[For Better Call Saul “Nailed” or any other recaps on Fetchland, assume the presence of possible spoilers.]

AMC Summary:
Nailed. Chuck’s capabilities are questioned; Jimmy faces a sudden personal dilemma.

In last week’s episode of Better Call Saul Mike and Jimmy cooked up their own brands of old school revenge. So, naturally it follows that this week we see their vengeful machinations in action. It feels good for a while, just like the real thing, but then some consequences kick in and it’s more like everybody’s getting “Nailed” not just their targets. That’s called backlash, baby, and it’s smeared all over this episode and passed out cold on the floor of the downtown Albuquerque Kinkos.

The episode opens with the familiar Regalo Helado truck zooming across a glorious southwestern prairie road at high speed straight into Mike’s trap. Laid in wait, his spike strip seizes the truck and stops it immediately. Then Mike ventures out from behind a billboard with a black ski cap covering his face. He ties up the driver, duct tapes his mouth, and drills into the truck’s wheels until finally finding a hidden stash of cash inside one. Mike puts the cash bundles into his car trunk and drives away, leaving the driver hogtied but alive.

Next we see Chuck struggling to enter the New Mexico Banking Board office through a metal detector. He gets past his anxiety eventually and ventures inside where we see him finally conduct the business of the Mesa Verde proposed bank expansion. While they’re presenting the case several board members whisper and point to items on the documents. As a result their chairman has to halt the Mesa Verde presentation. It seems there are two different addresses on the affidavits. Chuck keeps insisting it’s the 2016 address, the one he remembers from filing the documents. But the clients insist it’s 2061, the actual address. Then Chuck has to ask for an adjournment so they can amend the filing to fix the address discrepancy but the soonest the board can revisit it is six weeks. Mesa Verde is thus, understandably, pissed at Chuck. Now we know what Jimmy’s Kinkos cut-and-paste adventure was all about. Back at his house, safely draped like a baked potato, Chuck rants like a loon while Howard tries to calm his unrelenting partner. Chuck may be an angry paranoid wacko but he’s also right about one thing; this isn’t a mistake.

Then Hector’s inside the ice cream shop and we see him through Mike’s binoculars. He’s apparently just found out about his truck’s stolen bundles of cash and Mike smiles at Hector’s rather unpleasant reaction. This is the first time we’ve seen Mike happy outside of a Kaley visit. He flirts with a waitress and even buys a round for the house at a local bar. Mike feels like a hero and isn’t his usual miserable stone-faced self anymore.

Then Kim and Jimmy renovate their offices, removing dentist chairs and painting walls. In the middle of painting Kim gets a surprising call from Paige and she’s got Mesa Verde back. Jimmy does a spectacular job pretending to be surprised and he’s classic supportive Jimmy, reminding her to breathe and savor the moment. After a follow up call from Ernie, Chuck’s assistant, the duo head over to pick up the Mesa Verde files at his house. Once there Chuck confronts Jimmy about sabotaging him with the Mesa Verde addresses. Chuck has an uncanny sense of what Jimmy did and relays it in front of Kim so she knows the “true nature” of his brother. Of course, Jimmy denies it. Then Chuck says Kim knows it’s true and has to disclose this to her client. So, Kim asks Chuck for his evidence but he doesn’t have any other than knowing Jimmy. Kim says she thinks it’s much more likely Chuck just made a simple mistake. Anybody could have made it. She points out the ways Chuck isn’t a good brother to Jimmy instead. Of course, Kim knows Chuck is right but she also knows he’s no better and she’s already chosen to be on Jimmy’s team. Once in the car with the files packed in Kim punches Jimmy a few times just to show him she knows the real truth of the matter.

Mike gets an urgent call from Nacho asking to meet right away. Nacho thinks it Mike who hit their truck and got away with Hector’s quarter million in cash bundles. He knows this because nobody else would leave the guy alive, Nacho says. He’s worried Hector’s questioning of the driver will reveal it was Mike and then eventually their connection might be exposed. So, Mike says there’s no way that’ll happen because he never spoke and hid his face the whole time during the robbery. Then Mike asks Nacho how the theft didn’t make the papers and Nacho says a good samaritan came by soon after the robbery, untied the driver and called for help. So, the cops never even knew about the situation. The cartel cleaned it all up fast. Hector then thanked the good samaritan by shooting him in the face. Mike doesn’t take this news well. An innocent good samaritan was killed as a result of his robbery. Thus we see his temporarily cheerful demeanor fall away and sadsack Mike’s back in town.

