Better Call Saul 403 – Something Beautiful
To some, murder is an art especially if you’re in league with Gustavo Fring. The opening moments of Something Beautiful are just that if you’re criminally inclined. Some people suffer for their art, or in Nacho’s case the art of others when the elaborate ruse to cover up the true cause of Arturo’s death is executed. The attention to detail within the scene, the need to “Make it look real,” as Tyrus utters while a bullet ridden Nacho writhes painfully in the desert dirt, is one of the hallmarks of the show. Whether it’s the interpersonal relationships between siblings, the tension between co-workers or how drug cartels go about their business the 3 dimensional nature of what goes on in Better Call Saul elevates it far above television’s standard fare.
Still jobless, Jimmy presses Mike to join him in fencing the Hummel figurine but he’s got other plans. With the new gig at Madrigal, Mike thinks the score is beneath him and Jimmy. Mike’s moved on from small time hustles but Jimmy, forever in a time loop can’t seem to pull himself out of the past. Jimmy then turns to Caldera but soon becomes frustrated when the vet doesn’t share the same enthusiasm for the potential windfall. Taking matters into his own hands, Jimmy storms out of the vet’s office and passes one of the cousins who is in need of Caldera’s services. Unable to take Nacho to a hospital, the cousins turn to Caldera to get him patched up.
Something Beautiful is a gift basket to longtime fans of Saul and its predecessor, Breaking Bad. Jimmy’s scam and the turmoil in the Salamanca pipeline open the door for a couple of familiar faces. Seeing Ira and Gale show up will no doubt get calls for Walter and Jesse to appear at some point but according to the powers that be the likelihood of that may be later than sooner.
With Kim’s visit with Mesa Verde Bank the promise of what could have been gets her thinking about her future — and her past. When she presents Jimmy with the contents of Chuck’s will and a letter Chuck wrote to his brother the scene is more about her than it is about the McGill brothers. She’s the one who feels empathy for Jimmy and the troubled relationship he had with his brother, but Jimmy’s deadpan reading of the letter and his reaction to the paltry sum Chuck left him sparks something deep within her. Could this be the moment she realizes that the man she loves isn’t entirely what he seems? Perhaps. Sometimes one’s greatest failures in life aren’t the mistakes they make but the ones they fail to see.
