S02.E07: Inflatable

[AuntiePam]

How much research could Schweikart have done on Kim's early years?  If it's 2008 and Kim has been at HHM for ten years, that puts her time in Kansas/Nebraska at 1998 and earlier.  No Facebook, no Myspace, no LinkedIn.  All he'd be able to find would be criminal records, and he wouldn't be able to find a juvenile record at all.

 

HHM would have vetted her, and so would the law school. 

 

If there's a problem in her past, it might be a relative who got in trouble, or a relative she's hiding from.  But that seems like a plot point for a lesser show, not this one. 

[shapeshifter]

As for the new place, this may just be me, but I think Mike wanted them out of the overly exposed place with the pool.  The Cousins scared him, he realized he couldn't protect them there, and probably suggested looking for a house in a nice neighborhood.  So, because that makes sense with the Mike character, I think it's how it went down.  She's looking for safety and a real home, the one she probably had or planned to have with her murdered husband.

Yes. But did anyone else think that curved wall of windows looking out over the back yard was wide open to the Cousins? It made me think they'd be better off in a concrete bunker.

[Bryce Lynch]

Jimmy's "encounter" with the inflatable wind man reminded me of a scene from Rectify, when Daniel was released from prison after serving 20 years, saw a similar wind man in front of his family's tire store and didn't quite know what to make of it since he'd never seen one before.

Were low-flow toilets even available in the Jimmy McGill years?

I cringed when Kim called Schweikart "Howard."

I think that was Kim's subconscious telling her (and us) that working for Schweikart would be just like working for HHM. I think her Freudian slip was a factor in her decision to propose the arrangement with Jimmy.

[maystone]

I've only seen a few episodes of BB (I know, I know) and only one that had Saul in it. Some of the characters popping up in BCS are familiar, but really - I'm here for the story of Jimmy and Mike. I think it's great that you BB alums are having so much fun seeing characters back in the day; I assure you that BCS is just as great if you don't know the back stories on everyone. I love this series to death.

 

I'm guessing that Mike is scoping out the Salamancas because of the implied threat to Kaylee. I mean he caved in to them once because they threatened his granddaughter; he'd be foolish to think they wouldn't use that as a threat again to get him to do something else for them. Mike seems to be a very proactive kind of guy. I don't think he'd leave himself and his family open to that.

 

Switching to Jimmy's unique genius - that whole Inflatable Man sequence was brilliant. Brilliant! Emmy worthy for direction, editing, costuming, camera work - the whole nine yards. It was so exhilarating that I felt high from watching it. And thank you PT for putting that clip in the review so I can watch it over and over and …

[Bryce Lynch]

How much research could Schweikart have done on Kim's early years? If it's 2008 and Kim has been at HHM for ten years, that puts her time in Kansas/Nebraska at 1998 and earlier. No Facebook, no Myspace, no LinkedIn. All he'd be able to find would be criminal records, and he wouldn't be able to find a juvenile record at all.

HHM would have vetted her, and so would the law school.

If there's a problem in her past, it might be a relative who got in trouble, or a relative she's hiding from. But that seems like a plot point for a lesser show, not this one.

I believe it is more like 2002 or 2003 in the BCS timeline.

It was harder to find info about people from circa 1992, but a big law firm could certainly hire a good PI to try to dig up anything problematic in Kim's past. Gossip has been around a lot longer than the internet

[Umbelina]

I really can't picture Kim as a stripper, but in thinking about what it could be, aside from some kind of crime, I wondered if perhaps she actually did marry the assistant manager of a Dairy Queen or a checker in that local supermarket, had a couple of kids maybe, and then just walked away.  She wanted MORE.

 

I'm not really thinking a disappearing act, more of an "I'm out of here, you keep everything, including the kids."

[peeayebee]

Its odd, even when Jimmy thought that Kim had fully changed her mind, he didn't seem all that into it.  Maybe he was just more surprised than anything else, but I detected the faintest note of disappointment.  I absolutely think that when he first went to Kim with the idea of a partnership he was fully, fully into it.  But perhaps realizing that he wants to be "colorful" and not ruin Kim's life in the process made him more relieved that he could just do things his own way without having to worry about anyone else.

