Category: Worldwide

Bill Burr launched into an odd defense of Scientology during the latest episode of his Monday Morning Podcast. While talking about a recent visit to Sacramento, Burr joked about how there two bail bonds offices and a Scientology center all within a few blocks to each other. “It’s just like, wow, you can get into all kinds of sh*t, all kinds of sh*t out here!” the comedian said before sharing his thoughts on Tom Cruise‘s religion of choice.

According to Burr, the Church of Scientology gets “more sh*t than it deserves” especially when compared to other religions. He also took a veiled crack at Leah Remini, who’s been a vocal critic of Scientology after spending the first 43 years of her life as a member. Via Mediaite:

“No, I think it gets more sh*t than it deserves, you know, for as f*cked up as they say it is, for as cult-y as it is. I got one question. Where are the bodies? Where are they?” Burr asked.

He continued, “I mean, I’m just saying it’s like a sports fan. I need to see the hardware — as a former Catholic. I mean, we got bodies stacked up. We got pedophilia. We got, we got torture. We have crusades. Wow. What do they got? Little mind control, couple of f*cking disgruntled sitcom stars?”

Right out of the gate, yes, Burr is correct that Scientology has nothing on the atrocities committed by the Catholic Church. Scientology was formed in the early 1950s whereas Catholicism has been a predominant world religion going back centuries. No other religion is going to touch that level of power. That said, it doesn’t mean Scientology’s alleged crimes are meaningless.

A couple of examples: the church has been accused of slave labor, intimidating former members who dare to speak out, and allegedly covering up the alleged rapes committed by Danny Masterson. These are accusations that go far beyond “culty.”

As for coming at the subject “like a sports fan,” Bill, bro. You’re talking about a fandom who famously reacted to the Kobe Bryant and Ben Roethlisberger allegations by saying they don’t care what they do off the field. If you want to “see the hardware,” don’t be like your buddy Joe Rogan and fail to do the homework. The case against Scientology isn’t that hard to find.

(Via Mediaite)

So far, Fontaines DC have done a nice job getting on the late-night TV circuit to perform in support of Skinty Fia (which was a No. 1 album in the UK and Ireland, by the way), having hit NBC’s The Tonight Show and Late Night this year. Now they’ve taken to another major performance venue, the NPR Tiny Desk Concert series.

The group’s performance included renditions of four songs: “The Couple Across The Way,” “In ár gCroíthe go deo,” “Big Shot,” and “Nabokov.” The Tiny Desk series is still happening remotely at the moment (as opposed to in the famed NPR offices like usual), so the Dublin-based group found a slice of home in the US and performed at the Irish American Heritage Center in Chicago. They make good use of the space, too, as they take to different parts of the building as the performance carries on.

Aside from the core band, featured in the performance are cellist Maureen Dunne, viola player Isaac Henry, and members of the Northwestern University Choir (Tom Avery, Joe Blanchard, Emily Ann Brooks, Peter Carroll, Martina Cavard Blanco, Mariana Leone, Maddie Mazzella, Emily Somé, Jackson Owen, and Olivia Whitmer).

Check out Fontaines DC’s Tiny Desk performance above.

Lorde fans will now be able to get a taste of what inspires her. With her new radio station, “Solarsystym,” available to stream exclusively on Sonos Radio, Lorde will curate a special selection of music and share candid stories about her musical journey.

“‘Solarsystym’ is like stepping into my brain, giving listeners a front row seat to the songs that have meant a ton to me and my life,” said Lorde in a statement. “It is a collection of forms, gravitationally bound, a handful of planets, dozens, more dwarf planets, and countless little rocks. All reflecting light from a sun. These are the forms that have altered my course for better.”

On her station, Lorde will play an eclectic mix of music, from ’70s rock and disco to present-day hip-hop, all while recalling the music, artists, and moments in time that inspired her craft.

In addition to “Solarsystym,” Lorde has teamed up with eco-friendly designers Everybody.World to create a sustainable carrying bag for their Roam device, Sonos’ new portable Bluetooth speaker.

