"Is this how these usually go?"
Wow. SPOILERS, obviously.
This was a perfectly crafted mid-season finale, with all the pieces fitting together prefectly. I'm still reeling.
It was clear from the start that sonething big was about to happen. The word "Execution" in the title made me nervous from the start."D-Day", Kim and Jimmy's plot to do over Howard is one plan, but there's also Lalo's plan to do over Gus, with Lalo and Mike between themselves playing three dimensional chess. Perhaps not quite as well as Jimmy and Kim do in manipulating Howard, but, well...
It's constantly emphasised how decent Howard is. Kind to junior employees, with a real sense of perspective and wisom, optimistic even at the end. And this decent man has been going through "debt, depression, my marriage falling apart". So yes, as ever, it'ds fun watching him get done over, all ther littler reveals as one of Jimmy's biggest schemes comes to fruition. He's going to get his share of the Sandpiper money quickly, and he's done over Howard. And yet- the script is at pains to emphasise Howard's decency. Should we be feeling entertained...?
And this is why the ending is so devastating, as Lalo suddenly shoots a Howard who has no idea what is going on. A decent man, dead, the last day of his life one of suffering and humiliation. And all for such childishness. Not just Jimmy this time, but also Kim, as Howard correctly states, are irredeemable after this.
Because the games played by the likes of Lalo and Gus are of an entirely different level of seriousness. Jimmy and Kim, now utterly fallen, seem to be about to learn that hard lesson.
Good.
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