r/betterCallSaul • u/skinkbaa Chuck • Aug 09 '22
Episode Discussion Better Call Saul S06E12 - "Waterworks" - LIVE-Episode Discussion Thread
| TIME | EPISODE | DIRECTOR | WRITER(S) |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 8, 2022, 9/8c | S06E12 "Waterworks" | Vince Gilligan | Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould |
DESCRIPTION:
The stakes are raised when a discovery is made.
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u/Gwyneth7 Aug 09 '22
So Kim didn’t immediately move to Florida, dye her hair and start dressing like me in 8th grade?
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u/butterbeancd Aug 09 '22 edited Aug 09 '22
My theory: The series is going to end with Kim walking away, having taken responsibility for what she did but not facing jail time, finally moving on with her life and putting Jimmy/Saul behind her. And as she walks away from the camera, the scene shifts from black and white to color.
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u/Mr_Nutter_butter Aug 09 '22
Anyone else notice the reflection in Gene’s glasses in color against b&w just like in the opening scene of s1e1? This show is brilliant.
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u/Phuilz Aug 09 '22
Glad we got to see Mike in this episode ! Great dialog with Kim too at the parking lot, straight up giving someone his parking ticket for once!
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u/No-Return-3368 Aug 09 '22
These guys paying attention to the fans to pull something like showing me that dudes feet and toes then him smashing Kim. Incredible
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u/BaronBlotto Aug 09 '22
Man, everybody is just depressed by the end of their stories. I find Kim’s the worst, because her daily life post BCS kinda looks a little like mine.
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u/duffharris Aug 09 '22
How I expected the end of this episode to go: https://youtu.be/0_zsCZLJ0vY
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u/davegettlegod Aug 09 '22
Watching Kim have sex with some weird guy just crushed me
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u/butterbeancd Aug 09 '22
They made her new life seem so painfully bland. At one point, I’m pretty sure she was doing a puzzle that was just plain, solid white. They did such a good job showing how awful and mundane her life is.
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u/daisesonmygrave Aug 09 '22
Jimmy wouldn’t have killed an old lady. He couldn’t even deal with an old lady not having friends. We’ve come a long way from Jimmy.
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u/SherlockBrolmes Aug 09 '22 edited Aug 09 '22
100% in the next few hours there will be a meme of Marion watching youtube and the noise will be "Waltuh.... put your dick away...."
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u/TabooYeti Aug 09 '22
Prediction: Jimmy goes to jail for 20 years but Bill Oakley represents him.
Kim is there when he gets out on probation in 2022. We come to today with it.
Justice is served, but they get their happy ending. Both end up their literal current ages.
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u/TabooYeti Aug 09 '22
I hear you and think odds are 90% you’re right. I’m just here to be able to screenshot this if I, on the longest of shots, turn out to be right and get to say “I told you so.”
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u/Kid_Named_Finger420 Aug 09 '22
The scene with Kim holding back her cry on the bus… wow. I felt that.
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u/SirShark1 Aug 09 '22
Im very glad Cheryl heard the truth, Kim lying to her at Howards funeral was miserable to watch.
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u/blazer560 Aug 09 '22
Kim said it best, what kind of life is he living right now? Honestly he’d be best off in prison. Running law classes and helping out criminals. That would be a happy ending. But this show is too brutal for a happy ending.
Man am I proud of Kim tho. She may have taken her time but at least she’s finally making amends.
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u/Additional-Setting87 Aug 09 '22
Now that this episode aired and i liked it i can finally say that i thought the two before it were pretty mediocre in a series and especially a season thats been amazing
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u/Bone_225 Aug 09 '22
Breaking bad ep was good wym
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u/Additional-Setting87 Aug 09 '22
I just didnt feel that way. Felt like a slow crawl without plot progression and while Bryan Cranston slipped right back into Walter White instantly i felt that Aaron Paul was maybe lacking enthusiasm or was stuck in the portrayal of Jessie from el camino and not the higher energy early breaking bad jessie. I mean i get people get older but episode to episode i felt like he captured young jessie WAY better in this episode then he did in the last.
