Jackson Ball reviews the seventh episode of Better Call Saul …
After the unprecedented highs of episode 6, this week’s instalment of Better Call Saul brings everything down to a slightly calmer level. With Mike’s (Jonathan Banks) back-story now firmly established, pushing the series’ main narrative is the ultimate goal of ‘Bingo’, and it does it so well.
Warning! Spoilers Ahead – You have been warned!
After last week’s brief cameo role, Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) is back in the spotlight. We see his relationship with Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) blur the lines between friendship, infatuation and professional rivalry. We also once again see those pesky, tax-avoiding Kettlemans; Betsy (Julie Ann Emery) and her husband/ventriloquist puppet Craig (Jeremy Shamos).
Betsy, still seemingly hell-bent on getting away with their fraudulent ways, has become unsatisfied by the ‘deal’ that Hamlin Hamlin McGill have laid out for her (despite it being an unbelievably good offer), and has resorted to looking elsewhere for legal help. Luckily for her and husband, they’ve already got a certain lawyer in their back pockets; thanks to the retainer/bribe they gave Jimmy to buy his silence about their ill-gotten gains.
Anyone else kind of looking forward to seeing the back of these Kettlemans? Betsy in particular is really starting to grate on me, but then I guess that’s the point of her character.
Jimmy decides that, while he can’t turn down the Kettlemans’ business without risking them revealing that he took a bribe, he is still going to do the right thing. He formulates a plan to return the couples case back to Kim, thus saving her job, while also saving his own bacon. Unfortunately, this requires him to say goodbye to the cash he took, along with all the dreams that came with it.
Jimmy’s ethical decision means two things for the episode, and indeed the show in its entirety. Firstly, it allows for some fantastically sneaky scenes with Mike (Banks is fast becoming my favourite thing about this show).
Secondly, it serves as a reminder that we are not watching Saul Goodman here; we are watching Jimmy McGill.
Sure, they look the same and talk in the same way, they may even have the razor-sharp sense of humour, but the fundamental difference between them is clearly on display here: ethics. Do you think for a second that the Saul we knew and loved in Breaking Bad would give up thousands of dollars, not to mention help out a rival law firm in the process, because it was the ‘right’ thing to do? Of course not.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONsp_bmDYXc&feature=player_embedded&list=PL18yMRIfoszFLSgML6ddazw180SXMvMz5
Originally published March 20, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
