Things have started to get complicated; Jimmy is about to realize the depth of his brother’s treachery and Mike plays a dangerous game of cat and mouse. Kim and Ernesto struggle with their relationships with Jimmy. Everyone’s favorite chicken place proprietor from Breaking Bad returns in all his distinguished glory. Let’s order a chicken breakfast special with extra salsa and dig in!
The hour opens with Chuck making himself a cup of tea and peering out his window into the dusk outside. He whistles nervously. He checks the peephole at the front door and ensures it’s locked. A man plays solitaire on Chuck’s dining room table. The man explains the cards came from a casino in Las Vegas and they are “a nice souvenir.” Chuck requests the man switch off the camping light now that the sun has set. The man calls him “Sir” and complies. What has Chuck hired the man to do? Chuck makes another round of peeping out the window onto the quiet streets.
Two men sit in a sedan at night; one does a word-find while the man in the passenger seat sleeps. An SUV approaches and all the men exit their respective vehicles. The SUV man has brought the others coffee; he asks how replacing the battery went. “No problem.” States the puzzle find man; the other man confirms that no one saw the battery switch. They hand the gas cap to the SUV driver. He warns them to “Stay awake.” The area is near a power station. In the shadows at a safe distance, Mike observes the scene. Mike checks the GPS as the SUV drives away. He gets into his car to follow the man.
Mike continues to track the green Chevy Blazer with his GPS device. Mike exits his car on a lonely road outside of town. He searches around for a few minutes until he sees the other man has got out of the Blazer. The man retrieves something stashed inside a valve box under a small overpass. The next stop is an industrial warehouse where the man appears to retrieve another small hidden item before going inside the building. Mike watches him with binoculars from a distance. The third stop is by a viaduct. The man scales down the structure into one of the large drainage pipes. It’s hard for Mike to see what he does in the drainage pipe. What is the man getting from each location or does he know he has a tail and is leading Mike on a wild ride?
Mike sees the man pull up to beige and red-bordered building at dawn carrying a large khaki knapsack. In front of the restaurant is a red car. (Could it be the men from earlier in the night?) Mike looks exhausted as he once again surveys the scene with his binoculars. He sees the Blazer driver go back into his car, with the knapsack and drive away. Mike looks around puzzled. Mike pulls out of the driveway and the Los Pollos Hermanos sign is revealed in front of the building.
Jimmy greets a young woman at his law office named Francesca who has arrived for a job interview. Jimmy is busy working on outlining the W-M motif on the wall with blue painter’s tape. Francesca apologizes for being a little early; Jimmy says, “It’s good to be early except for death and taxes, am I right?” He asks for her opinion on his work and she notes a part that’s crooked. Jimmy seems to appreciate her honesty. Kim and Jimmy interview Francesca together, she has a history of working for the MVD or DMV. She explains why in New Mexico it’s organized differently. Jimmy asks about her experience with the elderly and if she ever yells at them. Francesca seems confused, “I would never.” Jimmy laughs that it’s a trick question and she passed. Kim explains how her and Jimmy’s clients and work are different. Kim presses her on her experience. Jimmy offers her the job but Kim asks to speak with Jimmy privately. Kim is frustrated by Jimmy’s impulsiveness. “We need help, perfection is the enemy of perfectly adequate!” After some bickering, Kim decides to give Francesca a trial hire. Jimmy states he’s got a commercial running in eleven minutes and needs her help immediately.
Jimmy coaches Francesca briefly at the desk. He implores her to speak loudly and clearly. As she picks up the first call, he whispers for her to be “folksy” and “mention Cracker Barrel.” The first call goes well. Jimmy busies himself with moving around the waiting room furniture. Francesca struggles with next caller, she states Jimmy is busy but when Jimmy learns it’s Mike and asks her to patch him through to his office. Francesca notes, “This one really didn’t want to hear about the Cracker Barrel!” Mike is calling from a used car lot where he’s purchasing a different vehicle. He asks, “Are you free for breakfast tomorrow?”
