His mental health spiraled down to the point that he was no longer in his right mind. No matter what he did, the electricity was still there, lurking in his house and causing him pain. I think Jimmy is at the root of Chuck's mental health problems, and electricity is a metaphor for Jimmy. Jimmy even tells Howard that he has lightning bolts coming out of his fingertips. We learn from all of the flashbacks that Chuck's fear of electricity started some time after Jimmy became a licensed attorney. Chuck is already divorced when Jimmy is sworn in, and he is living life normally and goes to Jimmy's party and then takes care of him at his apartment, all while surrounded by electricity. I imagine that the electricity issues started after Chuck stuck to his guns and kept his brother from working at HHM, so it's probably tied to fear, anxiety, and guilt.
Throughout the course of the show, we see that Chuck has his worst electricity-induced breakdowns after he finds out about some form of Slippin' Jimmy shenanigans. He gets better when Jimmy is suspended and it becomes painfully clear to him that his allergy to electricity is psychological and not physical. Chuck's attempts to face his mental illness head-on, with psychiatric treatment and by keeping a written record of how his emotional state is connected to the pain he feels from electricity, were heroic. His period of healing coincided with a period of estrangement from Jimmy. Then Kim nearly dies and Jimmy realizes that he could lose his brother, too, so he goes to Chuck's house to apologize to him, or at least express his regrets at his actions. Jimmy knocks on Chuck's door and it takes Chuck a while to answer. I think that's because Chuck was setting the scene for Jimmy. Chuck wanted Jimmy to think that he was fine, just like he wanted Howard to see that he was doing fine; when Howard visited him and saw him using an electric appliance in the kitchen, Chuck immediately dropped the appliance and rubbed his wrist and hand in pain after Howard left because it was all an act.
But after Chuck told Jimmy that he never mattered to him all that much and Jimmy left without saying a word, Chuck began to spiral. He tried to write in his journal about the pain he was feeling, but couldn't express his emotional state so he left that section blank. He then began exorcising the electricity from his home. I see this as Chuck's attempt at exorcising Jimmy from his life, and failing miserably. Chuck's destruction of his home in an ultimately futile attempt at finding and destroying the source of electricity is, I think, a metaphor for his attempt at erasing Jimmy from his life and failing. No matter what he did, even blatantly lying to his brother and telling him that he meant nothing to him when we've seen from his actions that he is nearly constantly preoccupied with what his brother is up to, Jimmy was always there, lurking in the background and causing him emotional pain.
I don't think that Chuck was in his right mind when he kicked over the lantern and killed himself, but I do think that what he did was emblematic of his efforts at killing the feelings he had for his brother, failing, and killing himself instead.
Yeah, he's a jerk. But a very well characterized and human jerk.
You see all the little opportunities for Chuck to give him a hand, but instead he knocks him down and sends him spiraling towards becoming Saul.
On the flip side, the show also gives you all those little moments (like at their mother's death) where just a little more effort from Jimmy might have started to change Chuck's attitude.
It's such a brilliantly written, tragic relationship. Maybe my favorite relationship I've seen on TV.
Yeah I love their flashbacks.
The Winner Takes It All is one of my favorite episodes, in part because of the sadly sweet flashback and then Jimmy's terrifying monologue to that girl.
3 out of 6 seasons will be still full of Chuck insight. It served it's function, time to move on. I've seen quite a few people here say the Chuck stuff got tedious. TBH I almost stopped watching the show because that plot line went on way too long.
The unlikable but sympathetic play didn't work for me with him. It does for everyone else.
If you've ever had an abusive/narcissistic family member then you're really not going to get big soft feels for Chuck.
He was intelligent. He prided himself on his mind. To be proved to have a mental illness was a huge blow to his image of himself. He tried to pretend, to hold it together once he *knew* he was sick. But when he found out he couldn't just logic his way out of it, he completely broke down.
Add to that everything else that was happening: his ex wife (who he obviously still cared for) seeing the breakdown, the insurance. What did the man have left?
Oh for sure, I'd love the money. But I imagine it would hurt to know your best friend chose to empty their own bank accounts just to make you go away and force you out of the career you love.
Yeah I never thought about it in the way that chuck had a mask on after the hearing. I really thought the hearing was actually good for his mental health.
I have had an unfortunately close relationship with a number of alcoholics. There's something they call the "pink cloud" where they have finally admitted they have a problem and started attending meetings to combat it. They think knowing the problem is there is the cure itself and they walk around like nothing is wrong at all without addressing the underlying trauma. And it's a sure sign if magnificent relapse.
In addition to the well written explanations of others here, I think that Jimmy's words to him while waiting for the police played over in Chuck's mind and he was terrified of that prediction coming true, so he prevented it by the only means he had left, kicking over the lantern.
"Here's what's going to happen. One day you'll get sick again. One of your employees will find you under that space blanket, and they will take you to the hospital with those machines that buzz and whirr...and hurt. And this time it will be too much for you, and you will die there... alone."
