Better Call Saul Review: Dedicado a Max (Season 5 Episode 5)

Kim’s devil on her shoulder, Jimmy, threatens to upend everything she’s worked for on Better Call Saul Season 5 Episode 5, “Dedicado a Max,” but she’s holding on tight as things get a whole new kind of messy.

Jimmy’s go-for-broke way of continuously throwing bombs of time delays is a stroke of genius, a hilarious escalation of shenanigans that really delivers on the promise his coffee mug holds: World’s Best Lawyer. While Jimmy may lack being totally above board and playing by the rules, he’s brilliant at taking obscure laws and discrepancies and spinning them into gold.

There’s an art to his madness, to wear someone down so he can finally strike the last blow. But when Kim is on that other side as the collateral damage, the damage being her reputation and her career, these moves are only further splitting the two while they work closer than ever.

There’s a corrosive effect to each of these plays, and while the cracks are just now starting to show, the foundation underneath may be irreparably ruined.

It’s what makes Kim’s curiosity of Jimmy’s “or” so worrying. She’s descending into an underbelly of moral grey areas that she can never come back from, and for Rich (her boss) to already be suspicious and say it (with some coaxing) to Kim’s face shows that perhaps she has crossed that line already. Her pushback comes off a little too defensive, but with Jimmy’s skating and delays, the evidence is starting to pile up.

The question of where this leaves Kim is a tricky one. Either she continues to help Mr. Acker and Jimmy, or she may have to prove her loyalty and hurt them both. Mr. X’s appearance and his fairly illegal suggestions should be the wake-up call she needs, and Rhea Seehorn’s performance during the scene sends a message that she may not know all of the darker deeds Jimmy has committed. But is she questioning it, or just uncertain?

There is that smile, noticing something in Kevin’s photos, that suggests she isn’t ready to let go just yet. There’s the concern that Kim will jump off a cliff (metaphorically) and not realize it until the ground is already far too close. That point feels close already, with the “friendly” warning that her boss gives. But with most things with Kim, there is doing what’s right. She is in the right, and she knows it.

However, Jimmy is playing her, whether he realizes it or not. His suggestion that they go one step further is done in such a way where he leaves it as an open question, enticing Kim to want to know. It’s another one of his parlor tricks, to push things and manipulate those around him to falling for his next act. The problem is that it’s almost like a reflex, and it is hard to tell if it’s on purpose, or just how Jimmy is now.

The way Bob Odenkirk plays the scene is as though he’s being sincere at not wanting to keep pushing, but there is this unshakeable feeling that he is setting Kim up. Not on purpose, of course, but for his need to come out on top no matter what. But if Kim is the one hurt by this, maybe that’s the final straw of goodness left inside of Jimmy McGill and the final piece clicking into place for Saul Goodman.

Kim, hopefully, will know when to eject from this before that can happen.

Mike, meanwhile, finally finds the peace and calm he’s been needing. His stubbornness tries to get the best of him, but over time, the stay at the ranch unlocks that lost patience. It’s his moment of clarity, where he can stop and smell the roses (or, in this case, fix the window’s leak).

But it also allows for a small glimpse into Gus again, with the fountain dedicated to his late partner, Max, the reason for his grand, operatic revenge. Gus’ reason for revenge has been clear since Breaking Bad initially showed Max’s murder, but Mike and Gus’ discussion really puts things in perspective for Mike, who isn’t on the same page as us, the viewers, with the foreknowledge of the past and the future.

It’s a nice, serene way to calm down Mike from his self-destructive tendencies and to allow him to see clearly once more. He doesn’t like that he owes Gus, but he doesn’t seem so unmovable from joining him now.

One interesting thing is that Gus suggests that he is much different than the Salamancas. It’s certainly up for debate, but knowing the emotional manipulation and infinitely cruel things he’s done on both shows, Gus may be on a different level entirely, just like he said, but not in the direction he’s thinking.

The episode also does wonders with its direction from Jim McKay and the writing of Heather Marion. The sequential discovery of radiation, important dig finds, and Jesus on the side of Acker’s house are incredibly ridiculous, but so much fun as they progressively get crazier. There’s a playfulness to the way it continues to get worse for the dig team.

One of the more satisfying moments on the episode is when Mike tries to take the CB radio apart to build something cool to fix his phone, a trend for Mike over past seasons. But instead, he’s handed a phone charger. It’s such a small gag, but says so much about his character, that he doesn’t factor in the simple accessory, but proactively goes to building.

Plus, seeing Steven Ogg return, now as Mr. X, is always welcome.

Better Call Saul Season 5 Episode 5, “Dedicado a Max,” places pressure on Kim and starts to question her. It’s not clear if this will wake her up or only sink her deeper into a pit she can’t climb out of, but one thing is for sure: Jimmy isn’t helping. The rise of Saul Goodman may be at the expense of Kim Wexler. But from a performance standpoint, Rhea Seehorn is absolutely dominating this season as Kim grows more malleable.

 

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Better Call Saul airs Mondays at 9/8c on AMC.

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