“Sonos Radio lets fans dive deeper into the context, stories and raw creativity from some of the greatest music minds today,” said Brian Beck, Head Of Music for Sonos, in a statement. “Lorde is an artistic force to be reckoned with, so to follow the trajectory of how and where she’s been influenced is an invaluable experience for her fans.”

At just 17 years old, Chesapeake, Virginia rapper Yvngxchris is already making quite the name for himself. His songs have become TikTok staples, his YouTube music videos have amassed millions of views, and fellow Virginia native Pusha T has taken him under his wing, managing his burgeoning career. Now, he’s signed to Columbia Records, home of past notable teen sensations like Lil Tjay, Polo G, and Lil Nas X.

In his UPROXX Sessions debut, Yvngxchris aims to make an impression with a high-energy performance of his tongue-twisting song, “Damn Homie.” It’s sort of reminiscent of influences like Comethazine and Ski Mask The Slump God, with a dash of Playboi Carti’s screwball energy. Meanwhile, the high school-aged rapper litters his rapid-fire verses with brain-bending rhyme patterns and smirk-inducing punchlines, showing that he’s got his own unique take on the SoundCloud-inspired style that is making him a favorite of the TikTok generation.

Watch Yvngxchris perform “Damn Homie” for UPROXX Sessions above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

In case you didn’t know, LeBron James is a huge fan of hip-hop and he wants you to know it. Perhaps you watched LeBron showing off his dance moves while blasting the new Kendrick Lamar album in his backyard this past weekend? It was hypnotic, in a real dad sort of way. To his credit, he’s leveraged his relationships in hip-hop for good causes, like when Drake recently donated $1 million to LeBron’s I Promise School. But did a Drake album happen to make it’s way into the King’s top 5 hip-hop albums of all-time?

Yesterday, seemingly on a whim, LeBron decided to host an informal Q&A session on Twitter. “Q&A folks???,” he tweeted before adding, “Aight fire off.” He was pretty candid in his responses, saying that his favorite Lakers moment of all-time was Anthony Davis’ buzzer beater against Denver in the 2020 Western Conference Finals, saying that Luka Doncic is his favorite player, and clapping back at Tom Brady’s question about who would win in an ice hockey shootout.

Then, journalist Sierra Potter asked him to reel off his “Top 5 hip-hop albums.” LeBron, who has typically been a safe interviewee throughout his career, kinda kept with that tradition and didn’t really light the world on fire with his choices, instead, reeling off a handful of undisputed classics: Dr. Dre’s The Chronic, Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle, Jay-Z’s The Black Album, Notorious B.I.G.’s Life After Death, and Nas’ It Was Written.

Perhaps the only gripe people could make is that Illmatic is the better choice of Nas albums instead of It Was Written, but we can hardly fault the man’s personal taste here. So if you were hoping to see LeBron namecheck an obscure rapper’s joint as one of his go-to’s, well, then you’ve come to the wrong basketball star for that. He did however, end his reply with, “But I have so many more to name for real!” So if he made anybody mad with his answers, he left the door open to save some face. Classic Lebron.

Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels, but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.

Every week, Uproxx is rounding up the best new indie music from the past seven days. This week we got new music by The Black Keys, My Chemical Romance, Florence + The Machine, and more.

While we’re at it, sign up for our newsletter to get the best new indie music delivered directly to your inbox, every Monday.

The Black Keys — Dropout Boogie

Returning for the first time since last year’s covers album Delta Kream, The Black Keys deliver another classic project with the groovy LP Dropout Boogie. Infused with irresistible ’70s funk rock, rockabilly chords, and soulful refrains, the 10-track album shows that modern rock ‘n’ roll is still going strong.

The Smile — A Light For Attracting Attention

Tiding over Radiohead fans until the band’s next release, The Smile, the new group with Thom Yorke, Johnny Greenwood, and Tom Skinner, dropped their captivating debut album A Light For Attracting Attention. Yorke’s signature tenor is at the forefront of this album, layering cascading melodies over skittering beats and ethereal synths to craft stand-out tracks like “Free In The Knowledge” and “Skrting On The Surface.”

