Five True Statements is exactly what it sounds like, a discussion about the most recent episode of ‘Better Call Saul’ centered around five undisputable statements of fact. Mostly undisputable, at least. I would never lie to you on purpose. Especially not about ‘Better Call Saul.’
1. It’s fun to picture the creators of this show holding a big arrow in front of a sign that says “Jimmy” on one side and “Saul” on the other and playfully moving the arrow from one side to the other as a live crowd reacts like “Whoaaaaaaa, WHOOOAAAAA”
I do not mean this as a knock on them or the show. It really is fun. I started thinking about it this week during the cold open, which briefly rocketed us forward into the Breaking Bad timeline for a look at a full-on Saul Goodman preparing to flee into his life as Gene the Cinnabon Man. This was our first glimpse of Saul in this show and it was a little unsettling, to be honest. It was exciting, too, of course, because everything is headed in that direction like a bullet train and seeing that familiar setting — the pillars, the bag of money, the cold and calculating version of Francesca, a character whose coming transformation is almost as fascinating as the one in the title of the show — brought that into focus. But I’m not ready yet. I want more time with Jimmy.
It’s going to be so weird when the Jimmy-to-Saul thing actually happens. We’ve discussed this. We all know this doesn’t end well for him, even as the show has conditioned us to root for him, like there’s some way the future won’t happen and he and Kim will figure it out and have a successful law business and two or three little rascals. My internal conflict on this issue crystallized for me when Jimmy went into his closet at the nail salon to grab the tracksuit, in the brief moment where we saw all of his neon Saul dress shirts. Back when he hung those up, I found it thrilling. Now I see them and am filled with dread. It’s normal. Everything is fine.
2. Everything is not fine
Howard lies and so do I. Man, Howard is going through it. I guess that’s not a secret. It’s generally not a great thing to be rumpled and frazzled and sweaty and washing your face in a public bathroom. It’s wild that Jimmy saw him in that state and took away the lesson that therapy doesn’t work when the real lesson in all of this is “do not ever cross Kim Wexler.” He’ll figure that out soon enough.
Speaking of Kim, she is going on her own journey. In a way, it’s the same journey as Jimmy. They’re both looking for meaning and their true selves. He’s looking for it in hot dog stand parking lots by hawking untraceable prepaid phones to bikers and anyone with a facial piercing, she’s looking for it in criminal court by getting troubled youths back on the right track. There are risks in each path, as we saw when Jimmy got rolled by street toughs for his wad of cash and when Kim got chewed out by Paige from Mesa Verde for hanging up on the client whose checks keep the lights on. And yet, both of them are getting pulled in those directions.
You can see the problem here, yes? Kim is looking for meaning in doing something to help people and Jimmy is looking for meaning in doing something to get one over on people. It’s not a situation that will work for either of them, as a couple, and for Kim less than Jimmy. The interesting thing is that they’re both veering toward a practice in criminal law. One wonders if this is all tied into the thing Jimmy told Francesca at the beginning, “Tell ‘em Jimmy sent you.” We don’t know who “them” is. It could be Howard. Or someone we haven’t met. But it could also be Kim and a new defense firm. Can’t rule that out yet, either.
3. Better Call Saul does montages better than any show on television
I love a good montage. Who doesn’t, though? There are cheesy ways to do them, sure, but when done well they provide a fun way to pack a load of information into a tight space or pack a scene with a whole new level of meaning or feeling. Better Call Saul does them so well. Examples include Jimmy’s funky air sock montage when he was trying to get fired from Ed Begley’s law firm and Kim’s Post-It note montage set to a Spanish rendition of “My Way.” Now, to those, we can add the Jimmy tracksuit “Street Life” montage.
What a fun and perfect slice of television that was. The song selection was an A+. The setting, at Jesse’s old hot dog hangout, was great. The message, that Jimmy was tired of playing it straight and ready to get back to the Slippin’ Jimmy business even if it meant risking bodily harm at the hands of a biker gang, was delivered. I’ve watched it three times already this morning. Might go buy a tracksuit and some flip phones
We don’t know exactly where this is all headed. Jimmy seemed pretty bummed about getting taken by those punks. But less bummed about losing the money than by not seeing them coming. If that’s the lesson he’s taking away from it, and you combine it with his speech to his probation officer about becoming a lawyer again, and you combine both of those with the flash-forward at the beginning, well…
You let the people see, just who you wanna be
And every night you shine just like a superstar
That’s how the life is played a ten cent masquerade
You dress, you walk, you talk, you’re who you think you are
Saul comin’.
4. Never trust a man with a mustache and a laser
I suppose the larger takeaway here is something like “If something seems too good to be true, it probably is,” but why be general when we can be specific. Never trust anyone with a mustache and a laser. They’re up to something. Especially if they make building an underground meth superlab seem a little too easy. Because if that’s the case, you might find yourself, seven months later, with a fancy-looking structure that will crumble at the slightest touch and no recourse because your architect is sipping champagne on a Concorde to Monaco. I’ve seen it a million times.
I did love how this was all structured, how the two builders were polar opposites. One didn’t need water or a bathroom break, brought high-tech equipment, and promised the moon after a cursory glance at the facility. The other almost puked in the van, chugged water like he’d been stranded in a desert for a week, made all his notes in a wrinkled notepad, and promptly declared the job almost impossible. You can trust that second guy. That’s why Gus walked right in and introduced himself using his real full name. The guy wasn’t putting on a show. He might be a pain to work with, but he’s honest, and he’s not going to cut corners. Unlike a guy with a mustache and a laser. Those guys always have an angle.
5. We should bring back flip phones
You can make a pretty solid argument that this entire society of ours has been going down the toilet since we stopped using flip phones. We should bring them back. Perhaps you think I’m only saying this because I never had the chance to have a mysterious conversation and then snap my phone clean in half like Jimmy does here and Saul did earlier. Well, let me assure you, if you think that’s the only reason I want to bring back flip phones, you are correct. Obviously. It looks so cool and I want to do it. I want to do it on a public sidewalk and throw the two halves of my snapped phone into separate trash cans. I want people to see me do it and wonder what I’m up to. I want to do this so bad it hurts me.
We must bring back flip phones.
