This post contains SPOILERS for Better Call Saul
-
Better Call Saul's fourth season ended with "Winner," an exciting finale that inches the spinoff closer to its Breaking Bad roots. This year, AMC's acclaimed drama had to followup the jaw-dropping cliffhanger of season 3, where Chuck died in a horrifying fire. That tragedy is what truly spurred Jimmy McGill's transformation into Saul Goodman as he dealt with the consequences and aftermath of not only his brother's death, but also his bar suspension. Over the course of the fourth season, Jimmy became more involved with the criminal underworld of Albuquerque, launching his "get-rich-quick" scheme of selling prepaid cell phones to unsavory individuals.
Elsewhere in the Saul universe, Gus Fring looked to expand his cartel operations, commissioning the construction of the famous "super lab" Walter White and Jesse Pinkman cooked in during Breaking Bad. Entrusting Mike Ehrmantraut to oversee the operation, Gus hired a group of Russian nationals led by Werner Ziegler. While the project was taking longer than originally planned, the crew was working diligently and hoped to have it finished soon. Of course, things hit a snag at the end of last week's "Wiedersehen" when Werner went AWOL, leaving only a note with detailed instructions for his team. These storylines (Werner's disappearance and Jimmy's bar reinstatement appeal) are the crux of the finale's narrative, with both resolving in powerful ways.
The Tragedy of Werner Ziegler
Throughout the season, Werner's team were recurring players, frequently interacting with Mike. Early on, it looked like Kai would be the troublemaker of the group, especially after his incident with the nightclub. However, Kai turned out to be a red herring, and Werner caused the biggest headaches for Gus and Mike. Werner, of course, is far from home and dearly misses his beloved wife. Wishing to see her again, Werner pitched Mike the idea of going back to Russia for a weekend, but was denied. Since he couldn't get his superiors' approval, Werner took matters into his own hands and hatched a plot for a loving reunion.
"Winner" reveals Werner ran off to a resort where he planned to spend time with his wife. He made travel arrangements that would see her fly over to America for a weekend and go back home. Sadly for Werner, he never gets to see her again. Mike tracks him down and after a discussion with Gus, realizes there's only one resolution for this setback. Allowing Werner the opportunity to call his wife and tell her to return to Russia before Gus' people do anything to her, Mike then (reluctantly) kills Werner. Ehrmantraut says Werner's death will be covered up as a tragic accident and his men will be sent back. As one might expect, Gus is angered by the lack of progress on the super lab (cutting a conversation with Gale short), which he thought would be completed by now.
Related: How Better Call Saul's (Unseen) Breaking Bad Character Connects To Jimmy
Werner clearly had no ill intent (Mike knew he was jut homesick), but when he ran off, his fate was essentially sealed. This was the second transgression Werner committed against Gus - the first being his friendly chat about construction work with bar patrons. These two incidents back-to-back made it very difficult for Gus to trust Werner moving forward, and by now, fans are well aware of Fring's ruthlessness. Mike mentions multiple times in the episode there are other ways to go about things, but he can't convince Gus to spare Werner's life. No amount of begging or pleading has any effect on Gus when he's made up his mind about something. Unfortunately for Werner, he never completely understood what he got himself into and crossed the wrong people.
Lalo also factors into this storyline, with the mysterious member of the Salamanca clan tailing Mike and trying to locate Werner for his own reasons. Lalo does discover which resort Werner is staying at and briefly speaks to the Russian over the phone, posing as one of Gus' employees. Not knowing any better, Werner begins to tell Lalo the first couple of basic instructions for the super lab construction, before Mike arrives in person and interrupts the call. Near the end of the episode, Mike tells Gus about what happened, and it'll be fascinating to see how this continues in season 5. Of course, Fring does not get along with the Salamancas, and despite Lalo's cheeky offer of a peace treaty in last week's episode, the two warring sides will continue their power struggle. Lalo is clearly curious about what Gus is up to and wants to get an upper hand for himself.