Jimmy had proposed to Kim that they go into business together -- Wexler McGill -- but when Kim came back to him with the torn business card, she proposed that it be Wexler & McGill. I had never understood the difference before, but my understanding is that her idea is that they would be under the same roof but not work cases together, whereas Jimmy wanted them to be partners. That's why he was disappointed.

[Auntie Anxiety]

I sort of loved that Jimmy put Kim's name first.  When he was doodling in his notebook, I didn't understand what he was drawing until he presented the business card to her.

[RCharter]

Jimmy had proposed to Kim that they go into business together -- Wexler McGill -- but when Kim came back to him with the torn business card, she proposed that it be Wexler & McGill. I had never understood the difference before, but my understanding is that her idea is that they would be under the same roof but not work cases together, whereas Jimmy wanted them to be partners. That's why he was disappointed.

but even before she mentioned her idea of them being solo practitioners, and had only said she changed her mind Jimmy didn't seem all that into it.  And since it was before she had brought out the torn business card, he would have still been under the impression that she was on board with the partnership...he didn't seem all that enthusiastic about it.

[ShadowFacts]

 

For me, Mike is looking more like the "Breaking Bad" character of the show.  He wasn't perfect to begin with, but I have a feeling he gets deeper and deeper to support what is left of his family, and never saw himself as taking it this far.  He just seems so tired and angry about the entire situation.  Unlike Walt, Mike does not get a thrill out of any of this.  In BB, I liked him but never saw him as this great guy. Now, I just find him tragic.

 

He was interesting, and I was pissed when Walt killed him, but I always found Mike very menacing.  I mean, he was supposed to be.  But I couldn't really like him, even knowing his soft spot for his granddaughter.  He was a vicious enforcer.  I agree that he is already close to that here in BCS.  We've seen him kill, break into a house, be a party to drug deals, set up a guy to go to prison at the behest of a drug dealer, lie to investigators.  He's already pretty much his BB self, but now we know his motivation and pretty fast progression.  It remains to be seen how much time passes before he becomes head of security for Los Pollos Hermanos.

[Constantinople]

Kim says she's from a small town on the Kansas-Nebraska border, and she was wearing a Kansas City Royals shirt.

 

Obviously she ran into some trouble in KC, made a call to a local vacuum cleaner repair company, and left a message saying she needed a new dust filter for a Hoover MaxExtract Pressure-Pro, Model 60.  Before you know it, she was working in the mail room at HHM in Albuquerque.

 

Actually, until there's more information, I'm going to hold off speculating there's some dark secret to Kim's past.  It may be as simple as she did nothing after high school for a while, and eventually moved to start over.  Many people have.

 

Also, I think sometimes we're tempted to read too much into this show, and BB beforehand, because they're so well done.  I recall the kid who used to play with his remote control toy car in the cul-de-sac where Hank & Marie lived (perhaps there was more than one kid over the series).  At one point Marie ran over it.  Many thought this was some kind of foreshadowing, some of subtext that signified something more and the poor boy was dead kid walking.  I recall reading about this off and on for years.  But ultimately there was nothing more there.  Just a kid whose toy car got run over when Marie wasn't paying attention.

 

Of course, there may be more to Kim's past and I may be wrong.  But as I said, I'm going to hold off until there's more information.

[Bcharmer]

I keep waiting to catch a glimpse of a Los Pollos Hermanos establishment as one of the characters drives down the street. That would make my day.

[TVFan17]

I keep waiting to catch a glimpse of a Los Pollos Hermanos establishment as one of the characters drives down the street. That would make my day.

 

Same here!  I feel that it's coming soon, though.  Someone will refer to it in a conversation, or we will see Mike or someone else go in there (maybe The Cousins).  If the toy pig and KENWINS can appear, then LPH can certainly make a cameo as well.

Edited March 30, 2016 by Sherry67

[Bryce Lynch]

Same here! I feel that it's coming soon, though. Someone will refer to it in a conversation, or we will see Mike or someone else go in there (maybe The Cousins). If the toy pig and KENWINS cam appear, then LPH can certainly make a cameo as well.

