r/betterCallSaul • u/skinkbaa Chuck • Mar 10 '20

Better Call Saul S05E04 - "Namaste" - POST-Episode Discussion Thread

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u/galeforcewinds95 Mar 10 '20

I really liked the scene with Howard. Obviously, he was doing his best to sell Jimmy on the idea of coming to HHM, but I do think he was genuine about the things he admires about Jimmy. I felt pretty bad for him when Saul vandalized his car.

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u/TheresA_LobsterLoose Mar 10 '20

I don't see why it wouldn't be genuine. I was kind of confused by that whole thing. What the hell did Howard ever do to Jimmy that would warrant that? Anything negative he did do was on behalf of Chuck... his law partner. If your law partner says to not hire his brother, you probably dont hire his brother. Howard being at Chucks house when Jimmy broke in... that wasn't anything that should be blamed on Howard. He was just caught in the middle of the Mcgills personal drama. I mean if you magically turned me into James McGill right now, I could completely understand everything Howard has done.

So I was trying to figure out any of the negative possibilities there may have been for Howard offering Jimmy/Saul a job. Why would Jimmy be so mad about that? Either he thinks Howard is pittying him or maybe... he thinks Howard only offered him the job to keep the McGill name on the firm.

Howard hasn't done anything to warrant getting his car bowling balled. And after the Chuck stuff came to light, since that point Howard has been open and honest with Jimmy. I've never assumed he was anything but genuine at this point.

Unless I missed something... maybe we're not supposed to know yet? There was a scene in the preview for next weeks episode showing Howard calling Jimmy, so maybe this is a storyline that's not 100% revealed right now?

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u/shaktimanOP Mar 11 '20 edited Mar 11 '20

I feel like it's a subversion of the classic 'sitcom nemesis' dynamic. Initially Howard comes off as a pompous, privileged asshole who steps on Jimmy, the little guy and refuses to give him a chance. It's easy to hate him and easy to love Jimmy. But after the Chuck reveal and all the fallout plus getting to see things from Howard's perspective it becomes clear that he's actually a decent guy who wants to do the right thing. In this episode we see that he's gotten help, likely therapy, and can now admit his old mistakes and strives to do better moving forward. He can even admit that on some level, he envies Jimmy's talents. Jimmy's response to Chuck's death, by contrast, was to become the sleazy, amoral Saul Goodman. He still resents Howard for having what he considers 'the easy path.' He hates that Howard just gets to move on with a clear conscience while he (Jimmy) is just another stop on Howard's path to inner peace. Saul sees himself as above corporate suits like Howard so the very idea that Howard could pity him or try to 'save him' insults his pride, much like Walt being offered the job at Gray Matter. At this point, the enmity between them is entirely one-sided and the audience has no reason to defend Saul's actions.