I don’t know…It seemed to me that they just weren’t expecting things to go so fast. This wasn’t a dedicated hit team or violent crew of assassins. It was just a bunch of guys hanging out who thought they saw some easy prey. They were expecting some fun back and forth, some harassment, then a punch or kick or two and take whatever he had. Instead Mike cranked it instantly up to 11. I’m sure that a trained unit could have taken him down easily, but the way that scene was staged, the way those characters were set up, the response of the guys seemed very realistic to me.
That and he took out the leader, so there’s no one to take direction from, and people (especially older teenagers) don’t tend to react well to sudden, unexpected, high stress situations. Sure all four of them can take him if they rush at once, but he’ll probably mess up the arm of whoever gets there first. If everyone is thinking “Do I want to be the first guy? Nah, I’ll just wait for someone else to go.” then it ends up that no one goes. Real people tend to freeze up in a scary, unexpected situation. And if you look at the preview for next week, it doesn’t appear that they’re permanently cowed by Mike’s display.
That’s what you get from having a job that’s nonstop action/adventure all day. You adrenaline junkies, you keep needing your rush late into the night! 
I pretty much saw that the same way - but more along the lines of losing ones identity. The first ant (or scam) is pretty minor, the ant that climbed all the way to the top of the cone (LOVED the yodeling music!) represents just how fun that life is. But scam after scam takes a toll and by the time Jimmy comes back and sees the melted cone on the ground it represents the death of Jimmy McGill.
I think the scenes with the beer bottle were also symbolic. When Jimmy takes Kim’s empty bottle and puts it on the ledge she kept watching it teeter. Is it safe or going to fall? I think Kim is going through the same thing - safe is following the law, but she’s just on the edge of falling off. This is why I think her story was mostly a lie. When she came back home and threw her bottles into the parking lot I feel like it’s her saying “fuck it” to the straight and narrow path.
Symbolism of course varies with the viewer! What scares me a little with Kim is how depressed she looks - I hope suicide doesn’t come in but I get a vibe from her that if it’s not on the forefront of her mind it’s there somewhere.
Interesting thing I just thought of while reading this: Kim’s current issues actually stem from Jimmy helping her get Mesa Verde away from HHM. If, as clearly would have happened without the Chuck sabotage, MV had decided that HHM was the way to go, Kim would have actually had an independent practice. She would have had to work to build up some initial clients, but would be free to balance them between ‘regular’ and ‘pro bono’, would not have just one ‘big bank’ paying client, and would not be beholden to any one of them in particular. Mesa Verde really was too big for her to handle alone, and so she was basically forced into working with S&K, which is a good job but not what she chose and it doesn’t fit her - a lot like Jimmy at D&M, though less severe. I think a Kim working an independent practice, even if she was struggling a bit, would be much happier.
I wonder if she’s going to think of that, and resent Jimmy for helping her in a way that’s led her to a place where she’s well off financially in what would be a dream job to most people but that isn’t what she actually wants. (In addition to the help causing a major problem for both of them and being wildly unethical)
I don’t see anything indicating that. She doesn’t like where she is and is conflicted about what to do, but there’s no indication that she feels like there’s no hope for her life, and no indication that she’s had issues with major depression or anything like that. It also feels like it would be a cheap resolution to her arc, turning her from a strong character into more of a plot point to generate tragedy for Jimmy.
Yeah, that’s me, all right! Hell, I’ve come to the conclusion that the two most important criteria for my job are a high tolerance for boredom and a strong bladder! 
Of course, I quickly realized that I could call a recess anytime I wanted without giving any reason, so there really isn’t a need for a strong bladder!
You all make really good points. I have to admit that my view that Kim is going to pull up is very much coloured by the fact I only want good things for her. Frazzled’s point about the beer bottles is making me think harder about that.
But my main take away from this discussion is that it’s testament to the show. The writing and Rhea Seehorn’s performance are nuanced and layered enough for there to be (broadly) two opposed views of how a character’s story will develop - and both views are plausible based on what we have seen on screen. Kim isn’t a mindless predictable automaton, but at the same time whatever she does choose to do will be a natural development of her personality and we can confident it won’t seem like a random act of madness.
Another thing I’m wondering about this week’s episode (Season 5 number 3). Where was Gene? No Gene segment? Why not??
Gene so far has only appeared as the cold open to the entire series. As far as I recall he’s never been in an episode that wasn’t the first one of the series.
IIRC he always appears at the beginning of the first episode of a season, and at the end of the last episode of a season, too.
