Summary: A flashback shows Rebecca meeting Chuck again. Chuck tries to conceal his illness and as a result ends up getting Rebecca to leave in disgust after he swats her cell phone out of her hand. Jimmy meets with Caldera before the trial with Chuck. Howard and Chuck plan for the upcoming trial. On the day of the trial, Kim and Jimmy fight their case and Chuck is eventually called up to the witness stand. After using Huell to slip a battery into Chuck's pocket, Chuck's illness is proven to be mental, which causes Chuck to have a breakdown and throw accusations unprofessionally towards Jimmy, effectively allowing Jimmy to win the trial.
The Good: This was a rare focused episode of Better Call Saul. This was all Jimmy/Chuck, no Mike, no Hector, no Nacho and no Gus to be seen here. And that was perfect for this. Better Call Saul's most engaging plot line has easily been Jimmy and Chuck's feud, so it works very well to give a full episode to look at their conflict. The focus, engagement and more which will be discussed below made this episode into the best of the series for sure. I'll start this review by talking about the preparation for the courtroom battle, which was very enjoyable. Chuck and Howard's conversation was very good and also highlighted Howard's standings in all of this: he really doesn't care as much about getting Jimmy disbarred as he does making his firm look good. That's very curious to know, because surely Chuck may have brought on some bad publicity to HHM after his breakdown. Howard didn't look too happy at the end of the episode, and I'm very interested to see how his relationship with Chuck will be affected. Kim warning Paige and Kevin was great too. It hints at a little bit of guilt on Kim's part as well which makes sense because she knows Chuck wasn't wrong about Jimmy but his reputation is being completely tarnished by everything, and he hasn't exactly done anything wrong. Kim did not look satisfied after Chuck's breakdown at the end of the episode which also brings up the idea that she may not be happy with what happened. I like how Kim and Howard's characters got set up extremely well n this episode for what I would assume is a future storyline. Lastly, I really enjoyed Chuck trying to come up with good lines for the judge, and it's telling that he mainly focused on the part of saying he loves Jimmy. After all, lies usually take the most practice to say in a truthful way. It was a very nice and interesting little detail, which I'll elaborate more on later (see: The Unknown). The best part of the courtroom set up in my opinion was absolutely Jimmy's part though. His scene with Caldera was lovely and very funny, with lots to love. But most importantly, this led into the best cameo of the whole series in my opinion. The moment Caldera mentioned tight spaces, it clicked right into my head who was coming, and it ended up being a great joke and an excellent way to hype up Huell. The scene where Huell bumped into Chuck was a downright pleasure and Huell is the perfect loveable character to bring back for a brief role like this in Better Call Saul. And now finally, onto the fantastic courtroom battle. Now I'm going to divide this into two parts: part 1 is Howard on the witness stand and part 2 is Chuck, so that I can organize my thoughts accordingly. Of course, I'll start with part 1. I thought this was fantastic and was a very exciting way to bring us into the court battle. None of the major cards were played at this point, no tape, no EHS talk. This was all build up with a lot of exciting information being drawn, which is essential for something as detail-oriented as a courtroom battle. We need to learn as much as possible and to have logical questions and exchanges to make the courtroom scenes work. This was done fantastically in the first half of this episode as Kim battled with Robert Alley when questioning Howard. There were nice moments throughout with both sides offering a lot of big moments which were treated excellently; there were no dramatic moments or shots, simply a subtle change in facial expression managed to convey these major moments, which I found impressive. The highlight for me was Kim scoring a win over Howard by making his "nepotism" excuse completely fall flat. It was an early victory for the heroes and it was nice to see Howard look a little satisfied with Kim doing well for herself in court. It's the little touches which really make this show special. I also really like that the idea of mental illness was dropped early in the court trial, which was great set up for the climax later on. While I really enjoyed the first part of this trial, there's no denying that it was mostly set up and there wasn't a whole lot of tension. That completely changed however, once Chuck arrived for the second part. and wow what a great part of the trial it was. The first thing I have to praise here is Michael McKean's performance as Chuck. He really brings the character to life as a pompous and arrogant man, who has tons of intelligence but is completely overly confident. He constantly puts down Jimmy in subtle ways, disguised by the polite tone in his voice. It's hard to play this role as it could just as easily feel too phony, or too detestable, but Michael McKean completely nails it and strikes a perfect balance for Chuck. The fact that he didn't receive an Emmy nomination for his performance here is something which will forever mystify me. The arrogance, confidence and intelligence in Chuck was portrayed perfectly without even a single weak second. Now that I've sung tons of praise for Michael McKean, let's discuss the actual story here. This was very well done. I love that all the details were touched on that were brought up before, including Kim's involvement, Jimmy possibly denying the voice is his, Kim trying to prevent the tape from being used as evidence and more. They all amounted to some really good moments which continued to satisfy my detail-oriented side. The best part about Chuck on the witness stand was absolutely when Jimmy questioned him though. There was loads of animosity between them and I think that both actors fantastically played their subtle hate towards each other at this point in the story, throwing jabs at each other whenever they could. I also loved how Jimmy was notably less calm and composed than Kim when asking questions, seeing that this is a very personal thing for him to do and it's still bothering him. And then of course, there was that spectacular last scene which took the final 5 to 10 minutes involving Chuck but I'll get to that in detail later (see: Best Moment). The last big thing about this episode is Rebecca's involvement. We learn that Rebecca is Jimmy's trump card and was why he went through everything in the last episode to ensure this could go as planned. I expected her to do more, but I was pleased that the show went with a bit of a surprise approach by having her only here to boost Chuck's confidence in thinking that he can best Jimmy's best trick. It took away from any generic melodrama and replaced it with he excellent final scene that we ended up getting. But back to Rebecca, I did enjoy her involvement and it seems that she won't be done in the story as she will likely want to help Chuck now. The flashback also did a great job of introducing a possibility for how she could come into play later on and it also gave us a better idea of her relationship with Chuck since she was only briefly seen in season 2 when she was introduced. The Bad: The only problem that lowers the score a bit was this episode's predictability. At some point it became fairly clear that Chuck wasn't going to win the trial and that took away from some of the tension. Granted it was still very good, but it does hurt to have an idea of where the story is about to go. The Unknown: What's next for Jimmy and Chuck? Will Chuck keep trying to pursue Jimmy or will he give up? Will Jimmy ever try to be friendly with Chuck again? Also does Chuck actually love Jimmy? We have seen Jimmy be kind towards Chuck but Chuck hasn't really reciprocated in any way. Does he actually completely despise Jimmy for everything he's done? How will everyone else be affected by this? Will Chuck be able to move on and accept his condition is fake, or will he descend to a worsened state? How about Kim? How will she deal with her guilt? Could her guilt end up losing her Mesa Verde at some point? And how will Howard react to this? Will his relationship with Chuck be put under strain? Best Moment: The final ten minutes, and especially Chuck's breakdown were outstanding. The build up to Chuck's big breakdown was tense to watch and I love how Chuck's ego was constantly inflated in a secret way by Jimmy to make his realization at the end all the more painful. The constant mentions of mental illness were too much for Chuck to handle, and it was Robert not denying Chuck's mental illness which caused Chuck to finally snap. It was a very tense moment and it was simply fantastic to see Chuck dig himself into a hole as he continued to spit out accusations at Jimmy, making I look like he is mentally unstable and just after his brother. The ironic part here is that everything Chuck said was correct, just his heart isn't at the right place, and it does count for something to have your heart in the right place, like Jimmy. The final breakdown was tremendous and I love that the episode ended right there with a shot of Chuck looking tiny and pathetic after he realized what he just did, under the pressure of electricity from an exit sign. Character of the Episode: Chuck. That final breakdown was spectacular. Conclusion: This was an incredible episode of Better Call Saul. Though its predictability lowers the score I want to give, I can't deny that this was a spectacular courtroom battle which exceeded my expectations in just about every way. This is what I love to see in television shows: a cathartic spectacle which hits all the emotional beats it needs to and then some. I can watch this episode over and over, it was really magnificent. Score: 85
0 Comments
Summary: Carol enters labour and Ross and Susan fight each other. They end up trapped in a closet with Phoebe. Rachel flirts with a doctor but stops after he reveals he sometimes gets sick of woman's private parts after seeing them every day. Monica freaks out about not having a baby yet. Joey helps a single mother give birth.
The Good: This as another very fun episode of Friends, that comes very close to being outstanding. There were good jokes all the way through and all the storylines were very funny to watch. Ross, Phoebe and Susan in the closet was the definite highlight here though. Ross and Susan arguing was very funny and there were a lot of great lines and comedic ironies present. Phoebe was great in her role too as she helped them realize how petty they were being. It was a well-executed storyline with some good laughs throughout. Monica's story was also a highlight despite it being in the background. It felt consistent to Monica's character and her want for babies led to a lot of well timed jokes involving the people around her and especially Chandler. Chandler had some of his best jokes in this episode and he was very consistent in this episode, making funny jokes at every possible opportunity. Rachel's story was fine too and had some good moments of comedy throughout. The Bad: I wasn't a fan of Joey's story. He was completely alone and while it was still funny sometimes, he is nowhere near as funny as he usually is without one of the other friends to bounce off of. This story ended up getting more time than it probably needed and the jokes really weren't worth it. Best Moment: I really enjoyed Ross and Susan arguing, so I'll go with their argument in the closet with went to "lesbian lover's day", which I think was the episode's best laugh. Character of the Episode: Chandler. Conclusion: A very funny episode as expected that was nearly another special episode, but it is dragged down by a weak B-plot. Score: 79 Summary: A flashback shows Hector being one-upped by Gus in the eyes of Don Eladio in the drug trade. In the present, the DEA ransacks The Winking Greek to shut down Hector's business. Hector goes to Gus and demands that Gus transports his product too, but Hector has played right into Gus' hands. Jimmy enlists Mike to help get some pictures of Chuck's house anonymously. Jimmy and Kim hatch a plan to fight Chuck and Howard which involves the recorded tape in some way.