Florence + The Machine — Dance Fever

Nearly four years after the group’s last album High As Hope, Florence + The Machine make a triumphant return with their shimmering effort Dance Fever. Inspired by the euphoria of movement, Welch’s impressive vocal range is on full display, dipping between bellowing lows on tracks like “King” and confident highs on “Dream Girl Evil” and “My Love.”

Kevin Morby — This Is A Photograph

The ever-prolific Kansas City songwriter Kevin Morby dropped his dazzling album This Is A Photograph this week, inspired by a particularly impactful family trip he took to visit his ill father in Memphis. Pastoral and flowing, Kevin’s seventh studio album is an ode to country living, life’s transient nature, and the importance of cherishing friends and family. It’s filled with both melancholy ballads like “Disappearing” and energetic numbers like the title track, pointing to Morby’s versatile songwriting.

Say Sue Me — The Last Thing Left

South Korea indie quartet Say Sue Me released their quaint and atmospheric album The Last Thing Left. Written about an emotional period of time following the passing of the band’s friend and drummer, the album translates reflections on loss and life into 10 delicate tracks. “This album has the theme of some realization, eventually the realization of love,” said vocalist/guitarist Sumi Choi. “Love in relationships, love for oneself, and the ultimate love gained after realizing those two things!”

My Chemical Romance — “The Foundations Of Decay”

MCR fans rejoice! The band has just returned with “The Foundations Of Decay,” their first new song since 2014. The six-minute track starts slow before a head-banging cascade of fuzzy guitars come in, pretty much exactly what fans were hoping for in the eight years since their last song. About the track, bassist Mikey Way even said the song was his “favorite My Chemical Romance song of all time.”

Bartees Strange — “Hold The Line”

After ushering in a new era of music with a single and album announcement, Bartees Strange continues previewing his upcoming LP Farm To Table with the laid-back ballad “Hold The Line.” Armed with soulful lyrics and twang-infused guitar chords, “Hold The Line” shows a different side to Strange’s multifaceted artistry.

Stella Donnelly — “Lungs”

Australian signer Stella Donnelly quickly became a indie favorite with her 2019 debut album Beware Of The Dogs. With her honeyed vocals and soaring production, Donnelly’s new track “Lungs” points to what is expected to be another strong effort on her upcoming LP Flood.

Julia Jacklin — “Lydia Wears A Cross”

Seeing as Julia Jacklin’s last album Crushing landed at No. 34 on the 2019 Uproxx Music Critics Poll, her latest album announcement Pre Pleasure is more than welcomed. “Lydia Wears A Cross” arrived as Jacklin’s lead single this week, showing off her penchant for earnest ballads. “The song is about a lot of things but mainly being a 7yr old Jesus Christ Superstar fanatic attending catholic school trying to figure out which way is up,” Jacklin said about the new single.

Black Midi — “Welcome To Hell”

UK-based trio Black Midi have made a name for themselves not only with their buttoned-up stage presence, but the band continues to steadily releases inventive and conceptual projects. Following up on last year’s Cavalcade album, Black Midi announce the upcoming LP Hellfire, which they describe as their most thematically cohesive album to date. The lead single, aptly titled “Welcome To Hell” features the band’s signature propulsive guitar and deadpan lyrical delivery, detailing the POV of a discharged soldier.

Miloe — “Elastic”

Congolese-American indie rocker Miloe has been turning heads recently with his sun-soaked music. “Elastic” is his latest lighthearted tune, featuring a fluttering chorus and infectious beat which highlights Miloe’s intimate songwriting.

Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

At the 2022 South By Southwest festival, Chicago indie rock trio Horsegirl took home the coveted Grulke Prize for the festival’s best Developing US Act. The band has been surging ever since, with their Matador Records debut album, Versions Of Modern Performance, due out on June 3rd. It’s a weighty build-up for the youthful band, consisting of high school senior Penelope Lowenstein and college freshmen Nora Cheng and Gigi Reece.

