Round Two: Better Call Saul

Better Call Saul: Season 1, Episode 3 “Nacho” (B-)

If nothing else, this episode demonstrated a seriousness that the two-hour premiere did not. Starting with a very normal and with-it Chuck visiting Jimmy in jail and telling him that he needed to consider his options set a dramatic tone, one of Saul being more than just a talker but also someone capable of getting angry for legitimate reasons. Chewing out the lawyer in a bathroom after he had spent a while talking about his case only to find out that he was confusing it with another case was one such instance, and a scene like that makes his outbursts at Mike all the more understandable. I like that Mike actually got to have more of a role in this hour, asked to pressure Saul into giving up his client and then set on refusing to play ball once he realized it wasn’t what he wanted to do. Saul certainly is intuitive, and theorizing that the Kettlemans kidnapped themselves was a smart conclusion. Mike’s suspicion that they hadn’t gone far turned out to be true too, resulting in Saul’s ill-conceived “Here’s Johnny!” entrance into the tent and then the episode-ending splitting open of the money bag. Having your client threaten to kill you if you’re not released by the end of the day is not a good sign, and Saul is going to have to be very careful not to end up dead going forward (though he’s probably safe for now given that he’s the star of the show), especially about his relationship with Kim.