Fifi

Fifi is another very strong chapter of Better Call Saul.

The opening one-take Orson Wells tribute is brilliant and sets the scene for a good balance of entertainment and intrigue.

I find the central plot featuring a fight for a lucrative client to be very compelling and has a mixture of strong scenes. I like the dialogue involving all characters relating to this conflict. Generally there are a lot of great scenes involving characters selling various concepts to each other with convincing speeches. Jimmy's involvement is worked well into the story and his larger character arc. At this stage we are only teased about what he is up to, but it all becomes very clear further down the line.

Additionally Jimmy is used fantastically well for humour yet again. The scenes involving the titular aircraft are hilarious, with Bob Odenkirk on fantastic form as always.

Mike's scenes are intriguing and also serve his likability well. Who would not want a granddad like Mike?

Visually it is another classic of storytelling using effective cinematography and editing.

Some are shocked at how great a character-actor Lenny from Lenny and Squiggy from LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY has become, but his role as rhythm guitarist/vocalist David St. Hubbins in THIS IS SPINAL TAP made that clear since he had to be, pretty much, the jerk of the band, who gets duped by his own Yoko and goes against the movie's scene-stealing puppy dog, Christopher Guest...

That's acting, and his character on this show is very unique. It's a bit much, his allergy to electricity, and often derails the series on longer scenes than are intended, but his acting is incredible, and this episode in particular, as he provides a hard-sell to a bank they might lose to Kim Wexler... this three or four minute scene is just incredible, and fun to watch over and over.

Chuck, of course, is an interesting character (what an understatement). He is also fundamentally selfish and potentially evil man. Jimmie, in his eyes, is a profligate and has no right to success. He does everything he can to destroy the guy who has practically given his life for him. At one point in this episode, Chuck tells Jimmie that if their situations were reversed, he would do the same for him. But there is total silence. Chuck is so filled with self love, he has no real moral sense. The scene with KIm in the previous episode is so telling. He believes that JImmie ruined his father's life when in truth the guy was an idiot. Meanwhile, Jimmie goes to work doing something to affect the huge account that was taken away from Kim. The other plot line is that Mike is up to something. He is staked out, watching the drug people.

How does Chuck know what Kim Wexler told Mesa Verda? How does he know what kind of sales strategy Kim used? Kim Wexler admits not to be the safe option but instead she feels like the correct one, this is what she sells to Mesa Verde, meanwhile, Chuck does the opposite, He proposes HHM firm as a safe and reliable option and hence the correct option. This same thing cannot be applied with Kim's equation, Kim's plan is to be the right choice and that's it, there is no way out of selling herself as the safe choice.

But how is it that Chuck -more than knowing- managed to seduce Mesa Verde with the same speech as Kim but switched it to his favor? The only right answer is that Chuck is an extraordinary lawyer.

Came here to write this review because the opening scene with the long take is one of the most awesome long takes I've seen.