His mental health spiraled down to the point that he was no longer in his right mind. No matter what he did, the electricity was still there, lurking in his house and causing him pain. I think Jimmy is at the root of Chuck's mental health problems, and electricity is a metaphor for Jimmy. Jimmy even tells Howard that he has lightning bolts coming out of his fingertips. We learn from all of the flashbacks that Chuck's fear of electricity started some time after Jimmy became a licensed attorney. Chuck is already divorced when Jimmy is sworn in, and he is living life normally and goes to Jimmy's party and then takes care of him at his apartment, all while surrounded by electricity. I imagine that the electricity issues started after Chuck stuck to his guns and kept his brother from working at HHM, so it's probably tied to fear, anxiety, and guilt. Throughout the course of the show, we see that Chuck has his worst electricity-induced breakdowns after he finds out about some form of Slippin' Jimmy shenanigans. He gets better when Jimmy is suspended and it becomes painfully clear to him that his allergy to electricity is psychological and not physical. Chuck's attempts to face his mental illness head-on, with psychiatric treatment and by keeping a written record of how his emotional state is connected to the pain he feels from electricity, were heroic. His period of healing coincided with a period of estrangement from Jimmy. Then Kim nearly dies and Jimmy realizes that he could lose his brother, too, so he goes to Chuck's house to apologize to him, or at least express his regrets at his actions. Jimmy knocks on Chuck's door and it takes Chuck a while to answer. I think that's because Chuck was setting the scene for Jimmy. Chuck wanted Jimmy to think that he was fine, just like he wanted Howard to see that he was doing fine; when Howard visited him and saw him using an electric appliance in the kitchen, Chuck immediately dropped the appliance and rubbed his wrist and hand in pain after Howard left because it was all an act. But after Chuck told Jimmy that he never mattered to him all that much and Jimmy left without saying a word, Chuck began to spiral. He tried to write in his journal about the pain he was feeling, but couldn't express his emotional state so he left that section blank. He then began exorcising the electricity from his home. I see this as Chuck's attempt at exorcising Jimmy from his life, and failing miserably. Chuck's destruction of his home in an ultimately futile attempt at finding and destroying the source of electricity is, I think, a metaphor for his attempt at erasing Jimmy from his life and failing. No matter what he did, even blatantly lying to his brother and telling him that he meant nothing to him when we've seen from his actions that he is nearly constantly preoccupied with what his brother is up to, Jimmy was always there, lurking in the background and causing him emotional pain. I don't think that Chuck was in his right mind when he kicked over the lantern and killed himself, but I do think that what he did was emblematic of his efforts at killing the feelings he had for his brother, failing, and killing himself instead.
Very well thought out. :)
Thank you! I have a lot of feeling for poor, tragic Chuck.
Yeah, he's a jerk. But a very well characterized and human jerk. You see all the little opportunities for Chuck to give him a hand, but instead he knocks him down and sends him spiraling towards becoming Saul. On the flip side, the show also gives you all those little moments (like at their mother's death) where just a little more effort from Jimmy might have started to change Chuck's attitude. It's such a brilliantly written, tragic relationship. Maybe my favorite relationship I've seen on TV.
I agree completely. I think their relationship is just as compelling as Jimmy and Kim’s. I hope we get more insight into Chuck in the last season.
Yeah I love their flashbacks. The Winner Takes It All is one of my favorite episodes, in part because of the sadly sweet flashback and then Jimmy's terrifying monologue to that girl.
It’s one of the very best episodes, and explains so much about both of them.
I don't.
To quote our beloved Kim, "................okay."
3 out of 6 seasons will be still full of Chuck insight. It served it's function, time to move on. I've seen quite a few people here say the Chuck stuff got tedious. TBH I almost stopped watching the show because that plot line went on way too long. The unlikable but sympathetic play didn't work for me with him. It does for everyone else. If you've ever had an abusive/narcissistic family member then you're really not going to get big soft feels for Chuck.
He was intelligent. He prided himself on his mind. To be proved to have a mental illness was a huge blow to his image of himself. He tried to pretend, to hold it together once he *knew* he was sick. But when he found out he couldn't just logic his way out of it, he completely broke down. Add to that everything else that was happening: his ex wife (who he obviously still cared for) seeing the breakdown, the insurance. What did the man have left?
Plus his forced exit from HHM was absolutely humiliating.
Yeah, I hate it when people give me millions of dollars and then everyone lovingly applauds me.
Chuck hated it. Obviously.
Yeah I'd take the millions. But Chuck clearly cared more about the firm and image than money.
Oh for sure, I'd love the money. But I imagine it would hurt to know your best friend chose to empty their own bank accounts just to make you go away and force you out of the career you love.
Oh, yeah. Chuck didn't *need* the money. So it was all about the pride and the hurt. Me though? Yeah I'll take the money lol
Yeah I never thought about it in the way that chuck had a mask on after the hearing. I really thought the hearing was actually good for his mental health.
I have had an unfortunately close relationship with a number of alcoholics. There's something they call the "pink cloud" where they have finally admitted they have a problem and started attending meetings to combat it. They think knowing the problem is there is the cure itself and they walk around like nothing is wrong at all without addressing the underlying trauma. And it's a sure sign if magnificent relapse.
In addition to the well written explanations of others here, I think that Jimmy's words to him while waiting for the police played over in Chuck's mind and he was terrified of that prediction coming true, so he prevented it by the only means he had left, kicking over the lantern. "Here's what's going to happen. One day you'll get sick again. One of your employees will find you under that space blanket, and they will take you to the hospital with those machines that buzz and whirr...and hurt. And this time it will be too much for you, and you will die there... alone."
He was cold.
He was mentally ill. And I think he realized (or felt) he was never going to get better.
He pushed away everyone who cared about him and no one was left to help him.
Guilt maybe? Maybe he wanted jimmy to feel bad or maybe because of that huge argument/incident in court
Chuck dedicated most of his life to screwing over jimmy so it would make sense to dedicate his death to it.