Summary: A flashback shows Kim getting caught for stealing. Her mother chews her out, but swipes the earrings that she stole and gives them to her. In the present, Howard continues to get intel on Jimmy from his PI. Jimmy and Kim continue to prepare for D-Day. Jimmy and Kim visit Caldera for a substance that dilates your pupils. Jimmy gets Francesca to make a call to Sandpiper to get information on a meeting. Jimmy also gets a friend Lenny to cosplay as Judge Casimiro and takes pictures with him. Kim is offered an interview for pro bono funding by Cliff but it will be taking place on D-Day. Jimmy tells her to do it and she agrees. On D-Day, Jimmy goes to buy Zafiro Anejo to celebrate but runs into Casimiro who has broken his arm. He calls Kim to cancel the plan, but Kim turns around, choosing to double down on making the plan happen. Mike has assigned protection for his family, and calls them at night, accepting that he is unable to see them in the current situation. Lalo tracks down Casper, who hides when Lalo finds him. Casper hits him in the chest, but Lalo turns things around and cuts his foot off with an axe, preparing to question him.
The Good: Kim is the star of the show here, and it all starts with her flashback. The opening flashback was a lovely scene that showcased how deeply ingrained Kim's desire for conning is. We know that Kim had a rough childhood, and this one decision to steal suggests that she did it for attention. But surprisingly we learn that her mother is happy to let her get away with stealing, and that she conned the guy at the office into letting Kim off the hook so that she could get out with the earrings. This was Kim's first ever con, and it's curious to explore how this shaped her. For one, we see that Kim is still wearing those same earrings that were stolen, so clearly this con held a place in her heart. Secondly, it's interesting how Kim's mother parallels Jimmy, and I can't help but wonder if Kim chose to marry someone that was just like her mother, which is an interesting bit of depth for her. This isn't the first time that Jimmy has paralleled Kim's mother, as there was another instance back in "Wexler v. Goodman" where a flashback to Kim's past with her mother helped to illuminate her relationship with Jimmy in the present. I always appreciate how this show includes such depth for its characters. Kim's character comes up to a delightful choice by the end of the episode. Throughout the episode we get to see Jimmy and Kim further preparing this con, and we plainly see how exciting it is to them. So it is somewhat painful for Kim when she realizes that she is going to miss the big "D-Day" because she has an important interview for her pro-bono work that will be huge for her work and her clients. Obviously Kim's career is more important and so she will prioritize that - the whole point of the con is for her career anyways! Or at least that's what Kim may have been telling herself, but the end of the episode reveals this to be untrue for Kim. After the slightest of details goes wrong, the entire plan is in jeopardy, and the tension escalates rapidly and suddenly. The rise in suspense makes it easy for us to connect with Kim and feel the anxiety that she feels as she makes her choice to turn around and give up on her interview. The choice is a nightmare for us because it signifies Kim prioritizing the thrill of a con over the wellbeing of her clients, doubling down on Kim's decayed morality. This moment is a disaster because it's an enormous risk. Kim is actively putting her life and career in danger by turning around, and I can't help but be terrified for her. The rest of the Jimmy/Kim story is all set-up for D-Day. It's not quite done as delightfully as I have come to expect from "Better Call Saul" (see: The Bad), but the scenes are all solid. We get a great return for Caldera as he passes the torch to Jimmy by revealing that he plans to leave town to pursue his vet career, which is totally in line with what we have seen from him in the past. We spend more time at Saul's office, seeing it continue to develop. It's going to be a slow and harsh change for Francesca from the look of things, and I'm enjoying it a lot. She is so hopeful as she decorates the office to look lovely and cozy, but it just doesn't fit. We already see her horror as Saul's clients are abusing the decor, putting out cigarettes and urinating in the office. Furthermore, Francesca now has to get used to being Jimmy's phone call lady, as she does her first scheming phone call to help Jimmy with his con. It's also nice to see the film crew return again to help Jimmy take some pictures. The set-up is solid, and it still leaves plenty of questions about what's going to happen next (see: The Unknown). I've enjoyed how this season is handling Howard. After getting a suggestion of home troubles back in "Hit and Run", we get to see what Howard's home life looks like and it is a sad picture. He's very endearing, and he certainly