I think the reaction to last week's show is interesting. It seems to have been divisive. One reviewer even called it the only bad episode of the series. I don't agree with that, although it's one of my least favorite episodes overall.
I do think there were technical problems that impacted its reception. One was needing to recast Jeff, and the two actors seem to approach the part differently; the Jeff in this episode doesn't really feel threatening, not nearly as much as earlier Jeff. So Jimmy's response seems to target a Jeff that doesn't appear in this episode, was this risky action even warranted? This was really unfortunate and maybe the only actual "mistake" made in what was otherwise pretty decent writing and montage work. (My son who follows college sports also was able to track the sports discussion, which ended up being pretty authentic for that time? It was gobbledy gook to me, but apparently the writers did their research.)
Another was that this subplot had not been revisited for a long period of time so it was not fresh in the viewer's mind. I needed time after the episode to recall where we were, and then I realized (1) it was Jimmy taking care of his own mess rather than relying on the cleaner guy, and (2) this helps interpret the scene at the end where Jimmy leaves the Saul Goodman clothes on the rack. He pulls off this scam within a scam, remembering what it felt like to be at the height of his powers so to speak... but when he dabbles with the idea of taking back up the Goodman mantle, he reconsiders and puts the clothes back. It was a reflection of his choice to not go back to that -- which I think is really important in terms of how this series resolves. It suggests a desire for Jimmy to move forward and find something meaningful, maybe highlighted by his honest admission in the middle of a scam that he was lonely and had no one anymore.
It's also not clear whether the mother character will play a role in the last three episodes, because of Jimmy's not seeming to care about his dog much at the end and thus tipping his hand.
---
I guess they aren't beating around the bush, if tonight's episode is actually called "Breaking Bad."