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The fourth season of the American television drama series Better Call Saul was announced on June 27, 2017. The series returned on August 6, 2018. It consists of 10 episodes, each running approximately 47 minutes in length.

Story[]

In present-day Omaha, Gene is wheeled out of the Cinnabon by paramedics following his fainting spell. At the hospital, he is given a clean bill of health and prepares to be released. However, Gene is held up by the nurse at the front desk, who is having trouble entering his fake ID and Social Security numbers into a computer. Gene becomes nervous at the possible exposure of his true identity. The nurse realizes she has mistyped the numbers, and when they go through, she allows Gene to leave. Gene tries to take a taxi back to the mall, but spots an Albuquerque Isotopes air freshener hanging from the cabbie's rear-view mirror. He further notices the cabbie staring intently at him, as if he recognizes him, to the point that he doesn't drive through a green light. Gene asks to be let out in a residential neighborhood. As he walks away—at one point kneeling down to pretend to tie his shoes—Gene sees that the taxi doesn't drive off.

Back to 2003, now suspended from the law for a year, Jimmy begins his morning at Kim's apartment searching the newspaper for job opportunities. A call from Howard alerts him that Chuck's house had burned down. When Jimmy arrives at the scene, he discovers that Chuck didn't survive it. The cause of death was due to a knocked over lantern. Jimmy seems hard hit by the death of his brother and remains virtually silent until Howard confesses that he believes himself responsible for the death of Chuck by having forced him to leave HHM. Nacho and Gus, meanwhile, watch as Hector is driven away in an ambulance. The two go to meet with Bolsa and Arturo. Bolsa tells Nacho and Arturo that they are to keep their territory despite Hector's stroke. Nacho drives off and dumps his pills into a river, however, he is unknowingly being watched by Victor. Mike, meanwhile, steals an ID card from an employee at the Madrigal Las Cruces warehouse in order to break in. He recognizes many security breaches found at the warehouse and alerts the manager. When asked who he is, Mike identifies himself as the security consultant and advises the manager to contact Lydia. ("Smoke")

Gus hires Barry Goodman and Victor to examine Hector's condition. Barry reports that the hospital is doing its best but that only an institution such as Johns Hopkins could give Hector better treatment. Gus tells Barry that he alone should be in charge of deciding Hector's fate. The next day at the hospital a doctor from Johns Hopkins arrives to treat Hector after a generous payment had been made. On the other end of things, Lydia schedules a meeting with Mike. Lydia suggests Mike reconsider his actions, which she believes risk exposure, to which Mike responds to her to do the same. Lydia calls Gus to complain about Mike, but Gus seems uninterested and hangs up as Tyrus pulls up to the Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant. Tyrus gives Gus Hector's medical charts and Gus immediately notices something and tells Tyrus to meet with Victor. Tyrus and Victor meet with Nacho and Arturo for another drug pickup. After Nacho and Victor negotiate for six packets instead of five they walk out to the car only to be ambushed by Gus and his men. Arturo suffocates to death via plastic bag as Gus tells Nacho that he knows what he did and that he is now "his." Nacho, however, had told his dad that he is trying to get out of the drug business. Jimmy spends the day looking for work. He interviews at Neff Copiers and sells himself to them as he is highly knowledgeable in copiers. He gets the job offer immediately after the interview but turns it down because he is frustrated that he was not properly vetted. When he arrives home he is met by Kim who decides not to give him the unopened letter from Chuck that she received from Howard. She also doesn't tell him that Chuck essentially cut him out of the will. The next morning Jimmy looks up the price of the Hummel figure that he saw at his job interview and leaves a voicemail for Mike telling him that he has a job for him. ("Breathe")