tries. That latte he made looked like it was made with a lot of effort, but his wife is so alienated by him that she seemingly doesn't care and immediately dumps it into a thermos. You can't help but feel for Howard since he's absolutely made mistakes in the past, but is working hard to get his life back together. He doesn't deserve what Jimmy and Kim are trying to do to him. Gus and Lalo's war continues to build up slowly but surely with some solid scenes. In this episode we learn that Mike is using his resources to watch him family, sacrificing his own personal protection. The phone call scene with Kaylee was a terrific showcase for Jonathan Banks. We can see how much it is eating at him that he can't spend time with his family, and that gives him plenty of personal reasons to take out Lalo. Speaking of Lalo, he has tracked down Casper and is going to quiz him for answers about what Gus was doing. The sequence of him going after Casper was tense, and you can't help but admire Lalo's resourcefulness and sheer brutality. Casper had the heart to hit Lalo with the blunt part of the axe, but Lalo is not so kind. It's brutal when he cuts off Casper's foot, another great showcase for Lalo's psychotic nature. The Bad: This is another slow episode that is dedicated to set-up. On its own, that's not a terrible thing, but the problem is that we've now had three slow episodes in a row and it is starting to feel like there is too much set-up happening here. Set-up is good, but we need more storytelling momentum to carry us through the season. The biggest issue is that there isn't a whole lot of dramatic and exciting sequences in the past couple of episodes. Lalo in Germany at the end of the last episode was good, but this episode doesn't have anything that approaches that same level. Lalo and Casper's scene is good, but Casper isn't a deep enough character to make this any more than a fun showcase of Lalo's brutality. Likewise, Mike's scene is well-acted but it can't help but feel a bit unnecessary in the grander scheme of things. I appreciate that this show is willing to give us these details, but I am becoming hungry to get some more emotional storytelling. I found myself a bit disappointed in how "Better Call Saul" gave us the set-up for D-Day. There were lots of different details being prepared, and typically we would get some inventive and exciting filmmaking from the show to convey these details. Perhaps also a unique reflection on the characters. But this episode didn't have any of that ambition or cinematic flair that I've come to expect. It was simply one scene after the other, and I honestly expected more when it came to the filmmaking. The Unknown: How did Kim feel after her successful bit of thievery in the first scene? Was this where she first developed her love for conning? What exactly is the plan for Howard? There are a lot of details that were set up in this episode. Jimmy has withdrawn a lot of money. Why? Was he counting on Howard's PI seeing this? We see that Jimmy has created some photos of him interacting with "Judge Casimiro". Is he going to give these to Howard's PI? Is Howard's PI somehow working for Jimmy and Kim? What is the use of these photos? Why did Jimmy need to learn the information about the Sandpiper meeting? What will he use that obvious cocaine alternative for? What is he planning for D-Day? I'm sure that Jimmy ends up getting the book from Caldera. Will he buy it from him? If so, then when? How will Jimmy and Kim attempt to correct the plan? Will they do reshoots with a broken arm? Or are they going to switch up the plan? Will this go wrong? What information will Lalo learn from Casper? Where is he going to go next? Best Moment: Kim's decision to turn back to finish the con is a massive moment to the character, and it's filled with dread. I'm very excited to see the next episode, and I'm concerned that Kim might pay the price for making this choice. Character of the Episode: Kim. Conclusion: This was another solid episode that further explored the characters and provided a lot of set-up for later episodes. It's done well, but I can't deny that the slow pacing of the show is starting to get a bit grating after three episodes where not much has happened. I'm patient and this show has certainly earned my trust, but this feels like a few too many slow episodes. Score: 64
1 Comment
Joe Y
5/20/2022 01:43:54 pm
"I found myself a bit disappointed in how "Better Call Saul" gave us the set-up for D-Day. There were lots of different details being prepared, and typically we would get some inventive and exciting filmmaking from the show to convey these details. Perhaps also a unique reflection on the characters. But this episode didn't have any of that ambition or cinematic flair that I've come to expect. It was simply one scene after the other, and I honestly expected more when it came to the filmmaking."
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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