#thank you vince thank you peter thank you bob thank you rhea

[ingravinoveritas]

Interrupting my regularly scheduled posts just to say that I am genuinely emotional over the series finale of Better Call Saul, and cannot for the life of me understand the lackbrains on Twitter saying that it was a “terrible” ending. I watched all of Breaking Bad and I did not remotely have an emotional reaction to the ending, but this show, these characters, have just been extraordinary.

This was never about the cartel or random violence. This was about the violence a man does to himself, and how he finally found Jimmy, found his human heart again at the end. All the people we revisit, familiar faces from the past, all trying to prod at the soul of Saul and provoke a genuine reaction in him, but he never lets the mask fall until the end, because it had to come from within. 

That was the journey of BCS, and I cannot think of a better ending than what we got tonight. It was absolutely perfect...

[enbouton]

It’s hard to break down the word “deserving” of anything, right? Because lots of us have work that was deserving that nobody put a sash on them. But I’m very proud of the work that I did. I took none of it for granted. There’s not a word that I phoned in. I worked very, very hard on the character. And I’ve gotten to a place in my career where I’m not running around any more thinking it’s a giant fluke and I just won the lottery, I somehow got here by no doing of my own. I don’t think that’s that healthy. I spent a lot of years acting like I won a contest, and I think it’s important to find that place — my age and the number of years I’ve been in the business have finally helped me get to a place of figuring out (and I think this is especially true of women) of what’s a positive way to feel proud of yourself and ambitious that is not some of the uglier behavior we’ve seen or uglier behavior that people call out. We’re taught to be more palatable often if you’re women and not brag and not be too full of yourself and this kind of stuff.

I have incredible humility and incredible gratitude for the career I have and the life I have, but that doesn’t need to eclipse feeling like I’m value added when I walk up to a stage. And I think I spent a lot of years thinking, “You get to be one or the other. You get to either think you have any idea what you’re doing or you get to live in gratitude. Not both.” And I was so desperate to not ever appear that I’m not grateful, but at the same time, I’m there to do my job. And if people as smart as Peter Gould and Vince Gilligan or Bob Odenkirk or Tom Schnauz or Gennifer Hutchison, Alison Tatlock, Gordon Smith, I mean, the whole lot of them — if they’re saying, “We did our very best. Please arrive at the sandbox and contribute,” then that’s not a fluke and you owe them to be walking in there with your head up and to have some ideas and to be value added. And I have found that that has only started happening in the last seven to eight years, coinciding with “Saul,” really.

So, that part. I’m thankful for that part when something as beautiful icing on the cake, like getting nominated for an Emmy, comes because I’m like, OK, I know I’m still blushing when somebody is saying “Emmy-nominated Rhea Seehorn,” but it’s also going to be OK to be proud of it. That’s OK.

Rhea Seehorn speaking to Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, August 15, 2022

[quackityupdates]

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Quackity replied to Bob Odenkirk!

[Image ID: a screenshot of a tweet by mrbobodenkirk that reads “Finale thank you from Bob Odenkirk” and includes a video.

Transcript:

Hey there, (clear throat) uh, everybody’s been asking me how I feel about saying goodbye to Saul Goodman and Better Call Saul and I’m not good answering the question because it’s frankly hard for me to look at that experience and even at that character too closely. It’s just—it’s too many moving parts, and they fit together too beautifully, and it’s a mystery to me how it even happened.

Thank you for watching, uh, I want to thank Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould for, uh, giving me the chance, I did nothing to deserve this part but I hope I earned it over six seasons.

Uh, the cast around me, Rhea Seehorn, Michael McKean, uh—Jonathan Banks, Tony Dalton, Michael Mando, Patrick Fabian, and everyone else, I mean—Giancarlo Esposito—uh, they all made me a better actor than I am, uh, just working with them or watching them work. 

It’s been an—an unbelievable experience. I want to thank the crew in Albuquerque, these people are the most beautiful, sweet, hardworking pros ever. I—I’ll never be around so great people doing their jobs so well, I can’t imagine it. Uh, God bless you guys for everything you did to make the show great.

And, the fans. Thanks for giving us a chance, 'cause we came out of, maybe a lot of people’s most favourite show ever and we could have been hated for simply trying to do a show. Uh, but we weren’t. We were given a chance. And hopefully we made the most of it.

