Better Call Saul: Saul Gone

 "So you were always like this..."

And here we are. It's over... and it ends like this. Wow.

That was an hour of television that will haunt me for a long time.

Of course, there's no suspense about whether or not "Gene" is going to be caught: there's no escape for him, and we know that this is the last act of Saul's... no, Jimmy's tragedy. There can be no hope for him... but, unexpectedly, there's redemption. And, for that redemption to be genuine, there must be real catharsis, full confession and harsh consequences... eighty-six years in a prison Saul had earlier described as a "hellhole".

The episode is punctuated by flashbacks- with Mike, with Chuck, both better and wiser men than him, as he asaks them what they'd do with a time machine, all the answers being revealing. But it's Walter White who, with his typical arrogance, calls him out: this is really about regrets. And Saul, of all people, certainly should have had a few, as attested by the dizzying number of charges he's presented with.

And he seems to play his hand with very Saul Goodman cunning, getting a very lenient plea deal of only seven years in a not-too-bad prison. And it seems even that isn't enough. Kim has acted with integrity, leaving herself open to being sued by Howard's widow as atonement... but Saul, it seems, right up until the moment he steps into the courtroom, seems set to throw Kim under the bus, which would be far from surprising.

But... he doesn't. Instead, he admits all and takes the brutal consequences. Almost certain life in a hellhole prison... but he has Kim's respect again. And, through suffering, redemption. weirdly, Jimmy (not Saul) is probably happier than if he'd taken the seven years. He is, at last, doing the right thing. Even Jimmy McGill is not beyond redemption,

Wow. The script, the acting, everything. This in no way ended as I was expecting, but it feels perfect.

Better Call Saul: Waterworks

 "Anyways, this guy, any good?"

"When I knew him, he was."

Observation number one: Jimmy/Saul/Gene... let's say "Saul" because that's who he's reverted to... is no Debbie Harry. Observation number two: wow. This Vince Gilligan-written-and-directed episode is tense, thematic, and beautifully structured.

Surprisingly, the first twenty-seven minutes are spend with Kim, in her humdrum, monochrome present. Dull job selling sprinklers. Dull social life. Dull husband. Dull sex life ("Yep, Yep. Yep. Yep."). And we spend twenty-seven minutes seeing this, at a slow pace- a brave but inspired choice. The thrill of the scamming is long behind her.

Any we end up seeing her side of the conversation with Jimmy. Leading to her full confession, firstly to Howard's widow and secondly to the law. She's willing to calmly face the consequences of her actions, unlike a certain con man of our and her acquaintance.

There are some flashbacks of the moment the divorce papers are signed, with Kim, inevitably, acting with integrity. It's weird seeing her in that office... and quite the surprise to see her interacting with a very sharp and on-the-ball Jesse.

But, inevitably, we return to Saul, following him during the ill-fated burglary... and again the tension is allowed to fester and fester. We know Saul is about to face his downfall, it's just a question of how. And, when the denouement comes, it does not disappoint. All throughout, Saul has relied on his charm... and especially, in his Sandpiper days, on his ability to get old ladies to look fondly on him. So it's delicious to find all his tricks failing utterly with Marion, leaving him exposed, desperate and on the run...

Again, wow.

Better Call Saul: Breaking Bad

 "It's a simple up and down motion, like you're used to..."

Yes, I know: we get THAT scene with cameos from admittedly slightly older looking Bryan Cranston And Aaron Paul, as we see further details of Saul's first meeting with them. And their appearance matters. Because "Gene's" identity is now starting to dissolve into Saul and, ultimately, Slippin' Jimmy. Because Jimmy could never stand his dull, monochrome, Nebraska life, especially after last episode's heist shenanigans. He has to scam. It's who and what he is. And he will, inevitably, ultimately get caught and, I'm sure, face his downfall. The person who is "breaking bad" is him, not our guest star. And yes, there's a parallel between the two that's made very obvious here.

The beginning is fascinating as Saul, in the present day, has a call with Francesca. Yet she's living a very straight life, first being seen showing disdain to some druggie tenants and very much having the upper hand with Jimmy.

And then there's the mention of Kim, whom he's lost forever, hardening his heart. The past is gone. So he relives it, with the biggest scams yet, with massive and life-destroying identity thefts. And all this is contrasted by little vignettes from the Breaking Bad days, as Saul makes what we in hindsight know to be bad decision after bad decision.

