S02.E08: Fifi

[shapeshifter]

"Don't get mad at Ernie. He spent the better part of a day watching you do your impression of a baked potato."

 

That line slew me.

And the camera work/direction made him look like that was exactly what he was doing at that moment: Peeling back the foil to expose the potato.

Can we refer to Chuck as Mr. Potato Head?

[J-Man]

I've decided to ask Santa to bring me my own Omar for Christmas this year.

[peeayebee]

Loved the ep. That opening was magical.

 

I have no problem with how Mike is surveilling Hector and his people. I'm very curious how the presumed drugs are being hidden. I'm also eager to see Mike's plan enacted.

 

I love Kim. I'm still amazed at how my feelings about her and the actress have changed since the beginning of S1. Her integrity is admirable and believable. She doesn't deserve what's coming, which I assume will be very very bad. She thought that she could coexist with Jimmy without being tainted by his "colorful" ways, but Jimmy is her downfall.

 

I'm still not sure about Howard. I like that he was gracious to Kim after he learned that she wasn't going to the other law firm, but rather starting out on her own. His making the loan a gift was generous and, I think, sincere. I still hope to learn more about him and why he was so tough on her.

 

Chuck going out all to prevent Mesa Verde from leaving was impressive. It was taking all he could to stay in control. Of course the prime motivation was preventing Jimmy from succeeding. Watching Jimmy going thru the files at the house and then doing the cut-and-paste at the copy center was great.

 

The only part I was so-so about was Col Fudge. I'm sure we'll see more about this later, see the finished ad, but the sequence felt like a weird insertion into this ep. 

 

I wish people wouldn't post stuff about previews. I avoid them and would like to avoid them here as well

[Quando]

 

I have no problem with how Mike is surveilling Hector and his people. I'm very curious how the presumed drugs are being hidden.

After the ice cream delivery truck went into the warehouse and they shut the overhead door you could hear a whirring sound like those compressed air power lug nut drills that they use to quickly change tires on NASCAR vehicles during a pit stop.  Mike had a look on his face like he understood what was going on.  I think that means they were removing the truck's tires and filling them with drugs, money or other contraband to be smuggled.

[peeayebee]

Yeah, I heard that, but I'd figure the drug-sniffing dogs would catch it. Hiding drugs in a tire doesn't seem that unusual to me.

[ShadowFacts]

After the ice cream delivery truck went into the warehouse and they shut the overhead door you could hear a whirring sound like those compressed air power lug nut drills that they use to quickly change tires on NASCAR vehicles during a pit stop.  Mike had a look on his face like he understood what was going on.  I think that means they were removing the truck's tires and filling them with drugs, money or other contraband to be smuggled.

 

It does fit in with Mike making his spike strip. 

[Bama]

Thank you Ronin Jackson for posting that "Touch of Evil" clip.

 

I'm so NOT an old movie person, so reading about from so many posters in this thread was making me feel like a bit of a dunderhead. :)

[RCharter]

One of my tv/movie pet peeves showed its head again. The idea that someone hiding in a car is invisible and its the invincible way to spy. Gilligan has actually used this several times with Mike already and he used it Breaking Bad plenty of times with Hank spying on Jesse and Walt doing it. I just don't think it's very realistic that just because you are sitting in a car suddenly nobody can ever see you, especially if the window is open like Mike's was!

My question is...how come no one from the DEA has thought of doing it if its so effective?

After the ice cream delivery truck went into the warehouse and they shut the overhead door you could hear a whirring sound like those compressed air power lug nut drills that they use to quickly change tires on NASCAR vehicles during a pit stop.  Mike had a look on his face like he understood what was going on.  I think that means they were removing the truck's tires and filling them with drugs, money or other contraband to be smuggled.

Maybe he has an inside man?  Although if I had an inside man I would just put all the drugs in the truck.

 

I'm still not sure about Howard. I like that he was gracious to Kim after he learned that she wasn't going to the other law firm, but rather starting out on her own. His making the loan a gift was generous and, I think, sincere. I still hope to learn more about him and why he was so tough on her.

