S04.E02: Breathe

[Tara Ariano]

Quote

Jimmy seeks new employment; Gus navigates the fallout from Hector's collapse; Kim endeavors to support Jimmy in the wake of Chuck's death.

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Quote

Jimmy seeks new employment.  Gus navigates the fallout from Hector's collapse.  Kim endeavors to support Jimmy in the wake of Chuck's death.

This is the regular episode thread.  It will unlock after the US East Coast showing.

Original air date 2018.08.13

[Shriekingeel]

Emmy for Rhea Seehorn.

[Primetimer]

Kim steps in for Jimmy in the settling of Chuck's estate while Jimmy sells himself as a salesman in our EPIC OLD-SCHOOL RECAP of 'Breathe.'

View the full article

[WritinMan]

Kim continues to be awesome.

Is Jimmy just checking out all these places in job interviews looking for scams to run?

I really liked the scene with the doctor talking to the twins, Nacho, and the other henchman. She's all upbeat and positive. They're looking at her like she's nuts.

[ShadowFacts]

Best line:  Gus telling Lydia to get Mike a badge. 

Nacho, Nacho, pobrecito Nacho.  He's been in over his head ever since we met him.  Now Gus owns him.  Wait til Tuco gets out of jail and applies his lie detector. 

[benteen]

I'll second that for Rhea Seehorn.  She was amazing in that scene with Howard.  Kind of felt bad for Howard there.

Definitely an improvement from last week.  Not perfect but better.

I still wish Jimmy's storyline revolved more around Gus, Mike and Nacho.  

I want to know what Chuck wrote Jimmy even though I know it's just going to be a final opportunity to demean and put Jimmy down.  

I definitely didn't expect Gus to be the one to carry out that killing at the end.  Nacho is the wild card of this show and his storylines are the most suspenseful of the show.

I enjoyed seeing hummels pop up but I can attest from personal experience that they aren't worth anything anymore.  This current generation doesn't collect like previous ones and the internet pretty much killed the market for them.

Edited August 14, 2018 by benteen

[nodorothyparker]

I almost couldn't breathe watching Kim confront Howard.  That was one of the fiercest performances I've seen in awhile.  It doesn't even matter what we think of Jimmy or what he's done.  She didn't say anything to Howard that wasn't true.  

I kind of love that Mike's logic about the nonjob makes perfect sense to Gus.

[SayMyName]

I was just about to post the same thing benteen. My mom has them, some purchased in Germany but they aren't worth much now.

[WritinMan]

6 minutes ago, benteen said:

I enjoyed seeing hummels pop up but I can attest from personal experience that they aren't worth anything anymore.  This current generation doesn't collect like previous ones and the internet pretty much killed the market for them.

Were they worth more in the early 2000s? The timeline for BCS started in 2002.

[benteen]

1 minute ago, WritinMan said:

Were they worth more in the early 2000s? The timeline for BCS started in 2002.

It's possible.  I can't speak for sure on that but I know they've been pretty much worthless for about a decade or so.

[Bryce Lynch]

Kim is back on track to be dead by the end of the season. :(

I could see her becoming Jimmy's partner in crime, sort of like Skyler in the later seasons of BB.  i wonder if we will see Ice Station Zebra Associates officially established soon.

[BeatrixK]

That smoking crater is where Howard Hamlin used to stand....after Kim went Thermonuclear on him.

I hope I am NEVER on the wrong end of a Kim Wexler ass chewing!  That was brutal...and I actually felt a teeny bit sorry for Howard.  

[ShadowFacts]

1 minute ago, BeatrixK said:

That smoking crater is where Howard Hamlin used to stand....after Kim went Thermonuclear on him.

I hope I am NEVER on the wrong end of a Kim Wexler ass chewing!  That was brutal...and I actually felt a teeny bit sorry for Howard.  

She reduced Howard to whimpering, asking what he could do to make it better.  Loved it.  I bet he rues the day he sent her to the cornfield. 

[Bryce Lynch]

I wonder how Arturo's death gets explained?  The gang that he spoke about to the unconscious Hector in the hospital?

[Bryce Lynch]

15 minutes ago, ShadowFacts said:

She reduced Howard to whimpering, asking what he could do to make it better.  Loved it.  I bet he rues the day he sent her to the cornfield. 

