Saul snuck up on me this year. It’s great to go back to New Mexico.
After Jimmy’s full scale switcheroo to get Kim back in the good graces of Mesa Verde by making his brother Chuck look senile last season, we pick up right where we left off. Chuck is pissed and tricks Jimmy into confessing with a recorder hidden in the room. His confession gets Chuck to agree to go back to work (Howard needed him back). So Jimmy blurts it out basially to make amends with his brother. He thinks admitting that he did it for Kim makes it a water under the bridge moment and tries to get things back to normal. While pulling the tin foil off of Chuck’s walls, Jimmy gets into some brotherly banter. Chuck shuts him down with a curt, “I’ll never forget what you did. You will get yours, eventually.” It’s a chilling threat that Jimmy has to know Chuck intends to follow through with. He doesn’t say anything back.
Things are going well at Jimmy and Kim’s practice. A lot of will work, working with the elderly who love taking up your time like you don’t have a room of other clients waiting for you. Jimmy is spooked by what Chuck told him and carefully navigates himself around Kim. He broke some serious laws in the name of helping Kim and the blowback for it would be immense. So she’s on eggshells too when she visits Mesa Verde and listens to a peer talk shit about Chuck’s mistake knowing what really happened. It makes her feel uncomfortable and second guess her work.
Chuck brings Howard the tape of Jimmy and Howard basically says, that’s insane but you can’t do anything with the tape legally. Being an exceptional lawyer, Chuck knew this. He brought the tape to ensure that he has Howard on his side. It’ll forever expose Jimmy to never be believed by Howard. Plus, he has a plan that has nothing to do with the law. He doesn’t say what it is and the only thing I can think of is to use it to turn Kim. At least brak them up. He knows Jimmy can live without the work, the career is kinda secondary to him. Kim is far and away the most important thing in Jimmy’s life. He must not think Kim knows but having Jimmy on tape is still serious personal leverage.
When we last left Mike, he was about to pull off an assassination when his car horn started blaring. A stick on the horn and a note on the windshield (“Don’t”) sends Mike into a panic. He’s being watch and has no idea who it is. He spends most of the episode trying to find a tracker in his car and when he does, it takes measures to turn the tables. He gets the people watching him to take a bug of his own so he can follow them and find out who and what he’s dealing with.
The moral shadiness of Jimmy continues to feed the madness and Chuck’s threat adds that family karma threat. Kim is totally going to get caught in the middle of this which is going to be hard to watch. Watching Mike work his magic, on the other hand, is nothing but a treat. Safe bet that the trail is going to lead him to Breaking Bad great, Gus Fring.