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canyonwalkerA minor plot arc that stretch across a few episodes of Better Call Saul season 5 is Jimmy kicking Howard Hamlin while he's down. Howard's a douche; I make no bones about that. But does Jimmy need to keep kicking him? I get it that he's sore over Howard not hiring him at HHM years ago— though it was really his brother, Chuck, blocking Jimmy's career. He could be bitter about Kim being held back at HHM, too— though that, too, was likely Chuck's doing.
We've seen that Howard and HHM are spiraling down after Chuck's death. When Howard pushed Chuck into retirement toward the end of season 3, it was an expensive move. He had to buy out Chuck's partnership. He spent a lot of the firm's money and kicked in a lot of his own personal wealth, too. Then when Chuck died and his years of mental illness became a juicy gossip item in legal circles, HHM lost a lot of its clients. The firm didn't have a financial cushion to fall back on— it was still paying out to Chuck's estate— and thus had to downsize.
In season 4 we saw Howard appearing fidgety and disheveled in court. In season 5 Howard still seems off kilter. He invites Jimmy to lunch in ep. 5.04 and, among other things, offers him a job at HHM, explaining that it was a mistake not to offer him a job years ago. Howard comes across as desperate. But instead of telling him, "Yeah, that window of opportunity closed a few years ago," Jimmy strings Howard along, saying he'll think about the offer. But he doesn't actually consider it. Instead he buys three bowling balls and uses them to smash Howard's expensive car late one night.
A few episodes later (ep. 5.06) Jimmy hires a pair of prostitutes to accost Howard at his favorite lunch restaurant. They fuss and scream about Howard not paying them. It's all false, of course, but Howard's peers— another law firm head and a judge— don't know that. Jimmy watches through binoculars from his car out on the street and cracks up laughing at how he's embar4assing Howard.
Jimmy's apparently not as slick as he thinks he is, because Howard guesses that the stunts are his. In ep. 5.07 he confronts Jimmy when the two meet in a hallway at the county courthouse. Howard rescinds the job offer and accuses Jimmy for the stunts. Jimmy denies them, of course, then goes into overdrive yelling at Howard in the hallway. He relents only when he realizes people are staring at him. Now he's the one being embarrassed.
These stunts bother me because they seem out of character for Jimmy— or Saul. He's being vindictive. He's kicking a man when he's already down. I thought Jimmy transformation into Saul was supposed to be one of not worrying about the past or other people and simply being in it for himself. Maybe he's still figuring that out.
We've seen that Howard and HHM are spiraling down after Chuck's death. When Howard pushed Chuck into retirement toward the end of season 3, it was an expensive move. He had to buy out Chuck's partnership. He spent a lot of the firm's money and kicked in a lot of his own personal wealth, too. Then when Chuck died and his years of mental illness became a juicy gossip item in legal circles, HHM lost a lot of its clients. The firm didn't have a financial cushion to fall back on— it was still paying out to Chuck's estate— and thus had to downsize.
In season 4 we saw Howard appearing fidgety and disheveled in court. In season 5 Howard still seems off kilter. He invites Jimmy to lunch in ep. 5.04 and, among other things, offers him a job at HHM, explaining that it was a mistake not to offer him a job years ago. Howard comes across as desperate. But instead of telling him, "Yeah, that window of opportunity closed a few years ago," Jimmy strings Howard along, saying he'll think about the offer. But he doesn't actually consider it. Instead he buys three bowling balls and uses them to smash Howard's expensive car late one night.
A few episodes later (ep. 5.06) Jimmy hires a pair of prostitutes to accost Howard at his favorite lunch restaurant. They fuss and scream about Howard not paying them. It's all false, of course, but Howard's peers— another law firm head and a judge— don't know that. Jimmy watches through binoculars from his car out on the street and cracks up laughing at how he's embar4assing Howard.
Jimmy's apparently not as slick as he thinks he is, because Howard guesses that the stunts are his. In ep. 5.07 he confronts Jimmy when the two meet in a hallway at the county courthouse. Howard rescinds the job offer and accuses Jimmy for the stunts. Jimmy denies them, of course, then goes into overdrive yelling at Howard in the hallway. He relents only when he realizes people are staring at him. Now he's the one being embarrassed.
These stunts bother me because they seem out of character for Jimmy— or Saul. He's being vindictive. He's kicking a man when he's already down. I thought Jimmy transformation into Saul was supposed to be one of not worrying about the past or other people and simply being in it for himself. Maybe he's still figuring that out.