The next day, Jimmy puts his plan into action. He meets with Mike who turns down the offer and then calls Caldera to find a client willing to steal the Hummel figure. Caldera informs Jimmy that no one is interested, so Jimmy visits him and forcibly takes his phone. He then goes on to speak with Ira, who he eventually hires for the job. The next night, Ira breaks into Neff copiers, switches the figures, only to realize that Mr. Neff is still in the office. Ira hides under a desk and calls Jimmy for some help. Jimmy comes to the rescue by getting Mr. Neff's car to roll down the parking garage, forcing him to run after it. The next day, Kim gets back to work at Mesa Verde. She soon realizes that Mesa Verde is expanding much quicker than she may be able to handle, which causes her to assign more work to her new her new paralegal, Viola. When she returns home, she gives the unopened letter from Chuck to Jimmy. Jimmy reads the letter aloud causing Kim to cry. Tyrus and Victor, meanwhile, are forced to deal with the fallout of Arturo's death. They stage a shootout on a desert road, and to make it look more real, Tyrus shoots Nacho in the gut. The Cousins arrive at the scene, after Tyrus and Victor leave, to find Nacho in very bad condition. The Cousins enlist Caldera to stitch up Nacho. After removing the bullet and helping Nacho into a more stable condition, Caldera tells Nacho that he doesn't want to get caught up in this ever again. Gus gets a call from Juan Bolsa informing him of the attack on Arturo and Nacho. Bolsa tells Gus to find suppliers North of the border despite the fact that it goes against Don Eladio's orders. After the call, Gus visits Gale Boetticher in a college chemistry lab. Gale shows Gus samples of crystal meth, which he says are very impure and asks if he could give it a try. Gus refuses his offer. ("Something Beautiful")

Gus sends Nacho to go along with the Cousins to the Espinosa territory to scout it out. All to Gus's plan, the cousins go into the complex themselves and kill the over 20 gang members that are there. Nacho shows his loyalty to the cousins by getting out of the car and fighting alongside them even with the pain from his bullet wounds. Afterword, Nacho meets with Gus at an abandoned warehouse and figures out that this was all part of Gus's plan to gain control of the Espinosa territory. In his time away from work, Mike attends the support group with Stacey and his friend Anita. At the meeting, Stacey begins by saying she stopped thinking about Matty while she was making breakfast in the morning. This infuriates Mike and leads him to accuse another man in the group of lying. The following night Mike gets a call from Victor while performing a security check at the warehouse. He goes to meet Gus at the factory farm, where Mike realizes that Gus has a job for him. Jimmy, meanwhile, begins his job at CC Mobile. The store is empty for almost the entire day which leads Jimmy to drive off to go see Ira. Ira gives Jimmy the money for the hummel figure sale and Jimmy lets Ira know that he hopes to work with him in the future. More importantly, Ira gives Jimmy the idea to sell private phones, and when Jimmy gets back to the store he paints the message "IS THE MAN LISTENING? PRIVACY SOLD HERE" on the store windows. Meanwhile, Kim, overwhelmed with Mesa Verde, decides to spend the day observing case law for criminals. The judge who sees her at the court calls her into his office and tells her to stop wasting her time. ("Talk")

In a flashforward to Saul Goodman rummaging through his stuff ("Granite State"), he is accompanied by Francesca, whom he pays two wads of cash to and tells her to keep quiet. He then calls Ed, the disappearer. Back to 2003, at CC Mobile, business is slow as usual. However, the big letters Jimmy painted on the outside window seem to attract this one customer who he is able to convince that the phones will protect him from the IRS. Jimmy is ultimately able to sell a whole stack of drop phones to the customer. Jimmy realizes he's got something going so that night he stops by the Dog House to sell a bunch more phones. Business is going great until Jimmy is beaten and mugged by three kids, and loses all his money. Jimmy is visibly distraught when he returns home and promises Kim that he will see the shrink she recommended for him. This changes, however, when the next day Jimmy sees Howard in the courthouse bathroom. Jimmy realizes he does not want to mourn for the loss of Chuck like Howard and so he throws the business card for the therapist down the toilet. Kim, seemingly bored with her job at Mesa Verde, remains her work as a public defender. However, when there is an issue at Mesa Verde, Kim ignores it. She later tells Paige that it won't happen again. Mike spends his time looking for a structural engineer to build the superlab. The process is very thorough and the first engineer does not make the cut. The second engineer, Werner Ziegler, seemingly passes the test and is introduced to Gus. ("Quite a Ride")

