At El Michoacáno, Nacho is collecting drug money as Hector oversees the collection. Krazy-8 arrives to deliver his returns, but Nacho finds that he has come up short. He initially allows Krazy-8 to leave, but at Hector's prodding, drags Krazy-8 to the kitchen and beats him. That night, while working at his father's upholstery shop, Nacho feels pangs of guilt and injures himself at a sewing machine.
Act I[]
Kim makes her closing argument before the New Mexico Bar Association, arguing that Jimmy has made good contributions to society through his elder law practice. She further argues that Jimmy's actions were caused by Chuck's past persecution. Meanwhile, Rebecca takes a taxi to Chuck's house, but Chuck, devastated by the outcome of his rant against Jimmy, does not answer the door. The State Bar rules to not disbar Jimmy but rather suspend Jimmy's law license for a year.
While Jimmy and Kim celebrate the verdict at Wexler McGill, Rebecca drops by the office and tells them that she spent an hour trying to talk to Chuck. Rebecca pleads with Jimmy to help her make sure that Chuck is doing well, reasoning that Chuck is mentally ill and vulnerable, but Jimmy tells her that he no longer regards him as his brother. Rebecca realizes that Jimmy never brought her to Albuquerque to help Chuck as he claimed, and bitterly tells him that Chuck was right about Jimmy all along.
Act II[]
Mike accompanies Stacey to a support group, where she talks about how she and Kaylee are coping 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. Meanwhile, Chuck reluctantly lets Howard into his house. Over some 35-year-old Macallan scotch, Howard tries to dissuade Chuck from further fighting with Jimmy, telling him that the effort would be better spent on the future, to which Chuck seemingly agrees. After he sees Howard off, Chuck removes the battery from his tape recorder and forces himself to hold it.
Jimmy and Francesca call all of his clients to inform them of his one-year "sabbatical." For his last call, Jimmy contacts a client who recognizes him from his "Fifi" commercial. Remembering that he can't air new commercials while under suspension, Jimmy rushes to contact a local TV station to pull it off the air. However, as he already paid for all the time slots, Jimmy remarks that $4,000 will be wasted if he doesn't air anything in those slots. With Jimmy unable to practice law for a year, Kim considers closing the office and letting Francesca go. Jimmy refuses to do so and tells her that he will keep paying his half as he looks for a new source of income to do so.
Act III[]
Jimmy approaches the owners of a carpet store, pitching to shoot a commercial for their business on a cheap budget and broadcast for free, thereby allowing him to "sell" the timeslot in a legal manner. The owners briefly consider the offer, but balk when Jimmy explains that he has to shoot the commercial immediately. When Jimmy informs Joey's film crew of the news, the make-up artist suggests that he shoot a commercial for himself. Jimmy and the film crew drive to an area to shoot an impromptu ad in front of antennas and satellite dishes. Unwilling to go from "Jimmy the Lawyer" to "Jimmy the Commercial Salesman", he opens the artist's makeup satchel exclaiming he's going to "Karloff this thing."
At the Los Pollos Hermanoschicken farm, a truck arrives to drop off restaurant supplies, after which Victor and Tyrus retrieve several bricks of cocaine from a false bottom in the truck. Nacho and Arturo are there to collect some of the bricks, but Nacho moves to collect six instead of five, causing Victor to pull a gun on him. When Nacho explains that Hector is expecting for him to collect six, Tyrus calls Gus by cell phone, who tells Tyrus to let Nacho take the sixth brick for free. Gus is busy looking at an industrial laundry that is for sale, and after browsing the place, he steps into a car driven by Lydia Rodarte-Quayle and tells her that "it could work."
Act IV[]
Donning a space blanket, Chuck walks into downtown Albuquerque and struggles to make his way through the brightly lit business district. He finds a payphone and tries to contact Dr. Cruz, but is told to leave a message.
Back at El Michoacáno, Nacho tells Hector about his encounter with Gus's men. While Arturo takes a phone call from Leonel Salamanca outside, Hector tells Nacho that he wants to use Nacho's father's upholstery shop as a new front business; Nacho resists, telling Hector that his father is a civilian has no involvement in the drug trade. Arturo tells Hector that Tuco attacked another inmate and a guard in prison and has wound up in solitary, which will extend his prison sentence. Hector's anger at Tuco staying in prison for more than the initial six months triggers his heart condition, but he recovers after taking his medication and a cup of water. Nacho sees a pill that fell on the floor and conceals it with his shoe.
