That was a good one. As scummy as it was for Jimmy to change the documents, I'm happy that Chuck's been outed for his petty motives. Sad part is the only person in the courtroom who still doesn't see it is him.
The last scene, the look on his face... he knows he's stepped in it.
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The American Dream isn't an SUV and a house in the suburbs;
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Brilliant episode. Probably a Mike/Gus episode next week before we get to see the aftermath of the bar hearing.
Not to nitpick though, but a disconnected battery wouldn't have any current flowing through it, so there wouldn't be a magnetic field generated to bother Chuck.
Yeah I was thinking the same thing although I suppose with a Li-ion battery and any static electricity from his suit could create some low level of electromagnetic field. Would have been better if they could have managed to place a small powered up phone on him to which they could dial but Chuck would have likely felt the weight of it in his pocket.
Great episode from beginning to end and this is from a person that likes Mike time. Outside of the battery issue the only other thing I could gripe about is that I feel Chuck being an elite lawyer would be the last person I would think would break down on the stand like that confessing his disdain for Jimmy in front of everyone.
Not to nitpick though, but a disconnected battery wouldn't have any current flowing through it, so there wouldn't be a magnetic field generated to bother Chuck.
I was thinking that too. I was expecting Huell to have slipped a phone into Chuck's pocket and have it start ringing.
In the end, it really doesn't matter if the battery was actually doing anything because the whole point was for Jimmy to get the reaction from Chuck that he got. If anything, it helps reinforce that Chuck's illness is entirely in his head.
It was funny how Chuck laughed that Jimmy wasn't going to trick him into giving a Perry Mason style breakdown/confession from the witness stand only to do a Perry Mason style breakdown/confession a few minutes later.
Here's the preview for next week...
Looks like we might finally see the birth of Saul Goodman. As many people have speculated, it will likely be a settlement where Chuck agrees to stop trying to get Jimmy disbarred if Jimmy stops using the McGill name on his practice.
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Yeah I was thinking the same thing although I suppose with a Li-ion battery and any static electricity from his suit could create some low level of electromagnetic field. Would have been better if they could have managed to place a small powered up phone on him to which they could dial but Chuck would have likely felt the weight of it in his pocket.
Great episode from beginning to end and this is from a person that likes Mike time. Outside of the battery issue the only other thing I could gripe about is that I feel Chuck being an elite lawyer would be the last person I would think would break down on the stand like that confessing his disdain for Jimmy in front of everyone.
Those two things bothered me too - a disconnected battery would have no field? Can the New Mexico Benchers allow a stunt like that - planting a device on a witness without his knowledge?
And, Chuck always seemed to be too smart to take Jimmy's bait like that and have the meltdown. I guess it can be understood on the grounds that Chuck is even more mentally ill than we thought. I never thought he was faking his allergy - he believes it is real. His panic attacks are caused by something else, such as stress or depression.
I thought for a minute it was possible that Jimmy brought in Chuck's ex-wife not so much to help with the Bar Hearing, but to re-unite them. Helping others. “He has a way of doing the worst things for reasons that seem almost noble.”
I'm not sure that Chuck's meltdown should cause the New Mexico Bar to excuse Jimmy. He still stole documents, forged documents, broke into Chuck's house, destroyed property. That should get you disbarred no matter if your brother hates you, is crazy, and entrapped you.
McKean is outstanding - I hope he gets recognized. Chuck is one of the most interesting characters in TV history. The opening dinner scene revealed so much about him.
I agree McKean has done an incredible job depicting a troubled man in Chuck. I know some watchers hate him but I am sympathetic to his plight. He's obviously depressed and is not getting the proper help he needs as the electromagnetic phobia is an excuse/shield preventing anyone from digging deeper into the root cause. I can also see as a successful career lawyer that he would have a hard time accepting his brother's cavalier respect for the law. The fact is that Jimmy did alter the document and it appears it's going to lead Chuck into a very bad place, maybe even premature death.
This show might surpass Breaking Bad by the end of it. The acting from everyone is top notch! and there is no Skylar, Skylar's sister and Walt Jr in this!
Kim Wexler is an amazing character.
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I'm not sure that Chuck's meltdown should cause the New Mexico Bar to excuse Jimmy. He still stole documents, forged documents, broke into Chuck's house, destroyed property. That should get you disbarred no matter if your brother hates you, is crazy, and entrapped you.
There was no actual evidence of Jimmy forging the documents (aside from the tape). The whole point was to show that Chuck is mentally ill and Jimmy admitting he forged them was all made up to calm down his "crazy" brother. Or at least make it plausible enough.
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And, Chuck always seemed to be too smart to take Jimmy's bait like that and have the meltdown. I guess it can be understood on the grounds that Chuck is even more mentally ill than we thought. I never thought he was faking his allergy - he believes it is real. His panic attacks are caused by something else, such as stress or depression.
Yeah agreed he's too smart to take the bait, but did he really? He kind of went off on his own with the mommy issues and/or sibling rivalry.
I don't think Jimmy was trying to take him down that road. He just wanted to make him look a little crazy with the tinfoil walls and weird "condition".
Chuck has always said it's about protecting the law he finds so sacred, but he's really just pissed that "Mom liked him better!".