 

Howard is a wild card for me too.  Just when I think I have him figured out, he does something that lets me know I don't.  I thought for sure he would tank Kim's chances at S&C if he found out about it, but it sounds like he knew about it and understood it.  He didn't seem particularly happy that she was moving on...as you would if you truly had a problem employee.  And he talks like such a used car salesman that I'm inclined to distrust everything he says....but he seemed to share a sincere story with her about his past and didn't try to play her.  She had to have known that he wasn't going to just roll over and let her have Mesa Verde.....

 

However, I think he would have simply recited whatever information Chuck gave him and they would have gone with Kim.  I don't think winning back Mesa Verde meant everyone in the world to him like it did to Chuck.

[Chaos Theory]

I am not sure how often this show has done it but BB was known for it. The law of unintended consequences. I think Jimmy messing around with the Mesa Verde documents is going to have unintended consiquences. I have my own ideas on what these consequences will be but I can see the simple act having a ripple effect that continues Jimmy on his journey to becoming Saul.

Edited April 6, 2016 by Chaos Theory

[shapeshifter]

Yeah, I heard that, but I'd figure the drug-sniffing dogs would catch it. Hiding drugs in a tire doesn't seem that unusual to me.

The tires were swapped after the inspection with the dogs, right?

[shapeshifter]

I felt true anger when Chuck decided to make sure Mesa Verde stayed with HHM. I can't stand people who will go to any lengths to make sure that a person has no happiness and will do anything, even compromise their own health, if it means that person won't benefit. Truly despicable. You can say it's the cost of doing business, but it doesn't mitigate the fact that Chuck did what he did out of pure spite.

Maybe I'm suffering PTSD from the earlier episode thread dissection of Stacey's motives (LOL), but I'm not sure Chuck consciously did it to thwart Jimmy; he might think he just did what he had to do to keep the lucrative account because Howard came to him. IDK.

[Ohwell]

I think Chuck did it to keep the account and to spite Jimmy.  I'm just going by the expression on his face when Howard told him Kim was leaving to share space with Jimmy.   I think the spite part was more of a motive.

Edited April 6, 2016 by Ohwell

[attica]

I'd like to give the actor who plays Mesa Verde's Paige some points. She did really nice work in the HHM meeting with no dialogue. Deftly expressing her 'oh, shit, Chuck is turning Kevin's head with this shit' with a pleasant-but-strained smile or two.

 

And anybody who can run flat out at that speed in high heels deserves All The Clients. Kim, you wuz robbed.

[ShadowFacts]

I think Chuck did it to keep the account and to spite Jimmy.  I'm just going by the expression on his face when Howard told him Kim was leaving to share space with Jimmy.   I think the spite part was more of a motive.

 

I think so.  When Howard first said they were losing Mesa Verde, Chuck said, "losing it, we just got it" not with a great deal of alarm, more like annoyance.  Then his reaction escalated.   His total collapse afterwards looks to me like he's kind of paying the price for being a dick, he punishes himself when he screws Jimmy over. 

[NYCFree]

I missed the title: who is Fifi?

I think they are smuggling in the walls of the refrigerated truck. The walls are very thick with "insulation" between layers of metal. Perhaps the drugs are acting as the insulation.

It was specifically an ice cream truck coming across the border. Hector does business inside an ice cream parlor. Speaking of which, the parlor is "El Griego ________" I can't catch the last word. "The Greek_______"

[kat165]

Fifi was the airplane/jet that Jimmy was posing Fudge in front of. Interesting to

get the title from a bit that seemed to have no connection to the rest of the episode.

 

Unlike most of you I've not seen Breaking Bad & am mostly watching for Jimmy

(or rather Odenkirk) and the clever humor I saw during the marathon of Season

1. Kim bores the crap out of me and so do the Salamancas. Although I do enjoy

Mike.

