RoyalTea

well, I think it's clear that Chuck didn't want to hire Jimmy when he passed the bar, but I don't think that Hamlin would have wanted to hire Jimmy anyway.

I don't know if someone not getting a job at HHM (which I'm assuming is supposed to be one of the best firms in ABQ) when they went to the University of American Samoa on a part-time remote-location basis could really be "screwed."

Not getting to work on the Sandpiper with HHM definitely is screw job, and I got the sense that Hamlin would have allowed it if not for Chuck. I wouldn't be surprised if Chuck already used the nuclear option ("I'll quit if you don't be the bad guy again and tell Jimmy he's not wanted").

musick

I love how the episode unfolded in that most shows would have used the Chuck "betraying" Jimmy as a shocker ending but I think Vince and crew pretty much made it obvious with the late night cell phone call and then from there we got to watch it all unravel from all points of view. The scene with Howard and Kim in particular was amazing as you could see Howard's anguish in making up the story to Kim even as much as he dislikes Jimmy.

Mike86

Yep pretty ironic considering the road that Jimmy eventually goes down. So far on this series Jimmy is a decent guy trying to make it as a legitimate lawyer. He had a shady past but is trying to get away from that and the one person he thought he'd be able to trust turned on him and led him down a darker path ultimately.

fumanstan

Might be harsh of me, but I don't think it's bullshit at all. Based on Chuck's experience with his brother no one knows or thinks he's a great lawyer, despite catching this fraud thing initially. Like Chuck was saying, he's still just "Slippin' Jimmy" to him.

Kind of along the lines of what RoyalTea said, not getting automatically hired at HHM isn't surprising as not everyone who passes the bar gets a pass in to a law firm. I imagine the other partners might have given Jimmy a bye because of his brother at the time. Chuck making Hamlin do all the talking for him and blocking him from helping with the case is certainly shitty though.

RichC2

I guess the people that are buying this episode from iTunes/Vudu/wherever are getting "Pigfucker" in its full glory.

slop101

I wonder with his identity change from McGill to Goodman (most likely coming at the end of this season), if it means he might come out of hiding from Omaha and come back as McGill later on if they do any post-BB episodes/seasons. But I guess it depends on how cognizant people were of Goodman's past as McGill.

dhmac

Great episode, but I think they missed calling it an even better title ending in O: "Fredo"

SPOILER ALERT [for a 40 year old movie]: (as in the brother who betrays Michael Corleone in The Godfather, Part II )

Mike86

I do sort of get where Chuck is coming from. I mean earlier in the season we saw him working with the two skateboard guys to try and make easy money off of people, plus the whole billboard incident. Plus obviously everything that happened in the past. I think he does have a reason to be skeptical about Jimmy, but at the same time doesn't seem to be really willing to give him a fair chance and wants to write him off as no good.

The thing is as viewers we see that Jimmy has been trying to turn over a new leaf and gain a good reputation as a real lawyer and not someone out to scam people. In the end Chuck is going to help leading Jimmy into becoming Saul Goodman and going down the wrong path.

Bill Needle

I agree Chuck has legitimate concerns. HHM is no mom-and-pop lawyer shop. Jimmy could definitely be seen as a potential liability. He is still clearly a wildcard with the stunts he pulls, motivations aside.

It just was so much harsher coming from his brother, though he did try to make it seem otherwise (by hiding it). Chuck knew him as Slippin' Jimmy a lot longer than he knew him as a lawyer. In hindsight, Jimmy doing the lawyer thing on his own as a means to prove to Chuck how much he had changed may have hurt him. Had Chuck walked him through it (gotten him into a better school, etc) he may have respected the accomplishment more. To Chuck the law is sacred, and Slippin' Jimmy coming through a diploma mill to allow him to practice is an affront to Chuck, same as if anyone else would have done it. And he just couldn't look past that, whether it was his brother or not. Acting on Jimmy's behalf would have reflected poorly Chuck and sapped his reputation, and Chuck couldn't deal with that.

That said, it was still a dick move to pull on a brother, and he went so much further than he needed to when laying it out for him.

