Might be the hottest take this board has ever had.

Huh?

You may think Chunk thinks the way he thinks for the wrong reasons, but he absolutely got to the right answer.

Jimmy is a fraud. The fake billboard incident, the kids jumping in front of the car, blatantly violating Bar rules on solicitation, the shadyness with robbing the Kettlemans (not to mention not reporting their whereabouts), going back to scamming in his hometown as soon as he gets frustrated in Albuquerque.

Jimmy's a crook - he's always been a crook. He may be a likeable crook, but Chuck didn't send him down a path of being corrupt.

Chuck isn't wrong in his assumptions of Jimmy at all. Jimmy's a guy that would absolutely bring HHM under serious fire and with a firm that big, all it takes is a little blood in the water before partners start getting poached, class actions suits start flying and the thing implodes.

Take back my post about Kim. She is needed in the relationship between the brothers. Also, thought it was hilarious when Chuck told the joke in bed. Was actually the best one..."not enough cement." haha

Kim in a Royals shirt...

Kim in a Kansas City Royals shirt (Saul's?) this was supposedly at least ten years ago, so, what gives? Somebody on the crew from KC?

I find the story line of Kim being punished for Jimmy creating and airing the commercial just absolutely STUPID! honestly....it makes NO SENSE!
sigh...whatever.....

You don't think maybe the douchey boss likes her and is pissy that she obviously likes Jimmy? Punish her "because of him" equals instant hate for Jimmy in his mind. Also, didn't seem like Chuck wanted her "in the doghouse" as he put it.

I disagree, everyone knows Jimmy is a renegade, they've said as much. Kim really pushed Howard to get Jimmy a shot at Davis and Mayne, when he went out of bounds Howard viewed it as Kim's poor judgement that facilitated the whole thing.....he's right to a point. If you get someone a job with your good reference and they blow it, whoever gave them the job isn't going to take your word for someone else. Reputation and judgement mean a helluva lot in those situations.

Mike/ray
well....OK....I guess I can see around the corner to that.
I've been in the workforce long enough to know that there ARE really people like that out there.
but damn man....she didn't have anything to do with his actions.

I hope she jumps ship. I like her.

@rheaseehorn: @royalsreview Oh what does it mean? What does it mean???
😶

Ice Station Zebra Associates.


I love it. It was mentioned in the very first scene that Saul was in on Breaking Bad, and that was the movie that Jimmy and Kim were watching a couple weeks ago.

It's office politics, and in a law firm with egos abound, it's not at all absurd. Partnership tracks, etc...

It's the only thing keeping the show interesting.

You're right in that means; I just feel Jimmy's crookedness will be amplified by his frustrations with Chuck.

I guess my intentions were that Jimmy wouldn't become Saul as we know him without a slight nudge from Chuck's continuous distrust and anticipatory treatment of Jimmy.

I liked how Howard went from straight-faced and cold as he walked with Kim to the conference room and then how, in an instant, he turned on his glad-hand, happy-face as he walked in to talk to the visitors.

No one else finds it worth mentioning that Jimmy, and Kim by proxy, got in trouble for running the commercial, only to find out the firms are continuing to run the commercial - just at terrible ad buy times to reach their target audience. (So, less effective than Jimmy's original 1 ad buy that brought in over 250 new clients to the case.)

Hello? The commercial when he can't sleep.

Also, very nice illustration of Jimmy being out of his comfort zone. He can't sleep / be at peace until he's back in his shoebox office sleeping on what is literally the worst bed invented; a pull out sofa bed with the bar that is guaranteed to mess up your back and no one sleeps well on.

His fancy corporate apartment with pointless, fake decor like the bowl of wood balls, a nice but empty bed, and a luxury car that won't even accommodate a coffee cup. Everything about D&M doesn't fit for Jimmy.

He's been lorded over by a subordinate 2nd year. Essentially babysat for doing his job- client outreach. Which they act pissed about, but then continue to expand and keep running the commercial except for hiring someone to redo the voice-over for the commercial.

Jimmy may skirt the line, but HHM, Chuck, Howard, D&M, and their senior partners are so full of sanctimonious bullshit. Kim is starting to realize it, and the new firm courting her just gave her a little bit of perspective. Both firms are serving her and Jimmy a load of crap, and expect them to smile and act grateful.

