I was devastated to see that Donna wasn't on the beat for the final season at AV Club, and then immediately elated to find out she's covering it here! So glad to be closing out the ABQ Cinematic Universe all these years later just where I started: reading Donna's recaps immediately afterward.
Kudos to whoever dropped the link to come here in the BCS recap at the, tbh, smoldering wreckage of what was once the AV Club. Soon as I saw it I was over here and subscribed. If these two episodes are any indication of what the final season has on hand, it was worth my money.
I THINK the car following Saul and Kim was Mike's caddy...is that not right? Maybe Mike looking to enlist Saul in helping Nacho out?
One bummer of a prequel series is that I want someone to just unload a machine gun and preferably 5-10 grenades onto The Twins and I know I won't get the satisfaction. Those guys are scary as hell.
Lest you forget how scary Lalo was what with the passage of time, here he is, murdering a wife and her husband. A wife and husband who seem to love him, since he paid for hubby's dental work. Which it turns out he did to have a "break in case you need a corpse to prove you're dead" guy, who he even gets to shave his epic man-beard into a Lalostache! Yikes!
Stretching my neck after that Gilligan-Gould Whiplash™. It is thrilling to watch them hit this vicious stride again; I predict I'll be sucking wind throughout the season.
Also wanted to say: I've read every single BB/BCS review you wrote at AV Club, and it's great to see you return here Donna. Just need to drag AA Dowd, Katie Rife, and Noel Murray in here and things will be feeling ever more wonderriffic! Y'all earned my annual sub.
I am also an ex-AV Club reader and so happy that these reviews exist here!
I did a quick speed watch of S5 and glad I did, as these episodes barrel straight in.
I’m not sure if the structure of S6 is known, beyond it being in 2 parts, but was cheekily thrown by the beginning of episode 1 fading into colour; I imagine we will not see the Gene postscript until towards the end of the run? Or do you think it will be more interspersed with the main narrative?
Also today was the first time that I thought there may be a possibility of seeing a Gene-era version of Kim, if she makes it out alive.
I loved the scenes showing the differences between Gus' crew and the Salamancas when it came to getting into Nacho's safe. Mike and the crew used finesse, cleaned up after themselves and made sure everything looked as perfect as possible. The Salamancas used brute force, sawing the door off, even lighting the envelope inside on fire while opening it up.
Also, an echo between the initial walk through Saul Goodman's house being emptied and the cousins walking through the crime scene at Lalo's compound. The former was a bunch of people working together, weaving in and out. The latter was the cousins coming in and jus disrupting. Kicking over evidence markers. Everyone pausing and showing deference.
So glad to have found your new BCS home, Donna! One point I haven’t seen touched on much is Saul’s slip-up revealing Lalo’s name at the courthouse. I wasn’t sure whether it was accidental or not.
Since Jimmy is under the impression that Lalo is dead, I’d tend to believe it *is* accidental. After all, how would it be to Jimmy’s benefit for The Law to know not only De Guzman’s real identity, but that Saul knew it all along?
So cool to see the smart folk gathering here, and how great to be reading Donna's take again! Since y'all are really on top of things, I'll shoot you a question. Just watched the S6 opener and I don't see anyone commenting on this: at/toward the end of the Saul's House-Golden Toilet sequence, a jump-suited worker pushes open a door and enters a hidden room: a small bare space with recording equipment that's getting packed up. To me, this meant one thing: "Saul" has been working for the Feds, allowing them to tape conversations he was having (presumably, with drug dealers) in his house. By some plot twist that we have yet to see, Jimmy had to go to the Feds and turn state's evidence, helping them get the evidence needed to take down some cartel baddie or other. Maybe--just maybe--he had to do this in order, somehow, to save Kim. (Not sure how that might work.) So maybe all through the BB years, Jimmy (as "Saul") is a Federal informer. But something goes awry, he loses HIS witness protection deal, and he has to save himself by escaping via Vacuum Cleaner Man. Am I nuts? Did anybody else see the secret room? What else could account for it?
Apr 19, 2022·edited Apr 19, 2022Liked by Donna Bowman
Glad to get to read your reviews this season , Donna. You just earned Myles a subscription (though I look forward to reading his stuff too).
I'm glad I wasn't the only one confused by the whole Nacho business. I get that we're supposed to understand Gus as an unusually savvy and patient criminal, but sometimes it's okay to skip the nine-dimensional chess and just shoot somebody.
I agree that Gus’s implied plan here doesn’t make sense. If you want Nacho dead, kill him yourself—sure, it’s suspicious, but surely the Salamancas’ suspicions won’t be allayed just because their own men killed Nacho in a gun fight. As much as I love Giancarlo Esposito’s performance, I’ve long felt that both shows have a bit of a Gus Problem, ever since they had him do the silly “come at me bro” thing with the sniper outside his warehouse.
