Better Call Saul “Nacho”

So, this episode’s cold open is  a flashback to Chuck, back in his lawyer days, going to see Jimmy locked up in a county jail.  Granted, both actors are wearing wigs, but if someone ever wants to make a Trump biopic, Michael McKean sure did kinda look the part with that hair and suit.

That ended with Jimmy basically promising to stop running cons…and I think I know how that will turn out.

So, for the rest of the episode, there’s still some fallout from Nacho’s request to find and rob the Kettlemans, two people accused of stealing a lot of money.  Jimmy still has a conscience and tries to anonymously warn them, and when they disappear, it isn’t look before Nacho is arrested.

Then again, Jimmy’s attempts to warn Nacho result in his own attempt to flee two men who don’t look that different from the men Nacho usually runs with, but they turn out to be cops.  So, I suppose that’s a good thing even if it played the audience’s expectations in a way that made some assume that they were crooks and play off racist assumptions.

Anyway, Nacho was seen scouting the place out in his van, and there was blood in the vehicle.  Oh, and the Kettlemans are all missing, even the kids.  Nacho is the likely suspect for the kidnapping.  He says he didn’t do it.  The blood came from the idiot skate twins.  And he gave Jimmy 24 hours to get him out.  The cops figure he did it.  They figure Jimmy knows more as Nacho’s attorney.  He doesn’t, but he does convince the cops to let him look around the Kettleman house.

Basically, this episode highlights a bit more of the world of Jimmy McGill.  He’s not a physical threat.  He’s a bit of a conniver, but he’s basically incredibly smart and observant.  Inside the Kettleman house, Jimmy is the only one to real note that the youngest Kettleman, a little girl, had a favorite doll in all of the family photos, and the doll is also missing, hardly the actions of a kidnapper dragging someone away against their will, so he figures they faked it.

That said, there are some motions here to give Jimmy something of a support system.  Another lawyer at Chuck’s old firm, Kim…if she’s being set up as a love interest, I would rather not for two reasons.  The first is she’s probably too good for Jimmy McGill.  The second because the two have a good relationship here, something that isn’t new, and I would just prefer to see more platonic friendships between men and women on television and film.  Plus, I didn’t see Kim in Breaking Bad, so…um, she’s not guaranteed to live through the series, and that’s kinda depressing.

The other is Parking Attendant Mike, given the chance to press charges against Jimmy for assault, overhears the phony kidnapping theory and actually agrees with it, dropping the charges and offering some advice.

Man, if Jimmy had any idea who that guy really was, he would not mess with him at all.

So yeah, Jimmy found the Kettlemans, camping in the wilderness behind their house and with the bag of money.

Jimmy is a lot more on the ball than he appears to be.  I dig that sort of stuff.  Besides, few know as well as I how observant a good Jimmy can be.