Nope just the beginning of a season. My use of “series” meant “season”. In the UK the word is used for both, and I forgot that may be misunderstood on a US board.
Throwing beer bottles off of a balcony is a tradition in New Mexico.
Well, not really a tradition, but it has been done before.
Ah! I think you’re right. I’ve been binge-watching seasons 1-4 and I got confused, thinking he was appearing in random cold openings all through the seasons.
It’s a standard TV trope in my experience - no one ever considers that there are doors and windows in the back of a house (sometimes they do catch people going out windows on the side).
Hawaii 5-0 is particularly bad for this - 30 cops on the street in front of the house for the standoff 15 minutes into the program, and the bad guy runs out the back to allow the next 45 minutes to have meaning.
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Right. I wasn’t saying it was unrealistic for Mike to react that way. If anything, the opposite. It just seemed too on the nose. Too obvious.
Fortunately, I enjoyed the third episode far more than the first two, and definitely feel like the show is back in gear.
I agree, one of the best things about the show is how many weird but believable characters they have built and how much depth they give them. Jimmy, Kim, Howard, Mike, Nacho and Chuck all feel like real people with real motivations, even if they’re a bit over the top to drive drama. Some like Gus or Lalo might qualify as unrealistic, but even then they have clear motivations and personalities, they aren’t just The Bad Guy. Even a lot of the more minor characters tend to come off as full people - notably people like Rich Schweikart and Cliff Main aren’t just background ‘law firm owners’ and the Vet isn’t just ‘criminal contacts guy’, they all have distinct voices and histories, and you could easily imagine basing a show around them if you focused on them more. And ‘random act of madness’ is a good phrase to mention, because Chuck was a great antagonist who’s mental illness contributed greatly to the story without being the reason for his villainy, being a throwaway joke, or being simply an impediment.
In the last ep Saul had a client charged with robbery, the victim made a absolute positive ID only for Saul to note that the actual defendant was sitting in the back of the courtroom and nbot at the defense table. I know I’ve seen that bit before, anybody know where?
Can someone remind me about what happened to Chuck’s financial interests in HHM?
Post therapy-and-meditation Howard offering Jimmy a job was a surprise for me - I really didn’t think that would be his angle. I think Howard must think that the document doctoring was all in Chuck’s head, because I can’t see him wanting to bring Jimmy in otherwise. I don’t think Saul will seriously try to work for HHM, but I wouldn’t put it past Saul to accept the job and do something to tarnish what he sees as his brother’s legacy.
I think that Jimmy with the “50% off” idiots was the first time we’ve seen the full-on Saul Goodman tactic of badgering his own clients the show. He is slick, has no hesitation slamming on his previous profession, boasts about how awesome he is and uses other shady dealings to enahnce himself, and has no concern for how his clients get their money. It’s a stark contrast with his elder law persona where he’d sit with an elderly client and go over her Hummel figurines until he had every detail right.
Saul’s ‘visual aid’ of a bestiality pic was very clever; Ackerman clearly didn’t want to listen to any slick lawyers, and a powerpoint or detailed contract would just piss him off. Giving him something so over-the-top disgusting brought his rant to a complete standstill long enough for Saul to work his magic. I think Kim’s ‘cover story’ will be that she told Jimmy about the case, he got furious at Big Money Mesa Verde pushing the little guy around and said he was going to put a stop to it, and that she offered the ‘lets use our plan B’ to try to forestall his lawsuit. There are a lot of ways that this situation can blow up for Kim, Jimmy, or both, and I really have no idea where the ride will stop. I suspect that it’s going to end the season with Kim and Jimmy on good terms, though Kim might not have her current job.
Gus stressing out over letting his dead drops get discovered was another one of the great scenes that you wouldn’t think is good from the description. “Ruthless drug lord shames assistant fast food manager into cleaning and recleaning a fryer because of his on unease” just doesn’t seem like something you’d say. Lyle is not ever going to let someone leave without covering the fryer again.
When Chuck threatened to sue Howard, Howard used a combination of HHM’s resources and personal loans to buy out Chuck’s partial ownership of the firm. He gave Chuck the first of three checks just before the big ‘Chuck is retiring, everyone’ scene where Chuck was walked out of HHM. While it’s not specified in the show, I think that what Howard did was have HHM sell off part of its ownership interest to other partners, buy back some directly, and that he used his personal fortune and loans to buy the rest himself. (So he’s in debt, but also owns more of HHM than he did before). When Chuck died, he willed most of his estate to Rebecca, and the balance of the funds went to her. (Plus they probably had to reissue the first check, since I doubt Chuck cashed it before burning everything).