In a flashback, Kim and Jimmy work in HHM’s mailroom. Third-year law student Kim demonstrates her legal knowledge, impressing pre-sickness Chuck and piquing Jimmy's curiosity. Years later, Kim juggles Mesa Verde work with pro bono criminal defense cases, and Jimmy struggles financially during his suspension. Kim joins Schweikart & Cokely, enabling her to handle both Mesa Verde and criminal cases, but disappointing Jimmy, who realizes the death of his dream to re-start the Wexler-McGill office. Jimmy is informed that Geraldine, his first eldercare client, has died, and he grieves for her more than for Chuck. Jimmy tries to rouse a depressed Howard with a "tough love" speech. He uses his $5,000 inheritance to buy prepaid cell phones for street resale. This time, Jimmy intimidates his three teenage assailants into leaving him alone. Mike creates secret living and recreation facilities for Werner’s crew, who begin constructing Gus’s meth "superlab." Gus visits a hospitalized, unconscious Hector and previews their future by relating a childhood story about trapping a coati that ate the fruit from a lúcuma tree Gus nursed to health. Rather than humanely killing the injured coati after catching it, Gus held it and let it suffer until it died. ("Piñata")

In a time jump sequence of several months that advances the series to early 2004, Jimmy and Kim are shown to be drifting further apart. Kim’s arm has healed, and to Jimmy’s chagrin she thrives at Schweikart & Cokely, with Mesa Verde’s expansion continuing on schedule and Kim finding time to work on the pro bono criminal defense cases that give her satisfaction. Jimmy plans his return to practicing law, including searching for an office. His business re-selling prepaid phones on the street continues to grow, and he increasingly uses his "Saul Goodman" alias. Huell is arrested for assaulting a police officer who tries to get Jimmy to end his phone business and Jimmy involves Kim in defending him. He tries to get her to smear the police officer so the charges will be dropped, but she refuses, telling Jimmy she has a better way. Hector begins recovering from his stroke, so Gus dismisses Dr. Bruckner, in effect trapping Hector’s recovered mind in his unhealed body. Mike observes Werner’s crew during construction of the underground meth lab; work proceeds more slowly than expected, frustrating the crew, and Mike has to step in to break up a fight. ("Something Stupid")

Kim enlists S&C employees in Huell’s defense and indicates she'll bury prosecutor Suzanne Ericsen in paperwork. Jimmy takes a bus ride, uses a variety of pens and paper to write supportive mail for Huell, and enlists other passengers to help. The mail is sent with return addresses and postmarks from Coushatta, Louisiana, Huell’s hometown. Suzanne investigates, but Jimmy has arranged for a fake church website and pay-as-you go cellular phones that Jimmy and his TV ad film crew answer. The phony support causes Suzanne to accept a plea that keeps Huell out of jail. Kim is elated, and tells Jimmy she wants to engage in similar behavior again. Mike arranges a strip club outing for Werner and his crew. Kai starts a fight, but the real problem is Werner, who drunkenly discusses underground concrete construction details with strangers. A fully healed Nacho takes prominence in the Salamanca organization and trains Domingo to punish dealers who do not meet their weekly quota. Lalo Salamanca arrives to aid in running the business. Unlike Hector, Lalo is interested in everyday details, which concerns Nacho. At home, Nacho keeps a safe with cash and fake Canadian IDs for himself and his father. ("Coushatta")