And the bad decisions continue until what, surely, has to be the moment where hubris finds the genesis of its nemesis- the latest mark has cancer, Jimmy's accomplices have cold feet, but he decides to steam ahead. It's morally reprehensible of him. Almost as if the writers want us to remember just how much of a terrible person he is as he faces his downfall...

Truly gripping stuff.

Better Call Saul: Nippy

 "You want in the game?"

So this is an excellent heist episode. Perfectly executed, scripted, shot. The suspense is exquisite, as is the characterisation. Plus there's a hilarious scene showing how to masterfully join in a conversation about sports for those of us who find such things a total mystery.  

But... yeah, the elephant in the room.

It's quite a while, of course, before it dawns that the entire episode is going to be in monochrome, in Omaha, in the "present", and to star "Gene"... or is it Saul? Or is it Jimmy? The episode deliberately and deliberately blurs the lines. The scheme is so very Slippin' Jimmy, but with the scale of a Saul Goodman. And in the final, desperate distraction, "Gene" refers to his dead brother and the absence of his wife. Too many identities. 

No wonder he is drawn to those awful Saul Goodman clothes at the end. Oh, his scheme may have worked with the "mutually assured destruction". Jeffie may have money, now, but "Gene" will ensure he goes to jail if he spills the beans. "Gene" is safe, from that quarter, at least.

And yet... we end the episode full of foreboding. The very fact that this episode exists makes it clear that the finale will include closure in the "present" too. The story of "Gene" is coming to some sort of resolution, and I think it's strongly foreshadowed that his own inability to give up Saul Goodman will lead to his final comeuppance... one perhaps less soul destroying than the humdrum, monochrome existence which he now endures.

Better Call Saul: Fun and Games

 "What you talk about is not justice. What you talk of is revenge. It never ends."

Thus speaks Nacho's grieving dad, and he speaks for decency. In a world where all the main characters- including Jimmy, Mike and now Kim-  are tainted by association with a morally reprehensible cartel, that destroys lives and exploits the hopeless, he speaks the truth. And a truth at the core of the show: Chuck and Howard, arrogant though they could be, were right. Because the law, despite its flaws, is everything. The alternative, as has been known ever since Aeschylus' Oresteia, is a never ending cycle of revenge.

And ironically this arises from Mike, with his code of ethics, trying to do the right thing. But there is ethics and there is ethics. This episode seems, for most of its length, to be about tidying up loose ends from last episode's momentous events. But it's so much more.

We see Gus defend himself, successfully, to Don Eladio from the accusations of Hector. It seems he's won, and is now master of all he surveys. Yet only now do we get a glimpse intoa different Gus, a wine snob, a sophisticate... and, secretly. I'm sure, from the probable bigotry of the cartel, gay. Of course he is. It never crossed my mind before, but of course he is. And it's fascinating that we see this further layer of the character now.

But we also see the consequences ogf Howard's humiliation and death. HHM is destroyed, the names of Hamlin and McGill both now discredited: Jimmy destroys all he touches. And yet, in an excruciating scene with Howard's wake, it is Kim who cruelly gaslights his widow.

But then... wow. It hits hard. Kim loves Jimmy (he thinks he loves her, I'm sure, but is he capable of feeling the real thing?), but she leaves him, as they're morally bad for each other. And she's no longer a lawyer. This is her penance, her redemptive sacrifice, her quest for atonement.

And these are things that Jimmy will never understand.

No.

Not Jimmy. Saul. All ties to Jimmy's past are now gone. We end the episede with the Saul we know from Breaking Bad. Wow. Things are moving fast. Television has seldom been better than this.

Better Call Saul: Point and Shoot

 "He is NOT coming back.

And I thought last episode was superlative... soon I'll have no superlatives left. This is simply an extaordinary piece of television- directed, of course, by Vince Gilligan personally.

This is a tale of two levels of existence- that of the cartel, which is full of a huge scale and huge dangers, empire building and ten dimensional chess by powerful warlords. And then we have the level of Jimmy and, especially, Kim, who will nly ever be helpless and highly vulnerable pawns in this world. Hence the opening shot, which turns out to be a flash forward to Mike's faking of Howard's "suicide" but where the symbolism is obvious- a mere shoe is helpless against the relentless force of the tide.

