Recap / Better Call Saul S 4 E 7 Something Stupid

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Season 4, Episode 7:

Something Stupid

Written by Alison Tatlock

Directed by Deborah Chow

Air date: September 17th, 2018

♫ And then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like I love you... ♫

Jimmy: You do your thing, I’ll do mine.
Kim: Jimmy, come on. What does that mean?
Jimmy: Don’t worry.

Jimmy expands his business, but runs into a problem that only Kim can solve; Gus intervenes in Hector's medical care; Mike deals with a setback.

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Tropes:

• Artistic License:
  • Kai is seen playing the pinball machine "The Getaway: High Speed II", the sound effects of which are dubbed over to make it sound like an older machine of the kind most people are familiar with (ringing bell, etc.). This is what the machine is supposed to sound like.
• Acceptable Breaks from Reality: In this episode, Jimmy starts selling drop phones to criminals in order to make some extra money. Normally, this would violated Jimmy's PPD conditions since associating with criminals is a stipulation of them. However, this would derail the progression of the story, so this is ignored at the end of the season when he gets his law license back.
• Alcohol-Induced Idiocy: Jimmy gets so drunk at Rick's party that he can't read the room and ends up pitching outlandish escape retreats to all the lawyers to the point of making both Kim and her boss very uncomfortable.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Werner acknowledges to Mike that Kai has attitude problems, but insists that Kai must stay on the crew as he's the best demolition man that Werner has.
• Call-Back:
  • Jimmy's proposed scheme against the plainclothes cop (engineering a meltdown in court) is similar to the one he used against Chuck.
  • Huell getting hit by 3-strikes sentencing, something Saul Goodman's matchbooks specifically call out.
  • ADA Ericsen, the prosecutor for Huell's case, happens to be the prosecutor to whom Jimmy had spoken to when Mike needed to lie and claim that Tuco's gun wasn't actually his. Therefore, she calls Jimmy "a scumbag disbarred lawyer" because Jimmy had ruined the case against Tuco and mistakenly identifies his one year of suspension as a disbarment.
• Call-Forward:
  • Jimmy once again uses his "Saul Goodman" alias, this time for whenever he's selling burner phones. The montage shows his new canary-yellow-and-red business cards with the slogan, "Need to Call? Buy from Saul!".
  • We also get a very up close view of Gus Fring's vintage Chilean seafood stew, the same kind that he shared with Walter and afterwards Jesse during Breaking Bad.
• Can Always Spot a Cop: Jimmy is approached by a man in plain clothes holding one of his cards, but he immediately and correctly identifies the man as a cop and addresses him as officer. Huell, however, approaching the scene from behind the man and wearing headphones, fails to recognize him as a cop and thinks it's an ordinary guy harassing Jimmy, and acts accordingly.
• Chekhov's Gun: The scene with Hector knocking over his cup winds up being the factor in Gus deciding to end his therapy.
• Cliffhanger: The episode ends with Kim buying office supplies and telling Jimmy she has a better idea to help Huell.
• Contrived Coincidence: Lampshaded; Huell's unknowingly assaulting a cop who previously arrested him really was just a massive coincidence. However, said cop quickly decides to exploit the vanishingly small odds of this happening in order to send Huell to prison, knowing that a jury probably won't believe it could have been a coincidence.
• Dirty Old Man: Hector purposefully knocks over a cup of water so he can gaze at his attending nurse's posterior as she bends over to clean it up, all with a perverted smirk on his face. Gus observes this act in the camera footage of his session and realizes that his nemesis is mentally sound.
• Double-Meaning Title: Almost every scene in the episode involves a character either doing "Somethin' Stupid" or saying "Somethin' Stupid":
  • Jimmy embarrassing Kim at her firm party.
  • Hector giving away that his mind is still sound, clueing Gus in that there's an opportunity to condemn Hector to And I Must Scream.
  • One of the German crew workers backing into and knocking over a support beam.
  • Kai badmouthing Mike to Werner, and in circumstances where Kai should have been aware that Hiding Behind the Language Barrier wasn't going to be completely effective.
  • Werner suggesting some time outside the Gilded Cage, even as he's aware that Gus wants the utmost secrecy to surround the project.
