S02.E10: Klick

[RCharter]

 

So...why was Mike moved to murder Hector?  He was well satisfied that he settled his account with him.  Then, someone (not necessarily Hector himself) made some excellent business decisions.  The innocent was murdered.  Why is that on Hector?  He wasn't even there!  It was made very clear that Mike has not yet become the force of destruction he was to be.  A very big deal was made of this by G&G and JB fully agreed.  What was Mike's motivation to get back into it with Hector????  Again, accounts were satisfactorily settled.  Mike was jovial.  Jovial!!!!  

 

It would 100% be in character for Chuck to send the damning tape to MV to make good and sure Kim lost the account.  After all, she daaaaaaaared to take sides against him.  She must pay.  Must.

 

I think that Mike getting back at Hector involved a variety of factors: 1) he did not appreciate being compared to someone like Jimmy, 2) he did not like it being assumed that he was somehow "scared" of Hector, 3) he didn't appreciate the DA's assuming he was scared, 4) the killing of the witness.  

 

By all logic, he should have just taken his 50k and been done with it, but even Mike has his pride....which apparently would not allow for everyone to think he was just a scared old man.

 

I sort of thought Mike was spending money in a big way in order to draw Hector's attention after the robbery.  Like "hey, you just got robbed and there is this dude buying everyone rounds in the bar!  Yeah, an older guy, had a few bruises around his eye....driving an old sedan with amazing upholstery."  Almost like he wanted a showdown with Hector.

 

And I think Mike may have foregone the showdown, if it was clear to all parties involved that Mike wasn't afraid and had gotten one over on old Hector.  To show Hector that the same way that Hector can threaten what he loves most, he can threaten what Hector holds dear too.  But then there was the matter of that dead witness....and that gave Mike the excuse to get that showdown he had been itching for.

 

But, thats just a theory.  And no matter what, I sure hope he got around to "digging out" that waitresses driveway.  :)

 

I could absolutely see your scenario playing out....because yes, Kim must be punished.  She didn't follow the rules, she sided with Jimmy, even though Chuck is the one that follows all the rules....and now she made her bed and she has to sleep in it.  Because....the rules! the rules!

[shapeshifter]

Nacho's potential involvement remains unknown, though he could very well have served as an informant and maybe blocked Mike's view on purpose.

Now you've got me speculating again, LOL. Could Nacho have been tipped off by the gun seller (they know each other, I think??) or just have been watching (or had someone watching) Mike, and so knew when he first arrived and had time to just place the note on the car and get back to the building to stand between Hector and the car? Then he would have directed a minion to stick the stick in the steering wheel to set off the horn (so he would be sure of not being caught and have time to go protect Hector).

So...why was Mike moved to murder Hector? He was well satisfied that he settled his account with him.

Others have asked this. I thought it was clear in the meeting that Hector was still a threat to Kaylee, Mike's granddaughter. No?

It's the seeds of Greek tragedy and it also affirms the Prodigal Son parable in that we are much better off when we welcome back someone who is her/himself trying to be better. When we don't? We can pay severely.

Right! The Prodigal Son! I had missed the connection but now it seems so obvious. Although in this end Jimmy/Saul got cinabons instead of a fatted calf. :( Edited April 21, 2016 by shapeshifter

[rehoboth]

Even if Jimmy did fall for it, he can pretend he didn't next season.

I like to think his mom and the extra date bonded on the ride home and/or his mother was a little proud/amused that Jimmy had two girls who were interested in him.

Exactly - in the short run it was a pain to leave the party and drive Jimmy's date home.  But in the long run that will be the thing that his mom talks about.  She will go on and on to her friends about Jimmy and his two dates and she will laugh and laugh about it.  Chuck doesn't get this and never will.

 

Jimmy may get himself out of this trap the way things got changed around from the end of last season to the beginning of this season.  I thought it was kind of glaring how he walked away from the Davis and Main job and then just changed his mind and the offer was still on the table.

