Jumping into Better Call Saul was a bit of
a no-brainer. The prospect of a prequel following the origin
story of one of the most interesting characters in the series, along with the potential for
some more context for characters like Mike and Gus, along with knowing that this would
likely have the same amount of quality in writing and presentation - I was sold from
the word go. However, in spite of that, there was a tiny
part of me that subconsciously treated this show as more of an add-on to the Breaking
Bad story, rather than viewing it as its own independent story just taking place in the
same universe. I was extremely excited for this new narrative,
but unfortunately I had begun treating it as somehow lesser than its predecessor simply
due to the nature of its design. And as I’m sure you’re aware if you’re
watching this, I couldn’t have been more wrong. As one would expect from Gilligan and co,
Better Call Saul is absolutely its own thing, with plenty of power and distinct identity
in its story, along with a cast filled to the brim with not just recontextualized familiar
faces, but plenty of new ones that fit the story like a glove and are just as impressive
as the characters from Breaking Bad. The directing is arguably even better than
before, with visual flair all over the place and a knack for knowing which techniques to
use to accent these moments in ju st the right way. And most pertinently for this topic, the writing
is phenomenal, with so many new yet fitting ideas and variables to add richness to the
universe. And one of the best representations of Better
Call Saul’s powerful storytelling is also one of the best episodes of anything I’ve
ever watched. Chicanery is a landmark for the series and
a definitive turning point. It is the episode where Jimmy finally broke
free of the ongoing legal issue involving the falsifying of some of Chuck’s documents,
where he was able to supposedly get the monkey off his back that seemed to taunt at his legitimacy
as a lawyer wherever he went, and where he was assured of a conclusive quote unquote
victory over his brother. But arguably most significantly - it’s the
episode where we see a complete and total breakdown of a mentally ill man, resulting
in one of the most conflicting and painful scenes I’ve ever experienced. To establish some context as to all of the
elements at play here, I’m going to start by stating the obvious and saying that the
relationship between the brothers of James and Charles McGill was toxic, to say the least. Despite Jimmy going out of his way to nearly
revolve his life around helping Chuck with his electromagnetic hypersensitivity - a condition
which was later proved to be a sad case of that mental illness - Chuck regarded him with
deep-seated bitterness and took everything he did for him for granted. And this was due to a myriad of things that
piled up throughout both of their lives. On one hand, Chuck was always hardworking,
straight-laced and intelligent, taking the legitimate and difficult route throughout
life and becoming a lawyer as a result of his pure graft and years of dedication. Whereas Jimmy was always the naturally charismatic
one, the one whose laziness and adherence to taking shortcuts was complimented by how
charming and great with people he was. And it didn’t help that those were elements
Chuck never had which caused him to be envious, but the main thing is that Jimmy was always
something of a delinquent that conned people and got into trouble and somehow got by by
the skin of his teeth due to luck, his personality and social skills, or his brother himself. In fact, Chuck went out on a limb to help
Jimmy out of a serious legal bind on the condition that Jimmy commit to straightening out his
life - a decision that Chuck ultimately ended up regretting. And to top it all off, on her deathbed, their
mother’s last words were directed towards her son James rather than Chuck, which really
hammered the nail in and summed up how unloved he felt next to Jimmy. As a result of all of this, Chuck began to
fester a deeply unhealthy inferiority complex towards his brother - although this in itself
wasn’t enough to make him lose himself. But the one thing that he just couldn’t
stomach was the prospect and eventual reality of Jimmy becoming a lawyer - and not just
that, but the fact that Jimmy did so through what Chuck viewed as half-ass methods not
worthy of a law degree. To Chuck, as someone who always did things
in the proper and dilligent way and viewed the law as sacred, and as someone jealous
of Jimmy’s antics and luck, this was the ultimate insult. This brother of his who had never had to work
half as hard as he did to get by in life, who had been having messes cleaned up for
him since his was young, who could never be described as legitimate - was being granted
the same noble profession as him. Which, in Chuck’s eyes, indirectly made
them equals on paper. And his pride just couldn’t take that. He states that his main problem here is that
Jimmy would run amok with his authority as a lawyer, but to me it’s clear that that
is just a mask to hide the fact that he doesn’t want his brother to succeed, at least not
in this way. He’s proud of Jimmy and happy for Jimmy..