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u/PuddingCat Aug 09 '22
I’m not sure what Kim’s tipping point for going to Howard’s wife was? Was it because of Genes phone call?
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u/DustedGrooveMark Aug 09 '22
I think in the back of her mind, she thought Jimmy was probably dead somewhere or, at the very least, finally felt remorse for everything he had done so there would be a least SOME level of justice that existed in the universe. When she heard him on the phone, she realized he was still his same old self. Not even a shred of regret in his voice while she was practically dead inside. That sort of made her crack and decide that she needed to right their collective wrong somehow.
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u/LorenzoApophis Aug 09 '22
Jimmy told her to turn herself in if she really felt guilty and she decided he was right. Maybe on some level she realizes she can't really judge him until she's held herself accountable.
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u/GTRnPen Aug 09 '22
After watching the penultimate episode, I have to say I am confused and disappointed. It seems that BCS will come in like a lion (and stay one to the almost bitter end), but will go out like a lamb. I will have to cut against the "catharsis" of Jimmy that the show-runner seems so intent on, based on principled claims.
What Jimmy always represented (and so did Walter White), is the failure of the meta-narrative that says "if you work hard . . ." and/or "do what you love . . ." - that being, the entire utopian lie of the Western World. This critique is often pinned on the "American Dream" in media, but that's not a fair assessment. Why?, because it is selective reasoning (see also the Fundamental Attribution error). Almost all the meta-narratives in our society today offer some Utopia at the end of the belief and behavior rainbow. Take your pick. Jesus. Flag-waving "Proud to be Americans", Social Justice Warriors, and Identity Politics Grievers - what they ALL have in common, is a change of belief and behavior (in the self and/or the Others), that if adhered to strong enough, or with enough conviction and coercion, will bring the promise of a Utopian society into being (and make the world better for the believer . . . but not so much for "everyone".
What Walter White and Saul Goodman represent (in two different modalities) is the abdication of that lie. Walter got the big C and said "F-it, Dude, let's go make meth". He threw off the moral shackles that had led him to nowhere and reaped the reward for doing it (and, of course, the eventual consequences). Walter's was a reactive response to a vision of reality. He could finally see the truth, but only when the veil was torn from his eyes.
Jimmy, on the other hand - never had the veil over his eyes. It fact he used that veil as a confidence gambit against others. He had learned the truth early - that survival was the only responsible morality in this world. He saw the hustle of the powerful and wealthy from an early age and never fed on the pablum of redemption they were selling to everyone else to eat. Instead, he faked that belief and behavior - just long enough to steal every penny from the "seller" - and leave them in the rearview without a clue of what had just happened.
Note: These are my interpretations of the character's perception of morality - not my own.
Unfortunately, in my not so humble opinion, Gilligan wants Jimmy to find redemption before it's all over (in that sense the catharsis threaders here are absolutely right). But the Jimmy I know would NEVER trust his fate to another person's moral compunction - I Don't even know who I'm looking at on this screen.
Out of respect for a show I have enjoyed and loved to watch for almost a decade and half (BB S1E1 2008 - BCS finale 2022), I will watch the final episode. In the end, my little squabble here barely makes a dent in the amazing work of these creators. That being said, the end of this show is going to be a miss (but then again, only the best shows have the worst endings).
RIP BCS
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u/Gwyneth7 Aug 09 '22
I need to say something. I keep seeing people say, “why didn’t Kim go be a lawyer in Florida?” I am a lawyer. My husband killed himself in 2014. I stopped practicing law. One had nothing to do with the other, but trauma changes you. And you’re not really in control of it because you’re in survival mode. It’s not that we don’t think we know better, we are simply doing what we need to survive.
