In the most recent episode of Better Call Saul, “Rock and Hard Place,” fan favorite Huell asks Saul a question viewers have also been wondering: Why? Saul makes good money, Kim makes good money, and they’re both good lawyers. So, why are they devising elaborate schemes involve duplicate keys and shady vans to make Howard’s life miserable? “You’re not seeing the bigger picture,” Saul responds. “A couple of months from now, there are people whose lives are going to be way better because of this. We’re making a real difference. Trust me. We’re doing the Lord’s work here.”
Huell is not convinced, and frankly, neither is Saul. He knows he’s full of sh*t, so again: Why? It’s a question that was posed by the Hollywood Reporter to “Rock and Hard Place” director and writer (and former-Breaking Bad production assistant) Gordon Smith.
“They feel like they’re invested in the scams, and the scams become almost synonymous for their relationship. So the trap that they’ve laid is that they have fun playing around with other people,” he said before bringing up a line from Arrested Development, the Fox sitcom that ran for three glorious seasons. (Wait, there are two more seasons? Never heard of them.)
There’s a line in Arrested Development where the character of Gob gets married after “a series of escalating dares.” Neither one of them wanted to get married; it’s just that they kept one-upping each other and the one-ups got out of control. So I feel like Kim and Jimmy are living with some of their one-upsmanship in the scam arena. And Jimmy, even more than Kim, goes, “What do I have to offer her if not this? If I’m not the fun guy that she can come to and do this thing that gives us both juice, what could she see in me?”
Why am I suddenly worried that Saul and Kim’s goldfish is going to end up in a bag in the fridge with a “DEAD FISH DO NOT EAT” note on it? Anyway, here’s that scene between Will Arnett’s Gob and Amy Poehler’s unnamed wife of Gob:
Arrested Development: good show.
(Via the Hollywood Reporter)