(Sorry for being way behind, folks! I’ve got a lot to catch up on.)

Short Summary is an original series in which I write brief reviews of movies, TV shows, video games, books, and more. Spoilers ABOUND!

“Talk”

“Talk” doesn’t reveal anything new about Chuck’s letter like I thought it might. Yet I have a strong feeling that it’s going to be brought up again in some capacity before the season ends.

Anyway, now that I’ve tied off that little thread from my last review, let’s really “Talk.” This episode had a really sad and sweet cold open, with Mike’s late son, Matty, writing his name in wet cement. This flashback transitions to Mike in the present, having breakfast at the usual diner, and Anita joins him. She’s a fellow therapy group member, and the two of them have a cute interaction over a crossword puzzle. They also make a bet about another guy named Henry, who goes to therapy with them. In his usual way, Mike knows that Henry is lying and has even detected Henry’s tell. Of course, he’s right about it all.

Later on, at the therapy session itself, Mike’s daughter-in-law, Stacey, admits that she’s starting to forget about Matty. And Mike is visibly shaken and angry. I have to believe that he’s not only upset about Stacey’s confession, but also worried about what that means for his granddaughter. Will she forget about her father? Mike never will. So when Henry brings up his fake, dead wife and tells a tale of woe, Mike is already heated and calls him out. After Henry leaves, Mike accuses the rest of the group for tolerating the BS. All he says in the end is, “You wanted me to talk. I talked.” What a badass.

Seriously, Mike cannot stand any false pretense, and it’s so admirable.

He can’t even take it from Gus, and he’s brave enough to stand his ground. Mike is summoned to meet with Gus after therapy, and Gus isn’t happy that he knew about Nacho and didn’t say anything. Mike cuts through the crap and tells Gus to get to the point. We don’t see the result of that standoff until the next episode.

In the meantime, Jimmy gets a call at home from a cell phone store manager, offering him a position. He turns it down, at first. However, after Kim suggests that he see a therapist, Jimmy convinces her that he’s taken the job, so he has to call the manager back and scramble to accept the position after all.  Luckily, or rather unluckily, actually, he’s hired. And the store he’s assigned to is completely devoid of customer activity. Jimmy even gets the chance to sneak out and get some things done. Funnily enough, he’s inspired to sell phones with a new angle: privacy. He really digs into people’s paranoia regarding “the man” listening in on their conversations.

Nacho continues to get put through the ringer, poor guy. He’s turning into the Jesse of Better Call Saul: wrapped up in both internal and external turmoil, unable to escape either, and suffering from the ensuing chaos. With the Cousins in tow, Nacho lies about a rival drug gang, saying that they ran him and Arturo off the road. Nacho thinks that they’ll leave and return with back-up. However, that’s not how the Cousins roll; they take a bag of weapons and lay waste to the gang, just the two of them. Nacho watches their backs, even though he’s still recovering, and his actions reopen one of his wounds. When he reports all of this to Gus, he’s simply told to rest and that he has more to do. Until then, Nacho retreats to his father’s shop. One moment, his father tells him to leave, yet the next, he offers to take Nacho to the hospital. But Nacho pleads with his father to only stay. MY HEART.

Well, I’ll have my recap of episode 5 posted soon. Then the one for episode 6 will be published sort of on time next week!