Better Call Saul Premiere Part 2 – ‘Mijo’ Plot Summary:
Struggling lawyer Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) hires two skateboarders to scam a woman into a lawsuit. Unfortunately for ‘Slippin Jimmy,’ the skateboarders tried to rip-off the wrong woman. It turns out that the person driving the car was none other than the grandmother of the nefarious drug lord, Tuco (Raymond Cruz).
Immediately following the events of that insane twist ending from the pilot episode, Better Call Saul returned with a brand new episode on its regularly scheduled day and time. The episode begins with the twin skateboards following the elderly Mexican woman into her home, but this time the audience is seeing it from the prospective of inside her house. The elderly woman tells Tuco, her grandson, that she hit one of the men with her car and that they say she’s in trouble. After consoling her, Tuco tells her to go upstairs and put the TV on. Tuco then proceeds to beat the crap out of the twin skateboarders with the grandmother’s walking stick. When Jimmy eventually shows up, Tuco puts a gun in his face and makes him sit down and explain the situation.
The reason an entire show about Saul Goodman works is because of the amazing performance that Bob Odenkirk gives in every scene. When Jimmy is explaining to Tuco why these two guys were terrorizing his grandmother you can hear the desperation in McGill’s voice, but he never looses his lawyer charm or charisma. This works especially later in the episode when it appears that Tuco and his gang are going to murder McGill and twins, Jimmy uses his negotiating skills to bring the twins sentence down from death to a broken leg (well two broken legs).
One thing to note is Raymond Cruz’s brilliant performance as Tuco. We see a different side to the crazy drugged-up murderer from Breaking Bad. He seems very calm and colleced in the beginning of the episode when he is interrogating Jimmy; it’s only later in the desert scene when we see the first glimpse of Tuco’s erratic behavior.
After nearly escaping death, Jimmy goes back to taking public defender cases and living paycheck to paycheck. It isn’t until the end of the episode where Jimmy get’s his first client who just so happens to be the gang member that saved Jimmy from Tuco’s wrath. How will Jimmy help him get his hands on the million dollars that Jimmy’s aspiring client stole? Only time and the rest of this season will tell, but if it’s anything like the first two episodes it’s going to be one hell of a ride.
Rating 9/10
Better Call Saul airs Monday nights on AMC.
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Al Mannarino is the managing editor for Pop-Break. He is also host of the News Over Brews Podcast, Loot Care Unboxed, Backstage Break, and the producer of Behind the Brews. He graduated Rowan University with a degree in Radio/TV/Film & History and is currently a Promotions Assistant for Clear Channel Media + Entertainment. When he isn’t writing he is either trying to build his own TARDIS or taking a nap. Follow him on Twitter: @almannarino
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