Nice write up...I thought it was odd too. I'm liking Kim talking to the other firm. HHM and D&M are fos

I find myself starting to loathe Jimmy a little on occasion. He has everything he wanted but he continues to make the wrong choices on purpose. I.E. The commercial.
Also... Take Kim's offer for instance. She tells him about it and instead of asking her if she wants it or for details, he tells her she should take it immediately.
He never once considered how loyal Kim is and that's obviously going to bite him in the ass with her eventually. I predict by the end of the season, Jimmy will be driving that piece of crap car again and working out of the nail salon. Kim will have also broken up with him.
I wouldn't doubt it if Mike's deal with the cartel will have something to do with it as well.

Big Law, everybody.

[emoji6]

Not THE commercial, but A commercial -- one the firm created in the same bland style as that lame one from the 90s, complete with the swirl in which the partners contemplated its finer details.

And yes, they're running it in the middle of the night when old people in retirement communities are sleeping.

And right after that, he had to get to his comfort zone. Big law is not for him. Careful what you wish for I suppose.

Nice write-up Anyong.

Yeup.

I'll take my mid-tier firm and the worry that the loss a single substantial client could submarine our entire practice over slogging through that silk-stocking horseshit.

Folks - that's simply the way massive practices work. Even as Kim is talking to the new firm, I'm sitting there thinking "okay, they're going to buy you out of your law school debt and probably pay in in the $150K range, so they're probably going to want 2,200 billables out of you and I figure that's gonna take you 3,400 hours of work, a lot of it pretty tedious. You'll probably also be expected to be a rainmaker if they put you on a partnership track at a mega-firm."

Man....**** all of that.

This show captures the reality of firm politics better than any legal show I've ever seen and it's funny how quickly everyone watching it thinks to themselves '****, why would anyone subject themselves to this....'

Why indeed. There's a reason lawyers have the worst job satisfaction rates of pretty much any profession. Divorce rates and alcoholism are through the roof as well. The job chews you up and spits you out if you'll let it.

That's not as bad as D&Ms hypocritical bullshit of telling Jimmy marketing was his thing then blasting him for taking initiative. Or better yet, reading Jimmy the riot act about a completely legal ad but encouraging Jimmy when he was bribing senior citizens on the bus.

Which is why I don't buy the explanation that Jimmy is and always will be slippery. He seems to be trying his damndest to go legit.

How big of a firm is Schweigert? I had the impression it was a medium practice, smaller than HHM? Am I misremembering?

Ad campaigns always get signed up by senior management law firms or not. It's just they way it goes. I've seen $100,000 spent only to have it unapproved by the top a CEO of a firm.
You run an ad campaign without the proper sign-offs, you're toast. Even an ad firm or design studio gets a signature before running with an ad.

Jimmy said they were huge.

I was thinking a Shook Hardy type; 100+ attorney firm.

I disagree.

D&M were totally in bounds being pissed off there.

It doesn't take a firm long to get that 'mid-day advertising ambulance chasers' tag real quickly. D&M may have some massive thriving anti-trust practice or IP law or something equally stuffy where running a mid-day add of a senior citizen acting confused is completely opposite of the culture they've developed and the reputation they've built.

Even the add they did run was extremely dry; again - perhaps a corporate culture thing they've sought to cultivate.

Jimmy was out of bounds there.

:spock: keep your horrible takes in DC...thanks!

this is pretty cool. nice read. nice video in which Gilligan says "The more we learn about Jimmy the more we like him...and the more we dread him eventually turning into Saul Goodman."

http://www.newsweek.com/better-call-...irk-kim-440569

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt...e68400157.html
[http://www]

FOR PETE'S SAKE

*

MARCH 26, 2016 4:19 AM

There is a reason why Kim Wexler is wearing a Royals shirt on ‘Better Call Saul’

The character Kim Wexler has been spotted wearing a Royals T-shirt in the prequel to “Breaking Bad”

[http://www]

i

BY PETE GRATHOFF

pgrathoff@kcstar.com

and

BY JOYCE SMITH

jsmith@kcstar.com

*

*

*LINKEDINGOOGLE+PINTERESTREDDITPRINTORDER REPRINT OF THIS STORY

There aren’t many better mash-ups between sports and television than this.

On “Better Call Saul,” the prequel to the best TV drama of all-time, “Breaking Bad,” there is a character named Kim Wexler. She is friends (with benefits, it seems) with Saul Goodman (aka Jimmy McGill).

In season two of “Better Call Saul,” Wexler was spotted in a Royals T-shirt and it didn’t go unnoticed on social media.

The show is set in 2002 (when the Royals went 62-100 and Neifi Perez was the starting shortstop), so this isn’t a matter of the producers jumping on the bandwagon. Besides, the series takes place in Albuquerque, N.M.

