Better Call Saul (TV Series) Rebecca (2016) User Reviews

An Underrated Episode

[igormarchewka · 8/10 · 21 July 2022]

This episode greatly develops Chuck's character, showing us some more examples as to why he has a resentment toward Jimmy.

This is clearest in the cold open flashback, where Jimmy visits Chuck and his wife Rebecca for dinner. You can tell that Chuck has a certain level of jealousy for Jimmy because of how charming and likable he is, and how well he gets along with Rebecca.

There is a moment at the end of this flashback, and at the end of this episode too, where Chuck tries to imitate Jimmy and make a joke to lighten the mood, yet fails miserably. It makes you understand that Chuck wants to be out-going and fun like Jimmy, but he just isn't, and he hates him for it.

Another example of this is at the end of the episode, where Chuck tells Kim how Jimmy stole money from their father's shop when he was a kid. Yet no one blamed or punished Jimmy for it since everyone liked him too much. Chuck was the only one to see it, and he hates how much his family loved Jimmy.

Stuff like this makes Chuck a much more likable character for me.

Kim's story of trying to dig herself out of doc review at HHM is great as well. She's a really great, smart character that's completely capable of handling stuff herself, and that montage of her looking for a new client for HHM is excellently done. It ties in nicely with Chuck's idea of Jimmy being a burden and struggle to everyone around him.

Finally there's Jimmy's story. This episode is actually all about him, yet he's not in it that much. But the parts he is in show how unfit he is for Davis and Main and how much he hates working there. Erin, his "babysitter" in this episode, sparks a great contrast to his need for finessing people and cutting corners. Bill Oakley also makes a return and brings upon some guilt on Jimmy for taking his sweet job for granted.

The themes in this show are very consistent and are constantly being told through expertly written dialogue, beautiful cinematography, and excellent acting. Every episode of this show is amazing, and the pace for me is perfect, never slow in my opinion. This episode deserves a higher rating for sure!

The World According to Kim

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 21 May 2018]

A lot of focus on KIm, who has been sent to Hades for not reporting Saul's activities (which, of course, she knew nothing about). He has come to her to try to get her our, but it is of no use. She also fears for her life's work. Her boss is an utter creep and punishes her because he can. He also knows she is involved with Jimmie. There is a scene at the conclusion, involving brother Chuck where we see more and more of the ingrate he is. He has literally been kept alive by his brother, but all can think of is some childish story. He's also about as arrogant and demeaning as one can be.

New characters and old characters BOTH shine in BCS's latest endeavor

[harrymus2 · 9/10 · 15 March 2016]

This episode yet again imbues fantastic camera-work with most natural lighting for Chuck's parts which in turn also adds the character of color (or lack of) to the environment our characters are put in.

Since the episode is titled "Rebecca", we are introduced to the new addition right away, with her being Chuck's ex-wife. and we get to see their relationship interplay in the beginning scene and it felt very ordinary and mundane.

They were expecting a visitor which we knew right away who it would be because Chuck issued a warning sign to bail the guest out. But, to our surprise, Rebecca actually ends up liking jimmy a lot and this is mainly because she feels smothered with Chuck constantly praising her and being controlling about her job, so when she meets the loose, funny, and down-to-earth guy Jimmy, she gets the entertainment that has been missing from her life with Chuck. Chuck obviously resents Jimmy for being a people person and telling jokes when he himself cannot (he tried to tell a joke to Rebecca but his delivery was off and she ended up giving him a pity laugh).

This episode is shared mostly with Jimmy and Kim, but I was astonished with Kim's parts because the actress Rhea Seehorn is truly talented and shows her emotions with little effort (especially in the last scene of the montage where she yells excitedly in the garage after snagging a client); you feel all the emotions of the character and are rooting for her. Again, the camera-work in those scenes of the montage tells a story itself, Kim is constantly shown outside when conducting calls giving the viewer a sense of background (change of scenery from the depressing doc review) and standing by the glass window because of her interest in a window office as shown in season 1 when Jimmy suggests to buy her an office with a window. The change in weather(sunny day to rainy day) which could portray her progress being delayed since a rainy day is not a good day. My only bafflement was the reason why Howard is still keeping her in doc review after her amazing feat, but that could be soon answered in the following episodes.

