"Coushatta" is the eighth episode of the
fourth season of the
AMC
AMC may refer to:
Film and television
* AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain
* AMC Networks, an American entertainment company
** AMC (TV channel)
** AMC+, streaming service
** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company
*** AM ...
television series ''
Better Call Saul
''Better Call Saul'' is an American crime and legal drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, '' Breaking Bad'', and serves as a ...
'', the spinoff series of ''
Breaking Bad
''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...
''. The episode aired on September 24, 2018, on AMC in the United States. Outside of the United States, the episode premiered on the
streaming service
Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
in several countries.
This episode marks the first appearance of
Tony Dalton
Álvaro Luis Bernat Dalton (born February 13, 1975), known professionally as Tony Dalton, is a Mexican-American actor and screenwriter. For much of his career, he acted in Mexican films, television shows, and stage plays. He is best known in the ...
as
Lalo Salamanca
Eduardo "Lalo" Salamanca is a fictional character on the AMC television series ''Better Call Saul'', a prequel of '' Breaking Bad''. Introduced in the fourth season, he is portrayed by Tony Dalton and was created by Peter Gould and screenwriter ...
. Dalton would go on to be promoted to the main cast for the fifth season.
Plot
Kim Wexler
Kimberly Kim Wexler is a fictional Character (arts), character from the television series ''Better Call Saul'', a Spin-off (media), spin-off of ''Breaking Bad''. Kim is primarily portrayed by Rhea Seehorn, and was created by Vince Gilligan and P ...
enlists Schweikart & Cokely employees to aid
Huell Babineaux
'' Breaking Bad'' is a neo-Western crime drama franchise created by American filmmaker Vince Gilligan, primarily based on the television series '' Breaking Bad'' (2008–13), its prequel/sequel series, ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–22), and its ...
's defense and previews a plan to bury prosecutor
Suzanne Ericsen
''Breaking Bad'' is a neo-Western crime drama franchise created by American filmmaker Vince Gilligan, primarily based on the television series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–13), its prequel/sequel series, ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–22), and its seq ...
in paperwork if she seeks a prison sentence.
Jimmy McGill
James Morgan Jimmy McGill, better known by his business name Saul Goodman, is a character created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould and portrayed by Bob Odenkirk in the television franchise ''Breaking Bad''. He appears as a major character in ...
takes a bus to Huell's hometown,
Coushatta, Louisiana. He and other passengers use Kim’s office supplies to write supportive mail for Huell.
When Judge Munsinger receives the mail, which has Coushatta postmarks, he insists that Suzanne and Kim reach a plea deal. Suzanne investigates, but Jimmy has arranged for pay-as-you-go cellular phones to receive Suzanne's calls, which he and his film crew answer with scripted lines that vouch for Huell as a hometown hero. Suzanne makes a deal favorable to Huell.
Kim,
Kevin Wachtell
'' Breaking Bad'' is a neo-Western crime drama franchise created by American filmmaker Vince Gilligan, primarily based on the television series '' Breaking Bad'' (2008–13), its prequel/sequel series, ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–22), and its s ...
, and
Paige Novick
''Breaking Bad'' is a neo-Western crime drama franchise created by American filmmaker Vince Gilligan, primarily based on the television series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–13), its prequel/sequel series, ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–22), and its s ...
discuss Mesa Verde’s expansion. Kevin is still interested in rapid growth, but an uninterested Kim counsels caution. Later that day, she reminisces over the tequila bottle stopper she kept as a souvenir of a previous scam she ran with Jimmy. Jimmy scouts for new offices in anticipation of having his law license restored. Kim is elated by the success of their recent con and tells Jimmy she wants to do it again.