The Good: This was an excellent episode of Better Call Saul. This episode had a unique Breaking Bad feel to it, making it very different from what we have seen before. And honestly, I loved it all. From the Breaking Bad humour with Mike and the drill, to Don Eladio making an appearance, I really loved the different tone to this episode as it added some great things for fans of Breaking Bad to enjoy. I have said in the past that Better Call Saul needs to be careful not to go full-on Breaking Bad, but I feel like once in a while it's fine if Better Call Saul draws some inspiration from its parent series. There were lots of cameos to enjoy in the early parts of the episode too. Seeing Don Eladio and Bolsa again was lovely for Breaking Bad fans, even if the 2 weren't featured that much. It was still a pleasant surprise. I also loved the opening moments of the episode. Any fan of Breaking Bad will instantly know where we are in terms of story from the shot of the swimming pool alone. Also, seeing Eladio in the pool, eyes wide open, is reminiscent of his death which was a wonderful little touch. Lastly, I also enjoyed seeing Ximenez return briefly (he was the driver who was killed back in Klick). Now to the actual episode. I'll tackle the Gus storyline first. The flashback was really well done in my eyes. Don Eladio was excellent as always with his excess amounts of charisma for a drug kingpin. It was a joy to watch him taunt Hector and Ximenez throughout the scene while keeping things light. More than that though, the scene also helped develop Hector's character so we can understand why he hates Gus before Gus even did anything to him. We see Hector's jealousy and we can understand his hate now, which is essential for his entire conflict to work. I do like the comparisons in efficiency between Hector and Gus too, as they really let us know how much better Gus was as a businessman. The Pollos Hermanos sequence in this episode was fantastic. It felt similar in tension to a Breaking Bad scene, and I really loved it. The tension was amped up brilliantly and Hector was excellently portrayed as an intimidating man despite his age, and having Arturo and Nacho back him up helped a lot. I did enjoy the little touch of Nacho getting Arturo to let the family leave. In addition to that, the workers were portrayed well in their desperation too as Hector poses a very obvious threat. The following meeting with Gus and Hector was nice too. They mostly talked business, but Better Call Saul did an excellent job of quietly showing us their hatred for each other through simple things like Hector scraping gunk off of his shoe's onto Gus' desk. I enjoyed their conversation too as Mark Margolis brings in a lot of fire to Hector in every word he says. I am very interested to see where this story goes, and I really want to see more, so in that regard this episode really succeeded. Mike and Gus had a good scene too. I like that Mike refused to take the money, not wanting to work for Gus since it will likely involve him doing more brutal things. It makes sense for his character and I'm interested to see what kind of story leads to him finally choosing to work with Gus full-time. I also liked seeing Gus let out some of his hate towards hector to Mike. Now on the other half of the episode, Jimmy managed to keep his story just as interesting. I really enjoyed seeing Kim and Jimmy working on strategy, as details like that are always highly entertaining to watch. The meeting with Ms. Hay supervising was fantastic too. I really enjoyed Chuck and Howard arguing with Kim on the wording of the "damaged property", which was a great tease of the battle for details we are about to witness soon in court. I also loved Jimmy apologizing to Chuck while also throwing in the fact that "no one should treat their brother that way", as a hidden shot to Chuck treating him poorly. A small thing I really enjoyed was the intro to the scene too. With some brief greetings consisting of somebody's name, we got a complete examination of where each of the characters stand with each other. It was very impressive and did a tremendous job of showing the current emotions of all the characters prior to this courtroom battle. And finally, I enjoyed the final shot of Jimmy and Kim leaving the building together. Its artful shots like that which make Better Call Saul so special. Mike finally meeting Chuck was another welcome surprise in this episode. I really love the entire plan put together behind that scene too. I enjoyed Kim trying to call all the different repair locations, as it shows how hard she will work to do what she needs to. I was happy to see Jimmy and Mike working together again and their conversations were hilarious as always. The actual scene with Mike and Chuck was excellent as Mike exploited Chuck's allergy to electricity in hilarious fashion to drive him away from where the door us being repaired. The Bad: I was a little off-put by Kim working with Jimmy on the calls. Wouldn't she be morally against that? It was an odd detail to add in there. If the show wants Kim to be working desperately and sacrificing her morals to save Jimmy, there absolutely should be more focus on that. The Unknown: What are Mike's pictures for? How does Jimmy plan to use them in court? It seems he wants them as evidence, but how will he get them in as evidence? Is that what Kim was looking for from Chuck and Howard after the meeting? Did she want to determine how easy it would be to declare something as evidence? Or was it something else? Could Jimmy and Chuck be planning to use the tape in their favour somehow? How does Hector joining businesses with Gus benefit him? I'm curious to see what Gus' overall game plan is. Best Moment: There are many great scenes to pick from. I'll go with Mike and Chuck finally interacting. Character of the Episode: Hector. Conclusion: This was a very strong episode. Better Call Saul has drawn on Breaking Bad sparingly, making a heavily Breaking Bad-influenced episode all the more successful. this was a real joy to watch and hyped up all of the season's storylines in a shockingly enjoyable fashion. This episode was a very well-disguised set-up episode and I applaud the writers for making me never realize the nature of this episode. Score: 75 Summary: Monica dates a college senior named Ethan who loses his virginity to her. However he then reveals he is a senior in high school to Monica's shock. Phoebe temps as Chandler's secretary and reveals to Chandler that nobody at work likes him. Chandler is upset and tries to be more friendly but finds that nothing is working. Rachel has erotic dreams about Joey and Chandler, which makes Ross very jealous. Carol calls Ross when she enters labour.
The Good: Friends makes a good comeback with another great episode of comedy. There were plenty of laughs throughout this episode which made it funny on a consistent basis. The Monica storyline as good and had a great twist to add to the comedy. I enjoyed Monica's reactions to the revelation too as they felt organic and still provided tons of laughs. Phoebe and Chandler's storyline was very good too and had a very real story revolving around Chandler's role as boss. It was a nice comedic look at how workers always hate their bosses and it made for plenty of laughs as Chandler tried to prove he was a good guy, and especially when all the friends started poking fun at Chandler's mannerisms. The Rachel storyline was complete filler, but it made for a perfect C-story here because there practically wasn't a single moment without humour. Ross brought the storyline to new heights with his hilarious jealousy which made for some fantastic lines and moments, the highlight being Ross getting upset with Chandler and Ross getting overly excited when Rachel finally has a dream about him. The final moments were fantastic too as Ross was very funny as he tried to get everyone else out the door. The final moments where Ross froze were also hilarious and unexpected which made for the perfect end to the episode. The Bad: Friends has approached relationships a lot, but I fell that too many have ended in just a single episode. The story tries to make us care, but it really doesn't work if the relationship only has a single episode to grow. This hurt the Monica story this time around. This hasn't been much of a problem before, but now it is getting too formulaic and the attempts to add some kind of emotional tone really don't work at all. Best Moment: Everyone making fun of Chandler was fantastic and I'll give the nod to that, though every Ross scene in this episode came close to being in tis section. Character of the Episode: Ross. Conclusion: Friends continues to provide extremely high quality humour, though some worrying story trends are beginning to surface as the first season nears its conclusion. Score: 76 Summary: Monica's credit card is stolen and she becomes jealous of the person using it, who is living her life better than she is. Monica meets the fake Monica and they quickly become friends but the fake Monica is eventually arrested. Marcel has reached sexual maturity and Ross has to send him to a zoo and say goodbye to him forever. Joey tries to come up with a stage name.
The Good: This was a very good character episode for Monica and it felt much more serious than any other episodes of Friends with the two major storylines heavily revolving around story instead of humour. Monica's storyline was fun and had some funny moments, but it was mostly great because of how much it highlighted Monica's character and her insecurities. Monica has been the least interesting of the 6 friends, but this episode lets us understand her more and get used to her humour. It was a good showcase for Courtney Cox who finally got her chance in the show. Ross' storyline was fine too and Marcel created some funny moments in the episode. Joey's storyline didn't have much to it and it did nothing for the show in the long run, but it definitely helped provide the odd laugh in this episode, which ended up being invaluable due to this episode's serious nature. The Bad: The lack of humour does drag this down. Though I really enjoy character-based episodes in drama, it doesn't work as well in comedy. Comedy TV shows need humour more than anything else, so if humour has to be sacrificed for story, the episode won't be nearly as good as the show's best. This was an excellent story, but without lots of humour, it runs the risk of falling flat. I've been against Marcel's inclusion in the show honestly. The monkey jokes were very rarely funny and it ended up creating a rare breach in reality for the show. The emotional goodbye to Marcel also didn't mean much to me as I was just happy that we wouldn't be getting weak Marcel storylines anymore. Best Moment: Ross talking to the man who ran the animal fighting "wildlife experience" was hysterical. Absolutely the best joke in this episode, which felt lacking in jokes. Character of the Episode: Monica. Conclusion: This episode had a great story, but it notably lacked memorable humour, which really took away from the episode. Score: 66 Summary: Jimmy is taken into custody by the police. Kim arrives to help represent him but Jimmy wants to represent himself. After getting a PPD from Chuck intended to get Jimmy out of his situation without jail time but at the expense of his law career, Jimmy finally agrees to let Kim help him. Mike and Gus meet and come to an agreement: Mike can sabotage Hector's business but not kill him. Mike complies and enacts a plan, allowing for Hector's Regalo Helado trucks to be suspected for transporting contraband at the border.
The Good: This was another solid and easy to enjoy episode. I really enjoyed Mike's storyline in this episode. His meeting with Gus was long awaited and I was a little surprised to see it happen so quickly in this episode. I expected a longer wait, but I'm honestly pleased that we were given this meeting sooner rather than later. after all we waited three seasons to see Gus and it made sense for him to reveal himself here, and so he did. Their conversation was excellent fun and helped organically fill us in with Gus' current position in the business when compared to Hector. He is on good terms with he cartel at this point it seems, but he is competing with Hector's drug business as well. Mike's half of the conversation as good too as we got to see him try and fail to get over Hector, as h simply couldn't give up on the idea of getting revenge. This decision feels logical too and consistent to Mike's character as we have seen him go for vengeance back in "Five-O" when he killed Hoffman and Fensky. Mike's actual plan was tremendous. I loved the cold open which built up a lot of mystery regarding the shoes, and it was great to see what happened with hem, though it seems that there is more story to be told at that location (see: The Unknown). I enjoyed seeing Mike go through with his plan. We have no idea what he is planning and are genuinely confused when we see him put the cocaine inside the shoes and when he shoots the sniper rounds into the air. But then, masterfully, the show gives us enough information so that we can figure out what Mike is doing at the exact time the show wants us to figure it out. This is a perfect example of how to show off an intelligent character going through a well-thought out plan. We are immersed by the mystery an extremely impressed once we finally figure out what the plan was and how many layers there were too it. The whole sequence was a real joy to watch and was nearly as enjoyable as the excellent Los Pollos Hermanos scene from last episode. Now onto the Jimmy half of the story which was a little less impressive, but still very good. This episode was mostly Jimmy/Kim centric as it focused more on their current relationship and it culminated with a very good final scene where both of them ally with each other. In most shows it would feel unrealistic that Jimmy doesn't want Kim's help, but here it makes sense as it isn't just down to the clichéd reason of pride, but it's down to Jimmy feeling guilty for getting Kim involved with this in the first place and not wanting to have her waste more time with his family drama. That extra layer makes this story work so much more than it should. The final scene is a very good closing point too as we get to see Jimmy and Kim finally agree to take this on together while also getting significant plot progression with the reveal that Chuck isn't going to put Jimmy in prison, but he is instead going to take away his law career. There were several other short scenes in this episode which I really enjoyed. Jimmy and Chuck's brief conversation at the start of the episode was incredible as always (see: Best Moment). I also liked seeing Jimmy talking with Bill who makes a great return. It was a nice look at Bill's crappy life which Jimmy had barely escaped from. The scenes were easy to enjoy and had some great humour, though they weren't without fault (see: The Bad). It was great to see Doctor Barry Goodman from Breaking Bad once more. His scenes were nice and it was good to see him establishing a connection with Mike. Ernie and Kim was another good scene as we got the unfortunate reveal that Chuck fired Ernie after using him. It was sad to hear as Ernie had become pretty likeable in the past few episodes but it also helps us continue to dislike Chuck desite him doing what he believes is right. The Bad: This episode had some major pitfalls though unfortunately. Without them, it could have been just as good as the last episode, but these really detract from the several quality scenes we got. There were a lot of scenes which felt entirely skippable which is quite rare for Better Call Saul, a show which has always used its time wisely to develop characters and add new layers to the story. This time we get some rather pointless scenes which stand out pretty badly. The Kim montage was a very impressive feat of cinematography, but what was the point? All I learned was that Kim goes to the gym, which is completely unnecessary. Also, did we really need s many scenes with Bill? Sure it was good to see him again, but he got far too much screen time which isn't really used to help the story along in any way. Jimmy's growth since season 1 should not be the focus right now as he prepares to enter a legal battle with Chuck and the lack of ay urgency in the Bill scenes really hurt them for me. In addition to feeling pointless, the show kept its slow pace. Now I have praised the show's deliberate slow pace before, but when there are so many seemingly pointless scenes in an episode, the pace stands out much more and it can really test your patience if there isn't much interesting going on. This affected this episode and really hurt the final scenes as my interest was quickly dwindling under the fatigue of so much time-wasting. The scene with Chuck and Ms. Hay and the last scene with Jimmy and Kim were both hurt by this. Rather, the entire Kim/Jimmy story was hurt by this. It was obvious that they would end up working together but it should have been fascinating to see them work to get to that point. But everything felt so slow and pointless, that a story with such a predictable result like this one doesn't work nearly as well. This was good content, but unfortunately there was a lot of padding which took away from the main storyline and really hurt the show's momentum coming off of 2 excellent opening episodes. The Unknown: What else will go down with the trucks? It seems that Los Pollos Hermanos trucks will take over Hector's route, but it definitely seems like there is more story there. In the cold open we see bullet holes on the stop sign. We haven't been shown the cause of said bullet holes so I anticipate seeing what happens to cause them. How will Jimmy and Kim try to fight against Chuck to get Jimmy out of his situation? Or will Jimmy lose? This entire thing may be why Jimmy goes as Saul Goodman if he has to change his name because Jimmy McGill is no longer able to practice law. Best Moment: The Jimmy and Chuck scene was tremendous. Chuck tried to talk to Jimmy, trying to cool the flame, but it is so easy to hate him despite what he's saying. Though Chuck's argument makes sense, it's easy to relate to Jimmy's anger and it allows us to get just as annoyed with Chuck as Jimmy is. But then the scene takes a dark and brutal turn as Jimmy tells Chuck that he will die alone some day. It was a really chilling sequence and it is powerful to see the relationship between these two brothers so badly fractured. Excellent television. Character of the Episode: Jimmy. Conclusion: This was more excellent content, but it also featured some major flaws in execution, which is rare for this show. Hopefully it's only a single hiccup, and I firmly believe that it is since this show has been putting out extremely polished content since its started. Score: 67 Summary: Jimmy and Kim hire Francesca as a receptionist. Mike tracks down his tracker and it takes him to Los Pollos Hermanos. He gets Jimmy to go inside to scout but Jimmy gets noticed by Gus. Mike is then led to a road int he middle of nowhere where he picks up a phone left on the ground which rings for him. Ernie tells Kim about Chuck's tape and she tells Jimmy and prepares for the legal battle. Jimmy is visibly depressed and snaps heading to Chuck's house. This is part of Chuck's plan though as he has hired a PI to serve as a witness to Jimmy breaking into his house. Jimmy does so and destroys the tape in full view of Howard, Chuck and the PI.
