Better Call Saul, Season 2, Episode 5 Rebecca

Last week saw Mike nearly lose his gamble to not kill Tuco.  Jimmy has lost his girlfriend and his position at his new firm is in serious jeopardy.  What will Jimmy do now he’s more desperate then ever?

An electric hum fills the air.  Chuck unscrews a chandelier and replaces it.  It appears this is before his illness.  Chuck puts on some jazz on while his wife Rebecca cooks an elaborate meal for a special guest.  They talk about their respective careers.  She is a talented chef and musician.  Chuck jokes they should have a “safe word” to expedite the departure of their dinner guest.  The doorbell rings and Jimmy appears bringing a six-pack of beer from “the old neighborhood.”

Jimmy is introduced to Rebecca.  They share news at the dinner table.  Jimmy is still living at a hotel and has started in the mailroom at Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill.  Jimmy manages to make these aspects of his life interesting and humorous.  He also possesses good manners as he thanks Rebecca for the delicious meal.  Chuck brags that his wife is an accomplished violinist and Yo-Yo Ma attended their wedding.  Rebecca demurs from her husband’s compliments.  Jimmy shares some lawyer jokes he’s heard at the firm and Chuck looks uncomfortable.  After a series of jokes, Rebecca comes up with a zinger of her own.  Chuck leaves the table to busy himself in the kitchen.

Later in bed, Rebecca notes, “That went well, what were you worried about?”  Chuck responds by trying to deliver his own lawyer joke but fails to deliver the punch line. Rebecca chuckles lightly.  Chuck seems agitated he is not as charming as his little brother.

Jimmy works away in his office at Davis & Main.  He calls Kim, leaving a message offering to “make things right.”  Jimmy heads to the printer and is surprised by Erin, a junior colleague.  She scolds him for throwing a soda can in the trash and explains the company’s recycling program.  Jimmy pretends to care.  Erin has “notes” for him on his latest brief.  She explains Jimmy must try to conform to the “particular style” of the firm but it’s clear she doesn’t think he’s experienced in writing.  Jimmy is exasperated at his subordinate correcting him and asks if she’s really there to “babysit” him after the commercial debacle.  Erin urges Jimmy correct his report now, with her guidance.  Jimmy sneaks out and leaves the office.

Kim continues to work in the windowless room highlighting paperwork.  A few younger men work nearby, listening to rap music.  The men ask her if she’s leaving soon, it’s nearly midnight.  Kim reports she’s still not finished.  After the men leave, she switches the music off and drinks some water from a nearby cooler.  Her cell phone vibrates, probably Jimmy calling.  Kim doesn’t pick up.

Jimmy arrives at Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill and is let in by the janitor.  Jimmy finds Kim and announces he has a “plan to fix her predicament.”  He presents her with some paperwork outlining how to sue the firm.  Jimmy tells Kim excitedly her case is “one of extortion, pure and simple.”  Kim is not impressed and blames her trust in Jimmy for her current position.  She continues, to sue her employer would be “career suicide.”  Jimmy offers to quit his job so that she may be reinstated to her former position.  Kim is annoyed and tells him firmly she can handle the situation on her own.  She urges him to try to go a day without breaking the rules of the New Mexico Bar Association.  She orders him to go adding, “I save me.”

Jimmy strolls into Davis & Main with his “World’s 2^nd Best Lawyer” mug.  He is intercepted by Erin and makes a lame excuse for leaving her the previous night.  Erin just ignores his excuse and forces him to get to work on his briefs.

Kim makes phone calls from the bright stairwell at the office.  She pastes brightly colored post-its on the windows and takes notes with each call.  She seems to be working her contacts in order to score a new contract for the firm.  Kim is met with a lot of rejection and struggles to sound upbeat on the phone.  Kim returns to her “doghouse.”  The younger workers ask what she had for lunch and she lies easily instead of revealing she used her lunch break to make the phone calls.

Mike speaks to his daughter-in-law who has relocated to a hotel due to her ongoing anxiety about the “violence” in her neighborhood.  Mike has kept himself away from her and his granddaughter due to his grievously injured face.  He lies to her about his injuries, promising her his next car will have airbags.  Mike encourages her to “live it up” at the hotel.  Jimmy drives past the garage kiosk and asks what happened to Mike.  When Mike is silent Jimmy jokes, “Ok, First rule of Fight Club!”  Jimmy hums the Rocky theme as he parks his car.

