![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cjlasky7We're coming to the end of April/early May, when a lot of TV shows are wrapping up for the year. Since I've been watching a lot of television waiting for my branch to reopen (spoiler: not any time soon), I thought I'd do some quickie reviews of my favorites, giving anybody reading out there a recommendation (or a warning).
First up: Better Call Saul (available on Netflix)
I've raved about BCS in the past, but this year was truly a major step up in quality, as the main plot lines running parallel for the length of the series finally crashed together, creating almost unbearable suspense and tension.
Season 5 featured three phenomenal performances: first and foremost, Bob Odenkirk continued his finely measured de-evolution from good hearted but "slippery" lawyer Jimmy McGill into sleazebag criminal attorney Saul Goodman. Odenkirk reveled in Jimmy's underhanded maneuvers, whether relentlessly pranking former boss Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian), harassing assistant DAs, or single-handedly bringing a huge regional bank to its metaphorical knees through a series of hilarious, scorched earth low budget ads.
We all know Odenkirk can do the funny. But "Bagman"--a late-season two hander with the great Jonathan Banks--proved (once again) he could anchor the drama. Trapped in the New Mexico desert with cartel fixer Mike Ermentraut (Banks) and carrying 150 pounds of cartel cash, Odenkirk cycled Jimmy/Saul from shock to anger to despair, until finally steeling himself for a battle for survival. Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton) called Jimmy a cockroach--and it was a compliment; Odenkirk proved that Jimmy has the survival instincts to do what he's destined to do on Breaking Bad.
Speaking of Lalo: Dalton completely stole the villain's spotlight from Giancarlo Esposito's Gus Fring. Lalo was a refreshing change from the rest of the Salamanca family. Yes, he's as ruthless as Hector, crazy as Tuco, and murderous as his twin cousins--but Dalton gave Lalo a breezy, relaxed outlook on life and a genuine charm and sense of humor. What's more, you could always see Lalo thinking, planning a step or two ahead, and doggedly pursuing loose ends when "trusted" associates told him stories that didn't add up. Lalo's one mistake this season was trusting Ignacio Varga (Michael Mando)--and his mission of vengeance will probably anchor a big part of next season.
But when it comes down to it, this season belonged to Rhea Seehorn and Kim Wexler. Starting off as an ill defined "possible love interest" in s1, Seehorn's Kim has become the central character of the series through sheer acting talent and iconic presence. (There have been full essays on the Kim Wexler Power Ponytail.) Since Kim does not appear in Breaking Bad, BCS fans have been obsessed with Kim's actions in Season 5: is she killed by the cartel? Witness protection? A breakup with Jimmy, disillusionment, and a return to the midwest? But nobody saw the final twist coming. (I'll get to that in a minute.)
The scene of the year (maybe in all of television) was the three way confrontation between Jimmy, Kim and Lalo in the couple's apartment. (Holy crap, Kim, why'd you let him in?!) Lalo was going to get the real story about why Jimmy got stranded in the desert--and he wasn't going to take any of Jimmy's usual bullshit. The tension was unbearable: was Lalo going to kill Kim? Was Mike--watching through a sniper's scope--going to take out Lalo? And then, just as Jimmy was starting to crumble around the edges, Kim stepped forward and took the cartel kingpin to school, calling him an idiot for grilling the lawyer who brought his cash out of desert and telling him to take a good, hard look at his operation if Jimmy was the only one he could trust with the money. It was the apex of Seehorn's show stealing scenes, and there was still one more twist to go....
If I had one major problem with Season 5, it was that final twist--Kim's "breaking bad" moment. Technically speaking, I do see the logic: ruin Howard Hamlin, force an early settlement of the Sandpiper case, and Jimmy and Kim net a cool couple of million, enough for Kim to take all the pro bono cases she wants. But I can't believe Kim would actually do it. No matter how much she might resent Howard, I can't believe she would disregard her conscience to destroy a man who really hasn't done anything wrong. The writers haven't given me nearly enough set up for this, and I left the final episode wondering if this is going to be credible going into the final season.
