*Spoilers Ahead*
Boy, does it feel good to be back in New Mexico! I am happy to have Better Call Saul back on the airwaves. The show, much like it’s predecessor, has a confidence about it that manages to keep you enthralled even in an episode that’s mostly set-up.
We don’t see any of Jimmy’s brother, Chuck, this week and instead the focus goes to another pivotal relationship, Jimmy and Kim. While it was never explicitly stated in last season it was clear that Jimmy and Kim had a thing going on and the episode wastes no time getting right into it as Jimmy takes Kim aside to make sure that whatever is going on between them won’t be screwed up if he takes this new job offer at a big law firm. He then proceeds to decline the job offer and leave.
The show does a great job of expanding on the interesting and somewhat mysterious relationship between Jimmy and Kim. All we really knew about their past is that she was there when Jimmy first started at HHM and she was the one who helped him study for his degree. The simple conversation between Jimmy and Kim manages to reveal more about their relationship by stating that they each have unspoken feeling for one another. Those feelings eventually get brought to the forefront once Kim decides to track Jimmy down and confront him.
Jimmy has been spending his days hanging out in the pool of some club, charging his bill to a random schmuck and enjoying his “Slippin’ Jimmy” lifestyle. Kim isn’t impressed at first but after Jimmy decides to bring her in on the con of an obnoxious businessman at the bar and she gets into it. The two prove to be a dynamic duo as they convince the guy to buy an entire $50 a shot bottle of tequila by acting like a clueless brother and sister with a large inheritance looking to take the stock market by storm. The experience is so fun and exhilarating that the two end up falling into bed together.
However, Kim can’t be like Jimmy, she can’t give up her life as a lawyer full time just like that and deep down Jimmy knows it. It’s ultimately what brings him to take that offer at the law firm, he wants Kim and “Slippin’ Jimmy” won’t cut it. There are other perks too though, the firm manages to give him a nice office, similar to the one he always wanted, he even gets that cocobolo desk but something seems off.
That brings us to the episode’s title, the “switch” that has a label on it stating it should never be turned off. Jimmy ignores the sign and flips the switch, why? Because he can, because nobody was going to stop him from doing whatever he wanted now. It’s the important distinction between Jimmy and later Saul, and “Gene” the future version of him working at a Cinnabon in Nebraska. Gene sees a sign and feels the need to obey for fear of his life being ruined further than it already has been. Jimmy has no such fears.
I’ve seen a lot of speculation about what that switch might actually do and I wouldn’t be surprised if it actually does do something but for now the actual purpose of the switch is unimportant to it’s purpose to Jimmy. It’s a rule and Jimmy is no longer content, even with a nice new job, to follow the rules of society any longer. “Slippin’ Jimmy’s” still there he just got a better suit.
Bits ‘n Pieces
- I didn’t get to talk about it in the main review but Mike was around for a little bit this week. He mainly gets to warn Beta-Walt (Pryce) against showing up to a deal with his tricked out Hummer. Beta-Walt cuts him loose and ends up getting his money stolen from his house when Nacho gets his ID. Seems like Mike and Pryce might need a lawyer.
- Of all the ridiculous theories I heard about what the switch actually does it being the security for the whole building is probably the stupidest so far.
- “They say Arnold Schwarzenegger is the reason Hummers exist. Don’t know how, but that’s what they say.”
- “Wait til you see what I floss with.”
- “I said lioness to be species accurate. It’s a National Geographic thing.”
Jesse Swanson is a would-be writer, podcaster and funny guy who covers TV shows of all shapes and sizes. You can find him on Twitter @JesseSwanson