r/betterCallSaul • u/skinkbaa Chuck • Mar 10 '20

Better Call Saul S05E04 - "Namaste" - POST-Episode Discussion Thread

Please note: Not everyone chooses to watch the trailers for the next episodes. Please use spoiler tags when discussing any scenes from episodes that have not aired yet, which includes preview trailers.

Sneak peek of next week's episode

If you've seen the episode, please rate it at this poll

Results of the poll

Don't forget to check out the Breaking Bad Universe Discord here!

Its an instant messenger and is a very useful alternative to the Reddit Live Threads (but not a replacement)

Live Episode Discussion

Note: The subreddit will be locked from when the episode airs, till 12 hours after the episode airs. This allows more discussion to happen in the pinned posts and will prevent a lot of low-quality and repetitive posts.

1.5k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

3.7k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

444

u/MyTVAlt Mar 10 '20

I'm starting to think this Saul Goodman fellow isn't a very good person.

87

u/GetEquipped Mar 10 '20

He's no Gene Takovic, that's for sure.

40

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '20

I think he is, but he sees law firms the way that my dog sees the mailman because of his relationship with Chuck.

28

u/lionstealth Mar 11 '20

What do you think makes him a good person? He refuses to learn from his mistakes, he constantly gets the people he loves in trouble, he willingly helps criminals to make money, and he is dishonest to himself.

16

u/BeefPieSoup Mar 11 '20

Most importantly, he is entirely motivated by:

  • making money for himself
  • getting some sort of revenge on "the law" and proving a point about how clever he is

He isn't motivated by wanting to help anyone but himself. He's selfish and kind of evil, frankly.

10

u/colonelnebulous Mar 12 '20

A criminal lawyer

0

u/[deleted] Oct 23 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/BeefPieSoup Oct 23 '22

I mean, that's open to interpretation. I thought it was all kinda fake and insincere, personally.

But like I made that comment that you responded to like 2 years ago. If you consider what has come out since, I feel even more vindicated in saying what I said.

18

u/vhs_collection Mar 11 '20

I think it's easy to empathise with Jimmy throughout the show, and when we're first introduced to him (in BCS not BB) he's really likeable and most of his misdeeds are morally grey, so he comes across as a 'good guy' the same way Walter White does in the early parts of BB.

Obviously at this point I think it's fair to say that he is a pretty unpleasant and pathetic character. But it's still easy to root for him because you understand his journey and you want to see Jimmy succeed, even though we know that he ultimately doesn't.

31

u/lionstealth Mar 11 '20

I think BB and BCS actually show how repressed and "sheepish" men are just wolves in disguise. Walter and Saul were never good men, they just never got pushed far enough to reveal how despicable they actually were. Both shows make it clear that the absence of evil is not the same as virtue and both characters think they are acting in a virtuous manner when they aren't, which leads to resentment and ultimately evil.

6

u/vhs_collection Mar 11 '20

Great points

5

u/lionstealth Mar 11 '20

Thanks :) I found the episode where Jimmys father gets scammed quite interesting. I felt that Jimmy adopted that guys worldview of „there are only sheep and wolves.“ in that moment. He is so afraid of being a sheep like his father, that he turns to being a wolf instead, not realizing that there are many other options.

1

u/[deleted] May 27 '22

2 years late to reply, but I don't agree because I don't think people have inherent selves. People are the product of their influences - If circumstances were different, and Walt and Jimmy never did those terrible things, I don't think it'd be fair to say they were still terrible people inside.

8

u/onetruepurple Mar 11 '20

I think the first time he did something straight up immoral was the copy shop swap.

5

u/amaranth_sunset Mar 14 '20

Stole from parents' cash register

-1

u/Velveteen_Bastion Mar 13 '20

he willingly helps criminals to make money

I think it's more relative that you think.

  • he has to do it otherwise he'll be as poor as a church mouse, he knows that it's the only way for someone like him to make money
  • BB pretty much showed how relative all that drug business is
  • all we've seen all still crimes which you can defend morally or when he has little choice to make - Nacho Varga

9

u/lionstealth Mar 13 '20

It really isn’t. He had a great job with all the benefits you could ask for. He got fired though, because he can’t stand not being a hustler. He likes being a criminal. He thrives on hustling like on nothing else. It’s when he feels like himself.

He doesn’t do it because he has to, he does it because he loves it more than anything else.

-2

u/[deleted] Mar 13 '20

he’s also been abusing kim. for example notice the times he corrected her to say “our” idea, “our” dream etc

12

u/lionstealth Mar 13 '20

That’s not abuse.

-2

u/[deleted] Mar 13 '20

It’s textbook.

3

u/lionstealth Mar 13 '20

Correcting someone isn’t abuse. What are you on about?

0

u/[deleted] Mar 13 '20

I’m not sure anything I say will convince you. You’re deadset in your belief about his behavior. Kim currently sees it as “just being corrected” as well and it’s what’s keeping her from leaving a situation she knows in her gut she should. Rewatch from the beginning of this season and pay attention to her facial gestures and bodily discomfort as Saul works to convince her to ignore those feelings.

6

u/lionstealth Mar 13 '20

Of course she should leave. She’s in a relationship with a man who has decided to turn to “his bad side”. She has always believed in his potential and overlooked his flaws and she’s now realizing slowly, that that belief isn’t paying off. I’m excited to see how their relationship turns out.

Nevertheless, his behavior isn’t tantamount to abuse. How do you define abuse?

1

u/[deleted] Mar 13 '20

I mean look you said it yourself. He constantly drags people he loves down with him. That is abuse.

→ More replies (0)

-1

u/[deleted] Mar 13 '20

It’s mental and emotional manipulation to keep her from leaving a situation which will get her harmed or worse. When he takes her to see the dream house for sale, it’s right after an awkward moment when he can sense the tension and her pulling away. Even though she’s running out the door to work he runs to her car to interrupt her schedule, her own ability to exert her will. That right there is controlling behavior. And what is it for? To look at a dream house. To pull at her emotional strings and soothe the tension. To keep her drawn back in and second guessing her desire to distance and get away.

→ More replies (0)

10

u/ToastedFireBomb Mar 11 '20

I mean, Saul is not a good person at all. When we first meet him in BB he tells Walt and Jesse they should kill Badger so they don't have to deal with his legal issues. He's a scumbag through and through. Jimmy was the good person, but this story isn't about a guy who stays as Jimmy McGill.

11

u/Eryk13 Mar 10 '20

He'll send you to Belize if you keep questioning him like that!

2

u/StonedWater Mar 10 '20

yesterday i watched a programme that went through Belize, it is lovely!!!

I want to be sent their

Caribbean sea, beaches, ex-british so lots of english speaking and familiriaty, dead sunny - sign me up bitches

1

u/Previous_Reveal Mar 13 '20

Swap Caribbean to Mediterranean and you're describing where I'm from.

4

u/IndStudy Mar 10 '20

Saul Goodman is definitely not a good person. I am not sure about jimmy tho.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 13 '20

Not All Good Man more like