as long as Jimmy is happy in a way he can stomach. And it’s such a very human dynamic at play. We may not like to admit it, but I’m sure
most of us can relate to the type of pettiness that characterizes Chuck. Being jealous of someone, seeing it as unfair
that they don’t have to work as hard as you do to get to the same place, feeling as
if none of your struggles have been acknowledged, feeling unloved in comparison and as a result,
feeling hard done by. I have utmost sympathy for Chuck and I don’t
think it’s fair to condemn him for experiencing these very human feelings. He is nowhere near a shallow, evil villain
and the details behind his story are very much worth paying attention to. What I don’t like, however, is the way he
took advantage of Jimmy’s compassion and kindness and ended up betraying him in the
most personal way. And Jimmy’s response of pure disgust and
explosive fury was, while DEFINITELY justified, almost equally painful to witness. It made for great television, but this cat
and mouse throughout the first two and a half seasons of the show is a summation of a relationship
gone horribly wrong. Imbued with a myriad of jealousy, resentment,
hate, and the saddest element - genuine brotherly love. I think it’s clear that Jimmy deeply cared
for his brother before and even during all of this ugliness, and despite Chuck telling
him that he never really liked him all that much, in my opinion the show establishes that
he was blowing some hot air. He may not have had as strong affection for
Jimmy as the latter had for him, but underneath the bitterness there is a genuine connection
there. And that’s the main element that makes this
episode’s crowning moment so unbelievably heartbreaking. Chicanery chronicles the court case meant
to settle the dispute between the two involving Chuck’s accusations of Jimmy forging documents
to cause him to lose a client - an accusation that ended up being true. If Chuck were to win, Jimmy would be unable
to practice law anymore, and that was obviously something thar Jimmy could never let happen. And with his back to the wall he resorts to
what he views as a necessary evil. Jimmy and Kim’s goal here was to make the
board understand that the taped confession they have where Jimmy admits to having falsified
the documents was simply the result of Jimmy lying to Chuck due to wanting to do anything
possible to calm his brother down as a result of his mental illness. And to prove this to them, they have to prove
that he has a mental illness. So through a devilish bit of manipulation
involving Huell’s classic sleight of hands, a phone and some batteries, Jimmy tackles
Chuck’s problem head on, resulting in Chuck completely losing it. This leads to an absolute meltdown laying
bare all of Chuck’s pride and psychological issues, at the end of which Chuck is forced
to confront that not only has he lost the case, but that he has a genuine issue here
that he can’t really ignore any longer. In the end, this is a victory for Jimmy. But it does not feel like one at all. It isn’t a moment of triumph or happiness,
because he knew that through doing this, he had completely humiliated and destroyed Chuck
while laying his illness out there for all to see. And there is nothing to savor in that. And to add to this, while Chuck was undoubtedly
ungrateful and despicable in a lot of ways, in the end, everything he was saying in that
rant was correct - embellished by his emotional aggression and bias, but correct and true. Jimmy did forge the numbers. He did execute a publicity stunt with the
billboard. He did steal from his family’s cash register. And he did defecate on a sunroof. He did all of the things Chuck referenced
in his wild rant. This doesn’t make him right in the way he
goes about things, but it can be argued that Jimmy deserved some consequences for his actions. And that is why Chuck being truthful here
is so key. None of the events Chuck recalled or the things
he accused Jimmy of were false, but because he had lost his cool and made himself look
quote unquote crazy, nothing he said could be properly heeded by the board, and Jimmy
had already won. He apologized and collected himself immediately
after realizing his mistake, but the damage was done and none of those in power here could
look at him the same, which is such a sad and brutally honest concept applicable to
real life as well. Chuck was a horribly flawed person, but I
can’t help but feel that he did not deserve *this,* and I can’t help but feel immense
sympathy for how trapped he must have felt in this moment. He may not have electromagnetic hypersensitivity,
but the mind can be a cruel thing, and him thinking that he does does not make him any
more healthy. Quite the contrary, in fact - it makes him
far more lost than any of us blessed to not suffer from something similar. It’s entirely fair to dislike Chuck, even
to hate him for his ego, selfishness, lack of gratitude and consistent tendency to try
