BETTER CALL SAUL SCRAWL: EPISODE 105 ALPINE SHEPARD BOY

Episode 105 Grade: B–

A building episode includes an intriguing cliffhanger, a big revelation and the first BETTER CALL SAUL with a title longer than one word, ALPINE SHEPARD BOY is a reference to a statue during a string of low-rent and/or misleading jobs Jimmy McGill gets as benefits of HERO, which is ironic since the entire purpose of all that work was to make more money with real clients – nothing doing…

Beginning with Michael McKean as the mysteriously bizarre Chuck McGill, Jimmy’s older brother lawyer who suffers from what we finally discover is called ELECTROMAGNETIC HYPER-SENSITIVITY, and it’s not very… legit…

Either is one scene that, involving an unintentionally perverted toilet bowl a married father wants to patent, seems readymade for show-fans to quote at the Tuesday morning water cooler. (Jimmy even shares the experience with his pseudo-girlfriend a few minutes later... just in case we missed something.) But most of the episode is searching for an outlet – pun intended given Chuck’s illness; yet it’s true... While an intriguing glimpse into Jimmy’s kitschy progression, getting clothing tips from a MATLOCK rerun, and a niche for doing wills for the elderly (Elder Law)… including THE THIRD MAN theme playing with orchestration at an old folk's home… the best is saved for last: And it’s about time real light is shed on Mike, Jonathan Bank’s tough crooked ex cop and the only other connection to BREAKING BAD. Now we’re getting somewhere since Mike was one of the best BAD characters, and that’s a show with many great characters. And while ALPINE is mostly weird and offbeat – resembling something from the Coen Brothers universe (the toilet bowl voice sounded like the creepy Asian dude from FARGO) – there’s something real edgy to wait for. To look forward to.