Better Call Saul
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khorum
Murder Apologist
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It's one of those things that's a hard switch, like flipping Walt from the brilliant chemist to the drug lord and keeping him sympathetic somehow. You know Jimmy hurts everyone around him----and he will hurt Kim and his brother and somehow even enables Mike's switch to the dark side. If you watched Breaking Bad you know that Jimmy is just shedding these vestiges of normalcy to become what he has always been.
As with Walt, the most excruciating shit was his interactions with Skyler and his family, likewise whenever Jimmy is playing at being a straight lawyer or dealing with Kim, it's SUPPOSED to feel awkward.
But look back at his antics with Tuco and shit last season---that was lawyer-shit but it was STILL interesting. It's just whenever they try to show the life he's leaving behind that it gets lame.
As with Walt, the most excruciating shit was his interactions with Skyler and his family, likewise whenever Jimmy is playing at being a straight lawyer or dealing with Kim, it's SUPPOSED to feel awkward.
But look back at his antics with Tuco and shit last season---that was lawyer-shit but it was STILL interesting. It's just whenever they try to show the life he's leaving behind that it gets lame.
popsicledeath
Potato del Grande
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For the show to have balance in needs the 'boring' lawyer stuff, just like Breaking Bad needed the at-times boring family stuff. The story may be too slow a burn for some people, but they're doing it well and I would argue necessarily. I know some people treat modern tv/film like porn and would prefer they cut out the story and include only the action. Thankfully, like a parent tricking kids into eating veggies, Vince Gilligan seems to be constructing the story the way some people may not appreciate now, but that will be required for full effect and payout in the long run.
Seananigans
Honorary Shit-PhD
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Aye. I like the way we got a glimpse of Saul with the suits etc. then hes goes back to trying to be somewhat legit with Kim. Every time he tries to go legit we get to see another part of Saul come out.
Ambiturner
Ssraeszha Raider
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Careful what you wish for, they'll make a show about Mike 20 years ago when he was an accountant, and it'll be all about the office politics of his accounting firm, with just the barest hints of the badass that he'll one day become.
Honestly, while this show has its moments, it's a pathetic shadow of what it should have been. When Breaking Bad ended, people asked for a spin-off show about Saul Goodman because he's such an awesome, hilarious character. What did they get instead? A show about his distant past at some random law firm and a few tangentially involved weirdos. Who can seriously say this show is about Saul Goodman?
Two seasons in, where's Saul Goodman? Where's the actual character that people wanted more of? I fully expect this show to get cancelled after S3. It isn't actually delivering what people asked for, and while it hasn't been bad as such, it's living mostly off the back of Breaking Bad's characters and the mental association with the futures of these characters. S2 has led almost nowhere in terms of character development.
The longer this drags on without providing Saul Goodman - the thing that people asked for - the less interested viewers will be in these long-winded episodes about Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill. The show simply isn't providing on the demand that sparked its creation. People are already wishing it was more about Mike, who makes up a few minutes of each episode. People already want something other than Jimmy & Kim. People want Saul Goodman and the crazy criminal world that he tackles in hilarious and charismatic ways, not stressful lawyers and a bunch of crap that we know leads nowhere because we know which characters are and aren't still around in the future.
It's a show that has failed to deliver, has failed to provide what was asked for by the people who generated enough interest to get this show funded. The still-living hype around Breaking Bad has kept it afloat by association, but viewers won't be patient forever. S2 has made absolutely no progress in the character development of either Jimmy or Mike. They're still precisely the same, they're nowhere closer to being what it was that people wanted when they asked for a show about Saul Goodman.
Were people really pining for a Saul Goodman show when BB ended? I seem to remember quite the opposite: that despite the greatness of the character, not many people expected that a Saul focused spin-off would be any good. I certainly didn't have very positive expectations.
And now, it's far better than I ever would have imagined. Even my ADD wife, who is generally the last to appreciate a slow-burn show, says she prefers it to BB. I can't say I disagree. And the lack of character development IS the character development. It's about Jimmy coming to terms with who he is, and arriving at the realization that despite his best efforts, that's who he will always be. If you're not enjoying watching that process, then oh well. DVR it and skip to the Mike scenes.
And now, it's far better than I ever would have imagined. Even my ADD wife, who is generally the last to appreciate a slow-burn show, says she prefers it to BB. I can't say I disagree. And the lack of character development IS the character development. It's about Jimmy coming to terms with who he is, and arriving at the realization that despite his best efforts, that's who he will always be. If you're not enjoying watching that process, then oh well. DVR it and skip to the Mike scenes.
Fight
Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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On the podcast this weekThe Watch- Andy Greenwald & Chris Ryan -skip to minute 31:00-they lay out the reasons that this season is such a drag. I believe in the theory of the 5-year plan that AMC, Giligan, and crew must have hatched at the beginning. When you know where your story ends, you don't want to shoot your bullets too fast to get you there prematurely. They have REAALLLY slowed things down this season, to get 40% of their show made, before 80% of their story is told.
ShakyJake
<Donor>
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Yeah, can anyone elaborate on what that tiny change will impact? I get that Saul is sabotaging the file, just don't understand how it'll totally fuck Chuck/HHM.
FWIW, I remember Breaking Bad seemed slow most episodes, but even still the hour zoomed by. Same with BCS. Love the show.
Borzak
Bronze Baron of the Realm
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Not an attorney, but I'm going to guess they send out something related to the case to the wrong address and get fired for fucking up. Or the case gets thrown for not having thier ducks in a row.