Yeah, but she was totally wrong.  Howard is a decent guy and Jimmy is a scumbag.

Also, in rewatching the show, it became very clear that she totally deserved the cornfield.  She talked Howard into putting his reputation on the line to push for D&M to hire her scummy BF who even she refused to be partners with.  That was like Sonny Black vouching for Donnie Brasco.  She was very lucky he didn't fire her.

[walnutqueen]

No, Jimmy, no!  Not the Hummels, not the Hummels, not the Hummels!!!

Edited August 14, 2018 by walnutqueen

[thuganomics85]

Is this the first time the Salamanca cousins have ever spoke either on here or Breaking Bad?  I can't remember.

Wasn't expecting how Jimmy's job hunting would end up turning out.  He pulls off some of that old-school Jimmy charm and manages to get a job offer, only to actually get upset that the employers were that easily to convince, and declines the job.  Also, it looks like his true purpose is to pull off some kind of heist and steal that Hummel?  He really starting to go off the leash this season.  Bob Odenkirk continues to be pitch perfect.

Speaking of which, acting or no, had I been Patrick Fabian, I would have been hiding under the desk if Rhea Seehorn yelled at me like that!  Angry Kim is almost as scary as the actual criminals and crime lords on this show!  I do have a feeling that her hiding Chuck's letter from Jimmy is going to have some devastating consequences though.

Poor Nacho.  He's trying to get out of the game now, only to be under the thumb of Gus now.  This is not going to end well for him.  And every time I see his dad, I worry that he will be collateral damage as well.

I like that Tyrus seems to be having a prominent role this season.

Lydia is clearly not happy that Mike is actually doing his job and sticking his nose in her businesses, but if Gus continues to back him, I guess he'll keep doing it.  Retirement can be so boring!

[toodles]

This is probably an unpopular opinion but I think Kim was completely wrong to not give Jimmy his money or letter.  I think her intentions were good, but they belong to Jimmy.  He needs to decide what to with them.  Jimmy saw the electric crap in the backyard.  Deep down he knew what happened.  He wasn't ready to say the words or face what happened.  Howard dealt with the immediate situation.  That is really traumatic.

I posted about my experience with suicide in the Smoke thread and I won't rehash it.  The anger is huge and it comes out in inappropriate ways.  I thought the interview scene was very realistic.

The Kim and Howard scene was really well done too.    Should Howard have brought suicide up in the first place?  I don't know.  But I saw that same type of conversation s many times in the months that followed my SIL'S suicide.

I think the writers are doing a great job with this storyline.

[peeayebee]

I'm very curious what's in that letter. I somehow don't think it is another "screw you" message, but actually an apology or a revelation of his (Chuck's) love for Jimmy. I'm sure we'll find out eventually.

Kim going off on Howard actually surprised me, but it shouldn't have. She loves Jimmy and is defending and protecting him.

I'm confused as to what Jimmy is doing with his job interviews. He did his song-and-dance to get an instant job offer then he throws it back in their faces. Seems like he wanted to try out Slippin' Jimmy on them with no intention of using it to his benefit. Or he knew he didn't really want the job and sabotaged it himself. I wonder if he did this in all of his interviews. He's going thru the motions, but he really wants to be a lawyer. Maybe.

[Irlandesa]

43 minutes ago, benteen said:

I want to know what Chuck wrote Jimmy even though I know it's just going to be a final opportunity to demean and put Jimmy down. 

With this show, you never know.  It could be the final shade that pushes Jimmy to become Saul.  Or it could become a very unexpected mea culpa/moment of tenderness from Chuck that Jimmy won't ever see because of Kim's desire to protect him from the letter or because he ends up in exile. 

24 minutes ago, ShadowFacts said:

She reduced Howard to whimpering, asking what he could do to make it better.  Loved it.  I bet he rues the day he sent her to the cornfield. 

Except this isn't about the cornfield.  It's about Jimmy.  I remember when Jimmy did the video that she could have protected herself a little at work by mentioning that she knew nothing of the video but she didn't.  She will put herself on the line to protect Jimmy or even run some scams with him.  And she'd be doing it whether she was at HHM or on her own.

