Summary: Howard pays off Chuck with his own money and forces him to leave HHM. Jimmy takes care of Kim who is finally starting to loosen up a bit. Jimmy has regrets about what he's done and goes to see Chuck to try and fix their relationship. Chuck isn't having any of it though and sends Jimmy away heartbroken. Jimmy plays the villain and turns the elderly community against him so Irene can have her social life back. Chuck relapses into his illness and destroys his house to remove all power sources. He knocks over a lantern after losing hope, setting his house on fire. Nacho tries to take things into his own hands to kill Hector. He is stopped though when Hector has a secret meeting with Gus. The pills kick in this time and Hector collapses and is taken away in an ambulance.
The Good: Every storyline in this finale was excellent. The follow-up on last episode with Kim's crash was great. I like that it impacted Jimmy as much as it did, letting him realize his sins and stray away from the path of Saul. It was a real look at what almost losing someone you love can do to somebody, and Bob Odenkirk was spectacular at showing a more shaken and scared side to Jimmy throughout the episode. I liked the changes to Kim as well. The crash allowed her to open her eyes and realize that work isn't everything. This whole season has just been Kim overworking herself and being dedicated to work, so it's a surprising development to have her finally take a break and relax, possibly enjoying it a little too much. This could be a huge change in Kim's character and I'm excited to see how it will come into play next season. I enjoyed the continuation of their stories as well. I really enjoyed seeing Jimmy go back to doing the "right thing" again after what happened, by ultimately destroying his own career in elder law in order to get the heat off of Irene. It was honourable and highlights exactly why it's easy to sympathize with Jimmy. He did a terrible thing in the last episode, but he never intends for any lasting consequences with these things. Clearly he was hoping that Irene could get back to her life after everything, but when that didn't happen he did anything to undo the damage he caused. It's somewhat tragic, but Jimmy was very clearly digging a hole for himself by doing so many bad deeds and I'm glad that he had to face some major consequences for his actions once more. The Erin cameo was also great and I enjoyed her brief conversations with Jimmy. I also love how the dialogue between them during Jimmy's little con felt completely staged because it obviously was. I do like that the season ended with Jimmy practically losing his entire career which opens up a lot of possibilities for what he does in the next season with Kim now that they are moving out. Chuck's storyline was even more powerful in this episode. Like the Jimmy storyline, I thought there was some superb follow-up in this episode with his conflict with Howard. I thought the storyline may take longer, but I think the fast resolution makes more sense because Howard should absolutely be done with Chuck after all he's done. It's easy to sympathize with both sides here, and it's completely understandable that Howard would do everything to get Chuck out of the way to protect the firm. There was some genuine emotion in Howard's speech when he lets out his disappointment in Chuck, which was also contrasted with the emotion from seeing Chuck's despair when he realizes that losing his job may be a reality. I thought the ensuing scene with Chuck leaving HHM was tremendous and Michael McKean was wonderful as always in showing Chuck's distaste in leaving HHM while being forced to put on a fake smile. Howard says Chuck won, but in reality he really didn't. Another nice touch I enjoyed was seeing Howard stop clapping and leave while Chuck is still not out the door, demonstrating the broken nature of their relationship. While on the topic of broken relationships, this episode makes it clear that Chuck's flaw which lead to his suicide is his inability to work with others. He is egotistical and selfish, which was highlighted with his dead relationship with Jimmy, and then used again here as his own ego completely destroys a very long friendship with Howard. As easy as it is to sympathize with Chuck for all this, the show has done an excellent job of demonstrating that everything that has happened to Chuck has happened for good reason. I think that one of the strongest points of both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul is that everything that happens to the characters are a result of their previous actions and decisions. It makes for very satisfying and deep storytelling, which is always the reason why my scores for these shows will be really high on average, because of the extremely satisfying nature of the story. Anyways back to Chuck now, I like how the deep storytelling I mentioned before applies to his relapse. On top of losing his own job, he completely breaks Jimmy in a powerful scene when Jimmy comes with hopes to rebuild their relationship (see: Best Moment). Chuck's sadness at losing his job and purpose in