Next Jimmy and Kim are settling into bed together for the night when she refuses to talk about the Mesa Verde/Chuck situation. However, Kim does hint around to Jimmy that because Chuck was able to deduce Jimmy’s actions so easily he’d better make sure he covered his tracks completely. If anything can be found out about what he did, Chuck is certain to sniff it out. So, Jimmy drives out to Kinkos for damage control. In a scene parallel to Mike with Nacho, Jimmy pays the guy who works the Kinkos graveyard shift to “forget his face” when Chuck shows up later to ask about him. Then Jimmy pays graveyard shift guy two hundred more to erase the tapes that will prove he was there. Afterward Jimmy waits outside until Chuck inevitably arrives at the Kinkos. Jimmy cheers graveyard guy on from outside as he sticks to his deal to say he never saw Jimmy. Chuck’s getting more and more agitated under the bright lights and with the copiers running. He gets dizzy and dazed. The guy won’t budge about not seeing Jimmy even though Chuck knows he’s lying. He starts mentally spinning and then passes out. Chuck hits his head on the counter before landing on the Kinkos floor and is thus the only character in this episode to get double-nailed. Next in the last shot we hear Jimmy, watching from outside the shop, murmur, “Call 911. Call 911,” as the graveyard shift guy and Ernie reach down and try to help Chuck.

That’s the thing about revenge, it perpetuates the cycle. Sure, it feels great but that’s only temporary unlike the hurt it causes, which leads to the next bit of backlash… and then the next. “Nailed” focuses squarely on that backlash. Mike’s lucky to have Nacho for his buffer and informant while Jimmy has Kim as informant and paid buffer, graveyard shift guy. We’ve got luck on our side too with the finale just around the corner. Hopefully the final episode will reveal Jimmy’s long-awaited and painstakingly crafted commercial. It’s likely we’ll also see Kim take charge of Mesa Verde with aplomb. We also expect that Mike will surprise us with the kind of strategic initiative only a traumatized sociopath genius obsessed with his granddaughter could possibly concoct. We can’t wait.

–Katherine Recap

[For Vinyl “Rock and Roll Queen” or any other recaps on Fetchland, assume the presence of possible spoilers.]

HBO Summary:
Rock and Roll Queen. After an unsettling visit with Devon and his children, Richie begins to weigh his options.

The theme of “Rock and Roll Queen” lies in parallels, paired battles, reflections, and dualities. There’s two of everything and it’s all connected, baby. There’s Jamie’s tryst with Alex and Kip of the The Nasty Bitz, Devon and Ingrid’s fantasy role-play of each other’s lifestyles, Clark’s introduction of disco to the world of club mixing and Richie’s decision between cop and mafia deals. The scenes play out a divine balancing act between realizations and retribution while limitations stretch and characters change.

It all starts with Richie as he’s pulled back and forth in a series of tests. The US attorney visits Richie in prison and, luckily, it turns out they just want Galasso and are willing to conveniently forget Richie’s role in Buck’s murder for inside info on the mobster. Richie’s lawyer tells him it’s a suicide mission but with Maury Gold sharing American Century office space, it’s obvious how easy it’ll be for Richie to pull off.

Then Jamie gets the predicted ousting from her Aunt’s apartment and ends up sleeping at Kip’s place where he’s comforting and happy to have her stay “more than tonight”. The next day The Nasty Bitz do their album cover photo shoot with Andy from American Century. Kip and the new lead guitarist, Alex, fight over concept a bit before making peace AND a cool cover. Later that night they dance to the song “Rock and Roll Queen” then double team Jamie Vine. It’s all sexy-happy-free-love in The Nasty Bitz universe until Kip wakes up later to see Alex and Jamie snuggling deep asleep together and feels that lonely twinge sending him back to a needle in his arm.

The duality of this storyline carries farther even than this when we find out that Richie’s secretary, Cece, is now pregnant by their ex-star artist Hannibal. She’s a wreck about it. Andy isn’t helping matters berating Cece and Jamie loudly for their American Century liaisons as if this is an episode of the Maury Povich show. If Cece wanted to keep it a secret it’s too late now and she leaves the office in a waterfall of tears.

