'Better Call Saul' Season 1, Episode 7 - 'Bingo' Recap

Jimmy came so close to a win this week. In fact, if you count a moral victory as a win, then he really actually did come out on top. Business-wise, though, things aren't looking up.

Mike is done with Jimmy's services, at least for now; he refuses to recount his conversation with the cop investigating him with Jimmy, but he tells him that "it's in someone else's hands now."

Chuck, meanwhile, is working to get better by slowly "building up a tolerance to electromagnetic fields." Currently, he can tolerate a whole two minutes outside. Jimmy drops off some forms that he claims he can't fit in his office, but there may be an ulterior motive...Chuck immediately starts rummaging through them.

Jimmy is also deciding to invest in himself a bit by renting a big new office space. He checks it out with Kim, and asks her if she wants to come on as his partner in his fancy new space. Unfortunately, Kim is too tied into HHM to up and leave, so she turns down his offer.

Kim doesn't have a great meeting with her new clients, though, as the Kettlemans fire her after she gives them some real talk and admits that they probably won't end up getting off scott-free.

So, the Kettlemans go to Jimmy and decide to cash in on the "retainer" they paid him. But they have requirements, including that they serve absolutely no jail time. Kim asks Jimmy to convince them to come back over, and surprisingly he agrees. However, they note that the $30,000 they gave him puts him in the same boat as them.

A notable detail here: the color scheme for "Better Call Saul" thus far has been pretty simple: blue is good, red is bad. Bright colors like red always mean that shady behavior is happening, and in this scene Betsy Kettleman is wearing a bright red blazer. Looks like Jimmy is getting wrapped up in his clients' crime again.

It's clear that Jimmy is in way over his head. Even Kim, with all of her resources as HHM, couldn't come up with any angle to get the Kettlemans off with no jail time. Jimmy, however, has a trump card: he has the money the Kettlemans gave him, and he has Mike.

Mike delivers the money, with a special coating, back to the Kettlemans via toy truck, and watches as it puts them at unease. He then makes his way into the house, using a blacklight to track where they placed the money, back with the rest of it. Sure enough, there it all is, and Mike brings it all back to Jimmy in one piece.

"What're you doing?" Mike asks.
"The right thing," Jimmy responds.

Jimmy confronts the Kettlemans the next day, and they're obviously irate...but Jimmy points out that they have no recourse against him, and if they admit that they bribed him, then Betsy would be on the hook as well as her husband. So, for the kids, they decide to go back to Kim and take the deal.

So, it looks like Jimmy will have to give up on his brand-new dream office, and his hope of Kim joining him as partner.