Summary: A flashback shows Jimmy deciding to pursue law to impress Kim. In the present, Kim decides to join up as partner with Schweikart and Cokely, bringing Mesa Verde there so she can have help. Jimmy learns the news and is hurt that his dream of Wexler-McGill restarting has been ruined, but he tells Kim that it's fine anyways. Jimmy reignites his burner phone business and starts by getting revenge on the three teenagers who mugged him previously. Werner provides Mike with a team to start putting together the superlab and Mike organizes a place for them to stay. Gus visits Hector, whose condition has worsened.
The Good: This was another really strong episode, highlighted by the duelling Kim and Jimmy storylines coming together in a meaningful way. Kim's story was solid here. She tried to just force herself to keep working on Mesa Verde, but her desires are pointing elsewhere. Now she has fully acknowledged it, and realizes that she can't keep going on like this, and so she actively makes a move to repair her problem, and that move is joining Schweikart and Cokely. This conflict within Kim was a good story and the resolution in this episode is solid. But the most fascinating part about Kim's story this season is how it has managed to make a huge impact in Jimmy's story. Kim following her dreams for her career has sadly crushed Jimmy's hopes of reinstating Wexler-McGill once he gets his law license back. It's easy to understand why Kim would make this decision and it's also easy to understand why Jimmy is hurt by this. It's a sign of good character drama for us to understand the impact of a development such as this without needing to have anything explained. Jimmy's reaction to this news is one of the best moments of the episode. He excuses himself and we are treated to a fantastic and brief moment as Jimmy feels sick to lose his dream, which he became determined to accomplish just one episode ago. These emotions are undercut with the repeating sound of knives hitting the cutting board, allowing us to easily visualize the impact that this reveal has on Jimmy. But Jimmy swallows his emotions once again and acts as excited as always, telling Kim to go for the opportunity so she can be happy. It's nice to see Jimmy being so selfless for Kim, but since their relationship is pretty much fated to end in a split, the scene becomes tragic as yet another log has been added to the fire which we know will burn down their relationship. Jimmy's hopes for a future in law with Kim were the only things keeping him from breaking out into Slippin' Jimmy again. But the moment they are turned to dust, Jimmy immediately pushes forward, giving himself no time to grieve as he settles on expanding his cell phone business in a big way, committing to his questionable life after seemingly taking a bit of a reprieve in the last episode. Jimmy could have been doing better things, but Howard's sad state as well as Kim's new job have prevented Jimmy from breaking away from his normal habits. The final scene was a thing of beauty and is one of the most unsettling scenes of "Better Call Saul" yet. Jimmy's revenge on the boys who beat him was cathartic of course, but Jimmy ended up going so much farther than expected to regain his reputation as a con man who is not to be disrespected. The tension in that final scene was terrific, created from some exert cinematography and sound design, as well as the fact that we aren't entirely sure what Jimmy's plan is for the three teenagers. What I did know for certain however was that this is the darkest and coldest we have seen Jimmy so far in the series, and Saul Goodman seems to just be a few steps away from where we are currently. The flashback sequence in this episode was really good, just like last episode's flashforward. The scene didn't tell us anything we knew already, but it reminded us that Jimmy did everything in his law career for Kim, ensuring that we understood the full significance of Kim wanting to break away from Jimmy. Furthermore, the opening sequence also bookended significant developments just like the previous episode. But whereas that one bookended the beginning of Saul Goodman with the ending, this episode bookends the first steps of Jimmy's relationship with Kim with what may be the first step towards the end of their relationship. There were a few other really good scenes spliced through Jimmy's storyline. I liked that Jimmy and Kim had a proper conversation regarding him seeing a shrink, as it properly rounded out that loose thread while also letting Jimmy explain how he isn't the type of guy to wallow in his misery like Howard. Speaking of Howard, he shared another terrific scene with Jimmy as he explains how his firm is going downhill rapidly. It's easy to understand how this effects Jimmy, who has a long history with HHM, but I really like that Jimmy tells Howard to move forward and to stop being so afraid and depressed in a very matter-of-fact way, sacrificing Howard's opinion of him to actually help him out a bit. Lastly, I loved seeing Jimmy learn of Mrs. Strauss' death, as it allowed us to see how Jimmy normally should be grieving, in the way he didn't grieve when Chuck died. But what's more fascinating is why Jimmy is so effected by Mrs. Strauss' death. Mrs. Strauss represents Jimmy's love for elder law as she was his first elderly client, and losing her allows Jimmy to reflect on how his life was when he was a lawyer and momentarily makes him consider doing more law work despite it being against the law. He may have resisted this time, but it's only a matter of time before he gives in, forges a new identity and becomes the most famous "criminal" lawyer around. Mike's storyline was solid. I enjoyed seeing him preparing the housing quarters for the new team coming in, doing the picky work which he does best. I also liked him reconciling with Stacey and also letting us know that he is done with the group therapy sessions. After all, Mike is like Jimmy and does best to push forward with his life instead of letting his emotions out. Gus had a tremendous scene in this episode as he lays out a long speech to the comatose Hector. While I do have my problems with Gus (see: The Bad), I thought this scene was extremely well done with stellar acting from Giancarlo Esposito and a chilling atmosphere provided by a combination of strong dialogue, the aforementioned acting and a dark use of colour and atmosphere. As I've said before, I can always count on at least one scene in a "Better Call Saul" episode to be cinematically mesmerizing. The Bad: It's hard to care about the superlab story sadly. While it is cool to see how everything came to be in "Breaking Bad", the problem is that I have no emotional investment to it. There isn't any real character work happening in the storyline which detracts from its overall importance to the story. I've enjoyed Mike's stories in season 1-3 because his character was the primary focus. Until that happens with this storyline, I can't be bothered to care about what is happening, especially with things involving the German work team. Gus has been a little bit disappointing this season because he doesn't really have a proper arc. Last season it was enjoyable to see him turn the tables on Hector, but that is done now. Here we get more about Gus' patience and desire for the petty torture he will ultimately inflict upon Hector. This is good stuff, but the problem is that we already know this from "Breaking Bad". If "Better Call Saul" came first, this wouldn't be a problem, but since it didn't, the scene ended up feeling like just a big easter egg. I don't have a problem with easter eggs as I have enjoyed them a lot in this show, but I don't want significant moments to be built for the purpose of easter eggs. I want to see something more from Gus than just his hatred for Hector. The Unknown: It seems likely that Kai will do something wrong. What will happen? Who will face the consequences? Jimmy is holding everything in. He has gone through a lot and yet he hasn't spilled anything. What will cause him to break? Where is Nacho? Is he still healing? It's been two episodes without him. I think it's fair to say that the Gus and Mike story is lesser without him being involved in some way, since his excellent character work and murky future make the story more interesting. Best Moment: There are many to choose from for different reasons. As memorable as the Gus scene and the ending scene were, I think I'll go with the smaller moment of Jimmy losing everything he has been pushing to obtain. The brief moment of Jimmy suffering while the knives cut loudly int he background was very powerful. Character of the Episode: Jimmy. Conclusion: Despite some weaknesses in the Gus/Mike side of the story stemmed by a lack of the relatable Nacho, this episode was another excellent instalment. Jimmy's descent and his relationship with Kim have been getting the screen time they deserve and its made for a pleasurable viewing. Score: 69
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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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