By JASON MARTIN (@JMartZone – August 28, 2018)

Honestly, I would rather have spent more of the hour hanging at CC Mobile with Jimmy McGill than in the hellscape that has become Nacho Varga’s life, but there was no lack of drama and action surrounding our Pinkman stand-in this week. The Salamanca brothers were terrifying when they first hit the screen in Breaking Bad and it turns out, they were frightening many years before that as well. Two dudes literally rolled into a cartel fortress (shanty town) and annihilated at least ten armed thugs as payback for the ambush.

As Nacho watched on, as he eventually got involved to take one guy down himself, he knew in his heart he was responsible for the murder of several individuals who had not done anything wrong… TO HIM. Make no mistake, these guys were criminals and Albuquerque was safer without them, but they died because Nacho had to keep up a lie to the Salamancas on behalf of Gustavo Fring and his organization. And, he’s not done, as Gus tells him there’s more to do. He’s left whimpering sadly as his pained father looks on, knowing he can do next to nothing to help the son he loves and so desperately wanted a better life for.

“Talk” was more concerned in the short term with the cartel and drug kingpin side of things, but it also focused on Mike Ehrmantraut more than Jimmy McGill, which usually isn’t a bad thing. It wasn’t here, although this wasn’t the most exciting Mike episode. This was about Mike’s descent, at least in some form, from someone stable and solid to someone a little off balanced still dealing with his son’s death. That’s what caused the explosion during the support group.

He would gladly have sat back and paid off the flirty bet with Anita and gone to see music afterward, but just before that poor man (who was lying) spoke, Stacey brought up a morning where she didn’t think of her husband, Matty. Mike’s eyes began to water and he was breathing heavily, knowing he himself still thinks of Matty all the time, and then he basically snapped. It was brutal to the liar, and it put an end to the mood in the group, but it was great TV. “You wanted me to talk. I talked.” He’s a hurting man, a grieving father, and he’s always going to be smarter than the average bear.

Thus, when Gus brings him to the meet at the end of the episode, Mike knows he’s not in any imminent danger. Fring has a job for him and Mike tells him point blank to dispense with the histrionics, either kill him or make the ask, and that’s how the hour ends. Ehrmantraut was also back at it at Madrigal, where he was chastising other employees for code violations and safety issues. He’s in an ornery mood, more so than usual, and the light crossword puzzle conversation from the diner is replaced by not answering his daughter-in-law’s call and basically telling a very dangerous drug lord, “Get on with it. I don’t have all day.”

Someone that does have all day is Jimmy McGill, who after first declining it, accepts the job to be shift supervisor at CC Mobile, probably because the idea Kim wants him to see a shrink made him reevaluate how he’s coming across to others. No one wants to be told they need help. Interventions aren’t fun. There’s a natural self-defense mechanism that kicks in when you fell you’re being attacked, even when you aren’t. But, even if CC Mobile is a bustling company, his store is in no man’s land and is basically a ghost town. I wrote the following in my notes after he got off the phone with Robbie, who said for a few weeks at least, he’d be stuck there.

“Jimmy with time on his hands in a dead retail establishment as shift supervisor. What could go wrong?”

Technically, nothing did, but after he leaves for a bit on a break, visits his henchman from last week and collects his share of the money from the Bavarian figurine, which turns out to be more than expected (imagine that, the guy didn’t shaft him on his portion), his mind hears something it can’t deny. More schemes could be in the offing, and he’s told to “call the vet” if he comes up with any ideas. Why? “New job. New phone. You never know who’s listening.” Bingo. Jimmy has his angle to overtly sell BURNER PHONES, yes Stringer Bell, Avon Barksdale joints…at CC Mobile.

While we don’t see success yet, McGill springs into action in the most Saul Goodman way possible. He paints “IS THE MAN LISTENING? PRIVACY SOLD HERE” across the windows of CC Mobile. He’s advertising to criminals and dirtbags of all types that he holds the key to keeping them out of jail…or worse. That’s both brilliant and as shady as it gets, and for Better Call Saul, it’s one of my favorite moments in the four seasons of the series thus far. It’s so pitch perfect for that character and it reveals the Slippin’ Jimmy that we know Odenkirk’s character to be. He’s smart enough to do it right. He’s a hard worker. But, he’s always willing to take a lower road if it brings money a little faster. He’s talented enough to hang on reality street, but he’s drawn to easy street like an addiction.

It’s going to be his downfall. We know this fact already.

Kim Wexler is finding herself involved in corporate and banking law with Mesa Verde and she’s having visions of altruism dancing in her head. If you watch Suits, which I know most critics have always derided, but I’ve enjoyed since day one, there’s a lot of Mike Ross working at the clinic in Kim’s character. Watching her last week, you could see a woman that believed she could help the world and change it through her profession. Judge Munsinger tells her in his chambers that The Verdict is merely a good movie and those once in a lifetime cases simply don’t exist.

Consider the fact that in this episode, Jimmy McGill and Kim Wexler, friends and now lovers and people that truly care about each other, are traveling in opposite directions morally. Kim desires the more thankless work that might not make her rich but would fill her soul. Simultaneously, Jimmy has devised a way he thinks will sell a crap ton of mobile phones by telling the worst members of society that he has the answer to keep their business operations afloat. What we’re really seeing, although it’s still subtle, is that these two people love each other, but are too different. He’s going to break her heart or she’s going to walk away in order to maintain her ethics. That’s why the relationship will end.

It’s likely the last legitimate love interest Jimmy McGill will ever have. And I find it hard to believe Saul Goodman ever found true love again. This is actually a slow motion tragedy taking place, based on right vs. wrong and altruism vs. opportunity. It’s a beautiful, yet brutal story to watch, because we like both of these people, yet we can see the iceberg on our radar. They’re still on the boat, but we know it’s not to last. The band is still playing. No one is the wiser just yet. By the end of this season, I predict, everyone will realize it, but it will be too late.

Another good episode, although not my favorite of the season. The cell phone gimmick was exceptional, as was Jonathan Banks’ performance throughout the hour. The season is on solid ground, and there’s no sign of a drop-off. We’re almost halfway through, and it continues to be one of the best watches every week. I hope we get more of Jimmy at CC Mobile next week, perhaps with a customer or two we’ve met before that he hasn’t. We’re getting there folks.

And by “there,” you know exactly what I mean.

I’m @JMartZone. Sorry I missed you. Back in a jiff!