[rating=8.00]
Before we begin: Any doctors reading this? I have a question that I think is pretty important: What are the chances that a psychological disorder — something like, say… a psychosomatic adverse reaction to all things electromagnetic, for example — could be fatal? Oh, I’m just curious. Been wondering for a while now, really (about eight weeks or so, anyway). Probably isn’t very likely, right? Son of a bitch… OK. I didn’t think so. Thanks anyway. Let’s get started:
All jokes aside, Chuck had a pretty good showing in this week’s episode, at least by his standards. For roughly 44 minutes of the show’s 47 minutes of screen time, Chuck managed not to be a shithead, despite having a pretty substantial role in the episode. Not only that, but he was — dare I say — kind of enjoyable to watch. He fit right in with Jimmy and a trio of rival lawyers they plans to do battle with in court, he helped to advance the plots appropriately in several scenes as Jimmy referenced Chuck’s expansive law expertise to help himself plod through the complexities of a huge case that pretty much fell into his lap, and, thorough all of this, Michael McKean offers a subtle, yet convincing, performance as Chuck that nearly had me swooning after just one episode. But only nearly.
At about the 45 minute mark, Chuck’s melodramatic, bugged-eyed and sweaty electromagnetic routine makes another appearance, and we all collectively groan. Why? Can anyone tell me? The concept borders on absurdity to begin with, and its glaring misuse only makes things worse. It gone beyond just Chuck’s sickness; it’s now also the show’s ailment — the most obvious and most annoying on what is, in truth, a pretty short list. It’s a shame, really. Here are my takeaways from Better Call Saul’s eighth episode:
Like Mike
Mike makes another brief appearance in this week’s episode, and he is, as usual, the show’s highlight. This time around, we’re granted a little more insight into what inspired Mike to join the ranks of the criminal underworld. Spoilers: It’s pretty damn compelling.
Mike’s granddaughter and daughter-in-law, he comes to find out, are struggling in the wake of his son’s unexpected murder. Right away, Mike realizes that it is very difficult to support three people on a parking attendant’s salary. No surprise there. His solution, though maybe not the best one for an ex-cop who is suspected in the murder of two police officers, makes sense. Mike returns to the vet who stitched up his bullet wound from a few weeks earlier — the one who approached him after the fact offering the possibility of “work” in Albuquerque. We don’t know for sure, but I’m guessing this isn’t the guy who got Mike the job in the parking lot.
The best part of this is that Mike’s motivation for stepping into some shady business practices (the details we’re not quite sure of yet) both make sense with his character and are a huge callback for fans of Breaking Bad. His number one priority throughout his entire run on Bad was always his family — his granddaughter in particular. Unlike some characters who claimed a similar motivation (ahem, Walter White), Mike’s always felt sincere. No matter how despicable his actions were, they always kind of made sense in this context. At least a little bit.
Now, as we gear up for whatever troubles Mike will inevitably get himself into later in the series, viewers can rest easy knowing that that’s still the same. Mike’s family keeps him grounded, and, just as important, they frame all of his questionable decisions — like murdering two cops, for example — in a way that makes them hard to argue against. Moving forward, I expect that to be important.
Little Saul
This week’s cold open gave us even more information about Saul’s colored past. It’s a sad story, really. This time around, we learn that Saul had previously worked for his brother’s law firm — not as an attorney, but as a mail room attendant. Humble beginnings for Albuquerque’s best criminal lawyer.
Throughout his tenure there (and over the course of several years, we learn), Saul manages to finish up his undergraduate degree, complete law school, and pass the Bar. That’s impressive. But when Jimmy talks to Howard, his brother’s law partner, about getting a job there as an actual attorney, he’s dismissed. “We’ll review again in six months,” Howard tells him. “Thanks for understanding, Jimmy.”
Suddenly, Saul’s bitterness toward Howard makes more sense. For television’s sake, I’m sure we’re all glad that Jimmy never got the position as an established attorney at his brother’s well-respected firm, leading him to forge his own path through questionable means (a lot of which we’re still learning about) and eventually end up as the go-to lawyer for Walter and Jesse in Breaking Bad. But, for Saul’s sake, it is legitimately heartbreaking (assuming both that Saul is a real person and that I have a heart, although neither of those are actually true).
Consider the transformation Jimmy underwent, from facing his brother in handcuffs to standing before him with a law degree and Bar certification. Instead of rewarding that kind of work, though, the people around him pretty much dismiss it outright. That’s pretty shitty. It’s hard to justify a lot of Saul’s actions, both in this series and the one that came before it, but, after seeing that, it’s hard to blame him, too. Until next week.