4 minutes ago, toodles said:

The Kim and Howard scene was really well done too.    Should Howard have brought suicide up in the first place?  I don't know.  But I saw that same type of conversation s many times in the months that followed my SIL'S suicide.

Right.  Maybe he didn't need to but I think there are good (or at least more complex) reasons why he'd want to talk this over with Jimmy since Chuck and Jimmy had a complex relationship.  And Jimmy knows Chuck's current state better than almost anyone else. 

What really strikes me is that Kim knows Howard didn't lay some truth bomb on Jimmy.  Jimmy already suspected suicide.  What Howard said that really threw Jimmy was that Chuck wasn't doing well after the insurance thing.  Jimmy had quite a reaction to that and Kim noticed.  I suspect the anger wasn't about Howard throwing suicide in his lap but rather throwing that the insurance thing had affected Chuck as much as it had. But she can't yell at Howard about that without giving Jimmy away so she focused on the suicide. 

My favorite line of the season so far is "you better get him a badge."

I was happy to see Michelle MacLaren back as director even though this episode had less action than her usual episodes do.

[Milburn Stone]

1 hour ago, benteen said:

I definitely didn't expect Gus to be the one to carry out that killing at the end. 

Do we know why Gus appears to want Hector to recover? It would seem he's the one funding the doctor from Johns Hopkins. I think I'm not getting something.

1 hour ago, ShadowFacts said:

Best line:  Gus telling Lydia to get Mike a badge. 

Someone remind me. How did Mike get together with Lydia in the first place? Is it something Gus engineered? Do either Mike or Lydia know at this point exactly what they're expected to do as regards the other?

[lovinbob]

1 hour ago, nodorothyparker said:

I almost couldn't breathe watching Kim confront Howard.  That was one of the fiercest performances I've seen in awhile.  It doesn't even matter what we think of Jimmy or what he's done.  She didn't say anything to Howard that wasn't true.  

I kind of love that Mike's logic about the nonjob makes perfect sense to Gus.

It was amazing. I had been sympathetic to Howard from last episode and didn't think he did anything out of line. Kim set me straight! And I was disgusted by Howard! But then by the end I think I felt bad for him again! Rhea Seehorn was great. But also, Patrick Fabian: he makes Howard a much more interesting character than a lesser actor would. 

And re: the nonjob: in a way, Gus is doing the same thing!

1 minute ago, Milburn Stone said:

Do we know why Gus appears to want Hector to recover? It would seem he's the one funding the doctor from Johns Hopkins. I think I'm not getting something.

My understanding is that Gus hates Hector so much that he wants to be the one to bring him down. He didn't want Mike to take out Hector last season. He is saving him so that he can beat him--and ultimately kill him. 

I can't figure out JImmy's game. Was he ingratiating himself to get hired so that he could scam them? Is he going to do that with all the jobs? It almost seemed like he flipped out on them as a way of protecting them from the likes of Slippin Jimmy.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

2 hours ago, WritinMan said:

I really liked the scene with the doctor talking to the twins, Nacho, and the other henchman. She's all upbeat and positive. They're looking at her like she's nuts.

The doctor appeared to be of Indian heritage.  Then she started speaking to them in fluent Spanish. She subverted their expectations. 

[Quilt Fairy]

44 minutes ago, Milburn Stone said:

Do we know why Gus appears to want Hector to recover?

Gus wants Hector to suffer.

[dwmarch]

36 minutes ago, lovinbob said:

I can't figure out JImmy's game. Was he ingratiating himself to get hired so that he could scam them? Is he going to do that with all the jobs? It almost seemed like he flipped out on them as a way of protecting them from the likes of Slippin Jimmy.

I think all was well at first. Jimmy was feeling the nostalgia for the copy room. He was ready to get down on his hands and knees, throw his tie over his shoulder and get toner all over his hands on behalf of a local business with an established family history. And then the boss comes in and dismisses all those keepsakes (including some legitimately valuable ones!) as crap that needs to be thrown away but it's not important enough for him to get around to it. That offended Jimmy and he decided if these guys were running that kind of shop they deserved every bad thing that could happen to them.

 

2 hours ago, BeatrixK said:

That smoking crater is where Howard Hamlin used to stand....after Kim went Thermonuclear on him.

I hope I am NEVER on the wrong end of a Kim Wexler ass chewing!  That was brutal...and I actually felt a teeny bit sorry for Howard.  

