Jimmy returns to the back burner this week, mostly serving as moral support for Kim as she’s faced with a big decision: a job offer from the firm she and Jimmy are opposing in the Sandpiper case. (Kim really has saved herself, simply by being an excellent, competent lawyer.) Rather than engaging in capers of his own, Jimmy serenades Kim with "Bali Ha'i" via voicemail, perhaps the most McGillian romantic gesture imaginable. And he’s there when Kim needs him to get a "live one" on the hook—a man hitting on her who they con into "investing" in a new business venture (essentially, online dating) in the name of… “Ice Station Zebra Associates.”
The origins of Saul Goodman's favorite holding company—a romantically shared manipulation—is a nice touch, representative of the way everyone on Better Call Saul is relentlessly dragged toward the logical conclusions of their own best intentions. Jimmy’s caring impulse betrayed him with Chuck, and it might bite him in the ass with Kim, but it’s all leading him toward the same conclusion—something that’s exemplified by the episode’s cold open. In a sequence masterfully shot by director Michael Slovis, Jimmy wrestles with insomnia, tossing and turning in bed, playing soccer and basketball by himself, and generally goofing around, until he returns... to the pullout bed in the nail salon, where he finally falls asleep. It’s far less comfortable than his fancy new house, but when he’s alone in the middle of the night, Jimmy knows where home is.
Alignment: Neutral Good