Today, the trio have released the new single, “Dirtbag Transformation (Still Dirty),” a comfortably rocking track that doesn’t try to be something it’s not. This is simply tight, clean rock and roll, and it’s easy to latch onto their naturally polished sound. The lead guitar riff doesn’t try to tower over any other aspect of the composition, because this is a band that’s operating a true coherent unit; there’s a reason the buzz has been building. The track’s video feels like an outcast talent show and it was quirkily filmed at Lowenstein’s elementary school.

The band shared a statement on the making of the visual:

“The video provides a small look into our Chicago youth scene — it includes members of bands like Lifeguard, Friko, Dwaal Troupe, and Post Office Winter all grouped into oddball bands with weird gimmicks. We always have the best time making our videos with our friends in spaces we feel connected to. All of our friends showed up with various assortments of clothing and props, like wooden spoons, a bowling shirt collection, and an accordion. We wanted to harness the strangeness of everything that was brought to us, and wanted to showcase all of the people and bands that mean so much to us.”

Good old fashioned “strange” rock and roll. Yes please. Watch the video for “Dirtbag Transformation (Still Dirty)” above.

Versions Of Modern Performance is out 6/3 via Matador Records. Pre-order it here.

Taco Bell has answered our call and brought back its delicious Nacho Fries. We love these things. They’re crispy, crunchy, and some of the best-seasoned fries you can order from a drive-thru in all of fast food. So whatever else Taco Bell concocts with them, we figured, we’re in.

So what are we eating today? The “Steak White Hot Ranch Fries Burrito.” No, I’m not having a stroke. My brain didn’t just malfunction and starting spewing out random modifiers, that’s the actual name. Yep, ranch in a burrito. Only at fucking Taco Bell, man.

Okay, so the Steak White Hot Ranch Fries Burrito (worst name ever) is essentially Taco Bell’s version of a California burrito — a wonderful medley of flavors combining char-grilled carne asada with crispy French fries, melty Monterey Jack cheese, creamy guacamole, and cool sour cream. Only… you know, Bell-ified.

They’ve traded the guacamole for tomatoes (for an easy hack, add the guacamole back in) and the jack for their salty sharp cheddar cheese, which they then double up with even saltier nacho cheese sauce. Doubling down on the doubling down theme, they marry the sour cream with a healthy dose of stinky White Hot Ranch, Taco Bell’s new spicy take on ranch dressing.

In what must be their attempt at another SoCal Mexican food favorite, carne asada fries, the item is also available as a Nacho Fry platter, dubbed the “Steak White Hot Ranch Fries” (seriously, who named these?). Which features all of the same ingredients except for — as you might have guessed by the name — the burrito. Both preparations are joining the menu for a limited time, after a successful test run in Chicago last year.

Over in the Windy City they love ’em, but here in California we’re kind of, you know, the capital of California Burritos, so it might be hard to win us over. Especially with ranch. But hey, if anyone can take something that sounds disgusting and make it disgustingly delicious, it’s Taco Bell.

Taco Bell — Steak White Hot Ranch Fries Burrito

No shade to the Chi but… this burrito is awful. Okay, let me rephrase that, this burrito is entirely contingent on how much you like ranch dressing. If you like ranch dressing, this burrito might, at its best moments, make for an interesting curiosity. If you hate ranch dressing, this burrito is only going to make that hate grow stronger.

Let’s talk about the sauce first, since that’s the only part of this burrito that’s really new or novel. It’s hot. It doesn’t have that cool and refreshing quality that buttermilk ranch has. Instead it hits you with a sharp tang that ignites your taste buds, leaving you with a pronounced and lingering burn. I like the heat level a lot, it’s surprising and probably the hottest sauce I’ve ever tasted from Taco Bell, but kind of curdles when mixed with the flavors and aroma of flour tortilla,. In fact it’s kind of putrid.

