Summary: Jimmy struggles to manage his new commercial business while also finishing his community hours. Jimmy works hard to get clients, but is unable to make a profit as his clients are few in number and only ever want a single commercial. He is forced to shoot a commercial spot for free when he runs out of options. Jimmy goes to his malpractice insurance place to try to cancel it but learns that he can't and his premiums will be going up. In spite, Jimmy ensures Chuck's rates go up too. Kim begins feeling guilty for what she and Jimmy did to Chuck. Nacho makes a deal with Daniel to get empty pills identical to Hector's. Mike meets with Nacho and gives him advice for what he is about to do.
The Good: The scenes of Jimmy doing community hours were very good. This episode did a great job of portraying the struggle Jimmy was forced to go through throughout the episode which led to his breaking point at the end of the episode. The community service hours were excellent as we saw him working hard to collect trash while also trying to make important phone calls to get his business going. And of course the fact that he only got 30 minutes of credit only added salt to the wound. And on top of that it gave us a great joke with the "I can make it zero" line which would be reused in hilarious fashion later in the episode. Jimmy also conveyed his struggle wonderfully while actually shooting the commercials. The scene where he is talked down to making a commercial spot for free shows him at a real low, which would then be beaten when Jimmy is forced to give his own pocket money just to pay his film crew. It was effective television to make us sympathize with Jimmy and understand why he did the needlessly cruel thing at the end of the episode. Back to the commercial shoots for a second, I also thought they were excellent in terms of comedic value. There were some great comedy sequences like the film crew rushing to get into the car, and the Duke City recliner commercial being shot twice with Jimmy being forced to pretend it was the best thing he ever saw. While this episode gave us Jimmy at a real low with some serious storytelling, it was also able to keep things lighthearted so the depressing storytelling wouldn't be a turn-off at all. Jimmy's story also tied nicely into Kim's. Whereas Jimmy is suffering because of what Chuck did to him, Kim appears to be suffering because of what Jimmy did to Chuck. It's a very nice irony and I like the way it was explored here. Kim is understandably guilt-ridden, since she can sympathize with Chuck more than Jimmy at the moment. To Kim, Chuck is just a sick man and all they did was just completely ruin the one thing he cares about the most: how people respect him in public. Her meeting with Paige was also very good as we got to see Kim in a rare moment of annoyance where she lightly took out some frustration out on Paige before quickly apologizing. Kim and Jimmy's stories got to meet in spectacular fashion at the bar, which was one of the best moments in the episode. Jimmy's anger at the world clashed with Kim's feelings of guilt from working with Jimmy at damaging people. The idea of making them discuss conning people hypothetically was perfect for this, as it easily allowed for both of their storylines to reach a brief, tense moment. In the other half of the episode, Daniel made a very funny return as Nacho went to him to get some empty pills. It was great to see him return for a cameo and there were a number of hilarious things in his story, including him going through all the security just to find Nacho waiting for him and the baseball game he played when he went to talk with Mike. I enjoyed his conversation with Mike, who continued to completely disregard anything Daniel tried to say and for good reason. The final scene with Mike and Nacho was great too. I'm glad that we got to hear exactly what Nacho's plan is for Hector as it answers some questions and prepares us for what I'm expecting will be a very tense storyline of Nacho trying to keep all of his moves below the radar as he attempts to end Hector. I'm very excited to see this in the final three episodes of the season to see how this storyline climaxes. There were a few small scenes I really liked as well. Kim's mini-nap was excellent and I think the filming of the scene did a fantastic job of capturing the jarring feeling of waking up after a nap. Also, I like how the first scene mirrored the episode "Amarillo", which effectively showed how much Jimmy's life has been damaged by Chuck since that episode. And of course the Kevin Costner reference was very funny and satisfying. The Bad: I'm a little hesitant to put this in The Bad, but I didn't enjoy Mike's storyline very much. I understand that they were going for a story of him trying to leave the business, but being unable to, but I just didn't find it particularly thoughtful or exciting. Mike's family life just isn't exciting, and while I liked Anita, she really didn't provide much to the story. Also, I was never clear as to why Mike actually decided to go help Daniel. Anita's story would probably have affected him in some way, but I can't figure out why. Maybe this would be better suited for The Unknown, but I feel like we need to understand more of what is going on in Mike's head than we do. This may not be a problem in the future, but I think it takes away from my enjoyment right now, and that's worth putting in The Bad. The Unknown: What does Mike want from Nacho? Could this have something to do with why he decided to accept Daniel's request? What consequences will arise from Jimmy's actions in the insurance office? Best Moment: I haven't mentioned the insurance scene much in this review. And that's because I was saving it for this section, because it was an excellent scene. This last scene was a real showcase for Bob Odenkirk, who had to convey a whole myriad of emotions throughout the scene as he tries to get things to work out for him. Jimmy's breakdown was superb and I believe it honestly started as something real in some form, but Jimmy took complete control of his breakdown and kept it going in order to smite Chuck for all the pain and suffering he put onto Jimmy. I love this scene because it once more explores that gray area in the relationship between Jimmy and Chuck. What Jimmy did here was completely wrong and cruel, yet can you blame him for doing it? It's a fascinating scene to think about, just like many previous scenes involving the relationship between these 2 brothers. Character of the Episode: Jimmy. Conclusion: This was a rock solid episode. There weren't any big moments, but this was a very necessary episode of story progression that builds things up for the end of the season. Better Call Saul continues to avoid having weak episodes even when it is transitioning between storylines. Score: 67
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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