Summary: Jimmy and Kim get used to a life of scamming people together. The time comes for Jimmy to get his law license back but when he goes in front of the bar association, he is denied his law license because of insincerity. Jimmy is enraged and lashes out at Kim. The two of them have a fight. Ultimately Kim decides that she will help Jimmy get his law license back. Mike notices that Werner is troubled and permits him a phone call to his wife. Mike continues to support him to finish his work, but Werner doesn't listen and escapes. Lalo visits Hector and gives him his bell. He goes to Los Pollos Hermanos and offers Gus a deal to work together peacefully.
The Good: This was a great episode, playing off of tension extremely well and including some terrific scenes with consistent and impressive acting throughout. Jimmy and Kim had a great storyline in this episode which culminated in a standout final scene. But before I talk about that, I want to talk about the opening scene. Last episode raised the question of how far Kim would go with her new-found appreciation for conning, and we were answered right away with a terrific scene which showed us how committed Kim is to this as she uses a cheap scam to save her from doing some work on Mesa Verde. It was a great way to establish her morals, set up some threads for the climactic scene later, and also provides us an entertaining opening sequence by showing up Slippin' Jimmy at work with his new partner in crime. Then we get to Jimmy going to get his license back, which I think was a very clever use of audience expectations. Jimmy was so confident about getting his license back, and we know that he continues being a lawyer in the future, so it seemed like a given that Jimmy would be reinstated as a lawyer. That the scene took place in the middle of the episode also supported the idea that nothing too huge would happen here. But then the scene happened and we got to see Slippin' Jimmy at work once more, only this time he is fighting for his law license. It's entertaining as always, but this one has a little more emotional weight to it as the words coming out of Jimmy's mouth are more truthful than usual; he does genuinely enjoy being a lawyer. I thought that his decision to neglect speaking about Chuck would just exist to show us how he doesn't care at all about Chuck's death, but I was wrong, and when the curtain came down and it was revealed that Jimmy wouldn't be getting his license, it felt like a gut-punch. This was an out-of-nowhere tragedy for Jimmy's character, and it was downright heartbreaking to witness. I must hand it to Bob Odenkirk as well, who does a terrific job of showing the many, many layers behind Jimmy as he acted out this scene. The storytelling is outstanding as it provides a genuinely surprising twist in Jimmy's story, and the wonderful irony in the fact that Jimmy was actually being sincere and had he mentioned Chuck, that would have been insincere. Jimmy, a regular scammer, was just punished for his own honesty and that is bound to make honesty a trait that Jimmy may never want to express again, furthering his descent to Saul Goodman in a heart-breaking way. That scene could have been the climax of any other episode and I would have been satisfied, but then it was immediately followed up by a massive fight between Jimmy and Kim. Jimmy is enraged due to being let down for doing seemingly nothing wrong and Kim is the one who has to calm him down. She tries, but it's one slip up, where she says "we will find a way to make you look sincere" that completely sets Jimmy off. In one moment, all of Jimmy's past enemies flash before him as he makes reference to several setbacks he has had to deal with (including a nod to the Kettleman story in season 1 which I especially appreciated) by lashing out all of his frustrations towards Kim, treating her like just another one of the people who always look down on him. Naturally this sets Kim off too and she explodes at his lack of gratitude for her, and it ends up becoming a powerful and sad fight. The best part about this is how realistic and organic the set-up to them coming to blows actually is. It's so relatable which makes it all the more tragic to see them explode like this at each other. The scene is brilliantly constructed and it is a wonderful catharsis for what is now seasons worth of frustration. This moment was a series highlight for sure, and it was carried by some tremendous acting from Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn. I though the following scene at Kim's apartment was another outstanding one. They had clearly never had anything like this before, so both are unsure of what to do. Kim is nervous to approach Jimmy, who is reluctantly packing his stuff into his bag, unsure if Kim would even want him anymore. It's sad to see Jimmy believing that he just ruined the one final good thing in his life, but thankfully Kim's inability to get away from Jimmy pushed her back to him to try things again and to push forwards. I feel like Kim being unable to get away from Jimmy while she had the chance may come back to haunt her. As if that wasn't exhausting enough, there are still two more storylines in this episode, with both of them having important and engaging developments to set everything in place for the season finale. I'll tackle the superlab story first. I thought last episode did a great job of making Werner a character that I care about and I had hoped that this was set-up for something big in Mike's personal story. It seems like that will be the case as Werner shows serious signs of being a potential threat, yet Mike takes the half-measure to deal with him, only letting him call his wife. It's sensible as we can see that Mike and Werner have become friends over the past few months, but it ends up being a mistake as we get the big reveal that Werner escaped the compound and nobody noticed. It's a great surprise to end the episode, and it could very well be setting up for Mike to make a full measure to correct his half measure. I imagine that Mike may very well make his first kill working for Gus, and it won't be pretty, seeing how much I've become invested in Werner. Furthermore, the scenes int he superlab did a great job with tension. Werner having a breakdown alone while doing the blasting was poignant and scary, while the ending scene was shocking and foreboding as you just get the sense that Werner won't be able to make it very far. Lastly, we get to Lalo, who continues to be a wildly entertaining character. His polite and charming nature is a breath of fresh air compared to all of the violent Salamancas, and his mysterious motives (see: The Unknown) make all of his scenes so much more engaging to watch. I enjoyed the first sequence where he gave the bell to Hector. Technically this scene was unnecessary, but I think that Hector getting the iconic bell was important enough that we needed to see it happen, and I think Lalo's interactions with Hector were also significant as they taught us a little more about his character and how he normally behaves. This led to him having a meeting with Gus in a scene which I really loved. Both actors have so much presence, and they played off of each other in an excellent, and different, way. As an aside, I also liked seeing Lyle again, plus it was a smart way to make Gus notice and approach Lalo right away. The Bad: Mike's story doesn't feel like it's significant to the overall plot. Sure it is a very good story, but it just feels too much like filler. Who knows, maybe it will tie into something more important, and if that is the case, I will retract this complaint, but if not, I just don't think it's a necessary story, especially considering how many other important stories are going on. The Unknown: Will Werner get away and go home safely? Will Mike catch him and kill him for his betrayal? How will Gus react to Mike's misplaced trust in Werner? This situation is set up very well for an exciting finale. Speaking of a nicely set-up situation, how will Jimmy and Kim try to get Jimmy reinstated when they appeal? What is their plan? Is there a plan? Also, what is the state of their relationship now? How do they plan to address their futures? Is it possible that Jimmy doesn't get his law license back and would be forced to redo his schooling as Saul Goodman? That could be one explanation of how he ended up as Saul Goodman. Best Moment: The parking garage fight was breathtaking, devastating television which was written and acted to perfection. Character of the Episode: Jimmy. Conclusion: This episode was tremendous with some outstanding moments of storytelling, gripping moments of tension and exciting build-up for what should be a great season finale. This episode delivered. Score: 77
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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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