I know that seems like an overly harsh way of describing it, but truly, it tastes like something that’s going bad; like something you’re not supposed to eat. Like poison. White Hot Ranch aside, the rest of the burrito isn’t great either.

The fries provide the most flavor — a nice mix of paprika, salt, onion, and garlic with the smallest hint of cayenne pepper. But the steak is rubbery (do they steam this shit?), the cheese is too salty, the sour cream isn’t noticeable, and the tomatoes are fine, but guacamole would be better.

The fries also get too steamy in this thick and gummy tortilla, causing them to turn to mush about halfway through your burrito, losing all that crispy texture they were meant to provide in the first place.

Which brings us to… Don’t order the burrito, order the platter version. Trust us.

Taco Bell — Steak White Hot Ranch Fries

The Steak White Hot Ranch Fri — okay, seriously, how many people’s orders have been ruined because of the way these two separate items are named? All the person taking your order has to mishear is the word “burrito” for you to get the wrong thing. What if you want an order of the Steak White Hot Ranch Fries and a Steak White Hot Ranch Fries Burrito? Why not just call it the White Hot Ranch Burrito and the White Hot Ranch Fries? I can’t be the only one who is bothered by what these things are called. Right? Right?!

Phew. Moving on, the Steak White Hot Ranch Fries (if that’s the name, I’m going to use it) is an improvement on the Steak White Hot Ranch Fries Burrito. By not wrapping this dish in Taco Bell’s thick flour tortilla, the fries retain their crispiness and each ingredient can really stand out. The ratio of steak-to-cheese-to-fries-to-tomato-to-sauce provides a better showcase for all of the flavors involved here; it’s just a better construction for this dish.

The only problem is, you aren’t guaranteed that perfect ratio with every forkful, you kind of have to hunt for it. Eventually, you will hit a point where you’re eating just fries, but luckily the fries are good enough to make that a satisfying experience.

Each (perfect) forkful is a bouquet of salty savory flavors, all wrapped together in a sizzling and spicy finish. The only real issue is that steak. Taco Bell does offers a veggie version of this dish, replacing the steak with black beans. I kid you not, it’s listed on the Taco Bell promotional menu at the drive-thru as “Steak White Hot Ranch Fries (veggie).”

I tried to order the black bean version for this review. I even simplified the name for them, asking for “Veggie White Hot Ranch Fries with black beans.” I threw “veggie” and “black beans” in there just to to be thorough. I still ended up getting the steak version, and no one will ever be able to convince me that way Taco Bell named this isn’t the reason why.

Bottom Line:

Your life will be better if you never try Taco Bell’s Frankenstein twist on the California Burrito (which in many places can be had for not much more than the Taco Bell version). But if you’re interested in some tasty spicy ranch and love Taco Bell’s fries, the Steak White Hot Ranch Fries are a definite winner.

Find your nearest Taco Bell here.

Before winning the Billboard Music Awards for Top R&B Album, Top R&B Artist, Top R&B Female Artist, and Top Viral Song this past weekend, Doja Cat was asked about an online chat with Jack Harlow from 2020.

During an Instagram livestream, Harlow and Doja exchanged pleasantries before Harlow explained that both of their fan bases thought they were dating, as Harlow looked like the person Doja was dating at the time. The two continued to ask each other questions, before Doja shouted “What the f*ck? My wig is coming off, I gotta go, bye.”

After she signed off, Harlow said, still on stream, “Oh man, I’ve had a crush on her for months,” however, fans took Doja’s abrupt sign-off as the “Kiss Me More” singer’s way of curving Harlow.

Two years later, Doja has since clarified that this wasn’t the case.

“My wig was peeling off and I noticed that and I was like, ‘Oh, gotta go, bye,’” she said to E! News on the BBMAs red carpet. “Not that I care about that thing usually.”

Harlow was asked by ET about the infamous livestream, to which he responded, “I’ve become cool with Doja. That was early in our friendship, now we know each other pretty well. So I ain’t gonna do nothing too silly. I think I’m playing it cool today.”