[ShadowFacts]

 

Common perception was (or still is?) that Jimmy had to change his name because of some kind of agreement. But I think it may be more likely that he'll want to change it on his own, because he doesn't want to carry the same name as his brother or maybe as a new start of sorts, to leave all that stuff between them behind him.

 

It can definitely go either way, but Jimmy already said earlier this season that if Chuck would do something or stop doing something regarding Kim, he would make James MacGill, Esquire disappear.  The same could happen again and Jimmy gets the tape and loses his name.  He has just put out commercials with his real name, he's lived his whole life into his 40s with that name/identity, I feel like there has to something more than fresh start.  But it is certainly plausible that way, too.

 

Now you've got me speculating again, LOL. Could Nacho have been tipped off by the gun seller (they know each other, I think??) or just have been watching (or had someone watching) Mike, and so knew when he first arrived and had time to just place the note on the car and get back to the building to stand between Hector and the car? Then he would have directed a minion to stick the stick in the steering wheel to set off the horn (so he would be sure of not being caught and have time to go protect Hector).

 

I don't think Nacho is super smart, but I also think he doesn't want to take a chance of being found out as to his dealings with Mike.  I think he just happened to be blocking the shot, luckily for Hector.  Those guys working for Hector know they can easily be the next one to fall into a desert grave.  Nacho is already doing side dealings of his own, and tried to put the hit on Tuco, he better tread lightly, as someone would say.

 

 

So...why was Mike moved to murder Hector?  He was well satisfied that he settled his account with him.  Then, someone (not necessarily Hector himself) made some excellent business decisions.  The innocent was murdered.  Why is that on Hector?  He wasn't even there!  It was made very clear that Mike has not yet become the force of destruction he was to be.  A very big deal was made of this by G&G and JB fully agreed.  What was Mike's motivation to get back into it with Hector????  Again, accounts were satisfactorily settled.  Mike was jovial.  Jovial!!!!

 

I thought Nacho said Hector shot the good samaritan in the face.  But yes, why murder Hector.  I actually thought Mike was so appalled that he caused an innocent person to be killed that he was setting out to prevent Hector from killing the truck driver as well.  That he didn't want that guy on his conscience, too. 

Edited April 21, 2016 by ShadowFacts

[SignGuy77]

Exactly - in the short run it was a pain to leave the party and drive Jimmy's date home. But in the long run that will be the thing that his mom talks about. She will go on and on to her friends about Jimmy and his two dates and she will laugh and laugh about it. Chuck doesn't get this and never will.

Jimmy may get himself out of this trap the way things got changed around from the end of last season to the beginning of this season. I thought it was kind of glaring how he walked away from the Davis and Main job and then just changed his mind and the offer was still on the table.

I feel compelled once more to remind you that Season 1 was filmed and edited before Season 2 was confirmed. So the ending was left like that to appear like a series finale if there were not to be a second season.

If Chuck uses the tape as evidence, the fact he kept sensitive Mesa Verde files sitting in his dark cave of a house will come out and damage his credibility.

[Conan Troutman]

Now you've got me speculating again, LOL. Could Nacho have been tipped off by the gun seller (they know each other, I think??) or just have been watching (or had someone watching) Mike, and so knew when he first arrived and had time to just place the note on the car and get back to the building to stand between Hector and the car? Then he would have directed a minion to stick the stick in the steering wheel to set off the horn (so he would be sure of not being caught and have time to go protect Hector).

 

Information from interviews, so I'll put it in spoiler tags just to be sure:

 

G&G confirmed the note was from Gus (or one of his men, he probably wasn't there in person). So the main questions are: How did Gus know about Mike and to what extent was Nacho involved? The most straightforward answer would be that Nacho told Gus (or someone working for Gus) and blocked the view on purpose, while one of Gus' men placed the note and stuck the stick in the wheel. That would pretty much explain everything that happened in a simple way.

