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: Pinata

 "Get rich quick schemes never work."

The saddest scene, and also the most revealing, is where Jimmy visits HHM to pick up his $5,000. The firm, and Howard, are struggling... and it is all, of course, the fault of Jimmy, who destroys all he touches. Worse, HE tells HOWARD that hes a "****** lawyer" and much better at being a salesman. Pot, kettle...

Jimmy's only talent is the gift of the gab. The episode begins with a fadscinating flashback to Jimmy's mailroom days. We see a brilliant, triumphant Chuck and intern Kim, clearly going places. No one sees Jimmy as important. Cut to today... and Kim is still awesome, clearly held back by Jimmy, going places as he sells phones to the dodgy.

Jimmy has a brutal side, too, as we discover when he deals with the three ne-er-do-wells who attacked him last episode. But nowhere near as brutal as Gus. Giancarlo Esposito has a truly chilling, sublime monologue, making it clear he wants Hector alive and conscious just so he can suffer. Brr.

Gus trusts Mike increasingly, though, his fixer and reliable lieutenant already. Mike is fascinating, working for some dodgy people while also being a good family man, making amends with his daughter-in-law, with whom he has a genuinely sweet relationship. These characters, all of them, are very, very real people. This is, as ever, close to televisual perfection.

Better Call Saul: Talk

 "The one after that, she stabbed her boyfriend over a grilled cheese sandwich..."

Just realised the judge in this, whose hearings are being "observed" by Kim for some reason, is Neelix from Star Trek: Voyager. Wow. (And yes, I do plan at some point to do the whole Star Trek marathon thing, but let's not rush...) 

Anyway, this is one of those quietly fascinating characterisation-based episodes that usually means it's all about to kick off. Everyone gets some sort of development here.

Mike gets a little support group plot, eposing a fraud and flirting a bit with Anita, while showing just how good he is at this security consultant lark. But, inevitably, he's summoned by a superbly menacing Gus, and is clearly about to start Tthe kind of work for him that we recall from Breaking Bad. Impressively, he's low key accused of not being open about the Nacho thing... and gets to maintain his alpha male status in front of Gus himself. Impressive.

Then there's Jimmy, moving a little apart ftrom Kim, waking symbolically alone and reacting in a very Jimmyish way to her suggestion of a shrink. Interswstingly, he self-sabotages a job offer only to reverse course and take up a soul-destroying job... only to make a hell of a lot more money from the illicit exploits from last episode. Legitimacy, it seems, doesn't pay. Jimmy's immediate reaction is, shall we say, interesting.

But Nacho. Oh, Nacho. The webs we weave. We get to see, all from his POV, the deaths and the bloodshed madevnecessary by his lies. And, as we realise at the episode's end, Gus knows. But we always knew, didn't me? From Giancarlo Esposito's facial acting alone. What a show.

Better Call Saul: Smoke

 "Well Howard, I guess that's your cross to bear..."

We begin, as season openers tend to do, in the monochrome, smaller-than-life present day, with Jimmy existing, if not living, as a a small business owner with a rubbish moustache in Nebraska, recovering from the incident with the vault, with every arty shot simply dripping with existential ennui. For Jimmy, this is a Hell indeed. And, as we emphasise, there's the constant stress of discovery. He's miserable, depressed, and forever looking over his shoulder. We're reminded that, however much of a terrible person Jimmy is, it will lead only to darkness in the end. His sins will not go unpunished.

Nacho, in the usual timeframe (2003-04?)- is unwittingly in a similar position. Don Hector has had his stroke... but his replacement wants everything to continue as before. Was it all for nothing? Worse, he's under suspicion, and Gus is eloquently concerned about a gang war filling the gap left by Hector. This is all going to get complicated.

For Mike, though, things are looking up. He leaves his old job and receives his first monthly paycheque of more than $10,000!!! We haven't seen much of him lately, so it's great seeing somre cool, fun scenes, including a warehouse montage(!) where he checks Madrigal's security.

But Jimmy... oh, Jimmy. He's very down after Chuck's death, but still very much not the grown-up. Both Kim and Howard do a lot of adulting here: Jimmy does none whatsoever.Worse, Howard, who comes across as more and more decent the more we gets to know him, confesses that he feels responsible for Chuck's death. Jimmy, who has far more cause to blame himself... just lets him. Wow. 

