I think Jimmy was banking on an outburst. Chuck (knowing Jimmy) played Jimmy like a fiddle in order to get the confession on tape. Jimmy (knowing Chuck) knew that by using the battery trick Chuck would lose his mind because once again Jimmy was using "tricks" in trying to be a lawyer and would send Chuck off the deep end. Two things Jimmy wanted established, that Chuck had a mental issue and that Chuck has always hated him. And the battery trick worked like a charm.
That episode was utterly compelling, the acting and watching the whole thing unfold was just wonderful. The best thing is that they took a very mundane and established TV setting, courtroom, and really elevated.
what's tragic about it is the facts are all on Chuck's side, but his motives and state of mind outweigh that
Great episode. You could see the pain in Jimmie's face and the despair in Chuck's later. Compelling TV.
Yep. Every single thing he said was true. But you piece them together like that, and out of context they sound like the ravings of a lunatic. The Magna Carta reference sounded great the first time; this time, it makes him seem unhinged. Pretty cool.
They were counting on him testifying, at least. But surely Jimmy considered the home run of making him crack. Everything points to that was the plan,,,,not just for him to try to explain away a battery in his pockets, which could easily amount to nothing. The plan to get him "out in the open" seems to be the reason Kim had the lawyer-to-lawyer chat with Chuck and Hamlin, as a way to make Chuck feel like a little girl is challenging him to spar in the courtroom. What did she say to Jimmy to end Ep 4, "It's on" or something to that affect. Now that comment makes sense to me. It was not a given that Chuck would testify, as we saw when Hamlin tried to persuade him not to. So, they hit him with everything to get him to crack. Not just the battery, but the Ex being there too...the intent of that is to inspire him to crack.
I think Chuck should be proud of Jimmy's go-getter spirit. With Jimmy, give him any chance, he'll take it. Give him any rule, he'll break it. He's going to make his dreams come true. Doing it his way.
The nuance and layering of this pay-off episode were meticulously crafted. Yes, this was all being set up from the beginning to unfold this way, with Jimmy left with no choice but to undermine Chuck's sanity in order to save his own skin. The courtroom drama was gripping in a way most courtroom dramas can never accomplish because we generally only know one side of the story and go in with preconceived notions. There are so many subtleties in the dialog that raise questions in our minds. Kim mentions "She wasn't what I was expecting" in regards to Rebecca. A small statement in passing, but it highlights a perspective on Chuck's marriage. That Chuck had somehow managed to "marry up" and made Rebecca resent him rather than disclose his real motives added a wrinkle that no one was really expecting. What Kim is really saying here was "How did someone as rigid as Chuck ever end up with a woman like that?" It manages to make Chuck's plight all the more heartbreaking and confusing. Chuck's cracking wasn't satisfying to Jimmy in any way. The look on his face the entire time was not one of "I told you so" followed by the usual Jimmy exuberance. This was completely devastating to Jimmy from the beginning and the final push to turn him into Saul. Unreal episode. Just spectacular.
This can't be understated. And it's like you were describing this meticulously crafted "pay off" episode ending in a courtroom drama. not
Remember at the end of that BB episode, when Walter White says, "Everybody wins"? This is the exact opposite: everybody loses.
Absolutely. No zero-sum game here. Only malice. Chuck cannot put aside his ego and accept Jimmy as a peer. He can accept Jimmy as his brother, even with all his flaws, but the one thing Jimmy tried to do in honor of Chuck turns out to be the one thing that would make Chuck resent him the most. You can feel for him. He did everything the hard way. He had no charisma or flair for courtroom theatrics. Last season we saw this jealousy illustrated as his jokes fall flat at the dinner table in front of Rebecca whereas Jimmy effortlessly charms anyone he's in contact with. Chuck always viewed himself as a self-made man whose solemn duty was to uphold the law. Jimmy waltzes in to his firm and obtains a cheap degree and makes a mockery of everything Chuck stands for. Another point made by Jimmy during the cross-examination was "the stress related to the divorce" possibly contributing to Chuck's mental state, but that is obviously a red herring. Whatever really went down between Chuck and Rebecca is purposely being concealed from our view. There was a breaking point that drove them apart. That breaking point absolutely has to involve Jimmy. Why? The timeline is too coincidental. 1.) Jimmy shows up in New Mexico for dinner with Chuck and Rebecca. They are still together at this point and things seem ok. However, we start to see Chuck immediately start to resent Jimmy's characteristics, especially when he sees Rebecca responding to them. 2.) In this flashback scene that starts the episode, we see Jimmy trying to help Chuck get some kind of closure for what happened between them. Rebecca almost seems like she feels some kind of guilt over their split. Why would that be? Chuck wouldn't deteriorate that quickly just because Jimmy shows back up into his life and starts working in the mail room. That would take time to present itself. The evidence points to a very traumatic event taking place that deteriorates Chuck's marriage and makes him resent Jimmy even further. The most likely reason? Jimmy and Rebecca had an affair. The real question becomes, if Chuck is now the desperate one, what will he resort to?
I am still not sure why this stunt upsets Chuck so much. its something you would be proud of your little brother for even if it was a hoax. watching it again you realize just how much chuck will go out of his way to prove jimmy wrong. like a norman person. he just can't get over the fact that people love jimmy. oh yeah, I remember the chicago sunroof scene was explained at the end of that episode where Saul was playing bingo at the retirement home, but i forgot what he said. anyone remember?
while an affair would explain why Jimmy is so nice to chuck, and we all know Chuck would not do the same for Jimmy. I doubt Jimmy would ever do that to Chuck. I think when Chuck saw how much his wife responded to Jimmy and how she liked him like everyone else he realized he could not make his wife laugh and be happy. remember the dinner prep scene? they had a fake relationship type happiness and it's possible both realized it that night. he saw a side of her that night that he probably never saw before. I think that was the downfall to their marriage
I also doubt that Jimmy would have gone through with it, but maybe Rebecca made advances and that was enough to set Chuck off the deep end. Either way, something traumatic happened involving Jimmy that made Chuck and Rebecca split up (Possibly even amicably as Chuck claims) and it was damaging enough that it rendered Chuck's mind invalid. There is one major piece that has yet to be revealed.
agreed. all his life chuck saw how everyone including his parents loved jimmy. he thiught he married someone like him and turns out she likes jimmy more