This leads me to the fact that this episode is hammering on the point that Jimmy is wrong; Jimmy told Kim that Chuck is the reason she is being punished and not Howard, but this episode proves otherwise and that Jimmy might be wrong. Also, when Chuck and Kim talk which reveals to Kim that Chuck is not the bad guy here and he is legitimately trying to help out Kim, but in that talk, there can be two interpretations: First, Kim can interpret from that talk that Chuck was trying to do t he right thing with helping his father out in trying to find out what happened with the missing 14,000 and placing the blame on Jimmy but indirectly making Jimmy look bad, because he tries to spout in some pros about Jimmy having a good heart and he is not a bad person but he makes bad decisions. Second, the viewer knows what Chuck is doing, trying to make Jimmy look bad in front of Kim to break them apart but also it makes the viewer think that some of what Chuck is saying is painfully right, and Jimmy is not such a good guy. But, when he tries to indirectly imply that Jimmy was the reason behind their father's loss of business and death, the viewers know this is Chuck's jealousy and hatred talking.

Speaking of Jimmy, it was nice seeing him interact with a previous colleague from Season 1 and the change in feelings towards a well- paid job for present Jimmy compared to Jimmy in season 1, also adding another new character as Jimmy's associate/supervisor for comic relief. Lastly, Mike is seen being stuck in a hole he has dug with the gig he pulled last episode with Nacho after being mildly threatened by a younger Hector Salamanca from Breaking Bad. It will be interesting to see where his storyline progresses. Overall, another excellent episode with plenty to look forward to!

Non-Linear, Non-Squential Story Development

[A_Different_Drummer · 10/10 · 14 July 2016]

The job of a reviewer is to notice stuff.

BCS may not be my favorite show in recent history (the dearly departed BANSHEE is) but it is easily the most hypnotic. And the most addictive.

I try to review new films and new episodes of existing series against my the backdrop of my experience of what came before. All reviewers do. That technique works 99% of the time. This is the 1% where I am gob-smacked.

1. Gilligan and Gould are putting on yet another clinic in non-linear and non-sequential story/character development, doing things I have never seen done. Doing things that frankly I did not think were possible outside of the defined structure of a 2-hour theatrical film.

2. The actors continue to rise to the occasion. Seehorn practically mesmerizes in her role as the trapped girlfriend trying to extricate herself from the lobster trap she herself walked into.

3. The use of color and cinematography in a weekly show is the best I seen since the British show UTOPIA which went out of its way to pick sharply hued backgrounds to underscore how non-real the storyline was. That show was great. This show uses color even more effectively and yet seems to do it effortlessly.

4. Also the use of sound. TV dramas have become much better at using sound to affect mood -- Banshee comes to mind -- but once again G&G have taken this to a new level. Every episode here is a clinic in how to do it right. And these guys really love "hawaiian twang." (Used in the title sequence, also individual episodes.)

The achievement here is spectacular and must not be under-estimated. Gilligan and Gould are rewriting the rules for TV narrative, story development and even cinematography. And they are doing while entertaining the %#()$ out of their fans.

Character work

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 14 July 2021]

A pretty good episode, a little quieter than the previous, for obvious reasons. Mike takes a back seat but Jimmy's story gets increasingly interesting and there's good character material for both Kim and Chuck. Nothing to dislike about this one.

I've had enough of the slow-burn approach.

[TouchTheGarlicProduction · 7/10 · 15 March 2016]

This episode deepens the McGill boys' relationship further, introduces a new character, and brings in an old one. It is interesting that everything in this episode is about Jimmy, and yet he actually isn't in it that much. It's more about the effects he has on the people around him. In that sense, this was the climax of the slow-burn story they've been gradually building; the evidence that Chuck is right. There is a particularly great monologue from Michael Mckean in this episode around that. I think that this plot has been developed enough. We're halfway through the season now, and while the slow-burn approach has been great, it's starting to really lose some momentum from the week-to- week broadcast schedule. Now would be the perfect time to pick up the pace.