to stop Jimmy from achieving his dreams because of his own insecurities. He pushes and pushes Jimmy away, almost forcing
his brother’s character flaws to become exaggerated and displays little to no compassion
for a man that very much deserves some for what he sacrificed to try and help him, regardless
of his faults. And though I do maintain that deep down he
cared a little for Jimmy, he also postured and lied in a roundabout way to those involved
try to take the moral high ground by stating that he loved his brother and that he was
just a lost soul with a good heart who needed some guidance despite simply wanting to lord
over him and feel superior to him for once. To put it simply, Chuck’s a pretty bad guy
and I sure as hell didn’t like him. But this is a very nuanced, sensitive situation
that requires an open and empathetic perspective. Jimmy is our protagonist and it only makes
sense to lean towards rooting for him, but make no mistake - this is no outcome to be
celebrated and Jimmy’s attitude towards the whole thing tells a story of its own. He had to do this, but that didn’t make
it right. Deep down, Jimmy probably knows that if you
ignore the layers of resentment, a lot of the issues Chuck has with him do hold weight. Jimmy is arguably just as flawed of a person
as Chuck, in far different ways of course, but he was just able to slip by for one reason
or another and come out of a lot of situations unscathed. He led a bit of a charmed life in that way,
and became the tragic flaw of sorts that was the cause of Chuck’s ultimate unravelling. Him being our primary eyes in the story means
that we can never really fully appreciate the full scope of the harm his acts did to
his brother, but even the little we do get make Chuck’s poor behaviours understandable,
though of course not justifiable. I think he knows that most of not all of Chuck’s
problems and negatives, while directed towards him, were caused by him. Regardless of whether or not that is justified
and regardless of Jimmy’s intent, that is the reality of the situation and he very much
carries that weight, which leads to his own spiralling and deflections later on. But I digress - the point is, Jimmy knows
that he isn’t blameless, that he did do many things wrong, and that Chuck does have
a point. And here, Jimmy does something just as bad
as anything Chuck had ever done to him. It’s a very complicated situation. Neither is a good person and neither is bereft
of blame. They damage each other and no one is in the
right. Yes, Chuck is terrible, spiteful and unfair,
completely consumed and condescending towards the actual work his brother did put in. But he isn't wrong about Jimmy, even though
he is a big part of the reason for it, and his pride and jealousy have combined with
his condition to make him someone who just can't function properly. What we see in this episode is someone who
is very mentally ill, and suffering for it. It is the breakdown of a person who isn't
in their proper capacity. And as such, it is a moment of necessity,
not triumph. Jimmy is disgusted and disturbed with himself,
but he had to resort to destroying Chuck, because they had reached an impasse that was
only going to be cleared with ugliness. Jimmy's a wonderful character with some great
traits, but he is far from a blameless victim here and this story wants us to realize this
through what I view as one of the most uncomfortable scenes in anything ever. It’s wonderfully natural, raw and nuanced
character writing and beautifully painful storytelling, and this in itself is an example
of why Better Call Saul is not only its own entity as a story, but worthy of standing
alongside it’s older brother as the zenith of television. In the end, despite the constant conflict
and toxicity the two have been through, they’re brothers. And Jimmy never wanted to reduce Chuck
to this. And it’s this win, the first real trigger
for the spiral that lead to his death, coupled with these unfiltered, resigned words from
Chuck in the series finale prior to his death, that lead Jimmy on to the path of embracing
this seedier side of him that may not have manifested without provocation. One of Chuck’s most notable lines here in
the courtroom is that Jimmy will never change. And perhaps he’ll end up being correct about
that. It can be argued that he know who Jimmy is
more accurately than anyone except maybe Kim - he’s always known and he is deeply in
tune with how he thinks. But what he doesn’t realize is that his
condemnation of his brother and his inability to trust in him and truly believe that he
could change is a big part of what may cause Jimmy to stay on this path. Like a self-fulfilling prophecy. And Jimmy, the man who once upon a time was
the only one who properly tended to, understood and cared for his brother, ultimately ends
up being the one to destroy him. It is grimly poetic writing, and it is as
indicative of the quality of this story as anything else. Many thanks for watching.
