Better Call Saul “Namaste”

Season five has, thus far, shown characters that I have grown familiar with, mostly in Breaking Bad, appearing in unfamiliar circumstances that make them less the more basic characters they appeared to be in the original show and make them out to be more three dimensional, further making Better Call Saul the detailed origin story I didn’t know I wanted for Saul Goodman, Mike Ehrmantaut, and even Gus Fring.  Toss Kim Wexler into the mix, and I get something I am really digging.

Here’s the thing:  so far, I am mostly used to seeing the likes of Kim, Gus, and Mike all being more or less these unflappable folks who never seem to be on the losing end.  But the joy of Better Call Saul is to remind the audience that these characters are more than that.  OK, Gus is the least developed, but this is a guy who has always been in control.  Seeing Gus frustrated, and how he takes it out on an innocent assistant manager in a very passive-aggressive sort of way, is a different side of the normally controlled man that I was pleased to see.

Then there’s Mike, the normally stoic guy who is feeling the guilt and pain for his role in the murder of a very nice German man.  Why else would he go find the same teenagers who threatened him before?  Granted, I have no idea why he ended up in a mystery pueblo, but what’s a show in this universe without a mystery pueblo?

But Kim?  She tried to help Everett Acker.  He rejected her.  She pitched another call center location to her bosses.  They rejected her.  She’s not happy representing a bank, but what can she do?

She can ask Jimmy to represent Acker because if anyone’s courtroom shenanigans can help Acker win out, it’s Saul Goodman’s.

At this point, I have seen Jimmy need Kim’s help so many times over, or at least have the two of them working together, combing their respective skills, but I think this is the first time that Kim actually needs what Jimmy brings to the table.  And Jimmy, as Saul Goodman, can win over Acker with a picture of a man and a horse.

You know, I remember that Breaking Bad was allowed to drop one f-bomb per season.  I get the impression that if the same applies to Better Call Saul, and that this episode.was the one that got to use it.  I can’t quite disagree with the choice either.

So I guess Jimmy is doing better.  You know, aside from the fact he still has issues with Howard for some reason.  I would have thought the problem was with Chuck and the worst was Howard just rubbed Jimmy (and Kim) the wrong way, but that doesn’t explain why Jimmy tossed some bowling balls over the wall of Howard’s yard and damaged Howard’s luxury car.