I was wondering why Howard's office looked kind of dull and washed out after that scene until I realized it was because Kim peeled the paint off the walls.

 

2 hours ago, nodorothyparker said:

I kind of love that Mike's logic about the nonjob makes perfect sense to Gus.

We see in this episode that Lydia is from some distant corporate part of Madrigal and her connections to day-to-day operations consist of her visiting once in a while when she's in the area. So she sees Mike's actions as "OMG, he stole a badge!". Gus, being much more conscious of potential infiltration, says "OMG, look how easily he stole a badge!" Lydia is stuck on the action while Gus is looking at the potential consequences that action exposed.

[Dev F]

55 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Gus wants Hector to suffer.

And he needs Hector to know why he's suffering. There's no point in getting revenge if your mark doesn't know that you're doing it.

[dwmarch]

6 minutes ago, Dev F said:

And he needs Hector to know why he's suffering. There's no point in getting revenge if your mark doesn't know that you're doing it.

Ding ding ding!

(too soon?)

[LotusFlower]

11 minutes ago, dwmarch said:

Ding ding ding!

(too soon?)

Brilliant!

[Bannon]

The cold open was a great throwback to the themes of Breaking Bad, with overweening pride being the fatal flaw of a major character. It is so important to Gus that he lord over Hector, and that Hector be aware.of it, that Gus will go to the ends of the Earth to get Hector to regain consiousness. Of course, there will come a day when Walter White will use Gus' pride, in lording over Hector, to kill Gus.

Edited August 14, 2018 by Bannon

[shapeshifter]

7 hours ago, Shriekingeel said:

Emmy for Rhea Seehorn.

If it were up to me, I'd just give her the Emmy now, but I wonder: Do actors sometimes not get Emmys if the writing, direction, film editing, makeup (her cast and bruises), the other actor's reactions, etc., all contribute to make it perfect?

[Conan Troutman]

7 hours ago, WritinMan said:

Is Jimmy just checking out all these places in job interviews looking for scams to run?

 

That doesn't make much sense. If he doesn't want to work there, just talk to the owners so he can prepare a scam, why come back that second time? Either they grow suspicious, or they hire you on the spot, both are bad outcomes for a scam. 

So my guess is that it's mainly him trying to cope with the news that he's driven his brother to suicide, probably on an unconscious level. Given that he'll become Saul Goodman eventually, it makes perfect sense that this is the way he's doing it. He isn't confronting himself, he's fleeing further into the Saul Goodman persona - and the job interview was both a test to see how well his hustler style works and a bit of an ego boost. Maybe I'm wrong here, but I'm sure this whole thing is supposed to show the mental process he's going through, diving deeper into the rabbit hole that is Saul Goodman's mind. The answers won't be clear, but it matters little - we're in for one hell of a ride. 

 

7 hours ago, nodorothyparker said:

I kind of love that Mike's logic about the nonjob makes perfect sense to Gus.

Plus he's called him "reliable" already. For Gus, this is basically the business equivalent of love on first sight. 

[Bryce Lynch]

While Kim's rant a Howard was chilling, I am still trying to figure out how Howard wronged Jimmy.

I guess you could argue he could have waited until another time to share his suicide theory, but I don't think he was trying to hurt Jimmy. Plus, Jimmy seemed delighted to find out that he "won" the sick sibling rivalry by striking the final and fatal blow with the insurance company.  Of course, Kim doesn't know this.

The $5,000 and Chuck's letter were Chuck's instructions, not Howard's idea.  Offering to let Jimmy good through the house for any keepsakes he might want was a kind gesture.  Even if he didn't want any memories of Chuck, there might have been things that belonged to his parents.

Kim seems to be so strongly on Team Jimmy that she has lost all objectivity and that could lead to some very, bad things.

[JFParnell]

I can't wait to hear Mike's reaction to Jimmy: "Hummels...?"

[Bryce Lynch]

I wonder how much the doctor is under Fring's control.  Is she there to do everything she can for Fring's "friend" or is she there to make sure he wakes up, but to prevent him from regaining the power of speech, the ability to walk, etc.

