In prepping for this season's debut, I was reminded how last season ended abruptly with a cliffhanger. (A foreshadowing of AMC’s other horrific cliffhanger on the Walking Dead.) Jimmy had confessed to sabotaging HHM’s case by changing addresses on several documents. Chuck had a full-scale meltdown and admission to the hospital, which only exasperated his symptoms. After his discharge, Chuck manipulates Jimmy into confessing to a felony on tape. What will Chuck do next to bring down “Slipping Jimmy?” When will Jimmy emerge and own his “bad” personae to become Saul Goodman? Finally, they teased us with trailers regarding Gus Fring; will they develop his background in further detail?
This first hour brings beautiful cinematography to the small screen. The series continues to incorporate the dramatic desert scenery with edgy and interesting camera angles. The dialogue is very punctuated but the creators are at times not afraid to let Jonathan Banks’s facial expressions tell the story. These techniques give the series a strange almost hyperrealism unique to Vince Gilligan.
The show opens with a flash-forward to Saul’s life in hiding in Omaha, Nebraska. (Echoing the series premiere.) The scene unfolds in black and white, showing “Gene” going through the motions working at a Cinnabon at the mall while Nancy Sinatra croons “Sugarland.” He takes his Kansas Royal’s lunch bag and heads upstairs to eat a simple sandwich for lunch. As he eats, a young man in a heavy coat looks around nervously. The teen drops a movie or game on the floor, and it’s clear he has been shoplifting. Sensing he’s being followed, the teen ducks into a photo booth to hide from the police. A police officer arrives seconds later and questions Saul if he saw a youth in a large jacket. A vague look of panic crosses Saul’s face but he slowly points his finger towards the booth where the kid is hiding. The police peacefully apprehend the boy and arrest him. The police officer thanks Saul which prompts him to cry out, “Don’t say anything! Get a lawyer!” Even though he’s no longer Saul, he can’t completely shed his old ways.
Saul returns to the Cinnabon, not remarking on the incident to his young female co-workers. He begins to ice the rolls when he suddenly collapses, unconscious on the floor. Is this how Saul’s story ends? Death at the Omaha Nebraska Cinnabon would be a sad way to go…
The next scene replays the final moments of Season Two. Jimmy has just confessed he changed the addresses to Chuck in an effort to boost his brother’s self-confidence so that he won’t retire from HHM. Jimmy leaves his brother’s living room to call Howard outside on his cell phone. He tells Howard, “Crisis averted! You’re welcome!” When Jimmy returns inside, his brother is removing the “electrical magnetic” insulation from the walls. Jimmy rushes to help him but soon Chuck is criticizing his technique. Chuck shows him how he wants the duct tape removed so it won’t hurt the varnish on the walls. Jimmy takes the harsh words and converts it to a joke about Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid, “Wax on, wax off!” To Jimmy’s disbelief, Chuck doesn’t understand the reference. This highlights the age difference between the brother’s and also how Chuck has been more of a disapproving father figure in Jimmy’s life. It’s heartbreaking how hard Jimmy tries to please his brother, not knowing he’s just been betrayed.
Jimmy uncovers a bookshelf, and opens a beloved favorite, which belonged to their grandmother called “The Adventures of Mabel.” The book is from 1912, and Jimmy recalls the story about a girl named Mabel who goes to the center of the mountain, meets the “Brownie” King and eats some magical jelly. (Sounds pretty surreal.) Chuck remembers reading it to his younger brother. They laugh and recall a weird night light Jimmy was attached to, a knock-off version of Daffy Duck. Jimmy notes Chuck has an excellent memory. (Again, trying to boost his confidence after the address incident.) Chuck’s tone immediately turns cold, “Don’t think I will ever forget what happened today, and you WILL pay!”
Kim works with clients at her joint office with Jimmy. The older woman is concerned if she doesn’t mention her garden in her will her daughter won’t inherit it as part of the house. As they clarify the details, Jimmy pops in offering to take over but Kim states that they are nearly finished. The elderly woman continues to describe her property to Kim. It’s obviously a patience-trying task to have a geriatric clientele. As the ladies leave, Jimmy offers to assist them in the future but calls them by the wrong names. Kim corrects him, but notes they are her clients now.
Once they are alone, Kim asks sardonically, “How’s Chuck?” Jimmy sighs, “Chuck’s back to being Chuck.” Jimmy mentions the “crisis” has been avoided but is careful not to mention the details. (Kim told him pointedly last season she never wanted to know the details of his deception in the Mesa Verde case.) Jimmy offers to take her to dinner but Kim feels unable to catch up with all the work she took on when he was busy with Chuck. She refuses to let him help her, again noting that they have separate practices. An awkward silence follows and Kim asks if he’s mad at her for taking on some of his clients. Jimmy inhales deeply, “I’m not mad. Just thinking that for ten minutes today Chuck didn’t hate me. I forgot what that felt like.” Kim throws a pen at him playfully to break the tension.
Chuck plays the tape of Jimmy’s “confession” to Howard in his electricity-free home. Chuck sneers triumphantly, “Now, do you believe me?” Howard notes that the tape is damning and Jimmy is a real “world class son-of-bitch.” But Howard is frustrated that Chuck didn’t confide in him his plans to snare Jimmy, including the hospital incident. (Who’s the better at the con, Jimmy or Chuck? Chuck played as dirty as his younger brother.) Howard points out that the tape is useless due to how it was recorded without consent and the “improper evidentiary chain.” Howard concludes, “I can’t think of a single use for it!” Chuck smiles, “I can!” What is Chuck’s plan, to use the tape to blackmail Jimmy or humiliate him?
