I'm seeing some negative reactions in here. Well, I quite liked it tbh. Had me glued to the screen the whole time. Maybe I don't remember the quality of seasons 1-5 or maybe I'm just happy with little, who knows. Everyone seems to hate this season and I have to say I'm not 100% happy with it. BUT. I really liked this episode. Anyway, what can I say.
Oh God no, not Wade! Not the character we don't even know, and couldn't give less of a care about. Why did you have to take such a nobody from us!?
Yawn, this show is just plain boring.
[7.5/10] You’d like to think that Kim knows right from wrong. She tries, or at least tried, to hold Jimmy back from his worst impulses. She has regrets over the lengths he goes to on her behalf and the people he hurts in the process. She genuinely fights for the little guy, giving up a lucrative practice to provide top notch legal services to those who can’t typically afford it. She turns over unhelpful evidence to prosecutors because it’s the right thing to do. She is, in a world of hucksters and crime lords, a good person.
But she didn’t have the best role model growing up. In some ways she’s the opposite of Saul. The young Jimmy McGill watched his scrupulous-to-a-fault father and saw the sucker he never wanted to become. The young Kim Wexler watched her unreliable screw-up of a mother and saw a cautionary tale that set her on the straight and narrow. And yet, whether we want it or not, whether we rebel or not, parts of the people who raise us seep into our future selves and can’t help but influence who we become.
So when “Axe and Grind” opens with a flashback, we see a miniature ruse pulled off by Kim’s mom. Beth Hoyt cuts an incredible vocal and physical likeness of Rhea Seehorn, which adds force to the way the elder Ms. Wexler’s false protestations to get her daughter off the hook pave the way for Kim’s later skullduggery. The chance to instill some morals is lost, the dressing down a facade. It ends with a mother who seems proud of her daughter’s coloring outside of the line, who shoplifts the earrings Kim was caught for swiping as a reward, and who tells her only child that it’s all okay, so long as she gets away with it.
There’s not much in the way of a grand unifying theme to “Axe and Grind.” As a prelude to the mid-season finale, it is more of a tapestry, a chance to check-in with all the major players and move the pieces into place for next week’s “D-Day.” But it represents one more choice for Kim, one opportunity to vindicate the moral best that she’s capable of, or to decide that vengeance masquerading as justice is more important. Given the tragic nature of the show, it’s hard to guess which one she’ll pick.
But along the way, we get a chance to see glimpses of other major characters and storylines moving apace. My favorite is Mike watching his granddaughter and daughter-in-law from afar, refusing Tyus’ insinuation that he should remove the hired protection he has watching their house. It’s a reminder of what Mike is doing this for, the reason he got into business with someone as cold-hearted as Gus Fring, and what he’s unwilling to sacrifice in the name of getting the job done.
There’s a grim efficiency to Mike, a cool competency in scenarios that would rattle the best of us. But it’s counterbalanced by the heart of the man, his connection to his loved ones and loved ones past who were hurt by their association with him, the type of loss he never wants to see happen again.
Speaking of Gus, the head of the Fring organization doesn’t appear in this episode, but Giancarlo Esposito is in the directing chair. It’s a great outing for him and the team, with sharply-composed shots that are not showy, but come with a visual panache that makes less-than-explosive scenes still hold the viewer’s focus. The performers all do strong work, and it speaks to how naturally the show’s castmembers have shifted into directing when the opportunity arises.
Of course, none can top Saul Goodman when it comes to directing, and in this final season, we get one more return for his makeshift film crew! It’s nice to see the trio in action as part of Kim and Jimmy’s scheme with the mediator, and it’s nearly as nice to see another Mr. Show alum, John Ennis, make a cameo. For all the grand moral questions and lethal encounters among drug runners features in Better Call Saul, there’s a supreme joy and comedy to seeing Saul orchestrating his audio-visual masterpieces. There’s an alternate universe where he’s an under-the-radar but industry-lauded force behind the camera, and not the conman-turned-jurist-turned conman we know and love.
But if that were the case, who knows what would become of Francesca, Saul’s assistant, interior decorator, and reluctant accomplice. It’s nice to see her get a little bit of shading, showing genuine excitement to see Kim again and genuine enthusiasm for her chance to redecorate Saul’s office. Only the depths of what she’s committed to soon become apparent, as the her boss’s clientele wreaks havoc on her upholstery and “water features”, while the man himself makes her complicit in his dirty deeds re Sandpiper. We know from Breaking Bad that she continues to hitch her wagon to Saul’s train, but it’s easy to see how her enthusiasm wanes amid such...difficult circumstances.