Really happy to find your reviews here Donna! I can’t help but feel that Kim becomes a lot more of a player than I ever anticipated a few series ago. Her reaction in the car park after the scene with the Kettlemans is excellent, a real enjoyment of kicking their arses. I’d love to find out that the Saul mansion at the beginning is just part of the whole Saul persona, that Kim is really liaising between Saul and… whoever is using those listening devices, and they are still really watching black and white movies in the old apartment at the end of the day.
Hi! Another ex-AVClubber here. I stumbled on Breaking Bad just after Season 3 finished, and since then have always found your reviews (and Sepinwall's) to be an integral part of the BB / BCS viewing experience. I am really happy that you're going to finish it out. I also like what I've seen so far of the Substack platform, so I'll shell out for a subscription here.
As for the premiere, I think they may have been better served by airing it as two separate episodes. That was a BIG two and a half hours, without the usual slow-burn found in early episodes. I thought I must have missed something regarding the Gus / Nacho plot, but it seems the consensus is that it was actually a little confusing.
All that said, I know better than to judge an early episode of this show before seeing how all of the threads develop.
One additional thought regarding the opening. Is it possible that the activity there is happening concurrently with what we've seen so far with Gene? I feel like the timing could line up and the B&W opening had to have more than just artistic significance.
So glad to have this show back! And as many have said before me, it is great to find you here after missing you at the AV Club, Donna!
The only thing that could elate me even more would be a reprise of the Polite Fights videos on this show, which were amazing highlights for me after each episode...
Has anybody else picked up on Kim’s outfit in the scene with the Kettleman’s? If I’m not mistaken her wardrobe has been overwhelmingly blue hues and typically staid. I didn’t pick up on this pin-striped brown suit with a loud and colorful blouse until, after reading all the post-show commentary with the attached photo of Kim waiting by the car for Jimmy, it jumped out at me. After seeing that photo several times, it occurred to me that it looked like something out of the Jimmy/Saul wardrobe aesthetic. Nothing is ever random on BCS, so this struck a chord. Thoughts?
Am I the only one who think Saul and Kim's vengeance on Howard it unwarranted? I mean, Howard is an elitist knob, but he did try to turn things around after Chuck's death.
I was devastated to see that Donna wasn't on the beat for the final season at AV Club, and then immediately elated to find out she's covering it here! So glad to be closing out the ABQ Cinematic Universe all these years later just where I started: reading Donna's recaps immediately afterward.
Kudos to whoever dropped the link to come here in the BCS recap at the, tbh, smoldering wreckage of what was once the AV Club. Soon as I saw it I was over here and subscribed. If these two episodes are any indication of what the final season has on hand, it was worth my money.
I THINK the car following Saul and Kim was Mike's caddy...is that not right? Maybe Mike looking to enlist Saul in helping Nacho out?
One bummer of a prequel series is that I want someone to just unload a machine gun and preferably 5-10 grenades onto The Twins and I know I won't get the satisfaction. Those guys are scary as hell.
Lest you forget how scary Lalo was what with the passage of time, here he is, murdering a wife and her husband. A wife and husband who seem to love him, since he paid for hubby's dental work. Which it turns out he did to have a "break in case you need a corpse to prove you're dead" guy, who he even gets to shave his epic man-beard into a Lalostache! Yikes!
Oh, BCS, I missed you.
Stretching my neck after that Gilligan-Gould Whiplash™. It is thrilling to watch them hit this vicious stride again; I predict I'll be sucking wind throughout the season.
Also wanted to say: I've read every single BB/BCS review you wrote at AV Club, and it's great to see you return here Donna. Just need to drag AA Dowd, Katie Rife, and Noel Murray in here and things will be feeling ever more wonderriffic! Y'all earned my annual sub.
I am also an ex-AV Club reader and so happy that these reviews exist here!
I did a quick speed watch of S5 and glad I did, as these episodes barrel straight in.
I’m not sure if the structure of S6 is known, beyond it being in 2 parts, but was cheekily thrown by the beginning of episode 1 fading into colour; I imagine we will not see the Gene postscript until towards the end of the run? Or do you think it will be more interspersed with the main narrative?
Also today was the first time that I thought there may be a possibility of seeing a Gene-era version of Kim, if she makes it out alive.
I loved the scenes showing the differences between Gus' crew and the Salamancas when it came to getting into Nacho's safe. Mike and the crew used finesse, cleaned up after themselves and made sure everything looked as perfect as possible. The Salamancas used brute force, sawing the door off, even lighting the envelope inside on fire while opening it up.
