'Better Call Saul' Recap: 'Fall'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

As the old saying goes, money is the root of all evil, and there's a reason that phrase continues to resonate after all this time, because there is indeed some truth to it. Some people, of course, help propagate the spirit of the saying by doing just about anything and everything for a quick buck. But the sheer necessity of money drives all of us to work hard to acquire more of it so we can keep a roof over our heads and food on the table and that need for cash, and what it does to us, became the central focus of last night's episode of Better Call Saul.

If anything, this sudden 'quest for cashola' that influenced a fair majority of the characters last night, made 'Fall' perhaps one of the darkest episodes that season three has to offer, simply because the people we know and love on this show, didn't quite seem like themselves. They were selfish, angry and boorish, all in the hopes of securing a little financial security, and as this show is wont to do, there will be clear cut consequences for their actions and while the jarring darkness of this episode may seem surprising and out of place, this was nothing more than the pinnacle of a season long tragedy, one that has seen everyone fall from grace, and one that even managed to suck Kim Wexler into the abyss as well.

Yes even dear Kim, who often serves as the moral compass on this show, was not immune from the draw and the power of the need for money. After all, with Jimmy out of work, she's been faced with the real possibility of coming up short when it comes to her budding new practice, which could in turn lead to financial ruin and with that in the back of her mind, she takes on the Gatwood Oil case after all, knowing full well it's more than she can handle at the moment, but also due to the fact that the riches that would come with this open and shut case...would fund the practice for a good long time. But alas, the amount of work required and the amount of energy it takes is too much for Kim to handle and in a stunning moment she passes out, loses control of her car and crashes it on the way to the Gatwood Oil meeting, leaving her practice, pride and health in the same state as the case...in tatters.

However while Kim's tragic story this episode is related to financial necessity, Chuck used monetary symbolism to handle his issues. Because the fallout from his little breakdown at the Bar hearing continues, to the point where the insurance company the firm uses for malpractice insurance is prepared to raise the premiums at HH&M twenty five percent out of concern and well...Chuck's bravado and desire to fight such a matter leads Howard to make a tough call...and ask Charles McGill to become a silent partner and retire from the firm. Unfortunately, Howard's gambit backfires and Chuck stuns him with a breach of contract lawsuit against HH&M, putting the firm on the hook for $8 million and potentially ruining their reputation all because Charles, cannot stand the thought of being humiliated or forced out and he is happy to use cash to get his point across just fine and it's equally amazing...that he's starting to unleash his inner Jimmy more and more....

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Speaking of the younger McGill; Jimmy demonstrated just how far a man is willing to go when he's broke to enjoy a little financial security and his story...was truly the hardest of the night to watch. Because with all the time in the world on his hands, Jimmy visits Irene, a client from the Sandpiper case to get an update on the case and as it turns out, sweet Irene has received a powerful settlement offer from Sandpiper, one that would net Jimmy a cool million plus. But taking the money now is something that she doesn't want to deal with because it's something she feels is best left to the professionals, and the advice she's been given...is to wait. But the idea of having to wait to hit it big is more than Jimmy can handle and after his pleas to have Howard push the case into settlement are utterly ignored, Jimmy takes drastic measures into his own hands.

He takes the time to hang out with all of Irene's friends, pointing out just how much they would make in the settlement and it doesn't take long for jealousy and disdain to begin to settle amongst her pals and Jimmy being Jimmy, well he takes everything one step further, buying Irene gifts to make it look as though she clearly doesn't need the money and one by one, her friends begin to turn upon her, leading to a penultimate moment where Jimmy actually bothers to rig a Bingo game so Irene can win and face silence and angry stares from her friends...breaking the sweet old lady down into tears.  It's this moment that Jimmy was waiting for all along since he is able to bring up the settlement, and able to gently nudge her toward taking that payout and while Jimmy is able to 'convince' her to settle and is now likely as rich as can be...are you freaking serious?

I mean really, let's all take a moment and let this sink in. He flat out broke a sweet, little old lady's spirits, all in the hopes of getting a big time pay day and the amount of work and calculation that went into this long con...is downright stunning. It signals the fact that Jimmy has truly snapped on a primal level and that he will stop at nothing to make sure he and Kim are taken care of, since he did make a point to try and celebrate with her. But more importantly, this shocking moment and decision on his part, continues to reinforce the fact that Jimmy McGill is quietly starting to disappear before our eyes, because only a man without a conscience, like Saul Goodman, would be okay with breaking down an innocent person like that to get what they want and there's a fair chance now that it won't be long before Jimmy leaves his old life behind and lets Saul take over completely.

However not every aspect of this episode was completely mired in darkness, and ironically, the men one could consider to be villains...found ways to do the right thing in this story. After all, Mike did the start the process to get his money secured away for his family by getting a 'job' at one of Fring's shadow businesses, and Gus was even nice enough to cover any Federal expenses so that Mike gets every single dime, and even Nacho took the high road. Since his plan to take Hector down is going to take longer than expected he finally came clean to his father about everything, including Salamanca's plan, and took his lumps for losing his father's respect. But despite seeing more touching and classier moments from the supporting cast...all of it was overshadowed by Kim's desperation, Chuck's indulgence of his darker side and Jimmy's continued slide toward Saul Goodman. Either way, it's clear now that the season three finale is going to be downright brutal, because this was merely the setup...and the fallout that comes from these events will likely be nothing short of devastating. Until next time.

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