‘Better Call Saul’ Recap: ‘Coushatta’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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​To call season four of Better Call Saul dark would in fact, be quite the understatement. Because this season has been nothing more than an outright harrowing experience, one that’s explored some of the darkest parts of the human soul as Jimmy McGill continues his downward spiral, one that will lead to the creation of Saul Goodman and when I settled in to enjoy last night’s episode of the show, ‘Coushatta’, I was quite frankly expecting more of the same. After all, things were tense between Jimmy and Kim during the last episode and I really didn’t see how their relationship was going to get better in the slightest. 
 
So, imagine my surprise, when I came to discover that this particular chapter in Jimmy’s life was going to take us down quite the different path. Because this was one fun and silly episode, for the most part, and all of the joy and wonder that we found in this episode came about by way of Jimmy and Kim’s plan to get Huell off the hook. Because the plan that was put in motion was simply magical to say the least and it was a scheme that kept you guessing, simply because the story didn’t tip its hand right away as to what exactly Kim and Jimmy were up to, making the plan seem pretty by the numbers at first. 
 
After all, Kim resorted to intimidation with the Assistant D.A. to see if she could finally get the charges dropped and once that failed miserably, the magic came into play. Because a curious opening sequence, one that saw Jimmy writing all kinds of letters while on a bus ride to Coushatta, Louisiana made sense after Kim’s failed gambit, since all of those letters were sent to the judge presiding over the case and every last one of them spoke to the wonder of Huell Babineaux and how the court was making a grave mistake in prosecuting a kind and gentle man who has done so much for the community and the giggles that came about from this reveal didn’t end there. 

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​Because the piéce de résistance when it came to this plan is the fact that Jimmy dropped some phone numbers into the letters, allowing for the Assistant D.A. to call those numbers, which of course went to some of Jimmy’s burner phones, and those calls were answered by Jimmy’s film school buddies, who worked to sell the fact that Huell was just, incredible and their testimony was backed by a website that showed Huell doing charitable work. But truly, the best moment of the night, was when Jimmy took one of the calls and just let loose with a performance for the ages, finally selling the possibility that this case was going to be a circus to prosecute, leading to a bargain between Kim and the state at last. 
 
But, all laughs aside, this little con ended up having some unexpected side effects when it comes to Kim and Jimmy’s relationship as well, since the thrill that Kim experienced in gaming the system rekindled their romance, reminding us once again that Kim does indeed have a dark side and she’s not done indulging it just yet, since she asked Jimmy for another fix and well, it should be interesting to see where that goes in the coming weeks. But for now, there’s peace in Jimmy’s world and he and Kim are the only ones enjoying it. Since the darkness in this tale came about by way of Mike and his continued struggle to keep his crew in line since they’re slipping, and it also came forth from Nacho as well, who ran into a complication in his new role as head of the business since Lalo has come calling.
 
However, while it was cool to finally see the face of the enigmatic Lalo, and see how much Gus trusts Mike, all of their storylines were grossly overshadowed by the magic of Kim and Jimmy’s journey. Because you can never go wrong with letting Bob Odenkirk’s comedic skills shine through and well, this really was a welcome change pace for the show. It was simply a laugh a minute when it came to this wild and crazy plan and while I enjoyed the fun times, this kind of joy makes me a touch nervous. Because I get the funny feeling, the goofiness here was designed to not only give us a break from one tough season of storytelling, but to give us a little bit of joy before things truly get bleak and I fear it won’t be long before Jimmy’s dark side returns as we close in on the season four finale. Until next time. 

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