"Better Call Saul" is the eighth episode of the second season of the American

television drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

series '' Breaking Bad''. It was written by

Peter Gould Peter Gould is an American television writer, director and producer. He worked on all five seasons of the AMC drama ''Breaking Bad''. He was nominated for four Writers Guild of America (WGA) Awards for his work on the series. After ''Breaking ...

and directed by

Terry McDonough Terry McDonough is a British television director. He has been active since 1985. He moved on to directing episodes of ''Peak Practice'', ''Eleventh Hour'', '' Where the Heart Is'', '' Sweet Medicine'', ''The Royal'', ''Wire in the Blood'', ''T ...

. This episode marks Bob Odenkirk's first appearance as the fast-talking criminal lawyer

Saul Goodman 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 i ...

in the series. He was promoted to series regular in Season 3 and stayed with the series until the penultimate episode, later reprising the role in the prequel 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 ...

''.

Plot

After Brandon "Badger" Mayhew is arrested in a sting operation by the

Albuquerque Police Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

Walter White Walter White most often refers to: * Walter White (''Breaking Bad''), character in the television series ''Breaking Bad'' * Walter Francis White (1893–1955), American leader of the NAACP Walter White may also refer to: Fictional characters ...

and Jesse Pinkman look into hiring a shady, flamboyant lawyer named

. Saul has already offered to be Badger's legal counsel and has found out that the

DEA The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...

is hoping that Badger will lead them to "Heisenberg." Walt poses as Badger's uncle and goes to Saul's office, where he learns that Saul will advise Badger to flip to avoid prison. Walt offers Saul a bribe to keep Badger from confessing, but Saul refuses. Walt and Jesse resort to kidnapping Saul, threatening to kill him if he does not keep Badger from informing on them. Initially, Saul pleads for mercy, believing they were sent by a man named " Lalo". He blames this apparent slight towards Lalo on a man named "

Ignacio Ignacio is a male Spanish and Galician name originating either from the Roman family name Egnatius, meaning born from the fire, of Etruscan origin, or from the Latin name "Ignatius" from the word "Ignis" meaning "fire". This was the name of sev ...

", and referring to himself as an "amigo del cartel". However, after composing himself, Saul sees through their scare tactics and instead asks for payment so he can legally represent them, and keep their talks confidential. Saul tells the duo about a man, Jimmy "In-'N-Out" Kilkelly, who makes a living being paid by other criminals to go to jail, and offers to have him stand in for Heisenberg. The DEA busts Kilkelly when Badger gives them a fake deal, but Hank Schrader is not completely convinced. Later, Saul visits Walt at his school, telling him that he is too easy to find. Saul offers to be Walt's full-time legal counsel and adviser in covering his tracks. Skyler White goes to work on a Saturday, and Walt notices that she is dressing especially well for her job with

Ted TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depa ...

. Seeing that Hank has holed himself in his house, Walt gives him a motivational speech, talking about how he has not had any fear in his life since he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. This helps Hank leave the house, but he still has

panic attack Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear and discomfort that may include palpitations, sweating, chest pain or chest discomfort, shortness of breath, trembling, dizziness, numbness, confusion, or a feeling of impending doom or of losing ...

s. Meanwhile, Jesse has slept with

Jane Margolis Jane Margolis is a social scientist and faculty member at the University of California, Los Angeles Graduate School of Education and Information Studies who studies why so few African American, Latino, and female students are learning computer sc ...

and learns she is in recovery from addiction. Later, after Jesse orders a mattress for his apartment, he and Jane have sex once again.

Production

The episode was written by

, and directed by

. It aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on April 26, 2009. Events of this episode are referenced in the sixth season ''

'' episode, " Breaking Bad". The episode marks the first appearance of Saul Goodman. Saul's dialog and interactions in "Better Call Saul" became essential elements in setting up characters and plotlines for the spinoff prequel series of the same name. When Walter and Jesse wear masks and try to coerce Saul at gunpoint to accept their case, Saul, having mistaken the two for cartel enforcers, tries to lay blame on a man known as "Ignacio" and asks if "Lalo" sent them. Within ''Better Call Saul'', this was revealed to be

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. Dialog ...

, a member of the Salamanca cartel, and

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 ...

, nephew of

Hector Salamanca ''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 ...

. Saul further begs to know if they are "friends of the cartel", a phrase that is shown to be something he learned from Lalo while being forced to work to defend him in court. In ''Better Call Saul's'' " Point and Shoot", the origins of Saul's fear towards Lalo and what he was blaming Nacho for are revealed.

Critical reception

The episode was very well received. Donna Bowman of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' gave the episode an A, and praised Jesse and Walt's evolving role in the drug world. In 2019 The Ringer ranked "Better Call Saul" as the twelfth best of the 62 ''Breaking Bad'' episodes.

Notes

References

External links

"Better Call Saul"
at the official ''Breaking Bad'' site * {{Better Call Saul 2009 American television episodes Better Call Saul Breaking Bad (season 2) episodes Television episodes written by Peter Gould