[Tikichick]

I think there's some guilt at play with Mike re: the executed good samaritan, and possibly the truck driver to some extent as well.  But I think moreso it's the fact that Hector has no hesitation to kill anyone -- and Hector sent a team out to threaten Mike's family.  That's no go for Mike and must be stopped in its tracks.

[xbones]

I LOVED the finale, and impressed again with the writing and filming. Great shots of Chuck on the gurney. 

Bravo to cast and crew and really looking forward to season 3. 

[ByTor]

While I think Nacho being the root of the Don't note makes more sense given what we've actually seen (no mention of Fring on screen), I have to agree that writing the note doesn't fit with Nacho having had someone else do it. And I don't think there's any way Nacho could have gotten to the car and back to stand between Hector and Mike.

But wasn't Nacho seen standing between Hector and Mike before Mike's car horn sounded? And I saw the argument that Mike saw Nacho then the horn sounded, so Nacho wouldn't have had the time to do it, but do we really know how much time lapsed in between? More likely than not my guess that Nacho left the note is wrong, but I think it would be a nice twist.

[SoSueMe]

But wasn't Nacho seen standing between Hector and Mike before Mike's car horn sounded? And I saw the argument that Mike saw Nacho then the horn sounded, so Nacho wouldn't have had the time to do it, but do we really know how much time lapsed in between? More likely than not my guess that Nacho left the note is wrong, but I think it would be a nice twist.

It would help me to have seen an aerial shot of that location, I can't place where Mike's car was, behind him or maybe behind the cabin in the distance. I'm grasping because I would  love for it to be Nacho that left the note :)

[ShadowFacts]

But wasn't Nacho seen standing between Hector and Mike before Mike's car horn sounded? And I saw the argument that Mike saw Nacho then the horn sounded, so Nacho wouldn't have had the time to do it, but do we really know how much time lapsed in between? More likely than not my guess that Nacho left the note is wrong, but I think it would be a nice twist.

 

I don't know how much time elapsed from when Mike set up his weapon til he heard the horn.  But I think pretty much time would be involved for Nacho to get over to Mike's car, even if he could slip away from Tio.  Mike grabbed his gun and started walking to the left of where he was I think, and reached his car fairly quickly, so it wasn't super far from him.  It seems unlikely that Nacho did the horn/note thing.  But there are things pointing to his involvement via a confederate, like how he was blocking the shot, and the fact that he knows from his conversation with Mike that Mike did the hijacking and Mike isn't "forgetting" Hector.  We haven't seen anybody else knowing that.  It was risky for Nacho to be in the way though because he wouldn't know from which angle a bullet might be coming, or that Mike wouldn't care if he did hit him, though he does know that Mike is hesitant to kill unnecessarily.   I wouldn't have taken that risk, who's to say Mike wouldn't have killed all birds with one stone?  Also, Nacho wanted Tuco dead because he is volatile, and he said something like he wanted to "kill him before he kills me", didn't he?  Wouldn't he therefore be happy to be rid of the equally brutal and volatile Hector? 

Edited April 21, 2016 by ShadowFacts

[ByTor]

Nacho wanted Tuco dead because he is volatile, and he said something like he wanted to "kill him before he kills me", didn't he?  Wouldn't he therefore be happy to be rid of the equally brutal and volatile Hector?

My (probably incorrect) theory is that Nacho has his own plan for Hector and didn't want Mike interfering/screwing it up. And maybe this plan involves Gus :) Edited April 21, 2016 by ByTor

[ShadowFacts]

My (probably incorrect) theory is that Nacho has his own plan for Hector and didn't want Mike interfering/screwing it up. And maybe this plan involves Gus :)

 

That could be.  I don't see him as very smart, but then all of these henchmen are pretty stupid to think they can play in this game and not be totally replaceable.  Nacho is already crossing Tuco and therefore Hector, and knows Mike knows that, and if he's working with Gus, wow, he's walking a dangerous line.  Maybe that's why we don't see him in BB. 