I am thinking LPH will eventually get much more than a cameo.

[kieyra]

Jimmy's "encounter" with the inflatable wind man reminded me of a scene from Rectify, when Daniel was released from prison after serving 20 years, saw a similar wind man in front of his family's tire store and didn't quite know what to make of it since he'd never seen one before.

 

Were low-flow toilets even available in the Jimmy McGill years?  

 

I cringed when Kim called Schweikart "Howard."

 

Yeah, the inflatable tube guy was pretty iconic in Rectify, in more than one episode. Enough so that it lessened the impact of that scene for me, because it made me think of Daniel and Teddy instead.

[Irlandesa]

Yes, but it wasn't boring, it was fascinating from the beginning until the end, and the other characters were much more filled out and interesting to watch.  I'll take Hank, Betsy, Jesse, and Gomez and the rest over the enigma of Howard, and the total annoyance and downer of Chuck any day.

Maybe it wasn't boring to you.  And it wasn't boring to me.  But oh goodness I remember there was some bitching whenever they would have Walt take a step back from cooking meth and try to walk the straight and narrow. "I don't want to see him with his family, I want to see him cook!"  So this critique isn't something that was never leveled at BB because it was.

 

Make wonderful spiked lemonade out of lemons.  Did they plan it though?  No.

No but this show doesn't seem to plan tons.  I think the most planned season of Breaking Bad was the second which was pretty good but not their best.  Their least planned was Season 3 which was terrific. And the first season twist that Howard wasn't behind Jimmy not getting hired but Chuck was wasn't planned either.  So I do look forward to what they're going to show us about Howard and all of these characters because the non-BB are the people they have more freedom to color in.

Edited March 30, 2016 by Irlandesa

[NYCFree]

I believe it is more like 2002 or 2003 in the BCS timeline.

It was harder to find info about people from circa 1992, but a big law firm could certainly hire a good PI to try to dig up anything problematic in Kim's past. Gossip has been around a lot longer than the internet

I passed the New York bar in 1994. When I had my character screening, I disclosed my arrest record from 1986 (anti-apartheid protest). I did it because it is one of the few places one must disclose arrest records, not just convictions like in a normal job. The Internet was just getting up a head of steam at that point. Even though I wasn't fingerprinted, and the charges were dropped there were other ways, aside from a PI, that the record could have been discovered. For example, the protest and arrests were on the cover of the Poughkeepsie Journal. Many small towns also publish a "police blotter" column that names names.

I noticed the ROY G BIV shirts right away!

[Starchild]

I keep waiting to catch a glimpse of a Los Pollos Hermanos establishment as one of the characters drives down the street. That would make my day.

Or drive through some car wash?

[ketose]

For some reason, when I was watching Kim I was thinking of Saul Goodman's line about "Only the very best, with just the right amount of dirty" from Breaking Bad.

[shapeshifter]

Jimmy had proposed to Kim that they go into business together -- Wexler McGill -- but when Kim came back to him with the torn business card, she proposed that it be Wexler & McGill. I had never understood the difference before, but my understanding is that her idea is that they would be under the same roof but not work cases together, whereas Jimmy wanted them to be partners. That's why he was disappointed.

I think the separate, independent practices protects Kim from any malpractice suits that Jimmy is likely to incur with his "colorful" methods.

[kelslamu]

My first thought was that young Jimmy took the money so his father wouldn't know he was right.  How to explain the missing Kool's kind of throws that out the window.  Then maybe he decided to take it because his dad simply wouldn't listen. 

[Long Spot]

I think Mike saw himself in the mirror when Jimmy was telling him how afraid he was of the Salamancas and didn't like what he saw.

I think that is what motivated him to start his surveillance of Hector. I think Mike is going to man up and go on the offensive.

 

I very much agree with that.  Ties in nicely with the shaking hand he paused to take note of as he was washing off his gun last week.  Mike knows he's pits deep in some very dark stuff, and headed in a direction he had not intention of going again.  

 

Excellent episode this week.  

[millennium]

Weak episode.   Liked the tube man, some great art direction there, but the storyline was pretty meh.   Man acts outrageously to get himself fired.   Right from the playbook of George Costanza.   Feels like I've seen it a dozen times. 

