This week on Better Call Saul, some people showed their true colors, and it was a disappointing but interesting twisty surprise. Would the real Chuck please stand up! I’m sorry that the real big bro did show his true self. Besides Jimmy being back stabbed this week, there were some highlights. Mike is a dangerous, dangerous individual, even when armed only with a pimento cheese sandwich. Mike may look worn out and ready for a room at Sandpiper Crossing, but he is a tough guy that is not to be trifled with.
The first scene this week was a nice picture of two brothers sitting on a bench with their toes in the grass and a perfect case right in their laps that will win them millions. Jimmy has helped his crazy bro be able to somewhat overcome his allergy to electricity and enjoy the outdoors.
The Sandpiper lawyers are scum of course. They try, just like Chuck predicts, to keep Jimmy off the property and thus away from his clients. This little tactic doesn’t work. It is an example of how many obstacles will be thrown at Jimmy by this big firm. He won’t have time to do his clients any good as the opposition keeps him in court with ridiculous motions. Chuck tells Jimmy of the flood of paperwork that came and the ton that will follow. They have no choice but to partner with Hamlin’s firm if they have any hope of wrapping this fraud case up for the elderly victims who could die before a two man team can get it over with and hand out the settlement.
The last thing Jimmy wants is to hand over his golden goose to Howard Hamlin. He knows big bro knows best however so he agrees, thinking he will get to work right alongside Chuck in one of the big Hamlin offices. Jimmy is disappointed, but you can tell he is happy to be able to continue to work with his brother, even if it’s at the enemy’s facility. Chuck’s phone call in the middle of the night let us know he is up to no good. He isn’t a bad guy, but he did a very bad thing.
Mike’s interview for the personal protection job went well. He was so impressive that the other two candidates were left out and he was able to get paid for all three guys. He disarmed the mercenary guy, which scared off the future WWE star and impressed the nerdy looking pharmacist guy he would be protecting. Taking the gun away from the hired gunman was very impressive. Mike has some skills son!
Chuck and Jimmy set out to meet with Howard Hamlin and company to discuss the case. Chuck has been fitted with a suit laced with space blanket material….Jimmy’s idea of course. Little brother is smarter than Chuck. Not in legal terms or book knowledge, but as a quick thinker and a real world survivor. Jimmy would fit right in with Rick Grimes’ crew in a world filled with zombies and deadly humans. Chuck would have been killed within days of a zombie outbreak.
The meeting at the HHM building starts fine as Chuck is welcomed back like Maximus Decimus Meridius after conquering some barbarians for Rome. Jimmy is left to hold the file boxes and only Kim acknowledges his presence as she gives him a hand.
Howard is really amped up about this case, and Jimmy has to slow him down so they get the details straight first. That’s no issue. Jimmy will get 20% of the final settlement, when the case wraps up and $20K immediately for his efforts in building the Sandpiper case to this point. The trouble is that Howard has no intention of letting Jimmy work on the case in his building and it appears that he has such a hatred for Jimmy that he won’t budge. Our boy Jimmy is truly shocked that Howard would turn away the case rather than have him on their team of lawyers. No one can be that big of a dick right? Wrong, but it’s not Howard. Chuck is the bad guy and Howard Hamlin is simply playing the role of monster for him, as he requested on that late night phone call. Jimmy doesn’t know this yet so he tells Hamlin that he will “burn the case to the ground” before he hands it over to their firm.
Mike’s job went fine and he made an easy $1500 protecting the geek with no business on the street. Nacho was the buyer and there was no trouble….except a missing $20 that Mike insisted be paid. Doing your homework is the key to dealing with criminals according to the former cop. This easy money is hard to resist.
Jimmy is no dummy so he eventually finds out about Chuck’s call to Howard. He knows it was his wacko-bro that blocked him behind the scenes. He confronts Chuck and wants to know why. He gets his answer and we get to see a very ugly side of Chuck. He is not a bad person. He just loves the law more than he loves his brother. Jimmy is still just a con man in Chuck’s eyes, only now he is armed with a law degree. If the University of American Samoa Law Degree was hanging anywhere near Chuck at that moment, he would have no doubt spat upon it. Passing the bar was something that Jimmy was proud of and even happier that it made his big brother proud of him. It turns out that Chuck saw it as a joke and never viewed Jimmy as his peer. Chuck is actually jealous of Jimmy as a lawyer. It comes easy to him and Chuck can’t stand that.
Jimmy tells Chuck he is done with him and catering to his weird needs. Who can blame the guy? He just found out that his brother is Judas and after all the measures he took to help Chuck get through his ridiculous malady. If Jimmy had smashed Chuck’s brains in with one of those lanterns I think he would have been justified…..in jail for murder, but justified nonetheless.
If this episode didn’t show Jimmy that he is not wanted with the uppity type lawyers then nothing will. Even his own blood wants to keep him out of that elite circle. In fact, I think Howard Hamlin takes Jimmy in if not for Chuck. That’s how great a case Jimmy handed them on a silver platter. This betrayal is the likely start of shadier tactics by Jimmy, who has tried to do good, but has not found any benefit from doing so.