TV Show Review

TV Review: BETTER CALL SAUL: Season 1, Episode 10: Marco [AMC]

Bob Odenkirk Better Call Saul

AMC’s Better Call Saul Marco TV Show Review. Better Call Saul: Season 1, Episode 10: Marco, takes Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) another step closer to falling all the way down into the rabbit’s hole. Jimmy seizes an opportunity to reconnect with his old friend Marco (Mel Rodriguez) while Chuck (Michael McKean) adjusts to a new way of life…without Jimmy.

After Chuck’s betrayal and degrading rant, I had thought there would be no scene to compare to that. I was wrong. Jimmy, after saying his goodbyes to Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) and Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian) makes his way back to his job working the bingo room. What takes place in this scene has to be the best scenes of the show. Just when you think Bob Odenkirk has delivered a performance he cannot top…he tops it. His calm transition from office to Bingo was too subtle. We could feel he was going to let go, it was only a matter of when. Pulling the balls out and getting a string that starts with “B” was a very clever way to set it all off. Brother…betrayal…all keywords that trigger Jimmy and boy does he let it go! The expressions on the elder folk was classic. I’m surprised no one called the police on him, as his rant was borderline abusive to the elderly. No one could have seen that coming. This scene is just another reminder why Bob was such a great character on Breaking Bad. He leaves you no room to breath or assume anything. Brilliant scene.

Advertisement
 

Motivation and the ticket to use it, was not in short supply in this episode. We knew Jimmy was always on the border of slipping back into his old ways. Chuck provides him with the perfect send off the edge and he sells the rest very convincingly. The irony with Jimmy reconnecting with his slippery pal Marco, was watching Jimmy find Marco almost exactly where he was when he left. Which is another way to say Marco has been waiting here all along. He was dying without his counter part Jimmy to make him feel alive and they don’t miss a beat going right back into con mode. One of the most memorable parts of the con montage, was seeing the variety of hustles they put into play. The icing on the cake, was the girls waking up and realizing Jimmy’s wasn’t Kevin Costner. Hilarious! There was something else delivered, when Jimmy woke up. After he woke up and sobered up he was in the middle of his real life wake up call. The realization that it was time to move on hit. Agreeing to pull one last con with Marco was a great way to end their run. Marco dying left Jimmy with no other excuse, he had to move forward. He doesn’t question his partners passing, he just marinates in the moment. Great performance.

When opportunity knocks and Jimmy is given a second chance with the Sandpiper case, you actually want to see him win. You want to see him work this out but in our hearts and Jimmy’s we know this cannot be it. The whole motivation behind him going legit was having his brother looking over his shoulder, getting to have Chuck’s approval. His brother taught him a few things while he stayed with him, the most important was not to get caught with your pants down. You could feel Chuck’s words going through Jimmy’s mind as he decided to go his own way in the last scene. Mike (Jonathan Banks) provides the final piece of the motivation puzzle and Jimmy blazes off through the crossroads in this circus called his life. This appears to be the beginning of a very dark ride for Jimmy. The sad part is we will have to wait to find out just where his end destination lay.

Leave your thoughts on this review and this episode of Better Call Saul below in the comments section. For more Better Call Saul reviews, photos, videos, and information, visit our Better Call Saul, subscribe to us by Email, “follow” us on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, or “like” us on Facebook.

FilmBook's Newsletter

Subscribe to FilmBook’s Daily Newsletter for the latest news!

Thank you for subscribing.

Something went wrong.

Brian Fire

Brian is a screenwriter and visual fx Artist who loves science fiction, drama and follows many TV shows. He is a versatile writer who is published and has written copy for: CompUsa, The California State Lottery and Princess Cruise lines. Every year he attends The Sundance Film Festival and the San Diego Comic Con filling up on his other passions…indie films, comic books and video games.
Back to top button
Share via
Send this to a friend