Hector Salamanca – Father Son Holy Gore

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Better Call Saul 5×09: “Bad Choice Road”

Things, as expected, get so much worse for Jimmy once he makes it out of the desert.

Jimmy and Kim have different plans. Mike further sets up construction on the lab.

Gus navigates the cartel world in the absence of Hector. Jimmy heads out for job interviews.

Jimmy dives to new, even lower depths in his quest to make money. This time, turning Sandpiper residents on one another.

Jimmy struggles to find ways to make money. Chuck is working to get better. And Nacho starts putting his plan for Don Hector into motion.

Mike meets a couple old pals. At the same time, Jimmy struggles to keep up appearances and keep paying the bills.

AMC’s Better Call Saul
Season 2, Episode 10: “Klick”
Directed by Vince Gilligan
Written by Gilligan & Heather Marion

* For a recap & review of the penultimate Season 2 episode, “Nailed” – click here
* For a recap & review of the Season 3 premiere, “Mabel” – click here

After Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) stood by as his older brother Chuck (Michael McKean) smashed his head off a counter in the previous episode, the Season 2 finale begins with the two brothers – a psych out has us feeling it’s Jimmy at his brother’s hospital bed. But it’s the Brothers McGill at the bedside of their mother. One thing I love is how the flashbacks are always in this blue-grey tone, so immediately I should’ve known this was a view back to their lives. Before all the mess, or well, before the biggest mess. The dying mother wakes a moment and calls for Jimmy, right before dying. Calling out for him, the mother wastes away, and he gone out for a sandwich. The disappointment is evident by the look on Chuck’s face. He hates his younger brother, for always taking the easy way out, for always giving up, so on. I feel bad for Chuck, at the same time I recognize Jimmy’s situation, as someone who isn’t deliberately malicious, until absolutely pushed to that point. He simply doesn’t think. When he gets back to the hospital, Jimmy finds Chuck, who refrains from telling his brother about their mother’s last words, calling out for him.
With this opening sequence, the writing and direction of Gilligan is already doing wonderful things.

Back to the end of “Nailed” – Jimmy races inside the copy shop to try and take charge of the situation. He gets Chuck’s head elevated slightly, though, the look in his brother’s is very spacey. In the hospital, he’s unable to protect himself from all the electronics beaming into him. You can almost feel the claustrophobia, as Gilligan uses a great rig shot to show him in this really up-close and personal perspective, which sort of cements us in a first-person point of view. A truly painful sequence to watch Chuck suffer underneath the lights and around all the electronic equipment. I’ve always felt he’s mostly crazy. Here, the acting, the writing, the direction makes this almost unbearable. Seriously. Not much affects me deeply, but Michael McKean had me wanting to cry, as Chuck pleads with them not to do a CAT scan. When the whole moment is over, I sighed a breath of relief.
But Jimmy doesn’t get such a chance to sigh. A doctor (Clea DuVall) explains to Jimmy there needs to be examinations done, however, Chuck is still refusing, obviously. The younger brother doesn’t want to commit the older one. Like anyone wouldn’t want to, either. Things for James McGill are about to get far more complicated than ever before. Because it’s been clear a long while, Chuck is not fit to be living without someone to help take care of him.
Worst of all, Chuck is sure of Jimmy’s treachery. To anyone else it sounds bonkers. To us, we know the truth. At the same time, man servant Ernesto says he called Jimmy, that’s why he showed up at the copy shop. Well, that pokes a hole in Chuck’s ideas. And he’s aware of what comes next. We’ll see how well that pans out, on all ends. As for Ernesto, he says he helped out because he likes Jimmy, and it seems as if Chuck has been out to get him. Yikes. Works for Jimmy.

In other areas of town, on the outskirts, Nacho (Michael Mando) and Arturo (Vincent Fuentes) are transporting the man who’d been driving the Mexican food trucks, the one Mike snatched up. And surprise, surprise – in the distance Mike watches them. Fairly close, too. I guess Nacho’s driving, so that gives him an advantage, as well as the fact he’s driving some old beater. With the finale upon us, Mike is definitely going to do something big, and dangerous.
At the hospital, Chuck just wants someone to believe him. Instead he’s put in for a CAT scan. It’s like a horror movie for him, stuck inside the electronic tube. Again, you almost feel the electricity the way he does. Out in the waiting room Kim (Rhea Seehorn) keeps Jimmy company, like the great woman she is, and he worries. Even if he’s partly responsible for Chuck’s situation. On television, Jimmy’s newest commercial turns up – “Gimme Jimmy – ‘cause moxie is in such short supply these days,” says an elderly lady, smiling, knitting. Hilarious little infomercial.
Except after coming out of the CAT scan Chuck isn’t moving, he isn’t speaking. Not even blinking. A “self induced” state of catatonia, where he’ll remain for who knows how long.

