Last episode highlighted Jimmy’s flare for drama as he
produced his first commercial. This action has garnered him attention, but not
the kind he had hoped for as his new legitimate career in law hangs in the
balance. Mike has agreed to assist Nacho
in a nefarious task, which promises a large paycheck. How will these two characters navigate the
dark side this hour? As the title suggests, the gloves are coming off.
Mike returns home at night.
He empties an envelope filled with cash on his kitchen table containing
thousands of dollars. He forages in the
fridge and finds a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon and takes a long sip. Mike checks the freezer and selects some
frozen baby carrots. He finally turns and reveals half of his face is bruised
and swollen. Mike clutches a gold charm,
which resembles boxing gloves.
At Davis and Main, the partners view Jimmy’s commercial. Cliff Main is distressed that Jimmy used his
own voice to read the narrative. Jimmy
defends himself, stating the ad cost only about six hundred fifty dollars to
make and the response from a single airing has been over two hundred calls. Cliff scoffs that it’s not about money, but
about the firm’s reputation. Jimmy claims
he was “exuberant” and was simply trying to help the case. Cliff’s main objection is that Jimmy produced
and aired the ad without permission. Jimmy
counters he was just doing his job of “client outreach.” Cliff is not persuaded and feels Jimmy violated
the firm’s image and reputation, which is more important than winning an
individual case. Cliff notes the vote is
two to one to fire him, but decides to give Jimmy a second chance. But, he warns, one more mistake and he’s
fired.
Jimmy exits the tense meeting and makes an urgent call to
Kim. His call goes to voicemail, where
he leaves a message pleading with her to talk to him before she talks to Howard
Hamlin.
Kim is in a meeting with Howard and Chuck regarding the
commercial. Kim admits to them she saw the commercial but does not reveal she
didn’t know it wasn’t approved. (Which would have landed Jimmy in more
trouble.) Howard is livid Kim didn’t tell them about the ad before it aired.
It’s a bright sunny afternoon and Mike meets Nacho near a brightly
painted taqueria. Mike’s face is intact, therefore this is a flashback. Nacho explains the problem is with his boss
Tuco. Every week they meet to collect
cash from their dealers. Tuco likes to stare at them, sometimes for extended
periods in what he calls his “lie detector.” Because of Tuco’s antics, collection can take
most of the day. Nacho’s plan is for
Mike to shoot Tuco in the head and make it look like a gang hit that won’t
raise suspicion with the cartel. Mike is
uneasy; a murder in broad daylight will be tough to pull off. He asks Nacho, “Killing your partner, it’s a
bell you don’t unring. Are you sure?”
Nacho tells Mike a story about how he and Tuco had business
with a motorcycle gang from California. The
men had a good relationship but Tuco’s behavior became more erratic once he
started using “crank.” Tuco became
paranoid and one day shot the biker guy with a sawed-off shotgun at point blank
range for seemingly no reason. Nacho
shows Mike a wound in his chest causes by the man’s skull fragments. Nacho explains Tuco is on meth now and his
behavior is even more unpredictable. Nacho
notes, “It’s him or me.” Mike has
another idea; he’d like to use a sniper rifle to shoot Tuco from a distance. Nacho is skeptical but offers Mike fifty grand
for the hit. Mike states, “I’ll look into it.”
The janitor buffs the floor at Hamlin and McGill after
hours. Jimmy knocks on the door and is
let in. He says he’s there to pick up Howard’s “ink blotter.” (?) Jimmy rushes
up to Kim’s office to find it empty and packed up. Another worker tells him she knows where Kim
went. Jimmy finds Kim alone in a dark
room full of law archives. Jimmy starts
by apologizing and exclaims he thought he could fix it. Kim is bitter; Howard has
farmed her out to another firm to perform document review. Kim says, “I knew it
would happen!” Jimmy offers to tell
Howard how Kim didn’t know the commercial wasn’t approved, but Kim thinks that
would make matters worse. Kim warns him,
“If you go to Howard, we’re through.” Jimmy
says sorrowfully, “We aren’t done now?” Kim
asks him to leave her alone.
Blocked from going to Howard, Jimmy drives to Chuck’s house.
He reluctantly empties his electronics
into the mailbox, but keeps his keys. Jimmy
calls out several times for Chuck before alerting him he’s coming inside. Jimmy lights a kerosene lamp and hears Chuck
groaning in the distance. He finds Chuck
on the coach shivering. He asks his
brother if he needs to go to the hospital, but Chuck refuses. Jimmy finds him
another “space blanket” and covers him up. Chuck looks confused and frightened. Jimmy settles in a nearby chair and blows out
the lamp.
Mike meets with the gun dealer who appeared in the final
season of “Breaking Bad.” The man points out the options of various models in
“soft target, hard cover” situations. The
dealer assures Mike he is meticulous about removing the serial numbers from his
weapons. The first weapon he’s show is
an AR-50, it’s powerful but weighs over thirty pounds. The next weapon is smaller but not as
powerful. Mike is drawn to the last model, the M-40, the gun favored by Marines
since the sixties. The dealer notes,
“You seem to know this one.” Mike
alludes to his experience with the weapon in Vietnam. Mike decides not to buy anything but offers to
pay the dealer for his trouble. The
dealer notes he makes most of his money from repeat business and declines
Mike’s offer.