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Aug 09 '22
Sorry for your loss 🙏🏽❤️
I can relate to trauma leading to decisions that others can’t fully understand. I’m in the same position right now.
I hope you’re doing OK
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u/shrina917 Aug 09 '22
I love how Rhea knows her character and the plot so well, meanwhile Bob is like what season is this 😂
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u/Little_Voice_24 Aug 09 '22
well, he has been through a lot. And I think he is swamped in work, I think he has two shows coming next
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u/RiffRx Aug 09 '22
Anyone else notice while Kim was typing "heralds" on the Palm Coast Sprinklers website, she paused for awhile??
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u/Vircxzs Aug 09 '22
That was a callback to when Jane's father said "Jane" instead of "Juliette" when he was relaying commands to one of the planes that ultimately crashed above Albuquerque in Breaking Bad.
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u/Away_Register_2959 Aug 09 '22
Damn it this episode left me legit angry that Gene got himself into deeper shit
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u/willrobster16 Aug 09 '22 edited Aug 09 '22
What ending do you guys want for Gene? Death? Jail?
He just doesn’t deserve freedom anymore, I think he’s even worse than Walt.
Edit: definitely not worse than Walt I’m a fucking idiot
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u/Striking_Camera8748 Aug 09 '22
Really seems like it'll be jail. Jail is actually fitting for his character. One member of the empire is free (Jesse); one goes to jail. Everyone else is dead.
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u/dangle7890 Aug 09 '22
I can't think of a good answer for this. I just hope it's a fun send off and that it's not super predictable.
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u/sweet_tooth21 Aug 09 '22
Definitely not worse than Walt.
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u/willrobster16 Aug 09 '22
Yeah, come to think of it, Walt attempted to rape his wife, poisoned an innocent child, and murdered a bunch of people. Why did I just say Gene is worse than Walt
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u/Fluffles-the-cat Aug 09 '22
I mean, Gene was busy robbing a cancer patient and was gonna clock the guy with his dog’s urn, so he’s still a rotten piece of shit. Not worse than Walt but still had less redeeming qualities than I’d hoped.
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u/imaginarywalks23 Aug 09 '22
When Marion says “I trusted you”…. I saw 5 million things going through his head:
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All the Sandpiper seniors who he built relationships with. He had a gift.
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His brother never trusted him. But his father did and him skimmed the register
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The last person to truly trust him was Kim.
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That he truly hates himself.
Any small piece of Jimmy that was left surfaced and he felt shame… and it saved Marion’s life.
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Aug 09 '22
Idk about the last bit. He could have taken that life alert from her pretty easily
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u/imaginarywalks23 Aug 09 '22
That is the point. She shamed him like only a truly good hearted elderly lady can…. and he dropped the life alert and let her make the call.
His brother always told him he was no good and never would be. She saw him as good and trusted him and then she saw him as bad.
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Aug 09 '22
Based on the teaser, it sounds like Gene tries to get vacuumed, but sadly with Robert Forster gone, I assume he can’t get a hold of anyone and is screwed
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u/Striking_Camera8748 Aug 09 '22
To me it sounds like he's repeating it to keep the whole thing in memory while under distress.
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u/Rfl0 Aug 09 '22
They could easily do a one sided phone conversation if they needed it to happen for the story.
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Aug 09 '22
Anyone else wish there was a scene with Howie and Gus having a professional polite conversation
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u/MadFlava76 Aug 09 '22
Feel like it's not going to be a happy ending for Jimmy. Police/FBI is going to be hot on his tail and he doesn't have much time to gather things to go on the run. Maybe we get that final scene between Jimmy and Kim when he's in jail.
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u/Cocobrien23 Aug 09 '22
Kim convinces Jimmy to turn himself in and stop running. He goes to jail for life and the two have one final moment. That's gotta be it.
