Better Call Saul (''Breaking Bad'')

"Better Call Saul" is the eighth episode of the second season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad. It was written by Peter Gould and directed by Terry McDonough.

This episode marks Bob Odenkirk's first appearance as Saul Goodman in the series. He was promoted to series regular in Season 3, stayed with the series until its end, and then reprised the role in Better Call Saul.

Plot summary

After Badger is arrested in a sting operation by the Albuquerque Police, Walt and Jesse look into hiring a shady, flamboyant lawyer named Saul Goodman. Saul has already offered to be Badger's legal counsel and has found out that the DEA 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. However, 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 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 goes to work on a Saturday, and Walt notices that she is dressing especially well for her job with Ted. 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 attacks. Meanwhile, Jesse has slept with Jane and learns she is in recovery from addiction. Later, after Jesse orders a mattress for his apartment, he and Jane make love once again.

Production

The episode was written by Peter Gould, and directed by Terry McDonough. It aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on April 26, 2009.

When Walter and Jesse wear masks and try to coerce Saul at gunpoint to accept their case, Saul tries to lay blame on a man known as "Ignacio". Within the Better Call Saul prequel series, this is Nacho Varga, a member of the Salamanca cartel.^[1]

Critical reception

The episode was very well received. Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club gave the episode an A, and praised Jesse and Walt's evolving role in the drug world.^[2]

References

External links

• "Better Call Saul" at the official Breaking Bad site
• "Better Call Saul" on IMDb
• "Better Call Saul" at TV.com