"Carrot and Stick" is the second episode of the sixth season of Better Call Saul and the fifty-second episode of the series altogether.
Summary[]
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At Nacho's house, his junkie girlfriends Amber and Jo are lazing around when Mike, Tyrus, and Nick walk in unannounced. Mike tells the panicking girls that Nacho isn't coming back and gives them a bundle of money, instructing them to leave town and never return. After they leave, Mike searches the house while Nick uses a power drill to break into Nacho's safe. Inside, Mike finds stacks of cash as well as two fake Manitoba IDs for Nacho and his father Manuel. He puts the money and Nacho's ID card in a sack while pocketing Manuel's ID card. Victor drives a duplicate safe to the house, into which Mike places the money and Nacho's ID card, as well as a sealed white envelope.
Act I[]
At Kim's apartment, Jimmy practices a monologue as part of his and Kim's scam against Howard. Their plan is to persuade Cliff Main to take a meeting concerning a fake personal injury case, then have Cliff hear an anecdote about Howard abusing cocaine, building on their caper at the country club. The couple trade suggestions on how to make their story believable. Kim comes up with an idea but tells Jimmy that "you are going to hate this."
Meanwhile, at the Los Pollos Hermanos chicken farm, Gus and Tyrus look over several crime scene photos and forensic reports by the Federales for the assault on Lalo's compound. Tyrus says that the details and dental records of Lalo's apparent corpse all check out. Gus has an idea and makes a phone call to Juan Bolsa, telling him that he knows how to keep the peace within the Cartel.
Outside Albuquerque, Jimmy drives to a tax servicing business. He admires a large inflatable Statue of Liberty on the property. The owners of the business turn out to be Craig and Betsy Kettleman. Jimmy offers to exonerate them for their past legal troubles if they sign letters of engagement barring them from taking on competing lawyers, deliberately name-dropping Cliff. Craig desperately agrees to sign the documents, much to Betsy's chagrin. Jimmy tells the Kettlemans the basis of a would-be civil suit: Howard, the lead attorney in their case, was impaired in his legal duties by using cocaine. The couple agree to use the information but refuse to retain Jimmy as their lawyer. Jimmy feigns being upset by their refusal but smirks as he walks back to his car, having gotten exactly what he wanted.
Act II[]
At the motel in Mexico, Nacho paces around his room and chafes under the anxiety of waiting for rescue. He draws his gun upon hearing footsteps outside his door, only to find that the manager has left food for him on a tray. He peers out of the window through the curtains and watches a man wandering near the property. His attention is drawn to a small building across the parking lot from his room. Although all of the windows are boarded-up, he notices a running air conditioner dripping condensation. Focusing on the building's details, he notices that one of the window's boards has a hole in the corner.
At Davis & Main, Erin Brill approaches Cliff and tells him that the Kettlemans want to meet him, seeking to sue their former lawyers at HHM. The couple tell Cliff that Craig's conviction for embezzlement was due to Howard's alleged cocaine abuse. Cliff refuses to take their case, stating that doing so would be a conflict-of-interest, that reversing Craig's conviction is unlikely, and that Cliff doesn't believe what the couple claim about Howard. The Kettlemans walk out frustrated. However, when he returns to his office, Cliff—having seen Howard in apparent possession of cocaine at the country club—is troubled enough by their story that he is unable to play his guitar.
At the Casa Tranquila Nursing Home, Gus and Bolsa visit Hector. While he openly admits that he never got along with Lalo, Gus offers his condolences for the apparent death of Hector's nephew; both he and Bolsa promise to aid the Salamanca family in avenging him. Hector, not telling him that he has already been in contact with Lalo, shakes Gus's hand, but uncharacteristically looks him in the eyes while doing so. Outside the nursing home, Gus, barely containing his alarm, contacts Mike and tells him that Lalo lives.
Act III[]
Bolsa's men ransack Nacho's house and use a power tool to cut into the decoy safe. Inside, they find Nacho's fake ID card as well as the envelope left by Mike, which contains a bank statement for account transactions as well as a phone number. Bolsa dials the number, which connects him to the motel where Nacho is hiding.
The following day, Nacho is monitoring the small building across from his room when he is again left with food by the manager. Just as he opens his door, Nacho sees movement behind the boarded-up window of the building. He collects the food outside his room in a casual manner, in full view of whoever is watching him, but once back inside, he throws it in anger. He considers dialing Tyrus, but instead opts to escape the room by kicking out the air conditioning unit in the rear window.