Jimmy approaches the courthouse secretary accompanied by Erin.  Jimmy presents the secretary with a gift of a “Beanie Baby” knowing the woman likes stuffed animals.  Erin is appalled by his attempt to bribe the woman to secure a better court time.  Erin confiscates the gift and the woman schedules Jimmy’s time at an inconvenient time far in the future.

Jimmy is frustrated and ducks into the men’s bathroom to avoid his babysitter.  He encounters Bill, a public defender.  Bill has heard about Jimmy’s new post at Davis & Main and is envious of the perks Jimmy now enjoys such as a company car and furnished flat.  Bill laments he would kill for a fireplace in his office or even a window.  Jimmy points out a stain on Bill’s jacket, which the public defender admits is vomit from his client.  Jimmy may have it rough but he’s still living life in the fast lane compared to Bill.

Kim works feverously to a lamentful tune by the Gipsy Kings.  She makes hundreds of calls, everywhere from the garage to the staircase to the ladies bathroom.  Kim returns to the dungeon like setting to continue her document review.  Finally, her phone rings and she exits to take the call in private.  She tells the caller she’ll, “Tell Howard right now.”  Once she hangs up she screams, “Yes!” into the empty garage.

The viewer is treated to a time-lapsed aerial shot of downtown Albuquerque.  Howard appears alongside Kim to greet VIP clients in front of the office.  Howard makes small talk with the man, informing him of his long relationship with the Mesa Verde bank.  Kim speaks to the woman named Paige with whom she arranged the meeting.  The Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill flag waves in the brisk wind in front of the building.

At the end of the meeting, Kim and Howard escort the couple out of the building. Howard congratulates her for acquiring the important clients.  However, when Kim suggests she start working on the new case, Howard tells her, “Put Frances on it, you’re too busy with doc review.”  Kim bites her lip in contempt.  All the effort she put into “saving herself” has not persuaded Howard to stop her punishment.  

Howard visits Chuck’s that evening to report he has “something to celebrate.”  He informs him they have Mesa Verde bank on retainer now and that Kim acquired the deal.  Chuck asks if Kim is out of “the doghouse” but Howard is noncommittal.  Chuck notes that HHM will have years of work with the new clients.

A security guard switches off the power to the offices of HHM as a car approaches.  Chuck exits his car carrying a kerosene lamp.  Chuck goes to work in his old office by lamplight wearing his specially lined suit.  He spies Kim and asks if she has come in early.  Kim reports she has been there all night.  Chuck says he’s going to try working from six until nine in the morning when they are able to keep the power off for him.  He asks Kim to make him some coffee because he can’t use the electric coffeemaker.  Now Kim has been reduced to making coffee.  Over their beverages, Kim asks Chuck, “Do I have a future here at this firm?”

Chuck replies that Kim, like HHM, has been hurt by Jimmy’s actions.  Chuck tells Kim about their father who was an immigrant from Ireland that owned a small store in Cicero, Illinois.  Their father wasn’t an educated man, but everyone loved him and Chuck notes dryly that his father “Couldn’t see sin.”  Jimmy started working in the store as a teen.  As the years went by, the store had financial problems. Mysteriously, fourteen thousand dollars had vanished.  His father couldn’t admit that Jimmy had been skimming money out of the till for years.  His father sold the store and died, brokenhearted, six months later.  Chuck recalls that no one cried harder at their father’s funeral than Jimmy.  Chuck summarizes, “He has a good heart but he just can’t help himself.”  Chuck promises to talk to Howard about Kim’s situation.

Mike sits alone in a diner; the bruises on his face are healing.  A man in a guayabera and fedora joins him. The man apologizes for his nephew Tuco’s actions.  However, he states his nephew shouldn’t have to serve eight years in prison and he wants Mike to say the gun was his.  The man knows they will go easy on Mike because he is an ex-cop.  Mr. Salamanca offers Mike five thousand dollars if he does this for his nephew.  Mike is silent.  Mr. Salamanca puts down twenty dollars to pay for Mike’s meal and urges the old man to “think about it.”

There are several questions I have after viewing this episode.  What happened to Rebecca? Whatever it was is likely the key to Chuck’s break with reality.  Why is Howard so reluctant to reinstate Kim, especially because she has ended her relationship with Jimmy.  Is Mike’s daughter-in-law taking advantage of him?  In Breaking Bad, Mike left a large sum of money for Kaylee but not for her mother.  Was that by default or design? Is Chuck’s story about Jimmy and his father’s store the truth? It appears Chuck resents Jimmy’s easy charm and is eager to smear Jimmy’s name. Thankfully, Better Call Saul has been renewed for a third season and this season is about at the half waypoint. Each episode is a masterful treat.