Jimmy deserves his eventual fate. Terrible moustache and all. I can't help wondering, though... what next? We can see where Mike's thread is going, and all the gangland intrigue. But what next for Jimmy?

I am, needless to say, gripped. The camerawork, the depth of the characters... I'm running out of ways to praise this show.

Better Call Saul: Off Brand

 "It's a name..."

This episode is a crossroads in several ways. It moves away from the Jimmy/Chuck sparriung of the first half of the season into other plot threads, and also makes a conscious choice to look ahead to Breaking Bad. Hence Gus deciding on the meth lab. The surprising cameo from Lydia. The first inkling we see of Don Hector's health problems.

There's also a nice wholesome scene between Mike and Stacey highlighting how sweet and wholesome their relationship is, utterly unlike all the other things in Mike's life. But there's nothing else at all wholesome in this packed episode.

We begin with Kim being magnificent in defending Jimmy, succeeding in limiting him to being barred for twelve months only. She does so much for the man with whom, sadly for her poor, doomed self, she is besotted. Besotted in spite of glimpses of his bullshitting self which she is nowhere near sufficiently stupid not to notice. There's one momernt in particular here, where Jimmy seems to disown Chuck in front of Rebecca, that his coldness really shows. And Kim doesn't fail to see it.

There is also much fascinating political skulduggery between Don Hector and Gus, with Nacho in the middle. It is he, as lieutenant, who exerts violent authority on behalf of Hector. And yet, when Hector threatens to use Nacho's father's business as a front for smuggling, suddenly Nacho has a motive to turn right against his boss. I've no doubt this will be a step in Hector's downfall.

Jimmy, of course, is not a lawyer for a year, and needs to do something else to keep Kim and himself afloat. He's desperate, creative... and then it happens: a TV commercial for TV commefcials. But he can't do it as Jimmy the lawyer. after some "Karloff" stuff... the character of Saul Goodman is born. Viewers had, literally, better call Saul.

This is, needless to say, exquisite.

Better Call Saul: Fifi

 "Things work out the way they're supposed to, I guess..."

We begin with an extraordinary tour de force of direction with a van crossing the border from the part of Mexico run by the Mexican government to New Mexico, a part of Mexico occupied by the United States since 1848. He said innocently. But this is all one shot, with so many camera angles, as exacting as theatre but in more dimensions. Exquisite.

This is part of Mike's sub plot where, as well as having a nice grandad/granddaughter scene, he plots his revenge against Hector. But that's for later. This episode is about Jimmy, Kim, and Chuck.

Kim, as I may have occasionally mentioned, is doomed. Yet the die is cast. She resigns to an oddly gracious Howard who, once again, shows himself to be tough but not necessarily a total bastard or without integrity, much as his management style is, thank the gods, frowned upon these days.

Thing is, she has all her eggs in the Mesa Verde contract. She does well, is about to get it, but... is sabotaged. By Chuck. Whose first day in the office without the tech hocus pocus is all aboit screwing over Kim, which Jimmy is somewhat displeased by, hence... and I never expected to type these words... a MacGyver-style photocopying montage.

Jimmy has, basically, set Chuck up to fail. And, in so many ways, his arrogant older brother deserves it. But Chuck expressesa his gratitude for Jimmy staying with him, which he disn't. Ouch.

Two episodes to go.So many twists and turns. This episode feels primed and ready to emit intense dramatic stuff. Simply masterful writing. And that's not without even deploring the characters' sadly realistic ignorance of the Pacific theatre of the Second World War.

Better Call Saul: Amarillo

 "Beautiful penmanship, a lost art."

Here, I think, we see the beginnings of why Jimmy, despite his genuine talent, will never thrive at this big, swanky law firm.Not because iof snobbery, or Chuck trying to trip him up- his boss seems to side with him there- but it's the fact he's Slippin' Jimmy. He just is. He's riding for a fall. And the tragedy is that he's certainly going to bring Kim down with him. And she's given everything for him. It's a slow motion car crash. The trajectory is certain.