[riverheightsnancy]

My first thought was that young Jimmy took the money so his father wouldn't know he was right.  How to explain the missing Kool's kind of throws that out the window.  Then maybe he decided to take it because his dad simply wouldn't listen. 

I thought that Jimmy (as a kid) was going to con the conman. Then he would take the money to prove to his dad that he was right about the guy.  THAT would have been epic.

[jnymph]

What a fun episode :) I enjoyed the colorful suit/inflatable man montage very much. 

 

The scene with Kim smoking on the rooftop parking garage, contemplating everything was beautifully done.   The way she was holding the W/M card made me think of Ying/Yang for some reason.  I relate to Kim, maybe because I can't resist Jimmy and I have a Mitsubishi Eclipse too. Only mine is white, with many MANY more miles on it, I'm certain.

 

I thought for CERTAIN we were going to hear Jimmy announce on his answering machine "You have reached S'all good man"  Love the slow build though. :)

Edited March 30, 2016 by jnymph

[Captanne]

I thought Jimmy's taking of the money was a much simpler thing -- he was dismayed by his Father's gullibility and then unwillingness to listen to his admonitions.  He made it worse by piling on the "giving" to the grifter with double the money and then going for the spark plugs.

 

When the grifter then attempted to take cigarettes, too, he said, "You've got to decide whether you're the shark or the [chum]" and that's when Jimmy's switch flipped.  He made a decision right then and there to not be a sucker like his Father.  

 

There wasn't any animosity or even great sadness -- just a cold decision to become a shark.

[attica]

I find myself wondering if I've ever seen a makeover montage of a dude. I can't think of one, if I have. But this one had everything: great jaunty music, fun colorful visuals, crosscuts of BO changing into eleventy different outfits, and best of all, the shocked reactions of everybody at school (lawfirm, whevs) when he makes his entrance. If only D&M had a grand staircase...

[LuciaMia]

 

But then he DID end up taking money out of the till in the end? The money that dude paid for the cigarettes. Are we to believe that this was a one time thing? Or something be began doing on the regular? I

I was trying to give Jimmy the benefit of the doubt. He took out the cigarette money sale, that his Dad didn't know was there, as a way of keeping some safe from the next grifter with a sob story. Whether he was going to keep it himself or somehow funnel it back to the store , I don't know. But the whole 'wolfs vs. sheep' comment d oesnt make it look good.

[Stratego]

I was trying to give Jimmy the benefit of the doubt. He took out the cigarette money sale, that his Dad didn't know was there, as a way of keeping some safe from the next grifter with a sob story. Whether he was going to keep it himself or somehow funnel it back to the store , I don't know. But the whole 'wolfs vs. sheep' comment d oesnt make it look good.

  Taking the cash from the till was showing us that Jimmy had decided he decided to be a wolf instead of a sheep--his first step in his transformation to "Saul Goodman".

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

Better Call Saul Will Teach You To Get What You Want By Being A Jerk
The right kind of jerk, to be precise.

[Tatum]

I don't have much experience with legal issues, but could Jimmy and Mike just breeze in the D.A.'s office, deny the gun was Tuco's, offer no plausible explanation for whose gun it was or how it came to be there, and then breeze back out? It seems to me that the DA would go ahead and call it Tuco's gun unless Mike admitted it was his. I mean, perhaps Tuco's own lawyer could argue it wasn't and suggest it was Mike's, but I don't see how Mike claiming he has no idea how it got there gets either one of them off the hook.

 

I love the idea of Kim having a secret past. I don't think she did anything illegal- I'm more thinking ex husband or boyfriend who was either violent to her or a criminal himself. Albuquerque is an odd place to end up though if you're just looking to leave your small town.

 

I am disappointed in both Mike and Mike's daughter in law. I think Mike was pretty bitchy to Jimmy for no reason. I actually thought it was pretty astute of Jimmy to note Mike's displeasure in going along with Hector.