Thank you for staying with us. Better Call Saul closely observed idiosyncratic story about a very unique guy. A little slow at times, but in the end, if you paid attention, it was about big, big things inside people, and thank you.

Quackity replied and wrote “Bob Odenkrik i love you”. End ID]

[jimmymcgools]

good morning / evening / happy timezone! if you feel like it, what are some of your favourite BCS interviews, text or video?

oh man, hell yes! thanks for asking! ♥️

i’ve definitely forgotten some good ones and this is shamelessly biased toward my favourite characters, but hopefully this is a good place to start especially if you’re looking for kim + jimmy talk!

text

How They Made It: The Spectacular Fifth Season of ‘Better Call Saul’

a great article with quotes from everyone. home of the famous “these are two people who got a law office for love and got married for business.” quote from peter, and the lesser quoted set-up which i love just as much: 

“I think if you were to ask her, the character, ‘Well, why are you getting married?’ she would say, ‘Because Jimmy told me that he lies so he can protect me from having to testify against him.’ Which is a very lawyerly reason. But I think they get married because they love each other.” 🥺

How Rhea Seehorn Became Better Call Saul's Greatest Showman (huge props to @scullysflannel​ for totally crushing it) 

And she’s not ready to do that. 

‘Better Call Saul’ Star Rhea Seehorn: ‘It Is A Crazy Ride From Here To The End’ 

more great stuff from rhea and really interesting commentary on kim+jimmy’s relationship in season 4 (up to 4x07). “But Kim’s filling up every second of every day because God forbid she should just sit with her feelings for a minute.”

Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk on Jimmy's strange reaction to Chuck's death

short and heartbreaking interview with bob about jimmy’s headspace in episode 4x01

Rhea Seehorn on ‘Better Call Saul’ Season 3 Finale: Is Kim Finally ‘Breaking Bad?’

rhea talking about the end of season 3. 

Bob Odenkirk still has hope for Saul Goodman in penultimate season

i love this one because bob talks about jimmy’s anger and im obsessed with the anger of both these characters

Better Call Saul finale: Michael McKean explains Chuck's shocker

really long and interesting interview with mckean about chuck! most of these interviews have helped guide my fic a lot but my chuck notes are like 90% quotes from mckean in this. definitely worth a read if you’re interested in mckean’s thoughts on what makes chuck tick!

videos

Conversations with Bob Odenkirk of BETTER CALL SAUL

this is my favourite bob interview. i think the interviewer asks maybe three questions, and the rest is bob going ham. they did it towards the end of filming season 5, and i feel like he’s completely in the headspace of the character.

highlights include (starting at about 6:00) recounting his email argument with peter over a line reading -- a line that was written as a statement but bob wanted as a question. he says it’s from episode 9, but my big theory is that he’s talking about the “hundred thousand?” from 1x08, because he does a vince impression when he talks about the episode’s director.

and at 16:00 -- “i love the scene at the graveyard. did you say ‘boo-hoo’?” 

Rhea Seehorn dishes Kim's fate on 'Better Call Saul'

all these gold derby ones with rhea and bob are fascinating and this one really launches right into it. 

such great stuff about kim using silence as a position of power, and kim’s motivation for the chuck takedown (she’s defending jimmy but also she wants to keep mesa verde! “she has her own ego and ambition issues”). and then at 12:30 -- “asking chuck, do you realise that, if this is true, your brother would go to jail? and he’s fine with it. and it’s so disturbing [to kim] that he is that black and white.” 

i love about 9:00 in, too. kim gives jimmy “counsel without judgement, which i think is a very different thing than he’s getting from other people in his life.” 

as you can see i started rewatching and now i’m helplessly adding more and more rhea quotes to this section. it’s so good and every gold derby one is SO good. 

Inside the Writers Zoom with Better Call Saul, hosted by Patton Oswalt

patton interviewing some of the writers! some great stuff at about 15 minutes about the proposal and the kim flashback. 

i’m also forever haunted by mr. peter gould’s twinkly little all-knowing eyes in any interview he’s in. peter tell me your secrets (don’t tell me i want to wait) but tell me 

Conversations at Home with BETTER CALL SAUL

uh this one is just a joy to watch and there’s so many dogs 🐶

hopefully that’s a good amount and not too overwhelming! i’m also looking forward to kicking myself in a week when i think of all the great stuff i forgot to include 😂

thanks again for asking! this was super fun. 

