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Showing content with the highest reputation on 08/21/2022 in Posts

  1. #5: Breaking Bad (611) Here it is. The episode everyone has been waiting for. Walter White and Jesse Pinkman's return! It was only fitting they would be back in an episode called Breaking Bad, paralleling Saul's first introduction Breaking Bad episode "Better Call Saul". I loved the way it started off with seeing Saul's POV on the events of Walt and Jesse kidnapping him and threatening to kill him. Of course this episode isn't great because of Walter and Jesse's return. Though their scene is incredible, this was a wise choice to call it Breaking Bad because Jimmy, or as we call him in this timeline Gene, breaks bad. After how events of Nippy made Gene give up on the dream of Saul Goodman, this episode makes him relapse after talking to Kim on phone. And it's pure tragic. Gene is stealing bank account information on rich folks and he thinks this is for good because rich people are assholes right? Well, Gene's goal is money all to himself, not being Robin Hood. There is nothing noble about what he is doing. What's interesting about this episode is another flashback of Breaking Bad timeline, having Mike show up and warn Saul not to make business with Walter White. But of course, he doesn't listen, he goes to the high school Walter works as a teach and he begins partnership with him. And it parallels with Gene trying to rob a cancer patient because Jeff's friend Buddy told him not to go with it but he instead did and once again, he chose his own doom. I have read an analysis on how this episode feels meta because normally all seasons of Better Call Saul have 10 episodes but this last season has 13. And when we watch the tenth episode, Nippy, we see Gene cfinish his story and he can rest knowing he doesn't have to risk himself again. Tapes he kept on rolling in each season intro are done. But thanks to this episode, Gene continues to be bad like Saul. The story is not over for him and the tapes continue. It's a really haunting commentary on us continuing to make same mistakes and it putting us on a loop once more. While I wasn't that high on Nippy which has become the show's most controversial episode, I fully appreciate that episode a lot more and why i think it's important after seeing this episode. This show really pays off once you go through more slower paced episodes. #4: Bagman (508) There would be no way I wouldn't put this episode on top 5. It's just that iconic and there is a reason why this episode is hailed as one of the best episodes of the show. We see Jimmy make a decision to get Lalo out of jail by paying his bail. And it's the most wild decision ever because he gets the money on a friggin desert. And shit goes down from here. Jimmy gets attacked by a gang. And he is saved by none other than Mike. But of course all of this becomes even worse once Jimmy's car gets ruined, their phone doesn't work on desser. And we begin the journey back to civilization with them walking with 7 million dollars. It was a really thrilling episode for seeing how Jimmy and Mike can survive under all of these conditions. Having them make a plan to kill one last member of the gang, sleeping in a desert, drinking piss. It is really difficult but under guidance of Mike, Jimmy pulls it together. Their dynamic is highlighted well here. And I love little details this episode is offering like Jimmy having the need to sleep under space blanket which makes it clear Jimmy still thinks about Chuck. Odenkirk and Banks acted their ass off in this episode and I bet working in a desert was not an easy task for them and the crew, so everyone did their best to make this masterpiece under tough circuimstances. It's a survivial episode and it's a damn good at that. #3: Chicanery (305) There is a reason why this episode is considered an all-timer among Better Call Saul fandom. It's a full court episode featuring Jimmy going up against Chuck. Despite this taking place in court, it just grips you tight and make you pay attention to it. It's the show's magnum opus. Breaking Bad universe fandom bloom after this episode. Creating bunch of incredible memes around it, even to a point of making a subreddit community which is full of ironic Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul jokes and memes, even poking fun at the fandom sometimes. It's pretty influential mainly due to how it is the climax of Jimmy and Chuck's sibling rivalry. While Chuck tries so hard to take down his brother, Jimmy tries to think of clever ways to get himself out of trouble. What's really sad is that you can both of these characters' POV on how they feel about each other. Jimmy thinks Chuck has been obsessing over him and isn't mentally well. Always him undermining Jimmy. Whereas Chuck believes Jimmy always relapses after making promises to change, so he gave up on believing in him. It's a tragic tale of how both brother shape each other up to what they have become now. Of course we know how Chuck's story ends and it happens sooner than ever but Jimmy's tale continues and because of what Chuck has said all these things about him in court, he continues to make bad decisions throughout. Odenkirk acts the hell out of in this episode but really, the star of this episode is Michael McKean as Chuck. You can see how he makes us convinced of his character being obsessive, cruel and mentally unwell. His speech towards Jimmy is without a doubt the best scene in the entire series. If anyone asks a Saul fan which ep of the show is their favorite, this episode has a 90% chance of being that. And it's well deserved. For a while this was my favorite episode of the show until the last two beat it but regardless of that, I still think this is the most well-written episode of the show and highlights how this show is unique on its own despite being a prequel and a sequel to Breaking Bad. #2: Point and Shoot (608) Ever wanted a horror thriller in a lawyer drama show? Here's your answer. This is the closest this show will ever get to feel like Breaking Bad and I don't mean this to undermine the top quality of this show, it's still its own flavor which is why it's #2 on my list. This episode had me on the edge of my seat, finally furfilling on the promise of Lalo being this scary monster under your bed. This is Tony Dalton's final episode on the show and he goes out with glory. Lalo finally gets what he wanted. Location of the lab. And what's even better is that he gets to be buried inside it. Be careful what you wish for. And he dies laughing, the most cunning laugh Lalo has ever given. Having