Uneven as it was, and deliberately so, I actually liked this episode.
Why did it work for me? Chuck. I have whined about Chuck, finding his character not very interesting in his present state. There’s only so much one can do with a character who is afraid to go outside, or do much of anything. They got around that last episode by having him go outside in desperate search of a newspaper. That leads to the pre-credit sequence that starts this episode, a visit from the police, called by the neighbor who isn’t happy about the stolen paper – regardless of the money he left behind. The police go searching for probable cause, find enough of it, and invade Chuck’s home, tasering him.
What do we learn about Chuck, and Chuck’s relationship with little brother Jimmy at the hospital in this episode? A lot, actually. First, Chuck’s problems are in his head. The scene with the doctor turning on the electrical device, out of Chuck’s line of vision, was intended to make that clear. Chuck is alternately insufferable and achingly sympathetic, as played by the always-wonderful Michael McKean. He is able to convey Chuck’s intelligence, ego, and disintegrated mind. But Jimmy is having none of it, telling the doctor that her electricity gambit was a dirty trick and refusing to commit Chuck even though it would benefit him and possibly Chuck. There are deep ties between the brothers, and back at Chuck’s home, Jimmy attributes his breakdown to learning about Jimmy’s stunt that was in the newspaper. Jimmy is driven to do good out of guilt, a powerful belief that he cannot disappoint his brother.
The outlook for Chuck, going forward, is very grim. It seems hard to imagine Jimmy becoming Saul Goodman if Chuck is still around.
The episode is spotty. The pre-credit sequence is compelling. Jimmy’s bid to find business leads him to minor comic sequences that are quite slow, especially by the time he visits the old woman planning her estate. It’s at these moments that I realize what the show is trying to achieve, and has the luxury to try because of the success of Breaking Bad. But unlike the slower scenes in that show, I find myself impatient during Better Call Saul. OK, I get it. We can move on now. Oh, you’re going to keep this up until the next commercial break? Sigh. I fell like those Breaking Bad fans who hated “Fly,” which makes me feel like a bad person.
By the end of the episode, we suddenly switch to Mike. We see him watch a younger woman, presumably his daughter, from his car near her home. She’s not happy to see him. Then he goes home to get his own visit from the police. It’s apparently a Philadelphia cop, accompanied by Albuquerque’s finest, which apparently is going to set up the first real dealings between Mike and his lawyer Jimmy.
Weird episode. Slow, unbalanced, and unconvincing to me (not helped by the abominable AMC website).
As another review i read noted, this was the first episode with significant scenes which did not include Jimmy. Abs both advanced the plot much further than the regular pacing. Chuck’s bust, and Mike’s last 10 minutes.
And interestingly, both involved cops. Seeing the beginnings of Jimmy’s distrust of cops is fascinating.