Lalo's orders to Jimmy and, after Jimmy insists, Kim, are brutal. Someone like this, a civilian who is unused to violence, forced to be an assassin.  In this world, Kim and Jimmy (but "Saul" perhaps less so?) will never have any agency. They are pawns in the denoument of the epic clash between Lalo and Gus, ultimately won by the cleverer of the two, as we knew it would, having seen Breaking Bad.

And we end with Mike, the show's grown up, fixing things and authoritatively laying down the law to Jimmy and Kim, making clear his disdain for their childish games with Howard, another victim of Jimmy's behaviour.

And then both Howard and Lalo are buried in the meth lab. They are of the past... what of the future?

Better Call Saul: Plan and Execution

 "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.

Better Call Saul: Axe and Grind

 "Pop Pop, it's not that kind of gas!"

Quickly checking the cast list on iMDb made me realise why Gus isn't in this- Giancarlo Esposito directs, shortly after Rhea Seehorn did the same! 

Anyway... it's getting very obvious that next episode, the mid-season finale, is going to be somewhat eventful. We know that it's "D Day", we've seen many glimpses of elements of what Jimmy and Kim are planning, but we haven't seen the big picture of what they're planning... although it's likely to do over Howard in some way. And the fact that the judge in questiion has an arm in a cast threatens to derail things... or does it?

We begin with an interesting flashback to kim's childhood: her mother was a scammer too, a direct parallel to Jimmy. This is significant- part of the attraction for her? I note she grew up in Nebraska, too: the same state where Jimmy lives in the show's present day. Coincidence? Perhaps.

It's interesting to see how much Cliff obviously admires Kim as both a brilliany lawyer and an ethical one- the polar opposite of Jimmy, although very much in the process of being corrupted. And hereby lies another tragedy- Cliff makes an offer that could help her struggling career, which it looks as though she's just going to throw away, for "D Day". What could be that important...?

Elsewhere, Francesca realises the ethical dodginess of working for "Saul". Lalo is still in Germany, violently trying to work out exactly what Gus was building underground. Howard's marriage is looking a little shaky, nothing overtyly wrong but with he and his wife gradually drifting apart. Mike is a good grandad...

It's all excellent television, as ever. But oh, next episode...

 

Better Call Saul: Black and Blue

 "You've mistaken my kindness for weakness."

This is, as if it needed to be said, a superb episode, but aren't they all? It feels like the calm before the storm, not least with the ever-present threat from Lalo: there's a certain tension pervading everything. 

The opening sequence is blurred to keep us guessing. It looks at first as though this isa chemistry lab. Could it be...? But no. I'm sure the teasing is deliberate, though.

Lalo hasn't been seen for a long time now, yet his presence pervades everything. Gus is positively paranoid... although Lalo genuinely is about to get him. But he seems to end up with some sort of plan...

Meanwhile, Howard realises what's been going on aftef Cliff confronts him... and he confronts Kimmy and goads him into a boxing match! This is unexpected, and leaves things in an interesting place. Howard, who isno fool, despite his decency, is now no longer just a passive victim but an active player, and he's taking steps to have Jimmy watched...

Another piece clicks into place as"Saul" starts business in his shell of a new office... and has to offer Francesca a lot of money to work for him again.She's visibly shocked by how much has changed over the last year or so, which should really give us pause. Jimmy, and even Kim despite her surface altruism (she's samoking more, which seems to represent her dark side, and indeed her poor choices), are moving to some dark places, and this won't end well.

Finally, we have Lalo, in Germany, turning on his psychopath charm to seduce Werner's widow and find out more about the future meth lab.. the same lab that seems to form part of Gus's own plans. 

Something is going to happen. Something huge. 

Better Call Saul: Hit and Run

 "You think we're wicked?"

This is a very artily directed episode by... Rhea Seehorn. Wow! 

There's so much going on here in this typically sublime pieceof television. The ongoing cheap scams may be fun but sordidly seek to destroy Howard's reputation. You laugh, you enjoy, but you feel dirty afterwards. And it's not just Jimmy, it's Kim- even her success in getting Cliff to help with her charitable endeavours is achieved in the course of something reprehensible. Howard is a decent man who deserves better. 

This episode oozes with unease and foreboding. The odd, almost random opening scene turns out to be a glimpse into the extreme lengths to with Gus is going to ensure his persinal safety. Paranoid? Perhaps. But Lalo realy is out to get him, and his hidden presence hangs over everything, paradoxicallyby means of his very absence.

