Monday, May 15, 2017

What I’m Watching: Better Call Saul


Better Call Saul: Season 3, Episode 5 “Chicanery” (B+)

After an episode devoted very little to Jimmy and more to Mike and Gus, neither of those supporting players were present at all in this hour. Instead, the full episode featured the court proceedings, which played out about as expected. Every time Jimmy scores a personal victory against Chuck, it feels horrible and everyone in the room looks at the floor because they don’t want to confront what just happened. Opening with a flashback to better times when Chuck kept his condition from Rebecca was enormously effective as usual, and we’ve come a long way from that point. Kim telling Mesa Verde was Jimmy did before they found out was smart, and she did a very strong job of representing him. Played back in court, the tape really did sound damning, and Jimmy didn’t do a great job initially trying to poke holes in Chuck’s condition to get him riled up. But then, when his lawyer tried to compare his allergy to schizophrenia, he cracked. Jimmy keeping his cell phone in his pocket and having the battery planted on Chuck by his familiar associate showed the lengths he went to in order to set this all up, but it seems to have worked, since the look on everyone’s faces, particularly the panel’s, said it all. Ending with Chuck still sitting on the witness stand was a harrowing and powerful way to close out the hour, and one thing is clear from all this: Chuck and Jimmy’s relationship is never going to be able to be repaired.

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