MovieChat Forums > Better Call Saul (2015) Discussion > I can see why the original Jeff did not ...

I can see why the original Jeff did not appear now


He read the script.

That was one heck of a bad episode.

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Right now, I don't see why that story line was necessary, but perhaps it will make more sense later. Unfortunately, later is fast approaching and there is so much to tell - this season has been great - I hope they don't rush things and we end up saying, "what the hell?"

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There is still more to tell in the main storyline such as:

A) Hamlin’s wife being suspicious of Jimmy and Kim
B) What happens to Mike and Kaylee
C) How does the meth lab get finished.

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"B) What happens to Mike and Kaylee
C) How does the meth lab get finished."


B is addressed in Breaking Bad and C we know it gets finished, guess there could be some throw away scene, where Mike hires some illegals in a Hardware Parking lot, but it's not really needed.

So to point A in your post, I don't think Cheryl will peruse things any further, I feel that story was done when Kim says to Cheryl:

"Cheryl, you were his wife.
You... You saw him every day,
you knew him better than anyone.
Maybe I misunderstood what I saw...
You would have known."


Then Cheryl excuses herself and heads to the powder room, it is at that point I believe Cheryl shows she knows that Kim is right she never knew Howard. I'd even argue that she knew that all along and that is why Cheryl was being so accusing as she was feeling guilty about shutting him out and thought it/she may have caused his "suicide."

Have to remember that we have known they have had marital problems for some time and have been sleeping in separate rooms, basically it's a cold and distant relationship (Kim knows this as Howard told her). Now forward a tad, back in episode 4 when Howard is talking to his therapist (when Saul takes his car) he says: "At home, things are more or less the same. It’s not any worse. I guess I should feel grateful for that. It’s like we’re deadlocked, Cheryl still won’t talk about anything important,” he then continued on mentioning he even tried tips from his therapist to no avail.

Then Episode 6 when Cheryl appears and Howard talks about Saul and not to worry he's handling it, she acts indifferent to it, then this happens:

Cheryl: I'm having dinner with the Appels tonight, so you've got the house to yourself.
Howard: Tell them I said hello.
Cheryl: I will.


Then there is a wide shot of Howard in the house alone looking lonely and bored, so honestly I think that whole bit with Cheryl at the Wake ended when Kim said what she said. Because Cheryl knew she really knew nothing about Howard at least in the time since Chuck's death when Howard became a depressed insomniac in Season 4 (it is slightly after that when Howard tells Kim that his marriage isn't going well). Also if you remember it was Jimmy who gave Howard a "kick in the ass" style pep talk that was the spark to Howard turning his life around and when Howard begun seeing a therapist. Which is why I feel he apologised in this season and offered Saul a job at HMM (thinking 20 step apology scenario), then the bowling balls happened and his wife was indifferent to it all as above.

tl;dr I could be incorrect, however I don't see the Cheryl storyline continuing on as I saw that episode play out as her accepting she didn't really know Howard and won't pursue Kim and Jimmy/Saul any more.

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I don't think any of those three things need to be addressed at all.

Cheryl Hamlin may have had, or still have, suspicions, but they are of no consequence. Kim shut her down. She will either accept that she didn't know Howard as well as she thought, or she will go through life assuming Saul and Kim had something to do with his suicide, but that storyline is closed. There's almost certainly nothing more of interest for us to see, unless she tries to take some sort of revenge, at which point a new storyline opens up.

We know what happens to Mike and Kaylee because it's addressed in Breaking Bad.

The meth lab gets finished by Mike hiring new workers to finish it. Like the Cheryl Hamlin storyline, unless the writers decide to introduce new dilemmas, it's a closed loop.

The story that we need to be told is what we began to see this week: what is happening to Gene? We've got the entire backstory leading up to his arrival in Omaha. Now we need to know if he's still in contact with Kim, if his attempt to keep himself safe from Jeff the cab driver was successful, and how his story ends. Does he live? Does he die? Does he end up in jail? Does he get a happy or sad ending? Is Gene going full Saul now? Or was that a one-time step back into that persona to protect Gene? That's where the story is now.

Presumably we'll get a little more of the Albuquerque days, but anything we get will be new layers to a story we already know. We have no questions about that time period at this point. Better Call Saul has addressed everything about everyone other than what the final act is for Saul and Kim.

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Not sure about bad but it was odd. I hope that goes somewhere because it felt like filler and you can't be doing filler when you are so close to the end. I did laugh though when the guy tripped up and was just laid on his backside for a couple of minutes on the security cameras.

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That was hysterical.

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I don’t get why we finally get into the Breaking Bad era of Saul Goodman, and then we have a fully black and white Gene sequence that takes place after Breaking Bad and seems like utter filler that doesn’t lead to anything.

I thought we were supposed to run in parallel with Breaking Bad before we caught up with Gene again. I hope this episode leads to something but right now it seemed so pointless.

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It was the worst episode of the show, it’s a shame that all the fanboys are defending as some masterpiece

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The imdb reviews are funny.

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I'm wondering if you all are missing the point of the episode - that it is sort of showing that the "Old Saul" is starting to re-emerge or something and Gene can't keep him in anymore.

But heck, my memory is getting so bad that I can't even recall how the two Fargo-type goofs met Gene for the first time.

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Well, I think you're right about that because the significance of the black and white photo of Gene putting on the red jacket - Saul is coming back to life.

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102000, very interesting point. It is strange how something can be right in front of your face and you completely miss it.

That image completely went over my head.

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I was kinda thinking it was Jimmy starting to re-emerge, not Saul. In fact, when he looked at that ugly suit and then put it back on the rack it meant Saul wasn't coming back.

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But he was so miserable as Jimmy. I guess I want a satisfying conclusion to Better Call Saul and I'm not certain what that is. I guess I would like to see him back with Kim, but that might be just too happy of an ending for a story like this.

I think there is a possibility that Jimmy, Saul, Gene dies, but regardless of the ending, I hope it isn't ambiguous.

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That is an interesting point, but when I was watching it, I instead saw a longing to be Saul. He really wanted that garish suit and was pining for the old days.

Also, I think what 102000 pointed out is interesting and leading to something.

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I wouldn't call it a bad episode. Just not necessary at this point.

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It sucked.

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Yep, those with the opinions of the OP missed the point of the episode....

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People want to see Walter and Jesse. Anything that stops them from seeing those characters in this will not be very satisfying at all to people who found this episode pointless.

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