Anyone who gave this less than a 9 is most likely not paying close enough attention. Every move in this series has been carefully (and naturally) arranged in a way that every single motivation (whether you fully understand it or not) is sensible due to the characters history and past. Every moment matters. Every moment is a revealing of character; yes, even the quiet moments where the character is simply thumbing through an index or sitting at a public defense court. That is hugely impressive. Every single action has a reaction that gives flexibility to characters in a way that accentuates aspects of human nature that makes sense and leads to the possibility of the character changing or making a choice that is explicable. Over the course of a person's life this is true outside of television. And this reflects human nature and elevates the standard for storytelling across every medium. Those who gave this less than a 9 most likely did not considerate this at all. It is genius looking you right in the face, but because you don't understand the language of the genius you call it gibberish or slow. It means you are not paying attention. You can say it is not my preference or genre, but to analyze this show or invest in it and to say this, especially this episode where SOOOO much happens on subtle level of character development, is to reveal your lack of depth of understanding about this ingenious episode. I would break it down, but I would prefer to not tag this as containing spoilers so someone else could give this a read and maybe use it as a key to help them interpret the genius of this episode so they don't commit the same folly as those who clearly underestimate and misunderstand the level of genius of this episode. Seriously, this one had so many displays of power dynamics shifting, of old resolutions abandoned and new ones being found. This episode belongs on the level of Ozymandias (Breaking Bad close to the end of the series). We see the actual moments when certain keys turn for so many things-I am really tempted to put in some spoilers..... hmmm, I will try to do so without actually spoiling.....
1) Episode Title: "Talk"- Vince Gilligan has always been a genius with this since Season 2 of Breaking Bad and this episode is no exception. The motif of talking with or without words is profoundly iterated in at least a dozen ways from a dozen angles-already we are dealing with a lot. Mike who normally never opens up about his feelings, talks; and when he does it is clear, accurate and powerful similar to Gus. Speaking of which, I will mention later. Jimmy who only ever talks, does not talk much, but actually talks non-verbally in a significant way. Kim's observing court talks loudly (metaphorically) about her conflict of wanting to be Atticus Finch and instead serving a job that does not provide deeper meaning to her. Gus as usual has very few lines, but talks directly to the point but in a way of intimidation and power plays. Ah!!! I am so tempted to spoil something here but will refrain because it was so brilliant done! I will say this though, you are anticipating Gus to talk with Mike about an issue Lydia had with Mike, but it was not the case; great reversal and it was revealing about a huge difference between Gus and Lydia: Lydia is unduly concerned with details that are petty (that actually can matter, at the same time) where as Gus sees the bigger picture. It is amazing to reference Lydia's fallibility of being overly concentrated on moot points or little details and how it leads to her fate in Breaking Bad. Salamanca's way of "talking" the way they do opens doors for other characters. But it is equally notable the things which people hid from each other and the absence of the talking of those points is highlighted by the reticence of those facts.
2) Mike, the observer, the speaker, the power wielder, the honest. Mike's power of observation, deduction, and honesty are displayed better than ever in this episode. It makes you realize and appreciate why he is so powerful. It also provides insight into some possible explanations of things that are still missing links between their current timeline and that of Breaking Bad-specifically about Mike's nonchalant nature of disposing of people in Breaking Bad and his major reluctance of killing or getting involved in major crimes in Better Call Saul; a possible reason why we don't see Stacey (Kylee's mom) in Breaking Bad, which seems like it could be possible that his justification process for major crime/killing in Breaking Bad is connected or is correlated the same possible reason; and a possible reason of how he becomes Gus's right hand man.
3) Jimmy, wow. Just wow. For the first time in most of the series, he is holding in so much. Refusing to talk to a shrink. But talking so much in the end, by not talking! I won't delve further into this so I don't spoil it.
4) Nacho's father. To save your son. Do not talk to certain people.
5) Nacho. Talk to certain people that is uncomfortable to talk to to save yourself.
That should be enough, though I could go on, to support my claim that those who did not rate this at 9 or above are not worthy of critiquing this episode.
Give me an example of a show other than this and Breaking Bad where they do all these things with as much complexity and detail. You will not find another show like this. And before ya say Game of Thrones or House of Cards, they both have made major mistakes within their most recent respective seasons that have knocked each of them down a notch in terms of credibility (not knocking them either, I will still watch them and be excited to watch them, but they have slipped in quality of storytelling, also, what the hell Kevin Spacey).
70 out of 104 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