life, combined with the guilt of what he said to Jimmy as a result of his own selfishness are a deadly combination and completely destroy Chuck mentally. The montage of Chuck relapsing was absolutely spectacular as we get to see him slowly lose it and give in to his sensitivity to electricity. Seeing him destroy his house completely was surprisingly effective at making me sympathize with Chuck and it conveyed its message of Chuck getting overwhelmed by his mental illness really well. Mentally ill and depressed people would focus on anything to escape their troubles and in this case Chuck made it his mission to find the power source in his house, but eventually he broke and couldn't take it anymore. That final scene was brilliantly shot as we didn't know exactly what was happening until the end when it hits us that Chuck has fallen over the edge. The final image of Chuck's house starting to burst into flames was extremely chilling and dark, ending the season on a shocking and powerful note. The Nacho storyline reached a wonderful climax in this episode too. I really liked how Nacho's desperation was shown when he became afraid that the pills wouldn't work in time. The scene at Nacho's father's shop was great and very tense as Nacho had to practically beg his father to tae the money from an angry Hector. The scene really raised the stakes and highlighted how Nacho's father wouldn't last long because Hector has lost trust in him and will more than likely kill him for his own benefit. It was the perfect scene which would push Nacho into trying to kill Hector himself in a very tense scene where Nacho would attempt to kill Hector with a gun. I bought that Nacho would reach the point where he would try to kill Hector so rashly and it made for a very tense sequence since we know if Nacho kills Hector, there would be some major consequences for him. I do like how Hector was portrayed in this episode. While he is a complete and total ass, we can still somewhat sympathize with him as he completely rages at Bolsa after he is having his drug business taken from him by Gus. That scene was very good and Mark Margolis was phenomenal as always. I really like that he incorporated one of Hector's signature mouth twitches from Breaking Bad when he was angry. The stroke (I accidentally called his stroke a heart attack in past reviews. It was obviously a stroke which affected him and I think the pills caused a clot in his brain which led into a stroke, and it wasn't a heart attack which crippled Hector.) was a big moment and was very satisfying to watch. I like that Gus lost composure to save Hector. Hector was always his weakness, so I like that it was kept as his weakness in this scene as Gus is horrified at the thought that Hector dies without receiving his comeuppance. The Bad: I do wish that we got to see more of the effects on Jimmy after his conversation with Chuck. What Chuck said was absolutely terrible and I wish we got to see more of the real Jimmy dealing with that, instead of Jimmy acting all pleasant the very next scene while talking to the elderly. The Unknown: Is Chuck dead? We didn't see the body, but I assume he is dead. How will everyone react to Chuck's death? I expect Kim, Jimmy and Howard would all be blaming themselves. How would they deal with it? What will Howard's role in the story be now that Chuck and Kim aren't involved with HHM anymore? Gus seems to suspect Nacho. Will he try to do something to Nacho in return? Or will he perhaps ally with Nacho? What is in store for Kim and Jimmy? What are they going to do no without the office? How will Kim's new change in behaviour affect her career and relationship with Jimmy? Best Moment: Jimmy and Chuck's final scene was extremely powerful. Chuck's selfish and egotistical nature once again took over as he completely ruins Jimmy's morale and tells him the most hurtful thing a brother could possibly say to his sibling: "you never really mattered much to me". It was a brutal line and I really like that the camera lingered on Jimmy processing the words and slowly leaving the house in silence. It was really powerful television and just about sums up the relationship between these 2 brothers. Character of the Episode: Chuck. Conclusion: An excellent season finale. All the stories climaxed in the perfect way, allowing for a lot of story arcs to be resolved with a lot of interesting set-up for next season. This season as a whole was excellent. It's the best season of the show for sure as it had loads of powerful climactic moments, including the best episode of the show thus far in "Chicanery". The first half of the season was very well paced as every episode progressed the story in a meaningful way while also offering some truly excellent scenes to keep us on our toes. The back half of the season wasn't quite as good, but it featured Better Call Saul's signature storytelling and pace which allowed for some really worthwhile stories to be told, which all culminated in superb fashion in this episode. Score: 77
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
February 2024
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