FILMMAKER REACTS to BETTER CALL SAUL Season 2 Episode 8: Fifi

[@indicaink]

What annoys me about Chuck is that he'll show up, but pretty much only when it's to screw over his brother.

[@ips2124]

he has the most strength, endurance, and motivation when he's doing something to tear down Jimmy. its wild lol

[@indicaink]

And yet, I absolutely believe Chuck when he says he'd have stayed the whole night with Jimmy, lol

[@stanlee4ever278]

​@@indicainkAs a resident Chuck hater... I do too. :( This show man...

[@pencil6965]

i think he prob sees it more as self-defense against jimmy's antics

[@silikon2]

The thing is, Kim knows. She should have let slip to Mesa Verde Chuck's condition, assuming that's not unethical in some way.

[@batmanvsjoker7725]

Notice how Chuck has no problem being outside with the electricity when it's to bring Jimmy down

[@hellkatt]

Howard reminds me of a game show host. He is such “that guy”. You know the type; all smiles, finger guns and high fives. 😂 Love his character so much.

[@officialmonarchmusic]

Forget Howard, Patrick Fabian in real life feels even MORE like that

[@lewa3910]

His actor Fabian would make an Insane Dick Van Dyke casting in a biopic of him

[@irrelevantandbeyond]

I've never seen a character be always wrong and always right at the same time. Then I met Chuck McGill.

[@nippy9505]

By the way that “Dog House” spot where Kim and Jimmy are talking at 5:01 is where Jesse bought the gun in s2e1 of Breaking Bad to protect himself from Tuco. I love the subtle BB callbacks in this series.

[@RobinT-treehugger]

And the Dog House is a real place here in ABQ. Considered a dive joint before the show, it is now a hit with fans for lunch IG Selfies.

[@michaelproch8801]

I actually blew my tire out pulling into that parking lot and had to call AAA to pick me up. Got some great photos and food though!@@RobinT-treehugger

[@ADBProductions_]

When it comes to law, Chuck is a seasoned mastermind. However when it comes to anything interpersonal outside of being a lawyer he's like a stunted child it's angering but also very tragic

[@pencil6965]

same thing can be said about jimmy. jimmy is very stunted and acts out in childish ways

[@elbruces]

This is why him and Howard are the perfect team. One guy as the brilliant legal mind, the other as the perfect client schmoozer. One for the courtroom, the other for the golf course. It's no wonder they made HHM into such a big firm working together.

[@oliverhughes610]

Svengali is a character in the 19th century novel Trilby by George du Maurier - he's an evil character who manipulates an innocent and naive girl to become a famous singer for his own profit. The name quickly caught on as a catchall term for people who manipulate others, and in legal terms, a 'Svengali Defence' is where a defendant claims they were not acting of their own free will but because a greater power was controlling them. Patrick Fabian really deserves all the props for his role as Howard. It's so hard to present a character that is ostensibly a villain (or at least, an antagonist), but has layers to them that keeps an audience intrigued and willing to put up with him on screen rather than just booing like they would a pantomime villain. It was easy to do that with Uncle Jack, for instance, but not with Gus or Howard (though obviously the extent of their villainy is massively different). As a fun aside, Fifi is real, and at the time of the show, was indeed the only airworthy B-29. There is now a second one, Doc, though she only flew again in 2016. Fifi was built in Washington and served as an administrative aircraft in 1945 before being placed into storage, then serving again in the same role in 1953-58, before being retired.

[@trunklemcjeans]

Thanks for all the cool insight that's dope

[@oliverhughes610]

@@trunklemcjeans I gotchu bro!

[@TheyCallMeMr.Fahrenheit]

+Oliver Hughes Awesome comment! Great information!

[@TheyCallMeMr.Fahrenheit]

Has George du Maurier any relation to Daphne du Maurier?

[@jculver1674]

I've been a fan of Patrick Fabian ever since I saw him in The Last Exorcism. He's such an underrated talent, and it was great to see him get such a high-profile role on BCS.