Chuck arises from the couch. He has slept in his suit. He is surprised to find Jimmy is still there
and they exchange polite morning pleasantries. Jimmy admits Chuck’s condition scared him. Chuck admits he might have “overdone things.” Jimmy adds, “The office takes it out of you. Like sticking it to Kim Wexler!” Chuck becomes defensive and claims what
happened with Kim was all Howard’s doing. Jimmy is not convinced and claims Howard is
Chuck’s puppet. Jimmy begs Chuck to stop
punishing Kim for his mistakes. Chuck
believes Kim was in the wrong and she should have “been looking out for the
firm.” Jimmy reveals Kim didn’t know he
didn’t have permission to run the ad.
Chuck becomes more irate that Jimmy lied to Kim too. Jimmy calls his brother an asshole. Chuck responds, “You think the ends justify
the means? You embarrassed Howard and Cliff Main! You’re my brother, but you’re
like an alcoholic who won’t admit you have a problem.”
Jimmy is livid and says he’ll quit the law for good to help
Kim. Chuck is amazed at this proposition
but notes it could be considered felony extortion to make this kind of
deal. Jimmy roars, “Roll around in the
mud with me Chuck!” Chuck settles down
and tells Jimmy he should do what he wants, but notes he’s late for work and
advises him to leave.
What is amazing about this argument is how Jimmy doesn’t
belittle his brother for his weakness and problems. All Jimmy cares about is being right in Kim’s
eyes, even at the expense of his dreams. Meanwhile, Chuck has no gratitude for
Jimmy checking in on him or spending the night worried about his health. Chuck may really have a problem with magnetism
in that he sucks all the energy from others.
Nacho waits for Mike in an empty warehouse. Mike tells Nacho plainly he’s not going to
kill Tuco; it’s not a good idea. Mike
notes the real problem isn’t Tuco. (Implying it’s the cartel.) Mike warns Nacho the cartel would investigate
Tuco’s murder. Mike states all they need
to do is make Tuco “go away.” Nacho
refuses to consider snitching. But, Mike
promises he has another idea, which wouldn’t involve talking to the police. He assures Nacho he can make Tuco “go away.”
A blue muscle car with “spinners” sits parked in front of
the taqueria. Tuco and Nacho count the
money from one of their dealers. Tuco
stares at the man intensely, making him uneasy. Tuco is wearing a gold necklace with a boxing
glove pendent. Nacho reports cash count is correct. After a few more moments of intense staring,
Tuco is satisfied. The man leaves saying
he’ll see them next Sunday. Tuco takes a
snort of meth. Nacho watches his boss
uneasily.
Across the road from the restaurant Mike uses the payphone
to call the police. He reports there is
a fistfight and it looks “gang related.”
He notes one of the men has a gun.
Mike hangs up the phone without giving the police any personal
information, identifying himself as a “concerned bystander.” Mike drives his car across the street and
hits Tuco’s fancy car fender.
Mike enters the taqueria and leisurely orders some food,
while Tuco fumes behind him. Mike opens
his wallet to reveal several hundred-dollar bills. Tuco confronts Mike about hitting his car,
referring to the ex-cop as Mr. Magoo! Mike
denies hitting the car. Nacho supports
his boss’s position. After Mike receives
his food, the pair follows him outside. Tuco
points out the damage to his car. Mike
offers to exchange insurance information. Tuco refuses, he wants the cash he saw in
Mike’s wallet. Mike explains that is his Social Security check and refuses to
give Tuco the money. Tense moments follow until finally Tuco shows Mike the
pistol in his pants and demands the old man’s wallet. Sirens are heard in the distance and Tuco
gives permission to Nacho to “bounce.” In
a quick motion, Mike disarms Tuco and the gun slides under the car. The men begin hitting each other with closed
fists. After a strong hit Mike taunts
Tuco, “Is that all you got?” Mike’s
vision goes black as he loses consciousness.
Mike returns to the warehouse to meet Nacho. Mike limps out of his car. He assures Nacho Tuco will receive five to
ten years in prison because the police witnessed him commit felony assault and robbery
with a deadly weapon. Mike receives
twenty-five thousand dollars for his efforts.
But Nacho wonders why Mike didn’t just simply kill Tuco and double his
pay. Mike doesn’t answer and drives
away. Mike plays the long game and his
primary objective has been to not get caught. I believe he didn’t want Nacho to understand
his reasoning in case he needs to work against Nacho at a future date.
The gloves came off this hour. Jimmy and Chuck’s conflict has been laid bare
metaphorically. Mike’s struggle was with
his conscious in deciding not to kill Tuco, which lead to a harder physical
struggle for him. What will Jimmy do
without Kim or his brother’s approval to keep him in check? Can Jimmy keep working for Davis and Main, or
has he already burned bridges with his new employer? Looking forward to next
week’s episode.
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