[JFParnell]

I think I'm with @Bryce Lynch on Howard/Kim. I loved Kim's fierce defense of Jimmy. And it was shocking to see b/c she's always seemed, to me anyway, guarded about how close she wants to let herself get to him. But she seems to be all-in now, which, as we've all suspected, probably won't end well. She's fallen for a guy who is never not conning someone, even if just a little. Even her, someone he loves. I'm not throwing Howard overboard. I think he's just kind of an emotionally tone-deaf fellow and you get a sense he doesn't really like himself all that much. I sort of hope they expand on him a bit, though there's probably not much room on the stage for him going forward.

[ShadowFacts]

15 minutes ago, JFParnell said:

I think I'm with @Bryce Lynch on Howard/Kim. I loved Kim's fierce defense of Jimmy. And it was shocking to see b/c she's always seemed, to me anyway, guarded about how close she wants to let herself get to him. But she seems to be all-in now, which, as we've all suspected, probably won't end well. She's fallen for a guy who is never not conning someone, even if just a little. Even her, someone he loves. I'm not throwing Howard overboard. I think he's just kind of an emotionally tone-deaf fellow and you get a sense he doesn't really like himself all that much. I sort of hope they expand on him a bit, though there's probably not much room on the stage for him going forward.

Now that he's given Jimmy's share of Chuck's estate to him (which wouldn't happen this fast) there's not much for him to do unless Chuck's partnership share comes back into focus.  Right now Jimmy wants nothing to do with anything Chuck-related, but that could change. 

[ShadowFacts]

9 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

Yeah, but she was totally wrong.  Howard is a decent guy and Jimmy is a scumbag.

Also, in rewatching the show, it became very clear that she totally deserved the cornfield.  She talked Howard into putting his reputation on the line to push for D&M to hire her scummy BF who even she refused to be partners with.  That was like Sonny Black vouching for Donnie Brasco.  She was very lucky he didn't fire her.

I'm not referring so much to whether she deserved punishment back then, maybe, maybe it was over the top.  We saw him treat her coldly or dismissively when in meetings and elsewhere I think.   HHM paid for her tuition so it's complicated.  If he hadn't been such a condescending overlord she may not have exploded at him the way she did.  But she probably would have regardless, she was seething and she went in there loaded for bear. 

[Bryce Lynch]

Just now, ShadowFacts said:

I'm not referring so much to whether she deserved punishment back then, maybe, maybe it was over the top.  We saw him treat her coldly or dismissively when in meetings and elsewhere I think.   HHM paid for her tuition so it's complicated.  If he hadn't been such a condescending overlord she may not have exploded at him the way she did.  But she probably would have regardless, she was seething and she went in there loaded for bear. 

The first time I watched, I didn't really grasp how badly Kim has screwed Howard by talking him into vouching for Jimmy with Davis & Main.   It ended up making Howard look like a fool.  Also, since she didn't tell him the full story, Howard had every reason to believe that Kim knew Jimmy had gone rogue with the D&M commercial and didn't tell him. Plus, I believe it made it difficult for Howard to trust Kim's judgment, and if he can't trust her, it would be hard for him to put her on important cases.  

Jimmy really screwed over both Howard and Kim with his behavior at D&M.  But, Kim was really the biggest idiot in that situation.  Even Jimmy knew he was a bad fit for D&M and initially turned down the job.  

[Should Be Working]

Never mind...

Edited August 14, 2018 by Should Be Working

[Bannon]

29 minutes ago, Bryce Lynch said:

The first time I watched, I didn't really grasp how badly Kim has screwed Howard by talking him into vouching for Jimmy with Davis & Main.   It ended up making Howard look like a fool.  Also, since she didn't tell him the full story, Howard had every reason to believe that Kim knew Jimmy had gone rogue with the D&M commercial and didn't tell him. Plus, I believe it made it difficult for Howard to trust Kim's judgment, and if he can't trust her, it would be hard for him to put her on important cases.  

Jimmy really screwed over both Howard and Kim with his behavior at D&M.  But, Kim was really the biggest idiot in that situation.  Even Jimmy knew he was a bad fit for D&M and initially turned down the job.  

I will again note that D&M partners, and Howard,  are shown to be terrible managers, by not finding a simple solution for Jimmy being a poor fit for D&M's office, while being extremely talented at efficiently procuring Sandpiper claimants.