[vince-thrilligan]

Bob Odenkirk on Naiveté, PTSD, and Kim’s Downfall

“The hardest thing for me was to play the naiveté of Jimmy as a younger person, where he starts in the series. You could say he’s become more cynical, but really, it’s self-awareness and I love that.”

Awards Focus: In interviewing your castmates, we’ve heard a lot of praise for your work. What stands out to you as a highlight for this season?

Bob Odenkirk: Well, we had a great season overall. But my favorite thing is the way Jimmy learns about himself and exhibits this sense of self-awareness. It’s great because the hardest thing for me was to play the naiveté of Jimmy as a younger person, where he started in the series. You could say he’s become more cynical, but really, it’s self-awareness and I love that. On the other hand, what he does with that self-awareness isn’t too good. He has these realizations about himself, but they give him an outlet to become ethically unmoored.

AF: Well, it’s funny because Kim, who seemed to know exactly who she was in previous seasons, looks like she’s losing herself. Does Jimmy worry that he’s opened Pandora’s Box?

Odenkirk: It’s a very strange thing, that last conversation. Because at first, you’re probably thinking that Kim’s just trying to make him feel less alone. Maybe she’s just trying to have some fun, make some gentle light out of those dark instincts Jimmy has. Or maybe she does it to make him feel a sense of his own limitations. But then those theories seem to fall flat, because Jimmy says, “Let’s slow down.” And she’s like, “No, no, no, let’s keep going.”

And she seems to genuinely mean it, to have some genuine delight in hurting Howard, who doesn’t really deserve it. Whereas Jimmy obviously pulls some crazy stunts, but those are more childish, almost like a teen prank.

AF: In talking to Jonathan Banks, we learned that he disagreed with the writers on some of Mike’s choices and he told them so. Do you have points where you’ve given the writers some pushback on Saul’s actions?

Odenkirk: Honestly, yes. There are moments where I say that “I think this is too far,” or that I don’t understand the choice. And most of the time, we’ll have a conversation where we come to some understanding on the story direction, which is to say I compromise (laughs).

After all this time, I like this character. I want him to make the right choices, almost like a friend. But sometimes the answer from Peter Gould is simply, “He’s not your friend, and he doesn’t make the right choices. That’s the story we’re telling. You don’t have his ear.”

And in the end, we know how those choices pan out. We’ve seen Breaking Bad and the road Saul takes.

AF: Yet there’s so much we don’t know, the arcs of other characters that have yet to be answered. Mike gives Jimmy a great speech about being on a specific road and not being able to get away from it. What road do you think Kim is on, going into season six?

Odenkirk: Well, I gotta say, when you see that last moment of season five, you get a glimpse at one of the core elements of the story. Because Saul is no longer asking himself who he is. Now he’s asking, Who is Kim Wexler?

The woman who does that finger-point, gunshot gesture when asked if she’d harm an innocent man, who the hell is she? She’s done these little ethically compromised things, mostly as a team with Jimmy, with a kind of a sense of playfulness and partnership. But now there are real questions as to what’s going on in Kim’s head.

AF: The writers have certainly altered the status quo of the relationship between Kim and Jimmy over the course of season five. How do you navigate that as actors, especially in the context of broader character changes?

Odenkirk: There are definitely specific story choices and plot choices that are challenging to consolidate with the character. The moment where Kim asked Jimmy to marry her is one of those, where Rhea and I both wondered, How do we make this real? It was easier for me because all I had to do was act befuddled, which is how anyone in that situation would feel. It was harder for Rhea.

But I would say the hardest thing for me is when Jimmy’s doing a purely Saul Goodman thing, or doing something vindictive. It’s hard to understand that when you don’t have the instincts or life experience that might lead you down that road.

But that is a testament to the writers, they’ve given the character a sense of that now. Earlier on he would make these bad choices, and he seemed very blind to the ways in which these manipulative things would affect him and the people around him. Now he seems to understand how stuff can backfire. And he’s accepting that, moving forward with a stronger sense of realism. He’s choosing to be Saul Goodman in those moments. He’s more conscious about everything, from adopting the name to the flamboyant shoes and clothes. He’s choosing to play this role in part of his life, to give it a name, and to let that part of his spirit run rampant.

