Jackson Ball reviews the fourth episode of Better Call Saul…
This week’s instalment of Better Call Saul, the story of Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) continues to chug along nicely. Episode 4 has a slightly lighter tone to it, in comparison to its predecessors; the comic undertones are allowed to surface more prominently, and Jimmy is able to go a full hour without getting his life threatened.
Warning! Spoilers Ahead – You have been warned!
Once again, ‘Hero’ follows the same narrative formula as the first three episodes, in that we open in a different time-setting. This time we get to see the previously mentioned ‘Slippin’ Jimmy’ in action, hustling an unsuspecting stranger in a back alley. It’s a brilliantly set –up scene, as we the audience are also getting ‘conned’, with Jimmy’s true intentions being hidden from us until the final moments. It’s also the first time we’ve heard go by his titular moniker: Saul Goodman.
Fast forwarding back to the show’s main narrative, we find Jimmy exactly where we left him last week: confronting the Kettlemans out in the woods. Not for the first time, it’s Jimmy’s ability to talk, to reason with people that gets him a positive outcome from the situation. In this case, the positive outcome is a hefty financial bribe/’retainer’.
It’s here where the episode (and its writers) throws us a curve ball. Jimmy’s newfound funds enable him to reinvent himself. A montage shows us the extent of his makeover; new suit, new hair, new business plan.
Now, I might be wrong, but surely I can’t be the only one who thought this segment was the genesis of Saul Goodman. Sure, it’s still the early days of the series, but it genuinely looked like we were going to take a step away from Jimmy McGill and step closer to the Saul that we know and love. As it happens, it turns out that Vince Gilligan and company just couldn’t resist pulling the rug from underneath us.
It may not be the biggest fake-out in television history, but it does send a message. Any prior concerns I’ve expressed about the limitations of the prequel format have revolved it’s uses of dramatic irony. In this example, it is clear they know how to utilise it.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SMekjOsexHs&list=PL18yMRIfoszH_jfuJoo8HCG1-lGjvfH2F
Originally published February 27, 2015. Updated April 13, 2018.