A new character is introduced; a sort of babysitter for Jimmy. She's very funny and well portrayed. I look forward to seeing her fit in with the rest of the cast. A character from season 1 makes an appearance that reminds you of how far Jimmy has come. There is also a nice little surprise cameo from a Breaking Bad character.

This was a great episode that continued to develop the characters well, although I hope they pick up the pace relatively soon.

When Life Gives You Lemons, Call a Lawyer

[kggaudreau · 7/10 · 13 March 2024]

"Better Call Saul" Season 2, Episode 5, titled "Rebecca," is a masterful display of storytelling that delves deep into the complex relationships between the characters. The episode is a turning point that explores the intricate dynamics of Jimmy McGill's life and his transformation into Saul Goodman. Bob Odenkirk's portrayal of Jimmy is nothing short of brilliant, capturing the character's internal struggle with a performance that is both nuanced and compelling. His ability to convey Jimmy's charm and wit, alongside his underlying desperation, is a testament to Odenkirk's range as an actor.

Jonathan Banks, as Mike Ehrmantraut, continues to deliver a powerhouse performance. His portrayal of Mike's stoic yet deeply emotional character adds a layer of gravitas to the show. Banks' ability to express so much with so little dialogue showcases his exceptional talent and makes every scene he's in a highlight of the episode.

Overall, "Rebecca" is a standout episode that not only advances the plot but also provides a deeper understanding of the characters' motivations. The performances by Odenkirk and Banks are pivotal, driving the narrative forward with authenticity and depth. It's episodes like this that solidify "Better Call Saul" as one of the most compelling dramas on television.

A master-piece in how to complicate things without purpose.

[Graggoz · 4/10 · 15 March 2016]

It seems the writers for this show often seem to do everything they can to make the viewer aware of their methods of telling the story, often at the expense of the story itself. Almost like watching a film school project experimenting at times.

Instead what they probably should have focused more on was:

"How can we tell this story in a good way without the viewer getting unnecessarily distracted by those methods"?

That's what good story telling is all about in my opinion: Telling the story in a good way, without the reader/viewer/listener even realizing or reflecting upon what methods was used.

On this show they seem to do everything they can to instead make people focus more on the story telling techniques instead of the story.

* Weird and often insufficient lightning. * Extraordinary weird camera angels just for the sake of it. * Whispering, at times unintelligible, voices. * Unnecessarily frequent jumping in time and space without really adding quality to the story-telling * Hidden and vague messages and hints just to appear sophisticated, that doesn't really improve the story-telling. * Sometimes huge lags between the picture and the audio swap point between scenes. * In general they seem to think that all methods that usually work great in a book, can without alteration be implemented in a TV series.

The smoothness of the show is almost non-existent in some episodes (like this one). If viewers almost feel they need to have some sort of whiteboard where they write down all the scenes and then try make some sort of theory how the writers intended the viewer to interpret the fragments, preferably after re-watching a couple of time, it's a tremendously strong sign of a horrible writing technique, especially when it often turns out that the story itself was not complicated, only the story-telling itself was.

Now consider that there a lot of fans that seem to defend these methods no matter how bizarre they get and that the writers also seem to like that the story revolves around the story telling methods rather than the story itself.

Those factors combined unfortunately makes it very probable that this show will not ever get away from this unfortunate tendency of a bizarre self-admiration of the methods and "artistic twists" rather than focusing on the story itself which actually had quite a potential... :(

Better Call Saul is getting lost parallel plots

[viniciuscorreia · 6/10 · 15 June 2016]

I really love Better Call Saul, it's a amazing show! We've been curious about the past of Mike and Saul (how did they meet, how did they started to work together, how did they became the characters that we had seen in Breaking Bad). But "Rebecca" is an useless episode except for two scenes: the first (we discovered that Chuck had a wife) and the last (Tio Salamanca appears speaking and walking). I really don't care about for what Kim or Howard does. We all know that they will fade from Jimmy's life and they'll not have any importance in Breaking Bad, so why they are getting so much attention? I know they were part of the development of Saul Goodman, but to have so many scenes like this?

Ehhhh

[CineNerd70 · 7/10 · 1 August 2022]

Kim digs herself out of the hole, and Mike has his first encounter with Hector. What else? I'm starting think Season 2 doesn't have a chance of digging itself up from last place.