The episode now returns to where the finale left Mike. He’s in the desert, planning to shoot Salamanca but is interrupted by the blare of a car horn. Someone placed a twig to activate the car horn on his rust colored station wagon, and placed a note on the windshield containing the single word, “DON’T!” Mike drives away quickly, with his rifle bouncing in the folded down back seat. After a few miles, he stops and inspects the exterior of the car, feeling around the wheel wells. He seems to be looking for a tracking device. Thunder rolls in the distance, and Mike again drives the station wagon quickly back into town to car junkyard.
Mike has the car lifted so he can inspect the undercarriage with a flashlight. After a thorough inspection, he still has not found anything. He pays the forklift operator, and the car is lowered back down on the junkyard grounds. Mike uses several tools to search both inside and outside the vehicle. Finally, he removes pieces of the station wagon going part-by-part looking for a device. A worker informs Mike the yard is closing soon, and Mike asks for the man to call him a taxi, noting he can keep what’s left of the station wagon. As Mike waits inside, he looks around the small shop at car parts. He asks the man if he sells a fuel cap for a ’87 Chevy Caprice. In a flash of inspiration, Mike returns outside to the station wagon and takes apart the fuel cap and finds the tracking device.
Mike returns home and goes to his ’87 Chevy Caprice that is parked in front of his modest house. He removes the gas cap and replaces it with the one he bought at the junkyard. Inside, he pulls apart the cap to reveal a tracking device about an inch long and a half and inch wide. Using a magnifying glass, he writes down the serial number of the product. These scenes were shot with very little dialogue and yet Mike’s pragmatic intelligence shines through.
Jimmy is hard at work with another elderly client. He feigns interest in her endless talking and picture albums of her family. As he shows her out, his next client is the Air Force Capitan from last season. In the privacy of the office, the officer gives Jimmy a piece of his mind regarding the ruse surrounding the shooting of the patriotic television ad. As usual, Jimmy uses his gift of persuasion to try to calm him down. “Tom Cruise wasn’t in the Air Force either but look what Top Gun did for you guys!” The Capitan demands the ad be removed or he’ll take Jimmy to court. Jimmy notes that the Capitan would also be in trouble his conduct that day. However, Jimmy’s next outburst reveals the depth of his frustration, not with the man in front of him but Chuck. “You’re always on your high horse trying to make me feel inferior!” The Capitan looks at him puzzled for a second before deciding to end the conversation. He warns Jimmy, “The wheel will turn someday…” As the officer leaves he yells out to the packed waiting room, “A lawyer you can trust, my ass!” Jimmy, determined to get the last word sarcastically thanks the man for his service.
Mike does a crossword in the cramped confines of the parking attendant booth. He quits the puzzle and goes about closing the booth for the evening. He removes the gas cap from his car and places it on the roof of the attendant box.
Mike waits through the night at the warehouse location. A car arrives, the veterinarian whom has helped him out with clandestine activities since he moved to Albuquerque. Mike wants him to get a duplicate of the GPS tracking device. The vet complains he’s not a Radio Shack and will charge him one thousand dollars. He requests next time to do business during normal hours. Mike agrees with the price, even though it will take a few days to obtain.
Kim meets with Paige from the Mesa Verde Bank. Paige compliments Kim on her efficient work on the case. She’s impressed that Kim was able to move the court hearing date up. Paige notes she’s eager to put the “mess McGill left.” Kim seems uncomfortable because she knows Jimmy created the “mess” to help Kim win the case back from HHM.
At the Wexman/McGill office, Jimmy works on painting over the garish rainbow in the reception area. (A remnant of when the office was a pediatric dentist office.) Kim seems very anxious about the documents she’s preparing for Mesa Verde. Jimmy urges her to quit for the night; he’s finished painting even though half of the rainbow remains. Kim’s cursor hovers over a comma, and then after the papers are printed, she hesitates before using the hole punch and finishing them. Is she just paranoid about getting everything right in this big case or has she done something legally suspect?
Ernesto, Chuck’s errand guy from HHM knocks on the door to deliver ice and provisions to the shut-in. Ernesto has brought batteries, even going through the trouble of wrapping them in aluminum foil to placate Chuck’s electromagnetic allergy. Chuck tries to insert them into the tape recorder himself using wooden tongs but soon asks the younger man for help. Once the batteries are in, the tape recording resumes playing at the pivotal, incriminating moment. Chuck rushes to turn it off and returns it to a locked desk drawer. “You did not hear that!” Chuck cautions Ernesto that he is bound to confidentiality rules and divulging what he heard could have “life-changing consequences.” (A veiled threat of the poor assistance’s job.) Ernesto offers to continue his duties putting away the groceries as if nothing had happened.
Mike reads the instructional manual for his replacement GPS device. He carefully removes the battery and notes how long it takes before the machine alarms and turns off. Mike switches the original GPS from his car with the one he purchased. He hooks up the transmitter to an FM radio that he leaves running all day to wear down the battery. When Mike returns from work, the radio is off, the battery is dead. He throws the battery away, turns off the lights and eats some pistachios. He watches his parked car like a hawk. Hours have passed and the bowl is full of nutshells before a car finally approaches. A man gets out to change the gas cap tracker but has unknowingly taken the new device Mike had purchased. Now Mike can track the people who’ve placed the device. Armed with the GPS transmitter, Mike drives off into the night.
It’s a strong start to the new season. This episode uses black and white, and time-lapse techniques to keep the story visually engaging. There is a strong contrast between Mike's sparse dialogue with Jimmy's excessive need to talk and gain approval from others. Jimmy has to figure out how he’ll navigate Chuck’s treachery. Mike’s pursuing a very powerful player; perhaps this is how he meets the mighty Gus Fring. Kim continues to walk the tightrope between her affection for Jimmy and the law. It’s hinted Jimmy may end up in prison this season, hope he knows a good lawyer!
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