And what will happen to Kim? If she survives, will she end up with Jimmy?
It was easier to argue for an Omaha reunion before Operation Frame Howard ended with the words “There’s really no need to…” and a corpse on the floor. But that may be the ultimate point of this suddenly grim chapter of ‘Better Call Saul’. It gave Kim a chance to demonstrate moral complexity. She’s come a long way from the tricky lawyer we met at the beginning of this show. She’s also no match for the man who’s going to question her and Jimmy at their house. Like many of the best characters to come from the minds of creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, she’s a mix of compassion and malice, sympathy and cunning.
The Return of ‘Better Call Saul’
The prequel “Breaking Bad” returned for its final season on April 18.
If her fate is tied to Jimmy’s, it’s safe to assume it will be determined by how the pair cope with the realization that their dastardly wiles have ended in blood. Which doesn’t mean Jimmy and Kim can handle everything the same way. The first episode of this season is called ‘Wine and Roses’, a reference to the 1962 film ‘Days of Wine and Roses’, about a couple played by Lee Remick and Jack Lemmon, who are alcoholics. Lemmon’s character becomes sober. Remick’s character remains in love with Lemmon’s, but refuses to stop drinking and they split up. This is either a harbinger or a sham, but it raises the possibility that Kim will continue to lean towards the wicked and Jimmy won’t.
Although, who knows? The reverse could be true.
Anyway, RIP Howard. You were laughed at a lot, mainly because of your smooth manners, good looks and old-fashioned shirt collars. They made you look haughty and stupid. You were much more thoughtful than your enemies realised. If it’s any consolation, Patrick Fabian played you with an impeccable blend of confidence and vulnerability.
The plot against you will not be missed. It was a ridiculous undertaking, and never more so than in the middle of this episode, when Jimmy and Lenny, the aspiring actor/cart wrangler played by John Ennis, are photographed in a park, suspecting a bribe. The thing is, Lenny is a lot like the Sandpiper mediator, Rand Casimiro (John Posey).
The attempt to solve the Sandpiper case and humiliate Howard had a few twists and turns for viewers, such as realizing that Howard’s private detective was a mole. But it was ultimately a Rube Goldberg device, imaginative to the point of absurdity, yet somehow effective. About the best that can be said for this settlement is that it is over. In addition, it seemed to have a deep aphrodisiac effect on the perpetrators.