The Good: This was a very entertaining and plot-heavy episode, which delivered total pay-off to everything which was set up in the last episode. This more than met my expectations. I'll tackle the Mike story first for this review. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Mike follow the man all over Albuquerque doing whatever he was doing (see: The Unknown). At first glance it is a dull sequence, and sometimes it can be slow to watch, but I feel that this show is able to do so well with the smallest things because the execution is good. There are a lot of extremely impressive shots which feel totally cinematic, with the highlight of course being that illuminated bridge with the city lights behind it. While this part of the episode was slow, it was absolutely gorgeous and was a pleasure to watch despite the fact that not much actually happened. And of course this also helped build up the ultimate Los Pollos Hermanos sign reveal. We all knew it was coming, but it was still awesome to see and the way it was revealed was absolutely masterful and totally delivered on expectations. Staying on Pollos Hermanos, I was happy to see Mike call Jimmy once more to do a quick job. Their interaction were fantastic as always and I was very intrigued to see exactly what Gus' men were doing. But of course I need to talk about that outstanding sequence inside the restaurant. If it wasn't for one other scene, this would absolutely be my favourite moment in the episode. It was so tremendously shot, and was genuinely tense, creative and funny throughout. We usually see professionals doing stealth missions like this in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, so there was something really refreshing about seeing somebody so woefully bad at it. Jimmy never felt forced or fake when h watched the man and there were a number of hilarious moments as he tried to "discretely" keep an eye on him. More fantastically, the reveal of Gus was tremendous. I love that he was introduced in the background as a bright yellow shirt. There was complete restraint here and that was great because it drew on the fact that the viewers know who Gus is and they know how to identify him. This reveal created a genuine sense of unease for the rest of the scene as we know Gus did something to cancel the meeting and we don't know what he is about to do to Jimmy. Their conversation later on was excellent too and I love that Jimmy was smart enough to put his watch into the garbage when he was confronted by Gus for scavenging the trash. There were so many fantastic little details in this scene and I could discuss them for hours. It was just brilliantly put together and very well thought out. Probably my single favourite sequence of this show. There were a few nice Breaking Bad cameos in this episode too aside from Gus. It was great to see Victor again for a brief role. I would love to see Tyrus later on too. And of course Kim introduced us to Francesca earlier in the episode. I love how Jimmy took an instant liking to her as he just wanted to get a receptionist as fast as possible. It was an easy way to keep Jimmy and Kim at odds despite their partnership and relationship. Francesca was excellent and I love that she was played with more energy and happiness than in Breaking Bad. It will be very interesting to see how Jimmy turns her into the cold and unhappy person she is in Breaking Bad. The Jimmy and Chuck storyline still managed to remain a standout in this episode despite all the other excitement. Ernie's role was very well done and he comes across as a very likeable guy through what he's doing. I like that he tried to keep things secret but continued to screw up when he talked with Kim. I like how Kim took full control and prepared to fight for Jimmy, which really does well to show how much she cares for him. Better yet though was Jimmy's reaction to all this. Bob Odenkirk has played the character with such energy that it's really noticeable when he displayed Jimmy's change in heart. It's sad to see Jimmy so broken and his disheartened state makes it much easier to believe that he would lose all rational thought and go straight for Chuck's house. Speaking of Chuck, I enjoyed his preparations too. It added some intrigue since we didn't know what his plan was, and it added to the tension when we learned what the plan was near the end. Also, Howard jumping fences was absolutely fantastic. More of that please. And now finally I get to the titular "witness" scene which closed the episode. Needless to say, it was tremendous. Bob Odenkirk acted his heart out as he let all of his rage out at Chuck, showing his complete displeasure of being taken advantage of because of his are for his brother. It's completely justified for Jimmy to be angry and it helps build our sympathy for his cause when we see Chuck coldly use his brother's good heart against him, making us firmly want to side with the person who is a kinder soul. Chuck crossed a line here and seeing Jimmy's reaction to all of this confirms that. The stunned and angry look on Jimmy's face when Howard and the PI say they are witnesses is painful to see and feels very cathartic. This final scene more than delivered with the intended emotions. The Bad: The Mike tracking scene was very slow which still did hurt my enjoyment a bit despite the gorgeous cinematography. Also the predictability of the Los Pollos Hermanos reveal did lessen the impact greatly. A surprise would have been fantastic, but it was pretty much expected by this point. The Unknown: How is Jimmy going to defend himself against Chuck? Will this be the end of Jimmy's law career? Will this conflict be what leads to Jimmy changing his name to Saul? What was the phone call at the end about? Gus is definitely onto Mike, but what will he want from him? And who is the one talking to Mike? Is it Gus? Victor? Or someone else entirely? What was Gus' man doing while Mike was following him? I presume he was picking up money through dead drops. This would makes sense as Gus' business would presumably be less polished since he wouldn't quite have as much experience as he does in Breaking Bad. I hope this means that we will get to see Gus' business and control expand over time. That would be very exciting to follow right alongside his conflict with Hector. Best Moment: The ending scene was fantastic and powerful. A great moment that raises the stakes for the next episode. Character of the Episode: Gus for finally making his debut on this show. Conclusion: This episode was awesome. Last episode was mostly set-up despite being extremely enjoyable, and this episode delivered on what was set-up. With two standout scenes and consistent quality throughout, this is absolutely one of Better Call Saul's finer instalments. Score: 73 Summary: Rachel and Barry develop a relationship again despite Barry being engaged to Mindy. Rachel soon learns that Barry cheated on her with Mindy when they were going to get married and she tells Mindy that she is with Barry again. They go together to get angry at Barry, but Mindy chooses to marry him anyways. Chandler goes crazy while waiting for a girl to call him back on the phone.
The Good: This was another funny and enjoyable episode. I really enjoyed Rachel's plot line. It had some nice messages about real life and how people are, while also developing Rachel's character and giving us a ton to laugh about. The scenes with Rachel and Mindy were great and I especially loved the dentist office scenes and the cameo of a returning Robbie. The Chandler story was hilarious too. It wasn't much of a stoey but Matthew Perry breathes real life into Chandler and makes anything the character is involved in a real pleasure to watch. There were loads of well-timed laughs, be it from Chandler's desperation, the friends teasing him and the actual phone conversations when they happened. I also love the touch that Joey tried to call Chandler to torment him near the end when Chandler realized the phone was off. Speaking of Joey, I think he was very funny in this episode despite his limited role. Ross and Phoebe also shone as always in their background roles, keeping very consistent with their characters in all of their jokes. The Bad: The final moment in Chandler's plot felt a little too silly for my liking with Chandler not wanting to be with Danielle for her seeming to needy. Sure it is an ironic and fitting conclusion, but I feel the execution made it a little too cheesy. Best Moment: Chandler arguing against Rachel being with Barry on Ross' behalf was very funny. The "I have my reasons" line was excellent. Character of the Episode: Chandler. Conclusion: Another strong episode for Friends that was very enjoyable. Score: 75 Summary: Rachel is tasked to watch over Marcel and she lets him escape to Ross' dismay. She calls animal control and an old friend arrives to get Marcel because he is illegal. Ross is mad at Rachel, but Rachel earns his forgiveness when she ensures Marcel's safety for Ross. Ross prepares to tell Rachel his feelings but Barry suddenly arrives and tells Rachel he still loves her.
The Good: This was a great episode of comedy. After a few weaker episodes, Friends returns to form with an engaging plot with many great laughs. The story that Marcel got lost was great and it allowed for the characters to organically split off and provide some excellent laughs. Ross was great as always, and even when he was upset with Rachel, both characters played off of each other very well to still make up some laughs in serious scenes. Chandler and Joey got to shine with several hilarious scenes together and some great lines. And of course Phoebe was fantastic in this episode. Her jokes were timed very well and she created the best laughs from the background using her character without ever feeling too ridiculous. I think she really got to shine in this episode. The running gag of Ross getting interrupted any time he tries to talk with Rachel continues to be great. The Bad: Rachel standing up to Animal Control girl (I forgot her name) felt a little forced and I don't think it was acted too well unfortunately. Best Moment: Ross enters with plans to tell Rachel he likes her but Rachel says she can't do it, referring to keeping Marcel secret. Ross responds "quick and painful". I think that is one of the better "coincidental conversations coming together" jokes I have ever seen. It was organic, sudden and hilarious. David Schwimmer breathes some excellent life into Ross, making him the real standout character in all of his scenes. Character of the Episode: Phoebe. Conclusion: A very strong episode to put Friends back in form before the end of the season. Score: 76 Summary: In the future, Gene gives up a criminal to the police but tells him to call a lawyer. Gene later collapses. In the present, Chuck shows the tape to Howard and prepares a plan to bring justice to Jimmy. Jimmy is confronted by Bauer about his commercial but he is able to weasel his way out of trouble. Mike finds a tracking device on his car after a ton of searching. Mike buys another version of the tracking device and enacts a clever plan to allow him to follow whoever is trying to track him.