[@isaacgraham5727]

It’s so easy to forget how utterly fantastic this show was. This was one of those episodes that tends to sort of blend in with the latter part of season 2 for me, but in retrospect it really was a standout with several great sequences. I’m specifically thinking of the opening segment with the ice cream truck, and then the montage with Jimmy altering Chuck’s Mess Verde files. Breaking Bad was known for some pretty flashy visual montages, but I actually think the team truly perfected it with this show. Those two sequences are such masterful examples of purely visual storytelling - not a word is spoken in either sequence, but in both cases absolutely critical information was communicated in a direct, clear, concise - and extremely stylish - way.

[@EthanButler]

I love these reactions because you can almost always see just what's over the horizon. I love watching intelligent people watching intelligent art. Keep it up, man!

[@Yora21]

Better Call Saul is a classic tragedy. Everything we see, all the ups and downs, and all the cheers we have for Jimmy when he succeeds, is always in the context of knowing how it will all end for him. It even follows the model of Aristotle for a great tragedy. A great man causes his own doom because he can't escape his one great flaw. We see that Jimmy has all the potential for greatness, but we also see that he can't help but sabotage himself out of pride.

[@romeolivingston84]

“Still a petty little shit though” 😂

[@JamesVSCinema]

LMFAOOOO

[@TonyBambino]

The opening tracking shot is a nod to the Orson Welles movie Touch of Evil which opens with a tracking shot on the border of Mexico as well.

[@MamadNobari]

Nah Orson Welles stole from Vince Gilligan.

[@cpmc5400]

@@MamadNobari B R A V O I N C E

[@Oingo87]

Everyone in the show is pitch perfect acting wise BUT the actor who plays Howard gets me in every scene. Like you mentioned with the envelope, just the way he moves and stands is perfect.

[@Antrod]

Man, I just had a thunk. Mike probably got alot of care towards Jessi because he reminded him of his son. Obviously not as much, but I think he saw his son in Jessi.

[@Ray-ko1lm]

The actor who plays Howard is in the 5th season of Agents of Shield and he’s an alien in it but is the exact same character somehow 😂

[@dnllrnt]

One thing that always bothered me about Chuck's "condition" that was never brought up in season 3 and Jimmy's hearing: He's driven to and from everywhere...what powers those automobiles besides the oil and gasoline? The defense rests.

[@GregIsAFan]

Really enjoy your reactions and would love to hear about some of your experiences. Please keep us in the loop about when/where you might be sharing them.

[@JamesVSCinema]

Will do!

[@vader9133]

If you go back to breaking bad episode 1, the bank Walter withdrawals his savings from to buy the RV is called Mesa Credit union. It has a slightly different name and logo but they address why they had to change their name through of events in this series.

[@themaxterz0169]

Fun fact: Jimmy tells the photocopy clerk "didi mau" or "hurry up" in vietnamese lol Also yeah, what he did is called _Forgery_ and uh, not cool.

[@myoung7654]

The classic movie he was watching is His Girl Friday. It is a fantastic movie and would be well worth a change of pace reaction.

[@JamesVSCinema]

This man Chuck, dear lord..I love him and dislike him. Better Call Saul & Mr. ROBOT & The Bear S2 on Patreon! Click here: www.patreon.com/jamesvscinema Much love!

[@matta5498]

You have to watch him as Lenny, in the show "Laverne & Shirley".

[@botwitaprice]

I remember the days of Levrn & Shirley

[@tada777777]

Did you see him in Spinal Tap?

[@Poseidon650]

Dude, you’re the best. Your Always Sunny reactions are top tier, since you’re from there you have a great insight that I as a fan from the West coast haven’t experienced. If you made a channel talking about personal situations as mentioned at 16:20, you can bet I’d subscribe.

[@lorddoobsworth144]

Good stuff as always James 👊

[@Baronhaynes]

Been waiting for you to get to this one for a lot of reasons, but that intro was a big one

[@Jared_Wignall]

Yeah, Chuck is not above screwing over his own brother. Yeah, Jimmy definitely does things his own way, but Chuck hides behind he’s doing all of this for the good of justice when that’s not it at all. Great reaction James, take care!

[@beastysped3270]

Watched every episode love the series, you see relationships and synergies that I totally missed on my first watch

[@j.prt.979]

Think about this. Obviously, Chuck wanted to “keep everything normal” for the meeting with Mesa Verde to not scare them away as clients. But it’s deeper than that imo. The one time Chuck decides to “keep everything normal” is when he needs to screw over Kim and *by proxy* Jimmy. Really telling about where his “illness” stems from.