[LoneHaranguer]

 

New Mexico is a single party consent state.

I was pleased  to see they got that right (Chuck wouldn't have done it if it was illegal, as that would be stooping to Jimmy's level). Often, writers go by California law even though the show is set somewhere else where the law is different, as in this case.

[ByTor]

It's nice if the writers are consistent with real life, but it honestly doesn't bother me if they get NM law wrong. As far as I'm concerned, what's true in fictional NM can be totally different from what's true in "real" NM. Kind of like fortunately, "real" Maine is nothing like "Stephen King" Maine :)

Edited April 21, 2016 by ByTor

[editorgrrl]

It's nice if the writers are consistent with real life, but it honestly doesn't bother me if they get NM law wrong. As far as I'm concerned, what's true in fictional NM can be totally different from what's true in "real" NM. Kind of like fortunately, "real" Maine is nothing like "Stephen King" Maine :)

Me, too. I need the show to be believable rather than accurate. For example, I don't care whether the New Mexico bar would admit a graduate of the fictional University of American Samoa. (Go, Landcrabs!)

[buttercupia]

I loved the season even more than season one and I loved the finale. Mr Buttercupia and I are always amazed at how fast the 45 minutes or so goes by.  Chuck, you rat bastard.  And uh oh, Mike.  Watch your ass!

[ShadowFacts]

This one was a little lacking in humor but it was understandable being that it involved death, hospitals, illness and treachery.  But I did chuckle when Jimmy looked at the foil in the house and said "let's get this shit off the walls." 

[Starchild]

I really doubt Nacho was involved with the note. We know he couldn't have done it himself. And he wouldn't have a confederate do it; he's been very careful so far to deal with Mike alone. He doesn't want anyone else to find out that he knows Mike. Too dangerous. I'm confident that his blocking Mike's shot was pure coincidence.

 

It's possible Nacho deals with Gus, but I think it's more likely that Gus has people watching the Salamancos, and those people reported back to Gus about Mike, so now Gus is watching Mike too. Gus hates Hector and has his own plans for him, so he doesn't want Mike messing that up.

 

He could just eliminate Mike, but I think he recognizes Mike's skills and thinks he may be able to use him.

[ghoulina]

I thought Nacho said Hector shot the good samaritan in the face.  But yes, why murder Hector.  I actually thought Mike was so appalled that he caused an innocent person to be killed that he was setting out to prevent Hector from killing the truck driver as well.  That he didn't want that guy on his conscience, too.

 

That was what I thought as well! Although, I don't know how well it would work out. I also thought maybe he wanted to take out Nacho, not Hector, because Nacho is the one who knows how deeply involved Mike has been in all of this. 

 

If Chuck uses the tape as evidence, the fact he kept sensitive Mesa Verde files sitting in his dark cave of a house will come out and damage his credibility.

 

Exactly. Yes, you've "proved" it was your brother who deliberately changed the address, but why was that box just sitting around your house where your brother has access to it? Oh, because you have an issue with electricity and prefer to work at home by candlelight? Okay, now we just think you're batshit crazy. I'm really curious if Chuck's hubris is going to prevent him from realizing how bad HE'S going to look in all this. 

[RCharter]

I think there's some guilt at play with Mike re: the executed good samaritan, and possibly the truck driver to some extent as well.  But I think moreso it's the fact that Hector has no hesitation to kill anyone -- and Hector sent a team out to threaten Mike's family.  That's no go for Mike and must be stopped in its tracks.

I think its still pride.  Mike could have taken his 50k from Hector and walked away.  Everyone was good at that point.  Mike recanted, Tuco was not going to be pursued and Hector wasn't going to go after Kaylee.

 

But I think that Mike's pride got in the way, especially when the DA assumed that he was just a coward, and when Jimmy tried to console Mike by saying that Jimmy would have done the same thing.....Mike doesn't want to be like Jimmy and being compared to Jimmy is an affront to him.  The idea that people would think Mike is scared for himself annoys him.

