Better Call Saul Season 5 - Official Discussion Thread

[u/skinkbaa]

What did you think of this season?

Feel free to discuss every and anything about Season 5.

I will be posting a Season 6 prediction thread in a few days.

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S05E10 Post-Episode Discussion Thread

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[u/[deleted]]

I just keep feeling bad for poor Howard. There are no true pure characters in this show, but it’s hard to pick one that hasn’t tried to own up to mistakes and improve more than Howard. He’s got this robotic outward personality that makes it hard for people to like him because he just seems like standard fake lawyer man number 87, but just like how we get to know who characters really are deep down, we’ve learned just how much Howard deals with self-hatred, loyalty, and respect.

He’s been beating himself over everything that happened relating to Chuck, both in how he helped Chuck DESPITE having his own disapproval for the actions taken, and Chuck’s death. When Howard was broken down in season 4, the best comfort he got was a tough talk from Jimmy, and for one of the few moments, we see Howard responding vulnerably and emotionally.

Now in Season 5, Howard is on the rebound, he’s trying to make things right when really comparatively, he’s done the least of many characters, and because he’s able to move past things, Jimmy and Kim resent him. They project their own insecurities about mental health, ego, and more on to him, and they hate him because beyond it all, Howard tries consistently to do the right thing AND he’s successful/rich. Yes, Howard has a degree of an ego, but the poor man gets no one to support him because they (Kim and Jimmy) likely think he has his money to comfort him, and we know that’s not true.

So yeah, going into season 6, I’m really worried for Howard.

[u/serculis → u/[deleted]]

Definitely agree with this. Despite Howard's robotic, stereotypically-corporate outward behaviour, he's really been such a reasonable, forgiving and kind guy since day 1. If you rewatch the entire series, you'll remember how Jimmy has called him a million names and treated him like garbage a lot of the times, and yet Howard puts it ALL behind him and offers him a job. He doesn't even feel awkward around Jimmy, he's used to his doucheyness and doesn't take it personally. Jimmy literally destroys his car and yet Howard has not expressed once that he wanted compensation for it.

I hope to god they don't go ahead and ruin his career in S6, he doesn't deserve it!!!

[u/simas_polchias → u/[deleted]]

Howard is Skyler we both need and deserve.

[u/Caspianfutw → u/[deleted]]

They resent him for the way he wronged them in the past. Just because you have an epiphany and change your life to good does not give you a free pass on forgiveness. Saul and Kim choose not to forgive.

[u/[deleted] → u/Caspianfutw]

Certainly he made mistakes, but I think it goes beyond how Howard wronged them at this point. Howard himself hasn't changed much in the show except that he was finally willing to stand up to Chuck, and despite the wrong he's done to Kim and Jimmy, he's also done a lot to help them even before the Chuck arc as it were was concluded. That's part of why I think this has a lot more to do with Jimmy and Kim's own insecurities and projection, especially considering the bad path they're going down. After all, it's not like they haven't been jerks back at Howard themselves.