Better Call Saul Review: “Nacho” (Season 1, Episode 3)

On the phone with Kim early in the episode, Jimmy tells her that he thinks the Kettlemans could be in danger, without revealing much about where that risk comes from. “I’m thinking out loud,” he tells her. “I’m not spinning thoughts.” While we know of the future Saul as a salesman and a brilliant improviser, the present Jimmy McGill is still hesitant to jump right into deep water with dangerous people. He does form a small alliance, though, with Mike, who finally makes his way out from deadpan stares in the tollbooth to show off his arm-snapping strength on the sore Jimmy. However, the tough guy and future cleaner sees a bit of nobility in the lawyer. He even gives Jimmy a bit of advice he learned from his days as a cop: “Everyone expects people to run, but it’s human nature to be close to home.”

With his responsibilities multiplied and loyalties divided, Jimmy still lacks the confidence we have come to expect from future installments. Episode writer Thomas Schnauz loves adding spurts of comic relief throughout “Nacho,” like the cardboard tube Jimmy uses to disguise his voice on the phone with the Kettlemans or the clanging quarters he keeps dropping when trying to get a hold of Nacho on a pay phone. Still, the touches of levity are less frequent than a show about the motor-mouthed Saul Goodman would indicate.

Meanwhile, just as Breaking Bad did, Better Call Saul is making a phenomenal use of the arid desert landscape just outside of Albuquerque. The dryness and the harsh sunshine of the environment seem to choke Jimmy up when he finally decides to investigate whether the Kettlemans really did “kidnap themselves.” He finds them rather easily, hearing the parents doing a rendition of “Bingo” for their kids in a tent a day’s walk from their spacious home. (Along with the cloying “Team Kettleman” answering machine message, it goes to show how the sunny and optimistic side of the family is just a cover for their lewd financial dealings.)

Just as Vince Gilligan’s previous series often did, “Nacho” leaves off on a wry, intriguing note. Now that the Kettlemans have, literally, ripped the case involving their criminal actions wide open, Jimmy should likely start siding with Nacho. Nervetheless, with his future as a close associate to shady criminals in mind, there’s a chance Jimmy could still try to work his magic with the county treasurer’s family.

Just like its precursor series, Better Call Saul is starting strong and giving its beleaguered protagonist more complex scenarios to deal with each week. The discovery at the episode’s end places Jimmy in the midst of a lot of knowledge very quickly, and now he has to figure out which side to represent. Whichever client he takes, Jimmy is slowly turning into the man who is a criminal lawyer, in more ways than one. Expect the man who will be Saul Goodman to come into clearer focus and pop up in a few more close-ups in future installments.