Officially sold on this show, what an underrated eppy, and so easily my favorite of these first three. The Kettleman plot-line manages to be such a fun way to show the audience Jimmy and Kims dynamic as of currently while also providing insight as to how he navigates such a complex dilemma. Mike also gets much more screen time here which is always an added bonus. Spoilers: This episode feels so cohesive in the sense that the opening and ending scenes manage to be years apart, yet reveal how Jimmy's original personality has never changed, despite everything around him changing and I really loved that. In the opening scene we’re immediately placed into a flashback where Jimmy’s been arrested or detained after being accused of being a sex offender, way before he himself decided to become a lawyer. It’s revealed here that in a poor act of desperation he calls in Chuck to provide him some sense of reassurance and defense that he’ll be alright after feeling hopeless, crying to his mom on the phone. Although practically every aspect of his life has changed since this flashback, including him and Chuck practically swapping places, his true nature has yet to change, with the first line he tells Chuck when he arrives is “Here’s Johnny!” from the shining, which is laced in false confidence considering that this was such a low point in his life. It’s also the exact same thing he tells the Kettleman’s when he finds them in the tent towards the end of this episode, the repetition of this line serves as a reminder that no matter what, his generally witty, desperate personality persists, constantly relying on other people for the sake of his well being. This isn’t a big observation or anything that really stands out in the episode but i really appreciate what it does for Jimmy as a character, especially considering that he soon has to start getting rid of this very non serious personality the more he gets entangled in the criminal world, which he does do eventually by building his Saul Goodman persona. Jimmy and Kims dynamic also gets explored so much more here, specifically very subtly through their phone call scene in the middle of the night, it feels very indicative of the future of their relationship. Even though she was sleeping and has to work the next day, she still takes her time to put care and effort into responding to what he's telling her, providing him with the information he asks for about the kettlemans, while still remaining suspicious and worried about him for calling her at this hour. Based solely off of this conversation, it seems like a codependent relationship so far, where I would go as far to even compare them to Connell and Marianne from normal people in how he somehow always gets her involved in his mess whether she wants to or not and clings onto her for support, as she will always eventually helps him even if she’s irritated at him. The later content in this episode only emphasizes this prediction too, as Jimmy finally tells her the truth about his warning call without her even wanting to know in the first place, also telling her about Nacho being involved with dangerous people which only worries her even more even if it’s not his intention. It's so brilliant that this much of an unstable balance has already been established in their relationship based off of three episodes, and as much as I enjoy them together I can already sense that whatever happens between them will break my heart. Although aside from this scene providing some fantastic insight into what I assume their relationship will be like, it also sets up for the rest of the episode as Jimmy does his best to keep the Kettlemans safe from Nacho. The actual Kettleman stuff itself though is nothing short of great, as Jimmy navigates trying to protect them from Nacho only to find out that he never even got to hurt them the entire time. It humanizes him to an extent that we haven’t really seen so far, as everything he’s previously done always has something in it for him, but this time doing this was genuinely out of the kindness of his heart. Fearing that they and their children are in potential harm after seeing what Tuco was capable of doing to the two skateboarder twins, he makes an anonymous call to let them know that someone might be after them which perfectly unravels the chain of events further down the line. Although, as more and more suspicion about the Kettlemans whereabouts rises, jimmys placed in an uncomfortable position where he has to prove that Nacho did in fact not kidnap the family, but they rather framed themselves as victims. His arguments constantly seem destined to fail, yet just like he managed to prevent Tuco from killing the twins in 1x2, his persistence ultimately prevails, allowing him to prove that the Kettlemans did in fact frame themselves and also stole a large amount of money. Mike’s unexpected cooperation also further strengthened jimmys case, and works to highlight the beginning of their growing dynamic As Mike has usually only been addressed as the grumpy parking officer to Jimmy, this episode finally marks what i can confidently assume is the start of his crucial role in this show, pairing up to work with Jimmy on the case despite any negative past encounters they've had. Instead of taking advantage of the fact that Jimmy physically assaulted him (even though he did it back and 10x worse at that), he takes on the role of being the bigger person, believing that Jimmy could potentially be right and even giving him information based on his old experience as a cop. His cooperation shows us his practical nature, not motivated by personal gain but rather to see justice served, even in a morally grey way given that he knows it could hurt the family and their children, something that he’s always valued since breaking bad. He cares more about the truth coming to light and people facing their deserved consequences, setting the stage for their future dynamic which heavily relies on him being the voice of reason, while Jimmy constantly relies on him for expertise like he does so with kim which makes them both highly effective when paired together in the criminal world. A much more plot-centric eppy that manages to be as entertaining as it is effective in showcasing the show's main theme of moral ambiguity so far. I'm loving the general direction of this so far.