It is he who causes Kim and Mike to interact for the first time, Kim realising she's being followed, despite Jimmy's obliviousness. Lalo is doing nothing, yet as a catalyst he's powerful.

Catalyst? Oh. A chemistry metaphor. For the chemistry teacher feels close, does he not? The Breakimg Bad Easter eggs are coming thick and fast. Yet, even there, Lalo is the catalyst. Jimmy is persona non grata with his now-former colleagues for his unethical if unprovable acts in letting Lalo get away... but, for the same reason, business is suddeny very good for Saul. So he needs a new office. Yes, that one.

The future seems bright. Why, then, is there so much foreboding in the air...?

Better Call Saul: Rock and Hard Place

 "Today you are going to die..."

Obviously this episode is all about Nacho. Jimmy doesn't even appear until sixteen minutes into the episode. Not that things don't happen with him: his and Kim's plans to screw over Howard proceed apace. Yet again we see that she's really into him. Huell, by contrast, sees right through him in a nice little scene. And Kim and Jimmy learn that Lalo is supposedly dead, while Jimmy has an off ramp for his complicity with Lalo... but will he take it?

Still, this episode is not about Jimmy.

My thoughts keep drifting to those opening few seconds as the camera lingers on some flowers that survive, precariously, in the New Mexico desert. This episode consists of Nacho slowly learning that there's no way he ends up surviving this, however much he begins the episode with some optimism, having escaped for now. Yet in order to dodge being immediately caught he has to literally submerge himself in oil. There's only one way his being on the run can end.

The phone call with his dad is heartbreaking: you feel, suddenly, that this is their last goodbye, and his dad is still disappointed at how Nacho's life has gone. Nacho suddenly realises that the cartel could get at his dad.

And so... he, Mike and Gus work out an ending in which his death is with dignity, on his own terms, and protects both his dad and Gus himself. But watching the events play out is gut-wrenching and unforgettable. Nacho getting the satisfaction of telling Hector what he really thinks... and that final shot, with Hector impotently shooting at a dead man.

Wow. This episode will haunt me.

Better Call Saul: Carrot and Stick

 "Lalo Salamanca lives!"

We don't see Lalo in this episode at all. But his influence is seen everywhere. 

We begin with... domino rally! Mike, again, has his moral code, and is trying to protect Nacho's dependents. But for Nacho things look much bleaker. His hiding place is discovered and, in sloooow scenes, we feel the tension deeply on his behalf as he realises his likely fate. In the end, he only just survives in an incredibly tense and dramatic sequence as the Salamancas (including those terrifying twins) arrive looking for him.

It's all devilishly complex: Gus talks to Don Hector who, of course, knows that Lalo is alive... and Gus sees, from Hector's expression, that this is the case. Giancarlo Esposito is exquisite here: he communicates this through facial expression alone.

And sothe way lies open for Mike to point out, according to his principles but also correctly, to Gus that he must lookafter Nacho. Because if thre Salamancas get to him, and get him to talk as they undoubtedly would... Gus is surely finished. Mike is bravely defiant on this: if Nacho hadn't rung, and asked to speak to Gus, I'm not sure what would have happened... but I suspect, in the longer term, Mike is earning even more of Gus' respect.

The other thread of the episode, with Jimmy and Kim putting their plot against Howard into operation, is similarly complex. It not clear what's going on yet, or meant to be, but it's fun to see this unfold, much as it was with the scams of old... much as it's also fun to see the entitled and arrogant Kettlemans get their comeuppance.

But this seems to be a turning point: Kim is turning very dark here, thoroughly corrupted by Jimmy. It's subtly and brilliantly done, and very much feels earned.

Better Call Saul was already exquisite. But we seem, crazy though it sounds, to be moving to another level altogether.

Better Call Saul: Something Unforgivable

 "Am I bad for you...?"

For tne record, Kim, the answer is YES. Sigh....

This is, of course, a superb finale. Script and acting top notch as we've come to expect, as well as some very nice directorial touches.

But I must confess: it got me. I was convinced, perhaps through deliberate misdirection, that Kim was going to die this episode. So many of what seemed to he hints. She's "in the game" as of last episode. She and Jimmy are on the run in a hotel, looking over their shoulders. She's making plans for a pro bono future. She breezily ignores a dire warning from Howard about what Jimmy is like. She and Jimmy spend what seemed like possibly a last night together.

