'Better Call Saul' Recap: 'Smoke'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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The best television shows out there, feature powerful and incredible moments that stay with you for a very long time. These are the kind of jaw dropping scenes that move in you ways you never thought imaginable, and give you pause long after that particular and earth-shattering moment has come to its end and thus far, when it comes to Better Call Saul, that moment in question arrived at the end of season three, wherein Charles McGill, faced with a future where he was no longer a part of the purity of the law, took his own life in horrifying fashion. It was a death that quite frankly, no one expected to see and well, I think it’s safe to say that we were all wondering how Jimmy would handle Chuck’s passing, and how the show would present the fallout of his death as well.
 
Because in reality, the series could have handled this in simple yet powerful fashion, by taking a step forward in time to show us the lasting pain or push toward healing that Jimmy and everyone else that was close to Chuck is going through. But instead of taking that simpler road storytelling wise, this series decided instead to pick up immediately after the flames consumed everything within Chuck’s home and I have to say, that was quite the bold decision. Because in reality, so many of us have experienced the loss of a family member in our lifetime, and the moment we found out that they left our lives, we were likely just going about our day, the same way that Jimmy was, and well, that made this part of the story supremely relatable and supremely powerful since we’ve all been in Jimmy McGill’s shoes.
 
Yet the show wasn’t quite done with taking us on an emotional journey when it comes to loss, because we were with Jimmy every single step of the way in this tale and my goodness, it’s obvious that Chuck’s passing rattled this confident man like never before. In fact, it was quite stunning to see the normally lively and plucky James McGill so silent and reserved in this episode as his brain and his heart tried to process the fact that his brother, a man he did adore and wanted to have to a relationship with was gone forever and the silence and the pain on Jimmy’s face throughout this episode said everything it needed to about his state of mind and the ache surging through him and my hat goes off to Bob Odenkirk for such a powerful performance. 

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But, really, there’s one moment that stands out above the rest when it comes to Jimmy’s journey through grief in this tale, and that came about during the tail end of this episode, wherein Howard made a pit stop by Kim’s place to spend a moment with old friends and colleagues to reminisce about Chuck’s life and perhaps, what exactly drove him over the edge, which was the whole insurance debacle that Jimmy set in motion late last season. And when this came out in the open, the look on Jimmy’s face is one that I will never forget, because it was an incredible mix of guilt, anger and pain all rolled into one, and his behavior after hearing this news, by sassing Howard and acting so cheery, well…it means that in many ways, Jimmy just reached a breaking point, and he will never be the same…
 
However, because this part of the story provided us with some incredibly heavy and somber moments, the show had no choice but to break up the uglier parts of this tale by catching up with some of the other characters from this rich and incredible universe, and oddly enough, it was a welcome respite to see the fallout from Salamanca’s stroke and learn that Gus is keeping a close eye on Nacho. Plus, Mike’s whole storyline, wherein he took his security consultant work to a whole new level, to the point where he was able to walk around Madrigal with minimal fuss, led to some of the only laughs of the night as he explored the offices and warehouses of this iconic company. But despite Mike being able to put a smile on our faces, all of this was in fact overshadowed greatly, by Chuck’s death and Jimmy’s downward spiral.
 
In fact, it’s worth pointing out that Jimmy was put through the wringer in just about every way imaginable in this episode since the Gene/Omaha segment was ominous to say the least since it seems Jimmy ran into someone that knows him from his time as Saul Goodman and well, when all is said and done, while this episode was downright heartbreaking and tough to watch at times, it was also downright brilliant. Because this kind of introspective storytelling is rare to find on television and everything that happened in this tale, serves as a fine reminder that we are in fact bearing witness to a grand American tragedy, and the closing moments of this tale, wherein Jimmy oozed apathy, is solid proof that he is truly starting down that slippery slope toward becoming Saul Goodman. Until next time. 

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