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Originally Posted by troutman
I thought for a minute it was possible that Jimmy brought in Chuck's ex-wife not so much to help with the Bar Hearing, but to re-unite them. Helping others. “He has a way of doing the worst things for reasons that seem almost noble.”
I like how they shot that scene like that one from The Godfather when they bring in that stool pigeon's brother from Italy and sat him in the courtroom, with the message being "we'll kill your brother if you testify".
Now we know he wasn't planning to clip the ex-wife if he testified, but I don't think Jimmy's motives were snow white. I thought the motive was to say "hey, your wife is going to know you are nuts if you keep this up" in the hopes he would give up.
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Yeah agreed he's too smart to take the bait, but did he really? He kind of went off on his own with the mommy issues and/or sibling rivalry.
I don't think Jimmy was trying to take him down that road. He just wanted to make him look a little crazy with the tinfoil walls and weird "condition".
Chuck has always said it's about protecting the law he finds so sacred, but he's really just pissed that "Mom liked him better!".
I like how they shot that scene like that one from The Godfather when they bring in that stool pigeon's brother from Italy and sat him in the courtroom, with the message being "we'll kill your brother if you testify".
Now we know he wasn't planning to clip the ex-wife if he testified, but I don't think Jimmy's motives were snow white. I thought the motive was to say "hey, your wife is going to know you are nuts if you keep this up" in the hopes he would give up.
Sorry for the swerve, but that's not why Michael brought Frankie's brother to the States. It was to shame Frankie into doing the 'right thing' which was to respect Omerta. Pentangeli's brother came willingly and was never in danger.
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There must be some explanation of why the battery itself triggers Chuck's "condition". Otherwise why wouldn't people just turn off their cell phones when they go to his house?
Sorry for the swerve, but that's not why Michael brought Frankie's brother to the States. It was to shame Frankie into doing the 'right thing' which was to respect Omerta. Pentangeli's brother came willingly and was never in danger.
Huh. Well I'll be. That does seem to be the case. They made the brother look like such a confused rube I always thought it was a threat, and that they'd kill this sweet old guy if Frank didn't keep his trap shut.
You guys are missing all the setup we had for everything you are questioning. It's a fake illness, so it doesn't matter that the battery causes it or not. It's in his head. Remember at the start when Jimmy says something like "you sure you want to keep this lie up? It gets more complicated the further you go" or something along those lines. Jimmy knew Chuck was at the end of his tangled web, attempting to explain a battery not causing the condition would likely cause it all to break down. Perhaps they got info from Ernesto when Chuck pretended he couldn't touch the batteries.
Jimmy uses Chuck's ex to throw Chuck off balance, exactly as he said it wouldn't do. It was all about getting Chuck to snap and spew hatred at Jimmy, that is what their case was built on. And it worked.
Jimmy uses Chuck's ex to throw Chuck off balance, exactly as he said it wouldn't do. It was all about getting Chuck to snap and spew hatred at Jimmy, that is what their case was built on. And it worked.
We realize this as discussed above I feel Chuck is simply far too experienced, intelligent, and calculated to snap on the stand. Really people snapping on the stand is a TV/movie thing as in real life few people get rattled to the point they confess on the stand as they are coached by their legal team to say nothing more than straight answers. Doesn't change that I fully enjoyed the episode though.
He had just been exposed as a liar and mentally unstable in front of his brother, his ex, his partner and the bar. I'm not shocked he couldn't keep the string of lies going. In his mind, Jimmy was the one he was exposing in his rant. Only at the end did he realize it wasn't appearing the way he thought it was. Like I said, it was foreshadowed at the start of the episode. Fairly clearly, actually.
The key difference between Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul is that (although Breaking Bad is superb) the lead characters of Better Call Saul are far easier to root for.
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You guys are missing all the setup we had for everything you are questioning. It's a fake illness, so it doesn't matter that the battery causes it or not. It's in his head. Remember at the start when Jimmy says something like "you sure you want to keep this lie up? It gets more complicated the further you go" or something along those lines.
The way I took it in that flashback scene, Jimmy was saying "Chuck, you have an illness and shouldn't lie to your ex-wife about it because it'll cause more problems."
Not that the illness itself was a lie.
I do think it is all in his head though. But not a lie.
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Last edited by RougeUnderoos; 05-11-2017 at 12:09 AM.
The way I took it in that flashback scene, Jimmy was saying "Chuck, you have an illness and shouldn't lie to your ex-wife about it because it'll cause more problems."
Not that the illness itself was a lie.
I do think it is all in his head though. But not a lie.
Yeah, that's exactly what was going on. He was having workers re-install his light fixtures, appliances, and receptacles to make his house look normal but then feigned a power outage so he didn't actually have to turn any of them on.
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The way I took it in that flashback scene, Jimmy was saying "Chuck, you have an illness and shouldn't lie to your ex-wife about it because it'll cause more problems."
Not that the illness itself was a lie.
I do think it is all in his head though. But not a lie.
Yes, that's what the scene was about, but the statement was there for foreshadowing of the court scene. I took it as a dual meaning/purpose. Though I'm not convinced yet that Chuck didn't make the whole thing up for some purpose. He's shown to be vindictive enough to deceive if he finds the ends justify the means.
