire confrontation was written and acted subllimely, with Kim rejecting any self-excusing explanations, including for why she didn't tell Jimmy that Lalo was still alive after learning it from Mike. And then we get the time jump to Full Saul Goodman, with the only thing missing from the Breaking Bad era Saul the Declaration of Independence projected behind him. The "a morning in the life of Saul Goodman" sequence works as an epilogue, the logical consequence of what has happened before, and now I'm really curious what the remaining episodes will be about, because the remaining regulars' developments are all wrapped up. So will there be another time jump to Gene in Nebraska? Or an episode covering in fast forward what Kim did during Breaking Bad, where she went to?
In any event, Kim's realisation - I have turned into a poisonous person, I cannot represent the law anymore - couldn't have been one that was dragged out over months or years, however long the time jump to this episode's final scene is. It fits her character far better to face the consequences she has drawn for herself immedaitely. No one saves her (or dooms her). She saves, or dooms herself. That's Kim.
no subject
Date: 2022-07-19 04:39 pm (UTC)Kim's role in this episode was amazing.
I thought the scene with David and Gus was supposed to be Gus's moment of fantasy that he could pursue things with a man he liked and leave the life of crime behind, and then walking away from it. That was Gus's vision of normality and happiness. Whether David was aware of it as a flirtation or was just playing nice with a good customer almost doesn't matter because I think Gus was fully aware of it as a fantasy. I imagine if he HAD needed to sort out 'is this man gay, is he hitting on me, would he lash out or reject me if I started something?'would have been a part of the calculation if he really wanted to pursue it but I feel like at this point in his life he's stopped even imagining he can have a real relationship. The bit did go on for a while but I liked it as a nice relaxed scene that contrasted the pace of the previous episodes, and it reminded me of why Gus was a favorite of mine in Breaking Bad days
It would be kind of funny if David shows up in a future episode as either a criminal associate or love interest, but I think that it's mostly just a slow scene to show a different side of Gus.
no subject
Date: 2022-07-19 05:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-07-19 08:44 pm (UTC)As for Gus, his scene with the wine guy seemed a little weird to me at first, too, but by the end I had more or less the same take on it as
That's my feeling about it, anyway. And I think it's one that fits very well with... everything. :)
no subject
Date: 2022-07-20 07:11 am (UTC)Yes, I think you're right with the scene representing a might-have-been/fantasy for a moment for Gus, with him being aware he will not permit himself more than the fantasy.
no subject
Date: 2022-07-20 07:15 am (UTC)So true. And it occurs to me that while now these moments build on so much show history, it was true even for Jimmy's and Kim's very first scene in the BCS pilot, the shared cigarette. We didn't know Kim at all back then, and Jimmy only as Saul, but that silent smoking together instantly communicated they had history, there was a connection between them. Without a single word of dialogue.
Gus: you and