Jimmy and Kim surreptitiously replace approved plans for Mesa Verde's Lubbock, Texas branch with plans for a bigger building. Jimmy answers the questions eloquently at his reinstatement hearing, but his application is denied. The chairman suggests Jimmy’s answers were insincere, and when he recounts the details to Kim, she explains to Jimmy that he did not mention Chuck. Jimmy’s relationship with Chuck caused his suspension, so the panel expected Jimmy to discuss it. He defensively accuses Kim of "slumming" with him whenever she needs something, while Kim says she is always supportive and Jimmy causes his own problems. That night, Jimmy starts moving out, but Kim stops him and offers to help him win reinstatement. Lalo visits Hector and improves his communication ability with a concierge bell Lalo kept as a souvenir after Hector killed a hotelier and burned the building. Lalo thanks Gus for saving Hector’s life and paying for his treatment. He then asks Nacho to show him where the Salamancas receive their drugs after Gus’s trucks bring them from Mexico. Werner’s crew blows up the rock preventing construction of the elevator and celebrates that their work is almost done. Werner misses his wife and decides to escape. ("Wiedersehen")

In a flashback, Chuck feigns enthusiasm on the day Jimmy becomes an attorney. Back in 2004, Kim helps Jimmy’s appeal by arranging public displays where he feigns grief for Chuck. Lalo surveils Gus’s drug operation and learns about its regular activities. Werner plans a rendezvous with his wife and Lalo tricks him into revealing lab construction details over the phone before Mike ends the call. Mike reluctantly agrees to kill him, so Werner calls his wife at the airport and sends her home, after which Mike kills him. Gus shows Gale the nearly completed lab, but he refuses to continue construction until Lalo is dealt with. Jimmy participates in interviewing Chuck’s scholarship candidates and connects with one whose past includes shoplifting. He tells her the other panel members didn't select her and counsels her that the powerful will never look past her youthful mistake, so she should do whatever is necessary to get ahead. At his appeal, Jimmy speaks extemporaneously about how he wants to bring credit to the McGill name if allowed to practice law again. His appeal succeeds, and even Kim believes him, but he reveals it was a con, and his declaration that he will now practice under the name Saul Goodman leaves her stuned. ("Winner")

Credits[]

Starring

Cast Portrays Ep. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Bob Odenkirk James McGill 10
Jonathan Banks Mike Ehrmantraut 10
Rhea Seehorn Kim Wexler 10
Patrick Fabian Howard Hamlin 5
Michael Mando Nacho Varga 6
Giancarlo Esposito Gustavo "Gus" Fring 10

Guest Starring

Episodes[]

Trivia[]

  • In the episode "Better Call Saul" of Breaking Bad, while Jesse and Walt have Saul on his knees in the desert, Saul is heard uttering “Lalo didn't send you? No Lalo?”.
    • Bob Odenkirk has vowed in an interview[1] that he hopes that the character of Lalo will be introduced in season 4.
    • Wired magazine revealed that the crew spotted the name Lalo on a corkboard in the Better Call Saul writers’ room earlier this year. “We have to earn our Breaking Bad crossover moments on the show,” said Peter Gould.
    • Lalo is introduced in "Coushatta". He is a member of the Salamanca family who was sent to Albuquerque to help Nacho run their drug dealing business.
  • In "Green Light", the fourth episode of Breaking Bad's third season, Saul says to Walt: "I caught my second wife screwing my stepdad. OK? It’s a cruel world, Walt. Grow up."
    • Vince Gilligan revealed in an interview[2] that this casual reference has posed a big challenge to solve in order to ensure a perfect coherence of the universe between Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.
  • Thomas Schnauz teases about the fourth season: "We have more Nacho now."[3]
  • Season 4 was the first season without co-creator Vince Gilligan writing, although he continued to direct.[3]
  • Season 4 was the only season whose last episode is not directed by one of two showrunners, Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Adam Bernstein, present since the first season of Breaking Bad, lead the closing episode of the season.
  • At the end of the season Jimmy officially begins his journey to becoming Saul Goodman with the reinstatement of his license and the decision to practice under another name.
  • This is the only season in the Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul universe to feature Giancarlo Esposito as Gustavo Fring in every episode.