At Kim's place, Jimmy explains his new business plan: to air a "commercial for commercials," offering the services of himself and his film crew to shoot ads for small businesses and putting them on the remaining airtime in his contract from the TV station. Jimmy shows Kim a videotape of the tacky commercial, in which he wears a disguise and uses the pseudonym "Saul Goodman." Kim, taken aback, notes that Saul has "a lot of energy," but Jimmy says that it's "just a name."
Official Photos[]
Trivia[]
The way the batteries looked in Chuck's tape recorder (how they look currently)
When visiting Chuck, Howard has a bottle of alcohol marked 1966 and Howard tells Chuck that it is thirty-five years old, which led to some confusion with fans over the time period of the episode. However, the thirty-five years of aging refer to the period between production and bottling, since aging stops at that point, meaning that the alcohol was bottled either in 2001 or 2002, with it being consumed in 2003, when the episode is set.
This is the first episode that Jimmy and Chuck are both in the episode but do not share a scene.
This episode marks the earliest chronological appearance of Lydia, who first appeared in Breaking Bad.
This is the first time Gus and Lydia are shown together; even though they knew each other in Breaking Bad, they did not share scenes.
Jimmy drinks his champagne in a Davis & Main coffee mug.
Arturo tells Hector that Tuco had stabbed another inmate in prison. This is alluded to in the Breaking Bad episode "Grilled" when Hank (while referring to Tuco) states, "We're pretty sure he knifed a Mexican National in '03."
The phone number seen in the "Saul Goodman Productions" commercial, 505-842-5662, is a working number. If called (note: long distance charges may apply), a recorded message from "Saul" plays, inviting the caller to leave a message.
How the batteries should have looked
The batteries in Chuck's tape recorder are revealed to be from the brand Rayovac, but are anachronistic to the show's timeline as they use a design from the production period of the episode.
“Colas De La Libra De Perros” by Francisco Sarrmiento (Nacho counts Domingo’s money at El Michoacáno)
“Con Que Frecuencia” by Francisco Sarrmiento (Hector questions Nacho about “Who works for who?”)
“Methadone” by Chuy Flores (Victor & Tyrus collect hidden cocaine from trucks at Los Pollos Hermanos Chicken Farm)
Memorable Quotes[]
Rebecca: "You got what you wanted. Now it's time to do what's right."
Jimmy: "Yeah... no."
Rebecca: "Jimmy, he's still your brother."
Jimmy: "Not anymore, he's not."
Rebecca: "Chuck was right about you all along. He's mentally ill, what's your excuse? Enjoy your champagne."
―Rebecca asking help to Jimmy about Chuck.
Howard: "Chuck, you're at a crossroads. You can keep looking backwards, stay focused on your brother, what he's up to, or you can go forward. And Chuck. listen to me. Jimmy's just not worth it. Where would we be if, say, Clarence Darrow had deveoted the best years of his life to supervising ne'er-do-well relatives? Think of the cases he wouldn't have taken, the injustices that would have gone unanswered. What a waste. I say, put your energy into the future. Anything else is a waste of your time and intellect. What do you say?"
Chuck: "[After a moment] To new beginnings."
―Howard trying to remobilize and remotivate Chuck around a very good bottle of alcohol.
"What's that I see? Albuquerque's next TV star? It's you, small business owner! Struggling to make it in today's fast-paced economy? Thought television advertising was too expensive for you? Well you better think again! You can't afford not to be on TV! Look at you, you're a triple threat: great services, great products, and most of all, that face! You're a star! Wrap it all up in your natural charisma, and bam — you belong on TV! Better watch out for autograph hounds and paparazzi! And it gets better! I can have you on the air tomorrow! Yeah, you heard me right — tomorrow! Better get ready to be famous, Albuquerque! I can make you a TV star for a price you can afford! Call me, Saul Goodman! The world needs to know about you and your business! Call me now!"
―Jimmy McGill's first transformation into Saul Goodman in a TV ad.
Kim: "Saul Goodman?"
Jimmy: "Yeah, like, it's all good, man."
Kim: "That guy has a lot of energy."
Jimmy: "It's just a name."
Kim: "Uh huh."
―Kim and Jimmy about the fake name used by Jimmy in his commercial.
