Better Call Saul is a bit of a paradox in that it consistently yields good to great individual episodes even as it remains a mediocre or worse show. The whole is truly less than the sum of its parts.

"Water Works" was well written, acted and directed, but it sure was disappointing as the penultimate episode of the series. What story is being told here? What is this show even about? The more this show tells its story, the less coherent it seems. The subplots involving Lalo, Kim and Howard all seem to have been abruptly ended, and the same could be argued for Chuck's narrative. Even though Saul/Gene has remained a constant within the show, the show itself has not organically evolved, has no unifying narrative arc, and seems to be staggering to its conclusion.

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staggering to a conclusion is an understatement

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

just about every modern show today is written in a "neverending story" style. it's made up as it goes along. even shows that uses source material will go their own ways, and sometimes it can be creatively beneficial.

but even really good writers like vince gilligan have fallen into the trap of banality, repetitiveness, and padding. this show is a great example of that. this could've been an extremely clever, tight 3-4 season show, that revolved around a guy who starts as a petty thief and ends as one (which is ultimately what this show is concluding with)...building a story around that. but adding in all the cartel stuff just to drop it, and backloading the story with the gene post script is why the pace seems exasperating.

it does have individual scenes/episodes that are among the best in TV. but as a whole, the show has a lot of weaknesses that could've been fixed with tighter writing.

You've been right on with your critique of this show for awhile. Maybe the last episode will be completely mind-blowing and redeem everything but I can't really see where the show could go to make that occur.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

They managed that so well with Breaking Bad though. The show would have been just as great had it ended with "Face Off" and maybe even greater if it had ended with Hank sitting on the toilet looking at Gale's inscription to Walt.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

It seemed with BB that they had a clear plan of where they were heading.

BCS seems like they are just flying around with no clue where or how to land.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

I think actually it may be the opposite. They know exactly when Saul ends. With Breaking Bad the show could have ended at a couple breaks like I said. I know "Ozymandias" is considered an all-time great hour of television, but I would have considered the show greater had it just ended with Hank on the toilet.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

I think you would be in the minority if it ended there.

They may know when Saul ends but they clearly have no clue on how it ends.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

This show is so damn dark (in film) and artsy that it is like a radio show where no one is talking.

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You know me like that.

One thing to keep in mind is that BCS is using mostly different writers than BB (some are the same, like Tom Schnauz, but many are new). Gilligan is not as involved, and I think the creative team as a whole is not as good. On the other hand, I suppose it's possible Gilligan and Gould wanted to make the show different and are the ones preventing the writers from making it more BB-like.

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Just like Anchorman 2, I'm happy we got to learn more about the world built in the original but it didn't reach the same level of all time greatness.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

WZ is spot on about the series being too long. Ironically I was more entertained by the cartel sublot than I was with the Jimmy/Chuck thing, so i differ there. I guess that means I was less interested in how Jimmy became Saul and more interested in how Saul got involved in the cartel universe. But I admit that the soul of the show was/is Jimmy's transformation into Saul, and the Chuck storyline was the driver of that transformation.

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Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

You’re allowed to stop watching.

Fwiw this show ended the moment Howard was killed. The second half of this season is an epilogue.

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I have made it this far I want to finish it out.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Why watch something you don’t like? Punch the button etc

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Because I have enjoyed the earlier seasons and I was a huge fan of BB, so I want to see how they finish it up.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Rewatch the things you like instead of things you don’t.

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Why are you like this?

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

If it’s weird to stop watching things I don’t like, well I guess I’m weird.

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He's going to gut it out one more time.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

I think it is weird that you are acting as if you dont understand what I am saying.

I have invested all this time in a show I can make it through the rest of the last season to see how it finishes up.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

I guess I can’t wrap my head around the decision to continue to watch something that’s not enjoyable when there are any number of things that you could do that would be enjoyable.

Option A: committing my limited free time to do something I don’t like.

Option B: committing my limited free time to do something I do like.

Somehow I’m the crazy person for preferring Option B.

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I’ll bet you aren’t a Bears fan.

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You know me like that.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

I put in 200 hours. I can struggle through the last 6.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Why do you care whether he watches the show or not? Are you his life coach?

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I can relate to this.
Game of Thrones and House of Cards. Strong Starts and got to the point after a few seasons where I thought in turned to shit. I hate watched it through the end just because I was "invested"

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House of Cards was a different level. That last season was unwatchable.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

RE: different level. reminds me of "mr. robot". the 1st season, decent. 2nd, awful. 3rd, a little better. 4th, dreadful.

Agreed. Yet I still did finish it. Painful.

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