 

There was a pretty heated internet debate on reddit on whether Stacey was mentally ill or just manipulating Mike. I was really hoping against the latter. But yeah, asking Mike to check out a house while reminding him she can't afford it on her own is a definite ploy for money. I wish she'd just come right out and ask him for help rather than being like, oh, this house is so perfect...if only I could afford it. Is Mike planning on paying cash for the house, or just supplying the down payment and helping each month (or covering, more likely) the mortgage?

 

Is Stacey a nurse? I know she wears scrubs, but that could indicate a variety of jobs, some of which are pretty low paying. When I worked in medical records at a clinic in high school I had to wear scrubs and I got like $8 an hour.

[peeayebee]

But this one had everything: great jaunty music, fun colorful visuals, crosscuts of BO changing into eleventy different outfits, and best of all, the shocked reactions of everybody at school ...

Reading this, I can't help hearing SNL's Stefon.

[Ottis]

Or drive through some car wash?

 

 

That's what I thought the blowing wind guy was in front of, since our local car washes use them.

 

There was a pretty heated internet debate on reddit on whether Stacey was mentally ill or just manipulating Mike. I was really hoping against the latter. But yeah, asking Mike to check out a house while reminding him she can't afford it on her own is a definite ploy for money.

 

 

And Mike clearly knows it. I can't figure out his angle. It's more than protecting the gdaughter, and guilt over the husband's death, i think. It's something about Mike.

 

This show is such a jewel. Not for everyone, and not always perfect, but so engaging to watch. 

 

When did Jimmy get bound and see Tuco break someone's legs again? i was thinking that was BB.

Edited March 30, 2016 by Ottis

[NYCFree]

I don't have much experience with legal issues, but could Jimmy and Mike just breeze in the D.A.'s office, deny the gun was Tuco's, offer no plausible explanation for whose gun it was or how it came to be there, and then breeze back out? It seems to me that the DA would go ahead and call it Tuco's gun unless Mike admitted it was his. I mean, perhaps Tuco's own lawyer could argue it wasn't and suggest it was Mike's, but I don't see how Mike claiming he has no idea how it got there gets either one of them off the hook.

 

.

Jimmy doesn't necessarily know anything about Hector. The fight was between Mike and Tuco. We just see Mike and Jimmy at the D.A.'s recanting Mike's previously given statement that Tuco held him up at gunpoint before robbing and assaulting Mike. Mike may not have shared with Jimmy the reason he wanted to recant, and given the subsequent conversation, he probably didn't. In the convo in the hall between Mike and Jimmy, only Tuco was referenced, and Jimmy was stating how he knew Tuco was a crazy killer and trying to make Mike feel better about recanting.

Regarding the gun--Jimmy very emphatically told the D.A. that Mike wouldn't agree that the gun was Tuco's. Jimmy went so far as to state that if the DA tried to state is was, Mike would be a witness for the defense stating it was not.

[NYCFree]

 

When did Jimmy get bound and see Tuco break someone's legs again? i was thinking that was BB.

It was in season 1 of BCS. Jimmy tried to set up a scam for the Kettleman's using two skateboarders to have an accident with Mrs. Kettleman's car, and Jimmy would swoop in to the rescue, thus securing the Kettleman's business. In the course of the scam, the skateboarders accidentally picked the abuelita of Tuco. Jimmy got involved and then brought to the desert with them. He did a masterful bit of lawyering with Tuco, to not to have himself or them killed, and convinced Tuco to merely break their legs instead.

[Tatum]

Jimmy doesn't necessarily know anything about Hector. The fight was between Mike and Tuco. We just see Mike and Jimmy at the D.A.'s recanting Mike's previously given statement that Tuco held him up at gunpoint before robbing and assaulting Mike. Mike may not have shared with Jimmy the reason he wanted to recant, and given the subsequent conversation, he probably didn't. In the convo in the hall between Mike and Jimmy, only Tuco was referenced, and Jimmy was stating how he knew Tuco was a crazy killer and trying to make Mike feel better about recanting.

Regarding the gun--Jimmy very emphatically told the D.A. that Mike wouldn't agree that the gun was Tuco's. Jimmy went so far as to state that if the DA tried to state is was, Mike would be a witness for the defense stating it was not.

