- This article is about the Better Call Saul episode. For the character, see Rebecca Bois.
"Rebecca" is the fifth episode of the second season of Better Call Saul and the fifteenth episode of the series altogether.
Summary[]
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In 1992, a hypersensitivity-free Chuck replaces a dead bulb in his dining room chandelier without flinching. He puts on music, then makes his way to the kitchen to help his wife, Rebecca, prepare dinner. Chuck apologizes in advance for the guest they’re expecting: Jimmy, whom he describes as “an acquired taste.” Rebecca isn’t worried, but they come up with a plan in which she will tug on her earlobe if she tires of Jimmy and wants to end dinner early. Jimmy arrives early, six-pack in hand, and is impressed by Chuck's house. Chuck invites him inside.
Over dinner, Jimmy congratulates Rebecca on her impressive career as a concert violinist. When Jimmy awkwardly brings up their wedding, she politely changes the subject and asks Jimmy about his first week in the mailroom at HHM. The conversation lulls to an uncomfortable silence, so Jimmy begins telling lawyer jokes. Rebecca smiles, genuinely amused. As Chuck heads to the kitchen to retrieve dessert, she jumps in with a joke of her own. The two dissolve into hysterics, both too preoccupied to notice Chuck pulling at his own earlobe, his fake smile beginning to falter.
While reading in bed later that evening, Rebecca tells Chuck that he shouldn’t have worried so much about Jimmy. Chuck takes a crack at a lawyer joke of his own, but it falls flat. Rebecca humors him with a polite chuckle, then resumes reading. Chuck stares straight ahead, jealous of Jimmy’s natural charm and the effect he had on Rebecca - one that he himself couldn’t replicate.
Act I[]
In 2002, Jimmy works late at Davis & Main and leaves a voicemail for Kim, believing he’s found something that could get her out of doc review. As he wraps up, he’s surprised by a perky associate, Erin Brill. She produces a stack of heavily red-lined pages and explains that Cliff asked her to read one of Jimmy’s briefs. Indignant, Jimmy realizes that Cliff has asked her to “babysit” him. Instead of arguing, he agrees – he’ll meet Erin in her office in just a minute. The second she’s out of sight, Jimmy grabs his things and sneaks out.
At HHM, Kim continues her stint in doc review. Jimmy finds her and gives her a formal complaint he has written on her behalf: Wexler v. HHM. He explains that Chuck is clearly punishing Kim to get to Jimmy and urges her to sue the firm for mistreatment. Kim points out that she’s in trouble because Jimmy went behind Cliff’s back, and that Jimmy should have known Howard would punish her just as he did when she lost the Kettleman case. Jimmy disagrees: even if Howard thinks he’s calling the shots, Chuck is pulling the strings. Jimmy offers to quit Davis & Main to appease Chuck, but Kim dismisses the idea: “You don’t save me,” she insists, “I save me.”
Act II[]
The next morning, Jimmy arrives at Davis & Main to find Erin already waiting in his office. He apologizes for ditching her and launches into an elaborate excuse. Erin sees through it and cuts him off. Jimmy drops the act and agrees to look at her notes. Meanwhile, inside a stairwell at HHM, Kim spends her lunch break making calls, trying to drum up new business and get back on Howard’s good side. As charming as she is, she strikes out on every lead. Deflated, she returns to doc review to keep working.
In his parking booth, Mike chats on the phone with Stacey. She raves about how much she and Kaylee like the hotel Mike has put them up in and asks if he can come visit. Mike puts off a visit, not wanting Kaylee to see his face, which is still badly bruised from his encounter with Tuco. He hangs up just as Jimmy and Erin pull up. Jimmy is shocked to see Mike's condition, but he doesn’t explain the circumstances that led to his injuries.
Inside the courthouse, Jimmy approaches the contract administrator, whom he hasn’t seen since his days working with the public defender’s office. He requests a hearing for Thursday morning. The clerk denies his request at first, but warms up when he presents her with a Beanie Baby. Erin snatches the toy away, upbraiding Jimmy for trying to bribe the clerk. “It's a gift. That’s how it works here - you grease the wheels of justice,” Jimmy argues. Erin refuses to budge under the clerk's withering glare. Finally, the clerk gives Jimmy a hearing date on Thursday afternoon - the following month. As they walk away, Erin claims she's not trying to get Jimmy in trouble: she's trying to keep him out of it. He barely stops her from following him into the men’s room, where he runs into ADA Bill Oakley. Oakley has heard though the grapevine that Jimmy is now at Davis & Main. He jealously queries Jimmy about all the perks of working there, eventually leaving Jimmy alone to contemplate the enviable life he’s putting in jeopardy.
Act III[]
Kim continues to search for a new client for HHM. At last, she receives a return call from Paige Novick, who works as senior counsel for Mesa Verde Bank & Trust. Kim jumps for joy after arranging a meeting over the phone, her cheer reverberating in the empty parking garage. The next day, Kim and Howard greet Paige and Kevin Wachtell, the CEO of Mesa Verde, in the lobby of HHM. After a successful meeting, Kim offers to draw up a list of associates to assign to the case. Howard informs her that someone else will spearhead that - Kim has enough on her plate in doc review. He heads back inside, leaving Kim disheartened.
