Summary: A flashback shows Jimmy and Marco return to Jimmy's father's store after it is closed down. In the present, Jimmy's clients try to back out of the deal to Jimmy's dismay. Jimmy reverts to Slippin' Jimmy to make a profit out of them. Later Jimmy pulls a con job on the Community Service Hours guy to make money off a drug dealer who wanted to leave. Kim signs on with a new client, Billy Gatwood. She runs into Howard who is very upset at Kim doing so much damage to HHM from the trial. Chuck is recovering from his illness but he is met by Howard who has to discuss insurance. Nacho prepares for the pill swap and executes it without being detected.
The Good: Jimmy's storyline was excellent. This episode feels like Jimmy taking his first steps to becoming Saul, and you can even say that he figuratively took on his first Saul Goodman client in this episode with the drug dealer. This was a long time coming, and it feels so satisfying to watch Jimmy ultimately taking his first steps towards Saul territory. And yet it also feels somewhat sad to see Jimmy relapsing to Slippin' Jimmy like this, which is a testament to how well this show has been written. It's mastered the ability to create a mixture of emotions for every storyline. Both of the cons were extremely enjoyable to watch and they effectively demonstrated how being Slippin' Jimmy is much more effective for Jimmy than whatever legitimate business he is working right now. Adding on to the Jimmy storyline, I really enjoyed the brief scene between Jimmy and Kim. It's being established that both are growing more and more distant despite working together and I'm sure that this will lead to a breakup at some point in the future. It is hard to predict when though. The actual conversation was interesting and it's nice to see Kim still trying to cut Jimmy a break, despite Jimmy now being able to easily pay off his half. Kim's storyline continues to intrigue me. She is still feeling the guilt for what she did, but now we learn that it's much more than just guilt for Chuck. She has practically betrayed HHM and that is definitely hurting her a lot on the inside. Her scenes with Howard were very good as Howard was excellent at showing his anger after all the reputation of HHM was practically destroyed. There was a very tense conflict there and I'm very excited to see how it plays out later. In the end this storyline was set-up, but I enjoyed it more because it never felt like set-up. We got to see a lot of conflict happening now, which distracted from the nature of the set-up, and making the storyline more engaging as a result. Furthermore, it was nice to get to see the full nature of the damages to HHM after Chuck's breakdown in court. It's interesting to see Howard having to work extra hard because of it, and it does make me believe we will be getting a split between Howard and Chuck at some time in the near future, perhaps early next season. Chuck's storyline was very good too. It's nice to see that he accepted his mental illness right away. While Chuck may be a prick, I'm glad that the writers have given him some redeemable qualities. Chuck seems very decent in this episode, even likeable as he accepts his condition and simply works to improve it without showing off his ego as much as he usually does. I like seeing this kinder side of Chuck and it does help us sympathize with him a little bit now that he seems to have actually left Jimmy behind. Of course things may change with the insurance storyline, but more on that later (see: The Unknown). Nacho's storyline was an absolute joy to watch in this episode. It was completely dedicated to Nacho just pulling off the pill swap stunt and it was compelling to watch. I loved seeing him prepare everything and the little things like seeing every step Nacho took when crushing the pills down and the addition of a small scene showing Nacho breaking the AC vents on the roof. The actual pill swap was fantastic too. It is undoubtedly the most tense scene in the whole show thus far and had me at the edge of my seat. I had a sense that Nacho would pull it off, but there was always a chance he wouldn't because he isn't in Breaking Bad. And additionally, we know Hector doesn't die and Nacho's pills were intended to kill Hector so there was always the chance of a little wiggle room which kept me tense. It was a great sequence to watch unfold. Mike's story was good too. It was nice to get some closure on the man who was shot by Hector and I think it fits Mike's character. It also helps show why Anita's speech may have made Mike go to Nacho since he didn't want the man's wife to suffer without closure like Anita did. The final deal with Gus was nice too and was a good note to end the episode, but I feel it wasn't as big of a deal as it should have been (see: The Bad). There were a few other small things I enjoyed. The flashback was great as it showed us more about Jimmy's past, adding even more depth to the storyline with his father. It was also great to see Marco again. And finally, I love that Francesca was trying to secretly read a magazine which she quickly put away when Kim leaves her office. The Bad: There was a very awkward cut away from Chuck in the grocery store. It looked like he was about to pass out, making it feel awkward to leave us thinking that before showing Chuck later on completely unaffected. It felt like some stupid drama that added nothing to the story. The Mike and Gus deal felt like it came out of nowhere. We understood why Mike went to met Nacho (to find the man who was shot), but we don't know why he suddenly went to Gus. I don't buy that Mike would trust Gus completely and I feel like they shouldn't trust each other so much yet. This deal feels like it should have been made a little later on. I suppose more time was wanted for Mike's choice to work as Gus' "head of security" but it still feels cheap to see this deal created so suddenly. The Unknown: How will the insurance affect Chuck? Could it put Chuck back on Jimmy's scent? This could add a lot of irony as Jimmy's actions may inadvertently have caused Chuck to become a thorn in his side once again. The flashback was very interesting. I'm not sure what it's purpose was since it didn't accomplish a whole lot except for fleshing out the relationship between Jimmy and his father. I'm curious to see if it has anything else to it that may be expanded on in future episodes. Could the box of coins come into play later on? Best Moment: The pill swap scene was a master-class of tense filmography. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Character of the Episode: Jimmy for reaching into his inner Saul. Conclusion: This was an excellent set-up episode which still managed to have more than enough of an identity to itself to overcome the crutches of set-up episodes. Like "Rebecca" from last season, this was a surprisingly great set-up episode which exceeded my expectations. Score: 70
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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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