Better Call Saul S1E3: “Nacho”

The Kettleman’s took a bye week in last episode’s “Mijo” but return in a big way in “Nacho”, ironically by going missing.

“Nacho” starts us off with a flashback, to what we can assume was the Slippin’ Jimmy days. A younger Jimmy finds himself in Cook County jail for a multitude of crimes, the one that catches the eye is his “Chicago sunroof” which may run him the chance of being labelled a sex offender. Despite the severity of this situation of his, Jimmy seems pretty relaxed. He assumes Chuck, being the big shot lawyer he is will come to the rescue and clear his name. It’s worth noting that Jimmy doesn’t even come directly to his brother about this, their mother has to connect the two. At this point it certainly seems like a rocky relationship. Chuck leaves, seemingly helping his brother out on the promise he cleans his act up for good. Jimmy is far from Saul Goodman but this flashback shows us he’s come a long way from even his younger days to now attorney Jimmy McGill.

The flash forward brings us to Jimmy up late at night at his nail salon turned office. We find out more about Jimmy’s relationship with HHM employee Kim Wexler. Feeling guilty about knowing that Nacho is coming after the Kettleman money and also knowing that HHM has taken their case on, he tries to inconspicuously see if he can help them out in any way but accidently reveals that the Kettleman’s may be in danger. Jimmy tries to play it off as drunken rambling but immediately panics and rushes to place an anonymous call to the Kettleman’s and warn them, simply saying “They’re coming for the money”.

Mission somewhat accomplished. The Kettleman’s took the call seriously and bounced from their home, faking a kidnapping while actually camping out in the woods. They cover their tracks well, too well. Nacho, who was monitoring the house but didn’t commit any crime yet, gets taken into custody. Nacho calls our good friend Jimmy and tells him he’s got a day to clear his name or he’s toast.

Obviously on the clock, Jimmy needs some help and needs it fast. He gets an assist from his friend Kim, who convinces the cops that it would be a good idea for Jimmy to go to the crime scene. Kim senses somethings up when Jimmy refuses to give anything on Nacho and these two do care for each other. He confesses to her after the visit that he’s probably the reason why the Kettleman’s left town and she now buys the false kidnapping story he came up with to try and clear Nacho’s name.

Jimmy gets another believer from the unlikeliest of sources, Mike! After emotions (mostly all Jimmy’s) escalate over the umpteenth parking validation situation, Mike wins a fight in which calling it one sided, would be a tremendous understatement. Jimmy did however, lay a finger first so the cops think they have him cornered. Jimmy will give them something on Nacho or Mike will press charges. The plan is thwarted however, Mike overheard Jimmy’s theory and agrees with it and decides not to press charges. He even throws in a tip from his experiences back on the Philadelphia police department saying it’s tough to leave home. With that in mind, Jimmy heads into the Kettleman backyard and a few hours of hiking pays off as he not only finds the Kettleman’s camping, he also finds the money they stole.

Other Thoughts:

We finally see some credited characters interact with Jimmy in a meaningful way with Kim and Mike both proving very helpful to Jimmy in the episode. It will be interesting to see how Jimmy’s relationships with others work out and take shape.

Jimmy vs Phone Calls: Phone Calls three, Jimmy zero. Jimmy beating around the bush during his phone call with Kim established nothing but concern and made him look like he was in on something he shouldn’t be in. Jimmy’s “innovative” voice disguising device is so poor that the Kettleman’s can’t understand him and he has to use his normal voice. Jimmy calls Nacho over and over again to try and deescalate the situation but it is too late, Nacho’s in jail already.

These are obviously tense times for Jimmy and when you take a comedic actor like Bob Odenkirk and turn him into a lead for a drama, it may draw some skepticism. Odenkirk to this point has made the transition seamlessly and I have confidence he will continue to do so

Phrase of the Day: Chicago Sunroof: No definition yet but I sure hope that changes and they come back to that story. I don’t know about you but that piqued my interests for sure

In “Nacho” Jimmy struggles to stay on his feet while under pressure basically the entire episode. His relations with other people start to solidify and help him stick the landing after a rough start flying solo.

Grade A-