Still, her unfortunate circumstances are nothing compared to the ones now facing one of Werner Ziegler’s “boys.” Lalo uses the gift from last week to track him down in the middle of the German wilderness, and seems poised to interrogate him in a half-Audition, half-Misery situation.
I’ll confess, the Lalo sections of Better Call Saul often feel like they come from another show. I really enjoy Tony Dalton’s performance, and there’s a shark-like menace to Lalo that makes him a formidable opponent for sharp players like Gus, Mike, and Nacho. But sometimes he seems larger-than-life in a way that's out of step with the show: Spider-Manning his way through a ceiling, sneaking out a suburban window without detection, and besting a hired good holding an ax with little more than a hidden razor blade. I prefer seeing characters in this universe succeed thanks to their wits or their determination, not via incredible physical feats, and Lalo’s had more of the latter of late.
Still, there is some down to earth trouble to deal with in “Axe and Grind”. The episode goes out of its way to make Howard seem sympathetic before Kim and Jimmy unleash their plan to ruin him. We watch the lengths he goes to in order to prepare the perfect, nigh-literal peace offering of a cappuccino for his wife, who callously dumps his artistic coffee creation into a travel mug. Her casual aloofness for how much Howard is trying to accommodate her, to have her care about him, to see that he’s trying, only to be politely but coldly rebuffed at every turn is quietly heartbreaking. It is a reminder that there are layers to each of these characters, struggles each is going through beyond what Saul and Kim are privy to, that make us wonder if Hamlin deserves the full-fledged ruination that waits for him, no matter what mistakes he may have made in the past.
Kim is the author of that ruination (with Jimmy’s buy-in and assistance of course), but she may not be there to see it happen. Clifford Main shows up to watch her argument and offers her possible entry into a significant equal access to justice program that only sterling “up-and-comers” gain admission to. He probes whether she might have something to do with Howard’s protestations of interference from Jimmy and his allies, but she says the right things, speaking highly of Howard and HHM in a way that reassures Clifford nothing’s afoot.
The most wholesome moment in a less-than-wholesome episode comes with Jimmy’s genuine excitement for his wife at hearing the news, and encouragement that Kim be excited to. They kiss. They celebrate. They tell one another that Kim need not be there for the events that will destroy Howard Hamlin. She can have both. Kim can be the crusader for justice who travels to Santa Fe to rub elbows with the biggest names in legal aid, and she can mastermind a scheme to take down a professional rival and white shoe jerk in Albuquerque.
Except she can’t. In one of those coincidences that shouldn’t work, but clicks because it works against our heroes rather than for them, Jimmy goes to buy a celebratory bottle of tequila, the same kind he and Kim scammed Ken Wins out of in season 2. Only he spots the actual mediator for Sandpiper, who’s sporting a full cast, an unforeseen wrinkle that will destroy the plausibility of the staged photos necessary for their plan.
Saul winces in defeat. He calls Kim en route to her big pro bono meeting and tells her it’s time to pull the plug and live to fight another day. Kim has a choice. She can keep driving and decide that this opportunity to do right by the underserved who’d be helped by the resources she could marshal in Cliff’s organization, or she can turn around and try to put out this fire. She can take extreme measures to bring down one man or do some professional pitching to help countless.
In an earlier scene, Kim and Jimmy run into the veterinarian who’s helped Jimmy and Mike find jobs in the past. They need to secure some chemical assistance to help pull off their latest ploy. But in the process, they find out that he’s giving up his life as a black market gatekeeper, devoting himself to his real work full time. Jimmy’s aghast that he would sell his “little black book” (which features a business card for a certain vacuum company), a source of low-risk, high-yield passive income. Kim retorts that it doesn’t matter when you know what you want.
Kim’s given up quite a bit to choose the life that she has. She gave up the associate grind at HHM to find some place she could fly higher. She gave up great progress and recognition at Schweikart & Cokely to pursue her pro bono work full time. She has repeatedly given up the life of traditional traditional success in order to pursue a higher calling, a greater type of justice, than she could achieve greasing the wheels for Mesa Verde or climbing the corporate ladder. She wanted those things, and she sacrificed quite a bit in service of that calling.