Howard was a fool in how he managed Kim as well, of course.

[Bannon]

Simply marvelous writing by Gilligan and Gould to show how the seeds to the enmity between Mike and Lydia, which eventually become so murderous, were sown.

[Bryce Lynch]

2 minutes ago, Bannon said:

I will again note that D&M partners, and Howard,  are shown to be terrible managers, by not finding a simple solution for Jimmy being a poor fit for D&M's office, while being extremely talented at efficiently procuring Sandpiper claimants.

Howard was a fool in how he managed Kim as well, of course.

The only foolish thing Howard did regarding Kim was letting a junior associate talk him into recommending her irredeemable con-artist boyfriend for a job which he didn't even want because he knew what a horrible fit he was.   

Jimmy McGill is unmanageable.  He is always looking for a shortcut or a con, is focused on his own goals, not the client's or the firm's, has no ethics, is reckless, has no self control and always thinks he is the smartest guy in the room.  It is fine to love and root for Jimmy despite all that.  But to blame highly successful law partners for not being able to manage such a scoundrel is totally absurd.   He is a ticking time bomb and any reasonable lawyer would not want to be around for the boom.    

[Bannon]

6 minutes ago, Bryce Lynch said:

The only foolish thing Howard did regarding Kim was letting a junior associate talk him into recommending her irredeemable con-artist boyfriend for a job which he didn't even want because he knew what a horrible fit he was.   

Jimmy McGill is unmanageable.  He is always looking for a shortcut or a con, is focused on his own goals, not the client's or the firm's, has no ethics, is reckless, has no self control and always thinks he is the smartest guy in the room.  It is fine to love and root for Jimmy despite all that.  But to blame highly successful law partners for not being able to manage such a scoundrel is totally absurd.   He is a ticking time bomb and any reasonable lawyer would not want to be around for the boom.    

You simply are empirically wrong. Jimmy McGill was willing to engage in extreme delayed gratification, for 7 years, laboring in a job for which he was extremely intellectually overqualified, to our knowledge engaging in no shortcuts, while secretly, to all but Kim, putting himself through law school. He did this because the right incentives were in place. What do you think being a law firm partner entails, for a largish firm? Collecting checks and acting in an authoritarian manner? No, the job demands creative problem solving, like when an employee demonstrates skill in an area which delivers large revenue streams, like Jimmy and Kim have, while also having traits which need to be minimized.

 

Observable reality has demonstrated that Jimmy is capable of delivering top flight work for years, without significant drawbacks, when his incentives are aligned properly. This really is the case for almost all human beings. The deterministic view of any individual's behavior is nearly always wrong. That's why managers need to earn their income.

[peeayebee]

10 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

What really strikes me is that Kim knows Howard didn't lay some truth bomb on Jimmy.  Jimmy already suspected suicide.

Can you or someone else remind me how we know that Jimmy suspected suicide?

 

9 hours ago, dwmarch said:

I think all was well at first. Jimmy was feeling the nostalgia for the copy room. He was ready to get down on his hands and knees, throw his tie over his shoulder and get toner all over his hands on behalf of a local business with an established family history. And then the boss comes in and dismisses all those keepsakes (including some legitimately valuable ones!) as crap that needs to be thrown away but it's not important enough for him to get around to it. That offended Jimmy and he decided if these guys were running that kind of shop they deserved every bad thing that could happen to them.

You've made me want to rewatch this scene. I didn't take much note of Neff calling the stuff crap, and now I want to revisit Jimmy's reaction to that. I didn't see it as key to Jimmy changing his mind about the job. However, I don't know if he was sincerely enthusiastic about the job. I think he was just playing the role of selling himself for a job, any job, because he needs one. 

 

2 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

The $5,000 and Chuck's letter were Chuck's instructions, not Howard's idea.  Offering to let Jimmy good through the house for any keepsakes he might want was a kind gesture.  Even if he didn't want any memories of Chuck, there might have been things that belonged to his parents.

I don't think it's Howard's intention to be cruel, but it's rather unthinking to suggest that Jimmy go thru the burned down house to find any mementos (though it was originally Rebecca's idea, IIRC). I know Howard said that the garage was relatively untouched, but in hindsight I'm surprised none of them mentioned that the house doesn't exist any more. I guess there's value for Rebecca in the piece of land.