Richie stays clean for the entire episode and even takes a nap in his office Don Draper style. So, yeah clean but not exactly sober. The clean part is hard enough, though because he’s surrounded by coke with Corso and Zak hitting his coffee table for a snortacular lunch break. Maury Gold stretches Richie’s every last nerve as his sketchy new office roomie with no boundaries. There’s another nagging element when Lester figures out Richie borrowed money from Galasso and confronts him about it. People are getting wise to Richie’s bad decisions on all sides and it’s a lot for a guy to take while detoxing off coke one whiskey nap at a time.

Devon takes pics of naked Billy in her bed and they discuss a box of undeveloped photos she keeps in her Greenwich attic. It seems Devon took loads of Jimi Hendrix pictures back in the day when he was staying at their house and “getting himself together”. This means those picture are personal, private revelations of a huge star that just recently died, in other words – a goldmine. She asks Billy if he sees her box of Hendrix photos as some sort of windfall for him and he says no. He just doesn’t want her to run out of money and thus have to leave him. This is an obvious parallel to Richie who comes by later to tell Devon he wants her back.

There are so many dualities like this one for Devon in “Rock and Roll Queen” that she’s likely the real queen referred to in the title. She and Ingrid switch roles so that she can get sexytime with Billy while Ingrid plays out her motherhood fantasies babysitting and chaperoning Richie’s dinner with the kids. When Richie comes to pick them up at the Chelsea Hotel he finds Billy instead of Devon in the apartment. It’s a funny scene because Billy’s in the process of trying to beat down a bat when Richie walks in. He joins the battle right away so that they swat at it together. Even though Richie realizes this guy’s “with” Devon he can’t resist a good fight.

The most powerful pair of events in the episode happen one right after another and lead directly to its conclusion. First Zak gets a call from Vegas that helps him put it together that it was Richie who took the money in Vegas and then lost it gambling at the tables. Zak took all the blame while Richie watched him torment himself about it. So, now furious Zak pummels Richie’s incredibly deserving face many times. Contrite Richie doesn’t even fight back. He takes the beating with arms at his sides all the way down to the lobby in the elevator. After Zak leaves him standing with shocked stillness in their building’s lobby, Richie goes to see Devon at the Chelsea. He tells her about killing Buck Rogers and covering it up. Richie explains that’s why he “jumped off the wagon”. He was trying to keep all the nastiness away from her, he says. Before she can really respond he leaves her standing on the sidewalk and heads back to American Century. Now it’s late at night and he listens to The Nasty Bitz song “Woman Like You” and realizes he’s finally reached the goal of a great song from a brand new band. When the song ends Richie calls his lawyer and takes the deal to inform on Galasso. Although this seemed inevitable to us, apparently it took awhile for him to realize it’s his only real option.

The next episode is the season finale and there’s a lot at stake for Richie. His life is on the line as he snitches on Galasso, Devon’s gone, American Century seesaws on the brink of explosion, and all the while Richie’s barely staying sane without his BFF cocaine. One might think that Devon’s upon hearing Richie’s confession in that final scene might mean he’ll get her back but they’d be wrong. We know this because of the tune that plays as he walks away and into the street. The Jimi Hendrix song, “Hey Joe” fills the end credits with deep double meaning. It signifies that box of photos in Devon’s attic, her ticket to independence if she sells them, and was also the first single for Jimi with his newly formed group, The Jimi Hendrix Experience. So, Devon’s sadness may actually be more about herself being “a new single” than empathy for Richie and thanks to her box of Jimi Hendrix pictures, she can handle moving forward on her own.

–Katherine Recap

[For The People v. OJ Simpson “The Verdict” or any other recaps on Fetchland, assume the presence of possible spoilers.]

FX Summary:
The Verdict. Closing statements are given and the jury must decide on a verdict.