Jack Harlow is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Better Call Saul Lie Detector Test is a weekly recap of the major events of the final season, separated out by their apparent truthfulness at the time. This is not one of those recaps that gets into granular detail about things. It will miss the occasional callback or foreshadowing. But it will be fun. Sometimes, that’s what’s important.

Season 6, Episode 6: “Axe and Grind”

Kim is making good decisions

Were you shouting at your television a little bit, too? Were you sitting there watching Kim behind the wheel of her car — on her way to her big meeting for the big legal defense project, the one Cliff specifically recruited her for and she would be extremely good at, the one that could change her life for the better and get her on a track to a fulfilling career in the law — and just screaming “NO. DON’T DO IT. DO NOT TURN AROUND. KIM. LISTEN. NO”? Maybe even just inside your own head?

Lord knows I was. I knew it was a long shot, though. This is not a show about people making good decisions. It can’t be. That’s the thing about a prequel. Everyone we see on this sucker ends up murdered or on the run or has a mysterious future that is being dragged to hell by the people who end up getting murdered or going on the run. Kim was doomed the day she met Jimmy. I know that. We all do. But this one still stings.

It’s even more heartbreaking when you take that cold open into account, the one where she got caught stealing jewelry as a Nebraska teen and her mom threw a ruse on the store manager to get her out of trouble. And then stole the jewelry herself. Kim Wexler has not had a lot of ethical clarity in her life. It kind of all makes sense, though, this thing where she wants to do good and be helpful but can’t help herself. It’s all very literal, in a way. She was driving down a path of righteousness and morality and then slammed on the breaks and whipped through the median to head back toward the dark side.

It’s a little depressing if you think about it too much. Kim was probably doomed before she met Jimmy. There was a fire burning there already and he was just the gasoline. It’s sad, really. But it makes for tremendous television.

You should tell Mike where to put his guys

Hey, speaking of heartbreaking moments involving characters I like a lot who do not make great decisions all the time, let’s check in with Mike. Mike is:

• Pulling security off of his own house to make sure Kaylee’s house is extra protected
• Guiding her through a star-gazing lesson while watching her from across the street
• Lying to them and saying he’s in Chattanooga because seeing them in person could put them at risk if Lalo is tailing him
• Kind of sighing a lot

I still want one episode — just one — where Mike flies to Philadelphia and goes to an Eagles game. Picture a crowd going absolutely insane after a touchdown, jumping and hollering and high-fiving, and Mike just sitting there in silence with half a smile flashing on his face for one single second. It would make me so happy. Freakin Go Birds, baby.

A bedazzled jean jacket is a timeless look

I legitimately laughed out loud when Kim’s mom walked in during that flashback looking like she just came from a George Michael concert. Look at her. The attention to detail here is remarkable. I hope she is still alive in the present day and still dressing exactly like this and she shows up at the Cinnabon in the Nebraska mall where Jimmy/Saul/Gene and his mustache are rolling out dough. I do not ask for much.

Actually, I kind of ask for a lot.

But still.

Give me this.

And give me a while behind-the-scenes segment about the process of making or acquiring this jean jacket. Those two things. And all the other things I’ve asked for. That’s all.

Things are about to get really bad for Howard

D-Day is here and I could not be more excited. We have conspiracy walls with Post-It notes and method actors getting way too intense about their fake facial hair and about six layers of subterfuge to tie it all together. We also have, of course, chaos. A little jaunt to the liquor store for a pricey bottle of celebratory tequila resulted in a quick glance at the real person that Community Theater Daniel Day-Lewis was pretending to be in their incriminating photos, and yup, he has a broken arm now. And a cast. Which makes things awkward. The whole plan is going to hell. It’s a thing.

Which is… I don’t know… good news? It’s easy to forget in all of this that Jimmy and Kim are being the jerks here. Howard appears to be a decent guy, to whatever degree characters on this show and/or lawyers in general can be decent guys. He’s just trying to do his job and make his wife a nice fancy latte and no one is giving him a break anywhere. His biggest crime this season is being kind of a pretentious doof, with his buffed shoes and stupid license plate and all of it. Flip the perspective on this whole endeavor and Jimmy and Kim look like full-on villains.