We reached out to a source with AMC, which broadcasts the show, and were told that the T-shirt was was “a choice made with thought and intention.”

That was as much as they would give us, because they don’t want to divulge too much.

If you watched “Breaking Bad,” then you know that every detail of the show is well thought out.

So, let’s hear it. Anyone got a theory on why Kim Wexler is wearing that shirt? Here’s one thought: Since we know Saul ends up in Omaha, maybe she’s from Nebraska and is a Royals fan. Perhaps she runs into him at that Cinnabon at some point in the future.

Or maybe she has a crush on Mike Sweeney — he hit .340 in 2002.

Pete Grathoff:*816-234-4330,*@pgrathoff

Joyce Smith:*816-234-4692,*@JoyceKC

*

*

*

Perhaps she simply loves losers (at the time).

Nice

It's to show how loyal she is.


She will stick with a loser even if it's a detriment.


She won't leave HHM simply because she is loyal to a fault.

We all know how loyal she will be to Jimmy.

Yeah, I rewatched the episode and have a different perspective now. I was totally wrong. I work in Marketing so I should have known better. My original point was that Jimmy wasn't trying to be slippery and I believe that. I think he was legitimately trying to follow the rules and don't think he realized he was being slippery in this case.

Hold on a minute! I watch "Suits"!

You mean every lawyer doesn't have a life just like Harvey Specter's?

I despise Mikes daughter in law. Shes sooo willing to take hand outs, for no real good reason. She has one kid, a job, and lives in a super affordable part of the country. Booofrickinwho

Half-measures haunting him. It is not for her at all either. He knows what a (insert meanie name here) she is.

Not sure if mentioned, Kim said she was from a small town on Kan/Neb border. Go Royals!

Mike took a half-measure with Tuco Salamanca. That is not working out well either.

dude....I was thinking the same thing. when she was hugging him....blek....fake bitch.

FYP :D

interestingly enough....somewhere in this very thread someone surmised that she is probably from nebraska (which I thought was weird when I read it...cause...why not guess KS or MO) and that is the reason she's wearing the Royals shirt.

I thought the transition from the wind blowey guy to the colorful Saul suits was awesome!
when he's driving away from it smiling I was like WTF is he gonna do now. awesome.
I'da rocked those man! hahaha. I liked them!

This makes Jimmy's landing in Omaha feel like it isn't a narrative accident.

WOH!

http://45.media.tumblr.com/d24c9e4d8...y2zbo1_500.gif

Wacky-waving, inflatable, arm-flailing tube man ftmfw.

Oh Kim...I mean Khatru. You just keep putting your faith in Jimmy and he just keeps burning you. Was it Chuck's fault that a con-man convinced 9 yr old Jimmy to steal from the till as well?

Jimmy's has a soft heart and a bad BAAAAD moral compass. That's not Chuck's fault, nor is Chuck the bad guy for seeing Jimmy for who he is.


It sure looks to me like Jimmy became Saul after he decided to embrace who he truly was. Despite all the hang-wringing over the 'path' that Chuck put Jimmy on, Jimmy had made partner at a successful, straight arrow firm and he intentionally sabotaged that. All the roadblocks (fair as they were) put up by Chuck had been cleared. That's on Jimmy and has nothing to do with Chuck.

It was Jimmy's realization of self that put him on the path to becoming Saul. Hell, if anything, striving to be Chuck is the only thing that pushed that off for a few years.

You could tell from the kid Jimmy's reaction that he came to the realization that his dad was a soft bitch that would never change. I love how he just said **** it at the end of the scene and stole from his dad as well.

She's mentally ill, you know that right?

Is it ever with Vince?

That's sort of the beginning of his breaking bad point you could say. He had the gift of charm, and to sniff out bs. He was trying to save his dad from himself. The sheep and wolf line stuck, and even though Jimmy makes his choices, it definitely skews his worldview that you are either playing the game or being played.

I have a feeling Jimmy isn't completely at fault for the store, even if he lifted from the register. It's never going to be so black and white, and I have a feeling someone else may be leaning on his dad, possibly for protection money, that will be the cause. The whole scene seems like a red herring to get the audience to see that brief scene and jump to forming an opinion.

Great episode. I love this show.</br></br> Seems like the writers should have had at least included some input from Jimmy's brother somewhere between the beginning and the end of the meltdown at the law firm just to make it a little more realistic. He conveniently vanished during a process he would have played a considerable role in deciding the outcome.</br></br> I didn't think Mike wasn't going to let go of them threatening Kaylee. No way. It's the one thing in his life that has been tainted.</br></br> Just a guess here, no spoilers: since everyone in the room where Mike had the meeting about accepting responsibility for Tuco's gun is still alive and well in Breaking Bad I have a strong suspicion Mike is going to be the man responsible for Hector being shaky and wheel chair bound.