But again, I think Howard is trying to do the right thing and be good to Jimmy. As for the $5000 check, I can't imagine Jimmy contesting the will. I mean, JIMMY, no, but SAUL would.

[Conan Troutman]

2 hours ago, JFParnell said:

I'm not throwing Howard overboard. I think he's just kind of an emotionally tone-deaf fellow and you get a sense he doesn't really like himself all that much. I sort of hope they expand on him a bit, though there's probably not much room on the stage for him going forward.

I hope there is room. Jesse, Saul and Mike initally weren't meant to stay on Breaking Bad either. And I don't want the law firm angle to dissapper entirely and as long as Kim's around Howard should be relatively easy to write in somehow. 

[toodles]

2 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

 

The $5,000 and Chuck's letter were Chuck's instructions, not Howard's idea.  Offering to let Jimmy good through the house for any keepsakes he might want was a kind gesture.  Even if he didn't want any memories of Chuck, there might have been things that belonged to his parents.

Kim seems to be so strongly on Team Jimmy that she has lost all objectivity and that could lead to some very, bad things.

I think this will backfire on her in a big way.  It won't be pretty.

[ShadowFacts]

10 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

I don't think it's Howard's intention to be cruel, but it's rather unthinking to suggest that Jimmy go thru the burned down house to find any mementos (though it was originally Rebecca's idea, IIRC). I know Howard said that the garage was relatively untouched, but in hindsight I'm surprised none of them mentioned that the house doesn't exist any more. I guess there's value for Rebecca in the piece of land.

Probably a lot of value in the land, but she would probably also get the homeowner's insurance proceeds, if any. 

Only the house and the $5,000 to Jimmy and the scholarship were mentioned, I wonder where the remainder of Chuck's estate went.  Probably the charities he was involved with. 

[SunnyBeBe]

First of all, I agree how the estate would not have been wrapped up that quick.  There are laws about the process and it takes time. But, it's necessary to move the plot along. I accept that. 

Why did D&M allow Chuck to continue on in his mental state?  

I know the long range story, but, at this point, WHY has Lydia hired Mike as security for her company? If he's not really a security consultant, what's his function in her mind? Is he just a person to have on call, in case she needs an errand taken care of?

I'm not sure why Kim didn't hand Jimmy the check and letter. Maybe, she is waiting.  She has to know that Howard is likely to call Jimmy down the road and ask him why the check hasn't been cashed and confirm he got the letter.  Kim could read the letter and determine if it's good or bad. If bad, hide it. If not, deliver it.  She can put it into a fresh envelope and Jimmy wouldn't know the difference or just admit she read it first. So what? Jimmy trust her. He'll accept her looking out for his feelings, imo.  They know they love each other. There's no reason their relationship couldn't survive this bump in the road, unless, Jimmy is looking for a reason to cut ties. 

 I'm actually so over Chuck...I supposed I'm so biased that nothing from him means anything, imo.  I really don't care if she tosses the letter. To me....Jimmy is who he is.  I suppose that I will not play along with the show and buy in that Chuck's death caused Jimmy to spiral into an immoral, con man known as Saul.  I don't buy it.  I really believe that what we will see with Jimmy was created long ago during his childhood.  JMO.  I do sympathize with some of the things that Jimmy has gone through, but, I just believe that he's always been who he is...at least for a long time.  I still like the character....warts and all.  

Are there more theories about why Jimmy went off on the office manager who hired him?  There are a couple upthead. I just have trouble with understanding how this rejection of the offer and sermon to them helped him in any way.  It's interesting, Mike had a purpose for calling attention to himself in the plant, though Lydia didn't see it. Apparently, Gus does.  Did Jimmy have a purpose for calling attention to himself in that copier office?  I'm trying to compare them.

[StatMom]

6 minutes ago, ShadowFacts said:

Probably a lot of value in the land, but she would probably also get the homeowner's insurance proceeds, if any. 

Only the house and the $5,000 to Jimmy and the scholarship were mentioned, I wonder where the remainder of Chuck's estate went.  Probably the charities he was involved with. 

And I imagine that Rebecca and Howard had to come to terms with regards to the value of Chuck's partnership payout. (It looks like she is the main beneficiary of his estate?)