*Spoilers Ahead*
It’s hard to believe that in just nine episodes Better Call Saul is already capable of crafting a scene like the one we get at the end of tonight’s episode. Admittedly, it being a spin-off helps as we already understand part of the character but I’m willing to say that there is enough disparity between Breaking Bad‘s Saul Goodman and Jimmy McGill that this is still an impressive feat.
Before we get to that scene we open with Jimmy attempting to calm Chuck following the revelations about his condition at the end of the previous episode. There isn’t much focus on what that ending posited last week, mainly because Jimmy doesn’t want to bring it up and Chuck, most likely, doesn’t want the answers.
Meanwhile, the lawyers of Sandpiper Crossing are drowning the McGill brothers in paperwork and attempting to keep Jimmy busy in court with restraining orders. Chuck suggests going to HHM with the case and eventually convinces Jimmy. Something seems amiss, however, when Chuck step outside in the middle of the night, space blanket in tow, and uses Jimmy’s phone to make a call.
In the morning, Jimmy and Chuck head to HHM, Chuck lining his suit with the space blanket, an idea given to him by his brother. He is greeted to an ovation from the entire staff, being heralded like a returning emperor. It’s clear Chuck misses it just from the look on his face.
Hamblin, along with his army of lawyers, is confident they will win this case and is willing to pay Jimmy handsomely for giving it to them. However, he decides against Jimmy working on the case or at HHM. The room whittles down to just him, Chuck, and Jimmy and Jimmy begs to know what exactly it is that Hamblin hates about him. Chuck is just as disgusted and Jimmy leaves without handing over the case.
Kim eventually meets with Jimmy at their usual spot, the nail salon where Jimmy’s office is. Earlier, Kim decided to seek answers from Hamlin and whatever she was told was enough for her to tell Jimmy to take the deal. He doesn’t take this advice very well and angrily drives her out of the salon. Jimmy heads back to his office and charges his dead phone, he had discovered it dead in the mailbox outside Chuck’s even though he was positive he turned it off.
Elsewhere, Mike has taken a job working protection for a wannabe pill slinger who wishes to go by the name of Price. “I’ve got a nephew named Price and I’ve always kind of liked that name,” he tells his clients. The two other people going to the job with Mike are essentially images of what he isn’t. Mike isn’t the towering figure who makes you think twice before pulling anything and he certainly isn’t the brash and overly confident thug who is packing way too much weaponry for a simple job. Mike proves to be better than both of them simply by knowing who he is dealing with before going into the job. It’s a simple story that gets to show those new to the character why we all love him and it also brings back Nacho, who is buying the pills from the wannabe criminal.
Then, we get to that final scene, the amount of praise I gave to Jonathan Banks for his work in “Five-O” can be given to both Bob Odenkirk and Michael McKean in this final scene. Jimmy has found out the truth, his brother called Hamlin the night before their meeting and has actually been keeping him out of HHM all this time. With everything laid on the table Chuck flat out admits it. In his eyes, Jimmy is not a “true” lawyer as he didn’t put in the work that Chuck did (as I had speculated, his degree isn’t exactly legit.) “Slippin’ Jimmy I can handle, Slippin’ Jimmy with a law degree is like giving a chimp a machine gun.” Chuck coldly notes. The scene is beautifully played by both men with Odenkirk walking the line between how devastated Jimmy is and how much seething rage he must be feeling. McKean is no slouch either playing Chuck as a man who says he is doing this to uphold the sanctity of law but really just can’t see his little brother as being on his level in any way. The real key to all this though is that the twist is as emotionally devastating for the viewer as it is for Jimmy. We’ve come to know Chuck as a generally kind guy who wants the best for his brother to discover that he, not Hamlin, is the one who has been undermining him this whole time pulls the rug out from under us. Not only that but it forces us to reevaluate everything that we’ve seen so far, that’s the true sign of a great twist in a story.
We have one episode left in an already stellar first season, I can’t wait to see what is waiting for us in that next episode. Lord knows Jimmy needs a win right now but I have a feeling that things might be getting worse for Jimmy and the others before they get better.
Bits ‘n Pieces
- I’m going to assume that Nacho is going to try and hire Mike in some way. How exactly this leads to Jimmy getting involved is another thing.
- In retrospect, it should have been obvious that Hamlin wasn’t the total prick he was being portrayed as but I somehow never thought Chuck would end up being Jimmy’s true antagonist.
- “The most common phrase in this place? ‘I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.'”
- “Pimento is a cheese, they call it the caviar of the south.”
- “Hamlinidgo blue? How about Haminidgo blow me!”
If you’d like to give me feedback or just chat about Better Call Saul you can email me at theSuperAlbino@gmail.com or hit me up on Twitter @JesseSwanson