With his arms dealing friend Lawson (Jim Beaver), Mike is testing out a sniper rifle. He gets himself a nice new rig. And for what? There’s some sort of plan on the offensive. Even Lawson wipes his prints off the gun before the final sale. We’ll see exactly what Mike is preparing soon.
Meanwhile, Chuck finally wakes up. He gets to go home, no mental asylum or anywhere similar. For the time being, the older brother’s fine. Although, I’m not sure how long that will last. After Jimmy leaves he’s out in the garage, searching for something. Must be important, right?

But back to Mike. He’s out around the desert, hiking by some rocks to a place where he can set up his rifle. In the distance is a small shack where the van Nacho drove is parked, as well as another car beside it. Arturo digs a hole nearby (side note: is that the shack Tuco later brings Walt & Jessie?). When they bring the truck driver outside, Hector Salamanca (Mark Margolis) appears, as well. The two cartel brothers, his nephews, are also present. But trying to get Hector in his sights, Mike finds Nacho in the way. On purpose? Hard to tell exactly. Anyways, the truck driver is toast; dead and buried. There’s an amazingly drawn out suspense and tension to this sequence. For the longest time there’s no telling exactly what will happen. Gilligan’s direction keeps you guessing from one minute to the next. Once Mike’s car alarm starts blaring back behind him, it all gets gut wrenching. On his window Mike finds a note: it reads DON’T.
Scariest thing for Mike is he thinks he’s a shadow, invisible to everyone else, working behind the scenes. Now, someone proves they are more of a shadow, more invisible, and behind the scenes even to him. Trouble’s on the horizon, or perhaps… opportunity.

Catering to some elderly clientele, Jimmy, as always, continues to impress. At the new office, he continues to receive more new clients. Then Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian) is ringing, saying he needs to speak with Jimmy – about Chuck. What’s this now? As it happens, things are picking up at Chuck’s place. He’s turned the entire place into a foil casket, aluminum foil lining the walls. The whole house is a cage of aluminum. In addition, Chuck has retired – a.k.a quit – from HHM. All confidence has been shaken, Chuck feels he can’t be a lawyer anymore. He doesn’t think Jimmy’s to blame now, he blames himself. “What if I told you you didn‘t make a mistake?” Jimmy asks. He admits to what happened, to forgery, to all the nefarious doctoring and doings. He says he did it all for Kim.
Where do they go from here? Chuck reminds his younger brother he’s just admitted to felonious behaviour. There could be serious ramifications if Chuck were to take this thing to a legal level. And then, he stops his tape recorder after Jimmy leaves. WOW. WOW. No way, Chuck! You sly devil. Did not see that angle coming.

The end of the episode sets up an incredibly exciting Season 3 possibility. I love Better Call Saul. It is just as well written, if not sometimes better, than its sister series. Either way, Gilligan closed out Season 2 with a perfect finale and now I wonder exactly what sort of madness is in store for us moving into the next season. Can’t wait to see more and how it continues fitting into the puzzle pieces of its own creation.

Better Call Saul – Season 2, Episode 5: “Rebecca”

AMC’s Better Call Saul
Season 2, Episode 5: “Rebecca”
Directed by John Shiban
Written by Ann Cherkis

* For a review of the previous episode, “Gloves Off” – click here
* For a review of the next episode, “Bali Ha’i” – click here

With Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) recovering from his recent beating, as well as Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) licking his wounds for the time being and trying to keep Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) in his life, Better Call Saul‘s Season 2 continues on full steam ahead.
This episode begins with Chuck McGill (Michael McKean) setting up dim lights, putting on a record then getting dinner ready. His wife, Rebecca (Ann Cusack), is helping, too. They’re normal, happy, talking about work and their day. Turns out this is when Rebecca meets brother Jimmy.
What an excellent, interesting flash into the past of the Brothers McGill. A time when Jimmy was unsuccessful, the lesser brother doing nothing, and when Chuck did not have his serious affliction to the electronics around him. So what exactly happened from there to the present timeline? Regardless, Chuck gives the signal to his wife, hoping to get Jimmy out of the house, but she’s more interested in hearing the younger brother’s jokes. Later in bed when Chuck tries one out it doesn’t get near the same response.