"completely at fault" - of course not.

But he DID steal from his dad and his dad did seem to be a pretty good dude, if not an incredible pussy.

Chuck knew this and whether or not Jimmy's conduct is actually what led to the business to fail, etc..., it's still damn strong evidence corroborating Chuck's view of his brother.

I don't know where you get the idea I have faith in Jimmy. That whole point was about not believing everything Chuck says because he has blind spots/agendas as well. I think in this show you should not take any character at face value. For instance, when asked at the job interview about where she came from and her past, Kim seemed pretty uncomfortable about that. I bet we find out why.

I'd also be careful extrapolating too much from that 1973 flashback. Yes, Jimmy took $8 out of the till -- after Dad gave $10 away to the grifter, after he gave money to some other hard-luck story the week before. That establishes a pattern. So was Dad so generous that he gave away $14,000 over several years to sad sacks, putting his business in jeopardy? (While I was watching I was trying to calculate if that were feasible. Perhaps not.)

Jimmy technically wasn't even taking from his Dad there, he was taking $8 of the $10 that his Dad had already given away to the grifter (and not expecting it to be spent on smokes at the store). Now, did that become a pattern -- did Jimmy start skimming from the till? Maybe. But unlike the evidence with Dad, the only piece of info we have to substantiate that conclusion is Chuck's version of events -- which brings us back to biased perspective and issues of trust.

I'm not saying Jimmy didn't or couldn't have stolen from his old man. But with this show, with its depth of character, I wouldn't be surprised if there were multiple layers to this -- such as Chuck forever holding Jimmy responsible for something he didn't do because of an assumption based on Jimmy's reputation. That to me would make for a much more interesting dynamic.

Yeah I'm betting Jimmy didn't take the money

I'm on board 100%
I cant wait to see what Mike's up to :eek::eek::eek:

Have a seat Hector...

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/i...RUBMXpZj4vuDDw

I think you're giving Chuck way too much credit. Chuck had an opportunity to put Jimmy on the straight and narrow, but he never even gave Jimmy a shot. He was manipulating Jimmy's career even before Jimmy became slippery as a lawyer. Even in a new firm, Chuck was calling his brother out in front of the entire law firm and manipulating Kim in order to get into Jimmy's head.

What if Chuck mentored Jimmy instead of strongly sabotaging any chance for Jimmy to succeed? By the end, Chuck becomes a trigger for Jimmy to do bad things.

Why should Chuck have mentored Jimmy?

Jimmy appears to be 10-15 years his junior; they likely never truly knew each other or were terribly close. When Chuck bails Jimmy out of jail early in the series we're told that they barely communicate. Even if you set aside whether or not he stole from dear ol' dad, we do know that Jimmy had a history growing up of being a slippery little shit and a born con-artist.

You continue to blame Chuck for not fixing Jimmy when in fact Jimmy was already a problem child and Chuck has no obligation to subject his firm to that and no obligation to correct a couple of decades worth of behavioral issues from him.

You're giving Chuck too much credit and that really showed in the last episode.
Maybe Chuck originally was trying to save the firm from Jimmy. But then it was Davis & Main, who were fine with Jimmy wheeling and dealing on the bus. And now it's Kim, a bystander. It's pretty amazing that Chuck could almost care less about the firm, but suddenly becomes very interested when Jimmy becomes involved. This is definitely personal.

Maybe Jimmy was going to be slippery no matter what. But I don't think that justifies going really far out of his way to sabotage his brother, let alone Kim.

God, this show is so good.

I can't WAIT to see how Jimmy is gonna use the altered docs to screw Chuck.
that POS!

BUT....the previews make it look like Chuck busts Jimmy....

Preview def looks like Chuck finds out...man I hate Chuck.

Im not rooting for Chuck at all. Hes the most smug most unlikable character in the entire show

Great episode but holy shit, the ****ing guitar tone on the song that starts at about 53 minutes is ****ING AWESOME.

Killer Dwayne Eddy/Eddie Cochrane tone with a spring reverb and great playing.

Way ****ing cool.

Chuck's a dick. He is willing to have a health crisis and go against whatever nutty condition he has just to ensure Jimmy is screwed by proxy of Kim and him trying to hang their own shingle. Jimmy not possibly succeeding is more important to him than his health and a physical collapse. For a client that means relatively little to HHM, and would be life changing for Kim and him.