Yes, but what I was getting at is, would the matter really be dropped? The DA thought the gun was Tuco's. Mike comes in and says the gun was not Tuco's. I would think someone either in the police department or the DA's office would insist on pinning ownership of the gun on someone. Would the DA really just shrug their shoulders and say, well now the witness involved in the scuffle denies it was either his gun or the arrested person's gun, guess we'll just drop it?

[Boilergal]

Horrible Horrible idea for Kim and Jimmy to have an office together.  First the difference in their clientele would be at different ends of the spectrum.  Second Kim is too by the book to be that close to Jimmy's legally gray shenanigans.

 

The one thing they have showed us about Jimmy is that he will do whatever he has to do to help/protect the people he loves.  He may not think through the ramifications of his actions all the way, and the impact they will actually have but he does have a good intentions.   That is what I think he was doing when he took the money from the till...his dad truly believes that he is helping people that are in need.  So by taking the money out, Jimmy is protecting his dad and allowing him to continue believing that he is helping people instead of being a gullible sheep that was ripped off by a guy that could afford 2 cartons of cigarettes.

 

Kim in her interview became more and more uncomfortable with the personal questions.  I think her deciding to co-law with Jimmy is her fear that Schweigert will do a deep background check if she accepts the offer, then whatever skeletons she has will come out. 

[Tatum]

 

Kim in her interview became more and more uncomfortable with the personal questions.  I think her deciding to co-law with Jimmy is her fear that Schweigert will do a deep background check if she accepts the offer, then whatever skeletons she has will come out. 

 

Ooh, good call. I was wondering why Kim would even consider branching out on her own. Yes, she dislikes Howard and probably worries that her new potential boss will just be Howard 2.0, but she seems very risk averse. Also, for all Jimmy's pep talk about how she brought in the bank on her own- she really didn't. I mean, yes, she made the sales pitch, but she had Big Law Firm behind her with all the associates and the longstanding reputation. I don't think Kim (or anyone) would have the bandwidth to take on a client that size as a one person shop. Kim mentioned pulling 2-3 associates together for that deal. She could take on smaller clients, but she seems to like the corporate side.

[NYCFree]

Yes, but what I was getting at is, would the matter really be dropped? The DA thought the gun was Tuco's. Mike comes in and says the gun was not Tuco's. I would think someone either in the police department or the DA's office would insist on pinning ownership of the gun on someone. Would the DA really just shrug their shoulders and say, well now the witness involved in the scuffle denies it was either his gun or the arrested person's gun, guess we'll just drop it?

No, the DA's office won't shrug their shoulders, but there is not that much they can do about it. They know it is Tuco's, but Mike was their link to prove it. Hector wanted Mike to take the extra step of admitting it was his, but Mike wasn't willing to do that. Jimmy has told the D.A. That if they affirmatively try and link Tuco to the gun, Mike will be a witness for the defense that he never saw it. The D.A.'s know Mike is lying, they just don't know why, they derisively asked "we're you threatened or bribed?" Mike was both. The D.A.s will never bring the gun up in trial because Mike's threat of testimony would mean reasonable doubt for the jury. Tuco's defense attorney could offer theories more plausible than the bird dropping it during closing arguments, police faking the fingerprints comes to mind.

Law enforcement is frustrated all the time in knowing something, yet being unable to prove it.

[Hanahope]

Also, for all Jimmy's pep talk about how she brought in the bank on her own- she really didn't. I mean, yes, she made the sales pitch, but she had Big Law Firm behind her with all the associates and the longstanding reputation. I don't think Kim (or anyone) would have the bandwidth to take on a client that size as a one person shop. Kim mentioned pulling 2-3 associates together for that deal. She could take on smaller clients, but she seems to like the corporate side.

 

She could always act as a general counsel, the point person for the client's legal affairs, and then subcontract out the big work. 

[attica]

Reading this, I can't help hearing SNL's Stefon.

