Better Call Saul: Season 1, Episode 9: Pimento
I’m looking at this and realized how different a story this is from “Breaking Bad.” Not the story itself, but the kind of story. Walter White’s story had more to do with need turning to greed and power corrupting good intentions. It was a complete evolution of a character. This is the same, but vastly different. This is the story of Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman. His origin is far different from Walt’s. Their stories both begin with suffering, but it appears Jimmy’s transformation is very different.
Walt was a product of his own poor decisions and inadequacy. He was already leaning into corruption and had even killed his first man by the end of the first episode. Those same things are what brought him down in the end. He didn’t exactly win or get a happy ending, but he regained his soul before dying.
Jimmy is clearly a man of principals. All he does is try to do the right thing. He is truly a case of the world being against him. Every step forward comes with five steps back. No matter what he accomplishes or how hard he tries, he simply can’t get ahead. He even tried to make an illegal move, but was quickly forced to reverse it in order to help his friend and save his own hide. He is in dire need, but he refused to take that massive suitcase of money, from a nut job who wanted to make his own sovereign nation.
I’m also seeing that this show is just as much about Mike as it is Jimmy/Saul. Walt had Jesse, who played the part of naive punching bag. Walt’s scientific genius needed moments of explanation and only an idiot like Jesse could be believable in asking constant questions. At least that was the case early on. Toward the end, Jesse ended up being more of a personification of what Walt’s madness was doing. He suffered more than anyone else and only got a reward when his teacher/partner/friend/mentor/enemy died.
I see some of the same narrative benefits for Mike. Everyone wants to know about Mike’s past because he’s awesome and he also presents an alternative to Saul. He is the proverbial honorable thief. Acting outside of the law isn’t beyond him, but breaking his word very much is. His speech in this episode about “good bad guys” was pure gold. If anyone failed to understand his character, this was the moment to watch.
Chuck represents what Jimmy has always wanted to be. He cares about him more than anyone and all he wants to do is take care of his big brother and make him proud. He is the reason Jimmy has always changed his mind about turning to the dark side. Jimmy is a naive Luke Skywalker, Chuck is Obi-Wan Kenobi and Mike is definitely Han Solo.
Star wars references aside. This episode was pretty awesome. Seeing how efficient Mike was shows how he became who he is when we meet him later. “I was just telling you what I’m packing.”
Also seeing the emotional beating Jimmy took was touching. He has done the work and tried so hard to go about things the right way. He has been there for Chuck and desperately sought his approval, only to find out he has never reached his potential because the one person he trusted and idolized was his roadblock.
In light of this betrayal we saw him take a stand. I’m sure having his hero broken down before him is the first step in him standing on his own feet. The people around him propel him as opposed to Walt’s struggles pushing him forward. I’m really looking forward to the season finale next week. I predict that it will come with the birth of the name Saul Goodman!
Jonathan Thomas Jones is a speculative fiction author and founder of geekhavenreviews.com. He has been passionate about all things geek for his entire life. See more about him at jonathanthomasjones.com and follow him on twitter @jtgloryjones.