Jimmy pulls into the Pollos Hermanos parking lot the next morning. Mike wants Jimmy to keep his focus on the man who drives the Chevy Blazer. What does with the Chevy man do with the khaki knapsack he carries, does he take anything out of it, and does he leave it inside? Jimmy is excited to help Mike. “What’s in the bag is it drugs, is it money?” Mike is impatient for Jimmy to get inside. Jimmy scoffs, “I’ll do the job, you charmed me into it!”
Jimmy goes inside and orders a breakfast special with a cup of coffee. He sits in a booth and looks around at the other customers. The Chevy man enters; he too orders a breakfast special with extra salsa. Jimmy goes to the beverage counter for a better view of the man. The Blazer man places the knapsack at his feet and eats. A man sweeping the floor with a broom and a dustpan temporarily obscure Jimmy’s view of the knapsack. After another thirty seconds, the man takes the knapsack throws out his trash and exits. Jimmy then goes to the trash can, thinking perhaps the man dropped something from the knapsack when he threw out his garbage. The cleaning man sees Jimmy trying to get into the garbage and Jimmy quickly removes his watch for an alibi. Gus Fring, the “cleaner” offers to help Jimmy find his watch. Upon retrieving it, he offers to clean it off for Jimmy. Jimmy says, “It’s okay, it’s been in worse places!” Gus looks calmly at Jimmy and asks if there's anything else he can help him with. Jimmy thanks him and exits the chicken restaurant.
After the meeting, Jimmy relates all the details he witnessed but is adamant that no one touched the bag. Jimmy states, “I literally checked the trash can!” Jimmy is disappointed that Mike doesn’t want any further help with his mission. “Hey, who’s got your back? Me that’s who!” Mike says drily, “I’ll keep that in mind.” Mike can’t figure out what happened. It was extremely subtle but it appears that something from the knapsack ended up in Gus’s dustpan. In front of Pollos, Gus continues to sweep up, perhaps disturbed by the unusual encounter with Jimmy.
Mike continues to wait in the Pollos parking lot, noting the make, model and license plate number of the customers. He drinks coffee from a thermos and waits with tired eyes. He sees a black Cadillac Escalade pull around the back of the restaurant quickly and leave mere seconds later. The man driving the Escalade appears to be one of Tuco’s henchmen. The GPS is activated and Mike pulls out to follow the large SUV.
Across town, Ernesto drives to the new law office of Wexman and McGill. Inside, Jimmy is busy turning on the charm for his elderly clients, Kim requests some documents from Francesca. They look at each other and smile. Ernesto calls Kim’s cell phone to request she meet him in the parking lot. She gets in the young man’s car, puzzled by his demands for secrecy. Ernesto stutters, hoping he isn’t breaking confidentiality when speaking with Kim. He’s nervous about getting fired from HHM and doesn’t want to tell Jimmy directly. Kim urges Ernesto to just tell her what’s on his mind. Ernesto tells his story off-screen.
Jimmy continues inside with his normal routine of being charming towards his clients. Kim rushes inside and demands to speak to him at once. Kim is flustered, she asks for Jimmy to give her a dollar. He hands over a twenty. “If anyone asks, I’m your lawyer now and we have confidentiality. Jimmy, what did you say to Chuck?” Jimmy sets the scene, the inside of Chuck’s house looked like “the inside of a Jiffy pop” with Mylar covering the walls. Jimmy describes his brother as being distraught over the Mesa Verde mistake. “And I couldn’t leave him like that, alone in crazy-town!” Jimmy notes he confessed to make Chuck feel better. However, it’s Chuck’s word against his and no one will believe Chuck given his mental state. Kim drops the bomb, “He got it on tape, I don’t know how, but Ernie told me!” Jimmy is incredulous, “He taped me.” He sits silently for a moment. Kim tries to reassure him, “I’m not sure what he can do with it, legally. He made that tape for a reason we need to figure out why.” Jimmy goes back to the waiting room after Kim assures him she’ll help him through this ordeal. This revelation could hurt her too if HHM took it over to the Mesa Verde clients.
