'Better Call Saul' Season 5 Episode 3 Review: Mike's continuing spiral might see his world collide with Jimmy's
Spoiler alert for Season 5 Episode 3: 'The Guy for This'
Going into the third episode of Better Call Saul's Season 3, we knew two things: Slippin' Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) landing in 'unchartered territory' and Michael 'Mike' Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) is continuing to 'spiral'. But no amount of spoilers could have prepared us for the mess Jimmy gets thrown into, or the way Mike's better judgment finally goes for a toss and he ends up lashing out.
Ignacio 'Nacho' Varga's life begins to spill out of control as the pressures of working under Gus Fring starts taking its toll. But somewhere along the lines, it's Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) that one feels the sorriest for. But you know what they say in the desert area about Jimmy McGill turned Saul Goodman - he's the guy for all things sketchy so of course, he's on a joyride like this.
The episode titled 'The Guy for This' kicks off with a bunch of ants attacking an ice cream cone melting on the sidewalk. The ants gather around the dessert and try to make the best of their joint effort is consuming all of it, when the screen zooms out to give an idea of the broad and elaborate world running around them(read to step on them and squelch the life out any time they can) - almost as if the predicament Jimmy has landed in, amid the not so familiar part of town. The parallel is drawn through the very next scene as we see Jimmy in the middle of the desert, accompanied by none other than Nacho.
Jimmy's new task for the week is a special mission from the man - Lalo Salamanca himself. Lalo has a man in a DC prison who needs to receive a message from their end and the newly appointed druglord believes Jimmy, as Saul Goodman, is the perfect man for the job. It is in painfully intense moments like these that the 'Breaking Bad'-spin-off likes to induce humor and Bob Odenkirk's Jimmy-slash-Saul doesn't disappoint. To Lalo's task, Jimmy responds with how his rates have gone up, given the new persona and as he calculates the total fees he would draw, there's this panic in his fumbling tone that sounds as if he's trying his best to shrug off the responsibility. But with great name changes and professional detours comes the greater responsibility of being at the disposal of the reigning drug lords and sadly, Jimmy can't find a way out.
As Jimmy prepares to lie on the bed he has made, Mike's internal conflict sends him on a violent spiral. We have been warned about the two men's worlds colliding in the pre-Breaking Bad era and while we don't know for sure if this spiral will bring the two men any closer, it doesn't fail to entertain. On a drunken binge, Mike first lashes out at his very considerate bartender who keeps asking him to cut it out and head home for the night. Luckily for the bartender, Mike's outburst ends at him insisting on taking down a photo in the pub; later in the night, however, things aggravate. While on his way home, a bunch of roadside boys try to pick on the older man, calling him 'grandpa' and asking him for $20. When they get physical, Mike single-handedly takes on one of them and grunts "I have more than 20 bucks," in what proves to be one of the most iconic Mike moments this season so far, and considering it's the third episode only, one can only imagine there's only more to come.
Maybe one of these days, Mike will land himself in some kind of mess that will make him consider the better call Saul, but before that, it is Nacho who might be needing the idealistic attorney slash amoral lawyer's help first, especially if he has to find a way out of Gus's constant pressure. Nacho's father makes a return in this episode and confronts his son about the kind of work he has been indulging in. So along with working under two dreaded giants in the drug business, Nacho is also faced with the responsibility of running his father's business or falling further from grace in the older man's eyes - a risk that Kim's running too, with her obligations to her pro-bono clients.
In all of the messes in the 'Better Call Saul' universe, it is Kim's passion for justice that makes her such an icon to root for. The woman who is being roped into a whole other level of con thanks to her boyfriend, finds herself faced with the dilemma of integrity vs hustle. Her passionate work towards her pro bono clients is a stark contrast to the territories her boyfriend has ventured into professionally and every time Seehorn and Odenkirk share screen space as Kim and Jimmy, their impeccable chemistry only helps further highlight the strain in their characters' relationship. Kim's conviction is rivaled by Jimmy's indiscretion in this episode which mainly aims at showcasing how Jimmy has become the man for all things sketchy - but for now, one can only pray and hope it works out.
'Better Call Saul' Season 5 airs on Mondays at 9 pm ET only on AMC.