DVD Talk Forum - Better Call Saul (S6E10) - "Nippy" (2024)

"throw me off as much as the outdoor scenes in the "Nebraska winter" did. That may have been snow but clearly wasn't winter since all the trees still had a full canopy of leaves."

Could've been Oct and an early dusting of snow. Some tree's did have missing leaves.

Ehhh I get it tho. It was dumb, but it was also minor and in the wheelhouse of things Gene could control without raising flags or bringing too much attention. He mapped out the security routine and had it down to a science. He's just sitting there BSing about football. Jeff does all the risky stuff. Yes Gene goes down if Jeff gets caught, but Gene was pretty sure he could control security if anything came up. And he did.

What else could he really get them into where flags wouldn't raise? He can't get in on the real game in Nebraska or he loses his cover. He came up with a dumb but controllable plan to fool some small time yokels into thinking they were in the game. It wasn't brilliant. But it was effective and fit the story.

The episode was worth watching for that line alone.

Based on the college football talk this episode took place in October 2010.

Maybe his public defender will be....Kim!!!

I wonder if that was a paid promotion, because they really made Cinnabons look repulsive.

I just finished this. It was interesting seeing more of present day "Gene" to an extent and his exploits. But, honestly for me, I thought this episode was kind of boring and a little of slog to get through.

Obviously not intentional* but i saw a comment elsewhere that the recasting actually works pretty well if you think of it from Jimmy's changed perspective between the scenes.

In the earlier clips (in the cab, and then being approached by the guy in the mail, making him say the slogan) Jimmy is far more paranoid and defensive... He perceives the cab driver as a threat to his safety... He's intimidated by him, and thinks he was a guy who was sent to find him.

But instead, in Nippy, Jimmy sees that the guy is actually just kind of a doofus. Turns out he's not a real threat at all, and wasn't sent by anyone more nefarious to track him down.
So in that regard, the recasting kind of works... because Jeffie is NOT the tough guy he seemed to be before. He's just a dork that Jimmy can take advantage of.
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it's reaching, sure, but I like it :)

*or was it???? ;)

I suspect that since the original actor only appeared in one scene in the previous season that they didn't have under contract and he was unavailable for his larger appearance this season when it came time to film it.

Game of Thrones had a similar issue where minor characters were frequently recast (Dickon Tarly, The Mountain, Beric Dondarrian, Rickard Karstark).

It almost looked like infrared photography for a minute, which would have been a very interesting artistic choice.

I don't think we're done with this storyline.

On the surface it looks like Saul got one over on the cabbie, but I think there's more to Carol Burnett's character than meets the eye. She's not fooled by Gene's act. This episode may seem anticlimactic and out of place, but when it's all over it's going to all fit together.

That's almost exactly what Alan Sepinwall said in his recap. There's no contractual obligation to return and commitments were made presumably with We Own The City.
I get it. It's a bummer though - - for a show with so many returnees from two different series, having our first recasting, especially in a pivotal role, and so close to the finish line, is a major bummer. Compiled by the fact that the new actor has a totally different vibe.

That's a really interesting take. Alan (and I) felt that this episode was a tidy bow on the Gene character. Never occurred to me that there's more story to tell there. But who knows? I wouldn't mind more Carol Burnett, she was great.

I think you're forgetting Kaylee.

:lol: Kaylee never counts!

And it could be the end of it. The best part of these shows (Saul and BB) is they kept you guessing right up till the very end. The only thing that would disappoint me would be going through the next episodes only to have Jeff come to the Cinamon out of nowhere and shoot Gene. That would be a cheap shot (no pun intended).

And it would be a shame to not have any more Carol Burnett, as she was great in this episode.

Yeah this, exactly. Other than showing he can't really change, this was awfully boring and I could not fast forward through all those chewing scenes fast enough. Just frustrating with so few eps left.

But the Gene timeline takes place long after Walt's death. It looks like Gene's been established in Nebraska for a while, and Walt was only in NH for a few months.

Not saying it couldn't have happened while Jimmy was getting settled in as Gene. Jimmy went to Nebraska before Walt went to New Hampshire and maybe one of the other things Walt bought from Gilbraith was info on Jimmy's new identity and location. Walt was looking to tie up loose ends at that point, maybe he figured Saul was one of them? Just trying to think how Walt and Jesse would fit into the story.

It's not known if Walt and Jesse are appearing in this together or as individuals.

Well, Jeff was from Albuquerque and recognized Saul from the TV ads in Albuquerque, so it was not part of his identity in Nebraska, just that his cover was blown by someone that he crossed paths with. He was on the run and his cover was blown but he decided to create a way he could stay by framing Jeff for the interstate crimes.

I suspect we get at least one if not all remaining full-color episodes that take place in the pre-BB timeline for the finale and we see him meet Walt / Jessee

Based on some timeline checking, Walt is dead during the time of this episode, but only for a month or so. Also, "Gene" has only been in Omaha for about 6-7 months.