close menu

BETTER CALL SAUL Ep. 3 “Amarillo”–Every Fire Needs a Spark

“Jesus, Howard said you were a little eccentric, he didn’t tell me you were a goddamned arsonist!”

Jimmy McGill just can’t help himself. He can spin it however he wants, but when he sent that commercial out to air without showing it to Cliff for approval he knew what he was doing. Whether he did it out of some natural instinct to needlessly fight against authority, or because he’s uncomfortable in the world of legitimate law and was intentionally trying to burn his career to the ground, doesn’t really matter. The more frustrating part is that he knows what that kind of action means to Kim, and he still can’t stop himself from screwing this up.

Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy McGill and Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler - Better Call Saul _ Season 2, Episode 3 - Photo Credit: Ursula Coyote/Sony Pictures Television/ AMC
Last week ended with a quiet but significant moment between the two of them, where she let him know she can’t hear about his questionable methods, and he assured her that she won’t (note he didn’t say anything about not doing them). So this week, following worst-person-in-the-world Chuck subtly calling Jimmy out for his methods, Kim let him know the real stakes of his scheming—her reputation, and as a result her future.

She put herself out there for him, and when he does any kind of stunt it may burn him and set her career on fire too. That’s why Cliff’s incredulous line was so perfect. It’s one thing to be eccentric, but what kind of person does something like that to his new boss and company? Worse, what kind of person does it to someone he cares about personally, someone like Kim?

Ed Begley Jr. as Clifford Main - Better Call Saul _ Season 2, Episode 3 - Photo Credit: Ursula Coyote/Sony Pictures Television/ AMC
There wasn’t a whole lot of new ground broken this week, even for Jimmy’s story, but the show did take another step forward. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jimmy either loses his job at that meeting or holds on longer, but this is the end one way or another. Cliff knows who he is now. For us though, one of the more interesting subplots of the entire Jimmy-McGill-becomes-Saul-Goodman story is whether or not he’ll destroy Kim too.

As for Mike, this week saw a resetting of his story, with a renewed focus on his granddaughter Kaylee and (possibly losing her mind) daughter-in-law Stacey. We know Mike is a former dirty cop who (as far as we’ve been shown) only killed his son’s murderers (after giving them a chance to show they were going to kill him). Tonight he was reluctant to break legs for a bookie, but with Stacey (seemingly) hallucinating threats, could this be the start of “questionably ethical Mike” becoming a murderer for hire? The kind that would work for Gus Fring? Nacho’s significant offer seems like a good place to start down that path.

Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut - Better Call Saul _ Season 2, Episode 3 - Photo Credit: Ursula Coyote/Sony Pictures Television/ AMC
Just a couple of other notes before we head out to Birdie’s Homestyle Buffet.

–I called 505-242-7700 for you. It brings you to the hot-line for the Sandpiper class action lawsuit from Davis and Main. It’s not funny and you get a “robot.”

–I have a vase of those exacts balls in my house. I have no idea why, come to think of it.

–Some of the best jokes on this show are some of the most subtle, like Jimmy having them use the chair on the stairs as a dolly. That’s good ingenuity!

–I constantly find myself feeling terrible that Jimmy McGill will become Saul Goodman, but yet I love every single “Saul” moment on this show, like the opening scene on the shuttle.

–How does one decide when it is okay or not okay to play “footsies” under the table?

What did you think of this week’s Better Call Saul? Talk about it with us in the comments below.

Images: AMC

A Closer Look at Keiji Inafune’s RECORE

A Closer Look at Keiji Inafune’s RECORE

article
The Mysterious Medical Condition That Gives People Dragon Faces

The Mysterious Medical Condition That Gives People Dragon Faces

article
What is Wrong with MAD MAX’s War Boys?

What is Wrong with MAD MAX’s War Boys?

article