The finale of “American Crime Story: The People v. OJ Simpson” is the toughest version of a very special episode since Alex P. Keaton got addicted to speed. Unfortunately, in the case of The People v.OJ Simpson, it’s hard to watch because it’s real life. For instance, when Marcia Clark talks about how she’s driven to help abused women get justice because she was raped herself, we understand her as a person on a much deeper level than we did as a character up until now. When Darden breaks down during the press conference and stops talking to hug the Goldman family our hearts cry out to comfort him… and them. This all really happened and these characters are actually just people like us even if they seems larger than life under the circumstances. The one exception to this is, of course, OJ Simpson who seems oddly alien and unaware of how to act like a human. From the awkward party he insists on throwing to the stilted and surreal announcement he reads aloud at the party, Simpson’s off. The speech is an echo of the oddness of his alleged “suicide note” at the beginning of the series; strangely defensive and overwhelmingly inappropriate.

“The Verdict” finale episode begins as the trial is winding down. OJ gives a brief statement but does not testify. When he’s done seeking sympathy and claiming his innocence, the defense rests. Then we see closing arguments and Marcia goes first. She starts with Mark Fuhrman, pointing out that he may be a terrible person, yes, but he’s also a mere distraction next to a mountain of evidence that proves OJ’s guilt. She shows pictures and points out details for all of the evidence that the defense didn’t and couldn’t refute. It’s solid stuff, including the astonishing DNA evidence which clearly identifies OJ Simpson as the killer. Darden then speaks to the volatile relationship between Nicole and OJ leading up to this disastrous end – thus proving motive. His words are powerful and hit all the important points. It’s hard to imagine closing arguments for the prosecution more compelling than the clear rationale presented by Clark and Darden here.

Cochran then starts with an emotionally volatile argument and, parallel to Marcia, brings Mark Fuhrman into the story right from the start. Johnnie says that even back when OJ was being accused of domestic abuse it was Fuhrman who came to the door. He represents the entire LAPD and thus their verdict will impact the entire LAPD. Johnnie tells them they have a responsibility to remedy the wrongs of the police saying, “If you don’t stop this coverup, who will?” and then about the gloves adds the memorable line, “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit,” as the final statement for his comparatively short closing statement.

Afterward Marcia leaves to take her kids away to Santa Barbara. The Dream Team all talk about taking their own vacations too. Then they leave Shapiro alone on a bench in the courtroom lobby, their disdain for him lingers behind like a smelly fart in his face. It’s clear everyone thinks the jury will be deliberating for a long time and that makes sense given that they’ve been listening to evidence for eight months. But when we see the jury begin their deliberations it seems like they haven’t been listening much after all. Before they deliberate everyone votes using paper ballots just to get a sense of the room. This initial vote results in all but two not guilty votes. Is it a coincidence that there are two white members of the jury? It seems no because many of the jurors eye the two white jurors when the not guilty votes are read aloud. Then the juror Cochran refers to as “the demon” is first to admit that she voted guilty because of all the evidence. As a group they debate the evidence briefly but end up quickly agreeing that even if they do think he did it, they can’t honestly say that the prosecution proved it beyond a reasonable doubt. After less than four hours of discussion they have a verdict. When notified of this none of the lawyers can believe it. It’s truly unprecedented.

There are crowds building outside the courtroom now that it’s hit the news that a verdict is imminent and then we see a split screen of the defense and prosecution tables inside the courtroom. Of course we all know that the verdict will be, “Not guilty,” but it still feels surprising when it happens now in the TV show universe, twenty years after the fact. The crowds outside the courtroom and across the country react with an overwhelming response of equal parts disappointment and cheering. Ito then dismisses the jury after thanking them for their service. OJ’s face registers his surprise and Marcia looks over at him, disgusted, as she meets his gaze. Speaking of disgust, Kardashian runs to the bathroom and vomits, not even making it to the toilet. In the DA’s office later Clark cries and says she’s ashamed but Gil comforts her saying she played it clean and straight. Then they do a press conference and say the jury based their decision on emotion rather than reason. Marcia thanks the victims’ families and says she hopes this doesn’t discourage people from seeking help for domestic violence. Then Darden breaks our hearts with his sincere sadness; breaking down and hugging the Goldmans rather than finishing his statement.