 

So....Mike went and messed with Hector's truck.  And I think he took that money to show everyone that he isn't scared, and to force a showdown with Hector.  I think its why he was so showy about spending that money.  Going to a bar and buying a round of drinks for everyone is a good way to get noticed.  I think once he met with Nacho, he sort of gave up trying to force a showdown and was ready to just bygones be bygones, but then Nacho told him about the good Samaritan and Mike got upset again with Hector and decided to take him out.

 

I don't think Mike really cared about the fate of the truck driver.  I think that given Mike's world view, the truck driver is involved in that lifestyle and took on the risks that came with it....including facing death at some point.  I did think that Mike might shoot the driver first so his death would be quick, instead of whatever torture Nacho was going to put him through.

[Captanne]

That's an interesting take, RCharter.  I tend to think that Mike is a believer in Utilitarianism as well as minimizing harm where he can.  I got the feeling that the death of the driver pained him.  I also think either view is totally legit (the opposite being that he wrote it off as "driver's in the biz, he takes his chances.")

 

Best people to ask, I think, would be the writers and the actor together to see what they would say.  The writers because they put words in Mike's mouth; the actor because he gives Mike life.  I watched Mike visibly flinch as if in pain when he saw and then heard the fatal shot.  That leads me to believe he wants to minimize the harm whether or not folks are involved in the trade.  Perhaps he has a personal "code" of degree?  Hector is more deserving of death than the driver because one is the mover and shaker with the Big Picture while the other is just a flunky who is way down the food chain.  By the end of BB, Walter White would be more deserving of death than, say, Skinny and Badger?   

[ShadowFacts]

That's an interesting take, RCharter.  I tend to think that Mike is a believer in Utilitarianism as well as minimizing harm where he can.  I got the feeling that the death of the driver pained him.  I also think either view is totally legit (the opposite being that he wrote it off as "driver's in the biz, he takes his chances.")

 

Best people to ask, I think, would be the writers and the actor together to see what they would say.  The writers because they put words in Mike's mouth; the actor because he gives Mike life.  I watched Mike visibly flinch as if in pain when he saw and then heard the fatal shot.  That leads me to believe he wants to minimize the harm whether or not folks are involved in the trade.  Perhaps he has a personal "code" of degree?  Hector is more deserving of death than the driver because one is the mover and shaker with the Big Picture while the other is just a flunky who is way down the food chain.  By the end of BB, Walter White would be more deserving of death than, say, Skinny and Badger?   

 

The driver may only be a guy trying to feed his family, or something worse, we don't know, but in the heist Mike pulled off, he was totally uninvolved hence there is a fairness issue same as with the good samaritan, that Mike may have wanted to address because of his personal code.  After all, his son was pretty much innocent, or trying to go along to get along (as Mike advised), and he ended up dead.   I am wondering what would have happened if Nacho had not mentioned the innocent guy getting killed.  He almost didn't, was walking away, until Mike pressed for an answer about why it wasn't in the papers.  Nacho could have just said he didn't know, then what is Mike's next move?  What exactly was the ultimate plan, after figuring out where the money was hidden and stealing it?  Nacho said Hector had forgotten all about him.  Hence didn't have to go after him or against Kaylee.  So what did Mike want to do, before finding out about the good samaritan?

[RCharter]

^^That is an interesting question.  Because my impression was that Mike was spending the money in a very loud and obvious way to attract attention from Hector so that they would have their showdown.  To show everyone that Mike E. is no punk!  The smart move was to just take the 50k and run, which is why I think that this impression that Mike was a coward really struck a chord with him.  Perhaps it all ties into the fact that he felt cowardly for not doing more to protect his son.

 

But then he met with Nacho and told Nacho that he was going to just let it go, and he seemed genuine in that.  So maybe he had changed his mind about going after Hector.....right up until he heard about that Good Samaritian.......or maybe he was going to continue to force a showdown with Hector, but realized that it would screw over Nacho, who hadn't really done anything wrong to him.

