Better Call Saul S2E2: “Cobbler”

“Are you still morally flexible?” Mike asks Jimmy as a certain situation develops that Jimmy takes on and does a wonderful job with. The job in question is the final set piece for “Cobbler”, the second episode of the second season of Better Call Saul so since I brought it up, I will forgo my usual method of recapping in chronological order and will start by talking about the ending.

Mike luckily is working the parking lot booth when none other than his former boss Pryce comes along in that car of his that was roasted so many times in this episode that I lost count. Mike doesn’t have to say it because his face as usual says it all, he cannot believe Pryce has willingly come to the police over some baseball cards. Pryce is not the sharpest tool in the shed so he has to flat out tell Pryce that criminals have no recourse and he is endangering himself and Mike, and you do not want to endanger Mike. It would be suspicious to bail out of the meeting now so Mike figures, do I know a morally flexible lawyer who could work the detectives out of this? Oh yes he does.

Last episode Jimmy pulled off getting a ridiculously expensive bottle of tequila for free by conning Ken and what he ends up doing in this episode for Pryce, is the same con but the cops version and is just as fun to watch, if not more fun. The detectives are on to Pryce, and Pryce himself gave them more than anyone who’s guilty of something should. Enter the Slippin’ Jimmy we saw in last episode, now as an attorney. Watching him throw off the detectives with the “Hoboken Squat Cobbler” was pure gold and the detective’s reaction was much like my own. He has to be “shitting us”. Unfortunately, as detectives they’ve probably seen a lot things and people just as crazy as the story Jimmy is trying to sell them so as long as Jimmy keeps the story in line with what they already know, he’s in the clear. Jimmy actually managed to convince the detectives that Pryce the drug dealer, is not a drug dealer. Pryce is a man who has broken up with his special someone that he made videos involving pie for. Bravo Jimmy.

Elsewhere, Chuck gets a visit from a friend, Howard to be precise. Howard was dropping some groceries but was really there to tell Chuck that Jimmy got hired by Davis and Main. This obviously makes Chuck uncomfortable as his resent for Jimmy the lawyer doesn’t just mean he doesn’t want him at his own firm, he doesn’t want him at any firm. Chuck uncomfortably feigns happiness for his brother but they both know it’s a façade.

I think Chuck was revving up to get back to HHM with how big the Sandpiper case is getting but I do definitely think that the news of Jimmy getting hired at Davis and Main accelerated that desire to get back. Jimmy stumbles to finish his thoughts when Chuck walks into the joint conference between the two firms but gets through it and the two share a very tense moment after. Jimmy asks Chuck what he’s doing here and he retorts that his name is on the building. Now that the truth is out, Chuck can boast about his power. If he was this prideful of his power here earlier, Jimmy probably would have figured out a whole lot earlier that Chuck was behind the sabotaging of his career. This relationship is going to continue to be interesting. I applaud the show for switching antagonists from Howard to Chuck and it can really take this show to the next level.

On the Mike segment of the show, we briefly went into him lecturing Pryce, but he gets some other things done as well. In order for Pryce to shut up, he needs his baseball cards back so Mike, through his mysterious research methods is able to find Nacho and threaten to tell Tuco about his little side business. Mike proposes a deal, the cards and ten grand for the Hummer which they can tear down for parts since they have an auto shop. Rest in Peace Pryce’s Hummer. Many laughs were had at your expense.

Something nice that is developing at a much quicker pace than season one is Jimmy and Kim’s relationship. It was tough at times to get a feel for what exactly they were in season one but they have great chemistry and I love seeing it all unfold. Kim rearranging the seats at the meeting to sit next to Jimmy was cute and she gave him a comforting touch to help him get through his thoughts when Chuck came into the room. The world’s second greatest lawyer travel mug she gave to Jimmy was nice but maybe a sign of a bad things to come that the mug does not fit in the cup holder of Jimmy’s new company card. Also on a much darker note Kim is very upset that Jimmy made a fake video with Pryce just in case the cops came looking again. We once again see their divide. They both have a rebel side but Kim is able to keep it away from her professional life but Jimmy has shown he’s willing to make a living out of his. When he promises Kim that she won’t be hearing anything like this ever again, I hope Jimmy can keep his word because it’d be sad to damage this budding relationship.

Other Thoughts:

When Chuck is playing piano, the sheet music has inked in pen on the top, Rebecca. I wonder who that is.

I didn’t notice it the first time but Pryce mentions that the cards are important to him because his father gave them to him. With what we now know about Mike, did this make him more inclined to help Pryce?

I do wonder if that University of American Samoa sweater Kim was wearing is real and can be purchased.

Quote of the day, too many to pick, lets run down the roasts of Pryce’s Hummer.

Mike: “This blinking neon sign of a vehicle says drug dealer.” Mike “That midlife crisis of a vehicle.” Nacho: “You think I’d be caught dead driving that thing? It looks like a school bus for 60 year old pimps.”

Word of the Day: Hoboken Squat Cobbler, also known as full moon pie, Boston cream splat, Simple Simon the ass man and Dutch apple ass: When one sits down in pie and wiggles around in it. Bonus points if one cries too

Jimmy continues to struggle to walk the line between Slippin’ Jimmy and Jimmy McGill, the going is good for now but there’s no guarantee it will stay that way

Grade A