What struck me as dumb was going back to the same place where they’d conned the stock broker dude! What if he was there looking for Viktor with a K? I suspect a good grifter would know better than to return to the scene of the con. But minor detail, so who cares.
I did love watching him use his flip phone in a Ziploc baggie. Do people actually do that? Also, I forget, what year is all this? Do we even know?
-Tom
I felt the same way. I was waiting for the stock broker guy to make the rounds looking for payback. I dunno. Maybe he was from out of town and I just don’t remember some throwaway line.
I don’t know if they’ve flat out stated when this occurs, but on cellphone alone, I’d say somewhere between 98 and 2001.
Despite the obvious connections, it seems kinda futile to compare BCS to BB. Someone earlier mentioned the tone of it, which is what really makes the show stand out; and nothing like that of its predecessor. It’s not really a comedy. It’s not quite a drama. We have this character who seems in almost constant flux and conflict, so we don’t have a fixed idea of him and so we watch him form in front of us, knowing who he eventually becomes, which I find makes the whole thing more compelling.
It’s set in 2002, according to press. Definitely seems more like the mid-90s to me though.
I loved that they brought back the stock broker from Breaking Bad and screwed him again. And Gus’s Tequila!
I watched the season opener earlier this afternoon and had no idea what the “do not turn off” switch was about. Gah! I’m looking for a recap of season 1 now, but Wikipedia was no help.
What was that?
Tim, dude, it was right there in the episode. Jimmy had to sit around waiting for someone to rescue him from getting locked out of the Cinnabon because he wasn’t willing to open the emergency door that would summon the cops to get out.
Jimmy’s in rebel mode, so a sign saying to absolutely not turn this switch off means he’s compelled to. If you’re asking what it did, we don’t know and probably never will. Which is why it’s such a great scene.
Ah! I thought it was a call back to something in Season 1.
I forgot Mike was in this! hahah, I was like it’s Mike! Season 1 is starting to come back to me, but it’s coming in bits and drabs. Thank you, malkav, for setting my mind at ease.
I may be reading something into your comments, but I think you’re saying Cinnabon Saul is now a changed man and won’t disobey the posted rules? If that’s true, that’s not how I read that scene. I believe Cinnabon Saul is on the lam and can’t afford to draw attention to himself. For what I have no idea, but I am hoping to find out this season.
But I think that’s the point - he’s absolutely a changed, if not broken man (assuming you didn’t consider him broken before). Before he had nothing to lose, he’d break rules with impunity, he can’t afford to do this any longer. I think this season will show where that attitude got him. Maybe, what do I know.
We will have to see. Cinnabon Saul is such a sad dude.
I guess people didn’t recognize who he was or something? That whole zoom in on the wall let us know… That SG was here. I guess I was a little confused about the first few Cinnabon scenes in season 1, but I somehow put it together before this episodes zoom in on the wall.
In BB, the future shots seemed to get resolved by the end of the episode – or at least the first one’s worked that way. I think there were some that didn’t get resolved until the end of a season. I wonder how these in BCS will work? It’s such an interesting concept. Not a flashback, but a flash forward.
In an earlier draft of the script, they were going to have him tear off that “do not remove” tag from his mattress.
-Tom
That’s next episode. Spoilers!
I don’t remember people doing that with flip phones, but I still see people use Ziploc baggies and the like as “I didn’t spring for a waterproof case and I’m at the beach/pool with my smartphone” trick.
Good writing, deliberate and unforced pacing, sympathetic and flawed characters… wow, we might have stumbled on something here :)
I loved season 1 and am tickled that BCS got picked up for a 2nd season.
I actually think Cinnabon Saul showed a lot more life than in our view of him last season - just little things, like his line to the girls and salute to the janitor - he had some pep in his step. Thought it was clear that the only reason he didn’t go out the emergency exit was to avoid a possible police encounter.
Mainly I’m comparing Cinnabon manager Jimmy to his heyday during Breaking Bad. Naturally that’s going to be a step down, but even more than that, there’s no avenue for the kinds of skills and scams that Slippin’ Jimmy was so adept at, he must repress it and it’s just leaking out around the edges. I’ll actually be disappointed if they follow this present day Jimmy through another story of “guy goes into witness protection but can’t give up the life.” This is one (maybe the only) case where I’m more interested in the prequel story than the current one.
This show is so good. There is so much tension in all of the scenes.
Also: Squat Cobbler, Crybaby Squat, Hoboken Squat Cobbler, Full Moon Moon-Pie, Boston Cream Splat, Simple Simon The Ass Man, Dutch Apple Ass.
I’ve been watching every episode as it airs since the season one premiere and have enjoyed the ride all along the way. With that being said, it wasn’t until tonight’s episode that Better Call Saul delivered on the expectations I had for this series coming in from Breaking Bad. I’m not trying to detract from everything that came before it, because I really have enjoyed the series, but it’s been a long time coming, and I’ve been growing a bit impatient to see Jimmy graduate from pranks and petty bar scams for a while now. I’ve just needed to see the stakes raised is all, and the lives of two skateboarders at the hands of a cameo early on weren’t doing it for me long term.
Anyway, I don’t want to make it sound like I think they’ve been screwing up this whole time, because I don’t. I can’t think of anything they should have changed about the show other than the number of episodes shown in the first season. I wouldn’t want to rush any of the stories told so far, but at the same time, I feel like everything up through tonight’s episode should have happened last year. I know a few people that have lost interest simply because Jimmy isn’t the Saul they know, and while I’m not one of those people, I can’t hold such feelings against them.
As for me, I wouldn’t mind the pacing so much if there weren’t ten months between seasons.
LMAO at Jimmy selling that line of B.S. And he even stuck in a “maybe they call it something different this side of the Rockies” which was amazing.
“Yeah, like I could make this up.”