I love that development so much because the young Jimmy, he was hard to play because of his naiveté. As an actor, Saul’s self-awareness is great.

AF: In episode nine, you got to play a Jimmy who is not only physically beaten down from his trek through the desert, but also suffering from PTSD. It’s really unique to see him squirming in front of Lalo. Normally, he’d find something to say, but he’s in this weak state, and it’s just another facet you get to add to the character. The tension in that scene was incredible.

Odenkirk: Thank you. The thing is that Jimmy absolutely knows what’s happening. When Lalo says “Tell it again,” Jimmy knows he’s being played and prodded. He senses the danger, because this ploy can actually work. If you want to catch somebody in a lie, make him tell that story over and over. Jimmy knows what’s happening, but he’s too depleted to use his normal powers of logic twisting, to have the spirited energy for that kind of gamesmanship. But thank God, Kim comes through for him.

AF: Lalo’s terrifying in that scene and Tony Dalton brings so much to the character. What do you think’s going on in Lalo’s head as he listens to Jimmy?

Odenkirk: I think that was a tough one for Tony too, I imagine. You know, what’s going on inside that guy’s head who would usually just pull a gun and do it? He doesn’t care about anything.

But partly it might be that he figures he has Kim on his legal team. I mean, why not just keep her, she’s so good. If she’s got the grit and courage to give Lalo a piece of her mind, then she’s a good person to have on board.

AF: Vince Gilligan called episode eight the most challenging episode he’s ever directed. How was that experience?

Odenkirk: Yeah, filming in the desert was a brutal challenge, but even within the brutal challenge there was a kind of joy. I love when we have adventurous and physically demanding sequences. I just love it. One of the fun things about acting is going places that a real person doesn’t get to go very often. If they live their life with some degree of restraint and steadiness, it’s rare for one to find themselves lost in the desert.

AF: During much of their desert trek, Jimmy carries two massive duffel bags filled with cash. Practically speaking, how was it acting with those for multiple days?

Odenkirk: If those bags had been filled with real money, they’d have been 75 pounds each. I don’t think I’d get that far with 150 pounds. Maybe a couple miles, which is a lot less than the distance Mike and Jimmy covered. But the bags were actually 40 pounds each, which is still very heavy. So the physical effort that shows up on the screen is very real.

AF: I’m assuming the heat was the bigger enemy?

Odenkirk: It was nightmare heat. And of course, you’re playing things over and over again. And Vince is an extremely thorough director who is shooting multiple, multiple takes from every angle. But it all worked out, because my suffering was essentially the character’s suffering. I was all for that stuff, as long as it was safe. When you have such a big crew and you’re out in the middle of nowhere with temperatures that high, it’s genuinely dangerous. It took a few days to bring in enough safety equipment to keep everybody on the crew cool. It’s definitely a bonding experience to take on something that big together and Vince did a wonderful job of shooting.

He could have made a two hour episode if he’d indulged himself with the amount of cool footage we got. But him condensing that, it was even more impactful that way.

AF: This was a deeply dramatic season with some dark plots, but there was some comedic relief, like the cell phone tent scene. Is it as refreshing for you to perform those moments as it is for the audience to see them?

Odenkirk: Oh man, I have so much fun. I get really silly, and I really try to push it to the point where the writers want to tell me to pull it back a bit. But they wrote the character, and he’s a silly character, so I go with that. My trick is to go as far as I can, but try to sell it to an audience. For example, last season, I was at the grave pretending to feel at the one-year anniversary of Chuck’s death, because I know some of his law partners will come around to plant flowers and I want them to see me grieving. So I’m at the grave pretending to grieve and I’m actually saying “boohoo” as I cry. But I do it in such a way that someone approaching wouldn’t quite hear the word “boohoo.” I take these moments that the writers give me and push them as far as I can, because it’s really fun.

AF: One particularly funny moment featured Jimmy, a stunned Everett Acker (Barry Corbin), and a picture of a man having sex with a horse. What did you think when you read that, did you play around with various animal punchlines?

Odenkirk: No, we didn’t. It was written exactly that way and, in my opinion, it was perfect. By the way, Barry Corbin, who played Everett, is an absolutely great actor. I saw him in No Country for Old Men just the other day, and man, he’s great. I loved the absurdity of that horse picture scene.  Jimmy knows how to rope in a client (laughs).

Part of AwardsFocus.com’s BCS interviews [x]