Jimmy finishes with his last client. While he tries to appear upbeat, you can hear the strain in his voice as he congratulates Francesca on her first day of work. “Those folks, they love you!” Jimmy mutters to himself, “Who doesn’t?” He’s got to be feeling that Chuck doesn’t love him if he taped him. Kim makes a call to a professor about Jimmy’s case. Kim gives a task for Francesca to do in her office and walks over to Jimmy. Jimmy is at the logo wall removing the painter’s tape just as Chuck had shown him with the duct tape at his house the last episode. She tells him she has spoken to her old criminal law professor about his predicament. She outlines how he had the right to make the tape but thinks there are many holes in the case. “If Chuck has a plan for this tape, I don’t know what it is. All we can do is wait for his move and act accordingly.” Jimmy thanks her. He hopes she likes the logo, he chose the colors to reflect the blue sky (her name) over the golden mountains (his name). “It doesn’t look like a stock market crash?” She says no, and compliments him on the wall. Jimmy says he’s “good” but rips off the final piece of tape after she leaves, destroying the perfect line. Jimmy runs out the door.
Mike follows the signal to a deserted stretch of highway. He comes to a dip in the road and approaches slowly so his car remains hidden. He looks down the road with his binoculars but doesn’t see any person or car. Mike drives down the road. He stops when he hears a cell phone ringing. The flip-phone is placed on top of the gas cap in the middle the road. Mike answers, “Yeah…” With one word, Mike conveys the disappointment of several nights of careful work. Like Jimmy, he doesn't enjoy being outsmarted.
A Jaguar zips down the street. Howard gets out and climbs over several fences to arrive in the back of Chuck’s house. Chuck greets his partner at the door but insists Howard remove his car and keys before entering the home. The bodyguard from the first scene is also present. Howard indicates he is frustrated, they have waited eight days and provided Chuck with round the clock private investigators and the expenses are really starting to add up. Chuck notes Howard’s frustration but states it’s their duty as “officers of the law to punish Jimmy, who broke the law." (Which explains the opening scene.) Howard implores Chuck to be open to “alternative strategies.” Chuck is open to curbing the operation to only nighttime hours. He theorizes Jimmy will most likely break in to steal and destroy the tape while he thinks Chuck is sleeping. Howard is skeptical. “Howard, I know my brother!”
As if on cue, Jimmy arrives and begins pounding on the door. After several seconds, he breaks down the front door. Jimmy screams at his brother, “You taped me, you asshole! You pulled that heartstrings con job on me! You piece of shit!” Jimmy runs towards his brother, fuming. “Oh, my brain doesn’t work, I’m sick I don’t know what to do!” Jimmy mocks his brother as he nears the desk. “No wonder Rebecca left you! What took her so long?” Chuck stares at his younger brother in shock. Jimmy takes a fire poker to destroy the locked drawer. He finds the tape recorder and removes the tape. Jimmy holds up the incriminating object, “Is this it? For this, you destroy our family? You happy now, for what, for nothing!” Jimmy breaks the cassette in half and unspools the tape while asking if there are copies of it. Chuck looks close to tears of rage. Jimmy barks, “Tell me or I’ll burn this house to the ground!”
Howard and Dave the P.I. come out of the adjacent room. Howard takes charge by yelling, “That’s enough Jimmy!” Chuck asks the men, “You were a witness to what happened here?” Both and Howard and Dave confirm that they were witnesses. Jimmy looks at his former boss and Dave in horror. Jimmy is probably going to jail on a myriad of charges. Chuck wears an expression of satisfied contempt, he has proven himself to be the smarter lawyer.
Next week shows Jimmy getting booked in jail; he states he’ll be representing himself. Ernesto speaks with Kim, he feels guilty about Jimmy. A Pollo Hermanos truck drives through the desert. Mike looks at the truck through a riflescope. Jimmy dons an orange jumpsuit. Chuck has an aggressive lawyer who talks about the case possibly going to trial. Howard warns Jimmy to be very careful going forward.
This hour was subtle but heartbreaking. Chuck knew how to play his brother perfectly. Why? Is he resentful of being smarter and working harder but ending up a shut-in while Jimmy has a successful career and a girlfriend? Speaking of his girlfriend, if Jimmy had followed Kim’s prudent advice he wouldn’t be in this predicament. But Jimmy always has to flirt with disaster and she is an exacting mistress whom may render him dead on the floor of a Cinnabon in Omaha. At least his ride there will be fascinating to witness.
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