"Sunk Costs" is the third episode of the
third 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 April 24, 2017 on AMC in the United States. Outside of the United States, the episode premiered on streaming service
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. The title of the episode is a reference to
sunk costs.
Plot
After following his planted tracking device's signal to an empty stretch of highway,
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 ...
finds it left in the middle of the road along with a ringing cell phone. He answers, agrees to the caller's request that no guns be displayed, and is told to wait. Two cars approach from opposite directions,
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 ...
exits one, and he and Mike discuss their concerns about
Hector Salamanca. They agree that Gus will no longer
track
Track or Tracks may refer to:
Routes or imprints
* Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity
* Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across
* Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...
Mike, and Mike will no longer try to kill Hector. Gus is amenable to Mike's continued disruption of Hector's drug business, and Mike suggests a way to draw police attention to Hector without killing him.
Mike acquires cocaine from
Barry Goodman
''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 se ...
, stows it in a sneaker, ties the sneaker to its mate, then
throws the pair over a power line that spans part of a road in Mexico he knows Hector's trucks use. When the next truck comes, the drivers stop to stash their weapons prior to being searched at the border crossing. Using a rifle with a scope, Mike fires a few rounds into the air to give the drivers the impression that there is a hunter or target shooter nearby. As the truck pulls away, Mike fires at the sneaker holding the cocaine, which causes the powder to spill onto the back of the truck. At the border crossing,
drug-sniffing dogs discover the cocaine, and the drivers are taken into custody.
Jimmy McGill is arrested for breaking into
Chuck McGill's house. Jimmy goes against
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 ...
's advice and represents himself,
pleads not guilty, and posts
bail. He later tells her she should work on Mesa Verde business while he takes care of his own legal battle, to which she flatly agrees.
Kyra Hay, the prosecutor in Jimmy's case, meets with Chuck and tells him she does not plan to let Jimmy off easy. Chuck describes his wish to see a "better solution for everyone". Jimmy informs Kim he can avoid jail time if he confesses to the break-in and submits his confession to the
New Mexico Bar Association, which will likely result in
disbarment
Disbarment, also known as striking off, is the removal of a lawyer from a bar association or the practice of law, thus revoking their law license or admission to practice law. Disbarment is usually a punishment for unethical or criminal conduct ...
. Kim changes her mind and persuades Jimmy to let her help defend him.
Reception
Ratings
Upon airing, the episode received 1.52 million American viewers, and an 18–49 rating of 0.5.
Critical reception
The episode 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 ...
, the episode holds a 100% rating with an average score of 8.09/10, based on 13 reviews. The site's consensus reads, '"Sunk Costs" edges Better Call Saul toward a narrative crossroads, foreshadowing events familiar to Breaking Bad fans while serving up gripping drama in its own right'.
Terri Schwartz of
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
gave the episode an 8.0 rating, writing "Whose storyline is going to come crashing down around them first: Jimmy or Mike?"
For his work on this episode,
Thomas Golubić
Thomas Golubić is a movie and television music supervisor whose credits include '' Silo'', ''Better Call Saul'', '' Breaking Bad'', '' The Walking Dead'', ''Rubicon'', '' Halt and Catch Fire'', ''Ray Donovan'', '' Six Feet Under'', and ''After ...
was nominated for
Outstanding Music Supervision at the
69th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards
The 69th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards honored the best in artistic and technical achievement in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2016, until May 31, 2017, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ...
.
Notes
References
External links
"Sunk Costs"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 3) episodes