[peeayebee]

Fifi was the airplane/jet that Jimmy was posing Fudge in front of. 

Thanks. I was just about to ask that. I was thinking it was the name of the woman in the earlier ep (and seen in the previouslys) who was in Jimmy's first commercial, using her stair lift device as a dolly). 

[kat165]

Peeayebee, I would have thought the same thing however when Booth's

brother mentioned the name of the plane I was like, what the hell kind of

name is that for a plane? So it sort of stuck out in my mind. :)

[RCharter]

Maybe I'm suffering PTSD from the earlier episode thread dissection of Stacey's motives (LOL), but I'm not sure Chuck consciously did it to thwart Jimmy; he might think he just did what he had to do to keep the lucrative account because Howard came to him. IDK.

I noticed that Stacey is back to calling Mike by his name....no more "Pop" until she needs to decorate her new house :)

 

Which I'm sure she will mention.......when she "inadvertently" takes him to the home design store where she has a decorator waiting to meet them.  ;)

I missed the title: who is Fifi?

I think they are smuggling in the walls of the refrigerated truck. The walls are very thick with "insulation" between layers of metal. Perhaps the drugs are acting as the insulation.

It was specifically an ice cream truck coming across the border. Hector does business inside an ice cream parlor. Speaking of which, the parlor is "El Griego ________" I can't catch the last word. "The Greek_______"

That would explain taking the truck apart, but getting by the dog sniff.  They must hide it pretty good though because the inspector in the first scene sort of knocked on the walls of the truck.

[Milburn Stone]

I noticed that Stacey is back to calling Mike by his name....no more "Pop" until she needs to decorate her new house :)

 

I saw genuine affection.

[Ronin Jackson]

I'm listening to the insider podcast, and of course they are talking quite a bit about the opening tracking shot.

• Apparently there is a "Birdman" style hidden cut in there... I don't think they say exactly where it is. My guess would be two moments where a person passes in front of a camera. 
• They did indeed use an old style moving camera crane that's been around since the early 50's, so it could have been the same one used in Touch of Evil.
• It was the director Larysa Kondracki who pitched the "oner". Both Gilligan and Gould were fairly apprehensive about the idea at first.
• There was quite a bit of digital effects involved in making the scene look like an actual border crossing (including many digital trucks)
• I would have guessed the music was pre-existing music found by Thomas Golubic but indeed it was an original composition by Dave Porter.
• The character of the truck driver it seems will be featured more prominently in future episodes... they talk about it as an introduction to the character. 

[ketose]

I think if the situations were reversed, Chuck would take care of Jimmy. The whole speech in Pimento last season was about how Chuck was perfectly happy with a Slippin' Jimmy who was powerless and domesticated. It's when Jimmy has some real potential that Chuck gets erratic. Even that flashback with his wife, Chuck was trying to set up Jimmy as too much and grating, but she loved him and Chuck started to get uncomfortable.

 

I could totally buy Chuck caring for his screwed up brother. It's successful Jimmy that Chuck can't deal with.

[Umbelina]

I think that would entirely depend on your definition of "caring for."

 

He wouldn't do what Jimmy did for him, not in a zillion years.  He wouldn't have run over every morning after collecting the must-have newspapers, and he wouldn't have come back every night with more ice and food for one day.  He would have happily institutionalized Jimmy and paid the bills, and make damn sure everyone knew he was paying those bills for his sicko brother who believed electricity was killing him. 

[TVFan17]

 

I wish people wouldn't post stuff about previews. I avoid them and would like to avoid them here as well

 

The most revealing preview thus far has been the one that showed The Cousins' boots before they appeared on the show.  I actually didn't think that The Cousins would be on the episode after that preview because I thought there was no way they would actually show us their boots and essentially alert us to the fact that The Cousins were coming up.  I thought it was a fake out, and that it would end up being someone else with the same boots.  But I was wrong -- it was The Cousins!  So that preview really surprised me because it 'announced' the appearance of The Cousins.

 

Every preview since then has been pretty nondescript and not very telling.  The previews are super short and pretty vague. 

[Irlandesa]

And Howard is still a lying buzzard...he knew about the deal with Schweikart, which tells me he still is Barzini and that Kim did not fall for his ploy to take that job...and get screwed...so he needed Chuck to do his thing to steal Mesa Verde from Kim, to screw her as a solo practitioner. Howard's only interest in changing the world would be to make it even worse.

If Howard wanted to screw Kim, he wouldn't have forgiven her debt to the firm. It might not be much to the firm but it could be massive to someone starting her own business.  Howard's running a business.  Mesa Verde appears to be a massive account. I didn't see that about screwing Kim as much as it was about keeping those billables.

 

Taking back Mesa Verde from Kim is of course within the rules.  But ethical?  No.  They did nothing to win that client in the first place, she handed it to them on a silver platter and they only signed because of her.

If they only signed because of her, they would have simply gone with her when she left.  I'm not discounting Kim's work.  She put in a lot of time to try to make a connection.  And when she did, she was able to get them in for a meeting at HHM to close the deal.  In that meeting they could see they had an enthusiastic lawyer in Kim and the support of the managing partner at a large law firm to support their business.  It was a great package but one they had to evaluate when Kim left.  Did they want the enthusiastic lawyer or big firm with tons of resources?

 

Agree except that Chuck is not mentally stable.  I don't think Kim could handle the Mesa Verde work by herself, but it felt a little sleazy for Chuck to be going on and on about how much he knew about banking compliance, and leaving out the part about how he has to stay at home because he thinks he's allergic to electricity.

Do we need to disclose all of our mental illnesses now in job interviews?  First, Chuck thinks he's legitimately ill and not mentally ill.  Either way, as long as he can do the work, it's not something he needs to disclose. And based on last season, I think he can do the work.  He just can't do it around electricity.

[AbFabGab]

Chuck is tied with Rollo on "Vikings" for the worst brother prize.

 

I don't know about that. Shirtless Rollo might make me overlook some things baked potato Chuck wouldn't.

[Captanne]

I admit freely that the character of Chuck is less than compelling for me.  As fond as I am of the Canadian comedy team and all their actors, I'm not sold on Chuck's portrayal nor do I like the character at all.  Howard is enough of a cypher that, if they gave him all of Chuck's machinations, I wouldn't need the character of Chuck at all.

 

On a minor point, he's so one note that by the time he's on screen, I'm tempted to hit the fast forward button on the remote -- because, same old is same old.

[nachomama]

After the ice cream delivery truck went into the warehouse and they shut the overhead door you could hear a whirring sound like those compressed air power lug nut drills that they use to quickly change tires on NASCAR vehicles during a pit stop.  Mike had a look on his face like he understood what was going on.  I think that means they were removing the truck's tires and filling them with drugs, money or other contraband to be smuggled.

Maybe the nail spiked hose will puncture tires and spill the drugs when he's crossing the border next time. I also wondered if the frozen ice cream treats might not contain the drugs, like you boil it down and then chemical sifting sorts the stuff out but him eating one made me think not. I think that's where Mike got the habit of burying guns, money out in the desert. 

 

For a minute Chuck look like jaba the hut potato, they exaggerated the amount of foil he needed for protection it was so comical.

[Blinkoshuman]

That single-take opening sequence was true art.  Absolutely brilliant.  I hope they talk about it on the podcast.

 

I cannot wait to see how the altered documents play out.  

 

Random thought:  While looking at IMDB last night, I noticed that they describe BCS as taking place 6 years before the events of BB.  That makes me so confused about Kaylee.  She seems to be a much older child in BCS than what we saw in BB, yet she's supposed to be younger...6 years younger!  She only seemed to be about 5 or 6 the few times we saw her in BB, so she should be an infant, or at least a toddler in BCS.  It's just one of those things I'm not going to be able to not notice.

[riverheightsnancy]

He's sitting far enough away and shielded so that his car isn't that noticeabl hence the binoculars.   He was a cop for what 20 years? I think he knows how to tail somebody without getting noticed.  You see him because the camera is on him.  The people he's tailing aren't looking for someone. 

Yes, in addition, there is like a parking lot or other business across the street (I remember seeing something in the wide shot of the scene) which had a variety of cars. This is not an isolated building with nothing near it. If it were, then a car parked on the street or any traffic whatsoever might cause a raised eyebrow, He was parked behind a truck or dumpster far enough away that binoculars were necessary, so I think that he is ok (at least as far as we know right now). I work in a major city and I have to say, I am only cognizant of things really close to me when I am out on the street. a person could be surveiling me and I would have no clue. 

[Tikichick]

I still think Chuck is the puppeteer when it comes to Howard and look forward to the backstory of the mechanisms being revealed.  Howard forgiving the loan to Kim was him going rogue because he genuinely hates how Chuck has forced his hand. 

 

Chuck always has to have the appearance of being the better brother, always.  He must have the appearance of being above reproach, yet he knows the truth and cannot escape it, hence his illness.  The price must be paid.  I think Rebecca saw behind the mask, ended it with Chuck and Chuck lays the blame on Jimmy, because before Jimmy came to town all was bliss.  I think he intends to destroy any chance Jimmy and Kim have, no matter what it takes.

[Bannon]

When Kim gets furious, as seems likely, when she finds out about Jimmy's Mesa Verde fraud, I am interested in how the writers portray Jimmy's reaction to Kim's anger. Will they have Jimmy pull a Walter White, and lie to himself and Kim, about the fraud's purpose being to help Kim? Or will they give Jimmy enough frank honesty to, reasonably quickly, admit to Kim and himself that he pursued the fraud mainly as a means to seeks revenge on Chuck? I hope they choose the latter route, because I think it is more interesting, in terms of this show's character metamorphosis, for the main character to be extremely self-aware, as opposed to White/Heisenberg's titanic self-deception until all was in ruins.

Edited April 6, 2016 by Bannon

[shapeshifter]

Random thought:  While looking at IMDB last night, I noticed that they describe BCS as taking place 6 years before the events of BB.  That makes me so confused about Kaylee.  She seems to be a much older child in BCS than what we saw in BB, yet she's supposed to be younger...6 years younger!  She only seemed to be about 5 or 6 the few times we saw her in BB, so she should be an infant, or at least a toddler in BCS.  It's just one of those things I'm not going to be able to not notice.

Total retcon, IMO. But the show is good enough for me to get past it (after I momentarily am taken out of the scene).

[Bannon]

It's kind of too bad Gilligan didn't see the potential of a prequel revolving around Saul and Mike until very late in the BB game. It might have been interesting to write a few scenes involving conversations with Mike and a 12 or 13 year old Kailee, where Mike tries to impart some wisdom to a grandaughter mature enough to discuss very serious matters in a more complex manner.

[Milburn Stone]

Initially it will mean the documents are null and void because they don't refer to the actual address of Mesa Verde. The bigger issue is that they will destroy Mesa Verde's faith in HHM.

 

Mrs. Stone pointed out something this morning, which is that once all hell breaks loose over the "error" that HHM supposedly committed, HHM's very first response will be to go back into its own computer files to ascertain whether the error is contained in the original documents, and/or if any revision to those documents occurred within its own computer files. (It's inconceivable that the Word documents, or whatever application they're in, would not be on the company's hard drive and/or server.) This will prove that skullduggery outside HHM occurred. Hadn't occurred to me.

 

But of course that doesn't mean Mesa Verde's faith in HHM won't be shaken, because it'll still be the case that HHM failed to adequately protect the documents from outside skullduggery.

Edited April 6, 2016 by Milburn Stone

[ShadowFacts]

Mrs. Stone pointed out something this morning, which is that once all hell breaks loose over the "error" that HHM supposedly committed, HHM's very first response will be to go back into its own computer files to ascertain whether the error is contained in the original documents, and/or if any revision to those documents occurred within its own computer files. (It's inconceivable that the Word documents, or whatever application they're in, would not be on the company's hard drive and/or server.) This will prove that skullduggery outside HHM occurred. Hadn't occurred to me.

 

But of course that doesn't mean Mesa Verde's faith in HHM won't be shaken, because it'll still be the case that HHM failed to adequately protect the documents from outside skullduggery.

 

A couple of us have touched on this upthread.  Of course Jimmy knows that this will happen.  I'm just wondering how far the ripple effects will go -- Mesa Verde is ultimately responsible for its own filings to the regulators, and Chuck mentioned even small errors can be treated harshly.  This is possibly going to go really badly for HHM and the Kim and Jim relationship.  I however am notoriously bad at predicting this stuff; I thought Kim would be in very hot water with Howard after skipping out on something he wanted done by 2:30 when she went out to her lunch con, and we never saw any consequence.

[Dobian]

If Howard wanted to screw Kim, he wouldn't have forgiven her debt to the firm. It might not be much to the firm but it could be massive to someone starting her own business.  Howard's running a business.  Mesa Verde appears to be a massive account. I didn't see that about screwing Kim as much as it was about keeping those billables.

 

If they only signed because of her, they would have simply gone with her when she left.  I'm not discounting Kim's work.  She put in a lot of time to try to make a connection.  And when she did, she was able to get them in for a meeting at HHM to close the deal.  In that meeting they could see they had an enthusiastic lawyer in Kim and the support of the managing partner at a large law firm to support their business.  It was a great package but one they had to evaluate when Kim left.  Did they want the enthusiastic lawyer or big firm with tons of resources?

 

Do we need to disclose all of our mental illnesses now in job interviews?  First, Chuck thinks he's legitimately ill and not mentally ill.  Either way, as long as he can do the work, it's not something he needs to disclose. And based on last season, I think he can do the work.  He just can't do it around electricity.

 

I said in a follow-up post that I considered it unethical in the general sense (it was a dick move), from a business sense what they did was above-board, it's what law firms do.  They didn't lie to the clients or slander Kim.  Howard forgiving Kim's debt was just a token gesture.  A few thousand dollars from a million dollar firm is nothing, no different than giving an employee a bonus.  His douchebaggery made it impossible for her to continue working there and essentially derailed her plans to become a partner.  Staying at HHM and becoming partner meant continuing to work under Howard, which she couldn't stomach.  Getting Mesa Verde from her, the client that would have launched her solo career, was just icing on the cake.  And it was a client that HHM never really earned as Kim did all the work on that one.

 

I agree that Chuck's mental illness, and it is a mental illness, isn't one that impairs his lawyering ability.  He can get the job done just fine with the lights off.

[jnymph]

.  

 

Random thought:  While looking at IMDB last night, I noticed that they describe BCS as taking place 6 years before the events of BB.  That makes me so confused about Kaylee.  She seems to be a much older child in BCS than what we saw in BB, yet she's supposed to be younger...6 years younger!  She only seemed to be about 5 or 6 the few times we saw her in BB, so she should be an infant, or at least a toddler in BCS.  It's just one of those things I'm not going to be able to not notice.

 

If I had one gripe about this show, THIS would be it.   I can overlook a lot / suspend belief or whatever, but Kaylee's age takes me out of the moment.  I find it distracting too.

 

I enjoy this show so much !    I find myself thinking over the smallest incidences (such as Mike/Kaylee drilling the holes in the hose) "Oh no, what's going to happen?!!"  I get all tense and worried... sometimes something bad happens.  Sometimes something funny.  Sometimes NOTHING at all happens.  Kind of like LIFE. 

 

What's Stacy going to say when there's no soaker for the rhododenrons?  Unless this hose is going to serve a dual purpose after Mike implements it's intended purpose. : )

Edited April 6, 2016 by jnymph

[Milburn Stone]

A couple of us have touched on this upthread. 

 

My apologies for missing that, ShadowFacts. I thought I had read through everything--obviously hadn't.

[Stratego]

It's far worse for HHM if MV believes that their information was hacked rather  than if there was a transcription error.  If it leaks that HHM doesn't adequately secure client information, the partnership will lose trust with all present, past, and future clients.  The damage could be devastating.

[heisenberg]

When Kim gets furious, as seems likely, when she finds out about Jimmy's Mesa Verde fraud, I am interested in how the writers portray Jimmy's reaction to Kim's anger. Will they have Jimmy pull a Walter White, and lie to himself and Kim, about the fraud's purpose being to help Kim? Or will they give Jimmy enough frank honesty to, reasonably quickly, admit to Kim and himself that he pursued the fraud mainly as a means to seeks revenge on Chuck? I hope they choose the latter route, because I think it is more interesting, in terms of this show's character metamorphosis, for the main character to be extremely self-aware, as opposed to White/Heisenberg's titanic self-deception until all was in ruins.

Why a fraud?

Chuck is using a typewriter instead of a computer... He made the mistake. (Well...)

 

Chuck will surely accuse Jimmy, but Chuck is always accusing Jimmy, It is going to be crying at the wolf once again.

 

What is the banker going to say if he finds out Chuck is working with a typewriter in 2002?

 

Could Howard get rid of Chuck because of this?

 

 

Anybody knows what is the song in the opening... please!!!!!! :-)

Edited April 6, 2016 by heisenberg

[Tara Ariano]

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

 

Better Call Saul Teaches Kim A Tough Lesson About Oral Agreements
And one about snakes -- though, to be fair, that one she'd kind of already learned before.

[Deanie87]

Howard is a wild card for me too.  Just when I think I have him figured out, he does something that lets me know I don't.  I thought for sure he would tank Kim's chances at S&C if he found out about it, but it sounds like he knew about it and understood it.  He didn't seem particularly happy that she was moving on...as you would if you truly had a problem employee.  And he talks like such a used car salesman that I'm inclined to distrust everything he says....but he seemed to share a sincere story with her about his past and didn't try to play her.  She had to have known that he wasn't going to just roll over and let her have Mesa Verde.....

 

 

This is the kind of thing that I love about the show.  I really expected Howard to be dismissive and smug to Kim and he was pretty gracious, and sincerely so I think. He has been one of the characters that I could take or leave, but he really interests me now.  His knocking Kim down to the basement was a complete dick move, no doubt, but to offer to pay her loans was way more than I thought he would ever do.  And of course, he wants to keep the new client, I wouldn't expect anything less. But I don't think it was to thwart Kim, necessarily.

 

In fact, my mostly unpopular opinion is that I while Breaking Bad is in my top 3 of all time great shows, I am ready to be fully immersed in this world, and some of connections to BB have started to almost bore me a little.  I like Mike and am still interested in his story, but the whole time he was watching the Salamancas, I wanted to get back to Jimmy, Kim, Saul and Chuck.  They are the best parts of BCS, IMO, and as slow as its going, I can't wait to see where it all goes.  Maybe once Jimmy starts interacting with the BB characters I will care more, but for now, I am happy to stay within Jimmy's little legal world.  Granted, if Gus Fring shows up, all bets are off and Chuck and Howard can go wrap themselves in tinfoil :)

[Lingo]

I have a hard time seeing how this Jimmy's scheme could NOT blow back on himself and on Kim. It won't take a genius for HHM to figure out what Jimmy did, and if they completely lose MV and MV announce that they're going back to Kim, all HHM has to do is say that the saboteur shares an office with Kim. And then MV will stay the hell away from both HHM and Kim. And Kim's reputation will be sullied...again.

Someone suggested they're putting drug-filled tires on the truck AFTER getting past the border guard, which ... how would that work? Doesn't that entail smuggling from the US TO Mexico? The hard part is getting the drugs into the US in the first place.