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u/nickeldoodle Aug 09 '22
When is this supposed to take place? Ask Jeeves shut down in 2006
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u/Urbn_explorer Aug 09 '22
Tbf she could just be calling google “ask Jeeves” the way my mom calls my PS5 a Nintendo
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u/Gwyneth7 Aug 09 '22
Why was Kim at Court before going to see Cheryl?
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u/JanellaDubois Aug 09 '22
My guess is to be able to say she already turned herself in and to have the affidavit in hand.
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u/kritzy27 Aug 09 '22
So she could confess and control the narrative. If she went to Cheryl first it makes it messy. I think it also protects Cheryl a bit.
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u/paddedfoot Aug 09 '22
Turning in the affidavit she mentioned to Cheryl is my guess
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u/nanrah88 Aug 09 '22
Anybody else watching Talking Saul? It’s pretty great. Tony Dalton’s coming on next!
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u/DeanBlandino Aug 09 '22
These last couple episodes have been so self indulgent. I’m not really into them at all. Shit is boring af.
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u/SirDunkMcNugget Aug 09 '22
Watch something else?
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u/DeanBlandino Aug 09 '22
Nah have watching this show for 6 years I’ll finish it, just disappointed.
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u/rynrynnn Aug 09 '22
i’ve seen a few people say they think he’s gonna get caught & kim is going to testify against him. the more that gones on i truly believe that may happen
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u/Jessieheartsplants Aug 09 '22
I actually think the opposite. I think the ABQ DA charges Kim, he is almost away but comes back and testifies FOR her in her trial, and taking the fall himself. He gets redemption...and pays for all he's done. Regardless of how far he has sunk, he will still put Kim's life before his own.
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u/xGaz14x Aug 09 '22
That’s what I think. Explains Kim’s comment that “all witnesses are dead, EXEPT MY EX HUSBAND…”
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u/rynrynnn Aug 09 '22
that would be nice as we would see someone finally pay for their crimes, but he still gets a slight redemption in the end? i could see that happening
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u/Jessieheartsplants Aug 09 '22
It also I think matches what Bob Odenkirk recently said about his thoughts about the ending in a recent interview (I forget where, and am very loosely paraphrasing, but basically he thought he liked it, it showed some growth that he liked).
Really can't wait to find out.
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u/JS43362 Aug 09 '22
He doesn't quite have it in him to actually kill.
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u/jojomopho410 Aug 09 '22
Was it a complete bluff because I felt other vibes - of a sad, desperate and broken man.
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u/willrobster16 Aug 09 '22
Did anyone else notice the recasted Mike with an automated machine? Unbravo Vincent🤬🤬
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u/imaginarywalks23 Aug 09 '22
Huh? What did they do?
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u/soapmanwun96 Aug 09 '22
Pretty sure the garage where mike worked at. Its now a machine instead of a person being there.
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u/square3481 Aug 09 '22
They're just joking about the automated machine at the parking lot that has replaced Mike and any other employees there.
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u/Work-Frequent Aug 09 '22
Prediction for next week’s final scene -
So we last saw Kim on the shuttle at the airport. Next week we’ll see her walking through the terminal toward her gate, and she’ll cross paths with a handcuffed Jimmy, flanked by US Marshall’s as he’s being extradited from Nebraska back to Albuquerque. The’ll be a brief pause and a very poignant line or two, and fin.
I’ll hedge and say that perhaps after this final moment between Jimmy and Kim, we get the Saul & Walter flashback cameo to end things on a high note.
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u/StaticAnnouncement Aug 09 '22
Chris Hardwick voiced a character in a very obscure nickelodeon cartoon when I was a kid that no one remembers and I'm always reminded of that whenever I see him.
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u/kritzy27 Aug 09 '22
What cartoon?
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u/StaticAnnouncement Aug 09 '22
Two actually. He voiced Otis in the Back to the Barnyard series, which is the more well known of the two.
But he also voiced a character named Glowface in the much more obscure series The X's.
He seemed to do a lot of voice acting in the mid 2000s.