The press conference ends and one of the reporters asks Gil if he’s going to look for the real killer now and he doesn’t respond. Outside the press conference Cochran talks to Darden a bit and says he wants to help bring him “back into the community”. But Darden says he never left. He tells Cochran this isn’t the civil rights moment Johnnie thinks it is. He hasn’t changed anything for the black community – not really. All Cochran showed was that he could game the system for a black defendant. But then Johnnie gets the reinforcement he seeks back at his office when the news is talking about the change he accomplished. President Clinton speaks about it and says the trial brought race dynamics into the light for the country. Johnnie says, “Our story is now out of the shadows,” and it’s clear that’s how he really sees this whole story – as an unveiling. Cochran never stops looking at the macrocosm of the societal situation overall rather than the microcosm that was the specific OJ Simpson trial. Johnnie’s an ends justifies the means type and he achieved the ends he sought.

But the means are all Marcia and Darden can think about. She’s upset that people are celebrating outside. He says it’s time for him to resign. All these politics aren’t him, Darden explains. Marcia says maybe you have to be driven with a need to avenge to fit in here. She tells the story of being raped at seventeen and how it fuels her to get justice for victims. “Everyone wants justice for victims, right?” They both thought so until today. So, Clark too starts to have doubts about belonging in this system. Then the duo leave to get a drink together. We find out in the closing credit sweep of where are they now that both of them left The DA office after this. Clark works as a mystery novelist and Darden opened a private practice.

In the next scene we see OJ hug Kardashian outside the prison. Simpson thanks him for his support and returns the bible Kardashian gave him when he entered prison. Then on the trip to OJ’s house Robert asks him what he’s going to do and OJ says throw a party. There are people protesting outside his house and OJ doesn’t get it, “What the hell are they doing here? I was found not guilty!” His family welcomes him home but the Browns didn’t bring his kids over for the welcoming. Then OJ takes a shower and stands in front of the mirror looking at himself. He puts on a bathrobe and sits down for a cry. There’s a knock on the door and it’s his son with a puppy as a gift for OJ, “To make sure he always had a friend”. Surrounded by his family, OJ watches Barbara Walters interview Robert Shapiro but he shuts it off pronto when Shapiro isn’t uber supportive of him. Simpson tells his son to call the Riviera Restaurant to reserve a table for fifteen that night. We then see the party and it’s a rager but OJ’s disappointed that he doesn’t know anybody there. He asks AC where his real friends are but nobody knows. Not even Kato showed. OJ gives an awkward speech about how he wants to find the real killers. Then Kardashian leaves and it’s for good this time. He drops the bible on a table and doesn’t look back again. OJ’s son then tells him the restaurant won’t take them because they don’t “have a place for him” in there. He wanders out of his party full of strangers and stares at his self portrait statue in the backyard, a stranger to himself.

The finale ends with a wrap up for each character and the most surprising of all is OJ Simpson. Many of us knew that he’s currently in prison for kidnapping and armed robbery but not many were aware that he’ll be eligible for parole next year. A real stunner also in these final shots is a picture of OJ from the trial set next to one of Cuba Gooding Jr. We’d forgotten how gorgeous OJ was and this picture really makes it hit home after a whole season of looking at Cuba Gooding Jr. The real OJ was literally as handsome as a movie star. A gorgeous football hero already beloved by America and with a team of the best lawyers money can buy… it’s no wonder how it all ended. Yet we’re still somehow in awe that it all came to this end. Something to keep in mind is that the way our justice system works we have it built in that sometimes guilty people are going get away with crime. That’s why we have the notion of reasonable doubt, it’s to protect the innocent ones. The ideal practice of our system would protect the innocent and in the meantime, yes, some guilty will get off too. That’s the price we pay to protect the innocent. But one of the major issues brought up in this trial is that so often the innocent are, in fact, not protected by our system. And far too often it’s because of the color of their skin. So, if we’re to find a silver lining in this story, let it be that it drew attention to the fact of this unfairness on a national level.

–Katherine Recap

[For Better Call Saul “Fifi” or any other recaps on Fetchland, assume the presence of possible spoilers.]

AMC Summary:
Fifi. Mike aims to settle the score with an enemy; an unexpected opportunity presents itself to Jimmy.

“Fifi” is all about reverence for the old guard. This theme runs through each storyline and ultimately colors the decisions and actions of several characters. Hector represents the old guard of drug gangs and Mike continues to follow him with a watchful eye; taking notes and preparing for a coming onslaught. Jimmy draws upon the old guard to compose a TV commercial for his new firm starring an Air Force veteran from WWII. Of course, because it’s Jimmy he’s not actually from that particular old guard but the guy is old and wears the outfit, so it counts. But the best example of old guard in “Fifi” rests with Chuck. He spouts off about how “boring” and old school his lawyering ways are at HHM but spins it to such effect that he wins the day and serves as hero to Howard. Like many heroes, this sacrifice puts him into physical distress. He represents the old guard of working man, wearing himself down to a bloody nub of nothingness for the sake of his company.

