Good episode, tbh only good one of the season so far for me. This season is very slow imo, it has lost me at many moments but finally lead to something in this episode. Hopefully the season ends strong, think it will.

I loved that part.

by the end, each episode leaves me wanting more which is a sign of good television.

but i have to say the story they decided to tell about chuck and jimmy is a bit bland and could have been condensed.

Yes the best lawyer in town does a Perry Mason blowup on the stand despite having watched Perry Mason.

For the first time that I remember, a character (Jimmy) suggested a cause for Chuck's mental illness. Jimmy hinted the cause was Chuck's divorce and I think it's likely that Jimmy believes that's the actual cause.

Since season 1, I've thought Chuck's illness was brought on by his undermining of Jimmy. I don't think Jimmy is anywhere near making that connection.

Nailed it.

good episode...but not quite up to the standards I expect...seems very <name any lawyer show>.

Maybe Chuck will die in a freak gardening accident, Jimmy will want to investigate, but the police will most likely say it's best left alone. As a show of contempt to the law, enter Saul Goodman.

It was a great episode but it tilted me pretty bad that there was no "verdict" after all that courtroom drama. Like turning your TV off right after Jack Nicholson finishes his 'you cant handle the truth line'. We know Jimmy cant get disbarred but we're left with a range of potential outcomes from a year or two license suspension (as Chuck was worried about) to Jimmy being fully absolved and Chuck catching his own hearing/fallout. Tune in next week for more hints!

Yeah I'm not crazy about it either. It kind of felt like last week was a bit of a cliffhanger and we're still hanging from the same cliff until next week.

Also did Mike really just go into Chuck's house to get his wife's contact info? Seems a bit much, Jimmy's an attorney it seems like he'd be able to find someone without going to those lengths. Also it was weird that we didn't see Mike at all.

Mike also got the photos which Jimmy showed in court, but more importantly showed to Rebecca, she mentioned it was one of the reasons she came

show is slower than mollases

i wouldn't watch this as a standalone

there was more value in the 'oh **** its gonna be Huell!' moment than his actual scenes

All banking off BB nostalgia

I'm obviously plot committed at this point but I'm not impressed

This part bothered me because:
1) there was no reaction from Chuck as in "hey! How/when did you get those pictures?" and
2) there was not even the slightest attempt at authenticating them.

On point 2, I know it's just a TV show, and not even primarily a legal drama, but that was just laughably unrealistic.

One of the best episodes of TV I have ever seen. Why no love? This isn't breaking bad. This isn't a drug/violence/scarface type of show. They took an otherwise very boring, dry topic lawyers and turned it into one of the most riveting TV series possibly of all time. It's one of the most brilliantly written shows of all time.

Why is it boring? No tits, no pussy, no drugs, no blood and guts?

Chuck was under a barrage of fire. The pictures was probably the last thing on his mind- his mental condition, his ex wife showing up out of the blue, the rage from jimmy trying to weasel out of his current situation, and his underlying, brewing hate that has been building up for 35+ years that he's just dying to tell everyone about.

I still love the pacing of this show. Another gripping episode.

Have they ever explained how Chuck tolerates being in cars? He gets driven around every once in a while despite the battery, dashboard lights, power windows, etc.

Heuuuuellll turning back for the audience kind of bugged me. They should have had him look directly into the camera and make a goofy face while his theme song played.

Exactly. That was the whole point of bringing the ex wife, to rattle the hell out of him. Also the dude is mentally ill, lol at thinking he'd act perfectly under these conditions.

Also it's pretty clear imo that Jimmy is let go with little or no punishment. Also Chuck & HHM are obviously going to have a huge falling out, as foreshadowed by his scene with Howard about the PR of HHM.

his disease isnt real, thats how he tolerates it

ya i mean if you call attention to it then it's not at all stupid amirite

ya i'm guessing that Jimmy won't escape punishment, will at least be some kind of suspension or slap on the wrist to make the whole thing a "tragic" lose/lose situation

anything else would be really dum

--I'd disbar him for that "planting a battery on the witness" trick alone.

--Love the last shot of Chuck being shown the Exit. This was his one shot to derail Jimmy's legal career, and he blew it.

--Cross-examination is *supposed* to be withering...but Kim's next question after "nepotism?" was the MOST withering cross question in the history of tv courtroom dramas. Loved the reaction shot of the prosecutor-guy. Haven't seen a more exaggerated reaction from a lawyer since Joe Pesci's shrug after his "lucid, intelligent, well-thought out objection" was "overruuuuuuuuuuuuled."

--I enjoyed "plot committed" ITT.

--Rebecca is out touring the world with the symphony. I guess Jimmy *could* have tracked her down through other means, but the simplest would be to get her contact info from Chuck's desk. Sure beats cold-calling local classical musicians, asking if they know Rebecca, what band she's currently with, tracking down where that band is now, trying hotels in that city, etc.

--Bold prediction: This farce of a hearing will cost Kim the Mesa Verde account.

^^^ I agree that Jimmy has to face some kind of consequences, it's going to be silly if that review board just handwaives the entire incident and actually buys Jimmy's story that he made the whole thing up to protect Chuck's sanity. "Beyond a reasonable doubt" is not the standard they're bound to here as was pointed out (by Chuck) last week.

That said...I've seen stranger things than that go down in rl courtrooms.

I just hope they keep Chuck around as long as possible, he's a great character played by a really underrated actor, facts which imo are strongly supported by the fact that he invokes such visceral reactions.

By the way, when was that opening sequence supposed to have taken place? Like right after Jimmy leaves HHM? Chuck didn't seem very bitter toward him during the meal when they were discussing Jimmy but I guess that could have been an act for Rebecca.

That IS bold, seems like the scene with her and the Mesa peeps was meant to assure us that nothing was going to come of it...maybe M. Night guest-directs next ep and gives us a HUDGE TWIST

Also I'm kinda feeling like HUELL was sort of shoehorned into that ep, as it was totally unnecessary for him to plant the battery on Chuck. Jimmy could have simply saved that line of questioning until the very end and then whipped out the phone + battery right at the end of cross and that would have been enough. I guess it really did drive the point home, though. meh

Giligan&co tend to explicitly address their plot weaknesses through a character, like Nacho giving some surprise reasons why he'll help Gringo Mike destroy his friend Tuco. I guess that is preferable to having characters spontaneously act to make the plot work. Here it just looks like Chuck is eager to get pwned by Jimmy all along.