Vince Gilligan is an artistic master of the cold open. We see Mike walking through a dark house, drop an envelope of money on the table and head on over to the fridge to get a beer. He puts a bag of frozen vegetables on half of his face, which the camera hides from view. Eventually we get to see just how badly he got messed up and it's not pretty. It's an easy conclusion that he wound up taking the job from Nacho that was referenced at the end of the last episode, but what we don't know is that this is a sort of "flash-forward" scene for what's to come in "Gloves Off".
Meanwhile, Jimmy's getting reprimanded for his commercial by his bosses. I understand why they'd be mad because he went behind his back, but the reason that Cliff provides puzzles me. He says that the commercial is damaging to the reputation of the firm and I genuinely don't understand how. It was aired one time during a TV show watched by mostly elderly folks. Maybe he's warning against future decision-making in the same vein which could have worse reputational consequences, but I really didn't get this explanation.
Further confusing is the punishment that Kim receives for not bringing the commercial to Howard Hamlin's attention. Jimmy very logically argues that she shouldn't be getting punished for something he did at another firm. Plus, she didn't even know that Davis & Main didn't approve the commercial, so there was no reason for her to believe there was any wrongdoing. Another very puzzling scene.
Jimmy confronts Chuck about Kim's predicament and Chuck denies involvement. This actually lines up with what we see when Kim departs the conference room with Chuck and Howard, as Chuck asks Howard, "What do you plan to do?" It's an interesting touch because we've expected Chuck to play the villain at this point and it lets the viewer know that this decision is likely in Howard's court. Jimmy tries to convince Chuck to do something about it by proposing quitting the law in exchange for bailing out Kim, and Chuck correctly points out that this would be extortion and a felony. Chuck may not treat Jimmy with the love a brother should have, but it's clear from this scene that he hasn't acted the way he has just to be a dick. He's got too much respect for the law to either be okay with Jimmy practicing it or making a Jimmy-like deal to stop Jimmy from doing that ever again. Mike and Jimmy are obviously the two best-drawn characters on the show, but Chuck is giving them a run for their money.
Meanwhile, Nacho explains that the "job" he has for Mike is for him to kill his partner, Tuco, because he's a total nutjob, why else? Nacho's elaborate plan seems too leaky for Mike, so Mike suggests sniping Tuco from a distance after he exits a meeting. He goes to procure a gun from a private arms dealer, but when he doesn't find anything to his liking, he seemingly changes his mind on the spot about his plan for Tuco.
Mike explains to Nacho that killing Tuco would compound the problem, not solve it and that getting him arrested would be a much better course of action. The explanation he gives is that Tuco's family would ultimately figure out what happened and come back on Nacho. What remains confusing to me is why Mike needed to see the arms dealer to figure this out. Any thoughts?
The plan Mike hatches is brilliant and well-considered, but absolutely painful. He provokes Tuco into beating the shit out of him in front of the cops, but to do so he needs to bank on Tuco acting predictably (not so tough) and getting the cops to show up at the absolutely perfect moment (pretty tough). Everything Mike pulls works to great effect, from wiping hand prints off of the payphone to flashing his cash as he purchases chicken from the diner to the final "that's all you got" that really earns him some facial damage. Nacho asks him after the incident why he went through so much trouble and monetary sacrifice to avoid pulling the trigger. Why indeed? Perhaps the answer lies in something Mike said to Tuco, referring at the time to trying to go through insurance to resolve a car accident. "I offered to do this the right way. If you can't accept that, I can't help you."
Bullet Points
- Mike drinks PBR. Mike is the fucking man.
- Another nice touch from the cold open -- Mike is holding the boxing gloves that Tuco wore around his neck as a souvenir from the fight.
- The opening credits show a shot of cell phones in a drawer, which is a reference to the protocol people use before getting in a room with Chuck. I haven't really paid that much attention to these but have they always been this plot-related? They've seen kind of random to me in the past.
- We are still breaking up Mike and Jimmy storylines week by week. When's everything going to connect?
- Hmmm...I wonder just what Jimmy's going to do with that second chance of his?
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