A couple episodes back, Chuck mentioned in a conversation with Kim that Jimmy had stolen about $14,000 from his father's store. In tonight's cold open, we get a lot of extra context around that.
In a flashback scene, we see Jimmy "working" in his dad's store (reading a Playboy when he should be sweeping). Jimmy overhears a conversation between his dad at the cash register and some guy spinning a sob story to try to con Jimmy's father out of five dollars. While Jimmy's dad is all too eager to help the man in whatever way he can, Jimmy sees the situation for what it is and pleads with his dad to not give the guy a handout, as he's seen this happen plenty already. Of course, Jimmy's dad doesn't listen and winds up giving the guy ten dollars.
Jimmy's dad runs to find spark plugs to help with the con artist's car, leaving Jimmy alone with him. It's clear to the con artist that Jimmy doesn't trust him, so before departing he says, "There are wolves and sheep in this world, kid. Wolves and sheep. Figure out which one you're gonna be."
When Jimmy's dad comes back and realizes the con artist left, Jimmy gives his father a look of utter disdain. Left alone with the cash register, Jimmy steals the eight dollars the con artist used to purchase cigarettes, and we're to believe that this is Jimmy's first of many thefts from the store. At that moment, Jimmy's figured out which one he's gonna be.
The thing is, while Jimmy may have despised his father for being such an easy mark, it's easy to respect a man who would rather risk getting conned than refusing to help someone in need. And while we may admire Jimmy's street smarts, an honest person can't believe that him stealing money from his father is in any way justifiable. The scene makes it more understandable, but it's still just plain wrong. We know from Chuck's story that it's Jimmy who causes the real harm to the store, not random con men pilfering Lincolns and Hamiltons.
The post-credits portion of the episode opens with a truly tough scene to watch. Jimmy represents Mike in his meeting with the prosecutors to explain that Mike will no longer claim that the gun in his confrontation with Tuco Salamanca actually belonged to Tuco. Jimmy tries to make Mike feel better about the incident and even offers to not collect for his services. Mike isn't having any of it -- he doesn't want to feel tied to anyone. Honestly, other than his family, it really doesn't seem like Mike has it in him to give a damn about anyone.
From there, Jimmy sets out to quit his job at Davis & Main, though when Omar points out that his signing bonus would need to be paid back, his mission changes to "get fired without cause". Putting the "colorful" in "colorful lawyer", he dresses up in his outlandish suits and we get a montage of all the things he does to try to get canned:
- Wearing aforementioned suits
- Running a loud juicer in the office and exploding said juicer all over a couple associates
- Screaming Spanglish at a guy who's vacuuming at night, when the guy is from Michigan and speaks English just fine, thank you very much
- Repeatedly taking shits in the bathroom and not flushing, under the excuse of water preservation
- Playing the bagpipes in his office
The bagpipes turn out to be the final straw and Cliff cans Jimmy. Jimmy can't come up with a reason for his actions besides explaining that he's a square peg. On his way out, Jimmy rips a soda can out of Erin's hand and throws it in the garbage. Awesome.
After quitting, Jimmy goes to meet with Kim and tries to get her to not only quit HHM, but drop her pursuit of the Schweikart job and become partners with Jimmy as a new practice. Jimmy tells Kim that she's too good for a lateral move and goes so far as to call Rich Schweikart "Howard Hamlin by a different name". Before Kim can get on board, she wants to know whether Jimmy is going to "play it straight" or in their new endeavor, or, in a very apt choice of words given the previous montage, whether Jimmy is going to "be colorful". Jimmy can't lie to her for more than a few seconds, and Kim ultimately rejects the offer in what's a pretty strong scene for her character.
Meanwhile, Stacey shows Mike an expensive house that's well beyond her means. Mike knows that Stacey faked the bullet hole that led her to trying to convince Mike that her neighborhood was unsafe, but just how much is he willing to let Stacey take advantage of him? We know he loves Kaylee more than anything, but even he needs to be aware that continuing to deal with drug gangs for money won't be any good for her, right?
Finally, Kim nails her interview with Schweikart. We discover she's from a small town on the Kansas/Nebraska border. That explains the Kansas City Royals shirt, at least. On her way out, she accidentally calls Rich "Howard". It's a moment that's more than a mere verbal slip-up. When Kim lets the wrong name slip, we come to understand that she knows Jimmy was right; Schweikart and Hamlin are really no different to her at all, and she's looking for a way to get out completely.
Kim smokes a cigarette on the roof of the building and rips her Wexler McGill business card in half. She has her idea -- go out on her own with Jimmy, but operate separately. That way, both lawyers can practice the way they want to. It seems like a pretty reasonable proposal, but something about the ripped business card gives Jimmy pause, and the show cuts to the end credits before he gives his answer.
Bullet Points
- "Omar, that whole, uh, letter of resignation thing....I didn't mean that. Not a word. I..I'm so incredibly stressed out...I'm stressed out the wazoo."
- "Hey Cliff, for what it's worth, I think you're a good guy." Cliff: "For what it's worth, I think you're an asshole."
- Apparently Omar has kids. His last scene with Jimmy really shows how little we knew him
- Two straight episodes with no Chuck!?!?!? He better be back next week.
So it looks like Jimmy is from the Blvd Manor section of Cicero along 35th street which ends at the two Horse Tracks, Sportsman's and Hawthorne. In an earlier episode with Marco (back in Cicero) he mentions grabbing a burger at Henry's (on Ogden Ave, formerly Rt 66). In this episode it looks like his Dad's store is actually "Len's" which was two doors down from Margaret's. Jimmy mentioned that his dad was a sap for not selling beer and Cigarettes to the kid's at Margaret's. Margaret's was a teen burger joint that was popular in the 50's and 60's. The kind of place Archie, Reggie, Veronica and Betty from Archie Comics would hang out at.
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