What exactly are you offering to do for me?
What did Tom Hagen do for Vito Corleone?
I’m no Vito Corleone.
No shit.
Right now you’re Fredo!
Better Call Saul, Season 6, Episode 11, Breaking Bad.
They finally made use of a Godfather 2 dual timeline theme in this episode, and it was
very well done.
They are setting up an expectation.
In The Godfather Part 2, it served to show the rise and fall of a Family, but here in
Breaking Bad it was more a matter of history repeating itself.
One monumental fall after taking an unnecessary risk with Walter White, and now taking another
unnecessary risk with his identity theft scam.
In dealing with the Jeff situation, Jimmy was effectively like an alcoholic having a
relapse, proving that for Saul Goodman, a life without the risk of the hustle is no
life at all.
That little department store scam woke a sleeping giant, and now Saul is diving right back into
yet another risky criminal endeavor.
If Mike warned Saul that Walt was a mere amateur, surely Goodman doesn’t need to tell him
that Jeff and his buddy make Mr White look like a seasoned master.
With the department store theft, and now again with the identity theft scheme, these plans
required meticulous planning and preparation.
These aren’t like the two-bit schemes Slippin’ Jimmy used to pull with Marco.
The leg work, the vetting, the research, and all of the other layered dimensions required
to pull these scams off more closely resemble the Howard setup.
While Gene may have initially embraced his inner Slippin’ Jimmy, what he really misses
is living his life as SAUL GOODMAN!
This was on display from the very first moment we see Gene, when he’s watching his old
Saul commercials.
When he was afraid after locking himself in, he noted SG was here.
When he saw the young punk shoplifter, he told the kid to lawyer up.
Ample evidence that Gene missed his life as Goodman, and when he changed his mind about
using Ed’s services again, he got to relive the past.
He embraced his own inner Goodman, and now we see it all coming back to life before our
very eyes - the bluetooth earpiece, the Swing Master, and the ladies of the night.
The Francesca phone call acted to fill us and Saul in on some other unknown fates, and
the best news coming from that is that Huell walked and got away.
We learn that the heat is still on Goodman, even more so now that Skylar cut a deal and
Pinkman fled.
We also learn that Saul’s hidden money has all been confiscated, and this is probably
a time that he should be maintaining a low profile.
But then Francesca couldn’t resist telling Saul that Kim asked about him.
So the November 12 phone call mystery is resolved, which now perhaps draws attention to the black
book?
Goodman’s attempt to call Kim proved us frustrating to us as the audience as it did
Saul.
It’s unclear exactly what happened there, whether she no longer worked there and the
rep refused to provide any current information on her, or whether Kim herself told Goodman
to never call her again.
If Goodman is still a hot target, then calling Kim may have been a bad move.
And if he did get Kim on the other line, might she be tempted to get ahead of things and
report that to the authorities?
Marion continued to be a potential threat to Gene.
As shown in her debut episode, Marion is no helpless vulnerable older woman in the mold
of Irene Landry.
Quite the contrary, Marion was shown to be a strong and intelligent independent woman,
who is sharp as a tack and very observant.
Gene may rue the day he showed her how to find funny cat videos, because that computer
gift from her son provides Marion a way to stumble across some information about one
Saul Goodman.
Marion no doubt overheard some of what happened when Gene threatened Jeffy’s buddy for having
a conscience.
Again, if Walter White was an amateur, then Saul is taking a huge risk working with these
two knuckleheads.
Both of them remain huge liabilities, and the biggest threat of the bunch might well
be Marion herself.
There would be a certain poetic justice if Goodman’s undoing came from the anti-Irene
Landry.
But Goodman’s risky behavior is even reckless by his own standard.
Ever since Kim broke up with him, it’s as if Jimmy went all in on Saul Goodman - a character
whom Kim helped create - and that he’s living a life he imagined for him and Kim, minus
the hookers, had the Howard scheme not gone south.
It’s as if his entire existence is a living tribute to his time together with Kimmy Corleone.
I really liked the way they used the Breaking Bad episode of Better Call Saul to fill in
some gaps from the Better Call Saul episode of Breaking Bad.
It was nice to see Walt and Pinkman onscreen in the aftermath of Saul’s kidnapping, but
I thought the best flashback was actually the one with Mike.
It brings in the possibility that we may yet see a missing piece of information from Gus’
first deal with Walt.
But the most powerful flashback was the one when Saul decided to go confront Walt and
convince him that he needs a Tom Hagen.
This flashback was cleverly cut in between Saul’s decision to break into the home of
the cancer patient target.
The expectation they seem to be setting up here, is that Saul’s bad decision to form
a working relationship with Walt is every bit as bad as his decision to follow through
on his scam involving this one particular target.
The implication here is that history is going to repeat itself.
This is a bad choice road, and it feels like this time that Goodman will finally pay a
real price for his own ill deeds, and again, Marion potentially being the one who takes
him down feels poetic.
A final thought on Kim Wexler, I’m not sure if we will actually see her again short of
a flashback, and I wouldn’t mind that at all.
If we never see Kim and Jimmy together again, I think it would make their final breakup
scene all the more powerful, especially in retrospect.
But if Kim does wind up crossing paths with him again, it really feels like they both
need to pay the piper and face the consequences of their ill deeds.
Now perhaps Kim never got as deep in the game as Goodman did with his criminal alliance
with Heisenberg, but she was complicit in the cover-up of Howard’s murder, and she
never really paid a price for what she orchestrated.
But either way, Goodman needs to pay the piper, and Breaking Bad suggests his time of reckoning
is right around the corner.
That’s a damn fine dissolve!
I thought Breaking Bad was another solid episode.
Dare I say, tight!
Tight, tight!
Tight!
And I can’t wait to see how the final 2 episodes unfold.
Thank you very much for watching everyone, I hope you enjoyed, and have a wonderful night.
Pollos Hermanos, Pollos Hermanos, delicious chicken grilled or fried.
Pollos Hermanos, Pollos Hermanos.
Mike!
You don’t come to Las Vegas and talk to a man like Moe Greene like that!
No details.
Look at this setup!
You two drive around like Mr Softy scooping out drugs for all the good boys and girls.
You're my older brother and I love you.
But don’t ever take sides with anyone against the family
Again.
No, we don’t deal from here.
I said no details!
Dude is standing in front of a meth lab.
It’s not like he ain’t gonna put two and two together.
He is on a need to know basis.
Remember Bill Oakley?
He switched sides.
He came out, huh?
No he’s not gay!
Now listen, even if this guy was gonna live I wouldn’t go near him.
He’s a complete amateur.
A guy with that mustache probably doesn’t make a lot of good choices.
I know it was you, Fredo.
You broke my heart.
You broke my heart!
Shut that little damn dog up, and get back in here.
I love you.
I love you, too.
But so what.
Your name came up.
She asked if you were alive.
She asked about me?
Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding
ding ding Aye yai yai!
What exactly are you offering to do for me?
What did Tom Hagen do for Vito Corleone?
I’m no Vito Corleone.
No shit.
Right now you’re Fredo!
Pollos Hermanos, Pollos Hermanos, delicious chicken grilled or fried.
Pollos Hermanos, Pollos Hermanos.
You know Quasimodo predicted all of this.
What is this?
That my friends is Albuquerque's public enemy #1.
But you said we’re done.
You said cross to the other side of the street if I see you coming.
Tell me, how much product can you churn out with a setup like this.
Alright we’re done!
We’re done with the questions.
Now I need you to say it, “we’re done”.
Come on.
Say it!
“We’re done”.
Say it.
We’re done when I say we’re done.
We’re done.
Pollos Hermanos, Pollos Hermanos
You’re done!
You are done!