1.9 Pimento That, to me, is a mark of great writing – that rather than pick up on what’s now so obvious, I preferred to believe what Jimmy believed, because I’m invested in his character, invested in the story. And, if all else fails, that’s pretty good cover for just not picking up on something. If Five-O was Jonathan Banks’ Emmy episode, this is Odenkirk’s. Just watch the way things build before he finally lets on that he knows the truth, the way he keeps dealing out rope only for Chuck to keep retreating. In any other situation, it would be as though Jimmy is toying with his brother, but really he’s just desperate for him to admit what he’s done. And to make the pill that much more bitter, Chuck used Jimmy’s phone to make the fateful call to Howard, even though it “must have felt like a blowtorch”. Speaking of Jonathan Banks, Mike’s B-plot in this episode reminds us, in case we needed reminding (we didn’t, but it’s great anyway), of why we love the character. He’s not flashy. He’s no trash talker. He doesn’t carry massive guns or say “yo” and “bitch”. What he is is calm, methodical, insightful and highly effective, and the ideal person to be giving lessons to pathetic, milquetoast would-be criminals who drive powerfully un-sexy cars (careful with that Mike, it might get you in trouble one day). His story also serves both as a reminder that Nacho is still out there, doing things without his boss’s permission – I can’t wait to see how that story re-intersects with Jimmy’s, and I just hope it won’t seem contrived – and as a sort of thematic counterpoint to the A-plot. So it makes it that much crueller that the trust between the two brothers has now been broken, perhaps irrevocably. It makes it that much harder knowing that we won’t see the awesome McGill Brothers team-up hinted at in the previous episode. And it makes it that much more tragic, knowing that Jimmy is going to become Saul Goodman. Not because he was always destined to be a bad guy (or at least a very crooked guy), but because his brother, to whom he has always looked up, believes he was. Damn fine television, ladies and gentlemen. Damn fine television. Read Stefan’s review of the previous episode, Rico, here. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
