Gus and John switch gears this week for their discussion of “Gloves Off” to focus more on character than aesthetics, as they discuss some key members of Better Call Saul’s dramatis personae, starting with Mike. Gus breaks down how the episode’s cold open allowed him to connect with Mike for the first time ever, and John puts forward a theory for how and why the show keeps the audience at such a distance from him. A pair of comments from Tjimi Cole and edked inspire a discussion about Chuck and a debate about whether the show is encouraging viewers to sympathizing with this supposed villain. Turning to another erstwhile villain, Howard, John compares Better Call Saul’s deft evolution of the character’s relationship to the viewer against the more jarring shifts of sympathy that you find on Game Of Thrones. Finally, with a new sighting of the number 3 by BigMcLargeHuge, and a fresh interpretation emailed in by Vince L., John’s “crazy threes theory” is looking more reasonable all the time. John does not miss the opportunity to rub it in.
