Margaux and I talk last night’s terrific episode of Better Call Saul.
Trevor: I know in the past we’ve talked about how good Better Call Saul is at its montages, but hot damn, “Something Stupid” had one for the record books. The cold open was more of a short film, with that brilliant use of split-screen illustrating Jimmy and Kim’s divergent paths. Was it subtle? No, but it didn’t particularly need to be. I could have watched a whole episode like that. It set the stage for what I thought was a pretty solid episode. How did this one work for you?
Margaux: Outside of the premiere episode, “Something Stupid” was my favorite episode of the season so far. It felt like the slow, methodical plotting of episodes 2-4 were to get us ready for everything that’s starting to come to a head here. I know it’s a good episode when my notes are fairly short, and not question based.
As an unabashed rom-com lover, the cold open completely worked for me on so many levels. You’re right, it was like its own short film; I love how much time and distance, physical and otherwise, is depicted in a very elegant and simple way. Kim and Jimmy are growing apart, and like in a real relationships, it’s never one thing, but a slow erosion. Even if we get glimpses into why they make sense together, like later on the way to the S&C party Kim brings Jimmy to, they were never meant for the long haul – which I thought was the point last weeks cold open was making. Jimmy just wanted to impress Kim, but comes after? How do you keep that going in a long term relationship?
Trevor: I like that you compare the montage to a rom-com, the main difference being that it doesn’t look like Kim and Jimmy have an emotional airport reunion in their future.
Margaux: That better not be a Garden State reference…
Trevor: The simple sadness of those few silent minutes just show how invested we’ve become in these two. Every single week, I find myself asking, how is this spin-off show about another show’s ostensible comic relief punching me in the gut like this? Sure, “Something Stupid” has its fair share of the standard BCS antics and chicanery, but it all exists in the shadow of the cold open.
Margaux: I think the cold open also help put to the rest all the conspiracy theories that Kim is still in Jimmy’s life during the Breaking Bad timeline. She is literally blacked out by the end of the montage and honestly, when Jimmy tries to sell Huell on his new practice location, I thought Jimmy had moved out and he and Kim finally done.
Trevor: Same here. That was an interesting POV shot, which BCS doesn’t do all that often. It set up a nice gag where it was revealed that Jimmy was talking to Huell, not Kim, but in Jimmy’s uncertain delivery, you see just how desperate he is, how badly he needs Kim on board with this plan. But even Huell isn’t impressed.
Margaux: The MTV Cribs-like POV tour of this home-office space didn’t really lead me to believe he was talking to Kim; I thought he might be trying to convince that shitty DA him and Kim enjoy trading barbs with or some HHM dummy to give him money to fund this operation – hell, Francesca was my first thought. But Jimmy’s uncertainty in his pitch to me read as him trying to convince himself out loud that this is what he wants, not something he should do to either win back Kim or impress her long enough to put off breaking up with him for another couple months. Much like Jimmy’s…let’s call it a pep talk to Howard last week, it’s mostly directly right back at himself most of the time.
Trevor: Really well said. We’re very much watching Jimmy’s life end, as he turns more and more into Saul Goodman. Look no further than his various crime tracksuits, which presage the wild ensembles he wears in his next incarnation. And he’s nearing the end of his suspension, so which version of him are we going to see practicing law again?
Margaux: The end of Jimmy McGill is a very good way to put it, and yes, those tracksuits are basically prototype Saul Goodman uniforms. But to answer your question, I think the prepaid phone scam, the bind Huell finds himself in, and Jimmy not yet reinstated to practice law are all a perfect storm for Saul Goodman to emerge.
I mean, just look at Kim’s face when Jimmy gives her the low down on Huell’s case and how he thinks they – not him, but joint Kimmy (Kim+Jimmy) collab – should take the cop with a couple DUIs in his past down in order to get Huell’s case thrown out. It’s bonkers, and I think that, combined with Jimmy’s passive aggressive outburst at Kim’s work party, left her with no other choice than to end this sooner rather than later. And that’s what I think will be the final push to fully transform Jimmy into Saul, with no moral compass in the form of Chuck or Kim around to keep his shittier impulses at bay, Jimmy will have legit zero in his mind not do exactly what he wants.
Trevor: It’s kind of heartbreaking to see Jimmy go from being really passionate and talented at what he does – I’m talking Sandpiper here – to relying on cons and misdirection to get him out of a jam. He’s not stupid, and he could do better than selling burner phones out of a van, but he tells himself a different story. Maybe another reason Jimmy needs to die.
Margaux: So many scenes left a lasting impression this episode that haven’t since the Bingo hall days; when Kim goes toe-to-toe with DA representing the cop in Huell’s case, and dresses down Jimmy, essentially describing him to Kim as the rest of the world must see him (for a lack of a better phrase, a loser who sells drug dealers burner phones out of a van). Instead of verbally destroying her the way she did Howard when he insulted Jimmy by proxy with Chuck’s will chicanery, she clearly held herself back because well…where is the lie though?? It was obviously news to Kim to begin with that Jimmy’s work life had taken this…turn, and she was clearly not a huge fan.
Trevor: Exactly, and we’ve seen Kim stick up for Jimmy before. But this is different. Several times in my notes I found myself writing “Saul” instead of “Jimmy.”
Okay, I feel like we’ve talked about this for a while – do you want to talk Mike? Or Gus? We didn’t see a ton of either of them in “Something Beautiful,” but what we saw was pretty great.
Margaux: In regards to Mike, he’s gonna murder that Kai asshole, right? Like, that’s being telegraphed pretty hard.
Also, Hector has already started his petty vengeance plots by making some poor nurse pick up his spilled water and taking gross pleasure in it, you can take away the mans motor functions, but you can’t take how horrible and rotten he is at his core. I did love how the doctor goes over how much progress Hector has made and how one day he might even talk and walk again and Gus is all, “nah, we good here”. It actually cracked me up cause Gus is such a calculated asshole, it’s so clearly evil, and that doctor knew enough to know to shut up and let Gus exact whatever nefarious plan he may have because she’s getting a new wing added to her hospital. That’s right, bitch, cash that check and ask zero questions. A lesson Kai could learn!
Trevor: We got another heartbreaking montage, set to “Big Rock Candy Mountain,” of the German men going to work. These guys live in a warehouse and work in a hole. I felt claustrophobic watching them descend into the earth, and the anguish was palpable when Kai knocked over that support beam. What I love is that BCS could have shown us Gus planning his underground lab, but no, we get to see the entire arduous process, because this show is nothing if not methodical. That’s a good thing.
Is there anything else you want to touch on, or do you want to talk stars?
Margaux: Well, those Germans finally get their wish to leave their own private hell for a company offsite next week, but I cannot stress enough how I don’t think Kai will come back to resume work.
In terms of stars, I’m relieved “Something Stupid” gave us anything to hang on to because last 2-3 episodes were a little to thin for me, and I am equal parts thrilled and terrified by us hurtling towards the finale already.
4.5/5
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