Josh-da-man

Yeah, realistically, Jimmy's a liability. He's shady as fuck; we saw him trying to run a scam with the skateboarders, and we know from BB that he's going to get in with drug dealers.

I realize that we're supposed to sympathize with him, being the main character and all, but at the same time he's the kind of lawyer who could get his firm into a shitload of trouble.

Geofferson

Agreed this was a fantastic episode. The stuff with Jimmy/Chuck was great. The stuff with Mike was great. The final segment was very powerful. Just a great acting job all-around. This season has been such a pleasure (and a surprise). Excited (and a little sad) for the season finale next week.

DthRdrX

IMO the best scene of the series so far was Mike's speech in the car. It not only showed his own thought process towards his own choices but also mirrored what is going to become of both Walt and Saul. Good people who choose to do illegal things are still criminals.

majorjoe23

My favorite episode of Black Mirror.

RichC2

Really? I was kind of mixed on that one.

Nth Power

Great episode. I can see Chuck's reasoning for not wanting Jimmy, but it was a bastard way to do it.

Mike vs. Trevor was awesome. They should have had Michael and Franklin along as the rest of the crew.

kstublen

Loved this episode. Saw where it was headed, but loved how it unfolded. For as great as Odenkirk does in the show's funny moments, he nails the dramatic ones. It was heartbreaking watching him plea to get a spot on the case in the boardroom and then confronting his brother with the truth.

And I loved the stuff with Mike, obviously.

Yeah, it was nice to see Kim cared enough to put herself in that position. And I can appreciate that Hamlin was playing the bad guy and taking it even thought he might have otherwise let Jimmy be more involved with the case.

I just wish there was a compromise where HHM could handle the majority of the case but let Jimmy be involved and learn how to be an actual lawyer in the process. Oh well...

He wasn't really trying to make easy money off anyone with the skateboard guys. He was trying to get in good with the Kettlemans to get their business and actually defend the embezzlement case against the husband. And the billboard incident was just to get himself some publicity.

Neither are the most ethical things to do, but they're different than his past scams in that he was just trying to get legitimate work.

Matt925

I totally agree with chuck. Jimmy has let him down so many times. I've got old friends who are totally irresponsible. We are friends but I would never trust them with anything important.

Mike86

True. The skateboard guys were really just his hopeful ticket to landing a potentially big case for himself. The billboard thing I agree wasn't the worst scam to pull but it was still sort of shady and not something a legitimate lawyer would pull. I get why he did it though.

Raul3

Great episode. Chuck may be partially right, but that's not the way to threat your brother, your own blood. He back stabbed him.

DJariya

Just caught this episode tonight. Oh wow, that last scene with Chuck and Jimmy was awesome. Oh man, I felt the betrayal that Jimmy felt in that scene. What a huge knife that Chuck stuck in Jimmy's back, especially after everything he did for him. I get some of Chuck's POV, but you don't do that kind of thing to your own family. Yeah he's trying to be a protective older brother and maybe teach Jimmy a lesson. But Jimmy did so many things for him during his condition and IMO you don't shun someone close to you like that because now you're better and think it's bullshit that he took "shortcuts" to get where he is now. Who doesn't sometimes in life when the opportunity arises? yeah Jimmy has a shady past, but he learned from it and made himself better even though he took the shorter route.

Can't wait to see the finale. Man, these 9 weeks flew by.

Matt925

The reason chuck had the condition in the first place was from all the shit jimmy put him through. He's the black sheep of the family. No one would risk getting him a job at their prestigious workplace. Well, he did get him a starters job, but he's not trying to stick his neck out when he knows how unreliable jimmy is. Chuck told him to take the deal.

bralph

I know some of the Chuck stuff slowed down some episodes of the show earlier in the season, but all of that setup really paid off in this episode. By showing just how much Jimmy did for Chuck, made Chuck's betrayal all the more meaningful.

slop101

BTW, he was talking about Pimento cheese sandwich, not olives.
The appropriate picture would've been:

arminius

I hope Chuck is killed.

starseed1981

Holy hell. That makes this even more awesome.

....Did not see that coming from Chuck.