But no. And nor does Lalo die. There's lots of tension for him, of course... and for Nacho, who gets out alive, as arranged, before the hit. But the hit going south leaves Nacho in a dangerous position. But then, something had to give.We spend time here with Don Eladio- menacing as ever- by THAT swimming pool. All this tension as Eladio sizes him up, but the life of a double agent is always an impossible one, expendable to both sides.

But the events with Kim and Jimmy are just as dramatic in their eway.Jimmy opens up about the events in the desert and his PTSD, although not about the context. And their bond, if anything, only deepens. Yes, even when Jimmy confesses that the bowling ball and prostitute incidents actually happens. And, even more scary, she's the driving force- the Jimmy- in a plot to get rich by screwing over Howard, a decent man, in a deeply ethical way. Indeed, even Jimmy is shocked. She may not die this episode but, well, is this where she finally turns to the dark side...?

One season to go. Damn.

Better Call Saul: Bad Choice Road

 "How about a day without drama?"

Oh boy. What an episode.

Kim is, of course, the focus of our sense of mounting dread and, naturally, the episode itself. But let's do a tour of the other plates that are spinning during this penultimate episode of the season...

Jimmy and Mike finally get out of the desert and can begin to recover... but Jimmy is not so battle hardened as Mike, who can afford to be philosophical, true stoic that he literally is. Jimmy is physically worse for wear (although he has Kim, ooooh he has Kim...) but more; he hobviously has PTSD following his experiences.

Gus, chilling as ever, is debriefed by Mike, works out exactly what's going on, and gets back to his usual chillingly amoral ten-dimensional chess, played with typical cold intensity by the sublime Giancarlo Esposito. Mike may sympathise with Nacho's wish to get out of this cartel life, but to Gus, Nacho is just another pawn. Once you become a "friend of the cartel", you don't get out... are you listening, Kim?

But Kim... oh, so many bad decisions. Shockingly, she gives up her job so she can focus on her pro bono workm much less well paid. This is... unwise, and ties her even more to Jimmy's criminally adjacent, "friend of the cartel" life. The final scene, with Lalo demanding andswers from Jimmy, is a masterpiece of tension, with Kim very much present, involved... and showing real guts in resolving the situation.

But she's in, now, irrevocably. Her decision to quit her main job wasd, ironically, so she could focus on work with which she feels much more ethically comfortable rsather than driving old men off their land... but she's driven into the hands of Jimmy, who may not like getting his hands dirty but has zero morals as long as he isn't personally close to the bloodshed.

Oh Kim. I'm now certain. Her downfall will not just be the ruin of a genuinely good person. The moment has come: I'm certain that we're going to see her die. Itr's her only possible trajectory.

Better Call Saul is not Jimmy's tragedy. It's Kim's.

Better Call Saul: Bagman

 "The alternator's shot. Literally."

Wow.

You kbow, when Vince Gilligan himself writes and directs that you're getting a treat, and probably an unusual one. And crikey, we did.

The plot is simple- Lalo gets Jimmy to be the bagman in discreetly collecting his $7,000,000 bail from a discreet desert rendezvous, but he's ambushed by ne'er-do-wells and nearly robbed and killed. But Mike, watching from afar, efficiently saves him, kills the baddies, and eventually leads a desperate, fish-out-f-water Jimmy, to safety.

But it's about the nuances. The directorial touches here are frequently magnificent. The suspense is frequently exquisite. Yet, as ever, it's all about the characters. Lalo manipulating Jimmy into doing the fateful job in the first place. Jimmy demanding a $100k fee, something he may regret. The power imbalance between Jimmy and the scarily calm Lalo.

Then there's Mike's little speech about how he keeps on doing all this- for his granddaughter. And the episode's main point- Kim is now irrevocably involved in Jimmy's underground stuff. She's also the wife we don't see in Breaking Bad. She's... going to die, isn't she? I'm certain. The show isn't even trying to hide it.

Saul is getting involved in things far beyond him. And it's not just him who will be hurt in the process. This is utterly gripping, suspenseful television, even by BCS standards, but it's Kim it leaves me thinking of.

Better Call Saul: JMM

 "No rings. Okey dokey..."

