Note: Major spoilers for the episode of Better Call Saul, you have been warned.
For all the criticism I gave the show earlier in the season, when I said that it felt slow and was just kind of cruising along, it has now started to prove to me that the show runners know what they are doing and are playing the long game instead of the quick hits to get people talking. Unlike another show on AMC with significantly more viewers (okay, it's The Walking Dead everyone), which I feel continues to back itself into the storyline it wants by making the characters do whatever suits their need that week, Better Call Saul has turned into a masterwork of letting the characters get where they are going because of their character, not in spite of it.
As Jimmy starts to come more into his own with each passing week, and I mean turning into Saul Goodman more and more, all the slow build is starting to pay off. By gradually turning into the character we know and love from Breaking Bad, he is influencing everyone around him as well, and it has caused for some very good scenes over the last couple weeks. By changing the address on the Mesa Verde documents to screw over Chuck, it has caused Chuck to go off the deep end a little bit, and even show some signs that he is maybe a little bit more like Jimmy than he wants to admit. This also has caused a rift between Jimmy and Kim, although we don't know just to what extent yet.
When I said Chuck is going off the deep end a bit, I guess I should back up a second. Chuck brought this on himself by not letting the Mesa Verde situation go. He decided to go extremely out of his way just to make sure that Kim didn't get the account, which in turn was just to get to Jimmy. I don't know if it is full on jealousy, or if he just thinks Jimmy is going to continue to mess everything up, but Chuck has been doing an awful lot as of late to try to take Jimmy down a peg. And in this instance, he decided to try to take Kim down as well, which is what really set Jimmy off and caused him to alter the documents anyway. This of course all came out in the form of the lecture that Kim gave to Chuck when he tried to explain everything to her. Of course she knew what happened, but she blames Chuck for making Jimmy the way he is, and so she may be mad at Jimmy, but I think she feels sorry for him more than is mad at him.
The real problem now, which leads us to the ending of the most recent episode, is that Kim knows what Jimmy did, and has somewhat accepted it, but now has to deal with the consequences if something goes wrong. She says as much to Jimmy, telling him that there can be no loose ends. This causes him to go to the all night copy center he went to when he altered the documents, and a bit of craziness ensues. After Jimmy buys off the clerk, Chuck shows up to ask about whether Jimmy was there, and Chuck has a full on episode. The episode ends with him passing out and banging his head off the counter, and we are left to wonder just what effect this will have on Chuck.
I certainly don't think Chuck will die from the incident, but I do think there is a high likelihood that he has caused some serious damage in his head, maybe even brain damage. He hit his head really hard, and we have to believe that Jimmy will have to face some consequences from his actions. If Chuck goes into a semi-vegetative state, and Jimmy has to live with that, it could cause for a very rough break between season 2 and 3 for Jimmy. And if the rift he has caused between himself and Kim grows, especially after she finds out what happened to Chuck, then the chips are all starting to fall into place for Jimmy to turn into Saul Goodman for good.
I don't want to forget about Mike, and he certainly had some good moments in this episode as well. He starts off by robbing Hector's transport truck in the desert. After Nacho figures out that it was Mike that robbed them, he sets up a meeting between just the two of them. He confronts Mike, who admits to doing it, and tells Nacho that there is no way it can link back to him. This seems to appease Nacho until Mike asks why the cops weren't involved. Nacho gets upset even more now, since he thinks Mike is just trying to set Hector up to get arrested, and thus will possibly cause Nacho to get arrested as well. After a brief standoff of sorts, Mike tells Nacho that he is done with Hector, and to not worry about it. But then Nacho tells Mike that some random guy found the truck in the desert, and that Hector killed the man so to have no witnesses. Something tells me Mike isn't as done with Hector as he seemed to let on.
I have to say that I'm excited for the season finale. The slow build is starting to pay off in dividends, and I think the season finale is going to have several really big moments in it. I'm holding out hope that we may even get to see the debut of an old Breaking Bad character in the finale, but I could be way off base on that. It just seems like it might be a good time to bring in Gus Fring, even if it is only briefly, or even if they just tease his appearance for next season. Either way, there should be some fireworks this coming Monday, and I'm very interested to see how this season ends.
My rating for the two episodes is 8/10
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