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u/Real_MikeCleary Aug 09 '22
Did we see the case that Jesse was talking about? Where Kim represented Christian Ortega.
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u/hedla12 Aug 09 '22
i think it was only mentioned? i think it was when combo died and the hank discussed his criminal record in DEA office
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u/No-External1663 Aug 09 '22
Just one episode left，How about Lyle？He doesn't show in BreakingBad，this model employee killed by Fring？
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Aug 09 '22
Jimmy should of slammed Marion’s head against a counter and then bailed out Jeff come home and discover her dead and play it off as an accident
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u/Shadowcreeper15 Aug 09 '22
It looked like to me the Gene tried to be like Lalo in the attempt to threaten to kill Carol. Same as how Walt has taken things that he has killed from people like Mike, Gus and Krazy 8...
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u/pergamon123 Aug 09 '22
Holy hell, the life kim ends up with is the most depressing thing about the BB / BCS universe!
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u/soakedfolio Aug 09 '22 edited Aug 09 '22
She could have at least hooked up with a University of Florida grad. Probably would have used locally sourced, organic mayo from Whole Foods in Gainesville.
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u/Gwyneth7 Aug 09 '22
Her trauma is so strong. She just wanted to disappear and discuss what Mayo she used in her tuna salad.
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u/AdventurousAnswer4 Aug 09 '22
Miracle Whip in Potato Salad is about as sad as it gets.
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Aug 09 '22
Chris Hardwick reminds me of the bloopers host in Robot Chicken that offs himself at the end of every segment.
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Aug 09 '22
Such an emotionally draining episode, my god. Another homerun. Excited to see where it leads next week, but sad to see it end.
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Aug 09 '22
Jimmy’s gonna end up dead, imprisoned, or free and I’m not sure which outcome is what I want.
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u/DeanBlandino Aug 09 '22
Honestly I don’t understand at all what gene is doing in this dudes house. This shit is just annoying.
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Aug 09 '22
Gene misses the Saul life. Just like the episode when Jeff robbed the store and he was looking at the jacket. I think after talking to Kim, he almost wants to get caught. His life as Gene is boring, he’s not having fun or doing what he’s good at
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u/xlDirteDeedslx Aug 09 '22
He is depressed and doing anything he can to feel alive and taking bigger risks to get there.
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u/existential_issue Aug 09 '22
I wasn’t a huge “Nippy” fan at the time, but, man, you’ve got to give them credit for that setup now. This episode…Wow!
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u/xincxx Aug 09 '22
Actually if you watched Nippy, as I said in that post episode thread Marion would be the downfall of Jimmy's outcome.
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u/jay_saun Aug 09 '22
So when did that Kim/Jesse scene take place? I was thinking 2005ish since they were still finalizing the divorce but that seems too soon for the way Saul was acting and of course Jesse’s appearance suggests 07-08
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u/bledblu Aug 09 '22
Well. They are claiming jimmy and Kim hadn’t talked in 6 years which would still put this in 2004 and still well before breaking bad.
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u/beatleiac1 Aug 09 '22
Jesse was there with his old partner Emilio. It was just before breaking bad started if I’m not mistaken.
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u/helical2 Aug 09 '22
What Rhea said about her and Jesse missing each other in the moment, her being at the end of her arc and him and the beginning of his, it’s one of the most fascinating things about this whole story
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u/JaketheSnake319 Aug 09 '22
Am I the only one that felt disappointed in Kim for picking a boring life instead of being an attorney in Florida.
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u/BadMandie Aug 09 '22
We’ve yet to see the leaked Florida Legal Aid office. I think she’ll return to Florida, practice law and put away anyone who uses Miracle Whip or says yup during sex.