Also, an echo between the initial walk through Saul Goodman's house being emptied and the cousins walking through the crime scene at Lalo's compound. The former was a bunch of people working together, weaving in and out. The latter was the cousins coming in and jus disrupting. Kicking over evidence markers. Everyone pausing and showing deference.
Just love the attention to detail in this show.
So glad to have found your new BCS home, Donna! One point I haven’t seen touched on much is Saul’s slip-up revealing Lalo’s name at the courthouse. I wasn’t sure whether it was accidental or not.
Since Jimmy is under the impression that Lalo is dead, I’d tend to believe it *is* accidental. After all, how would it be to Jimmy’s benefit for The Law to know not only De Guzman’s real identity, but that Saul knew it all along?
Wonderful piece as always!
So cool to see the smart folk gathering here, and how great to be reading Donna's take again! Since y'all are really on top of things, I'll shoot you a question. Just watched the S6 opener and I don't see anyone commenting on this: at/toward the end of the Saul's House-Golden Toilet sequence, a jump-suited worker pushes open a door and enters a hidden room: a small bare space with recording equipment that's getting packed up. To me, this meant one thing: "Saul" has been working for the Feds, allowing them to tape conversations he was having (presumably, with drug dealers) in his house. By some plot twist that we have yet to see, Jimmy had to go to the Feds and turn state's evidence, helping them get the evidence needed to take down some cartel baddie or other. Maybe--just maybe--he had to do this in order, somehow, to save Kim. (Not sure how that might work.) So maybe all through the BB years, Jimmy (as "Saul") is a Federal informer. But something goes awry, he loses HIS witness protection deal, and he has to save himself by escaping via Vacuum Cleaner Man. Am I nuts? Did anybody else see the secret room? What else could account for it?
Glad to get to read your reviews this season , Donna. You just earned Myles a subscription (though I look forward to reading his stuff too).
I'm glad I wasn't the only one confused by the whole Nacho business. I get that we're supposed to understand Gus as an unusually savvy and patient criminal, but sometimes it's okay to skip the nine-dimensional chess and just shoot somebody.
(On TV. Not in real life.)
So delighted you’re back, Donna!
I agree that Gus’s implied plan here doesn’t make sense. If you want Nacho dead, kill him yourself—sure, it’s suspicious, but surely the Salamancas’ suspicions won’t be allayed just because their own men killed Nacho in a gun fight. As much as I love Giancarlo Esposito’s performance, I’ve long felt that both shows have a bit of a Gus Problem, ever since they had him do the silly “come at me bro” thing with the sniper outside his warehouse.
Really happy to find your reviews here Donna! I can’t help but feel that Kim becomes a lot more of a player than I ever anticipated a few series ago. Her reaction in the car park after the scene with the Kettlemans is excellent, a real enjoyment of kicking their arses. I’d love to find out that the Saul mansion at the beginning is just part of the whole Saul persona, that Kim is really liaising between Saul and… whoever is using those listening devices, and they are still really watching black and white movies in the old apartment at the end of the day.
I am SO GLAD this series is back.
Hi! Another ex-AVClubber here. I stumbled on Breaking Bad just after Season 3 finished, and since then have always found your reviews (and Sepinwall's) to be an integral part of the BB / BCS viewing experience. I am really happy that you're going to finish it out. I also like what I've seen so far of the Substack platform, so I'll shell out for a subscription here.
As for the premiere, I think they may have been better served by airing it as two separate episodes. That was a BIG two and a half hours, without the usual slow-burn found in early episodes. I thought I must have missed something regarding the Gus / Nacho plot, but it seems the consensus is that it was actually a little confusing.
All that said, I know better than to judge an early episode of this show before seeing how all of the threads develop.
One additional thought regarding the opening. Is it possible that the activity there is happening concurrently with what we've seen so far with Gene? I feel like the timing could line up and the B&W opening had to have more than just artistic significance.
So glad to have this show back! And as many have said before me, it is great to find you here after missing you at the AV Club, Donna!
The only thing that could elate me even more would be a reprise of the Polite Fights videos on this show, which were amazing highlights for me after each episode...
Has anybody else picked up on Kim’s outfit in the scene with the Kettleman’s? If I’m not mistaken her wardrobe has been overwhelmingly blue hues and typically staid. I didn’t pick up on this pin-striped brown suit with a loud and colorful blouse until, after reading all the post-show commentary with the attached photo of Kim waiting by the car for Jimmy, it jumped out at me. After seeing that photo several times, it occurred to me that it looked like something out of the Jimmy/Saul wardrobe aesthetic. Nothing is ever random on BCS, so this struck a chord. Thoughts?
Also glad to have discovered your reviews Donna!
Changing the subject a bit:
Am I the only one who think Saul and Kim's vengeance on Howard it unwarranted? I mean, Howard is an elitist knob, but he did try to turn things around after Chuck's death.