[Captanne]

I agree that the Good Samaritan changed the whole game.

[ByTor]

^^That is an interesting question.  Because my impression was that Mike was spending the money in a very loud and obvious way to attract attention from Hector so that they would have their showdown.

The issue I have with this, though, is why would Mike assume that Hector or one of his associates would have even been at that bar?

[RCharter]

The issue I have with this, though, is why would Mike assume that Hector or one of his associates would have even been at that bar?

IIRC, it seemed like a dive bar....the sort of place I would imagine someone with connections to the underworld hanging out.

 

You know, I could see it going down like.....Hector puts word on the street that someone stole his money and he will reward whoever brings him information.  Either someone from Hectors crew, or some other unsavory type is hanging out at that dive bar and sees an old man spending money like he recently just came into a lot of money.  Unsavory type figures that this may be some good information to give to Hector....and boom! goes the dynamite.

[SnarkyTart]

Got it.  The first several hundred times.

But did you like it? 

[SignGuy77]

I'm more inclined to think Hector wants nobody to know he was robbed, and would not look to some petty (with a prior!) criminals for help.

Likewise, I'm not sure Mike is deliberately showing off his new money to get Hector's attention. He wants the cops' attention on Hector, but that doesn't materialize because of the Good Samaritan.

[Bama]

Yeah, I don't think Mike buying a round of drinks for what?  30 people in a white guy dive bar is going to be such a huge event that it would grab the attention of the big cartel boss.  That's what?  $200 or so?  I mean, Hector JUST paid Mike $50,000 - Hector knows Mike has some disposable income.

 

I think the drink buying and the flirting with Fran the waitress was just the writers way of showing - not telling - us that "Mike feels good about what he did and he's happy".

 

Then the news that he got an innocent citizen killed comes and now Mike is very much not happy.

[Beth64]

In terms of Jimmy becoming Saul, as a member of the state bar, both would have the same bar number, so anyone who knew Jimmy's bar number (either firm he worked for, at a minimum), could search the state bar website and would know that jimmy was Saul.

As to the tape recording, I'm sure Jimmy will spin it somehow. Maybe S3 opens with him walking back into the room and taking the tape. :)

I really can't wait to see how he becomes Saul and what happens to Kim

[shapeshifter]

As to the tape recording, I'm sure Jimmy will spin it somehow. Maybe S3 opens with him walking back into the room and taking the tape. :)

Or tape over it with Prince's Purple Rain or something.

[RCharter]

The more I think about it, the more I think it does make sense that Mike robbed the truck in order to get the police involved so they could get evidence against Hector.  It makes sense, in light of the meeting with the DA and how much Mike doesn't want to be seen in that light, and the fact that it would so neatly deal not only with Mike's feelings regarding not being a coward (the way the DA and Jimmy suggested) and it would ensure that Hector wouldn't bother him since he would have so many other things going on and would be more likely to blame a competitor for the robbery than he would be to blame Mike.  If Mike really wanted to force a showdown I guess he could have just let the driver see his face and that would be that.

 

 

Or tape over it with Prince's Purple Rain or something.

 

Now that's moxie!

[rehoboth]

My DH, the attorney, just saw the last episode.  His take on the last scene was totally different from what I came away with.  My husband is worried for Jimmy and Kim.  He said that Jimmy's speech about doing it for Kim could be taken as sabotaging the documents with her knowledge and/or approval.  He could see both of them in trouble.

 

On the other hand, he thinks that Chuck has no worries (legally speaking).

[SnarkyTart]

There's a reason why we had a scene of Jimmy asking the copy shop employee about surveillance video and paying him to delete it.  I don't know how it will play out, but it's there for a reason.  Maybe at some point the authorities will get a search warrant for the surveillance video to corroborate Chuck's tape recording.  If the copy shop employee followed through with deleting the video, it would corroborate Jimmy's version of events, professing he said what he did on the recording in order to keep his loony tunes brother from offing himself.

