Margaux and I discuss last night’s bummer episode of Better Call Saul.
Trevor: Better Call Saul is a show full of wonderful shots, and “Expenses” was no exception, but even by this show’s standards, that first one was a doozy. I love how small Jimmy looks (terrific framing by director Thomas Schnauz), but beyond that I was struck by how different he looks when he’s not wearing a suit. Jimmy McGill wears suits. Saul Goodman wears suits. So who the hell is this? It’s excellent visual language, especially because Bob Odenkirk is dressed in the most drab, forgettable closing in Jimmy’s closet. As a queue forms around him, he looks less than anonymous; he looks like nobody, and as Jimmy slowly drains his bank account throughout “Expenses,” that’s exactly what he is starting to become.
Margaux: That opening shot floored me, I almost didn’t recognize him. Sweat pants?? Especially against that brick wall – he nearly disappears, it was wonderful framing device that really set the tone for all of “Expenses.” An establishing shot for the rest of the humiliation to come. For such a slow burn of show, “Expenses” gave many glimpses into how happy-go-lucky Slippin’ Jimmy turns into coldness of Saul Goodman.
Trevor: That’s a good point, it really does show you the difference between the two. Jimmy McGill is a genuinely upbeat person (most of the time), whereas with Saul it’s an affectation made to put his clients at ease (although with Saul, I feel that “customer” would be a more appropriate word).
Humiliation, too, is a good word to describe “Expenses.” I like how the title goes from bland, to apt, to haunting, as Jimmy really can’t catch a break. Even in the cold open, when he gets credit for a paltry thirty minutes of work, courtesy of one of New Mexico’s few citizens Jimmy can’t smooth-talk. Watching him try to pressure Duke (of Duke’s Recliners fame) into buying seven commercials was almost cringe-inducing. This is the guy who convinced a woman he was Kevin Costner, and now he can’t sell airtime to a chair salesman. Jimmy has spent most of this season drifting towards rock bottom, but I think he hits it in “Expenses” (his spiteful actions at the end, which we’ll get to, seem to confirm this).
Margaux: There’s something of a perfect symmetry between Jimmy trying to hustle on the phone while he picks up trash, and suddenly over the side freeway comes sailing down…something that looks like a Big Gulp of piss and a rotten hamburger. Eventually, Jimmy is going to get sick of shit raining down him, and out of that will emerge Saul. The clearest we see of this is when he and Kim go out for drinks, and their playful game of looking for Gizelle and Viktor’s next mark gets very, very dark. Sure, most of Jimmy’s vitriol could stem from his bad day, but the way he drones on about conning some douchebag who berates a waiter at the table next to them gets scary and un-fun quickly. For the first time, I think we also get a real look at how Kim doesn’t make into the Breaking Bad universe.
Trevor: Everything in “Expenses” felt like a catalyst, almost as if (for once) Gilligan and Gould are offering us straight lines. X happened and Y was the result. It’s telling, I think, that this was the most Jimmy-focused episode of the season, and it was all about cost, both personal and professional. And since you mentioned symmetry, the Nebraska flash-forwards pair nicely with this episode, as it shows that he can’t ever catch a break, and is only a few years away from more personal and professional hardship.
It feels like loose ends are starting to get tied up. Every time I see Hector I wonder how he ends up in that wheelchair, and I’m starting to think that Nacho’s medication switcheroo will be responsible for it. I also love any scene with him opposite Mike, especially here with his deadpan reaction to Mike’s arrival: “Really?” As far as the Mike stuff goes, we got to see Law & Order: SVU’s Tamara Tunie, which is always fun. That’s about the depth of my insight so far, but it looks like a fun developing plot. Unless she gets killed.
Margaux: Well, even if the most interesting thing she does is share that horrifying story of her husband just vanishing into the forest one day, never to be seen again – that’s okay with me. But I wonder if Mike pouring cement for the church will amount to much other than making think Mike definitely hide a body in that carport he made in the 70s. What did you think of Pryce showing back up again?
Trevor: Pryce is a fun character, because he’s like the doofus comedy version of Walter White. I definitely see him as collateral damage in the end, but he too is a catalyst, as he drags Mike back into the Albuquerque underworld (Albuquerque Underworld starring Kate Beckinsale, January 2019). I like that Pryce can go from scared (his high-pitched scream when he sees Nacho in his living room) to indignant (accusing Nacho of wanting to steal his baseball cards) on a moment’s notice. He’s a tertiary character, but he helps the plot, and he’s just the right amount of annoying.
Margaux: Don’t know why, but I thought you hated him.
Trevor: I did. This episode kind of made me reconsider that for some reason. I’m not Team Pryce, but it’s more like “Eh, he’s not that bad, why not.” Sorry, go on.
Margaux: I loved how much Paige relished Chuck’s downfall. She didn’t have to read the courtroom transcripts, but she just had to know, and I think it only strengthened her confidence in Kim’s ability as a lawyer. I don’t think Kim damaged her relationship by any means with her little outburst, but it was the first face crack we’ve from her in a while. What she says though, that they only brought down a “sick man” is true, to some extent. I think her secret regret, and Jimmy’s dark spiral grift are setting her down a path that’s very exciting because it’s unknown to us. We know Hector ends up in a wheelchair, we just don’t know how, but Kim, what the hell else happens that leads her to cut ties? Is this the beginning of the end?
Trevor: I just think there’s no room for her in the realm of Saul Goodman. I hadn’t noticed the symmetrical qualities of this episode until you brought it up, because I am terrible at my job, but there’s so much to be found in her reaction to Paige and Jimmy’s breakdown at the insurance company. He’s up against a wall, he can’t get a refund on insurance he doesn’t need, and beyond that he’s going to have to pay more next year, and that’s assuming he can even get work with a suspension on his record. So he puts Chuck’s license in jeopardy. That little smirk he gives on the way out of the office is perfect facial acting. Also, I don’t think it needs to be said, but Odenkirk absolutely kills in this episode.
Margaux: His performance in “Expenses” is the kind of episode you send to the Emmys for their consideration. His breakdown in the insurance office was so good, I almost didn’t realize he was faking. It didn’t seem completely like him to dump out his purse like that to a stranger, but once she started writing it down, I caught it. What’s the worst that could happen to Chuck, anyway? An increase on his insurance? It was a little petty.
Trevor: Better Call Saul is so good at withholding from the audience until it gives you an info dump that absolutely devastates you – look how Kim destroyed Chuck when he was on the stand. I won’t pretend to know New Mexico law that well (well, not anymore; the jig is up, I guess), but if Chuck is deemed mentally unfit to practice, he could very well end up disbarred. Which would be the most brutal irony possible, the punishment he tried to inflict on Jimmy coming down on his head in the end. But maybe that’s too neat for this show. I do love how BCS keeps us guessing.
Do you want to talk stars before we take a short break for Memorial Day?
Margaux: “Expenses” was quietly deceptive, plot wise – not a lot happened, but if you’ve watched Better Call Saul before, you already know this. The cinematography and story symmetry was the most impactful it’s been all season, and the subtle work it did to set all the dominoes up makes you wonder if this turning point before the fall.
Final Score:
4.5/5
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