Summary: Gene escapes from Omaha for a few days, unsure if his cover is blown. After a while, he returns safely but is discovered by Jeff, the taxi driver who recognizes him. Jeff plans to stay in touch with Gene who panics and calls Ed looking to vanish again. But at the last moment, Gene changes his mind. In the present, Kim is shaken by Jimmy's change to Saul but she accepts it. Jimmy runs a promotional stunt with his final cell phones and gets in touch with a lot of new potential clients. Kim runs into Jimmy while working a PD case and Jimmy gets Kim to run a con to get her client to make the right choice, unnerving her. Meanwhile, Lalo enlists Nacho's help and discovers that the cocaine being sold is stepped on. Lalo meets with Bolsa and Gus, and Gus explains that Werner stole his cocaine and he had him quietly killed, diluting the cocaine with meth in an attempt to keep things unnoticed. Gus also explains that Werner was working on an innocuous construction project but Lalo doesn't buy it. Mike dismisses the Germans back to Germany and quits working for Gus.
The Good: Like most season premieres of this show, this was a slow episode that patiently explored a change in character dynamics while wrapping up loose ends from last season and setting up the plot for this season. It certainly won't be the best episode of the season, but it's still an enjoyable watch. I'll start with the opening Gene sequence, a staple of the season premieres. As usual, the sequence was a terrific self-contained watch, furthering Gene's story and highlighting his paranoia. We see Gene on-the-run after his tense encounter last season, and he's ready to leave at a moment's notice. This is the first Gene scene we have seen that doesn't open with a musical score. The music represents Gene's monotonous Cinnabon lifestyle, and with Gene starting off in such a place of bother, the music isn't there. At least not until Jimmy returns to his normal lifestyle, but even then the music only lasts a short while, symbolic of the increasing pressure on Gene and how the Jimmy/Saul hiding beneath him is eager to emerge. Gene is living under constant threat now, and the confrontation with Jeff was exemplary of that. The scene was frighteningly tense giving Gene a good reason to want to disappear once again. He calls Ed (R.I.P. Robert Forster) looking to leave. But he changes his mind and decides to solve the problem himself. This is such a great way to end the Gene sequence, suggesting to us that the Gene lifestyle is no longer viable for Saul/Jimmy. He's going to try to come back, and it should be a blast to see what he does next. But unfortunately, we'll have to wait until next season to find out. Jimmy's transformation into Saul Goodman went forward in full force. This episode sees Saul in his element, dressed in colourful suits, making sleazy business deals and spitting out charismatic lines of dialogue. There isn't a hint of Jimmy in this episode, as Saul rapidly spirals out of control with his questionable marketing schemes and complete disregard for ethics. It's as much of a shock for Kim as it is for us to see Jimmy instantly become this colourful new character and break through every one of the restraints that held him back in his last stint as a lawyer. Perhaps the best example of this is Jimmy's new 50% off deal. It's evident to everyone watching that this deal sounds like a horrible idea since it sounds like Jimmy is encouraging felonies, and Kim points this out, concerned about Jimmy's reputation. But Jimmy completely misinterprets her meaning, thinking that Kim is referring to his financial situation rather than his reputation. As Saul Goodman, he's unable to comprehend the idea of ethical behaviour and that creates a divide between Jimmy and Kim throughout the episode. The relationship between Kim and Jimmy has always been codependent. Kim would keep Jimmy in check whenever he toed the line between legal and illegal, while Jimmy would provide Kim with an escape from her lawful lifestyle by teaching her how to toe the line by pulling small-scale cons. Jimmy would lean too far towards the illegal side of things, while Kim goes too heavily on the legal side. But together, they struck a perfect balance in between both. What this episode establishes is the destruction of that balance. Kim could handle Jimmy, but Saul Goodman is something else entirely. We see the scales tip in this episode as Kim fails to reign in Saul like she ordinarily would. Kim can no longer reign in Jimmy, as shown when he goes through with the 50% off deal anyways after being faced with the loss of a few potential clients. And Jimmy is able to pull Kim to morally gray territory with ease, getting her to actually con her own client (see: Best Moment). In the other half of the episode, we see Lalo continue his investigation on Gus. This story remains a lot of fun, mostly due to Tony Dalton's charismatic performance as Lalo, portraying