And yet… still… again… I’m really excited to see if this plan works. I’m even rooting for it to work. Even knowing it’s terrible for Kim and Howard doesn’t really deserve it and it’s sending Jimmy down a path that ends in an aforementioned Cinnabon. I should be more conflicted about this. I really should. But I’m not. If I’m being fully honest here, I think it’s the license plate. Imagine if you were stuck in traffic for an hour behind a Jaguar with a “NAMAST3” license plate. You’d pray for his personal and professional demise, too. It was nice of the show to give us all this little push.

Francesca is having fun

Good news and bad news for sweet Francesca.

Good: Jimmy — er, Saul, this is weird for her and us, too — is letting her decorate the entire office, which is coming together nicely when the unshaven masses aren’t peeing in the corner. She has an eye. It’s very serene. Except for the urine.

Bad: She is now an accomplice in the Sandpiper ruse, thanks to the phone call she placed on one of the many burner phones her boss keeps in a drawer in his office, which, as far as red flags go, is… pretty red. It’s rarely a great thing when you’re standing in an alley next to a dumpster — the law library, if you will — using a fake name in a conversation you’re having on a flip phone. Francesca knows this. She doesn’t love it. This might be why she shoots for all that serenity in the decor. To keep from smashing things. She fascinates me a little bit.

It is wild how easily this show shifts from Ocean’s Eleven to a horror movie sometimes

Meanwhile, in Germany…

Lalo is still on the hunt for information about what Gus is building, and he used to gift from the Ziegler house to track down the lumberjack, and then he stalked the lumberjack through the woods, and then he played possum after getting walloped in the ribs so he could turn around and slice the guy with a razor blade hidden behind a business card, and now he has the axe and some questions that he would like answered.

Two things about all of this are true:

• Lalo Salamanca remains the most fascinating character on television, for reasons I wrote about here but can be summarized as “he’s like if Danny Ocean was crossed with John Wick,” and I get a little excited whenever he pops up on the screen
• This episode was directed by Giancarlo Esposito, Gus Fring himself, and it is both a testament to the show as a whole and his work behind the camera that the entire tone shifted about 180 degrees for a minute there — New Mexico lawyer shenanigans to cabin-based terror — without losing an ounce of quality

Also, big shoutout to the people doing the captions for AMC for “[Branch snaps].” That’s when I knew for sure this was going sideways for someone. The takeaway from all of this is twofold, and we will return to the bullet points to lay them out:

• Everyone on this show is good at their job
• Never go into the woods

Both good things to remember.

Foreshadowing does not always need to be subtle

I do not know exactly why Jimmy was getting dosed-up with animal medicine that made his pupils dilate like he was an anime character that just fell in love, or how it ties into the plan to hose Howard, or whether any of it is safe/good. What I do know is that I did the full-on “DiCaprio pointing at the television” meme in real life two separate times during the scene: Once when I saw our buddy the shady veterinarian and again when the card for the vacuum guy straight-up fell out of his deeply encoded black book of crimes.

This could not possibly have been less subtle without like neon flashing text on the screen. The vacuum guy is how Gene the Cinnabon Man happens eventually. It’s where this is all headed. Better Call Saul is occasionally more delicate with its callbacks and foreshadowing. I don’t even catch them all until days later when someone sends me a link to Reddit and implies I’m an idiot for missing it. There was no missing this one. I kind of appreciate that. It’s nice to get a wide-open layup sometimes.

I love Fernando

LOOK AT HIS LITTLE FACE

LOOK AT HIM

I AM VERY WORRIED ABOUT HIM

I NEED WEEKLY CHECK-INS ON HIM AND HIS TUMMYACHE

I NEED TO SEE LALO HOLD HIM IN ONE HAND WHILE HOLDING A PISTOL WITH THE OTHER

JUST ONCE

I AM KIND OF SERIOUS