So many of us grow up in the shadow of our older brothers, or at the very least, we grow up in their care. Some of us compete with our siblings while others look only to make them proud. From the moment Slippin’ Jimmy was pinched all those years ago, he was dedicated to impressing his brother and making him proud. Chuck is after all, Jimmy’s one constant. He’s the one who gave him that last shot at getting his life together and being a productive member of society and his only true family. When Chuck comes down with his imagined hyper sensitivity to anything electric, it’s Jimmy who, not only waits on him hand and foot, but also defends his brother’s mental competency.
We’ve watched Jimmy jump through flaming hoops to protect and impress his brother week after week and we know how crushed Jimmy was when he earned his law degree but was denied the opportunity to partner up with Chuck at HH&M. All the effort and emotional investment from Jimmy directed towards his big brother is what makes “Pimento” another gut punch of an episode.
“Pimento” picks up where we left off in the episode, “Rico." Chuck and Jimmy sit outside as Chuck attempts to adjust to spending time outside again, his physical and mental state seemingly improved after he carelessly walked out of the house. Jimmy attempts to keep him calm as the two sit together but Chuck’s anxiety soon gets the better of him and they reenter the house.
Chuck and Jimmy go back and forth over the details of their case and we know it’s coming. We know what comes next. Chuck wants the case to be brought to HH&M to be properly handled, but Jimmy can’t stand the idea and fights it tooth and nail before eventually caving and agreeing to hand the case off but liking the idea of finally working out of an office at HH&M. He’s just happy to be working with his big brother.
Under the cover of night, Chuck makes his way out to the mailbox where he grabs Jimmy's cellphone. Using the phone pains him as his condition hasn’t been entirely eliminated, but he pushes through the pain to dial through to Howard. We’re not made privy to the details of the conversation just yet.
Elsewhere, Mike has continued to adapt to life in Albuquerque. He’s recently adopted a dog for his granddaughter (remember the vet with criminal connections?) and is now exploring new job opportunities. In a parking garage (possibly a reference to Breaking Bad’s “Face Off”) Mike awaits his would-be employer before being approached by two other generic goons.
While one goon is large and physically intimidating, he seems reasonably professional, only asking Mike if they’re standing in the correct spot. Mike believes they’re in the correct location, and the two are then joined by an overcompensating, overly curious gun for hire who won’t stop pestering Mike about what kind of heat he’s packing.
The funny thing about this whole situation is that Mike isn’t packing any heat. Mike didn’t bring a gun, he only brought a pimento sandwich (yet another Breaking Bad reference, Mike brought pimento loaf when he and Jesse were on a stakeout in “Cornered” as the two investigated some of Gustavo’s stolen blue meth. These little Easter Eggs of continuity have become an enjoyable part of the show, a sort of “thank you” for the fans who’ve hung around since Breaking Bad).
A van pulls up to the trio of henchmen and their employer is revealed to be a somewhat ineffectual and socially awkward man. He discusses terms of payment and invites them to get started on their mission to protect him as he completes a drug deal but the overcompensating goon who keeps bragging about the guns on his person won’t leave Mike alone, insisting that the man instead cut Mike out.
Mike isn’t amused and suggests to the goon that if he needs to use a gun, he’ll simply take one of his. This prompts the goon to get in Mike’s face and dares him to take his pistol from his hand. This, as we know, is an extraordinarily stupid course of action and predictably Mike, the same Mike who will one day expertly take on the Mexican cartel, puts the goon on his backside and robs him of every weapon he had with him. The other, less talkative henchmen, is intimidated and runs off, leaving Mike as the only man for the job. Mike and his bald employer code named “Price” depart.
As Chuck and Jimmy enter the office of HH&M, Chuck receives a standing ovation from the entirety of the office. Chuck is nervous but his partners are happy to have him back in the game. In the conference room, Chuck, Jimmy, Howard, Kim, and the rest of the team discuss the case that Jimmy has unearthed.
Howard and Jimmy discuss compensation and everything seems amicable until Jimmy requests a specific office with HH&M. Howard, it turns out, wants the case, will compensate Jimmy and work with Chuck, but he will not take Jimmy on as a member of the team. Jimmy reveals that he thinks Howard hates him and that the feeling is mutual, but that he’s willing to put things aside to work on this case for their mutual benefit, but Howard isn’t having any of it and Chuck, along with Jimmy, is outraged. Jimmy leaves, taking his case with him.
Meanwhile, Mike explains to Price the proper way to conduct their deal before Nacho shows up with a crew. The deal is completed but not before Mike insists that Price count the money he’s given. When Price is short changed, he tells Nacho to make good on the rest and Nacho reluctantly complies before leaving. After Nacho departs, Mike identifies him to Price as Ignacio (possibly the same Ignacio mentioned when Saul is brought out to the desert by a masked Walter and Jesse, he claims “It was Ignacio!”)
Mike further explains that Ignacio is part of a larger organization and this deal was done outside of his boss’s knowledge and jurisdiction which means that it’s in Ignacio’s best interest for these deals to go down without a hitch. Mike then explains to Price that he is now a criminal, and that being a criminal doesn’t mean being a bad person, after all there are bad cops, bad priests and so forth, and Price is left to digest this philosophical nugget.