Then you read it as I wrote it! :)

[ShadowFacts]

No, the DA's office won't shrug their shoulders, but there is not that much they can do about it. They know it is Tuco's, but Mike was their link to prove it. Hector wanted Mike to take the extra step of admitting it was his, but Mike wasn't willing to do that. Jimmy has told the D.A. That if they affirmatively try and link Tuco to the gun, Mike will be a witness for the defense that he never saw it. The D.A.'s know Mike is lying, they just don't know why, they derisively asked "we're you threatened or bribed?" Mike was both. The D.A.s will never bring the gun up in trial because Mike's threat of testimony would mean reasonable doubt for the jury. Tuco's defense attorney could offer theories more plausible than the bird dropping it during closing arguments, police faking the fingerprints comes to mind.

Law enforcement is frustrated all the time in knowing something, yet being unable to prove it.

 

The thing is, Mike didn't recant that he was beaten or robbed, and he couldn't, the cops saw the end of the beating.  And Tuco's prints are on the gun.  So a jury would wonder why he only recanted the gun part, the gun with the defendant's prints and nobody else's.  If I'm on the jury, I think the doubt I would have would be about the changed story, not who had the gun.  If prosecutors don't go forward with charges like this because of witness intimidation, or bribery, that's a pretty serious thwarting of the system and I don't want to think it happens a lot. 

[Conan Troutman]

The thing is, Mike didn't recant that he was beaten or robbed, and he couldn't, the cops saw the end of the beating.  And Tuco's prints are on the gun.  So a jury would wonder why he only recanted the gun part, the gun with the defendant's prints and nobody else's.  If I'm on the jury, I think the doubt I would have would be about the changed story, not who had the gun.  If prosecutors don't go forward with charges like this because of witness intimidation, or bribery, that's a pretty serious thwarting of the system and I don't want to think it happens a lot. 

 

 

The jury can wonder all they want, but unless the prosecution can provide evidence that proves the gun belonged to Tuco, it's irrelevant. Tuco's attorney could simply claim that Mike brought the gun, Tuco saw it, felt threatened (it doesn't really matter if he was the aggressor or not, even if he provoked the "fight" it would be perfectly logical for him to disarm Mike if he had a gun), pulled it out of his pocket and threw it under the car. Mike will "confirm" the gun wasn't Tuco's and now the prints matter jack shit. Technically, they could then go after Mike, but as I said earlier, he could simply plead the fifth during Tuco's trial and wouldn't have to say a thing during his own. Nothing is linking the gun to Mike (and the claims from Tuco's attorney won't matter in this trial at all) and he doesn't even have to offer an explanation because there's zero evidence against him (because it of course wasn't Mike's gun).

Result: Both Tuco and Mike get acquitted for the illegal gun possession charge and the cops look stupid. Ain't gonna happen.

[Tatum]

The jury can wonder all they want, but unless the prosecution can provide evidence that proves the gun belonged to Tuco, it's irrelevant. Tuco's attorney could simply claim that Mike brought the gun, Tuco saw it, felt threatened (it doesn't really matter if he was the aggressor or not, even if he provoked the "fight" it would be perfectly logical for him to disarm Mike if he had a gun), pulled it out of his pocket and threw it under the car. Mike will "confirm" the gun wasn't Tuco's and now the prints matter jack shit. Technically, they could then go after Mike, but as I said earlier, he could simply plead the fifth during Tuco's trial and wouldn't have to say a thing during his own. Nothing is linking the gun to Mike (and the claims from Tuco's attorney won't matter in this trial at all) and he doesn't even have to offer an explanation because there's zero evidence against him (because it of course wasn't Mike's gun).

Result: Both Tuco and Mike get acquitted for the illegal gun possession charge and the cops look stupid. Ain't gonna happen.

 

That's what I wanted to know. Thanks for clarifying.

[ghoulina]

That is what I think he was doing when he took the money from the till...his dad truly believes that he is helping people that are in need.  So by taking the money out, Jimmy is protecting his dad and allowing him to continue believing that he is helping people instead of being a gullible sheep that was ripped off by a guy that could afford 2 cartons of cigarettes.

 

Ahhh, I didn't think of it that way. But that makes sense. Thank you for helping me hold onto my image of Jimmy as the con who only cons douchebags. 