Back to 2003. Jimmy is finding it tough to adjust to office life, from the regular everyday grind to the recycling situation. The “house style” is being introduced to Jimmy, including punctuation and so on. Something he’s not entirely interested in; too much micromanaging. At the same time, Kim is dodging Jimmy on the phone while doing the dirty work in a boardroom, her new assignment for aiding him in the commercial fiasco. He shows up soon enough suggesting she sue Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill. Jimmy’s mostly concerned with Chuck and his involvement, though she insists this is her “paying the price” for her idiotic decision to side with Jimmy. And she wants him to clean up his act, as well as to stop bullshitting.

Kim: “You don‘t save me. I save me.”

At the office, Jimmy is forced to deal with the co-worker, Erin (Jessie Ennis), he ducked the night before. Simultaneously, Kim is trying to gain more clients for HHM, either getting refused or hit on or let down easily from one call to the next. Kudos to her all the same; she’s trying, unlike Jimmy who takes frequent shortcuts.
And finally, back to Mike. He’s checking in on daughter-in-law Stacey (Kerry Condon). Grandpa Mike has put her and his granddaughter up in a hotel, having fun. He’s busy with his day job, nursing those old wounds, which he attributes to a car crash. The next chapters in the life of Mike will certainly be interesting to see.
Erin and Jimmy come up against one another when he tries to give over a Beanie Baby to get a court date. She won’t have this “bribe“, but he insists it’s simply a little gift. He’s forced to take later date than hoped, worried about Howard (Patrick Fabian) getting reports from Erin. In a bathroom, Jimmy sees an old friend who queries him on all the benefits of working at Davis & Main: “I‘d kill my mother for a fireplace,” he says after hearing Jimmy has one in his office.
A nice Spanish cover of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” accompanies more of Kim wheeling and dealing, trying to drum up some more business for herself in order to get back in the HHM good books. Not too long and she receives a positive phone call, one that has her nearly jumping for joy. Maybe things are looking up for ole Wexler.

Up at the HHM offices arrive Paige (Cara Pifko) and Kevin (Rex Linn), clearly from a large banking institution. Howard lays on the charm with stories of being a boy and his “first bank account“, along with a silhouetted cowboy banking book. What a greaser. None of what Kim’s done phases him, as he keeps up a smug demeanour the entire time. He essentially banishes her back down to the boardroom on review without looking at her twice. Ouch.
In the low light of Chuck’s place, Howard meets with him. They talk of Kim and her latest accomplishment. But she’s not “out of the doghouse“, as Howard makes that clear. A ton of work coming from what Kim has done, yet Hamlin is far less enthused than Chuck. Perhaps a further vendetta by Howard is causing this behaviour towards Kim?

In other news, Chuck arrives, lantern in hand, to the office. At his desk he whittles away the time doing work. Until a low level light starts to bother him. He finds Kim putting away some files and they chat over coffees. She flat out asks Chuck: “Do I have a future at this firm?” He goes into his own disappointment with brother Jimmy, as if trying to sabotage every bit of the life he’s trying to create for himself. There’s a discussion of the McGill father, supposedly a perfect, good man, whose hard work allowed them to survive and prosper. Until money troubles made it all difficult, prompting Chuck into an accounting position; Jimmy “pilfered” thousands of dollars, according to big brother. The start of all the woes. The start of all Chuck’s aggravation with his brother.

Chuck (re: Jimmy): “He can‘t help himself. Then everyone‘s left picking up the pieces.”

At a diner, Mike is greeted by a familiar Breaking Bad face: Hector Salamanca (Mark Margolis). He wants to talk about the recent trouble with Tuco (Raymond Cruz), the old man’s nephew: “He should have shown you respect. I apologize to you, on behalf of my family.” Mike accepts this gracious offering. They talk about how long Tuco ought to stay behind bars, perhaps there’s a different way out of everything.
It’s fun to see Hector long before the stroke immobilized him, before he could only talk with a bell nailed to his wheelchair. Adds a larger dimension to him, as well as gives us things to look forward to in this series.