Summary: Jimmy goes on a bus ride and writes postcards the entire time. He returns to Kim and they prepare to enact the plan. Kim is executing a con, as Jimmy will pose as the people of Huell's hometown Coushatta, who all love him and don't want him imprisoned. Kim pressures the attorney and the judge with fake letters and Huell is ultimately allowed to get no jail time. The con rekindles Jimmy and Kim's relationship. Kim gains a desire to do more conning and tells Jimmy that they will do another one. Mike lets his guys go to a strip club. Kai causes trouble again and a drunk Werner reveals too much information to another man. Mike isn't pleased and reports it to Gus but says it won't be a problem. Nacho is running the Salamancas' business himself now but is secretly planning to skip town with his father. However Lalo Salamanca arrives to monitor Nacho's business.
The Good: Much like "Fall" last season, this episode was coated in dread. I was on-edge the entire time watching it and the tension never really diffused as all of the central characters were placed in a position where their plans are setting up for failure and disaster. Jimmy and Kim's story was the central focus of the episode, fitting after all of the set-up last week, and I think their story was the strongest, unsurprisingly. The con that Kim came up with to get Huell out of his situation was very fun to watch. The scenes were slowly paced but they were extremely well-crafted (again, unsurprisingly), and also just delightful to watch with a lot of fun moments. Jimmy's Cajun accent, Huell being treated as Santa Claus and the return of the film crew were extremely fun and added a lot to the experience. Of course that teaser sequence was classic "Better Call Saul" by showing us a character doing something we don't fully understand with some fun moments and very good scene construction. But the storyline never feels too happy and pleasant as there is always tension present. With the season nearing its conclusion and Kim and Jimmy's relationship on rocky ground, it felt like something was bound to go wrong. The amount of focus on Ms. Ericsen only increased these feelings as I was constantly nervous that she would figure out something and get both Kim and Jimmy in huge trouble. The story was paced slowly, but with fun moments and tense moments both, it became really engaging. The best part of the Kim and Jimmy storyline was of course what happened to their relationship. I, along with most of the internet, suspected that Kim and Jimmy's relationship would end soon after Kim saves Jimmy, but surprisingly, "Better Call Saul" swerved in a new direction with Kim and I really love it, but more on that later (see: Best Moment). I do like that the show went with the unexpected and reignited the Jimmy/Kim relationship with a con. This made sense too as their relationship was always the most passionate when these two were conning others as Viktor and Giselle. It's a great call-back and is a logical way to bring them back together. However, this can't possibly be good for Kim, who I am genuinely scared for now. Her career has hit the roof and now she is taking a massive risk by working with Jimmy, so there is genuine fear that she will lose everything because of their relationship, which I think is a much better story than having them just slowly drift apart. Leave it to this show to still surprise and impress me. There were some specific scenes which I really enjoyed. Mrs. Nguyen and Jimmy briefly talking about Jimmy's problems with Kim was a nice scene and I appreciate seeing Mrs. Nguyen help Jimmy out, after all they have known each other for a good while now. Kim has a lot of great scenes in this episode. I liked that she keeps the Zafiro bottle cap in her office, showing how much the exciting cons with Jimmy meant to her. I also liked the scene with Kevin and Paige as it effectively illustrated that Kim is starting to lose interest again, while also letting us understand why as what they are doing is pretty boring. Mike's story was much better in this episode, as the possibilities have opened up for where his storyline is heading. I initially thought it would just be Kai who is an issue and that Mike may end up killing him as a first kill, but that would have been pretty flat, predictable and inconsistent with what we have seen of Mike so far, as he has always been avoiding the kill option. But now by having not only Kai, but also Werner make a fatal error, it feels like the lives of all of the Germans are in danger here. Mike doesn't want to kill them, but he may be forced to, which is much more interesting for his character, and will likely help him make the big change from BCS Mike to BB Mike. Furthermore, I care about Werner after he got some great scenes to bond with Mike, so I'm more engaged with the story overall. Lastly, I get to Nacho's story which was excellent. The first sequence with Nacho was an effective way to show us what has changed in his lifestyle since we last saw him. He runs the Salamanca operation now and has everything, a big house, girls and tons of money. But Nacho doesn't enjoy it, as he is still stuck being somebody he doesn't want to be, ripping out earrings and acting touch. When he gets home he feels deflated and can only look at some fake IDs to get some hope, promising an escape and a new life on the horizon. But that all goes out the window at the end of the episode with the introduction of Lalo, another Salamanca for Nacho to contend with, making him feel more trapped than ever, still unable to escape. Lalo was terrific in his brief scene and immediately has a presence. He is so cheerful and charming in his personality, and yet he is chilling and has a terrifying atmosphere around him, making him an ideal villain for the show. I especially loved the introduction to Lalo as we hear some friendly music inside El Michoacano, but we know something bad has happened. Domingo and the cook are sitting at a table, silent and unmoving, which is chilling in itself as none of them dare to speak a word. It's a great introduction to Lalo and lets us know everything we need to know about who he is. The Bad: Nothing I would call bad. The Unknown: Why was Lalo sent to Nacho's operation now? What happened that required his presence? What are his real motives? What is going to happen to Kim now that she is going to be conning more regularly again? Will her relationship with Jimmy persist? More interestingly, having Kim turn to her darker desires does actually make her fate a little more unclear. I could legitimately see her working alongside "Saul Goodman" now, so perhaps a break-up isn't on the horizon after all. Or this is all just a big red herring. Either way, I know I will be satisfied by what happens. Best Moment: Kim approaches Jimmy at the end of the episode with a desire to con once more. Jimmy does his usual shtick where he says he won't do anything questionable again. But with Kim joining him, there is nobody around to keep him in line, which could spell disastrous results for everybody. It's a scary and foreboding scene because of that and a lot more effective. Additionally, I loved seeing how turned on Kim was by all of the conning, and her desire to do more felt significant, and it felt genuine. Great storytelling. Character of the Episode: Kim. Conclusion: This was a really strong episode, coated with tension, and it also puts all of the central cast in precarious positions for their stories, as it feels that one wrong move will send everything crashing down. This episode was really enjoyable to watch, and did a great job of establishing the show's future. Score: 71
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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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