Nacho sneaks into the small building, where he finds a man surveilling his room. Nacho forces the man to surrender his gun and demands to know who he works for. The man claims not to know, says that all of his contact is by phone, and that he is just paid to take note of Nacho's movements. Holding the man at gunpoint, Nacho dials his own phone to Tyrus, tells him that he is about to flee the motel, then hangs up abruptly. The man's own cell phone then receives a call, leading Nacho to realize that Gus has double-crossed him. Instead of shooting the man, Nacho knocks him out.
Act IV[]
Nacho breaks into a parked pickup truck with the intent to steal it. Just then, a group of Cartel henchmen, accompanied by the Cousins, descend on the motel. The Cousins and the henchmen spread out to search the location, breaking down the doors of every room. Nacho attempts to hide in the pickup but is soon confronted by one henchman, who holds the motel manager hostage. Nacho shoots and kills the henchman, which draws the attention of the others. He is briefly pinned down by another henchman until the Cousins shoot him, wanting Nacho alive. Nacho hotwires the pickup and drives it in reverse, damaging the Cousins' car in the process. A brief standoff ensues between Nacho and the Cousins, which ends when Nacho charges at them with the pickup. Both parties exchange gunfire and Nacho manages to speed away from the scene.
At Kim's apartment, Jimmy receives a hectic phone call from the Kettlemans. Jimmy schedules a meeting with them the following morning. As he retrieves a large wad of money from the duffel bag in the closet, Kim asks whether Jimmy will use "the stick" on the Kettlemans; he replies that they are more of the "carrot types". To Jimmy's surprise, Kim suggests that she accompany him to the meeting.
The following day, at the chicken farm, Tyrus informs Gus and Mike that Nacho's stolen pickup has been found while Nacho himself remains missing; Lalo is also missing, and the Cartel believes he is dead. Mike says that none of his men have seen or heard any indication that Lalo has come north of the border, surmising that he is also looking for Nacho and is planning to use him to turn the Cartel against Gus. Gus struggles to keep his composure and accidentally knocks over and breaks a drinking glass. Mike tells him that their only option is for Mike to bring four of his best men across the border to track down Nacho before the Salamancas do. Gus tells Mike to bring him Manuel. Mike flatly refuses, causing Tyrus to brandish his gun at him. At that moment, Nacho calls Mike on his phone; Gus allows him to answer it. After a brief exchange, Mike says that Nacho wants to talk to Gus.
Act V[]
Jimmy and Kim drive to the Kettlemans' tax business. Inside, Betsy angrily tells them that the couple have gone to four different lawyers and that they have all told them they have no case. They accuse Jimmy of using them to help assassinate Howard's character. Betsy turns down Jimmy's offer of cash, demanding that he make good on his promise of exonerating Craig or else they will warn Howard. Tiring of the exchange, Kim resorts to a "stick" tactic and makes a call to the Albuquerque office of the IRS, obliquely threatening to turn in the Kettlemans for tax preparer fraud. In a panic, Betsy hangs up the call and gives in. Kim instructs the Kettlemans to give their customers what they are legally owed and forget about Howard, saying she will ruin them otherwise. The couple are left defeated, but after Kim leaves, Jimmy gives them the money. Jimmy is visibly taken aback by the incident; in the car, he remarks to himself, "Wolves and sheep." As Jimmy and Kim drive away, they are followed by a sedan.
Official Photos[]
Trivia[]
Episode Poster
- On the cheque that Betsy Kettleman prints out for a client, the day's date is shown as May 23, 2004.
- The inflatable Statue of Liberty prop is the same one used in Breaking Bad that sits atop Saul's Office.
- The meals Nacho is given include a can of Único Fresco juice in the "bottle can". This is anachronistic to the show's timeline as the episode is set in 2004 while the history of the parent company Jumex states that that format of packaging was introduced in 2007.
Production[]
Credits[]
Starring
- Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy McGill
- Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut
- Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler
- Patrick Fabian as Howard Hamlin (credit only)
- Michael Mando as Nacho Varga
- Tony Dalton as Lalo Salamanca (credit only)
- Giancarlo Esposito as Gustavo "Gus" Fring
Guest Starring
Co-Starring
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Uncredited
- TBA
Memorable Quotes[]
- "You think you lost everything? You have no idea."
- ―Kim to Craig and Betsy Kettleman
- "Whatever happens next, it’s not gonna go down the way you think it is."
- ―Mike to Gus and Tyrus