Better Call Saul: Ep. 203 Amarillo
Whatever happened to showmanship?
Amarillo, if nothing else proves that for some characters in AMC’s Better Call Saul, too much of a good thing, is actually the first sign of disaster. Jimmy McGill and Mike Ehrmantraut don’t share a scene in this episode but are walking parallel paths. They’ve both been given a chance to shake off past missteps and to forge new lives but flaws in their nature seem to derail any chance of true success.
Amarillo begins with Jimmy, man of the people, getting his message across to a bus load of elderly people about the Sandpiper Crossing case. He’s almost like a preacher the way he holds an audience and gets them to follow his words. That, along with his knowledge of the law, and his willingness to skirt it, may be his greatest asset. The Slippin’ Jimmy hustle hasn’t completely left him and he seems to be truly alive in these circumstances.
It’s the dry as toast board meetings at Davis & Main that sap his mojo. During a board meeting, Chuck’s backhanded compliment to Jimmy raises a few eyebrows to his brother’s ethics on the case. Chuck’s slight rapping of Jimmy’s knuckles also threatens to drive a wedge between the younger McGill and Kim. Always able to get the feel of a situation and adjust on the fly, Jimmy changes gears and decides to use a different strategy to get the Sandpiper Crossing residents to respond to Davis & Main’s letters.
This time around Jimmy decides to use make a commercial to get their attention. The commercial idea highlights another of Jimmy’s many talents and harkens forward to his future persona, Saul Goodman. Jimmy’s struggle to walk the line and to follow the rules, is a challenge that he’s failed many times in the past and continues to dog him even as he tries to legitimize himself.
Troubling news hits Mike when his daughter in law mentions some strange happenings around her house. Mike shifts into detective mode to investigate Stacey’s claims and sinks deeper into the underworld to help her get out of her predicament.
Something that manages to elude several of the characters in Better Call Saul, is the truth. Amarillo documents how Jimmy and Mike could have saved themselves added aggravation if they only told the truth. Like a tiny snowflake at the top of a mountain their lies and deception threaten to turn into an avalanche of destruction. Sometimes lessons are only learned after you’re buried under several feet of snow.