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u/RunningFromSatan Aug 09 '22
Remember they both witnessed the downfall and subsequent MURDER of Howard, live and in color, all because of them. That was the end. You see the direct juxtaposition of Jimmy and Kim when she signs the divorce papers. Kim seeks a painfully boring life, nothing that even remotely reminds her of her past (even changing her hair) while Jimmy can lead a life of hedonism, hookers and the “criminal” lawyer we all know and…love? 2005 Saul (well played as an asshole by Odenkirk, holy shit) doesn’t even let her get a word in. Literally, she says (or is able to say) nothing. She wants nothing from him, giving up her share of Sandpiper. Saul asks why Florida and doesn’t let her talk before he chimes in. “Have a nice life, Kim.” What a gut punch. Saul says it while Jimmy is probably trapped screaming inside. They are about as far opposite as can be now.
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u/purplesilvrr Aug 09 '22
she had so many opportunities and so much potential and talent. seeing her live the unbearable and mundane life she’s always dreaded really gutted me
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Aug 09 '22
Kinda the whole point. She's dead inside after everything that happened, she's no longer capable of being who she was in Albuquerque. Jimmy ruined her, like he does everything eventually. Man has the opposite of the Midas touch.
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u/Burdiac Aug 09 '22
At the start of the episode I was thinking “what if Marion ends up shooting Saul”
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u/JimiDel Aug 09 '22 edited Aug 09 '22
This might be my favorite episode of the series. Just fucking WOW to the whole thing.
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u/Djjjunior Aug 09 '22
Maybe it’s because Saul wasn’t the focus of Breaking Bad and was overshadowed by Walter but these past few episodes have really hit home how ugly Saul is as a person. Jimmy is dead and gone. I think any form of redemption is off the table now.
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u/purplesilvrr Aug 09 '22
i think we see a piece of jimmy when he decides to not strangle marion, but yeah jimmy is pretty much gone
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u/Odd-Introduction-509 Aug 09 '22
It’s like Tony Soprano in S6 of the Sopranos, all the humanity stripped away
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u/TrickHealth878 Aug 09 '22
Saul/Gene doesn't have enough money to pay the vacuum repair man, so I can't see how he gets out of this. It's either prison or death.
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u/JackJohannson Aug 09 '22
Also Robert F. (actor who played Ed) passed away. My theory is that he desperately tries to call Ed, but no one picks up.
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u/AlternativeAnimator7 Aug 09 '22
Oh he has plenty of money I think. He has diamonds and cash left over from Saul times, and also made more money as Gene doing his cons
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u/beneficii9 Aug 09 '22
Looked for a second like Saul was gonna garrote Marion. Fortunately, he didn't when she called LifeAlert. But now they know he was there! And Jeff is going to sing!
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u/JackJohannson Aug 09 '22
I was impressed. He was about to do what he used to delegate to fixers like Mike - took matters into his own hands.
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u/Ok_Fee1043 Aug 09 '22
I still feel like it’s possible Jeff won’t sing. He has been the biggest team player through and through. But tbd.
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u/gooselake1970 Aug 09 '22
The way I see it, he vacuums himself with the clothes on his back to an even more pitiful existence as a fry cook in the high desert, making his time as Gene Takovic look like his time as Saul Goodman. Then he either eats a gun or gets done for running a red light.
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u/Diseman81 Aug 09 '22
I’m still not sure that Kim’s confession didn’t happen after Gene being found out by Marion. Kim told Howard’s wife she didn’t know if her ex husband was alive. Why would she lie for him now? Gene either got vacuumed or died and she really doesn’t know.
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u/jojomopho410 Aug 09 '22
Not sure how her confession is going to save him from the money laundering with Walt.
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Aug 09 '22
They don't want him for what happened to Howard, they want him because of Heisenberg. I don't think Kim's confession will mean much in terms of protecting himself in court
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u/AlternativeAnimator7 Aug 09 '22
Kim is literally going to testify against him I would expect. So no
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u/skinkbaa Aug 09 '22 edited Aug 09 '22
POST-EPISODE DISCUSSION