The Good: This was a really strong season premiere even though it had a slow pace. There was so much to love and a lot of story was set up in very tense fashion. First of all though, we were treated to another excellent scene with Gene. These scenes are always extremely well put together and this was no exception. It has been fascinating to slowly learn more about Gene and to see the differences between him and Jimmy. Here we get to see how he is trying to stay out of the public and definitely away from cops, yet his inner personality wants to be a lawyer again and it creeps out from time to time. With the main story, I thought there were a lot of excellent scenes that continued to develop relationships and progress the story. I really enjoyed the scene with Jimmy and Chuck near the beginning. There was a great metaphor for their relationship added in with their differing ways to peel off the tape. Chuck uses finesse whereas Jimmy is pretty rough around the edges. It's a really clever comparison and reminds us of these 2's conflicting morals. I also loved to see the 2 brothers reminiscing a bit. They have been at their throats for so long that we do need a reminder from time to time that they are brothers. Fascinatingly though we got to see Chuck completely cut off the brotherly moment with a chilling line, telling Jimmy "you will pay". The scene conveyed the state of the brothers' relationship so well and even got out some emotion with that chilling final line. Jimmy was involved with a lot of other good scenes too. His scenes with Kim were great as usual and continued to highlight their differences as well. Kim is always so fretful with details and being good in contrast to Jimmy taking shortcuts and still believing that the result is all that matters, without any thought about the means. This, I believe, was also shown in an amazing scene with Captain Bauer who makes his return from "Fifi" (see: Best Moment). And that was surprisingly it for the Jimmy storyline. Not a whole lot happened in it, but it had a genuine air of tension throughout with the threat of Chuck looming in the background and with Jimmy facing so many conflicts with other characters. There was limited story progression, but the show continues to explore its dynamics with incredible depth and detail which will always make for a compelling viewing. In the other half of the episode we got a lengthy story revolving Mike which surprisingly featured very little dialogue. I thought this was a brilliant decision though and it made for an impressively cinematic and gripping story as Better Call Saul got to use its fantastic visual storytelling to ensure that we always know and understand what was happening in he storyline. Scenes like the car montage were incredible as they got their point across very well while also remaining entertaining through a use of creative cinematography and our love for the character of Mike. Speaking of Mike, I love that we got to see his plan to reverse the situation on the man tracking him in complete detail. This could have been accomplished in 5 minutes easily, but where would the satisfaction be? It wouldn't be memorable and it would just be a plot transition. By taking a risk and aiming big here, Mike's story became memorable and downright fascinating to watch as we can see a real professional working to get himself out of a very tedious situation. By dedicating so much time to this, it made the final scene when Mike gets his tracker out to follow the man feel so much more satisfying and impressive. We can really appreciate Mike's intelligence an dedication now that we have seen him use those traits to his fullest ability. I was preparing to make some complaints about how there were some holes in the story, but the story had so much dedication that there are no possible holes. The tracker storyline had a danger of being too contrived, but it made sense and we got scenes to show each and every step that Mike took so we got to understand every detail of the plan. I was also extremely impressed that the show actually addressed how Mike made time for everything while still working his job. Any other show would have forgotten about that, but not this show. This show is too careful to leave a plot hole like that. The Bad: The pace was very slow which may turn off some viewers. I didn't find it to be a problem though since the pace of this show has always been deliberately slow and it has allowed for huge improvements to writing, cinematography, storytelling and character development. I'll gladly take a slow pace to experience this kind of quality. The Unknown: Chuck's entire story goes into the unknown. We don't know what his plan is and I'm very interested to see what it is. It seems like he conned Ernie into hearing the tape, again showing he is just as deadly with conning as Jimmy. It seems that he is going to try to use Ernie to tell Jimmy about the tape. I wonder what that will accomplish for him. What was with Gene's collapse? Was it just from anxiety after his encounter with the cops, or could it be something else? Best Moment: Jimmy is confronted by Captain Bauer who is pissed about the commercial. This scene was fantastic as it had a genuine air of tension as we can't be sure that Jimmy's commercial is safe. It was great to see Jimmy make a comeback and threaten Bauer's job when he is threatened with being put in court. It was very enjoyable and tense. And then leave it to the writers to turn the scene into something more powerful by using it to also highlight Jimmy's frustration with Chuck. That was done in such an organic and subtle way that I must applaud the writers for it. Character of the Episode: Mike. Conclusion: Despite the slow pace, this was a wildly entertaining season premiere which completely satisfied me. Score: 69 Summary: In a flashback, Chuck stays by his mom as she dies while Jimmy leaves to get food. In the present, Jimmy runs in to help Chuck. Chuck is taken to the hospital and recovers but accuses Jimmy for mysteriously being at the copy shop. Ernie saves him by saying he called Jimmy. Chuck is taken out of the hospital and returned home after some time. Chuck calls Howard and tells him he is retiring from law. Jimmy goes to convince Chuck to keep at the law and does so by confessing that he sabotaged the Mesa Verde files. However this was a trap set up by Chuck who taped the confession. Mike gets a sniper rifle and attempts to shoot Hector but a mystery person leaves a note on Mike's car telling him not to.
The Good: This was a very strong season finale which did a lot of unconventional things, but also ended the season on a brilliant note. The opening scene was another brilliant flashback between the 2 brothers which once again added some more depth to their relationship. We can see that Chuck has always been the "good" son, staying by his mother's bed while Jimmy goes out to get a sandwich. But he is still not valued as much as Jimmy because Jimmy can make others laugh and smile. It was sad to hear Chuck's mother call for Jimmy before dying, and it really gives Chuck a good reason to hold a jealous hatred towards Jimmy. In the end it was small things like Chuck refusing to tell Jimmy his mother's final words that led to Chuck being so damn antagonistic to Jimmy all the time. The scene was probably my favourite cold open scene from the whole show as it developed so much in such short time with some brilliant subtlety. In the main plot, I really enjoyed the follow up to the cliffhanger from last episode. Jimmy was kind-hearted as he saved Chuck and it led to some good conflict down the line between the brothers. I think putting Ernie on Jimmy's side was brilliantly done. We can understand why he would pick friendly Jimmy over the angry and egotistic Chuck, and it made sense for him to want to help Jimmy. It's the detail given to these supporting characters that makes them so likeable and organic. Chuck in the hospital was handled fantastically. That one scene where Chuck was taken by doctors who performed tests on him was amazing. The cinematography, sense of unease and Chuck's desperate wails were awesome and rely allowed us to sympathize with him for the situation he is in. This episode did a fantastic job of painting Jimmy as more of a good guy here too. Though I have said this conflict between the brothers is in a very gray area, it is still necessary for Jimmy to be liked by us more than Chuck because he is the main character. This episode accomplished that by showing us that Jimmy is the better "brother" so to speak. he is caring towards Chuck and ensures that he is never a casualty to what Jimmy wants. Jimmy is shown to be kind-hearted as he cares for Chuck despite the conflict, sticking by his bed and also refusing to have him committed. This makes it so easy to hate Chuck by the end of the episode when he exploits this brotherly love for his own cause. He has the ability to do dirty con jobs like did at the end, but acts like he is on the next level. This is very effective at making us despise Chuck despite the fact that what he is doing is technically just. Now to get more in depth with that huge final scene. First of all, I have to say that this is one of the most genuinely powerful scenes in the show. It was extremely tense and Jimmy letting everything out to Chuck at the end was fantastic. It was easy to understand why Jimmy would tell Chuck the truth because of his aforementioned brotherly love, but it made sense for Jimmy to show some frustration because everything went so much worse than he had expected and wanted. Of course the tape reveal was a huge bombshell too. It was a huge shock to end the season and is a perfect cliff-hanger as it leaves us wanting to see the repercussions of this tape in the next season. Now onto the Mike storyline. This was very entertaining too but not quite as good as the rest of the episode. I enjoyed the sniper scene the most but I did have a small problem with it (see: The Bad). I think the sniper scene was better than it should have been though. While we know that Hector survives, we still don't know how he got in the wheelchair and I believed for a second that perhaps sniper-fire from Mike is what caused it. Now that wouldn't make any sense when you think about it, but the scene was tense enough to make me not get a chance to think much about it which made me believe in it for a little bit. I am very interested by the mysterious note but I have a good idea of who sent it (see: The Unknown). There were a lot of nice little scenes here too. Jimmy's commercial was very fun to watch. It was a good way to bring closure to the few commercial scenes throughout the season. I enjoyed Kim's few scenes with Jimmy as always. I do wish she had a larger role here but I understand why she didn't since this episode was heavily focused on Jimmy and Chuck's relationship and conflict. Lastly, I was happy to see this show still continuing to provide laughs even in darker episodes. The old people comedy is still fairly funny and brought a smile to my face. The Bad: The Mike sniper scene felt a bit too long for a scene without dialogue. Sure it was fantastically constructed, but I don't feel it was quite tense enough to justify 7 whole minutes of it. The Unknown: Who left the note for Mike? I'm 99% sure it was Gus. Who else would make sense at this point of the story? And who's return would be dramatic enough for it to be a season finale cliffhanger? All the signs point to Gus. The question for me now is how does he know about Mike? Has he been following Hector too perhaps? Or was it something else? What will Chuck do with the tape? I am not too sure on how much it can do to Jimmy, because Jimmy will surely deny any accusations he makes. However we have learned now that Chuck can be a great con artist himself, so perhaps he has a dirtier plan in mind. Best Moment: The last scene between Jimmy and Chuck was stellar television. Probably the best scene from the entire season. Character of the Episode: Chuck. Conclusion: This was a splendid season finale that delivered a lot of powerful and climactic moments which set up next season very well. As for the season overall, I thought it was excellent. There wasn't a bad episode in the bunch and my interest in the season gradually increased with every episode which is very impressive. The only other shows that can accomplish this kind of season long build up and deliver a satisfying pay off are Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones. It goes to show how good Better Call Saul has been if it can do that too. A lot of episodes this season were set up, which may turn off some people, but I feel like the amount of attention given to writing and story really let those episodes be much more fascinating than they should have been. The writing here was what made this season so damn good in the end. I think it has surpassed season 1, despite being weaker on paper, because the amount of effort and care put into it was tremendous. If season 3 can continue this same quality, even if it doesn't improve, I would be very satisfied. Score: 75 Summary: Rachel looks for a new job and gets some interviews. The guys play very competitive poker with the girls and Ross and Rachel develop something of a feud. The game takes a sad turn when Rachel doesn't get the job she was hoping for and Ross lets her win.
The Good: This was a very simple and easy to follow episode. It was great to see all 6 friends taking part in a single storyline together and that gave this episode a fun and unique feeling. The plot was genuinely engaging and there were plenty of nice character moments and some nice jokes throughout. Chandler's sarcasm was consistently funny and I enjoyed seeing Ross and Rachel's conflict. there were good jokes and fun moments from it. The Bad: This episode was filled with chuckles, but nothing particularly funny. It was missing that one amazing comedic scene that made it special. This episode was also extremely by-the-numbers for a sitcom episode. not much to talk about really, it was just decent. Best Moment: I'll go with Ross' line of "I want to go to the bathroom" as it was the funniest joke for me. Character of the Episode: Chandler for his constant sarcastic humour. Conclusion: This was a good episode that felt different, but the jokes were lacking and the story had no innovation, making this lack the spark that other episode this season have had. Score: 67 Summary: Mike sabotages one of Hector's trucks, leaving the driver alive and takes his money with intent of having the cops discover the scene. Mike learns from an angry Nacho that Hector escaped the cops by killing a good citizen who freed the driver. Chuck overreacts after the error in his paperwork and loses Mesa Verde to Kim. Chuck immediately suspects Jimmy but is unable to prove t anybody that he is responsible. Chuck goes to the copy shop where Jimmy copied the papers to get Lance to ID Jimmy, but Jimmy pays him off. Chuck gets frustrated and with all the electricity in the area, he passes out and hits his head off the counter.
