Better Call Saul 504 – Namaste
There are times in life when opportunities present themselves unexpectedly. Such is the case in Namaste, when Jimmy is invited out to lunch by Howard Hamlin who has an offer he hopes the younger McGill can’t refuse. Looking to make amends for past misdeeds, Howard offers Jimmy a spot with HHM. To say that Jimmy is surprised is an understatement and even with their checkered past, Howard’s offer appears to be legitimate.
Howard isn’t the only one looking to make amends. Kim is still bothered by her failed attempt at good will after going the extra mile to get the old man to accept Mesa Verde’s deal. She tries another angle to make things right for all parties involved but Kevin and Paige dismiss her attempts. Deflated she looks for another option and turns to Jimmy for help.
The cat and mouse game surrounding the Salamanca drug money and the drops takes up a considerable amount of Namaste’s run time. It’s always entertaining to bring Breaking Bad characters into the Saul fold and Steve and Hank’s surveillance yields a few tense moments as Gus impatiently awaits the results of the evening’s activities. Although Gus was running his own game to see if the feds are truly getting the drop on his operation, it’s the potential but unlikely harm that could come to one of his Los Pollos Hermanos employees that really makes the scene effective.
Mike is a lost soul and his spiral into misery is accelerated when he tries to take care of Kaylee only to find out that Stacey has made other arrangements. Although he tries to help, Stacey resists and lets him know that she is aware that he’s struggling with something. Feeling more lost than ever, Mike goes looking for a fight and winds up taking a beating from the friends of the gang banger he laid out last episode.
After Jimmy lends Kim a helping hand he attends to some unfinished business. The purchase of the bowling balls in the pre-credits scene finally becomes clear during a late night foray to what turns out to be Howard’s house. In a giant middle finger to his former adversary, Jimmy leaves his mark on Howard’s car with two well placed bowling balls.
Namaste is anything but considering the inner turmoil and lack of respect some of the characters have for others. Jimmy’s assault on Howard’s car, while effective is juvenile. He could have turned Howard down face to face, but that isn’t Jimmy’s style. Mike’s conflict is with himself and the beating he takes also earns him a knife blade to the mid-section. Considering where he wakes up, it’s not a stretch to figure that Gus has spirited him away so that he can heal his wounds. Sometimes it pays to have someone looking out for you, even if their interests aren’t entirely altruistic.