[jnymph]

Jimmy was so sweet when he said to an exuberant Kim, " I love seeing you like this."

Sigh. McWex!

[Milburn Stone]

I have a hard time seeing how this Jimmy's scheme could NOT blow back on himself and on Kim. It won't take a genius for HHM to figure out what Jimmy did, and if they completely lose MV and MV announce that they're going back to Kim, all HHM has to do is say that the saboteur shares an office with Kim. And then MV will stay the hell away from both HHM and Kim. And Kim's reputation will be sullied...again.

 

This seems very plausible...and I hate it, because I love Kim.

 

But here's why HHM might not want to sully Kim. In disclosing how the documents got altered, HHM will have to disclose that the files were being stored in Chuck's house. Which could lead to it coming out why the files were being stored in Chuck's house, i.e., that he's a wack job who deceptively presented himself to them as being able to function competently on their behalf in the real world. HHM might very much want to preserve the illusion that Chuck is normal.

[ghoulina]

What's Stacy going to say when there's no soaker for the rhododenrons?  Unless this hose is going to serve a dual purpose after Mike implements it's intended purpose. : )

 

Am I the only one who thought that Stacy didn't buy his flower bush story for a minute? I thought she had a sly grin on her face like, "I know what you're up to, but I'm going to turn the other way, because it's buying me a house".

[shapeshifter]

Mrs. Stone pointed out something this morning, which is that once all hell breaks loose over the "error" that HHM supposedly committed, HHM's very first response will be to go back into its own computer files to ascertain whether the error is contained in the original documents, and/or if any revision to those documents occurred within its own computer files. (It's inconceivable that the Word documents, or whatever application they're in, would not be on the company's hard drive and/or server.) This will prove that skullduggery outside HHM occurred.

This show is set in 2002. Even now, I don't think every single Word document change is retained. IRL (not drama life), Occam's razor would suggest that Chuck had printouts with a typo that was later corrected. I just don't know if the writers (and therefore Jimmy) would know enough to suggest this--but I can imagine him saying it.

Am I the only one who thought that Stacy didn't buy his flower bush story for a minute? I thought she had a sly grin on her face like, "I know what you're up to, but I'm going to turn the other way, because it's buying me a house".

I may have missed a grin on my tiny screen, but I got more of a confused vibe, like: I wonder if that's true? Edited April 6, 2016 by shapeshifter

[ghoulina]

I may have missed a grin on my tiny screen, but I got more of a confused vibe, like: I wonder if that's true?

 

Perhaps it WAS more of a doubtful look than a "certain you're up to no good look". But either way, I don't think she cares to question it. 

[Clanstarling]

I don't think that was Mesa Verde's (the bank) address but rather the address of a property that was the subject of a mortgage or a sale or some other transaction in which MV was a participant.

One of the documents was a site plan - so I assumed it had to do with the "expansion" Mesa Verde was involved in.

 

 

The only thing I think of with regard to the address falsifying is that the wrong address will potentially invalidate the legitimacy of the documents from a regulatory standpoint, if it is that address on documents which is filed with the government, and when this fundamental error is repeatedly made in the compliance area, it will paint HHM in a very bad light, and validate Kim's argument that she would provide more attention to detail for Mesa Verde that that provided by HHM. I'll be interested to see how the writers flesh this out.

What I wondered was whether the documents had already been filed. If not, and they were filed as is, it would take quite a while for the error to be found, which would be an even bigger black eye for HHM.

 

 

I saw genuine affection.

I'm one of those who think Stacey's manipulating him - but I have to admit, I saw genuine affection there as well.

 

 

Why a fraud?

Chuck is using a typewriter instead of a computer... He made the mistake. (Well...)

That makes so much sense! If Chuck's preparing the paperwork at home, then he is typing it. Making it that much harder for the error to be discovered (if the paperwork hasn't been submitted) and then when it is, making Chuck appear off of his legal game. Edited April 6, 2016 by clanstarling