The long anticipated prequel to Breaking Bad premiered on
Sunday, in a two-night event to kick off the series. Many fans, including myself, have been waiting
for the return of Vince Gilligan’s master touch on the small screen, and it was
worth the wait.
The opening sequence is in black and white, as we follow
around an older Saul hidden behind a mustache and glasses working at a Cinnabon
at a mall in Omaha. (aka Hell!) A tense
moment arises as Saul sees a muscled man in a crew cut approach, but steps away to meet some friends. Saul
returns to a bleak townhouse. The television plays in the background as he fixes a drink. The snow warnings drone on, and he removes a hidden VHS cassette. We
hear the younger Saul commercials as the scene shows a color version of the
inflatable Statue of Liberty, which used to grace his old ABQ office.
The next scene is in the courthouse, as a judge and jury
waits. In the bathroom, Saul is giving
his defense speech to the mirror. He is
prompted to return and starts in with a defense of his three teenage defendants.
The prosecution simply inserts a
videotape of the defendant’s crime, a murder and mutilation most horrid. Saul approaches the court clerk and complains
that he only has earned $700 for representing the three guilty teens. As he
leaves the parking lot, we meet Erhmentrout for the first time. He is working
as a grumpy parking attendant, who refuses to give Saul a break for not having
enough validation stickers.
The episode continues to highlight James McGill’s current
downward spiral. (And the fact that he has not yet adopted his Breaking Bad
personae “Saul Goodman”) We learn that
he is the son of a founding lawyer of a large slick practice. He enters the building, but clearly is not
welcome. His father “Chuck” is unable to
work due to a likely mental illness. Prior
to visiting his home, Chuck demands that visitors “Ground themselves!” This involves placing keys and cell phones in
the mailbox. Jimmy tries to use his father’s name to
attract business. We see him meet
prospective clients, but he falls short of having them sign a contract. Later, the prospective clients are back at
Hamlin, Hamlin and McGill office, solicting his primary nemesis Howard
Hamlin.
In reality, his office is a broom closet in the back of a
nail salon. Jimmy drives a bright yellow
Geo with one red door. Driving home he
hits a young red-haired man on a skateboard. The brother, also on skateboard,
stops to cuss him out and attempts to extort money. Then Jimmy
realizes the first man isn’t really hurt, and he drives away disgusted.
Later, Jimmy seeks out the brothers to enlist their help. He
recounts the story of “Slippin’ Joe,” and how this man made money falling on the
slick streets of Chicago each spring. Jimmy
wants the young men to be hit by Betsy Kettleman, who is the wife of the client
who got away. The men agree, eager to earn a couple thousand-dollars.
The “accident” unfolds as planned until the driver, who
looks nothing like Betsy Kettlemen, decides to flee the scene. Infuriated, the brothers follow her home. The episode ends with Jimmy banging on the
door, demanding that it be opened, “ In the name of the court!” An unseen man
drags him inside.
Mijo
The episode opens with Tuco(!) preparing lunch, when he hears
a knock on the door. Outside are the red-haired brothers who are angry and
demanding payment in the worst Spanglish ever. He hits the brothers with his
grandmother’s four-pronged cane. As he
is cleaning the carpet, abuela comes
down to check on the commotion, only to be shooed off by Tuco. He claims the blood he’s cleaning is “salsa”.
The doorbell rings and Tuco grabs a gun to confront Jimmy. He interrogates him about who he is and why
he’s there. Abuela keeps trying to come
downstairs to see what’s happening. Tuco may have a large revolver in his hand but
clearly he is scared of her! He shows Jimmy the brothers, who are bound and
wounded in the garage. The brothers are
quick to rat out Jimmy as the mastermind behind the scam on abuela. Jimmy is talking a mile a minute but has
failed to be released.
The next scene is the desert at midday, with Jimmy on his
knees and the brothers tied lying down in the dirt. Tuco interrogates Jimmy, he
does not believe he’s just a lawyer running a scam. Jimmy confesses to being FBI agent
“Jeffery Steele,” trying to take down Tuco’s empire with “Operation King
Breaker." Seeing the effect of his words
on Tuco, Jimmy thinks he’s correct in trying to bolster the gangster’s ego. Then Tuco’s partner Gonzo approaches him
and again urges him to talk, and “You better tell the truth.”
Jimmy talks himself out of being killed and then negotiates
the release of the brothers with Tuco. Playing to Tuco’s desires for power and
respect he comes up with an alternative but acceptable “punishment” for the
brothers; he will break one leg of each. A frightened Jimmy turns away as the
deed is done, then drives the guys to the urgent care. They proclaim him to be the “worst lawyer
ever!” But, Jimmy reminds them that “I
got your death sentence reduced to six months probation, I’m the best lawyer
ever!”
Jimmy is out on a date with tropical drinks and samba music.
As he gets drunk, we see him focus on the
woman’s fingernails, lips, breasts and the breaking of breadsticks; which reminds him of the breaking bones. He
runs to the restroom and pukes. He finds
his way back to Chuck’s, barely able to stand. Chuck freaks out that he brought his cell
phone inside, and uses tongs to pick it up and throw it out on the lawn.
Chuck’s house has no electricity and no running water. Chuck is wrapped up in a “space blanket” to
counteract the cell phone entering his home. Polite but firm, Jimmy asks Chuck
to remove the space blanket. After several requests, he does. But, as soon as
Jimmy leaves he wraps himself up again. It’s unclear how and why this obsession
with magnetism started, but clearly Chuck can’t function and needs more help
then Jimmy can give.
What follows is a Jimmy trying to win over the receptionist
with a stuffed animal. It seems to work. There is colorful montage about Jimmy’s
quickening law business. We see endless
trips to the coffee machine, Jimmy in the bathroom saying “It’s show time!”,
and frequent fights with the parking “troll” Erhmentrout. Jimmy clashes with the prosecutor whose mantra
is, “Petty with a prior!” It’s a
humorous way to see how Jimmy is evolving to embrace the seedier side of being
a defense attorney.
Finally, we follow Jimmy back to the nail salon, where he’s
ready for a drink and a nap, when a miracle happens, he has a client waiting! Jimmy works to tidy up his hellhole to find
Gonzo waiting for him. Gonzo wants Jimmy to find the money the Kettlemen’s have allegedly embezzled. (Estimated
1.6 million) If he gives Tuco and
company the information, Jimmy will receive a “finder’s fee” of one hundred
thousand dollars.
“I’m a lawyer, not a criminal.” Jimmy says, offended.
“Well, when you decide you’re in the game, give me a call.”
Gonzo scoffs and leaves.
With these two episodes complete, I’m very optimistic about
the rest of this ten-part season. There is nothing else like it on television; the beautiful cinematography and snappy dialogue are unique to the Breaking Bad
creator Vince Gilligan. I’m hoping to
see other characters that we knew and loved from BB enter into this series. I’m hoping for continued quality and success
of this show!
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