Off Brand

"Off Brand" is the sixth episode of the third season of the AMC television series Better Call Saul, the spinoff series of Breaking Bad. The episode aired on May 15, 2017 on AMC in the United States.

Plot

At the restaurant where the Salamancas settle accounts with the dealers, Nacho collects the weekly cash payments while Hector observes from the table behind him. Domingo's payment is short, and he promises to make it up the following week. Nacho acquiesces, but Hector prompts him to administer a beating to Domingo as a warning not to be short again. That night Nacho is working in his father's car restoration shop and becomes distracted while thinking about the incident with Domingo, which causes him to accidentally injure himself with a sewing machine.

Kim makes her closing argument before the New Mexico Bar Association, and points out that Jimmy has positively contributed to society through his elder law practice and his care of his sick brother. Rebecca tries to see Chuck at his house, but he won't answer the door. The bar association suspends Jimmy's law license for a year, but doesn't permanently disbar him. While Jimmy and Kim celebrate at Wexler-McGill, Rebecca drops by and asks Jimmy to help her get Chuck to let her into his house. Jimmy refuses and when Rebecca says that Jimmy lied to her about wanting to help Chuck, he says he told the truth about Chuck's health and needing her help. Rebecca says Jimmy should help because Chuck is his brother and Jimmy says "Not anymore, he's not." Rebecca angrily says Chuck was right about Jimmy and leaves after bitterly telling Jimmy and Kim to "enjoy your champagne". Jimmy is unmoved by but Kim appears upset.

Mike accompanies Stacey to a church support group, where she talks about how she and Kaylee are dealing with Matt's death. Outside, Stacey tells Mike that she has volunteered him to help build a playground, recounting a story Matt told her about helping Mike pour concrete for his garage. Chuck reluctantly lets Howard into his house. Howard says the bar hearing was a success and tries to dissuade Chuck from continuing to hound Jimmy, and Chuck seemingly agrees. After Howard leaves, Chuck removes a battery from under a space blanket and forces himself to hold it.

Jimmy and Francesca call his clients to inform them of his one-year "sabbatical". Realizing he cannot air new commercials while under suspension, Jimmy rushes to contact a local TV station to pull his ads off the air. The early cancellation will cost him $4,000 and he needs to find a way to use the remaining time slots he reserved so that he won't incur additional penalties.

Jimmy approaches the owners of a carpet store, pitching to shoot a commercial for their business on a cheap budget and broadcast it for free. The owners briefly consider the offer, but balk when Jimmy explains that he has to shoot the commercial right away. When Jimmy informs Joey's film crew of the news, the make-up artist suggests he shoot a commercial for himself. Struck with inspiration, Jimmy and the crew drive to the TV station and shoot an impromptu ad in front of nearby antennas and satellite dishes.

At the Los Pollos Hermanos farm, a truck arrives to drop off restaurant supplies, after which Victor and Tyrus take out several bricks of heroin. They bring it to Nacho and Arturo but when Nacho takes six instead of the agreed-upon five, Victor pulls a gun. Nacho explains that Hector expects six, so Tyrus calls Gus, who tells Tyrus to give it to him. Gus is revealed to be inspecting an industrial laundry facility that is for sale. After walking through the site, he gets into a car driven by Lydia Rodarte-Quayle and tells her that "it could work".

Continuing his effort to defeat the symptoms of his electromagnetic hypersensitivity, Chuck wears a space blanket as he struggles to walk through downtown Albuquerque. He uses a pay phone to contact his therapist, Dr. Cruz, but is told the doctor is unavailable and he should leave a message.

Nacho tells Hector about his encounter with Tyrus and Victor. Hector tells Nacho he plans to use Nacho's father's car restoration shop as a new front business. Nacho asks Hector to reconsider, telling Hector that his father is a simple man who wants to run an honest business. Hector is outraged to learn that Tuco knifed another inmate, which prompts a coughing fit. He spills some of his prescription tablets before leaving, and after he picks them up Nacho notices that one was inadvertently left behind, which he picks up and hides.

Jimmy explains to Kim a new business plan for making use of the remaining time he still has reserved on the local TV stations - a "commercial for commercials". He intends to offer his services as producer and spokesman in ads for local businesses and shows Kim a videotape of the ad, in which he wears a disguise and uses the name "Saul Goodman". Kim is taken aback and notes that "Saul" has "a lot of energy", to which Jimmy responds that it's "just a name".

Production

The episode was directed by Keith Gordon and written by Ann Cherkis, who previously wrote the season 2 episode "Rebecca".

Laura Fraser briefly reprises her Breaking Bad role as Lydia Rodarte-Quayle, Gus' business associate. In a Q&A with AMC, Fraser distinguished the Better Call Saul version of Lydia from that of Breaking Bad's remarking, "She hasn’t started unraveling. She feels really secure and confident in her place in the world, and she even experiences moments of happiness and contentment. She’s ambitious and enjoying her profession. She still has this air of irritability that betrays her genuine comfort levels, but she hasn’t yet started to fray." ^[1]

Reception

References

External links

• "Off Brand" at AMC
• "Off Brand" on IMDb
• "Off Brand" at TV.com