Page 2: Jimmy McGill Becomes Saul Goodman
Jimmy McGill Is Finally Saul Goodman
Jimmy's arc in season 4 is dealing with the fallout of his felony from season 2 (tampering with Chuck's documents) as he tries to get by in life with his one-year suspension. Picking up lawful employment at CC Mobile, he does everything he's supposed to do to work himself back in the graces of the committee. However, last week's episode ended with the shocking twist that Jimmy was denied reinstatement - after he was found to be insincere in his comments. Kim, as she always does, stays by Jimmy's side to help him win the appeal. In Kim's mind, the sincerity issue stems from Chuck and Jimmy needs to show remorse for what's transpired.
The two forge ahead with another one of their brilliant schemes. Jimmy spends the one-year anniversary of Chuck's death mourning at his brother's grave. An "anonymous" donation is made to HHM to name the legal library after Chuck, with members of Jimmy's go-to video team telling people in attendance they heard the gift was from Jimmy. It all builds up to another hearing in front of the committee, where Jimmy uses the letter Chuck left him as a weapon in his favor. After (faking) being unable to read it in place of an opening statement, Jimmy launches into a nostalgic monologue where he reminisces about his brother, talks about wanting to make Chuck proud, and credits Chuck with influencing his interest in a law career. In their celebration afterwards, Kim feels some it was truthful, but Jimmy's reaction makes it painfully apparent it was all a show for the committee so he could get his law license back. As he prepares to sign the necessary documents, Jimmy states he'll no longer be practicing under his legal name. Turning to a clearly shocked Kim, he closes out the season by saying, "S'all good, man."
Related: Bob Odenkirk Responds to Fan Theory About Chuck's Letter
At a certain time in his life, Jimmy probably aspired to be an honest, hard-working lawyer like Chuck, but the events of Better Call Saul have rendered that impossible. During a key sequence of the episode, Jimmy (as part of his sincerity scheme) sits on the board awarding scholarships in Chuck's memory. He vouches for a student named Kristy Esposito, who received only one vote (from Jimmy) because she was found guilty of shoplifting. In that moment, Jimmy realizes that the law community at large will never accept someone with a prior record, and clearly sees himself in the young Kristy. Because of his actions in season 2, the most prominent firms in the country will always consider Jimmy a liability, no matter how much he swears he's changed. Chasing down Kristy after the scholarship meetings, Jimmy basically lays out the Saul Goodman playbook, telling his favorite student to cut corners and to not worry about what others think (because she'll never "make it" the traditional way).
Instead of conforming to fit within the perceived standards of the field, Jimmy gamed the system to his own advantage. He told the reinstatement committee what they wanted to hear - even though he has no intention of following through on it - and is now set to play by his own rules. In his argument with Kim on the rooftop in "Wiedersehen," Jimmy went on the defensive about how Kim views him as "the kind of lawyer guilty people hire" and is unworthy of sharing an office with her (while she thrives at a large firm in New Mexico). Jimmy is embracing his reputation. Saul Goodman, as Breaking Bad fans know, is exactly the type of lawyer criminals hire. Howard Hamlin wouldn't touch Walter White and Jesse Pinkman with a 10-foot pole, but Saul went into business with them, doing whatever he could to protect his clients' rights and help them avoid jail time.
-
The beauty of this is how it all traces back to Chuck and recontextualizes the character of Saul Goodman. When he was introduced in the second season of Breaking Bad, he was nothing more than an entertaining side player; a riff on the "sleazy lawyer" archetype who came up with elaborate schemes to win his cases. Now, the persona is revealed as a last resort for a man who once upon a time looked up to his brother, only to have his hopes and dreams destroyed by that very same sibling. Chuck went out of his way to block Jimmy from getting a position at HHM, fearful of what "Slippin' Jimmy with a law degree" would be capable of. He wasn't willing to give Jimmy the benefit of the doubt, and ended up unknowingly launching the career of Albuquerque's shadiest criminal defense attorney. Maybe if he was more accepting and loving towards Jimmy, things would have turned out differently.
It'll be exciting to see how the confirmed fifth season picks up on this. There were already hints the Jimmy/Kim relationship was fraying (the wonderfully constructed cold open of "Something Stupid"), and the former's new career path might be the final straw. Kim is never mentioned in Breaking Bad, so obviously something happens there. Better Call Saul correctly took the long road to get to this point, and now the possibilities for its future are wide open.
More: Better Call Saul Fills In Breaking Bad Gaps
from ScreenRant - Feed https://ift.tt/2QDrQ3F
0 Comments