[@WatashiMachineFullCycle]

As a freelancer myself I would LOVE to hear some of your freelance stories

[@pablovagnor]

Howard is honestly one of the nicest but straight shooter guy in the 2 show series .

[@wendydarling5790]

Have you seen His Girl Friday (the old movie Mike is watching)? It's a great classic!

[@cameroncimmerius1203]

I still think about that opening long take years later.

[@seanellio]

Have you noticed that Kim never says it's wrong? She says "What if you get caught?"

[@Slimysnotnose]

At the end of the day I recognize Jimmy’s flaws and Chuck may be correct about him but holy shit every time Jimmy actually tries to change, Chuck doesn’t let him

[@pencil6965]

lmaooo are you telling me chuck gave him no option but to forge those documents

[@Lexwell_Lavers]

I don't blame Jimmy for screwing Chuck because Chuck goes out his way to screw Jimmy and Kim. Jimmy takes care of Chuck but Chuck treats Jimmy like crap.

[@TumzFestivalYT]

This show is even better than Breaking Bad, because part of Jimmy's criminality IS continuing success after success.

[@baconjedi9621]

In the future Kim going off and doing her own thing.... Yep...Yep...Yep...

[@squiddesauce9589]

😭😭😭

[@JanHell666]

Fifi sounds like a song name by 69 haha

[@pencil6965]

he did "a cartwheel backwards" lolol

[@officialmonarchmusic]

I just want to say that I'm an aspiring filmmaker and I have plans to enter the industry after college. If you made videos about your experience as a freelancer I think we'd all really appreciate it

[@DarylHandsome]

Jimmy starts out almost like a capt Kirk, breaking the rules to get the job done. I suppose this is a more real world example of the long term results of that mentality

[@tovbyte]

Yeah that fascinated me about the show: it feels like an other TV shows/ films Jimmy would be a hotshot, break-the-rules cowboy character, who would always get away with his shenanigans. But BCS really makes you consider the consequences of breaking the rules

[@magicbrownie1357]

I wonder how many drug deals Jesse had at the Dog House??

[@nickboseman5250]

Where is The Bear season 2? My guy i need that "Fishes" episode?

[@Yourmanjeff]

since you love visuals and framing, I recommend checking out FX's Legion

[@ronrago2696]

Chuck, WTF! Chuck thinks he is defending justice while he is screwing over Jimmy. Howard while probably knows it's wrong, just isnt man enough to stand up since he is the son of the real H in HHM and he knows Chuck is the master. Kim, bless her heart is trying to do the right thing but her love for Jimmy does blind her at times, not her fault, thats life. Jimmy is full of good intentions and has always got the short end of the stick & is honestly trying to help but doing it dishonestly or the only way he can make a difference. I absolutely love this show and James, you love it as much as anyone I've seen. Thank you for a great series!

[@steventomasi5557]

Do yourself a favor take the first letter of each name of every episode in season two and rearrange them to spell out the secret two word phrase you'll discover which character is coming back

[@officialmonarchmusic]

I tried that and it wasn't words. Am I missing something?

[@CatLikeSleep]

11:20 lololololol

[@formdusktilldeath]

I think it's forgery?

[@koko4620]

Chuck is the same vibe as Skyler; we want to cheer for our protagonists, but from a moral and ethical standpoint they are kind of right.. Chuck is very petty and easy to hate, but he was always right about Jimmy

[@Griff2323]

I get what you are going for with the analogy, but I view Skylar as a lot more innocent than Chuck in the beginning of Breaking Bad. She just wanted Walter to be honest. Chuck on the other hand has a deep rooted envy and uses his respect for the law as an excuse to undermine Jimmy at every turn

[@gandalfandchill549]

See, I think in part that Chuck creates a self-fulfilling prophecy for Jimmy. He's not entirely responsible for Saul, but he expedites matters.

[@joshjames582]

Walter's grandkid looks older in this episode than she does in BB lol

[@GDLlama]

Walter?

[@MarkM430]

What exactly Jimmy did here will be revealed later. And technically, he didn't do anything that is illegal... just dastardly.

[@ExecutiveSonda]

Bullshit.

[@bartee7]

I dislike Chuck so much it’s not ever funny. A major opp