Chuck is anything but a brother to him, the same man who actually has looked out for him, helped him, and supported him when he became a Techno-electrophobic recluse.

Why did they pick the dumpiest restaurant near my shop to film? I can't imagine any scout walking about saying, "this place is IT"!

http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/attac...1&d=1459918043

That's exactly what someone assigned to scout locations would say

:D

One-take sequence to open up the episode. Brilliant!

I take it that used to be a Pizza Hut?

Probably. It's been there for several years and prior to "Saul", I never saw much business going on there. Still don't, really.

When they shoot, it takes them a day just get everything set, then the next day the logistics crew shows up with trailers and lighting.

At the last shoot, they had all the windows covered and blacked-out. They also tried to park a trailer in the egress of the business next door on a Friday after I had stopped by to pick up a burger.

I told the dude with the walkie-talkie that, "Saul needs to take his happy ass back to parking school".
:D

The firm was about to lose a million dollar client - you think he only cared because Jimmy was involved? Hell, the first thing he did was scold Howard for letting Kim get away. The guy that plays Chuck did a great job of emoting disappointment in Howard when Howard said that she left - he clearly recognizes Kim's talent and potential to be a big-time asset at the firm.

I don't think he was trying to sabotage Kim at all; he was trying to get their client back and that's exactly what you'd expect from an 'of counsel' founding partner for a firm.

**** this - I'm starting a one man squad: Team Chuck. I expect no allies, but someone's gotta protect the guy from you wolves that think he ties his shoes in some manner expressly designed to irritate and undermine Jimmy.

Jimmy does just fine blowing himself out of the water without any intervention from Chuck and he'd have absolutely done it one way or the other. The dude's just slimy. He's done at least 3 things in a season and a half that would have him outright dis-barred. If Chuck were really out to hang him, it wouldn't be hard at all to go to the NM Bar and report him for ethics violations. All Jimmy has done is reinforce Chuck's distrust of him.

No, actually, I was considering writing a "Believe it or not, I'm defending Chuck" post along those same lines -- that Chuck was totally justified in doing what he did FOR THE FIRM. Does it skewer Jimmy too? Sure. But bottom line is, Chuck is a partner and he's doing what's right for his firm. And he did so not by lying or deceiving, nor did he impeach Kim's character. He simply said, hey, we've got the professional experience she doesn't, and the manpower to pay attention to myriad details (hence Jimmy's revenge with the docs). You should stay with us.

It was a perfectly legit sales job, not a con. I even explained that to my family after we watched it.

DJ...siberian....answer HONESTLY.

Chuck told Jimmy "I hope you realize if the shoe was on the other foot I'd do the same for you".

do you believe it?

I literally scoffed out loud when he said it.

But I've been thinking about it since, and Jimmy's reaction when he said it, and I'm not sure. If Jimmy were physically incapacitated, would Chuck separate the personal from the professional and nurse him back to health? Except in my interpretation of the character, Chuck also holds familial animus toward Jimmy. So how far does that go? I just don't know.

I still need some more backstory (particularly post-Rebecca) to see just how far Chuck's antipathy toward Jimmy is.

No, of course not.

He has no particular loyalty to Jimmy and I've never argued otherwise. I simply disagree with this narrative that he goes out of his way to sabotage him.

Chuck will always put his firm ahead of Jimmy and frankly he'll put most things ahead of Jimmy. But he won't do that because he actively wants Jimmy to fail - he'll do that because he doesn't really give a shit one way or the other if Jimmy succeeds.

He simply has a very detached relationship with Jimmy and a very jaundiced outlook on him. My point all along has been that both of those things are relatively reasonable outcomes of his shared history with his lifelong screwup of a little brother.

Though I'll say this - IF Jimmy were to befall some crazy physical malady like Chuck has - real or imagined - I think Chuck would try to help Jimmy in the way that Chuck sees the world.

I do honestly believe that Chuck would spend whatever he needed to spend to try to get Jimmy the care he needed. If the roles were exactly mirrored and Jimmy turned into a loony toon with some kind of psychosomatic illness, I don't think for a minute that Chuck would wait on Jimmy hand and foot - he's not that kind of person. But he'd absolutely pay for people to wait on Jimmy for him.

And again, I don't really judge there. Some people simply lack empathy (there's a pretty good chance that I fall squarely in that group myself) and those people just do not understand what purpose they could possibly serve sitting there doing nothing. Instead they'll go do what they do well and find someone else to do that for them. It's a cold, clinical view of the world but it's also a common one and I don't judge Chuck for having it.