The Good: This was an amazing climactic episode. There has been a lot of build up, and this was all pay-of as we went from one terrific scene to the other in an episode which was absolutely filled with tension. I'll start where the episode opened up: Mike extracting sweet vengeance upon Hector. We got a lovely Breaking Bad-esque scene where Mike sabotages a Regalo Helado truck and takes the money. It was a very cool scene, but the highlight for the Mike storyline was absolutely what came afterwards. We get to see more consequences come Mike's way as a result of his half measures as this time his sparing of the driver caused an innocent civilian to lose his life. It's a rather tragic twist and is a very real way to keep the storyline going. Surely Mike isn't done with Hector since he didn't get the intended result of turning the cops onto his business. Perhaps there will be a continuation in the finale and I'm excited to see it. Now onto the Jimmy storyline, which took up most of the episode and was the best part easily. I'll tackle each scene chronologically, starting with Chuck heading to court and realizing the errors in his work. The scenes before the court scene were great as they built up Chuck's hubris nicely, which made him insulting Kevin and Paige seem more realistic without it losing its power as a major mistake from Chuck. When you realize that had Chuck not been so proud and had simply stayed home, he would have caught Jimmy in his tracks and this wouldn't have gone so badly for him. This was a good way to work in Chuck's pride as his downfall here, and it makes it more believable that Howard doesn't believe his accusations against Jimmy since he knows Chuck is a proud man who wouldn't easily own up to the fact that he made a mistake. The actual court scene was well done too and there was a nice air of tension involving the changed address and Michael McKean played Chuck very well. I was also pleasantly impressed with Howard attempting to keep things happy and calm in the courtroom. We have always seen Howard attempting to be overly friendly to his clients and it was lovely to see him continuing this even when there is conflict arising. I really enjoyed the court scenes, but they were almost instantly one-upped by what came next. Jimmy and Kim are instantly sent over to Chuck's house to collect the papers where we get a tremendously powerful scene between Jimmy, Chuck and Kim which I believe is the first time that just the three of them have talked together. The scene was truly excellent and did a fantastic job at exploring how each of the characters will be feeling after the situation. This was shown with Chuck's anger and betrayal, Jimmy's frantic attempts to keep his relationship with Kim under control, and Kim in a stunned silence trying to process what exactly Chuck is saying. It was a big conversation and the acting involved was tremendous. But I think it peaked at the perfect time when Kim sided with Jimmy over Chuck and completely called him out for being a terrible brother. It was a powerful scene and while Kim technically lied to keep Jimmy safe, she was completely right about the entire brotherly relationship. It's really sad to see these 2 brothers in such a hateful relationship and Kim was able to highlight its problems in a quick and emotional speech, while also continuing to show her loyalty to those she is close too. I really enjoyed the brief car scene where Kim lets out her frustrations letting us know that Kim is aware of Jimmy's ways by now and is just accepting that she has to live with them. I think what this scene nails (see what I did there), is that each of these 3 characters have been completely put through the wringer as a result of this conflict. Following up this scene was the commercial scene. This scene did feel a touch awkward (see: The Bad), but I loved it overall. It gave us a great moment of levity in a very tense and serious episode and had me laughing at numerous points. I would honestly love it if there are just clips released over youtube or something of Jimmy just filming commercials with these guys. This material is hysterical. Lastly, I finally get to the copy shop scenes and man were they fantastic. First we got Jimmy bribing Lance to tell Chuck he isn't recognized which I loved (more on Lance later). It was a very fun scene and got some laughs as we got the necessary build up to the episode's big climax. Chuck's arrival was humourous at first but it quickly became tense when Jimmy was shown watching and with the fantastic cuts showing the electricity affecting Chuck. In quick time I was on the edge of my seat wondering if Lance would cave in udner pressure or if Ernie would say something that pisses Chuck off. The scene quickly gripped me and when Chuck hit his head, it was a legitimate shock to the system and ended the episode on a brutal cliff-hanger. Everything here was executed beautifully and built up an incredible sense of tension for that shocking ending. For those who say nothing ever happens in Better Call Saul, I will say that this season has developed the characters an absolute ton in just 10 episodes, whereas other shows would take seasons to accomplish this much with its characters. And every little detail that happened in previous episodes always progresses the plot and adds on to some major character developments. It's not that nothing happens in this show; rather it's that this show is able to make small occurrences very important to the plot, allowing them to honestly effect a ton, without anybody ever realizing it. Season 2 has been masterful at progressing the story and deepening the characters and because of that, I would say it has improved on season 1 in an excellent way and has really fleshed out the story to make me even more excited to learn the fates of all these characters. Speaking of characters, I love the way this show handles its side characters. They are given basic motivations and likeable traits which makes them memorable and enjoyable whenever they appear. Daniel, Steven Ogg's character and Omar were excellent in previous episodes, and this episode really does a great job with Lance and Ernie. Their roles are minimal but they still feel like real people with a purpose in their lives, rather than plot devices used to progress the story. The Bad: The commercial filming scene's timing was a little weird because we had just seen Jimmy get out of a tense conversation with Chuck. To show him completely unaffected literally a minute later felt rather cheap and it really felt like the scene should have taken place in the last episode but was shifted for some reason. This was a rare moment of poor organization in a show which I would say is the best put together show on television. The Unknown: What is Chuck's fate? Will he survive the hit? That seemed like a really bad head injury, and it could have possibly been fatal. It would be a real shock to lose Chuck tragically as a result of Jimmy's actions and would give him some real drive to become Saul. Whatever happens to him, I'm sure he, and everyone else, won't be unaffected by it. There will certainly be consequences, as there always is on this show. Will Jimmy go in and save Chuck? Or will he keep his position seek and only watch? Either way it will make sense for him and he is left with a terrible decision here. It should be exciting to pick up with his decision in the finale. What will Mike do to get back at Hector? I'm willing to bet he's not just going to forget about Hector now. Will Nacho be involved with this at all? Or will he be affected by whatever Mike has in store? Best Moment: We are truly spoilt for choice but I'll pick the final copy shop scene as it was a masterpiece of tension and had a truly stunning ending. I can't imagine not wanting to watch the next episode after this scene. Character of the Episode: A VERY difficult choice. Everyone has a claim to this, even Lance. I will narrowly pick Chuck for this one I think. Michael McKean is just too good. Conclusion: What a fantastic episode, one of the very best from this show. This was powerful and climactic, delivering a huge exclamation point to this season after tons of excellent set up. This exceeded my expectations and is my favourite episode thus far. Score: 83 Summary: Kim informs Howard that she is leaving HHM and he lets her go. Kim is able to convince Mesa Verde to stay with her but with the help of Chuck, HHM is able to get them back. Jimmy realizes Chuck took Kim's clients and sabotages Chuck's Mesa Verde files when he is sick, changing the address of Mesa Verde from 1261 Rosella Drive to 1216. Hector is using his business for nefarious means and is transporting contraband across the border. Mike learns of this and begins to form a plan.
The Good: This was another very solid and very enjoyable episode of Better Call Saul. This was all set up and things seem primed for a big climax in the next 2 episodes and I can't wait for it. I'll start on this episode with the beginning though. That opening shot at the border was a true cinematic masterpiece. I stand by the idea that Better Call Saul is the best put together show on television and it's scenes like this that help reinforce that. I was completely blown away by the single take that opened up this episode showing a Regalo Helado truck going through border inspection on the way to Albuquerque. It was visually stunning and also introduced a new concept into the story seamlessly, allowing for us to understand exactly what is going on when the Regalo Helado truck arrives at Hector's business, The Winking Greek. The truck tie in was handled very well with the Mike story. I was glad to see him getting information about Hector's business and it definitely seems that he may have discovered something crucial involving the ruck. It remains to be seen what Mike is planning but I'm definitely intrigued and I want to see him extract some vengeance on Hector. The Kim storyline continues to be a very enthralling part of the back half of this season. It was engaging and satisfying to watch her finally free herself from HHM and it's a testament to how well the show has handled her story that it was impactful. The scene was well done and it transitioned with a great sense of urgency into a battle to see which side gets Mesa Verde. It was gripping drama and very tense to watch as we all hope that Kim can keep the clients that she is so passionate about. The show did an excellent job of painting HHM as the bad guys by making us grow to love Kim over the last couple episodes, so we can't possibly root against her at this point. Our love for the good and kind Kim also accomplishes something else in this episode: it allows us to support Jimmy as he does something completely illegal because he is doing it to help Kim. Jimmy should be the bad guy here as he sabotages Chuck's files and sets him up for failure, but since Kim's happiness will happen at Chuck's expense we root for it to happen. The sabotaging montage was very enjoyable though and was the second most artsy moment of the episode after the opening scene. I love how getting to know Jimmy in season 1 has paid off, as we are completely able to buy Jimmy doing something difficult and tedious like this since we have seen him do it before. I really enjoyed Jimmy and Kim buying an office together. They have had excellent chemistry and I've completely bought into their relationship now. Their relationship has helped define both characters and also provides some great drama and tension on a consistent basis and I really love that. In a way, Jimmy and Kim's relationship has been the central focus of this season as it has been effected by or has caused several of this season's conflicts. Lastly, I enjoyed Jimmy shooting what seems to be his personal commercial. It provided some excellent humour to give us a brief break from the tense battle over Mesa Verde. The Bad: Chuck's confidence didn't seem quite good enough to get Kevin to switch to HHM in my opinion. It was very professional and impressive, but I still feel that something was missing that would really turn Kevin's head. The Unknown: What is Mike setting up the hose for? How will it come into play in whatever he has in store for Hector? What will be the consequences of Jimmy sabotaging Chuck's files? How will Chuck react and will it be enough to get Mesa Verde to switch back to Kim's side? Best Moment: Not a whole lot stood out so I'm inclined to pick the visually stunning opening scene. Character of the Episode: Again it's tough to choose as everyone got shining moments in this episode, but nobody stood out from the pack. I think I'll go with Kim for this one though Jimmy is a close second. Conclusion: A very good episode that builds strongly to the final act of the season. Score: 68 Summary: A flashback shows Jimmy working with his father at is convenience store. Jimmy's father gets conned. In the present, Jimmy gets himself fired without cause at Davis and Main so he can keep his bonus money. He goes to Kim with a deal to be partners in a new firm he wants to create with her. Kim declines and chooses to go to her interview with Schweikart. However, she realizes that she needs to be a solo practitioner and offers Jimmy a new deal: 2 different practices working together. Mike frees Tuco of the gun charge but keeps his gaze set on Hector.
The Good: This was another very good episode of Better Call Saul which continued to move things along nicely. The opening sequence in this episode was terrific. It ties back to Chuck's story from "Rebecca" but this time we see Jimmy's story and it's easy to understand why he did what he did. His dad was a sucker and was already destined for failure; after all if Jimmy wasn't taking money from the till, his father would be giving it out to random strangers who are conning him. I love this because it features a very realistic element of life: the fact that when there is a conflict, there are always 2 sides to each story. We can understand why Chuck blames Jimmy for what happened to their father, but we can also understand why Jimmy did what he did and why it seemed to be the right thing for him to do. This is excellent exploration of morally grey territory and it helps us realize that in this brotherly conflict, neither Jimmy nor Chuck are completely in the right. This brotherly relationship has silently been the best thing about this season despite Jimmy and Chuck only having interacted a total of 2 times in this season. That's a sign of some expert writing. I also enjoyed that we got to see Jimmy and Mike together again, albeit briefly. their storylines have diverged a lot, so it is good to see them coming together even if it is for just a single scene. Their interactions remain hilarious and I loved seeing Jimmy trying to talk to Mike about Tuco but getting rebuffed by an irritated Mike. It was a funny scene but it also served to tell us that Mike till feels some anger towards Hector and isn't ready to let this situation go just yet. I think the Jimmy storyline was the absolute highlight in this episode though. After taking a bit of a backseat in the past few episodes, Jimmy becomes the focus again and I is fantastic. His firing from Davis and Main was superbly executed from start to finish. The initial letter he tried to make Omar write was great and it allowed for a hilarious moment of realization when Jimmy realized he would lose his money if he quit. Of course that comedy was nothing compared to the amazing sequence that followed (see: Best Moment) which had me laughing hard every 10 seconds with a new joke. More on that stellar sequence later though. Back to Jimmy though, I enjoyed him trying to at least be decent to those that were good to him when he quits. He is kind to Omar and tells Cliff he's a good guy (and Cliff has a hilarious response). It showed Jimmy's humanity after all the colourful antics he performs to get himself fired. The follow up on the Jimmy storyline may not be as awesome to watch but the storytelling remains impressive. I was happy to see him try to make a deal with Kim; he had tried once before and it makes sense that he would want to continue working with her. Their relationship has been well developed throughout the season and I can buy that they would both really want to work together. But more than that, I can also buy that Kim is aware of Jimmy's "colourful" nature and would want to stay away from that. Their conversation as nice and I loved that they both accepted that Jimmy would be Jimmy no matter what. A lesser show would take these conflicting ideals and use it to create drama later on, but Better Call Saul is smarter than that. This show acknowledges that these 2 are long time friends and no each other and would be honest to each other. It's a brilliant touch which I respect a lot. Kim's story was also very good in this episode. Her ultimately making the decision to listen to Jimmy was given the appropriate time, which I was happy about. her decision could have come out of nowhere, but just a few scenes of her contemplating her next move and the small "Howard" she said to Schweikart helped make the decision feel real. And buy the time Kim came to Jimmy with her new idea, I believed that she would have come up with it and that she would be excited t follow through with something like that. Lastly, I loved Jimmy's return into the nail salon. The Cocobolo desk getting a conversation was some nice downtime and it fit in with what e know of Jimmy. I like that Omar got a little more development too. he was a genuinely likeable person and I wouldn't complain if he makes a quick appearance later in the show. Jimmy changing his voicemail was a fantastic little character moment too, showing how he has changed from the man he was in season 1. And of course, it's great to have that crappy yellow car back. I missed it more than I ever imagined. The Bad: The only flaw I have with this is the inconsistency of time. Jimmy's sequence looks like it should have taken about a month or so considering how many things he does and how many different suit combinations we see him wearing but then we see that Kim hasn't even been interviewed yet by the time he is fired. It's a small issue but it still exists. The Unknown: Will Jimmy agree to Kim's offer? I am sure that he will since I can't imagine him saying no. What does Mike want from Hector? What good will stalking him do? What plan does he have in mind? Will he communicate with Nacho about it? Why did Jimmy have the film crew in his office? What is he planning to use them for? Is he making another commercial? Best Moment: The sequence was really incredible. There was some really special editing and effects throughout which made it a very visually pleasing sequence; probably the most beautifully constructed montage on the show thus far. I appreciated the short scenes intertwined in the sequence too as they always had some really hilarious lines and moments. Whether it was Jimmy not flushing or "dude, I'm from Michigan", I was laughing non-stop throughout. And to top it off, I love the idea that Jimmy was inspired by one of the big inflatable men; that was a hilarious touch. Character of the Episode: Jimmy of course. This was all Jimmy throughout. Conclusion: This was another solid episode, but its score was improved by the stellar firing montage which is one of the show's best scenes to date. This season hasn't had a weak episode yet and I'm getting more and more excited as it nears its conclusion. Score: 69 Summary: Jimmy can't find comfort at his company apartment anymore and returns to the nail salon. Kim is given a job opportunity by Rich Schweikart after she appears in court. Kim thinks about the opportunity and is leaning towards taking it because Howard isn't giving her any other opportunities. Kim performs another con job with Jimmy and they discuss their future plans. Mike has to fight off several scare tactics from Hector, who wants him to take the deal but ultimately caves and meets with him after Kaylee is threatened by the cousins. Mike accepts the deal and threatens Hector to ensure he makes 50 thousand dollars. He splits the money with Nacho.