Promotional Photos[]

Cast photos[]

Character Portraits[]

First Look[]

Exclusive First Look[]

Videos[]

Teaser/Trailer[]

Sneak Peek[]

Featurette[]

Awards and nominations[]

Ceremony Category Recipients Result
American Film Institute Awards 2018 Top 10 Television Programs of the year Better Call Saul Won
9th Critics' Choice Television Awards Program of the Year Better Call Saul Nominated
Best Actor in a Drama Series Bob Odenkirk Nominated
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Rhea Seehorn Nominated
Producers Guild of America Awards 2018 Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama Better Call Saul Nominated
69th American Cinema Editors Eddie Awards Best Edited Drama Series for Commercial Television Skip Macdonald ("Something Stupid") Nominated
Chris McCaleb ("Winner") Nominated
23rd Satellite Awards Best Actor in a Drama / Genre Series Bob Odenkirk Nominated
71st Writers Guild of America Awards Drama Series Better Call Saul Nominated
25th Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series Bob Odenkirk Nominated
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Jonathan Banks, Rainer Bock, Ray Campbell, Giancarlo Esposito, Michael Mando, Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn Nominated
55th Cinema Audio Society Awards Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Series – One Hour Phillip W. Palmer, Larry B. Benjamin, Kevin Valentine, Chris Navarro and Stacey Q. Michaels ("Talk") Nominated
35th TCA Awards Outstanding Achievement in Drama Better Call Saul Won
45th Saturn Awards Best Action-Thriller Television Series Better Call Saul Won
Best Supporting Actor on a Television Series Jonathan Banks Nominated
Best Supporting Actress on a Television Series Rhea Seehorn Nominated
Best Guest-Starring Performance on a Television Series Rainer Bock Nominated
71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series Michael McKean ("Winner") Nominated
Outstanding Music Supervision Thomas Golubić ("Something Stupid") Nominated
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One-Hour) Kurt Nicholas Forshager, Kathryn Madsen, Mark Cookson, Matt Temple, Jane Boegel-Koch, Jason Newman, Jeff Cranford and Gregg Barbanell ("Talk") Nominated
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour) Larry Benjamin, Kevin Valentine and Phillip W. Palmer ("Talk") Nominated
71st Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Drama Series Better Call Saul Nominated
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Bob Odenkirk Nominated
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Jonathan Banks Nominated
Giancarlo Esposito Nominated
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series Thomas Schnauz & Peter Gould ("Winner") Nominated
2019 Gold Derby Awards Best Drama Series Better Call Saul Nominated
Best Drama Actor Bob Odenkirk Nominated
Best Drama Supporting Actor Jonathan Banks Nominated
Best Drama Supporting Actress Rhea Seehorn Nominated
Best Drama Guest Actor Michael McKean Nominated
2020 Guild of Music Supervisors Awards Best Song Written and/or Recorded for Television C. Carson Parks, Lola Marsh, and Thomas Golubić Won
23rd Art Directors Guild Awards Excellence in Production Design for a One-Hour Contemporary Single-Camera Series Judy Rhee ("Piñata",  "Coushatta") Nominated
Golden Reel Awards 2019 Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Dialogue and ADR for Episodic Short Form Broadcast Media Kurt Nicholas Forshager, Kathryn Madsen, and Jane Boegel ("Talk") Nominated
Kurt Nicholas Forshager, Kathryn Madsen, and Jane Boegel ("Winner") Nominated

Notes[]

Better Call Saul Seasons
BCS S1 Nav BCS S2 Nav BCS S3 Nav BCS S4 Nav BCS S5 Nav BCS S6 Nav
Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 Season 6
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