Better Call Saul Review: Something Unforgivable (Season 5 Episode 10)
Some things cannot be undone, but on Better Call Saul Season 5 Episode 10, “Something Unforgivable,” Kim sure likes the sound of what it could bring to the table.
The episode is about trying to get out while someone else tries to drag you back in. Jimmy’s a little shaky on this friend of the cartel thing, but Kim is trying to bring him into a new form of grey area that may be a line too far. Nacho faces the same, looking for a way out, but Lalo is introducing him to familiar faces that could be the start of something bigger.
The moment that lands hardest is the last that Jimmy and Kim share. Jimmy’s incredulity at Kim’s interest in pursuing the downfall of Howard feels like a complete role reversal, where Jimmy is the one trying to talk Kim out of it rather than the other way around. It’s this fabulous realization that while Jimmy’s heart may not be in the con game as much as before, Kim’s gotten a true taste of it.
There’s also the notion that Kim has been told time and again what to think and do, and this newfound brush with danger has given her that moment of clarity to seize the life she wants by any means necessary. Howard’s telling Kim what to think about Jimmy, and Jimmy’s telling her not to go through with something she’s undeniably enjoying.
Two million dollars from the Sandpiper settlement could set her off on a dream career (an interesting sidenote that her mind immediately goes to work potential while Jimmy’s goes to a home for them), where being her own boss and helping people can do right in the world. It’s a fascinating dilemma, that destroying one man’s career for the good of the disenfranchised could help people for years to come.
There’s a line that always feels like it’s about to be crossed, and the role reversal is exactly the place to send both Jimmy and Kim. The extent of the fifth season leaves Jimmy in a state of disarray, over his head and feeling boxed in as he sees what fresh hells success can bring; Kim, meanwhile, is seeing the forest beyond the trees, and wants to take advantage of this new lease on life.
The finger guns that close out their final scene of the season is a perfect way to cap off Kim’s journey this season, as not only does it mirror Jimmy’s own fingers guns on the fourth season’s finale, but also signifies that she’s now in control. This will be a fascinating ride.
But what’s most impressive about Kim’s arc over the episode is that she holds the power now. Jimmy has been the grenade without a pin in her life for so long, and now that he’s been brought back down to earth so to speak, Kim’s turn to pull the pin has arrived. She accepts that duty with open arms, as though the threat of Lalo is this awakening in her to finally set off down her path, no matter the cost.
Howard is that cost, and his attempt to wedge between Jimmy and Kim’s relationship with the bowling ball and prostitute confessional is the real eye-opener. Kim’s reaction isn’t to be shocked or upset with Jimmy; instead, she’s amused by it, as though these crimes are nothing. It’s especially telling how her “or” game with Jimmy gets progressively crueller and permanent, as though it needs to be something that leaves a scar, mentally or otherwise.
The Kim we meet during the first season would not know this Kim, as the parlor tricks are now becoming true bombs against other lives.
And it’s a testament to Rhea Seehorn and the writers for making that transformation the true centrepiece of Better Call Saul. Her descent into darkness is just as riveting as Jimmy’s, where it’s based on a slow crawl of legality being pushed aside for doing what’s right.
While Kim thinks about the future, Lalo’s future is nearly put to a stop. Lalo is the kind of character you can’t let go of, at least not yet, and so the build-up to the compound assault loses a little something because we know how smart he is. The tension comes from if he will find out about Nacho.
The revelation comes with the immense body count of those he cares for, his storming off with rage and revenge on the brain a devastating thing for Nacho to potentially face during the sixth and final season. But for this current season, it comes as a tad anticlimactic, as though the trigger isn’t ready to be pulled on the gun that’s been in frame for the whole season.
Lalo, as the main villain of the season, is too deadly to keep alive, but too good for the show to get rid of. It’s a tricky situation, to be sure, but a little bit of both could have gone a long way to making that Terminator-like march from the compound much more terrifying.
This isn’t taking anything away from the masterful way the sequence plays out. It’s just that stretching the story of Lalo verus Gus out into the next season does feel a little disappointing on a fulfillment standpoint.
All the same, Tony Dalton is magical on this episode. He’s equal parts charming and unnerving, the bravado under insane circumstances and his strange athleticism (he is slowly becoming the show’s Spider-Man with how versatile he is with moving around small places) a disarming sort of skill that is used well each and every time.
Michael Mando, too, is electric here. Nacho is a quieter, introspective sort of character, and so most of the role falls on Mando’s presence. He’s brilliant on this episode, where his one-foot-in, one-foot-out approach to Don Eladio and Lalo is like this master chess game of trying to get through the moment the best he can. Nacho is endlessly trapped, and now that he has Lalo coming for him (and very likely his father), Gus may be the only chance he has to make it through.
But the thing that the episode makes clear is that Nacho somewhat fits into this extravagant party, whether he realizes it or not. His strong, silent type demeanor may not show it, but he does leave an impression with his ambition. Maybe that will go a long way, and along with Gus, they can box Lalo out. For now, though, it’s hanging in the air, feeling a little cut short.
Better Call Saul Season 5 Episode 10, “Something Unforgivable,” while giving us that flashy action sequence at Lalo’s compound, is far more interested in delivering on its characters and their dreams. For a ten-episode build-up, this can feel a tad lacking, but for a story standpoint, it’s a wealth of potential. This episode delivers on its characters, and for that, it’s a rousing finale. But there does feel like the show is holding back, even just a little, because the end is so near.
What did you think of this episode of Better Call Saul? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Better Call Saul airs Mondays at 9/8c on AMC.
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Kevin Lever
Kevin Lever has been following television closely for most of his life, but in starting to cover it, he has grown a further appreciation. He strives to give the blockbusters their due, and give the lesser known shows a spotlight to find more fans.