But, besides this huge caveat, it was a near perfect season. Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould and their production team were firing on all cylinders. Highly recommended.
Season grade: A-
First up: Better Call Saul (available on Netflix)
I've raved about BCS in the past, but this year was truly a major step up in quality, as the main plot lines running parallel for the length of the series finally crashed together, creating almost unbearable suspense and tension.
Season 5 featured three phenomenal performances: first and foremost, Bob Odenkirk continued his finely measured de-evolution from good hearted but "slippery" lawyer Jimmy McGill into sleazebag criminal attorney Saul Goodman. Odenkirk reveled in Jimmy's underhanded maneuvers, whether relentlessly pranking former boss Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian), harassing assistant DAs, or single-handedly bringing a huge regional bank to its metaphorical knees through a series of hilarious, scorched earth low budget ads.
We all know Odenkirk can do the funny. But "Bagman"--a late-season two hander with the great Jonathan Banks--proved (once again) he could anchor the drama. Trapped in the New Mexico desert with cartel fixer Mike Ermentraut (Banks) and carrying 150 pounds of cartel cash, Odenkirk cycled Jimmy/Saul from shock to anger to despair, until finally steeling himself for a battle for survival. Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton) called Jimmy a cockroach--and it was a compliment; Odenkirk proved that Jimmy has the survival instincts to do what he's destined to do on Breaking Bad.
Speaking of Lalo: Dalton completely stole the villain's spotlight from Giancarlo Esposito's Gus Fring. Lalo was a refreshing change from the rest of the Salamanca family. Yes, he's as ruthless as Hector, crazy as Tuco, and murderous as his twin cousins--but Dalton gave Lalo a breezy, relaxed outlook on life and a genuine charm and sense of humor. What's more, you could always see Lalo thinking, planning a step or two ahead, and doggedly pursuing loose ends when "trusted" associates told him stories that didn't add up. Lalo's one mistake this season was trusting Ignacio Varga (Michael Mando)--and his mission of vengeance will probably anchor a big part of next season.
But when it comes down to it, this season belonged to Rhea Seehorn and Kim Wexler. Starting off as an ill defined "possible love interest" in s1, Seehorn's Kim has become the central character of the series through sheer acting talent and iconic presence. (There have been full essays on the Kim Wexler Power Ponytail.) Since Kim does not appear in Breaking Bad, BCS fans have been obsessed with Kim's actions in Season 5: is she killed by the cartel? Witness protection? A breakup with Jimmy, disillusionment, and a return to the midwest? But nobody saw the final twist coming. (I'll get to that in a minute.)
The scene of the year (maybe in all of television) was the three way confrontation between Jimmy, Kim and Lalo in the couple's apartment. (Holy crap, Kim, why'd you let him in?!) Lalo was going to get the real story about why Jimmy got stranded in the desert--and he wasn't going to take any of Jimmy's usual bullshit. The tension was unbearable: was Lalo going to kill Kim? Was Mike--watching through a sniper's scope--going to take out Lalo? And then, just as Jimmy was starting to crumble around the edges, Kim stepped forward and took the cartel kingpin to school, calling him an idiot for grilling the lawyer who brought his cash out of desert and telling him to take a good, hard look at his operation if Jimmy was the only one he could trust with the money. It was the apex of Seehorn's show stealing scenes, and there was still one more twist to go....
If I had one major problem with Season 5, it was that final twist--Kim's "breaking bad" moment. Technically speaking, I do see the logic: ruin Howard Hamlin, force an early settlement of the Sandpiper case, and Jimmy and Kim net a cool couple of million, enough for Kim to take all the pro bono cases she wants. But I can't believe Kim would actually do it. No matter how much she might resent Howard, I can't believe she would disregard her conscience to destroy a man who really hasn't done anything wrong. The writers haven't given me nearly enough set up for this, and I left the final episode wondering if this is going to be credible going into the final season.
But, besides this huge caveat, it was a near perfect season. Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould and their production team were firing on all cylinders. Highly recommended.
Season grade: A-