But she also knows the kind of skills she can deploy elsewhere when she needs or want to. She saw in her mother how to sell moral indignation as a cover for getting what you desired in the first place scot free. She saw how to break the rules and earn a measure of approbation for not getting caught.
Kim Wexler knows right from wrong. She genuinely wants justice and equity for the people she represents and thousands more who deserve a fighting chance. But at the end of the day, she knows what she wants, and she wants Howard Hamlin’s head more.
What a wonderful ending to an 8 year journey. I am very pleased with it :D
Too many diehards giving their "critical" review after being butthurt it doesn't exactly match their expectations. Take their reviews with a grain of salt.
If you go into the show and just ENJOY it for everything it offers, then you will not be disappointed. I've already fallen in love with the characters and the amazing scenery. The acting is on par and the budget is as expected for Amazon!
The only complaint I have is that the orc seemed a bit OP, like fr they didn't seem that strong from the movies, but I digress. Overall, I am thoroughly impressed so far and can't wait to see where it goes!
As long as I'm entertained, I guess it works for me. Yes I could get lost at moments, it's fiction... and that's what fiction is supposed to do, right? Makes you wonder, makes you ask questions, gets you confused and scratching your head.... these are all attributes of a quality production. So I guess it works.
I'm clearly in the minority, judging by the comments, but I really enjoyed this episode.
This is the best episode of this show so far!
Best show this year, fanboys need to stop crying
I'm not seeing what everyone's complaining about. So far it's exactly what I would expect a LOTR prequel series to be.
This hit hard. Maybe he wasn't the world's greatest dad, but maybe we also weren't the world's greatest kids....
One of the best episodes of the series. The ending is breathtaking.
"My mother is on Vulcan."
"My mother is on Valium."
"Taking it all in one last time, so I remember it when I am older."
When I started watching this show in 2017, my life was pretty good like the show. Now, in 2024, my life is completely different and upside-down just like the characters of the show. I myself have grown up along with the characters of this show. I will always hold this show dear to me.
I won't miss this show at all..but I will remember the moments of the show and the moments of my life watching it.
I wish everyone to "Live long and prosper" :vulcan:
Wow, we literally watched this in real time, so there was no chance the show could go on further. 12 seasons of BBT and 7 seasons of Young Sheldon. I will miss this.
Even knowing the moment was coming didn’t make it any less sad and shocking.
I don't want to like this as much as I do. I don't want it to be the Top Ranked movie on IMDB. It's too mainstream, too Forrest Gump-y for that. But deep down, I know I love it. It's not my favorite movie but it's so enjoyable and so positively warm and fuzzy that by the end, I have to rate it really high. It also has some twists that I enjoyed the first time and like looking for whenever I happen to see it.
My god ... finally ... those two:smirk:
Zach and Donald have a podcast together, its a really good listen and it has inspired me to go and watch it all again <3
Wow. What an intense episode.
There are a few episodes before this one that show why Scrubs is such a highly regarded show. But, this is the one one for me where it truly becomes ‘Scrubs’.
The way it makes you grow attached to a character in a small space of time. And develops the story to climax with a beautiful finale where the music really coincides with story. It’s everything that Scrubs perfects going forward.
benjamin miles I hope you find all the happiness you deserve king :)
congrats, you've reached the final double episode. 7 long seasons and you persisted. well done!!
Sure, let's take the one thing that makes Star Trek possible and demonize it. It's painfully obvious that the writer of this episode wanted to make a political point about the use of fossil fuels here on earth. Leave it to a liberal to pee on everyone's parade.
With this episode we finally get the continuation of the Moriaty story. Very well written and a great performance again from Daniel Davis. Love the final scene with Barclay
Sometimes the task of trying to be a father can be more difficult than saving the galaxy.
I remember this episode being among my favourites as a kid. The time travel concept is flipped around as our crew instead has to deal with someone else who has travelled back to meet them. But watching it now, I find it a difficult episode to recommend. It also really hit me that Matt Frewer's performance comes across as so slimy and often way too over-the-top.
It's a bit of a laugh, certainly and the argument between this time traveller and Captain Picard is wonderful.
And then the end of the episode leaves a sour taste in my mouth, because I suddenly feel genuinely sorry for the Professor. He's clearly terrified and the crew are utterly cold to him. He actions were going to be quite destructive to the timeline, no doubt, but the crew's absolute lack of empathy about the situation he's now in is a bit much to take. They don't even bother to figure out whether or not keeping him from returning to his own time will affect their history. Like he clearly says, "I don't belong here!"
