Amph Better Call Saul (Spoilers within)

I'm not saying it can't be rationalized, but what we see onscreen is a single man outsmarting Gus completely, and outperforming Gus' team, to the point of being alone with Gus, gun in hand. Being smart, cold and calculating is pretty much what Gus is all about, so it didn't sit very well with me that he could be tricked so easily and so effortlessly. He looked like a different character to me at times. Then, Lalo suddenly stopped being OP and he got smashed by Gus' plot armor, but that's another story. I understand that the writers needed Lalo to work alone for a bunch of reasons, but it's also true that if he at least had some men with him it would have been easier for me to find the story plausible.

 

I get that. I do. And I think it points to the writing that we can see how this could have happened episodes earlier.

The whole point is that the usually unflappable Gus Fring is terrified. He fears Lalo and it’s palpable. And so, the man who is always in control and who is meticulous is all things, is tripped up and makes mistakes by reacting instead of standing back. I think this is also a peak into how Gus changes by Breaking Bad. It’s only with Hector where he never manages to let his emotions get the best of him. But his murder of Eladio is so meticulously planned that he has the doctor on standby to treat his own poisoning. He’s planned that out to nearly the very last detail. Here, he can’t stand being prey- he has to be the predator.

As to Lalo, he simply got lucky. The real problem is the security guard who left his post. Had he been watching those cameras, Lalo would never have made it to the fan. His failure however was dealt with given he’s dead with the other guards too slow to react to Lalo.

 

It’s more misdirection than outsmarting. Team Gus was focused on protecting Gustavos’s life. Mike splits to get Lalo at Jimmy’s.

That was maybe more a reaction instead of thinking about the entire situation. However Gus was still fortified at home. So Gus is safe. Lalo did not outsmart Team Gus on protecting Gus’s life.

Then Gus realizes Lalo isn’t after him that night. Lalo’s goal is to expose the lab. Lalo outsmarted team Gus by creating the opportunity to get into the lab.

So Gus breaks security protocol himself by going to the lab with a small security team to stop Lalo from exposing it.

It’s actually Gus going to the laundry to stop Lalo. Not Lalo luring Gus to the laundry. In the final move it’s Gus hunting and stopping Lalo, not Lalo hunting Gus.

 

If Gus hadn't gone to the laundry, Lalo probably would have gotten what he needed and gone back to Mexico.

 

True. Gus is hunting Lalo, but he's reacting. Instead of say, calmly calling Mike and saying it's a misdirect and to head to the lab, he instead chooses to go himself with a handful of men. It's that reaction, born out of fear, that allows Lalo to claim the advantage and ambush Gus and his men.

 

Thats really the key to Gus right there. He’s lousy as the prey. He’s spent the last few episodes afraid of the a
And in the end of this episode Gus stops being prey and hunts Lalo.

 

And before I forget, congrats to Rhea Seehorn for FINALLY getting an Emmy nomination for her role as Kim Wexler in Better Call Saul.

Hoping it becomes her first Emmy win as well.

 

Time is of the essences. My hunch is Mike could at that point be further away from the Laundry. But that doesn’t really matter.

More importantly Gus goes on the hunt. Gus is taking care of business himself. That’s the most important part. Gus doesn’t need guards and security. Gus can take care of his enemies himself. Gus has a change in the moment which is what’s important.

This is Gus catching the animal eating the fruit from his tree.

All that said - Gus is still aware he could die in the moment and has exposed himself to this danger. He did what he had to do. It’s Gus getting back into character.

This forged the Gus we see on Breaking Bad.

 

It takes no time at all to call Gus on the way to the laundry mat or to order the guards staying at the house to do so. Mike was clear that Gus was to call him. Once Mike gets to the apartment, he already determines there is a problem when Gus doesn't answer. Gus choosing not to call Mike did nearly cost him his life- as Mike makes very clear after when he states how he was not happy with how things turned out.

So sure, we can chalk it up to Gus being arrogant to think he can handle it himself, but I also think it points to how off his game he is. Lalo unbalances Gus by causing him to react to things in the moment and that is exactly where Gus is most vulnerable as someone who meticulously plans and wants to control everything. Lest we forget his dissatisfaction with Mike's guys at Los Polls Hermanos who are not up to his standards. Even though their primary job is to protect Gus from Lalo, Gus refuses to compromise the quality of his restaurant.

 

Leaving that aside, if ypu listen to the podcast, you not know when Bob Odenkirk had the heart attack. Pretty riveting discussion from Vince Gilligan.

 

According to Bob though, it happened in this upcoming episode.

 

As Gilligan tells the story, corroborated by Dalton, it happened while they were doing the opening scene. They had finished Bob and Rhea‘s coverage and were setting up for Tony. His stuff was filmed two months later

As Gilligan tells it, they pretty much thought Bob was dead and the show was over.

 

That was in this episode or next week?

 

Unless Lalo rises from the dead, seems like he is referring to this week's episode.

Also, yikes, I had no idea the heart attack was that bad.

 

I didn't feel the last episode was one of the strongest in the series, but one of the weaker ones. I mean, I felt the best part of the episode was providing the context of the shoe washing up on the shore.

Now, taking Lalo off the board, I'm not sure where the show is heading towards in the last five episodes. Lalo was pretty much the big bad of the last two seasons. Perhaps a couple of Gene centric episodes? Pretty much the end of the Gene story arc and why Kim doesn't appear in Breaking Bad are the only big loose ends that need tying up off the top of my head.

BTW, this was the second episode where I thought Kim was going to die. The first time occurred when Kim got into that really bad car wreck.

 

The last few episodes are clearly going to be a setup for a Lyle-centric spinoff titled “Employee of the Month.” The show will be all about how awesome of an employee Lyle is, while being blissfully unaware that his boss is a drug kingpin.

 

Gus' men knew her from their surveillance, and I know Mike wasn't going to let anyone hurt her once she got to the house, so I didn't think she was going to get killed.

The burning question is Where is Lyle during Breaking Bad?

Mike completed his story last season. Gus' story is done too. Obviously Lalo and Nacho and Howard are done. All that's left is Jimmy and Kim.

 

Better Dial Lyle.

 

I guess the fact that he was filming again 2 months later is due to him getting help so quickly. Also, I think Gilligan‘s assessment is deiven largely by the shock of the moment. But, as he put it, at the moment it happened, they. thought he was dead.
Apparently, afterward they all took a CPR course, including how to use the automated defibrillator. Something I would certainly recommend for everyone.

one other thing that came up: until now, they kept it under wraps that Tony was on the set when the heart attack happened so as to not give away Lalo‘s appearance.

 

Playing my cards and placing my bet now: The series finale will be titled "Viktor and Giselle."

 

I'm gonna go with "Cinnamon Buns and Finger Guns".

 

I’m going with “Past and Present” for the finale title.

 

If they had cast this role differently, I think we'd be looking at a radically different (and lesser) show than what we have on our hands.