After last episode's deeply dishearening last line, we begin the last line with the world'd least romantic wedding ever, presided over by a very bored and disengaged judge. No rings, no wedding guests, witnesses who are not exactly friends, no celebration... and let's say the two new spouses are not exactly equally invested. Poor Kim. This is the wedding she gets... and this is the wedding she gets. Even worse, she really should know what she's marrying, and gets more reminders later when she realises Jimmy- no, Saul- is being forced to get Lalo out on bail and is quite happy to use this to get money. Oh, Kim...

She isn't in Breaking Bad, of course. I fear for her. Perhaps a fate even worse than ruin awaits. And she's a good, decent person.

Interestingly. Kim, the other lawyers and Kevin all reconcile, after a little brutal honesty on both sides, in a situation of genuine mutual respect. No Jimmy here: these people are all grown-ups.... and that makes the situation worse. Kim is decent, professional, respected. As Kevin says, she could do a LOT better.

Mike is a grown-up too- we see him doing the patient hard work of making amends to his family, and successfully. But the ongoing cold war between Gus and Lalo, with Nacho and his dad in the middle, is getting increasingly complex. Lalo's engaged Jimmy to get him out on bail so he can skedaddle... so why is Mike, on Gus's behalf, handing him the means to do so on a plate? Gus has reason to be furious at Lalo: I suspect the latter is not long for this world, and Gus has plans to kill Lalo in ways thst won't start a "war". The discussions with Lydia and Gus' desperate old German friend is fascinating, pointing ahead to the Madrigal stuff but hinting at quite a long history. Giancarlo Esposito continues to play Gus with such exquisite nuance.

Yet it feels very much as though big things are being set up. Despite this, the episode is as gripping as ever.

Better Call Saul: Wexler v Goodman

 "Because it's cold pizza fondled by community actors..."

For the first time, the pre-credits shows a small episode from Kim's childhood: she refuses to get intothe car with her mother, who's been drinking, and bloody well sticking to her principles, even back then. Not hard to see what the subtext is here. Kim has her strong moral principles. We know that. But alas, she seems to be in love with Jimmy for some reason, and I'm sticking to my own guns: Jimmy will be her ruin and her downfall.

Bizarrely, we then see a young Kevin in an old Mesa Verde commercial, zand get a long montage of Jimmy trying to film stuff in his plot against Mesa Verde, getting stuck in to the writing, the directing, anything but lawyering... and along comes Kim. She wants out, unnerved by Rich's suspicions. It's gone too farand she's even willing togive some of her own money to the old man so there can be compromise. And... Jimmy agrees, so that's that, right? I mean, it's not as though he's the unscrupulous type, right...?

We then shift to Nacho who, like Kim, won't be in Breaking Bad. But with him, I suspect, we're looking at literal death. He simply lives too dangerously, inforning Gus and Mike of what Lalo is up to... and wow, as ever, Gus isquite the presence. It looks as though we'll see a lot of Mike and Nacho together from this point. Lalo may appeal to Mike's morals... but, of course, Gus owns Mike. We're so far into Better Call Saul at this point that the nuances between all the characters are utter perfection.

And so cue another series of scenes where we get to see how Mike operates, this time manipulating a librarian and the local police into dropping Lalo right in it... ending in what looks like Lalo's arrest. Nut this, I suspect, is a mere opening skirmish. I note that Lalo has a pet lawyer... although, of course, on this occasion, I use the word "lawyer" in its loosest possible sense.

Still, yes, there's an interlude of Jimmy being an utter **** to Howard but, as the episode comes to an end, it looks as though Kim's going to get her was with Mesa Verde... and then Jimmy REALLY goes for the kill, harassing Mesa Verde to the max, and Kim is furious, very visibly so, to be thrown under the bus like this. This threatens to have dire consequences for her, despite her very visible and real anger.

Kevin, incidentally, has a very clearidea of exactly what Jimmy is, and he certainly isn't a lawyer.

Finally, we have the confrontation. Kim really laying into Jimmy and there's a sense that even he may now realise that he may have gone too far. Is this it? Kim is beginning to sound like he might dump him, as she should have done long ago....

"Maybe we get married".

Oh Kim....

Obviously, this is televisual perfection. Yet again.

Better Call Saul: Dedicado a Max

 "You never told me that he was a side sitter!"

