TV Thread - beware, [expletive] can get spoilery

[haltz]

Just watched the latest episode of LWT, which just keeps getting better and better. 45 mins because he manages to sit down with Edward Snowden in Moscow.

[JL21]

Man I thought it was great. Just another example of how great Vince Gilligan is at instilling a humanity into his characters before they start doing bad enough things for you to dislike them.

My beef with it is that it was so instantaneous. He basically announced to Mike and the whole audience, "Hey! I'm a slimy guy now!" It felt ham-fisted and rushed. Like a wrestling heel turn.

I still loved the episode and the first season- don't get me wrong. I guess I was just looking for a little bit more of a slow burn with his degradation.

[thrill]

That was a little forced, maybe, but leaving 1.5 mil on the table can force drastic introspection.

I just love how good the writers are at providing rich insights into even minor characters which instills a humanity in every part of it.

"I always liked you, Jimmy. Remember I used to call you Charlie Hustle?"

The writers are better at giving their characters a fullness in a couple of sentences or scenes than most show's writers can in entire seasons. Hamlin's turn while being on screen for maybe a total of 5 minutes in two episodes is complete and tells you everything about him and about Chuck.

[JL21]

They definitely cover all of their bases. I think it's the best writing crew on TV.

[haltz]

Pinky ring - totally forgot about this piece of the Saul Goodman outfit.

[Jocephus]

They definitely cover all of their bases. I think it's the best writing crew on TV.

you clearly forgot bruce vilanch and his award shows

[JL21]

[Vidor]

The writers are better at giving their characters a fullness in a couple of sentences or scenes than most show's writers can in entire seasons. Hamlin's turn while being on screen for maybe a total of 5 minutes in two episodes is complete and tells you everything about him and about Chuck.

Yeah, that's good writing. All along we've thought that Hamlin's the a-hole when he was in Jimmy's corner. Good stuff.

[MrSaigon]

I'm not proud of it, but I always wanted to see either an episode or the doc of Catfish. The MTV show is streaming on Amazon.

Oh, that stupid, stupid girl. Interesting watch, though. One episode will definitely be enough. I do wish this was on a less cooked-up-for network because I could watch the concept every once in a while. Or maybe even this one, if someone could point to the best ones (I imagine a listicle could do that for me).

[Schlich]

shamelessly stolen from reddit. excuse the hyperbole.

If people found it underwhelming, you're not digging deep enough.
This was the breaking point of Jimmy turning to the darkside. Throughout this entire season, we saw him start as Slippin' Jimmy and work his way to becoming Jimmy McGill. To pay Chuck back for taking a chance on him. To make Chuck proud. To prove Hamlin wrong. To catch Kim's eye. To not become Marco on that barstool. To make something of himself.
But after finding out the reveal about Chuck...feeling lower than low...losing his case and worse, his own brother...it broke him down. He loses it with his amazing "Kitty Cat Notebooks for Everybody" monologue and goes back to his roots.
Here he revisits his Slippin' Jimmy and not 10 minutes in falls perfectly back in step with Marco. Skirting the law again. Hasn't missed a beat. Just as good as he always was....if not better. Marco and Jimmy in perfect harmony, making suckers out of 'em all. And then he loses Marco.
Chuck is gone. Marco is gone. Both sides of that coin...both of his brothers...for both there's now this emptiness.
But here comes Kim to save the day! There's hope! Everything might just turn out ok. In yet another brilliant piece of cinematography...we see a shot of Jimmy outside the courthouse...he stops dead in his tracks "Looking East." A perfect profile of what he'd look like on that Kennedy coin. A new dawn. JUST THEN....he feels Marco's pinky ring. A reminder that....ya know what?
He just had the best week of his life too.
Why fight this anymore? For who? Chuck? Kim? Hamlin? Maybe. But that rush...that feeling he had with Marco...
Why not both?
And thus, the seeds for Saul have been planted. It's not an ambiguous ending. It's the beginning of Saul Goodman.
I may be reading way too in to their cinematography (but to be fair...they're pretty deliberate with it.) The final shot is of Jimmy driving "west" if you will ...away from the promise of a new path at the courthouse. And we pan down to the exact middle of the road....
He may be straddling the line between Jimmy and Saul...but he's now on his way.
tl;dr - If you dig deeper, it's not an ambiguous / underwhelming ending. It's an emotionally powerful ballad on a Shakespearean level...and now I can't tell up from down because I think I may be starting to like Better Call Saul better than Breaking Bad.