[ShadowFacts]

The jury can wonder all they want, but unless the prosecution can provide evidence that proves the gun belonged to Tuco, it's irrelevant. Tuco's attorney could simply claim that Mike brought the gun, Tuco saw it, felt threatened (it doesn't really matter if he was the aggressor or not, even if he provoked the "fight" it would be perfectly logical for him to disarm Mike if he had a gun), pulled it out of his pocket and threw it under the car. Mike will "confirm" the gun wasn't Tuco's and now the prints matter jack shit. Technically, they could then go after Mike, but as I said earlier, he could simply plead the fifth during Tuco's trial and wouldn't have to say a thing during his own. Nothing is linking the gun to Mike (and the claims from Tuco's attorney won't matter in this trial at all) and he doesn't even have to offer an explanation because there's zero evidence against him (because it of course wasn't Mike's gun).

Result: Both Tuco and Mike get acquitted for the illegal gun possession charge and the cops look stupid. Ain't gonna happen.

 

You seem to have experience with criminal charges and defenses, so I defer to you since I don't.  What was the gun charge supposed to be?  Illegal possession, or firearm used in the commission of a crime, or something else?  Mike has no exposure for making a false statement, obstruction, nada?  I don't care too much in this scenario where we actually have two criminals, one being a corrupt retired cop, but I don't like the implications for victims being used this way to get violent people off the hook.  Also not crazy about cops looking stupid for actually doing their job. 

[Stratego]

You seem to have experience with criminal charges and defenses, so I defer to you since I don't.  What was the gun charge supposed to be?  Illegal possession, or firearm used in the commission of a crime, or something else?  Mike has no exposure for making a false statement, obstruction, nada?  I don't care too much in this scenario where we actually have two criminals, one being a corrupt retired cop, but I don't like the implications for victims being used this way to get violent people off the hook.  Also not crazy about cops looking stupid for actually doing their job. 

Probably Tuco is a convicted felon.  Gun possession by a con is a  very serious crime with a lengthy prison sentence.

[SignGuy77]

Same here!  I feel that it's coming soon, though.  Someone will refer to it in a conversation, or we will see Mike or someone else go in there (maybe The Cousins).  If the toy pig and KENWINS can appear, then LPH can certainly make a cameo as well.

 

At this point, every tiny reference/callback has been so smoothly introduced, that they can easily just have Jimmy or someone drive by Los Pollos as a three second bit of foreshadowing, and we'd eat it up (no pun intended).

 

Come on, Vince. DO EET!

[Milburn Stone]

I find myself really, really caring about Kim--wanting her to make the right choices, not wanting her to make dumb ones. (Whatever those are. I have no idea what's right for her! I only want that whatever it is, that's what happens, and not the other.)

 

And then I realized how brilliant Vince Gilligan was to create her. We know what happens to Jimmy/Saul. While there's a lot of interest engendered by seeing how Jimmy became Saul, bottom line there's not a lot of suspense in it, because while we don't know the why, we do know the what. Same is true with Mike. But with Kim, we don't know! 

[knaankos]

He was interesting, and I was pissed when Walt killed him, but I always found Mike very menacing.  I mean, he was supposed to be.  But I couldn't really like him, even knowing his soft spot for his granddaughter.  He was a vicious enforcer.  I agree that he is already close to that here in BCS.  We've seen him kill, break into a house, be a party to drug deals, set up a guy to go to prison at the behest of a drug dealer, lie to investigators.  He's already pretty much his BB self, but now we know his motivation and pretty fast progression.  It remains to be seen how much time passes before he becomes head of security for Los Pollos Hermanos.

Yeah I have always thought viewers are a bit too kind on Mike. Yeah he has a soft spot for his granddaughter but are we going to go handing out medals to every old guy who likes their granddaughter? The list would be fairly long. Remember when Walt first meets Mike in BBafter finding out Mike had broke into his house. Walt was like "real upstanding line of work you got here" drenched in sarcasm. That line had no effect on BB Mike as he had long ago given up on being the good guy. I feel like that line would hit Mike a bit in this era in BCS, because he has not given up quite yet. The fact that he is so dead inside to most everything does not excuse his actions though. He feels no remorse for killing it seems.