Gus be the one to take down Lalo wasn't something i was sure i wanted considering most characters in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul don't get what they want, tho yeah Gus managed to get his revenge on Eladio but I'll make an exception for it because once again we have been shown how much menacing and scary Gus can be. Giancarlo Esposito showed us the vulnerability of Gus but also his courage, his sinsiter nature and above all, his rage. His confession to Don Eladio and Hector is really one of the most iconic scenes not just in this show but in the whole Breaking Bad universe. As for what goes on in Kim's subplot, it's just as engaging. This was Kim at her worst moment, being forced to kill Gus as a subversion for Lalo to go inside the lab. Dave Porter's score in this episode is one of the best he has ever done. I was already feeling scared by the haunting music. In Kim's scene and Gus pulling his final move on Lalo. And finally the last scene which has Howard and Lalo be buried inside. Music goes from thrilling to sadness. Howard being buried with his killer is absolutely the most evil way to be buried. Poor Howard, going from having his life ruined to being killed by a psychopath and buried with him. Mike's voice cracks down in this scene because he is not okay with how things have gone down. He'll carry this guilt to his grave. This episode is an all-time classic. It has horror, thrills, drama, excitement and sadness above all. So what could possibly be my #1 episode of the show, now that we have covered episodes that fans usually consider to be their favorite episodes ever. Hmmmmmmm. #1: Fun and Games (609) Yep, this is my favorite episode in the entire show. The crew weren't kidding when they said this episode would break us. This not only wraps up arcs of Kim, Mike and Gus in the show but it pretty much ends the prequel era of the show, giving us the final transformation of Saul Goodman. So where to begin with this masterpiece? I think doing it chronologically makes sense. So let's start with Gus. Gus' plot ends with him having the final glory. Taking down Lalo once and for all. We see him confront Don Eladio, Bolsa and Hector which shouldn't be easy for him to do. If he slipped, he would definitely recieve death but Gus knows how to be calm in a stressful manner. I loved the way Don Eladio talks to him. He obviously knows Gus killed Lalo, he has a secret meth lab and Gus has a huge hatred of him and despite all of that, he allows him to continue. As long as Gus' loyality is to him, he can have some hate in his life but not too much. And finally, we see Gus' final scene in the show which finally confirms he is gay and he has a crush on a wine guy. Normally I would get bored by a full wine talk but Gus' attention to it makes me captivated as well. Seeing him awed by this man and wanting him to never stop talking was engaging to see. So Gus had two options to make. Leave all of this revenge goodbye and move on to becoming a boyfriend to the wine guy. Or let him carry his rage and continue his revenge on Eladio and Hector for killing his boyfriend Max. But as we know of Gus, cycle of revenge doesn't stop until the end. And it becomes even clearer with Mike's end here. Mike's story ends in a complete depression. Feeling awful about Nacho's death, he decided to confront Nacho's dad and the conversation between them was just sad. Here we see Nacho's dad grief his son's death but not letting it consume him like how it consumed Mike with his son's death. I loved the parallels between them on how they both react to losing their sons. Nacho's dad chooses peace whereas Mike chooses revenge. As Nacho's dad pointed out, all gangsters are same. No matter what good we think we are doing with bad people, it doesn't change the fact that we keep hurting people. Mike enables Gus' terrible choices and aides him on creating his drug empire. Such a good decision to make that his legacy isn't it? While this isn't gonna be the last time we see Mike on the show, his prequel arc ended well but not for him. And finally we move to Jimmy and Kim's arcs paying off in prequel which is my favorite plot in this episode. Here we see them mourn over Howard's death but still keeping a secret of how he died. Kim becomes her most scummy with gaslighting Cheryl on how he died and what he was like before he died. To keep her and Jimmy safe, she had to lie to her but at what cost? Hurting people more and more. Which makes us get to the climax of this episode where we see Kim feeling disgusted by what she told Cheryl and her deciding Jimmy and her need to break up. What's tragic about this scene was how Kim highlights of her relationship with Jimmy poisoning everyone. They both enable their worst insticts. So it isn't just Jimmy that does bad things to Kim, its also Kim who felt like torturing Howard was fun. This was at her most honest with herself. She knew both her and Jimmy were bad for each other. So she finally breaks up with Jimmy. This was Rhea Seehorn at his best performance if we exclude Waterworks and I hope we see her win an emmy next year either because of this episode or Waterworks. And the episode doesn't just end with the break up. Oh no. It ends with Jimmy finally completing his transformation to become Saul Goodman. Empty, heartless son of a bitch who doesn't care about anything other than himself. And we all know this is all just an act for him to deal with losing Kim, Howard and Chuck. He felt he needed to put on a mask to continue making people suffer, especially after working with Walter White. It was a very hopeless way to end this prequel era and yet it was a powerful episode because of that. This episode may not be as gripping as Chicanery or as exciting as Point and Shoot or as tragic as Plan and Execution but it's my favorite episode in the entire series due to not just how this shapes up Saul, Mike and Gus in Breaking Bad but also showing us Kim at her worst and having the need to end this charade unlike other characters in this episode. Every actor in this episode does their best here, even actors with their smaller characters. It was a gut punching and depressing episode that proved that we can become our worst selves if we don't make decisions to get better and not let others suffer because of our trauma. Thank you for reading this list. I really loved making it and I hope you enjoyed it just as much. Better Call Saul is one of my favorite shows ever and I'm happy to highlight this wonderful show with explaning why I love it so much. See ya next time on another list.
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