‘Better Call Saul’ Drifts Towards Finale as Jimmy Learns It’s Not All Good, Man (TV REVIEW)

[rating=8.00] “Expenses”

There’s a palpable tension in the air as Better Call Saul opens its latest episode. An impatient Jimmy waits quietly, yet anxiously, by a wall. This is a man used to doing things on his own terms, in his own way. Now, as he begins his community service as part of his year-long suspension, he’s on other people’s time. It’s difficult for him to fathom, and difficult for us to watch.

It’s not easy seeing the normally free-spirited Jimmy circle the drain of despair, but that’s where we’re at as he begins picking up trash on the side of the road. What’s more pitiable is how hard he has to hustle to try and forge onward into his new life as Saul Goodman, commercial producer. The juxtaposition of watching him grovel for business while picking up discarded refuse and a bottle of piss is stark, but it gives us a deeper insight into the character he’ll soon become. Saul was forged in a pit of waste, and grown from the depths of desperation.

Things are indeed desperate for Jimmy; financially, he’s tapped. The commercial game isn’t as lucrative as he first imagined, and he’s still got seven more spots to sell before he can at least break even on his already purchased airtime. Balancing that with the toils of community service is no small feat—as he learns, conducting business while on duty will result in time docked and a wasted day. Even with his best confidence man face on, you can’t win the trust of people without putting in the proper work. All these plates he’s spinning threaten to come crashing down.

What’s worse is Kim—with their victory against Chuck fading on the horizon, she’s overcome by a sense of shame and remorse. Chuck was her boss for years, and she owes much of who she is to him and Howard, so her crisis of conscience isn’t entirely unexpected. Throughout the series, she’s been a contrast to Jimmy’s shortcutting ways—the beacon of truth to his shadow of lies. It can’t feel good to know that her current success hinges on a fraud she knows happened—a fraud she implicitly condoned by participating in Jimmy’s defense.

To Jimmy, this was the culmination of years of unfair treatment at the hands of his brother; a revenge well-deserved. In her heart of hearts, however, Kim knows Chuck was right. Her moment of unprofessionalism in the Mesa Verde meeting becomes a makeshift confessional for Kim, where she dare admits all that her lawyer’s mind will allow. A wedge is placed between the two, and the question that has been lingering over the series since episode one is becoming more and more present: What happened to Kim?

We’ve feared the worst from the beginning. Our experience with Breaking Bad has already shown us how cruel and violent this world can be, but that’s obfuscation. For Better Call Saul, the drama isn’t as dramatic as all that. It’s seeming more likely that what will eventually expel Kim from Jimmy’s life is Jimmy himself. Inch by inch, she’s becoming corrupted by Jimmy’s way of looking at the world. As they partake in an intellectual game of conmanship, it’s hard not to see Jimmy’s unscrupulous influence. It’s still a game to her, but to Jimmy it’s all too real.

How soon before her rose-colored glasses are removed? The taint of their win is already beginning to show her what she’s never wanted to admit: Perhaps Chuck has always been right about who and what Jimmy is. She may not be out of the door just yet, but for the first time, she’s probably aware there’s a door to walk out of, even if she refuses to consciously acknowledge it.

Mike, meanwhile, is still being drawn deeper into the underworld. He has yet to admit to himself his reputation and place in the world, but not even building a pathway at a church can negate the path he’s chosen to walk down. We know it’s inevitable, of course. But a part of us still hopes that he’ll manage to walk away as Daniel, the hapless drug dealing baseball card collector, re-enters his life.

Daniel is lured back into the game by a seemingly benign request from Nacho—all Nacho wants is a few nitroglycerine pills, emptied and sealed. We know, of course, that his aims are nefarious. He wants to switch them Hector’s pills, preventing him from saving his life during his next cardiac episode. To Mike, he’s stepping back in for the good of Nacho—he’ll have the chance to, perhaps, talk the young man out of his plans.

It’s that, more than the money, that draws Mike back into the world of small time deals. You get the sense that he’s actually worried about Nacho’s well-being. That’s not an unfounded fear. Even if he manages to pull it off without the cartel noticing, there’s still the matter of Gus Fring. He’s already said that death is too good for Hector, and Nacho’s plans put him directly at odds with Fring’s long term goals.

Of course, it’s possible that Nacho’s plans are what cause the stroke that leaves Hector the man we know from Breaking Bad, but it’s never safe to assume when it comes to this series. Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould have a way of hinting at expectation and then flipping the table completely. Even if the obvious is correct, and Nacho’s sabotage leaves Hector broken and disabled, what becomes of Nacho?

Like Kim, his fate has been a pallor on the face of Better Call Saul. It’s part of what compels us onward in the face of an inescapable outcome. Whatever may happen appears to be looming ever closer. Minute by minute, destiny is inching towards fruition. AMC has given us a couple of weeks to ruminate on the possibilities, as it’s taking next week off for Memorial Day, but with only three episodes left in season three, Better Call Saul is heading towards the close of its best season yet.