The episode opens with a single continuous shot at the Mexican border. In a suspenseful build of skilled camera work we see trucks crossing into Mexico as they’re dog-searched, lasered with green-lit wands, and inspected by uniformed guards. The camera specifically follows a Regalo Helgado ice cream truck as border guards pull cartons out of the back, check the driver’s ID, and laser all the surfaces. They Xray items from the truck, hand the driver his paperwork, and tell him “OK” so he can drive off with minimal fuss. Later at the side of the road the driver parks and walks into a field where he lifts a rock and removes a gun from underneath. Then Mr. Ragalo Helgado driver pokes his just-finished popsicle stick in some land nearby. It juts out of the dirt next to many twins of the same popsicle stick, like skinny little gravestones with the name of Hector’s ice cream shop written on them.

Then we see Kim and Jimmy at a hot dog place. They strategize how to get Mesa Verde to stay with Kim after she leaves HHM. Jimmy suggests she put the resignation letter on Howard’s desk that very night and then call Mesa Verde first thing in the morning before Howard even gets into the office. Kim says she appreciates the advice but wants to do it her way. In the next scene she gives Howard her resignation and then as she leaves his office hears him calling Mesa Verde. So, they get her call second after she races at top flight speed down the hall to her office. Then at Kim’s lunch with Mesa Verde’s Paige and Kevin she wins them over so that, though the deal isn’t sealed in writing, it seems a sure thing. Afterward she meets Jimmy at an office space that was previously for two dentists. Kim tells Jimmy it looks like she’s got Mesa Verde and after celebrating with high fives, they decide to sign the lease on the dentists office for their location.

Mike remains on stakeout outside of Hector’s ice cream shop just as he was in the last episode. He sees the Regelo Helgado truck pull up, deliver goods, and then leave right before Hector arrives in his signature old school red car and then enters the now-closed shop. Mike takes notes in his notebook. Later he follows Hector’s car and parks nearby as it goes into a carport to be followed soon after by that same Regalo Helgado ice cream truck. Hector waits outside as the garage doors come down. Mike watches with binoculars and is putting together a significant connection as he hears the sound of a drill coming from inside the garage.

Howard comes to Chuck’s house and says they’re losing Mesa Verde to Kim, who left HHM. Howard explains that she’s opening a new firm with Jimmy and Chuck calls Jimmy Svengali, putting a rather sinister namesake on the sweetest brother a guy could ever have. Howard’s big concern, though, is losing Mesa Verde and he needs Chuck’s expertise in banking law. So, Chuck buckles down and says he’s up to the task and will act “normal” for the meeting with Mesa Verde. Lights will stay on. People will keep their phones. He’ll take off his aluminum foil blanket. And, in fact, Chuck shows up and does a smashing job getting Mesa Verde’s attention and holding it. Though he refuses to badmouth Kim, he tells his “old guard story” and points out how they’re a big bank and thus need more resources that only a big firm can give them. He seals the deal for HHM. As Kevin and Paige leave, though, Chuck passes out in Howard’s arms. Luckily the clients don’t see this part and the handshake’s already happened.

Next we see Jimmy on air force base tarmac pushing an elderly veteran around an old fighter plane B29 called “Fifi”. With him are the two film students from UNM who made his controversial ad for Davis & Main. It turns out the old guy dressed as a veteran isn’t really a hero but actually just an old client of Jimmy’s who never paid and thus owes him a favor. Jimmy “directs” the guy while the kids film and Jimmy says things like, “Imagine a bald eagle swooping into frame” and “Red white and blue courses through your veins”. Then Ernesto (Chuck’s assistant) calls and tells Jimmy his brother’s not doing well.

