It’s a scene that is gripping in just how venomous it is. Enough of one, in fact, to remove the client from Kim. His ploy might be pretty obvious, and to the show’s credit the banker from Mesa Verde sees through it pretty quickly, but that doesn’t mean that Chuck’s expert knowledge hasn’t had an impact. That he manages this all while fighting off the torment that being in that well-lit room must be speaks to his determination and spite toward his brother. Where Kim treats Mesa Verde (and by extension her profession) with honesty and the promise of hard work and dedication, Chuck uses manipulation and a brilliant way with words, disarming the client through his appraising assessment of Kim before swiftly turning that appraisal into a sales pitch for his own skills. While Howard might not know how to fight, Chuck won’t give up so easily. ![]() His ‘pushing’, however well intentioned, was really just unfair bullying, and as a result he lost a great employee and came within an inch of losing an important client. The problem is that, having been given his partnership instead of fighting for it, I doubt Howard has much understanding of hard work and ergo even less understanding of how to motivate people. Furthermore, I think that Howard genuinely means it when he tells Kim he always pushed her harder because he expected more from her. Kim knows how to fight for what she wants, Howard, on the other hand, is far more willing to give up when things don’t come easily. There’s a lot to unpack here firstly, it makes it no surprise that Kim quite easily snatches Mesa Verde from Howard’s relatively weak grasp. Howard’s was handed to him by a father who wanted to ‘throw another H in the firm’s logo’. But furthermore, Kim reached her position through lots and lots of hard work. This exchange reveals so much while Kim’s transfer to a different firm pretty much guaranteed her a partnership, she chose autonomy, something Howard didn’t do. He is sincerely impressed when he learns that Kim is not defecting to another firm, but heading out on her own, and even admits that he once wanted to do the same thing before being pushed into HHM by his father. I’m not sure if we’ve learnt much about Howard’s background before, but his scene with Kim gives us some solid insight. This sets up the way in which Fifi examines Better Call Saul’s four central lawyer characters and their very different approaches to their profession. Early in the episode Kim turns down Jimmy’s advice of going behind Howard’s back to secure Mesa Verde, telling him that the point of this venture is to allow both of them to be their own kind of lawyer. Howard tries to stop her but fails, leading to Chuck stepping in, deploying a herculean effort to stave off his own mental illness until he has snatched Kim’s victory away from her, before Jimmy enters with a ploy of his own. As Kim sets out on her own, working alongside but not together with Jimmy, she attempts to take her hard-won gains with her. The heart of this week’s episode is the struggle over the hugely lucrative client Mesa Verde. Good, compelling conflict allows us to understand who characters are and why they do what they do while still pitting them against each other. ![]() The best conflict is rooted in characters and how they differ, how their clashing interests and differing approaches pit them against each other without anyone necessarily being the hero or villain. Most good storytelling is driven by conflict, and the best conflict needn’t be explosive or violent.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |