"Better Call Saul" Recap: "Gloves Off"

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

I had a feeling when I settled in for this week's episode of Better Call Saul, that the thematic concepts for this chapter of Jimmy McGill's life was going to revolve completely around consequences, especially considering how last week ended, with Jimmy facing down big time trouble from his boss Cliff at Davis and Main.  But as it turns out, my gut feeling was completely wrong.

Granted, there were consequences for Jimmy's actions from the prior episode, and that's to be expected, but what took me by surprise last night...was the fact that "Gloves Off" just so happened to be a special kind of morality tale. It didn't revolve around a grand discussion about what was right and what was wrong in the world, this episode actually ended up focusing on doing the right thing at any cost and the end result of this little storytelling twist ended up being absolutely brilliant. 

Oddly enough, our favorite parking attendant/mercenary Mike gave us perhaps the grandest showing of going the extra mile for the right kind of cause when we found out exactly what Nacho wanted to hire him for last week...to help him take out Tuco. It was a bold plan that I'm glad Mike didn't go through with at all but man, the fact that he took a savage beating to get Tuco put into jail was excruciating to watch. All of it was in the name of Kaylee and Stacy and making sure they have a better and safer life and as an added bonus, to teach a criminal that there's always a better way than resorting to murder, despite the horrible bumps and bruises he collected along the way. 

But the best part of the night was that we finally learned how important Kim is to Jimmy and how much he really loves her and yes, I'll go that far to say it. He was deeply disturbed by the fact she took a little heat from Howard over her knowledge of the video he aired and it was amazing to watch him march into his brother's home, take care of him because hey...they're family, before unloading on him over the Kim decision. Granted Chuck had nothing to do with it, but the fact that Jimmy was willing to go there with the noblest of intentions for Kim was absolutely incredible. Granted some might argue that since it degenerated into a pissing match/attempt to corrupt Chuck it was all about Jimmy in the end, but I disagree. He went there for one reason...Kim and making sure she was taken care of and treated properly and it was sweet to see him face down the man that hurt him to take care of her above all costs since HH&M did her wrong. Anything else that went down was unresolved fury from last season.

In the end though, while this episode didn't advance the mythos of Saul Goodman that much further...who cares? This was an episode filled to the brim with powerhouse writing and quite frankly some heartbreaking moments, especially when it came to Chuck and Jimmy. Watching Jimmy take on his elder brother and try to turn him to the dark side was spectacular television. I honestly don't know still if he actually wanted it to happen, or if it was simply to make a point and show Chuck how much he hurt him, but either way, it made for an episode so compelling and engaging that I was stunned when we faded to black because it seemed like this episode just flew by. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. This show is getting better every single week. Until next time.

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