Mike Ehrmantraut
Michael Ehrmantraut () is a fictional character in '' Breaking Bad'' and its spinoff prequel ''Better Call Saul'', portrayed by Jonathan Banks. Mike is a former Philadelphia police officer who works for Gus Fring—and, on occasion, Saul Goodm ...
arranges a strip club outing for
Werner Ziegler and his crew. Mike and Werner head to a quieter bar, but Mike returns to the club to mediate after Kai causes an altercation. Back at the bar, a drunk Werner discusses with strangers the details of underground concrete construction. The next day, Mike explains that even though he did not expose details about the meth lab, the men Werner spoke to would likely remember him, making it possible to connect the lab to
Gus Fring
Gustavo "Gus" Fring is a fictional character portrayed by Giancarlo Esposito in the crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' and its prequel ''Better Call Saul''. He is a Chilean-American businessman and major narcotics distributor in the Southwester ...
and him. Mike makes a veiled threat that Werner will be killed if he makes a similar mistake again, which Werner acknowledges. Mike informs Gus about Werner's bar conversation and assures Gus he is keeping a watchful eye on Werner.
Nacho Varga
Ignacio "Nacho" Varga is a fictional character who appears in the AMC television series ''Better Call Saul'', a prequel spin-off of '' Breaking Bad''. He is portrayed by Michael Mando and was created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould.
Dialogue ...
has recovered from his wounds and has a more prominent role in the Salamanca organization but also stashes cash and fake Canadian identification cards for himself and his father. During weekly collections, Nacho trains
Domingo Molina
'' Breaking Bad'' is a neo-Western crime drama franchise created by American filmmaker Vince Gilligan, primarily based on the television series '' Breaking Bad'' (2008–13), its prequel/sequel series, ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–22), and its ...
to handle dealers short in their payments the same way Hector taught Nacho to do when Domingo was short.
Eduardo "Lalo" Salamanca arrives to aid in running the business. Unlike Hector, who was unconcerned with day-to-day details, Lalo is interested in every aspect, which worries Nacho.
Production
This episode marks the first on-screen appearance of the character Lalo, portrayed by
Tony Dalton
Álvaro Luis Bernat Dalton (born February 13, 1975), known professionally as Tony Dalton, is a Mexican-American actor and screenwriter. For much of his career, he acted in Mexican films, television shows, and stage plays. He is best known in the ...
. The character was first mentioned in the ''
Breaking Bad
''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...
'' episode "
Better Call Saul
''Better Call Saul'' is an American crime and legal drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, '' Breaking Bad'', and serves as a ...
," which also referenced the character
"Ignacio" (Nacho) and introduced the character of
Saul Goodman
James Morgan Jimmy McGill, better known by his trade name, business name Saul Goodman, is a character (arts), character created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould and portrayed by Bob Odenkirk in the television franchise ''Breaking Bad (franchi ...
. Prior to the show's airing,
Vince Gilligan
George Vincent Gilligan Jr. (born February 10, 1967) is an American writer, producer, and director. He is known for his television work, specifically as creator, head writer, executive producer, and director of AMC's ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2 ...
mentioned in an interview that the writers had envisioned Lalo to become a major character, acknowledging that, like on ''Breaking Bad'', they must "keep close tabs on what our characters have done in the past and make good use of it here in the present and the future." In an interview with ''
Den of Geek'', actor
Michael Mando
Michael Mando (born July 13, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He played Nacho Varga on the AMC series ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–2022), Vaas Montenegro in the video game franchise '' Far Cry'' (2012, 2021), Vic Schmidt in the sci-fi series ''Orph ...
described the character of Lalo as "a Salamanca in every way, just like Tuco and Hector had their own flavors to the erratic Salamancas."
Reception
"Coushatta" received critical acclaim. On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, it garnered a perfect 100% rating with an average score of 9.28/10 based on 13 reviews. The site's critical consensus is, "'Coushatta' sensitively highlights the aches of relationships, most effectively accentuating Jimmy and Kim's uneasy arc."
Regarding Dalton's debut performance as Lalo,
Alan Sepinwall of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' said he "makes a solid first impression in the role, so hopefully this will turn out to be more than filling in a blank most viewers had long since forgotten existed."
Ratings
"Coushatta" was watched by 1.37 million viewers on its first broadcast, earning a 0.5 ratings for viewers between 18 and 49, which was an increase from the previous week.
Notes
References
External links
"Coushatta"at
AMC
AMC may refer to:
Film and television
* AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain
* AMC Networks, an American entertainment company
** AMC (TV channel)
** AMC+, streaming service
** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company
*** AM ...
*
{{Better Call Saul
Better Call Saul (season 4) episodes