[shapeshifter]

There's a reason why we had a scene of Jimmy asking the copy shop employee about surveillance video and paying him to delete it. I don't know how it will play out, but it's there for a reason. Maybe at some point the authorities will get a search warrant for the surveillance video to corroborate Chuck's tape recording. If the copy shop employee followed through with deleting the video, it would corroborate Jimmy's version of events, professing he said what he did on the recording in order to keep his loony tunes brother from offing himself.

Yes, except isn't there some lawyerly/philosophical thing about: The absence of evidence is not evidence of [whatever they're investigating] not existing? Edited April 24, 2016 by shapeshifter

[xbones]

Not sure if this is where this post should go but thought it was worth viewing. 

 

  http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2016/04/22/better-call-saul-season-two-ballad-slippin-jimmy/

[Silo]

I don't have much original to add here. I listen to the weekly podcasts and it makes me feel like the show-runners are my buddies, which makes me want to see things their way, but their love for McKean is sucking the life from the show. They absolutely, 100% HAVE to get a new antagonist. Like many here, I saw every "twist" coming. Chuck is a miserable bastard, and he makes Jimmy act like a moron. While it's a vaguely interesting dynamic, I'm convinced now it never should have been more than a B-plot. They HAVE to start moving things forward now, towards Gus or whatever.

I really loved the front half of this season, and I am a huge fan of Rhea Seehorn now. But goddamn, I just don't ever want to see Chuck on my screen again, and no that doesn't mean he's a good antagonist.

And while I'm ranting, which I didn't realize I was going to when I started typing, not thrilled with them returning to the very, very, very long takes of nothing much happening. I didn't like it in season one and I was happy when they tightened things up a bit. There's building suspense, and then there's signalling to the viewer that they can go cycle the laundry and won't miss anything.

YAAAAS!!!! All this 100x with a cherry on top.

[knaankos]

One thing that mildly annoyed me in this episode was how Jimmy kept calling Chuck "Buddy"

[RCharter]

One thing that mildly annoyed me in this episode was how Jimmy kept calling Chuck "Buddy"

This makes me wonder exactly when Chuck's "problems" started?

 

Has it ever been mentioned when his issues with electricity began?  I'm wondering if the "illness" was a way for Chuck to get attention back from his parents.  I realize that he really thinks this is a thing, but I've heard the mind and make the body think funny things. 

 

Maybe it was something that started small....like sort of a sensitivity to light/sound....but as he got older, and wanted more attention.....it got worse and worse to the point its at now.

 

If it was some sort of coping mechanism, perhaps Jimmy is used to having to use these dulcet and soft tones you would use with a 10 year old, because perhaps thats how Jimmy heard his parents treating Chuck as they grew up.

 

Just a thought...

[ShadowFacts]

There didn't seem to be any indication of Chuck being electro-phobic in his mother's hospital room.  It was pretty dark in there, but she was hooked up to monitors.  He didn't seem to show discomfort.  I'm wondering if it doesn't have more to do with whatever happened to Rebecca. 

[Bama]

Yeah it has to have started post-Rebecca because in the flashback teaser we saw with Rebecca meeting Jimmy for the first time, Chuck was having no problems and there were lights and other electrical appliances turned on.

[RCharter]

Yeah it has to have started post-Rebecca because in the flashback teaser we saw with Rebecca meeting Jimmy for the first time, Chuck was having no problems and there were lights and other electrical appliances turned on.

true, that makes sense.

[Captanne]

I can't think of why we were shown Rebecca at all except to start building a timeline for Chuck's mental illness.

[Umbelina]

I can't think of why we were shown Rebecca at all except to start building a timeline for Chuck's mental illness.

To spell out FRINGSBACK.

