Better Call Saul Review: “Sunk Costs” Escalates Jimmy’s Legal Troubles

We’ve come to an interesting crossroad for both Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) and Mike (Jonathan Banks) in both of their stories this week. Relationships begin to take shape while others are now forever destroyed. When it comes to the latter, Jimmy predictably fell into Chuck’s (Michael McKean) trap and made things considerably worse for himself. After finding out about the tape Chuck made of Jimmy essentially exposing himself in the Mesa Verde sabotage, Jimmy went crazy for a moment. While it was quite pleasing to see Jimmy blow his top, kick in Chuck’s door and scare the life out of him, it came with too much of a cost, due to witnesses seeing him destroy evidence. So Jimmy went to jail for the night. It was interesting to see Chuck admit to his counsel that he truly doesn’t want to see Jimmy go down in flames and ruin his life, but he also doesn’t want his brother to be a lawyer any longer. He wants Jimmy’s license pulled. And he doesn’t seem to mind that Jimmy is washing his hands of his brother after this incident. Chuck is such a frustrating character to watch. He is so calculating and always knows how to out play his younger brother. He is a masterfully crafted character from Vince Gillian and Peter Gould and expertly portrayed by Michael McKean.

Given that we know that Jimmy or Saul has a practice during the Heisenberg era, it’s really interesting to see how Jimmy can bypass losing his license. On top of that, watching Kim (Rhea Seehorn) get pulled back into Jimmy’s trouble is equally as frustrating as watching Jimmy create it. Kim is extremely likable and is consistently backing Jimmy, but this is beginning to feel like the start of major legal troubles for Jimmy. Kim may choose to walk away from it all soon.

Meanwhile, Mike was treated to a face to face meet with Breaking Bad alum, Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito). Mike was finally given the answer to that “Don’t” message he received last season finale when he was about to kill Hector Salamanca (Mark Margolis). Fring asks Mike a simple favor and to not further try and kill his competition. He allows him to sabotage Salamanca’s distribution though. It was intriguing to see Mike go along with Gus easily, which I figured would not be the case. But you can also get a feeling that they both are on the same level in terms of having respect for the other person, even though they do not know a lot about one another.

Which brings us to where we saw the elaborate shoestring scene that we were treated to in the opening minutes of the episode. I loved watching Mike continue his quest of messing with Hector and his business, in another way besides killing the drug lord. Watching Mike work out his issues is another weekly treat I always enjoy.

“Sunk Costs” ultimately played the slow battle of creating major shifts in Jimmy and Mike’s stories. We begin the descent as Jimmy’s legal troubles come crashing down along with everyone he cares about. It is inevitable at this point for that to happen. Mike, all the while, has made Gus Fring an associate. which will no doubt lead to more exciting events to come as the two begin their business together.

Better Call Saul, “Sunk Costs” Rating: 8 out of 10