Back at the law office of HH&M, Kim goes to bat for Jimmy, demanding an answer for why Howard won’t work with Jimmy. Howard feigns indignation at his employee questioning him but eventually decides to tell her something more detailed. She closes the door and the two discuss.
The “closed door” is used often in Better Call Saul to force us to imagine the exact contents of a conversation. It’s an interesting technique but today when the content of the conversation is finally revealed, it’s a bit brutal.
Kim meets up with Jimmy at their usual place, the spa that doubles as Jimmy’s office. Jimmy invites her in for some booze and goes off on a rant about what an ass Howard is all the while a visibly shaken Kim attempts to interject and tell him something. When she finally gets through to him, she tells him to take the deal offered by Howard in the conference room. Jimmy is incensed and takes this as a betrayal. He directs his anger at Kim, but Kim leaves unable to divulge any more information. Jimmy heads to his office, plugs in his cellphone and notices something not quite right.
Chuck comes home whistling in a seemingly happy mood but is startled by a silent Jimmy who’s been waiting for him. Chuck talks about how good it was to be back at work, and how he’s thinking about going for a walk. Jimmy thinks it’s a good idea but tells Chuck he didn’t sleep the night before, claiming to have done some soul searching.
Jimmy has agreed to Chuck’s deal, after all – he wouldn’t want to work with Howard anyway right?
“Two McGill boys, side by side,” Jimmy muses out loud to Chuck. Chuck talks about possibly convincing Howard to let Jimmy work with them one day. Jimmy has an idea, and suggests Chuck quit if Howard doesn’t agree to take Jimmy on board, because Chuck has that kind of sway and could easily pull this maneuver off *IF* he truly wants to work with his younger brother.
“Launch the doomsday advice, game over, if working with me is what you REALLY WANT, right Chuck?” Jimmy’s tone has changed, he’s no longer suggesting, he’s accusing. Chuck’s jig is up.
“You called him.” Jimmy explains that he noticed how his phone battery was drained and how a call was made from it when he was asleep, but the record of the call was deleted from the phone itself, only confirmed from the phone company. What could possibly have been so important that Chuck would expose himself to all that electromagnetivity before their meeting with Howard?
Jimmy accuses Chuck of being the one who sabotaged his attempts to join the firm. It wasn’t Howard who denied Jimmy the chance to join the firm when first passed the bar exam, it was Chuck both then and now.
But where did this betrayal come from? Why wouldn’t Chuck want to work alongside his brother or to see his brother succeed?
“I’m your brother, we’re supposed to lookout for each other, why were you working against me?” Jimmy asks through a mixture of rage and sadness. Then, Chuck drops the bombshell.
“You’re not a real lawyer.” His words sound half tearful, half disgusted.
“I’m what.”
“You’re NOT a real lawyer.” Chuck’s tone is now one of anger and contempt. Chuck berates Jimmy for not attending a real university, for having the audacity to think that the two are equals after Chuck did the real work. Chuck resents Jimmy for taking an easier route into a profession that he worked harder to obtain. Chuck claims that people don’t change and the Jimmy is still "Slippin’ Jimmy," using his charm and humor to work as a lawyer and that he was more proud of Jimmy working in the mailroom.
It seems Chuck refuses to see his screw up of a younger brother as anything but a screw up. His confession is a mixture of honest disbelief in his brother’s ability to change and a desire to keep his brother from changing. It’s the kind of betrayal that can only come from somebody loved and admired, somebody who’s known us our entire lives.
The older brother refuses to entertain the idea of his younger brother coming close to his level of success while actively working to prevent. It’s painful to hear these words as we’ve spent the entire season watching Jimmy do everything he can to follow the right path and still be accused of being a “mockery.”
It’s something akin to watching a drug addict genuinely get clean and then having a loved one accuse them of being nothing more than worthless junkie because it’s who they are, not only will they not change it, they can’t. It’s not a possibility. Jimmy is not a mockery of a lawyer. He follows a code of ethics but to add insult to this injury, we know who Saul Goodman will be, and we know that Chuck’s prophecy is likely self-fulfilling. Saul Goodman WILL be the joke that Chuck claims Jimmy is now.
"A monkey with a machine gun." If his brother doesn’t care that Jimmy is above boards, why should Jimmy care how he earns a living?
We’ve seen Bob Odenkirk play this character for years now, but we’ve never seen Saul/Jimmy heartbroken before. It’s powerful and it’s gut wrenching and it’s a testament to Bob Odenkirk and the writers that we can keep seeing new sides to a character we’ve known for years.
Michael McKean also delivers Chuck’s betrayal in a way that makes it feel personal to the audience. He’s not only betrayed Jimmy, but he’s betrayed the audience who trusted him as one of the good guys as well. Both actors are outstanding.
The episode ends with Jimmy telling Chuck about the provisions he’s procured for him one last time and then telling Chuck he’s on his own as Jimmy departs, the relationship between the brothers seemingly over.