The Good: This was another very strong episode. On the surface there isn't a whole lot, but storywise this was another exciting chapter to give the show some steam as it enters the season's second half. First of all I will tackle the Jimmy storyline. Jimmy has taken a bit of a back seat in the last 2-3 episodes but I think it is fine because he makes the most of his time and still progresses his story, while the other time spent on Kim ad Mike is definitely worth it. This episode we get to see Jimmy beginning to feel some annoyance at his job with Davis and Main. It was always there a little bit before but now we can really see his displeasure in every scene he is in. The opening sequence was a genius bit of writing to demonstrate this and I loved the use of the company car to continue to show Jimmy's annoyance in his position. It ends the episode on a high note as it seems that the Saul Goodman part of Jimmy may be emerging soon. It also ended the episode on a hilarious note with the destruction of the cup holder. Kim's story was the show-stealer in this episode once more. It was great to get an entire episode dedicated to the big decision of Kim choosing to leave HHM. Like Jimmy's storyline, this is made so much more enjoyable and rewarding with a number of small touches and details that make everything so much better. The walk through the office with Howard was something really special and goes to show Howard's distaste for Kim which helps drive her away. Contrast this to how much Schweikart values her and it's easy to see why Kim would leave HHM despite her owing loyalty to them. Additionally, I loved the touch of Kim not unpacking her stuff; after all who knows how long she will stay anyways? In 16 episodes she has been booted from her office twice. The final scenes with Jimmy were also good fun and were easy to enjoy. Mike's story was excellent in this episode too. After some cool down in the previous episode, this time his story is filled with tension and excitement and even brings back some of the Breaking Bad feeling into the show. Early on the Breaking Bad feel made me nervous that this show would just be a carbon copy of it, but now that I am completely engrossed into the storyline, the Breaking Bad feel is a treat to experience along with the Jimmy storyline. Mike was as cool as ever as he beat out each of Hector's attempts to threaten him. I really liked the use of the welcome mat, which made Mike realizing his house was compromised that much more satisfying. Mike's last scene with Hector was awesome too and had an air of tension even though we knew both men would live another day. This was accomplished because we still don't know on what level these 2 will part ways. Mike wasn't much of a factor in Breaking Bad so it should be interesting to see how this storyline is resolved. Lastly from the Mike story, the return of the cousins was an excellent cameo and there was a really good ominous mood to the scene when they just appeared on the rooftop. That scene was crafted flawlessly. A constant trend in all of these storylines is great writing. On paper this episode feels very average and unspectacular, but in execution it is something else entirely. This show has been extremely consistent with things like this and that is what has allowed this show to feel like something special. There haven't been many powerful moments in this season in terms of emotion and spectacle, but the thing that makes this so good is how well it is put together. Watching this show feels so satisfying and pleasing to the eye in the way most other shows can't accomplish and that is what makes episodes like these so compelling despite not much actually happening. The Bad: There is one notable flaw in the Jimmy storyline though. Jimmy is annoyed at his job which we understand but we don't have a good idea on his standing with the Sandpiper case. Sandpiper was a primary storyline but it has faded into the background and I didn't even realize it was until I saw the commercial on the TV (another great scene may I add. It did a great job of illustrating how Jimmy didn't realize what was wrong with what he did since he ended up just doing what Davis & Main chose to do, only better). We have been stripped of anything Sandpiper related now. On the surface this isn't a major problem, but it ends p being pretty bad as we don't know what Jimmy is doing involving the case. Has he been taken off of it? Is he still a part of it, just a minimal part? Does he still work on it? We don't know and we really should have been told earlier so this inconsistency won't exist. The Unknown: What is Jimmy going to do next? Will we see him leaving Davis and Main in the near future? How will Howard react to Kim leaving? Will he try to keep her? What will happen to the Mesa Verde case? Does it stay at HHM or go with Kim to Davis and Main? Best Moment: Not much stood out in this episode; everything was consistently good. I'll go with the cousins appearing on the rooftop. Like I said earlier, that scene was crafted so well. Character of the Episode: Kim again steals the show. Conclusion: This was another very strong episode of storytelling. Bring on the rest of the season. Score: 68 Summary: Ursula stands up Joey and dumps him but doesn't tell him. Phoebe poses as Ursula to give Joey some closure. Rachel uses Monica's insurance coverage to pay fro a medical bill. They date the doctors to Monica's dismay. The girls have a fight and scare away the doctors. Marcel swallows a scrabble piece and Ross rushes him to the hospital to save him. Marcel survives and Ross accepts that he will be a good father.
The Good: This was better than the last episode for sure. There was a lot of storyline pay-off and more funny moments. Phoebe and Joey had funnier scenes in this episode and their finals scene together was well done for a more serious comedy scene. Ross' storyline had some good closure with him saving Marcel. There were a few funny moments, with Jack Geller's return being a highlight. Monica and Rachel also had a fun storyline and it was very funny seeing them fight each other and freak out the doctors. Their interactions felt petty, but that was the point and it led to a lot of excellent humour. Chandler didn't do a whole lot but he was still very funny. The Spanish TV bit did pay off a little with the funny ending scene. The Bad: This still wasn't quite as funny as most other episodes this season, but it was still very good. Best Moment: I'll give it to Jack Geller's return. His interactions with Ross constantly made me laugh. Character of the Episode: Rachel stood out this time. Conclusion: This was another very good episode of Friends, but the two part structure did take away from this episode too. Score: 71 Summary: Joey falls in love with Phoebe's twin sister Ursula to Phoebe's dismay. Phoebe lets it happen but has second thoughts afterwards. Chandler struggles to fire a co-worker who he is attracted to and ends up asking her out instead, making it more awkward when he has to break the news to her. Ross gets doubts of being a father after attending Carol's Lamaze classes. Rachel forgets to take off the Christmas lights and falls from the balcony while trying to take them off.
The Good: This was another very enjoyable episode, though it was an evident step down (see: The Bad). Each of the storylines were very enjoyable. Phoebe and Joey's story is set up for more payoff and was a fine storyline which I enjoyed. Ross attending the Lamaze classes was fantastic though as Ross continues to have hilarious interactions with Carol and Susan. There were loads of laughs and it ended with a great moment of Ross beginning to realize the responsibility he is about to take on. Ross would have definitely been the character of the episode, but he was one-upped by Chandler's equally wonderful storyline. His "firing" of Nina was hilarious and the situation continuously getting worse was very funny. Chandler has so far been the MVP for this season as he consistently delivers whenever he is given a major storyline. The Bad: This episode wasn't as good as others in the season though, and I think it was because of the two part structure. By having only set up here and no pay-off (with the exception of the Chandler story), it gave the episode a sower pace and there were fewer jokes because of that. I think the Joey storyline suffered the most because of this as there was a noticeable drop off in joke quality for that storyline. This could have been squeezed into a single episode. The Spanish TV story wasn't very funny and simply felt like padding. Best Moment: Chandler dropping lies after lies in hilarious fashion. Though it is closely contended with Ross at Lamaze class. Character of the Episode: Chandler. Conclusion: This was a solid episode of comedy, but a disappointment when compared to the other episodes this season. The two part structure is likely to blame as comedy storylines are often weaker when stretched through multiple episodes. Score: 68 Summary: A flashback shows Jimmy having dinner with Chuck and his wife Rebecca. Jimmy is now being monitored by Erin. Jimmy continues trying to help Kim but she wants to save herself without any help. Kim works very hard and gets Howard a good deal but still isn't taken out of doc review. Chuck talks with her regarding Jimmy's past and says he will try to get Kim back to her former position. Mike is met by Hector who wants him to take Tuco's gun charge to reduce his jail time.
The Good: Better Call Saul kills it with another great episode. This was cool down from the big climax in the last episode, but this was just as good as that episode in a lot of ways, and in some ways it was even better. There was fantastic character work all the way through and I was totally engaged by the depth, detail and exploration of all of these characters. Every scene provided some characterization or development which just added on to make this episode excellent. Even the minor characters like Howard and Erin were given motives and personality. I'll tackle every storyline individually. First of all, the flashback sequence that opened up the episode. It was an interesting twist to show us that Chuck has an ex-wife and it raises a few questions (see: The Unknown). But I thought this scene was awesome. It helped show us the difference between Jimmy and Chuck and also helped us understand why Chuck has such a big distaste of Jimmy. Here we get to see some jealousy in Chuck. Chuck does all the hard work and yet Jimmy still gets along better with people despite his flaws. Chuck's jealousy and incapability to be charming in the way Jimmy is, is shown excellently through the use of lawyer jokes. This scene was so brilliantly written and expertly introduced a new element in the ever-growing complexity of Jimmy and Chuck's relationship. Next up are the Jimmy/Erin scenes. These scenes were probably the weakest of the episode but there was still a lot to love about them. Obviously, there was a hilarious humour to everything as Jimmy kept being exposed by Erin over his illegal shenanigans that he always tries to pull. I really do like that the show still makes Jimmy relatable even though he is doing so many illegal things. This is where season pays off as we know the hardships Jimmy had to endure to get to where he is, so we instinctively want to defend his actions. The writers have done an excellent job of creating a morally grey world. And of course any scene where Jimmy cross paths with Mike will be hilariously awesome. This was no exception. Jimmy was also very enjoyable as he tried to work things out with Kim. Suing HHM seems like just the kind of illogical decision Jimmy would make that would make perfect sense to him but nobody else. The scene with Kim was terrific and really brought out Kim's angry side that is disappointed in what Jimmy did. We got to see a lot of likeable fire in Kim which makes us support her and root for her. Her declaration of "I save me" was also a great way to buck the trend of males saving females. The show followed through very well with Kim wanting to save herself. She absolutely stole the show this episode and her plot line carried the story in such a magnificent way. The montages were lengthy, but beautifully crafted and they were also extremely necessary. We really got to see Kim's determination and by having the montages go on maybe a minute longer than they needed to actually paid off in making the moment Kim finally gets a good deal feel very special. We were cheering right alongside her when she did a quick high-energy dance in the parking lot. And then our hearts were broken alongside hers when Howard broke the news to her that she will remain in doc review. To a casual viewer the scene means nothing, but for people who regularly follow the show and are engaged by it, it is a heartbreaking scene and Rhea Seehorn did a tremendous job of portraying Kim throughout the scene. Her change in mannerisms when she learns that she is still in doc review was so expertly done and helped deliver on the emotion of the scene. And then of course there was the scene between Chuck and Kim. Wow was that one good. Their awkward interactions were excellent throughout, and I really loved seeing Chuck actually helping Kim. Again it shows that both Chuck and Jimmy have positive elements and neither one is completely in the right in their conflict. Chuck relating to Kim for being manipulated by Jimmy feels like a logical character move and their subsequent conversation as a real wonder. Chuck's story about Jimmy stealing the money from their father was a real highlight of the episode for me. It goes to highlight how far back Chuck's dislike for Jimmy goes as he clearly blames him for the death of their father. It's sad to hear about and yet it makes perfect sense and fits right in with the show by adding more details to the Chuck/Jimmy relationship. Lastly, there was the Mike stuff. His conversations with Stacey were the usual expected stuff, but the real highlight here was the ending. Namely the return of Hector Salamanca, prior to his time in a wheelchair (see: The Unknown). I was pleasantly surprised by his return and I absolutely loved the touch that the scene opened with the ringing of a bell. His deal with Mike makes sense and it provides a very organic way to introduce him into the plot. The excitement slowed down this episode after last episode was filled with it, but the ending cliff-hanger absolutely builds up some excitement for later episodes this season. The Bad: Nothing as such. The Unknown: Why did Chuck and Rebecca split up? Will that story be explored later on? I sure hope so. What puts Hector in the wheelchair then? Was it really or stroke or something more deadly? We never got it confirmed in breaking Bad about what it is that puts Hector in the chair. so could it have been something more dramatic than we all expected? And of course if Hector has returned, may we be seeing a certain fried chicken businessman soon? Best Moment: Chuck's story about Jimmy and their father takes it for me. There are many scenes to choose from though which is one of the reasons this episode was so good. Character of the Episode: Kim. Her character is coming far this season. Conclusion: This was just as good as the last episode by just providing consistently amazing characterization, character developments and storyline progression. If the rest of the season is filled with episodes like this with an exciting finale, I will be more than satisfied. Score: 74 Summary: Jimmy is in serious heat from Cliff but is luckily able to keep his job. Kim has been demoted to doc review by Howard which frustrates Jimmy. Jimmy goes to Chuck to convince him to get Kim her job back, offering to quit the law to get it to happen. Chuck rebuffs him. Nacho needs dead because he is becoming dangerous. Mike doesn't want to kill and offers Nacho a solution that will put Tuco in prison. Mike calls cops in advance and stages a situation to get himself in a fight with Tuco. The cops arrive and arrest Tuco.