Another gripping episode this time, one that may well spell doom for Kim. Of course, Jimmy's antics trying to impede the seizure of Old Man Acker's house provide the main amusement this time round, but rather av lot happens.

Interestingly, once more we havean A plot and a B plot, with many characters- chrefly Nocho and Lalo- not appearing for the time being. The B plot is Mike, who is in rock bottom receiving medical care across the border... provided by Gus, thus indebting Mike to him.Gradually, throughoutbthe episode, Mike realises, with increasing injury to his pride, that Gus does indeed own him... and the moment where Gus puts the phone down with a terse "not now" is a brutal reminder of that.

Even so, Gus's interactions with Mike at the end make sense- Mike was indeed washed up, without purpose, drinking heavily and starting to alienate himself frpm a family whom he hasn't even told where he is. Much though he hates to admit it, he may well need Gus. It's just that, well, we know where this leads.

But Kim, oh Kim. It may feel like fun with here and Jimmy on opposite sides, but this is no game, whatever Jimmy may think, casually dismissing another call from Howard about a job offer we know he won't take. And... the gambit fails: Kevin simply doubles down. Worse, Rick seems to be on to Kim. She absolutely needs to back down, she's done what she can for the old man... but she doesn't.

I've been certain for a long time that Jimmy's baleful influence is going to end up ruining Kim's professional reputation. I'm increasingly worries that this may be the start of her fall.

As if it needed saying... superb bit of telly.

Better Call Saul: Namaste

 "It is... acceptable."

Three episodes in, and Jimmy's slow paced morphing into "Saul Goodman isbeing handled well indeed. The scene where he has dinner with Howard is instructive- Howard asks full on why he's changed his professional name, and suggests it's to avoid associations with the name "McGill", Chuck and Howard's very firm.

He's right.

And yet... Howard, ever-gracious and actually pretty decent underneath, offers Jimmy a job. And what does Jimmy do? He uses those bowling balls he bought in the pre-titles to damage Howard's car. Jimmy is now committed to the Saul Goodman path- defending petty, druggy criminals while having links with dodgy people and using dodgy methods, as we (and Kim) see in court. He's far from a decent man, unprincipled, but has found a niche where he can use his actual, salesman type skills as a "lawyer".

Meanwhile, Kim is having actual moral scruples (something Jimmy would never understand) with that man whose home Mesa Verde is going to take. The solution? Jimmy. Ouch.

Elsewhere, it's ten dimensional chess between Hank, who knows games are being played but, well, we've seen over five seasons of Breaking Bad how skilled he is at working stuff out... and a very scary Gus. Giancarlo Esposito once again gives an acting masterclass.

And then there's mike, still not quite trusted after his outburst to Kaylee and clearly upset. And then there's that ending, with him seeming to wake up in an old Spanish mission...

It's exciting seeing the pieces gradually move into Breaking Bad territory, but in the short term I've no clue what's going to happen. And the key to it all is the characters. We know them so well, and they're all so real.

Better Call Saul: The Guy for This

 "It's not about what you want. When you're in... you're in...!"

I often note the artiness of the openings to these episodes, but the one here, with the fire ants climbing last time's ice cream cone as though it were Everest and, eventually, incrementally, disposing of it... wow. That's superb.No sure what it's supposed to conver- the transience of human existence in the wider context of nature?- but wow.

The "a" plot here, with Jimmy, is superbly exciting. Firstly, we get to meet, er, a "younger"(!) Hank and Steve Gomez, but they're just patsies in a plot by Lalo and Nacho (it's short for Ignatio, the penny drops!) to screw over Gus... and, of coutrse, this involves using Jimmy (Saul?) as a lawyer. It look as though this is just the first of many times too. Yet, despite the ethics, Jimmy's lack of real choice and, worst of all, Nacho's truly terrible car interior decor, this is a lucratiuve day for him, pointing towards the future. It's nicely done.

Kim's "b" plot is very different. She seems displeased at having to work for Mesa Verde these days: her heart is in her criminal work, morals above money. And yet, given a morally dodgy job to do- helping evist a man from his house- her attempts to do good are rejected. Is she becoming more Jimmy-like? Is her arc one of eventual corruption and darkness?

Meanwhile, we see very little of Mike... but he's not in a good way. What happened to Werner is REALLY getting to him.

This is a very impressive episode, more so even than usual. Yet I can sort of see where Jimmy's arc is going. Kim's, and Mike's, less so...