  • Jimmy not playing ball with the plainclothes cop and packing up shop for elsewhere.
  • Huell giving the same cop a Tap on the Head from behind, despite Jimmy obviously trying to stop him with a palm out gesture, and thereby exposing himself to triple strikes law.
  • Huell tells Jimmy he'll take his chances with a warrant being put out for him after not showing up for court. It is Truth in Television that many people charged with crimes make that dice roll. But Jimmy is also correct in telling Huell that it tends to only compound an accused's legal problems in the long run.
• Dramatic Irony: Jimmy discourages Huell from becoming a fugitive and living in fear that he will be captured over a minor slip-up. That is exactly the kind of situation Jimmy will find himself in as "Gene from Omaha", in large part because Huell flips on Saul and Walt when Hank, Gomez, and Jesse trick him.
• Felony Misdemeanor: As Kim points out, the ADA seeks to throw Huell in prison for almost three years for assaulting a plainclothes police officer, even though that ADA previously prosecuted five other people who committed the same crime (in much more violent ways than Huell, who just hit the guy over the head with a grocery bag) and sought lesser sentences in those earlier cases. The ADA reasons that Huell's sentence should be longer because he was previously arrested for pickpocketing, even though he had no violent history like the other defendants. New Mexico is a state that practices the very controversial 3-strikes rule in criminal sentencing as a crime deterrent.
• Gilded Cage: Mike and Gus have done everything they could to ensure that the crew's living quarters are as comfortable as possible, and will not lack for any amenity they could hope for. But the quarters become the Cage the longer the crew works at the project. As Werner tells Mike: "You cannot lock men away forever."
• Hiding Behind the Language Barrier: Kai badmouths Mike to Werner, but Mike is well aware that whever Kai is saying about him can't be positive, even if he can't translate all the words.
• Hope Spot: Werner informs Mike that they're almost ready to begin pouring the walls, when the end of the project would be on the horizon. But then one of the workers backs into a support beam and knocks it over, forcing repairs that will delay the project considerably. It ends up creating problems for multiple characters.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: By giving himself an opportunity to ogle his nurse, Hector gives Gus a clue that he is fully cognizant and thus the idea to prematurely end Hector's treatment so that he remains permanently handicapped.
• If I Were a Rich Man: Jimmy asks Huell on whether or not an office is worth buying for Kim.
  Jimmy: So, if you were a lawyer, this would be a great place, right?
  Huell: If I was a lawyer? Nope. Big glass high-rise, 40th floor.
  Jimmy: Big glass high-rise.
  Huell: Yeah. When I'm not on my boat.
• I Need a Freaking Drink: This appears to be Werner's reaction after the superlab construction suffers a major setback due to Casper's accident. The next time we see him he's sat at the bar in the crew's quarters. Mike appears to feel the same way, or at least decides to take advantage of the beer being provided on Gus's dime.
• Innocently Insensitive:
  • When he's observing a possible office space to establish a new practice with Kim, Jimmy asks Huell if it would be an ideal place for a lawyer. Huell says no, and pictures something much more extravagant. Jimmy later compares the space to that of Kim's fancier office at Schweikart & Cokely, showing how inadequate he's feeling for both being there and in comparison to what he can offer Kim.
  • Jimmy takes over Schweikart's discussion about finding places for a company retreat, oblivious to the fact that the way he is carrying himself is offending Schweikart and embarrassing Kim. Unless he's being obnoxious on purpose because he yet again feels out-of-place and condescended to by successful lawyers discussing their fancy careers while he's suspended. Regardless, he ends up earning the silent treatment from Kim for the drive home.
• Internal Reveal: Kim finds out about Jimmy’s burn phone business.
• Jerkass: ADA Ericsen takes the word of the cop (who as Jimmy mentioned had been put on desk duty twice for alcoholism) over Huell, tries to give Huell an excessive sentence because he was a repeat offender (even though Huell's history is less violent than the people she prosecuted for a same crime and sought lesser sentences for), and dismisses Jimmy as a "scumbag disbarred lawyer" (never mind Jimmy was suspended, not disbarred).