The Good: This was a really good episode. It feels refreshing to get an episode this early in the season that isn't dedicated purely to set-up. There were a ton of brilliant scenes and the story felt like it was being told now, not being held back for a later episode. And on top of that, there were a ton of exciting developments which should set up for a very exciting second half of the season. It was great to get some blow off on Jimmy's poor decision to air the commercial without consulting anyone. There was genuine tension when he was facing Cliff and the others as we didn't know if he would be fired. In the end he gets to keep his job, but it's Kim who suffers the most. Jimmy's scene with Kim was also very tense as we didn't know how Kim would react or how she planned to move forward. I like that through every scene Jimmy is in, he is always saying that the commercial was a success, acting as if the results would cover up anything else. And it was set up that he would believe this to be completely logical, making his repetitiveness not annoying, but rather enjoyable as we get to see Jimmy's very different morals get him in some serious trouble every time he brings them up. And then of course there was the big confrontation between Jimmy and Chuck we have all been waiting for. And boy did it deliver. First off, I really enjoyed Jimmy's conflicted feelings for Chuck. He is still angry, but yet he still loves his brother and cares about what happens to him. This is shown nicely in the short scene with Jimmy and the mailbox. That excellently conveyed Jimmy's emotions towards Chuck in a simple manner, setting the stage for when they meet again. Seeing Jimmy help Chuck recover was nice to show the brotherly bond that these 2 used to have. And then it was followed up by a really tense, beautifully written, verbal sparring match between the McGills as Jimmy tries to get Chuck to free Kim, while Chuck tries to tell Jimmy it has nothing to do with him. There was a lot of emotion blown out here by both men and it was such a great scene. There were so many different beats to analyze, but I'll get into those later (see: Best Moment). Kim was excellent in this episode. Seeing her choose to push forward herself and not have Jimmy do anything is very admirable and helps make her likeable. Kim was rather underdeveloped last season, but so far after 4 episodes, we have learned about her determined nature to get things done the right way (which is totally in contrast with Jimmy's ideals) and we have also learned about her extreme loyalty to Jimmy. This time she takes a bullet for Jimmy by not telling Howard that she didn't know Jimmy hadn't consulted Cliff. It's a dumb decision for herself, but its honourable, and that makes us root for Kim to find her way out of this mess that Jimmy got her in. And now we get into the Mike storyline. It's pretty shocking that the Jimmy story had so much to it, despite only being half of the episode. It goes to show how big this episode really was. Anyways, I really liked Mike's story too. His planning scenes with Nacho were fun and had a little bit of that "Breaking Bad" aspect to it as both men plan about how to take care of Tuco. The scene was good at showing us Mike's expertise over Nacho as Mike comes up with several different ways the plan could easily go wrong. The scene did great stuff for Nacho though. We learn the difference between Nacho and Tuco in this episode, ad we get to see that Nacho is a decent person for a drug dealer, compared to the insane rage that Tuco possesses. This helps make Nacho more likeable, which is good since he will likely be appearing a lot more in the show. His story about Dog was very well done, and it even has a connection to Breaking Bad, as Dog was mentioned when Hank was looking for Tuco. I really enjoyed seeing Mike executing his plan against Tuco. We weren't told the plan, which made it very exciting to watch everything play out. Tuco was hilariously, well, Tuco throughout the episode and his interactions with Mike were great. Everything played out very nicely and it was a cool bonus to see Tuco squaring off with Mike by the end of the episode. I think the strongest element of this story though was Mike's actions. He took a half measure to take care of Tuco, which completely contradicts what he told Walt in Breaking Bad. Clearly whatever happened that made Mike realize that half measures are bad hasn't happened yet, and I'm very curious to see what I is that makes Mike realize this. Could this Tuco plan completely backfire on him in the near future? I'm very interested to see where things go from here. It was nice to see some Breaking Bad cameos. Krazy 8 and Lawson appeared in brief roles this episode which was great. These cameos have been handled well as they are used in logical ways and never distract he viewer from the important scenes that are playing out. The Bad: The only flaw with this is that Mike's story lacks tension. We know that nothing too terrible is happening to him since he is around for Breaking Bad. The opening scene does help a little as it gives the sense that something may have gone slightly wrong, but other than that there is little tension to be felt throughout the Tuco scenes. The Unknown: Will there be any unexpected side effects for Mike jailing Tuco? Will Mike and Nacho work together again? Will Tuco get out of jail before Breaking Bad? Or is he stuck there? Will Jimmy end up going to Howard? Is this where his relationship with Kim ends? Best Moment: Jimmy and Chuck battling each other was tremendous. There was a lot of character exploration with that scene too. It was wonderful seeing Jimmy accuse Chuck of being just like him, and sticking to his belief that extralegal shenanigans will get him exactly what he needs whenever he needs it. It fit his character, and it also fits what we have seen from Chuck that he would refuse Jimmy and continue to put himself on a superior level over Jimmy. There was even more great interactions to look at. I enjoyed seeing Jimmy attempting to provoke Chuck to get some kind of reaction, and I loved that Jimmy refused to believe pretty much anything that Chuck said. Chuck constantly rebuffing Jimmy was fantastic and I loved seeing Chuck continuously criticize Jimmy at ever possible chance. There was so much included in a short amount of time with the scene. But better than all that, I think it's fascinating that neither brother is portrayed as the good guy and neither is the bad guy. These exchanges explored some really morally grey areas and highlighted how most arguments are spurred on by both parties being wrong about things. So far the relationship between Jimmy and Chuck has been fascinating, and I look forward to learning more about them. Character of the Episode: Tough to pick in this episode, but I'll go with Mike. Conclusion: This was very enjoyable all the way through. Both Jimmy and Mike's storylines were at a climactic point in this episode and they provided some very gripping and thought-provoking television. This is definitely one of the stronger episode we have seen from this show. Score: 74 Summary: Jimmy gets information to Sandpiper residents through nefarious means. Chuck suspects them but Jimmy covers his tracks. Kim knows that Jimmy did solicit and confronts him about it, letting him know that if he doesn't do well, she will be in the tank as well. Jimmy shoots a commercial but airs it without Clifford's permission, putting him in heat. He doesn't tell Kim about this. Stacey tries to manipulate Mike into getting money to buy her a new house. Mike sees through it but plays along anyways. He is given a job offer from Nacho.
The Good: Another solid episode with more enjoyable storytelling. I really enjoyed the opening scene. Bob Odenkirk brings such life to Jimmy McGill and his little solicitation to the elderly folks was marvellous to watch. It's like watching an artist at work and Jimmy's method of ensnaring the old people to his cause is almost admirable if it wasn't so damn reckless. I enjoyed seeing Chuck call him out for it during the meeting and it was nice to see Jimmy cover up his tracks very well. I am enjoying this subtle way of continuing the Jimmy/Chuck storyline without either o them directly speaking to each other alone. It has been well done so far and I look forward to seeing them eventually cross paths one on one. I really like this conflict brewing up between Jimmy and Kim and it seems that we may have a falling out sooner than we expect. Kim lets Jimmy know that she vouched for him and that everything he does will reflect on her. Jimmy should know better than to get himself in trouble, and yet what happens by the end of the episode? He's in real heat with Clifford after recklessly airing a commercial without getting permission. I think the most impressive part about this was that it felt in character for Jimmy to screw up. We have spent so much time learning who he is, so we understand that Jimmy is the kind of guy who would go with a more risky approach to things. High risk, high reward is how he seems to work. I love that his mind seems to be wired to believe that as long as he gets results, any method is fine. After all, wouldn't all con men pretty much behave following this moral compass? What they do is illegal, but hey it gets the job done. And now that Jimmy is working for a just cause, it makes perfect sense for that idea to really stick out in his character. It's good writing that made Jimmy's decision to not show the commercial to Cliff logical and in-character. This season has been mostly set-up and this episode continued that trend. But what this episode accomplished was that it promised some real consequences coming soon. With Jimmy in heat, his relationship with Kim in danger and Chuck's shadow looming, it seems like next episode is going to be a big one. Add on the excellent cliffhanger with Nacho coming to Mike with a mysterious job and there is a real hype to something bigger coming up this season. The commercial plot line was very fun to watch too. I was glad to see the ever so funny film crew from "Hero" make a return this episode to shoot Jimmy's commercial. It was fun to see Jimmy plan out the commercial, execute it (the makeshift Dolly was great), and then show us the final result. It was very enjoyable and had a "Saul Goodman" feel to it. I also enjoyed the old Davis and Main commercial and the "nebulous" swirl, though it was a little bit on the nose with how awful it was. It was nice to get more information on Mike's character. It seems like the reason he got involved in so much crime work is because of his daughter-in-law, attempting to manipulate him into getting her money. It makes her really dislikeable, while helping us sympathize with Mike as he has to get used to his new life involved in crime since he will be stuck with it until his final days. I like that Mike is undergoing some change to make him into the man from Breaking Bad, just like Jimmy is going through some change. It gives him a good arc and makes his story more interesting. The Bad: Mike's story is more interesting than it was, but it is nowhere near the Jimmy storyline level currently. While I didn't dislike his scenes, they were a little slow paced and dull at times. Mike's family doesn't have the same spark that the Jimmy story has and it really shows when Mike is given a large chunk of time where he pretty much exclusively talks to his daughter-in-law and granddaughter. If Mike is going to be used in a more featured role, there needs to be something more worthwhile and enjoyable to show us. Hopefully the Nacho storyline will take us somewhere enjoyable. The Unknown: What consequences will be heading Jimmy's way next episode. Could he be fired? And what of Kim? Will she be demoted again like she was last season? Or worse? And what will happen to Jimmy and Kim's relationship when she learns that he lied to her? Who does Nacho need gone? Why? And why does he want Mike specifically? Is it because Mike impressed him, or is it something more? Best Moment: I really liked the opening sequence. Not much stood out beyond that in this episode. It was just a lot of solid storytelling. Character of the Episode: Jimmy again. Conclusion: This was another solid episode. There won't be anything memorable from this, but it was easy to enjoy throughout. It also seems that this episode will kick things up a notch for this season. Score: 66 Summary: Chandler is offered a promotion at his job but doesn't want to take it because he wants a different job. he ends up taking it anyways. Ross dates a girl named Celia but is unable to talk dirty to her and goes to Joey for help. Phoebe brings Monica a job offer to be a chef for a gourmet restaurant. She cooks a meal for the owner, but refuses the job when the owner turns up high.