Later that night Jimmy relieves Ernesto of his duty. He sits near sleeping Chuck and sees the boxes of Mesa Verde files piled up nearby. Jimmy flips through some of the files, pulls some out, and heads to Kinkos for old guard document adjustment action. At Kinkos Jimmy makes changes to the documents old school style, Xacto knife, glue stick, and precision copying. It’s hard to tell exactly what he’s doing but one thing’s certain, he changes several crucial addresses. Once back at Chuck’s Jimmy replaces the files he took so that no changes will ever be noticed. Then he falls asleep in the chair next to Chuck. The next afternoon Chuck finally wakes up none the wiser.

In Kim and Jimmy’s final scene of the episode, she tells him she lost Mesa Verde to HHM because of Chuck. Kim asks if he wants to pull out of their deal to share location and costs now that a sizable chunk of income just went flying out the window. He’s totally Jimmy in response, supportive and helpful. “There will be other Mesa Verdes,” he says and he means it. Given what he just spent the night doing at Kinkos, maybe one of them might actually even be Mesa Verde.

Then in Mike’s last scenes of the episode he and Kaley work on a project in his kitchen. The old guard theme arises again when Mike explains to her that he doesn’t have to wear protective eyewear “because grownups get to be stupid,” as he puts goggles on her to teach her how to use a drill. Mike’s helping Kaley put holes in a hose. When Kaley’s mother comes to pick her up Mike tells her he’s making a homemade sprinkler for flowers in the backyard. That night we see Mike sticking nails into the hose holes, so turns out it’s not a sprinkler after all. In fact, it could be some sort of spike strip maybe. Spike strips are also known as traffic spikes and are used for tire deflation, often on unsuspecting vehicles. But no matter what his hose contraption is, Mike’s clearly preparing for a battle and seems to have Hector in his gun sight.

This episode served as a suspense builder in ever storyline so that we’re left wondering what’s going to happen next on all accounts. What does Mike have planned for Hector and his ice cream intrigue? How will Jimmy’s Kinkos caper affect the Mesa Verde case? When can we see Jimmy’s new commercial? And will Chuck ever stop acting like a baked couch potato? We can’t wait for these answers but we’re willing to wait a bit longer, of course, to see the imminent arrival of Saul to the story.

–Katherine Recap

[For Vinyl “E.A.B” or any other recaps on Fetchland, assume the presence of possible spoilers.]

HBO Summary:
E.A.B. Richie grows desperate and approaches Maury about doing a deal with Galasso.

Irony abounds in the “E.A.B.” episode. Every scene bursts with ironic twists and witty repartee. The episode begins with a classic song, Here Comes the Sun playing as Richie, Zak and Skip enter the bank to ask for a loan to highlight a classic financial irony of life. When you really need money most nobody will loan you any, least of all a bank. But when you’ve got plenty they’re throwing it at you. Because American Century’s at rock bottom, they’re denied the loan. Once outside the bank Richie gets coke off Skip and explains that he built the company high on coke and they lost it all when he was sober – yet another irony. As Richie jumps into their limo and abandons them in the street, Skip asks Zak, “How much of this shit are we going to take?” A valid question.

Then Andy meets with American Century’s lame marketing guy and and reams him a new a-hole because he’s “risen to the level of his incompetence” before she fires him. He says Andy can’t do that because Richie loves him. “Not as much as me,” Andy explains. Later in the episode the guy loses it in the lobby and curses the company as his final adieu, holding up a pentagram necklace he’d kept hidden inside his heinous polyester shirt.

Next Richie gives the Bitz a pep talk because without a hit from them there will be no Alibi Records. He pumps them up with his Richie brand inspirational lingo then leaves the band fiddling around but still pretty lost in the studio. Lester guides them, though. He teaches them that the chords “E.A.B.” in progression are a simple way to find their song. Lester illustrates with ease how “E.A.B.” serves as skeleton for all sorts of great songs. All the Bitz need to add is some flesh, hair, and eyes, he explains. Ironically, the Bitz now see that the guy they hired to handle their record deal is their studio savior too. “Just write what you feel, boys. It ain’t magic,” Lester says before leaving the studio to smoke on the roof. But he’s not done helping yet. Kip joins him for a smoke and asks if the Bitz can rearrange Lester’s song, one that he gave as an example when he was teaching them about “E.A.B.” Later Kip sings an edgier raw version of Lester’s song and all of a sudden The Nasty Bitz have a hit. Turns out it was pretty magical after all.