 

Rebecca will just be another story about Jimmy harming Chuck.  Luckily, the actress seems adept, so at least I can enjoy Jimmy and Rebecca while the inevitable story plays out.  Worst outcome is they don't even bring her back to act it, and just give McKean another monologue while someone stands there listening to him telling his sad tale about how Jimmy ruined everything with Rebecca, or killed her drunk driving, or whatever the hell thing they dig up to justify Chuck's well of hatred toward his brother.

Edited April 25, 2016 by Umbelina

[Captanne]

Well, I know about the acrostic and I get the need for the "R" because.....spelling.

 

My question was really more in the "why were we shown her for an entire episode when the plot wasn't significantly advanced by her presence" sort of vein.  There are plenty of other words in lots of languages that would have supplied the "R".  We were shown her and her name was highlighted for a reason, I presume?  That was more my question.

 

Granted, it was pretty rhetorical.  

[qtpye]

Chuck (brilliant, mean-spirited, vengeful, and pure and absolutist in his view of the law, if not the truth) and Jimmy (brilliant, decent, kind-hearted, but slippery and way less upright in his approach to the legal system.) Watching them compels us to consider what we mean by “honest,” and what’s most disturbing is to see Chuck use Jimmy’s brotherly love and concern as a targeted, uniquely effective weapon against him.

 

 

This is from the article posted above and I think it beautifully sums up the characters of the two brothers.  It also explains, why everybody loves Jimmy, even though Chuck usually does the right thing on the surface.

[xbones]

Glad you read it "qtpye". It does explain allot. 

Edited April 25, 2016 by xbones

[Wiendish Fitch]

I think people are more likely to defend Jimmy as opposed to Chuck not because Jimmy's more "likable" (though that's admittedly a big reason), but because Chuck is such an odious hypocrite.

 

When you get right down to it, Chuck and Jimmy are way more similar than either of them would ever admit. Jimmy lies, cheats, and pulls cons for numerous reasons, be it for his own personal gains, for what he perceives as the greater good, or for shits and giggles. Now, Chuck may not be a con artist in the strictest sense, but he's proven to be just as capable of being manipulative, underhanded, and far from the boy scout he presents to the world. Chuck wasn't above pulling a sneaky, almost Rube Goldberg-ian plot to sabotage Jimmy's career while hiding behind Howard (as opposed to telling Jimmy to work somewhere else). Chuck consistently uses his illness as both weapon (blithely letting everyone wait on him hand and foot, barking orders at Ernesto) and shield (no one dares get mad at Chuck, because he's "sick"). He even pulled the grandaddy of cons to milk a confession out of Jimmy, using his love against him (assuming Jimmy really wasn't aware to what was happening).

 

Chuck, for all his moral grandstanding, has had no qualms about backstabbing, lying, manipulating, abusing, and undermining those he views as "beneath" him. Jimmy is... well, "Slippin' Jimmy", a trickster character in the flesh. But whereas Jimmy would, at least under duress, own his flaws, Chuck never, ever would. That's why viewers loathe Chuck.

 

Frankly, while I hate Chuck too and gnashed my teeth at the end of this episode, Jimmy's gas-lighting of him turned me against him as well (gas-lighting is on my personal list of unpardonable sins), and I viewed that, more than anything else he's done, as the first real step towards becoming "Saul Goodman".

 

I'm still entertained by this show, and I'm definitely curious about what S3 will bring us.

Edited April 25, 2016 by Wiendish Fitch

[SnarkyTart]

Yes, except isn't there some lawyerly/philosophical thing about: The absence of evidence is not evidence of [whatever they're investigating] not existing?

If I'm understanding you correctly, that would only apply if the tape itself is missing.  But what if the tape exists, but it's been altered to appear as though Jimmy was never in the copy shop that night?  I'm no expert in digital forensics, but I think it's possible surveillance video can be edited and the timestamps can be altered too.  It doesn't seem as though the clerk would make the tape itself disappear, as that would draw suspicion to himself.

 

Perhaps I'm overthinking it, but it seemed to me the show made a deliberate point of showing Jimmy paying the clerk to delete his videotaped appearance in the copy shop.