The Good: This was another awesome episode. Friends is killing it episode after episode currently. This time, I think Phoebe was the standout despite her not doing much. She was used very well and always interlaced a scene with lots of comedy and some very creative lines. She was hilarious all the way through and surprisingly stole the show with very little impact on the main storylines. Phoebe has always been in the background, but if her handling is continued like this, she could easily be one of the most consistently funny characters. The others were awesome too. Ross's storyline was hilarious and it had a great moment where Ross practiced talking dirty to Joey. Chandler's story was the least impressive, but it had funny moments for sure and it fit what we know of Chandler's character so far. Lastly, the Monica and Rachel story was great. Their short conflict was fine and made for some good laughs, and the climax with the titular stoned guy was well handled and created a lot of fantastic comedy. Overall, this episode is a big winner with tons of memorable and funny moments. The Bad: Nothing really bad. The stoned guy may be a little cliché, but it was handled well and produced enough laughs to not be considered bad. Best Moment: Ross talks dirty to Joey and then unknown to them Chandler walks in. This was the best visual gag the show has ever done, and is probably one of the funniest moments so far. It was excellently set up, acted and executed. One of the best moments so far in the show, if not the best. Character of the Episode: Phoebe, but everyone has a claim for the top spot in this episode. Conclusion: And another amazing episode of Friends. This show is providing consistently amazing comedy and is becoming must-watch television. Score: 85 Summary: El meets with everyone and makes up with Hopper. The 2 of them go to the lab to close the gate. Will is taken to a cabin by Joyce, Jonathan and Nancy who use heat to free him from the Mind Flayer. Steve and the kids go into the vines and set a huge fire to distract the demodogs from Hopper and El. El closes the gate to trap the Mind Flayer in the Upside Down. Dr. Owens legitimizes El as Hopper's daughter. Lucas dances with Max at the ball. Mike dances with El. Dustin still can't get a girl despite Steve's advice.
The Good: This was a solid finale. It was paced well and had a lot of exciting climactic moments. The El storyline was very well done. Her scenes with Hopper were excellent and there was a lot of emotion present as they both make up with each other, solidifying their father/daughter relationship. That was the most emotional moment of the episode for sure, and it made their subsequent mission a lot more gripping since we care about these 2 characters' relationship more than most others. Steve was a real standout. I have really come around to his character over this last season due to some excellent development throughout. His pairing with Dustin really helped and they have developed a fantastic relationship over just a few episodes. It really helped me come along more to his character. His interactions with the kids were very fun throughout and Steve came across as a real unsung hero throughout the episode. There was also a really powerful final moment with Steve as he gives a final look at Nancy, knowing she doesn't love him and accepting it even if he still loves her. It showed growth in the character and continued to make him very likeable and relatable. I would be happy to get a lot more of Steve next season. The final scenes were very good too. It brought some nice closure to the relationships we have seen throughout the season and also gave us a positive note to end off the season. Dustin in particular was great and he did a good job of taking most of the focus during the dance. I really liked that he followed Steve's advice and even went with the hair; it was the funniest thing for sure in this episode. I enjoyed seeing multiple storylines advanced throughout the episode. It provided a sense of urgency and gave the episode a sense of purpose and tension. It was also fun to see 3 different plans simultaneously get accomplished. The Bad: This episode had several issues though. There was a large issue with things we didn't get to see. El and Mike was an important part from season 1 and they got a solid 2 scenes together. More time was given to Mike being angry at Hopper which is a crime. The scene was good, but we desperately needed more from El and Mike. El ignoring Max was bad and it was a terrible idea to not revisit that conflict later in the episode. We also still haven't seen El meet Will which seems like a missed opportunity. Speaking of Will, his entire storyline was a miss here. Nobody in that storyline got any closure and there was no time given to anything happening there. It feels like a poor decision because Will has been an absolute highlight this season and we deserved to get an emotional closing scene with him. Billy remains a really weak part of the series. His arrival at the Byers' residence had absolutely no tension and he wasn't given enough of a role throughout the season to be a big deal. It just felt like filler to pass the time until the more exciting stuff happened. Also, the plan to talk to Billy was idiotic. Just don't answer the door and hide. And why would Max actually watch from the window, it is literally asking for Billy to see her. I was annoyed by some continuity too. How did El just kill all of the demodogs? How many were there, considering we only saw one? If there was only one, why not send more? Shouldn't recovering Will be a priority? And what is stopping the Mind Flayer from sending more anyways. We saw tons of demodogs in the gate closing scene, so why not send some to Will's house after the first wave died? Also, how did Dr. Owens live? It seems like one of them just conveniently stopped eating him which is just dumb. Dustin taming Dart was ridiculous and shouldn't be possible. The show introduced a hive mind concept, meaning everything is controlled by a single brain. So how did Dustin tame a part of the hive mind, not all of it? It's ridiculous and was entirely unnecessary. How would Dustin recognize Dart anyways? They all look alike and Dustin looks like an idiot for trying to just talk down one of the demodogs. The biggest flaw with this for me though was the same as last season: it was too predictable. Nothing surprising happened, this was just everything you would have expected it to be. That really damages the episode if there is little emotional engagement and I already know what will happen by the end of the episode. This took away from most tense scenes, since I knew that everyone would survive and that we were just heading to a happy ending 2.0. I wish this show would get a little more bold sometimes so that the predictability flaw can be overcome. The Unknown: How will the Mind Flayer come into play into the future? It knows of El's existence now, so will it go after her? How will it get back into the human world? And how will it be defeated for good? How will Dustin and Hopper be effected by the goop? Is it going to be how the Mind Flayer returns? They would not have included Dustin being sprayed if it led nowhere. Dustin got it in his mouth too, so surely something will happen there. What happened to the demodog in the fridge? There was a timeskip so I assume it was taken out. But the scene where it was put in the fridge was hilarious, and I would have loved to see a character open the fridge only to find a dead monster inside. It would have been hilarious continuity. Best Moment: I'll pick Hopper and El talking in the car. Such a powerful scene, and one that felt like it belonged in the finale from a storytelling perspective. Character of the Episode: Steve for his overall character arc. He's gotten more and more likeable and is now my favourite character (sorry Dustin). Conclusion: This was a decent finale. Not great but not terrible either. I can't say this episode felt special in any way, but it was easy to watch despite many flaws it had to overcome. As for the season as a whole, I enjoyed it. I think this season did a great job of starting storylines, but a poor job of concluding them. I enjoyed the show much more as it was building up to the climax, and the climax itself was rather disappointing and predictable, whereas the build-up was exciting, fresh and unpredictable a lot of the time. Compared to season , I will say that the buildup was much better, though the climax wasn't as enjoyable as season 1. The really poor El episode also took away from the season quite a bit. As a whole, I would say season 2 was slightly better without the El episode, bit slightly worse with it. If you liked season 1, this is more of the same and will be fun. But for someone looking for something new, it provides a little bit in the early episodes, but goes back to being ordinary around episode 6 or so. Score: 60 Summary: The group with Will are stuck in the lab as the monsters invade and kill everyone. Bob helps the group escape with his knowledge of computers, but he is killed by a demodog before he can leave. The others have to leave without him. Dr. Owens stays at the lab. The group goes to Joyce's house and Will is hidden in the shed to be questioned in an attempt to learn more about the monster, dubbed the Mind Flayer. Will learns where he is and the demodogs arrived, but El arrives and kills them.
The Good: This was a very exciting episode to watch. There was tension all the way through this episode and a lot of important information was given out. This episode was a big one and it sure felt like it. Because of that, it was easy to enjoy the episode despite its flaws, and there were quite a few (see: The Bad). I like the Mind Flayer analogy to help us understand what is really going on with the mysterious shadow monster. It was an easy way to feed us exposition, and the timing was good to give us all of the answers. Now that we know everything about the Mind Flayer, the tension is higher than ever and there should be some real excitement in the finale where it seems like everything will be on the table. Dustin's character change in this episode was impressive and very well done. I was surprised to see a child actor conveying a character's inner turmoil and conflict so brilliantly throughout the episode. Everything is subtle but Dustin is presented as different after everything that happened around him, letting him be even more human and lovable. Dustin remains one of the series' greatest accomplishments. The scenes with everyone sharing their memories with Will were very touching. They had an excellent emotional edge and felt real. The desperation and stakes of the situation with Will almost being lost were presented brilliantly, making it very enjoyable television to watch. El's return at the end was a nice moment and a pleasant way to end the demodog attack. It's going to be great to see all the reunions which will hopefully start out the finale. The Bad: There was a fair share of flaws in this episode however, which prevents it from being truly great. Billy remains the antithesis of enjoyable. He is bland, generic and downright annoying, not to mention hat he's accomplished absolutely nothing in 8 episodes of screen time. He bores me to death and I have no reason to care about anything he's doing. The kids arguing was also dumb. There is a LOT of threat in the area, so why waste so much time just arguing about things that don't matter? I understand that they are kids, but even kids aren't that dumb. Bob's death was an emotional moment and there was a very tense sequence leading up to it. I enjoyed that part, but a lot of his story felt a little lame. The main problem was that his death didn't surprise me. I had him marked for death or something bad the moment I saw him, and when I heard him say he was going to do something, I instantly knew he would not make it out alive. Though I will credit the show with making his death scene exciting and making it seem a little more surprising than I expected, I have to point out a lot of flaws with his storyline. First, how does Bob know how to use a super computer so easily? No man who works at RadioShack should be able to work a top secret government computer, whereas the qualified scientist is clueless. Next, what happened to all the demodogs? One minute they had occupied every hall in the lab, but the next they were just all gone, which felt convenient and dumb. And then one of the dogs is apparently a stealth ninja and it enters the room and blindsides Bob to kill him. That scene would have been more emotional if I wasn't completely taken out of my immersion when I called the convenient stealth attack which then bothered me during Bob's death. I also didn't like a lot of the Will story, though I did enjoy everyone talking with him. First of all, how is Will able to use Morse Code without the Mind Flayer's knowledge? The Mind Flayer should have total understanding of everything Will does so how does this Morse Code get through? And how come he can do that but not anything else? Furthermore, the location selected sucked. Wouldn't Will's house literally be the first place the Mind Flayer would check to look for Will's group??? And it seems ridiculous that Will was held in his own shed as if he wouldn't recognize it. I mean come on it's his own shed which we saw him enter in the first episode of the show. And to have Will hear the phone in the shed is stupid. The phone is so far away and inside of the house, how on earth would the sound carry so clearly to the shed? The Unknown: El's back! What will be her reaction to seeing everybody, and what will everyone else say? So the gate has to be closed to defeat the Mind Flayer. How will that happen? Will El have to do it? Will the Mind Flayer survive somehow? How is it going to get out of Will? Best Moment: I really enjoyed everyone talking with Will. It was excellent. Character of the Episode: Bob. Even though his death left a lot to be desired, I thought Sean Astin brought a lot of charisma to the role, making Bob a really likeable guy. Conclusion: This was a really exciting episode, but it was just as flawed as any other episode of Stranger Things. This show is well put together and easy to enjoy, but flaws always seem to make it through the cracks which is unfortunate. I see serious potential in this show, but it needs to stop with these consistent flaws. Score: 63 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
February 2024
Categories
All
|