him as this suave and consistently unpredictable maniac that isn't afraid of anything. Lalo's presence puts immediate pressure on Nacho. Nacho, similar to Kim, is feeling the pressure of his position. With his split loyalties, Nacho finds it increasingly difficult to prevent a war and escape from his current life. Even though we don't see him very much in the episode, his dilemma is clear as day as he tries to cooperate with Lalo without betraying Gus. Offending either of these two could be a fatal mistake for Nacho. We get to see the consequences of Werner's escape in full detail in this episode, and I'm pleased by that. Instead of rushing past to the next big scene, "Better Call Saul" takes its time to explore consequences, as it always does. To contend with Lalo, Gus comes up with an elaborate lie, one that is well thought-out and consistent with the carefulness we have come to expect from Gus. Though a small oversight (the lack of a south wall) is enough to keep Lalo on Gus' scent, and it should be interesting to see where Lalo's investigation will take him, and how Gus plans to deal with him. Mike on the other hand is really feeling the guilt from killing Werner. Kai tries to sympathize with what Mike does, and for his troubles he gets a hard punch. But when Casper angrily insults Mike, he doesn't get punched. Mike knows full well that Werner did not deserve to die, and he's not at all comfortable with what he had to do. Jonathan Banks does a superb job in this episode portraying Mike's unease, and that makes Mike's decision to leave Gus at the end of the episode feel like a realistic choice. The montage of Jimmy giving phones away was terrific. This show always impresses with its editing, and this was another prime example of clever film-making. I particularly enjoyed the details of Jimmy exaggerating Huell's sentence, and also of Jimmy ringing a bell, signifying that he'll be getting involved with the cartel very soon. As a final point, the return of Bill and the film crew were two very welcome cameos, and Jimmy's publicity stunt was a joy to watch. The Bad: The cartel half of the story is bogged down by the prequel problem. Lalo's investigation would be much more engaging and exciting if Mike and Gus' futures were uncertain. There would be more drama and excitement if there was a possibility that Gus' plans could get out to the cartel. But since that possibility doesn't exist, the story isn't as dramatic as it could be. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the story and find it skillfully put together. But I can't help but feel that this should be better than it is. Being a season premiere, this episode is very slow and not a whole lot happens in terms of character, and there aren't even as many chances as usual for the show to wow us with its directing, cinematography and editing. Granted, there's nothing wrong with the content we were given, but there isn't anything particularly special about it either. The Unknown: What is Gene planning to do to deal with Jeff? Will he be channeling his inner Saul Goodman or his inner Jimmy McGill? What's with the stepped on drugs? Did Gus somehow plant these to help make his alibi of Werner's escape make more sense? Lalo mentions that Hector killed Gus' boyfriend. Has it just been confirmed that Gus is gay? Also, what happened in Santiago? I wonder if we will actually learn about Gus' backstory. The 50% off deal sounds like a horrible idea, and I imagine we'll be seeing repercussions from this very soon. The question is, what's going to go wrong? Best Moment: The end of the episode sees Kim trying to convince Bobby to take a deal for 5 months in jail time, which is the obvious best choice. But Bobby refuses to accept this, convinced that going to trial and risking 2-4 years in jail is the smarter idea. When Kim vents to Jimmy about this, Jimmy's immediate instinct is to con Bobby into making the right decision. Kim is horrified, unwilling to let Jimmy's cons interfere with the job that she loves doing. She finally sends him away and returns to Bobby... and ends up conning him anyways. Kim loves it too much, and finds herself unable to resist giving in. Afterwards we see Kim escape into a quiet, monotonous staircase, away from the colourful hallway and takes a moment to catch her breath, horrified by what she has done. Dealing with Saul isn't the same as dealing with Jimmy, and Kim is most certainly feeling the pressure. Character of the Episode: Saul. It's a blast to see this crooked lawyer back on the screen. Conclusion: Another season of "Better Call Saul" starts with a strong yet unspectacular premiere. This was everything it needed to be and I enjoyed watching it. The foundations have been laid for season 5 and I can't wait to see what comes next. Score: 67
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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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