Act IV[]
Howard visits Chuck to share the good news about Mesa Verde. Chuck is impressed that Kim has snagged $250,000 in billings and possibly years of work for HHM, but Howard indicates that he hasn't forgiven her yet. Later, before sunrise, Chuck heads into HHM and works by lantern. He’s interrupted by Kim, who is dropping off paperwork. Chuck explains that he’s trying to work before the office opens, and asks Kim to make them each a cup of coffee.
Sitting uncomfortably in Chuck's office, Kim bluntly asks whether she has a future at HHM. Chuck tells her that they have a lot in common - namely being compromised by Jimmy. He describes how Jimmy embezzled $14,000 from their father’s corner store while they were growing up, even though their father refused to believe it was true. When their father was forced to sell the store and died six months later, Jimmy cried harder than anyone else at the funeral. Chuck offers to help Kim with Howard, saying her talents are being wasted in doc review.
Mike is eating alone at Loyola's when Hector Salamanca, Tuco’s uncle, sits across from him in his booth. Hector offers $5,000 if Mike tells the police that Tuco's gun was actually Mike’s - a move that would reduce Tuco's potential jail time considerably. Mike argues that he’d then be subject to the gun charge, but Hector points out that the authorities usually go easy on ex-cops. Hector leaves, instructing Mike to think about his proposal.
Official Photos[]
Trivia[]
- Jimmy hums "Gonna Fly Now" (the theme song of the film Rocky) as he and Erin Brill drive away after seeing Mike's swollen face. This is the second (chronologically first) time Saul has made a reference to Rocky upon noticing someone's swollen face after they were beaten up, the first being Jesse Pinkman in the Breaking Bad episode "One Minute".
- This is the first Season 2 episode in which Nacho is absent.
- The bell that the barman rings right before Hector enters the restaurant is a clear reference to his future disability and means of communication.
- This episode marks the earliest chronological appearance of Fran who appears in Breaking Bad.
- It is also the earliest chronological appearance of Hector Salamanca, who appeared in Breaking Bad, excluding flashbacks.
- During dinner with Chuck and Rebecca, Jimmy mentions that he is looking for an apartment and that he is interested in the Beachcomber, an apartment complex in Albuquerque. This is a reference to the apartment Walt occupied after Skyler discovered his criminal activities and asked him to leave their home.
- During the dinner scene, Chuck mentions Carol Burnett, who plays Marion in Season 6.
Production[]
Credits[]
Starring
- Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy McGill
- Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut
- Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler
- Patrick Fabian as Howard Hamlin
- Michael Mando as Nacho Varga (credit only)
- Michael McKean as Chuck McGill
Guest Starring
Co-Starring
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Uncredited
- Brian Barela as Police Officer
- Grizelda Quintana as Visitor
Featured Music[]
- "Gloria's Step" by Bill Evans Trio
- "Changes" by Miles Davis & Milt Jackson
- "22 Car Garage" by Skrilla Jones
- "Gonna Fly Now" by Bill Conti
- "A Mi Manera (My Way)" by Gipsy Kings
- "I'd Like to Shake the Hand of the Girl Who Finally Won" by Yvonne Devaney
- "Losers Weepers" by Floyd Cramer
Memorable Quotes[]
- "I dig myself out of this hole. You do your job, Jimmy. Prove you can go one week— hell, one day without breaking the rules of the New Mexico Bar Association or pissing off your boss. And don't insult my intelligence by saying you are doing any of this for me. You don't save me. I save me."
- ―Kim to Jimmy.
- "Goddamn pixie ninja."
- ―Jimmy, in frustration over Erin's bird dogging of him
- Chuck: "Jimmy ever tell you anything about our father?"
- Kim: "Not much, no."
- Chuck: "My dad — our dad — he was the personification of good. I'm not sure he could even see sin, in any form. Like he was born without the gene. He ran a little corner store in Cicero. Cigarettes behind the counter, penny candy. Nothing special, but it kept food on the table. And the neighborhood loved Dad. He knew everybody's name, what was going on in their lives. Just a little corner. He made it better. I was named after him. Before that, he worked for a lot of people over the years and his dream was to be his own boss. Put everything he had into that place. I was away at college when he put Jimmy to work there. Jimmy grew up in that store, watching our father. But Dad was not the world's greatest businessman, and eventually he ran into money troubles. I had a clerkship at the time, but I came home to help him get his books in order. Set the ship straight. Now, I'm no accountant, but I discovered $14,000 was just gone. Vanished over the years. Turns out Jimmy had pilfered it in dribs and drabs, just took it out of the till. My dad wouldn't hear it. Nope, not his Jimmy. He ended up having to sell. Six months later, he was dead. At the funeral, no one cried harder than Jimmy. My brother is not a bad person. He has a good heart. It's just he can't help himself. And everyone's left picking up the pieces."
- ―Chuck and Kim about Jimmy's childhood.