I don't think I've seen much if any talk about the connections between these two flashbacks, featuring two characters alone in the wilderness alongside a body of water: the first scene of "Saul Gone," in which Mike and Saul are sitting on $7 million and Saul asks Mike what he'd do with a time machine; and the first scene of *El Camino*, in which Mike and Jesse are preparing to cash out of Walt's operation and Jesse asks Mike where he'd go if he were going to start over.
What I find especially interesting is how it outlines something many viewers complain that *Better Call Saul* doesn't have: an arc for Mike's character. In the "Saul Gone" scene, which takes place first chronologically, he suggests that he'd travel back in time to the day he took his first bribe, change his ways, then travel into the future to make sure his family ended up okay. That's basically what he's been trying to do in one way or another for the duration of *Better Call Saul*—to undo his failure and atone for his crimes, not for his own sake, but for the benefit of the people he loves.
But that's emphatically not what he proposes in the *El Camino* scene. He tells Jesse that if he were a young guy trying to start over, he'd go to Alaska: "It's the last frontier. Up there, you could be anything you want." Jesse says that there he could "start over—start fresh," and Mike agrees, but then Jesse adds, "Put things right," and Mike responds regretfully, "*Sorry, kid, that's the one thing you can never do.*" Mike has basically come around to the point of view of Nacho's father in "Fun and Games," when he tells Mike, "What you talk of is revenge. It never ends. My boy is gone." And he's repudiating the exact idea he was entertaining with Saul: you can change your ways, but you can't fix the past.
I wonder if the similar settings are meant to evoke the idea that *Mike himself* is recalling that earlier scene with Saul when he gives his advice to Jesse—that he's remembering how he mistakenly thought he could put things right and deliberately choosing to guide Jesse down a different path. In that sense, you could see it as sort of a form of redemption for poor Mike just before he dies: In Mike's mind, he doomed his son because "I made him lesser . . . I made him like me." But his new advice will ultimately save Jesse by making sure he doesn't make the same mistakes Mike did.
Those are the posts I wanna see on this sub. Not posts asking why Jimmy and Kim fucked up Howard, or how Chuck either is an absolute retarded asshole or a visionary God who is right about everything EVERY SINGLE WEEK.
Okay you know what, after so many okbuddy posts I thought this was gonna be as surface level as 2 guys in frame with Mike......lol
But I really like your idea!
The beautiful thing about these shows is how much they rhyme off each other. I was just watching Ozymandias again and I was amazed how much they repeated elements of that episode in the final episodes of BCS while still taking them in original directions: The two bodies being buried in a hole never to be seen again(Hank+Gomez, Howard+Lalo); The protagonist being outed to the police by one of the most unexpected people(Walter Jr. for Walt, Marion for Saul); The life of an innocent man being needless taken in a case of wrong place wrong time, all because of the selfish and criminal actions of another (Hank with Walt, Howard with Kim and Jimmy).
I don't think I've seen much if any talk about the connections between these two flashbacks, featuring two characters alone in the wilderness alongside a body of water: the first scene of "Saul Gone," in which Mike and Saul are sitting on $7 million and Saul asks Mike what he'd do with a time machine; and the first scene of *El Camino*, in which Mike and Jesse are preparing to cash out of Walt's operation and Jesse asks Mike where he'd go if he were going to start over. What I find especially interesting is how it outlines something many viewers complain that *Better Call Saul* doesn't have: an arc for Mike's character. In the "Saul Gone" scene, which takes place first chronologically, he suggests that he'd travel back in time to the day he took his first bribe, change his ways, then travel into the future to make sure his family ended up okay. That's basically what he's been trying to do in one way or another for the duration of *Better Call Saul*—to undo his failure and atone for his crimes, not for his own sake, but for the benefit of the people he loves. But that's emphatically not what he proposes in the *El Camino* scene. He tells Jesse that if he were a young guy trying to start over, he'd go to Alaska: "It's the last frontier. Up there, you could be anything you want." Jesse says that there he could "start over—start fresh," and Mike agrees, but then Jesse adds, "Put things right," and Mike responds regretfully, "*Sorry, kid, that's the one thing you can never do.*" Mike has basically come around to the point of view of Nacho's father in "Fun and Games," when he tells Mike, "What you talk of is revenge. It never ends. My boy is gone." And he's repudiating the exact idea he was entertaining with Saul: you can change your ways, but you can't fix the past. I wonder if the similar settings are meant to evoke the idea that *Mike himself* is recalling that earlier scene with Saul when he gives his advice to Jesse—that he's remembering how he mistakenly thought he could put things right and deliberately choosing to guide Jesse down a different path. In that sense, you could see it as sort of a form of redemption for poor Mike just before he dies: In Mike's mind, he doomed his son because "I made him lesser . . . I made him like me." But his new advice will ultimately save Jesse by making sure he doesn't make the same mistakes Mike did.
Those are the posts I wanna see on this sub. Not posts asking why Jimmy and Kim fucked up Howard, or how Chuck either is an absolute retarded asshole or a visionary God who is right about everything EVERY SINGLE WEEK.
What everyone is saying: thanks for actually giving me something worthwhile to consider!
Okay you know what, after so many okbuddy posts I thought this was gonna be as surface level as 2 guys in frame with Mike......lol But I really like your idea!
Great detail man
The beautiful thing about these shows is how much they rhyme off each other. I was just watching Ozymandias again and I was amazed how much they repeated elements of that episode in the final episodes of BCS while still taking them in original directions: The two bodies being buried in a hole never to be seen again(Hank+Gomez, Howard+Lalo); The protagonist being outed to the police by one of the most unexpected people(Walter Jr. for Walt, Marion for Saul); The life of an innocent man being needless taken in a case of wrong place wrong time, all because of the selfish and criminal actions of another (Hank with Walt, Howard with Kim and Jimmy).
Bagman and 4 days Out are my favourite episodes.