One Great Scene in Better Call Saul s2 ep.10 (Klick)

Welcome back to One Great Scene where I will be looking at one scene in every episode of whatever show I'm watching and analyze them. Today's scene is from Better Call Saul s2 ep.10 (Klick) and we will be looking at the scene where Mike attempts his hit on the Salamanca family. Of course there will be spoilers for this episode and I guess spoilers for Mike's entire character arc in this season. 

We could've analyzed the scene where Jimmy and Chuck finally voice their frustrations but I think that scene just hammers home things that I've already said. So We're looking at something different. This scene involves Mike following the Salamancas into the desert with a sniper rifle and the intent to kill Hector Salamanca. This is a long scene which is mostly comprised of Mike waiting for the right opportunity to strike. He watches the twins shoot someone, he watches the Salamancas stand there and he watches them go inside a little house but then he hears his car hooter go off. It just keeps going as if someone is pressing on it constantly and he goes to investigate slowly and carefully, gun in hand. He notices that someone jammed a stick between the hooter and the car seat headrest to keep the car hooting and he finds a sheet of paper with "don't" written on it under his wipers. 

Why this scene though? Well, I feel like the other scenes in this episode were a little straight forward and it would result in me repeating myself so instead, i wanted to look at a scene involving Mike. Im not too sure about the whole scene though, not much information is given which is exactly why I chose it. By analyzing it, I can learn more about it and interpret it. I dont have these thoughts and interpretations ready beforehand, I just write and as I write, i piece things together slowly. So, I'm hoping to piece this scene together. 

Let's start by discussing why this scene is so important. First of all, the relationship between Mike and the Salamancas is a complex one which started earlier in the season, through Nacho. Why is this such a complex relationship? That's because Mike and Nacho are working together passively. Nacho got Mike to conspire against Tuco with him which lead to Tuco's arrest and that lead to tension between Mike and Hector. From there, due to both Mike involving himself and Hector sending people to scare him, the relationship between Mike and the Salamancas was formed. This scene had a lot of build up to it, it reminded me of Taxi Driver almost with how Mike prepares for his hit on Hector. Of course, this scene in and of itself is build up to something that im not entirely sure of yet because we didn't get a satisfying climax just an anti climax. 

Let's actually talk about the scene now. It starts with Mike following the Salamancas into the desert. They are carrying a witness. Earlier in the season Mike stole money from that witness so naturally, the Salamancas want answers as to who stole from them. This scene uses misdirection to make the viewer think that Mike is going to kill the witness before he can say anything. This seems both in character and out of character. Mike has never wanted to kill someone up until this point. He has done it before but now he's turning over a new leaf and throughout the season, nobody could drive him to pull the trigger. He always found some alternative but in this scene he feels that his only option is to kill but not the witness, he wants Hector. When Mike sets up his sniper rifle, it is revealed that he wants to put a hit on Hector. I believe this goes beyond the safety of his family. Hector has tried scaring Mike by going for his family but after Mike gave Hector what he wanted that ended so I think this goes deeper. I think this is a battle of wits between Mike and Hector. They both perceive the other as being dumber than or inferior. When Nacho tells Mike that Hector forgot about him, Mike expresses his confidence, he mentions that the Salamancas are not as smart as they think and Mike hasn't been wrong before so as a viewer we trust this. Put a pin in this for now though. Mike underestimated the Salamancas and he realizes this when the twins shoot the witness and he realizes the brutality of this family and the lengths they'd go to tie up loose ends but he doesn't feel that he is being in over his head yet. 

One other thing that this scene does is highlight the silent allyship between Mike and Nacho. When Nacho stands in the way, Mike can't shoot. It would draw attention to himself but when Nacho stands between him and Hector, he takes his finger off the trigger and not once thinks to shoot Nacho. I just thought that was sweet, i guess. Anyway, he misses his opportunity and they all go inside. Then Mike hears the car hooter. This part is the moment when Mike realized that he might be in over his head. Throughout the season he was able to assert his intelligence over the Salamancas and he's always underestimated them but when he sees "don't" he realizes that they have leg up over him. I don't even know if it is the Salamancas, it could be Gus. A character that I know from Breaking Bad who has yet to be introduced. Gus is someone just as meticulous if not more so than Mike but Mike isn't at the point he is in Breaking Bad yet. He's nowhere near as experienced as he is in Breaking Bad. The Mike in Breaking Bad probably wouldn't let something like this happen to him. It could also be the Salamancas. I don't think Nacho would sell Mike out but he was in a difficult position where he had to protect Hector without giving his relationship to Mike away. I have a feeling that if it isn't Gus, it's Nacho who inadvertently gave Mike away. This is a stretch but he could've noticed Mike and stood in the way which would have given Mike away. I'm not too sure.

In summary, Mike feels pushed to violence by the Salamancas and also realizes that they aren't as dumb as he thought, this is looking to be a tense battle of the wits between the two in the next season. Gus might also be involved in some way and i sure hope he is.

Anyway, this was the season finale and eventually, I'll come back for season 3 and analyze one scene in every episode of that season but for now I'll move on to a show that I've seen before. It's actually my favorite show ever that I will be rewatching because I never saw the finale. I have a weird schedule for watching series and while it's unconventional, you might need to roll with it. I have a list of Tv shows that I need to get to and I watch series one season at a time. So I'll watch one season of a show then I'll start a new show from my backlog, then after a season of the new show, I'll resume a show that I've already started. It's weird but please try to bear with it. Next, i will be tackling Freaks and Geeks from episode 1 to episode 18. This might be a challenge but I could do it. If you want to prepare, you can just watch the first episode and we'll go from there.

Thank you for reading, have a great day.