Howard, a talented advocate in his own right, appeals to ChuckвЂ™s vanity and his sense of serving his true calling to the law above prosaic personal concerns. While the fallout from вЂњChicaneryвЂќ clearly left Chuck shaken, even seeming suicidal at times, a visit from Howard seems to snap him out of that funk. The suspension is not ideal, but it may just push the newly-dubbed Saul Goodman into something personally and individually fulfilling after being so directed (no pun intended) by his relationship with his brother.ДЄs despondent as Chuck himself may seem after having effectively lost his contest with Jimmy, the results seems to spur him to action as well. But while Breaking Bad fans know his вЂњsabbaticalвЂќ wonвЂ™t last, maybe Jimmy would have been happier as a commercial director and/or star than as an officer of the court, even a flashy and unscrupulous one. In another of the showвЂ™s tightly-edited and hilarious montages, it does seem to pain Jimmy a bit to have to inform his clients of his twelve-month suspension. ThereвЂ™s ways in which JimmyвЂ™s showmanship makes him a good fit for the legal profession, but as his stint at Davis & Main shows, there are also essential parts of who he is that make him a liability and make it questionable how suited he is to be a lawyer. As corny as it is to see Jimmy in that hat and beard and vest (and it must be said that Better Call Saul gets the lo-fi look of local ads down perfectly) thereвЂ™s the sense that the newly-dubbed Saul Goodman is in his element both behind and in front of the camera, and it may be the closest thing to honest work that could possibly sustain him.ДЄfter all, Better Call Saul gives the impression that Jimmy became a lawyer out of a combination of admiration for a brother who unwittingly provided him with a template for what success looks like, and a desire to earn ChuckвЂ™s respect and perhaps even his love in the effort. And the first glimpse we see of Cinnabon Gene shows a man whose entire world is black and white, where the only hint of color comes from the flashes of the original вЂњBetter Call SaulвЂќ commercials that first drew Jesse and Walt to him. He showed the same cinematic predilections in his meticulously-produced ad for Davis & Main, not to mention his big вЂњGimme JimmyвЂќ spot.

That gives him a foothold in the law, but his insider references to going вЂњKarloffвЂќ for his commercial or the dangers of wearing stripes on screen suggest that heвЂ™s as jazzed by his artistic endeavors as he is by any flashy con. At heart, Jimmy is a showman, a carnival barker, a people-pleaser, albeit one whoвЂ™s happy to use those skills to feather his own nest wherever possible. But for each of them, there is now something pushing them, almost against their will, to move closer to new activities, to different lives, that might be better for their souls.ДЇor Jimmy, that means a break from the legal profession. The demands of finances, family, and the intersection of the two have kept the likes of Jimmy, Chuck, Mike, and Nacho reluctant or bitter or scarred by the efforts each has been immersed in over the past couple seasons. ThereвЂ™s a sense in вЂњOff BrandвЂќ that many of Better Call SaulвЂ™s major figures have not been doing the things theyвЂ™d really like to.

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