The following is a recap of the ninth episode of the third season of Better Call Saul, available on AMC in the U. S. and on Netflix internationally. Expect story spoilers.
In the ninth episode of the third season — Fall — Jimmy goes too far, and Chuck learns that his future at HHM is in jeopardy. Fall was written by Gordon Smith and directed by Minkie Spiro.
In the episode-opening teaser, Jimmy visits an old client at the Sandpiper Crossing assisted living facility to investigate how the Sandpiper case is going. His old client reveals that a settlement deal has been offered, which would give Jimmy more than $1 million if accepted, but that her new representative has told her that it is best to wait for more.
Meanwhile, Chuck has become a liability for Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill due to his mental illness. Hamlin doesn’t trust Chuck or his judgment anymore either. Hamlin suggests making Chuck ‘partner emeritus,’ which means that Chuck may keep his honorary title and his surname in the company but that he has to retire.
Jimmy didn’t just humiliate Chuck in court during the hearing, he also made him seem impossibly unreasonable and rash. Chuck and Jimmy ruined each other and their reputation. Chuck isn’t taking this retirement proposal lying down, though. Chuck is kicking and screaming, and he warns Hamlin that he may sue the company for what they are trying to do to him.
The aforementioned million dollar news lights a fire under Jimmy, who meets up with Hamlin the parking area to try to convince him to accept the settlement deal. Hamlin rightly calls Jimmy out on this being in his best interest not necessarily the clients’.
“I sold my soul for B-I-N-G-O!”
Speaking of which, to further influence his former clients, he pretends to ‘run into’ them at the mall. It is the beginning of Jimmy sinking to his lowest — by turning Irene’s, a nice old woman, friends against her. He hopes to be able to pressure Irene into accepting the settlement offer. It is a disgusting scheme that Jimmy has orchestrated, and I don’t think I’ve ever disliked the character more.
During a meeting with a potential client by an oil field out in the middle of nowhere, Kim’s car is stuck in the dirt. An already overworked and over-exhausted Kim is struggling with a very unfair day-to-day challenge. She gets out of it, but it is yet another example of Kim struggling to balance the workload with her well-being.
And eventually you just know it is all going to lead to something unfortunate. I hadn’t thought it would be a car crash, though. But it had been set up pretty well across the season. Previously, the show has used a smash cut to show the sudden passage of time as Kim took a nap in her car, and Jimmy even suggested that she could just drive faster to get to where she was going right before she left in her car.
Elsewhere, Mike becomes a ‘security consultant.’ and Nacho realizes that his plan isn’t working soon enough, which means that Nacho has to tell his father who he works for and what he may have to agree to in order to survive. Michael Mando plays one of my favorite characters in this show, and seeing his heart break as he has to tell his father about Salamanca is brutal.
I also have to mention Jean Effron, who plays Irene. The way her life is turned upside down by Jimmy breaks my heart, and seeing Odenkirk’s Jimmy scheming his way into getting a paycheck was frustrating to watch here. Jimmy has gone too far in this excellent penultimate episode of the season.
A-
This episode originally aired June 12th, 2017, and it is being reviewed now to be ready for the season four premiere.
– Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen
I'm Jeffrey Rex 