We begin with Slippin' Jimmy in the most hilariously Texan con ever... but it's solicitation, something for which he can be disbarred. It's a worrying omen, much though he gets away with it this time.

Inevitably, he doesn't. The TV commercial may be clever, it may be right, but- as the previous commercial shoews- it's a clash of cultures. Jimmy just doesn't fit in with the way things are done. And, as soon as we realise he's airing the commercial, events have only to play out.

The B plot is fascinating too, with some superb facial acting from Jonathan Banks. Mike has his morals. He's a good grandad, and an honourable man, but he's a criminal by necessity. And, as we see at the end, his ethics don't necessarily mean he won't kill. So is he a good man? The answer is, as it will be for any real, nuanced, human being, ambiguous.

This continues to be first class television drama.

Better Call Saul: Pimento

 "You're not a real lawyer."

Thgois is a gloriously crafted piece of television, whether we see it as forty-seven minutes of drama in its own right or as a pivotal chapter (this is the penultimate episode of this first season) in a larger narrative. Either way, it's already on course to be a superb bit of telly and then the last twist gets you in the gut.

The Mike subplot is sublime. It's just Mike going on a job, casually being the world weary alpha male and having the measure of arrogant arseholes. But at the same time, in a sense, he's a good man. He's a good and loving grandad. And he gives sound advice to the naive beginner criminal employing him. He's a wise old soul, aware of the contradiction of good and evil, law and crime. He's being developed into a nuanced and interesting character in far greater depth even than in Breaking Bad, where he was less central. This is deeply exciting.

But Jimmy and Chuck... we start with Chuck making promising progress against his ambiguous condition, which is ominous; things are, by the rules of television drama, about to go downhill. And so they do. It's dreadfully cleber, with lots of misdirection. The old folks' case is too big to handle, they take it to Howard, Jimmy gets knocked back... and here comes the misdirection. We think Howard's being a dick.We think he's going to fire Kim for challenging him. But... the hostility towards Jimmy isn't from Howard. It's never been Howard. He may have his foibles, but he's not the enemy. Chuck was. Wow.

So we see a disgusted Jimmy, having worked out the truth, betrayed by his own brother's snobbery, the lawyer as sincere vocation vs Slippy Jimmy, abandining Chuck. I can't find the words for how exquisite this is.

Better Call Saul: RICO

 "Blow my magic flute..."

It's getting increasingly difficult to find new ways of saying that each episode of Better Call Saul is bloody excellent telly, but my God this is gripping. Jimmy gets properly stuck into a new case where old people in a homde are being defrauded, things seem to go well... and even Chuck seems to get his mojo back. And potentially be cured? We shall see. I'm certain he's doomed.

It's great seeing the whole story unwind. There are moments of simultaneous comedy and ingenuity, such as jimmy writing a legal document on toilet paper. And the David vs Goliath nature of all this is shown by a posh, espensively dressed lawyer calling Jimmy while he's stuck in a bin.

We also see Mike as doting grandfather, and hints that he's looking for a new job. And we get a fascinating flashback to Jimmy's relative youth, with him being resourceful and Howard being, as ever, a dick.

Writing, direction, acting... all are excellent. And the story is unfolding very nicely indeed.

Better Call Saul: Five-O

 "I am asking you to take a few ounces of lukewarm coffee and spill it on him."

Bob Odenkirk is certainly  in this, an episode of the show in which he's the nominal star. He even gets a moderately meaty and typically enjoyable supporting role, which nicely develops the relationship between him and Mike. But this, for one episode only, is The Mike Ehmentraut Show. And Jonathan Banks, after several episodes of him being a mysterious figure in the background if not for the obvious dramatic irony, gives us an extraordinary star turn.

The revelations keep coming as the mystery is develops. Mike's son Matt, a cop too, is dead, leaving Mike's daughter-in-law Stacey and his beloved Kaylee. And so we learn the devastating story of how Mike came to Albuquerque.

The episode is cleverly structured, like a whodunit. But it also shows how damned clever Mike is, with the trap he lays for his son's killers. Yet the most extraordinary part of this extraordinary piece of television is Mike's monologue to Stacey at the end. Jonathan Banks gives us, for the first time ever, a deeply emotional Mike. And his performance is an absolute tour de force. Incredible.