• Male Gaze: An Invoked Trope, as Gus noticing Hector's focus on the nurse clues him. Also Played Straight in that the earlier scene is shot so that the camera focuses on the nurse's body to demonstrate what Hector is doing.
• Meaningful Name: Werner points out to Mike that his last name, Ehrmantraut, combines German words that translate to "World" and "Strength". Seems very fitting for a Bad Ass Old Guy like Mike.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: All Jimmy had to do was listen to the cop, who was simply asking him to sell his phones somewhere else. Likewise, had Huell held off for a second, he wouldn't have risked getting a third strike by hitting the cop with his sandwiches.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: Gus, ever determined to make Hector suffer, personally intervenes in his recovery by encouraging Dr. Bruckner to return to her clinic and delegate Hector's care to someone else, despite her objections that with her therapy, Hector may learn to talk and even walk again. Gus has effectively ensured that Hector will forever remain a prisoner in his own body. It would be Kick the Dog if Hector wasn't The Sociopath.
• Oh, Crap!: Kim has one when Jimmy says, "You do your thing, and I'll do mine." She knows he's going to pull another scam, so she tries to head that off with what she hopes will be an improvement.
• Only in It for the Money: Downplayed. Despite Gus not being in a legal position to make care decisions, the neurologist he hired is treating Hector because Gus agreed to fund a major clinic. When Gus sends her home, despite the potential for Hector to continue to improve, she seems shocked, but doesn't appear to offer any real resistance. It's not a matter of greed (she can help more than just one person at the clinic), but the reality is that she's agreeing to cut off treatment because Gus has already given her what she came for.
• Poor Communication Kills: Huell has his headphones on and is listening to music, rendering him unable to hear Jimmy shouting to him that the man Jimmy is talking to is a plainclothes cop.
• Sadist: Gus stops Hector's physical therapy, depriving him of a chance to walk and talk again, in order to prolong his suffering as part of his quest for vengeance.
• Silent Treatment: Kim gives Jimmy a few episodes of it after he embarrasses her at her firm party, starting with their drive home. She also makes him wait in the firm lobby for quite some time when he comes to her asking her for a favor. She's also less than forthcoming about how she plans to handle Huell's case.
• Spotting the Thread: Gus and Maureen are both wondering just how much of Hector's mind and body remain following his stroke. Gus picks up that Hector intentionally tipped over his cup in order to ogle his nurse, and therefore grabs it as a perfect opportunity to condemn Hector to permanent paralysis.
• Theme Song Reveal: Frank Sinatra's "Somethin' Stupid" plays during the opening montage. It signals that almost every scene thereafter is going to involve characters either doing something stupid or saying something stupid.
• Thinks of Something Smart, Says Something Stupid: Jimmy tries to behave himself at the party with Kim's associates at Schweikart & Cokely, but ends up playing awkward mind games with them by discussing where their fancy lawyers should go for a retreat. Whether the embarrassment caused is intentional or not, this follows him contemplating Kim's fancy office at their building and comparing it to the space he was thinking of buying for Wexler & McGill.
• Time Skip: The opening montage takes us through nine whole months of Jimmy and Kim's professional lives. Within the episode proper, we're shown the amount of progress Mike's crew is making on the superlab construction, Hector's gradual recovery following his stroke, and most of all, how much Jimmy and Kim have been drifting apart in that amount of time.
• Title Drop: The opening montage is set to a cover of Frank Sinatra's "Something Stupid".
  And then I go and spoil it all
  By saying something stupid like "I love you"
• Tranquil Fury: When the D.A. calls Jimmy a scumbag disbarred lawyer, Kim looks like she's about to go for the D.A.'s neck. Shortly afterwards, while the first plan sees Huell doing some jail time, she comes out with an alternative.
• Whatever Happened to the Mouse?: Kim starts to discuss with Jimmy about his selling dropper phones, but Jimmy makes a point of sidestepping it to focus more on Huell's situation.

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