Better Recall Saul: "Gloves Off"

Jonathan Banks

Welcome to the TV Recap series Better Recall Saul that chronicles the adventures of Better Call Saul and a young criminal lawyer as he cuts his teeth down in ABQ (and his Breaking Bad buddies might stop by to wish him luck). Feel free to join every Tuesday as the adventures unravel and the story behind one of the funniest and sleaziest lawyers in TV history begins to take form and remind us why he is such a great character in the first place. Is this spin-off meant for greatness, or is it the worst idea that AMC has ever done? You'll have to read on to find out the truth.

Season 2, Episode 4: "Gloves Off"

“I offered to do this the right way. If 

you can’t accept that, I can’t help you."

- Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks)

Plot:

Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) receives some backlash from his coworkers following the unauthorized advertisement that he ran. Even Chuck McGill (Michael McKean) is upset and believes that he's using Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) as an accessory. Jimmy contemplates leaving the firm simply to please his brother. Meanwhile, Nacho (Michael Mando) asks Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) to kill Tuco Salamanca (Raymond Cruz) in order to make things easier for him. However, Mike suggests arresting him instead - a plan that isn't entirely loved, but Nacho accepts. Mike stalls Tuco long enough for the police to arrive and arrest him, thus making his job successful, though with a black eye to spare.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Banks

MVP:

Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks)

In an episode that centers around Mike doing an errand for Nacho, it does seem hard to imagine anyone else taking the coveted MVP trophy this week. While he is far from the ace criminal that we'll later see in Breaking Bad, he definitely knows how to set a scene up and get his target. Using his cunning skills, he slowly persuades Nacho to just let him do his thing and then proceeds to do so with a sense of ease that reflects why Mike is one of the ABQ universe's most important characters in general. This may not be as great a mission as even "Five-O" from last season, but it feels like a learning curve in which a black eye will serve as a sign of how to improve your technique in the future. Still, kudos to the writers on making the slowly paced scene tense.

Left to right: Banks and Raymond Cruz

Best Scene

If there's one thing that Better Call Saul does best, it's the long con. While the episode's building up to the moment may have been a little lackluster, the moment inevitably shines when Mike takes on Tuco by denting his car and setting off a chain of problems. It's a scene that has to play out in real time, as the police are the inevitable conclusion, and Mike knows how to drag out a moment by playing into his feeble presence. Things get tense and punches get thrown, but Mike inevitably knows how to milk things long enough to get his way. It also helps that Tuco is a compelling offense, impatient and trying to get things on the road, not even aware of what Mike has lined up for him. It's a tense scene and one that reflects what this series does best.

Overall Thoughts

As Better Call Saul trudges into its second season, many online articles are asking why it hasn't quite taken off like Breaking Bad (though to be fair, that show only began to become a phenomenon around season four). It's episodes like this that will give you clues into why that is. As great as the show is, there's still a tendency to focus more on slow moments that are more insistent on internal conflict than the far more compelling external violence that made Breaking Bad so riveting. I honestly like this episode, but did feel like it was very padded and needed to get further along with details. It's generally why I don't think that this show will be as revered in 10 years as Breaking Bad (beyond the obvious). Still, the show has evolved from being a gimmicky spin-off to something fully original and exciting. As long as Mike and Saul Goodman remain true to character, I will watch.