Breaking Down ‘Saul’: Season 3, Episode 5, “Chicanery”

“Let justice be done, though the heavens fall.” 

The fifth episode of Better Call Saul‘s third season, “Chicanery”, kicks off with happier times: Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) and his brother Chuck (Michael McKean) as Jimmy helps him get adjusted and change things in the house. Jimmy warns Chuck about lying, but they’re vague about what, and Chuck wonders whether he should keep his wedding ring on. Later that night, Chuck fills the house with candles and gets to cooking a meal, and soon Rebecca and Jimmy arrive. They question why all the lights are out, and Chuck cooks up a crazy story about the power going out and them mixing up his payment. The dinner seems to go swimmingly, and when Jimmy takes the dishes to the kitchen, Chuck and Rebecca can’t help but happily marvel at the fact that Jimmy is a lawyer now. When her phone rings, however, Chuck’s condition reveals itself – violently. He throws her phone but still can’t admit the truth, and Rebecca heads back to her hotel.

At present, Jimmy waits in the veterinarian’s waiting room with a goldfish in a bag and gets funny glances from his fellow pet-owners. It’s Mike’s old vet pal, who Jimmy asks for a favor – he needs someone for a job. In the meantime, Kim (Rhea Seehorn), continues her work with Mesa Verde, and warns them about Chuck’s allegations against Jimmy. While they initially look surprised, they praise Kim for her honesty and tell her they’re sticking with her.

At court, Chuck and Howard check things out and sees how they can make things work with as little electricity as possible. Howard wonders if Chuck even needs to testify, and wonders if this will affect Chuck’s health – but Chuck sees through this, and knows it’s about PR for HH&M. Chuck won’t back down. He wants Jimmy disbarred. The next morning, when Kim delivers her opening statements at the hearing, there’s a stunning fury to her. She reduces Chuck’s allegations to a feud between two brothers, and says that she’ll prove Jimmy is an asset to the legal community. While Howard is testifying, Kim begins to swing the story towards her ‘tale of two brothers’ defense in cross-examination. She again objects the use of the tape as evidence, but they allow it. Jimmy stalls, and back at home, Chuck rehearses his testimony, but he can’t seem to strike the right emotional chord. The tape plays, and tension is palpable. They then prepare for Chuck to entire the room and secure all of their electronic items, and Jimmy claims to have left his phone in the car.

On his way in, Chuck collides with a large, familiar friend – HUELL! This is no mistake. During cross-examination, Kim is on her game, and objects strongly to Chuck’s allegations against Jimmy. They soon reach the subject of Chuck’s disease, and there’s mention that he sounds unhinged on the tape. Chuck claims he was “play-acting” to elicit the truth from Jimmy on the tape, and that he can still think clearly despite his affliction. Jimmy and Kim confer, and Rebecca soon enters the courtroom – Chuck is completely floored and requests a moment for air. He catches up with Rebecca, who confesses that Jimmy told her about his condition and she’s been worried sick. She offers to leave, but Chuck asks her to stay. Outside the room, Kim tells Jimmy that Rebecca is definitely going to hate him when this is over. Jimmy knows. Jimmy then takes over cross-examination of Chuck, and starts questioning him about how the recording was made. The picture begins to get painted… Chuck continues his argument that all of the space blankets and tin foil hung up and extreme measures there were part of a ploy to get Jimmy to confess, but Jimmy doesn’t buy it – how could Chuck have known it would work? Chuck claims the house is normal, but Jimmy calls their attention to pictures of the house. This examination is a stunning display of the kind of lawyer Jimmy can be – he’s found loopholes so that he can put Chuck’s mental health into question, and claims that the tape is only evidence of one thing – Chuck hates him.

The chairman allows Jimmy to continue this line of questioning so that they can better understand the situation, and suddenly it’s clear why Rebecca is there – Jimmy is going back to when Chuck’s “symptoms” first started. Chuck thinks he’s figured him out, and owns up to his symptoms and apologizes to Rebecca. Jimmy pulls his cell phone out of his pocket, and again, Chuck thinks he’s got Jimmy, demonstrating that the phone has no battery, hence why he couldn’t “feel” it coming from Jimmy’s pocket. Chuck is insistent that this isn’t just a mental quirk – it’s a real physical condition. Huell didn’t bump into Chuck in the hallway for nothing, though – Chuck’s had a battery in his breast pocket for the last hour and forty-three minutes. The board clearly begins to question everything, and Chuck erupts: “I AM NOT CRAZY!” His lifelong resentment for Jimmy is put fully on display. The board is stunned, Rebecca is in tears, and the room is floored. Chuck apologizes for getting carried away, and Jimmy says he has nothing further.

It’s over.

This riveting episode was further proof that Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, and the rest of the team really know how to strike the perfect balance – last week’s episode, “Sabrosito“, was very much focused on Gus and Mike, and this is a full-on Jimmy/Chuck show – but it still flows beautifully. That last sequence is a truly flooring five minutes of television – the rise and fall of Chuck and realization of Jimmy that he’s won is heart-pounding.

So what Breaking Bad Easter eggs were tucked away in “Chicanery”? Let’s dive in.

What do we have? 

A man bumps into Chuck in the courthouse and plants a cell phone battery in his breast pocket, and later stands up as a witness in court.

Seem familiar?

That’s our beloved Huell Babineaux, first introduced in Breaking Bad Season 4, Episode 1, “Box Cutter“.

What do we have? 

When Chuck figures out that there’s no battery in Jimmy’s cell phone, Jimmy concedes: “…you got me, Chuck. Dead to rights.”

Seem familiar? 

In Breaking Bad Season 5, Episode 14, “Ozymandias“, Marie tells Skyler that Hank’s arrested Walt, “dead to rights”.

That’s all for this “Chicanery”, you lovable lawbreakers. Tune in next week for more McGill family drama!