At a restaurant Zak meets with the singer he discovered at his daughter’s Bat Mitzvah, Gary. He brought along the American Century lawyer, Scott, to sign Gary as a new artist with the label. Gary sings at the table, he’s so happy. At first the other customers are annoyed that somebody’s singing but Gary’s song is so glorious; they end up clapping. This irony of artistry often happens in New York City because real art usually disrupts at fist impact, so it can be greeted initially with rejection but then wins us over with valiant beauty. This is Gary in a nutshell. He’s so special, in fact, that Zak decides to mortgage his house so American Century can pay for Gary’s demo. This makes Richie feel terrible and he can’t let Zak do it. Instead he strikes a deal with the devil, borrowing the money from the mobster Galasso and thus risking the loss of everything, even his life, in an attempt to save the company – the most savage irony of all.

Then Joe Corso visits Richie’s office to say the cops know they were with Buck the night he was killed. He accuses Richie of killing Buck and, of course Richie yells back that, in fact it was Corso who did the deed. It’s evident from Corso’s belligerent denials that he’s some brand of psychopath so there’s no reasoning with him. the detectives who’ve been listening in on his convos give him a ride. They take him to the station where he sits at the end of an interrogation table. The detectives ask him if he killed Buck Rogers and then have the follow up question, why’s he protecting Joe Corso? Richie won’t budge or answer so they play the tape of Richie talking to Corso in his office and say they planted a bug there right before he had that “interesting alibi talk” with his father. He’s screwed. After puffing on his cigarette a bit, the silent Richie heads to a holding cell until somebody bails him out.

There’s not a lot of Devon in “E.A.B.” but still, she’s got it goin’ on. Living at the Chelsea Hotel now, Devon’s finally creating an artistic life for herself. Inconveniently, and with a hint of irony, though she’s still got her two kids in tow. A resident yells at Devon’s kids for killing her cat and the Chelsea’s landlord admits that he wasn’t fond of the cat BUT Devon still owes him so maybe it’s best if she leaves anyway. Sure she paid her rent check but residents of artist rooms have to contribute art work and she’s in an artist room. So, Devon promises to bring him some art soon. Next we see Bob Marley play at Max’s Kansas City where Devon notices a sexy paparazzi photog, Billy McVicar. Billy’s being shooed away by John Lennon who’s in the midst of his infamous lost weekend at the moment. Devon approaches McVicar and borrows his camera. She brings it over to John and asks if he minds taking a picture. In yet another irony, Devon has Lennon take a pic of her and Ingrid rather than taking one of him. Because she surprised him, Lennon likes her. She jokes with him that “they” say sometimes you can even see a celebrity in this place and makes him smile even more. Later we see Devon developing pics with Billy in a dark room and there’s a rad one of John Lennon. McVicar tells her she’s talented and he can hook her up with his editor but Devon’s just happy she’s got the picture to pay her rent at the Chelsea. To celebrate, she gets down and dirty with Billy in the darkroom. Maybe Devon will finally have that creative collaboration with him that she always wanted with Richie.

Back at the mailroom Clark confronts the guy who steals records and then they become friends over some cocaine to make the day go faster. Clark’s new friend explains that he gives the records to his DJ buddy at a club so he can get free drinks and girls when the guy plays the records. Then in the last scene of the epidode we see Clark with his new buddy from the mailroom entering a world unlike anything Clark’s ever seen before. It’s full of vivid color and invigorated people dancing to funky music. Turns out the guy he gives the records to is the same guy Lester knows who samples from those records in an inventive new way of making music. It’s a unique and vibrant sound that got Clark’s inspired. In the final irony of “E.A.B.”, Clark’s getting sandwiches and coffee at American Century when he finally finds a fresh sound that he could pitch to the label. He’s discovered disco and the art of modern club mixing completely by chance when he was just out looking for a good time.

It’s also kinda ironic that Clark’s experience validates Richie’s defensive stance about his use of cocaine in the first scene. The first time Clark does cocaine he discovers a whole new genre of music and when he was sober all he found was a band of bloated tin-eared wizards. But in contrast we see Richie’s untenable position; indebted to a mobster, sitting in a jail cell with a murder charge pending, his divorce on the horizon, and company failing. Richie’s woes are all due to his BFF cocaine and whether Richie wants to see that or not the evidence is clear.

–Katherine Recap