“Wow.
You gotta mouth on you”
(Tuco)
In “Uno” we saw life handing
Saul lemons but his sharp lawyer but in “Mijo” we see Saul show off his ability
to, in his own words “turn a death sentence to six months’ probation”
“Mijo” started where “Uno” left
off as the twins talked their way into a world of trouble after the old lady
(who we find out in short order is the grandmother of Breaking Bad alumni Tuco
Salamanca) informs Tuco of the accident but one of the twins makes the mistake
of calling the old lady a “crazy old biznatch” which instantly hit the kill
switch in Tuco who we know from Breaking Bad is not one to take insults or even
perceived slights lightly.
The Tuco presented to us so far
seems a far calmer and sober version than the violent lunatic we saw in Breaking
Bad who took meth in just about every scene we saw him in and killed for little
or no reason. However, it’s not long before we see Tuco’s violent tendencies
get the best of him as after he ushers his distressed grandmother upstairs and
waits till she’s out of sight, he clocks both of the twins unconscious with his
grandmother’s walker after getting sick of the twins disrespectful tone and
constant claims for compensation.
It’s not been a great day for
Saul and it gets worse as he interrupts Tuco in the middle of scrubbing the twin’s
blood out of his grandma’s carpet. We hear Saul knock on the door and as soon
as the door opens he’s greeted with Tuco sticking a gun in his face ushering
him into the house.
After searching Saul, Tuco
offers Saul a seat while pointing his gun right at his face asking him who he
is. Saul, scared out of his mind, pretty much tells Tuco the truth though
leaving a couple of incriminating details. When their discussion is interrupted
by Tuco grandma, Saul notices the “salsa stain” on the carpet he knows full
well isn’t salsa and which instills even more fear in him.
However, despite being petrified,
Saul still manages to stay in full lawyer mode as he manages to talk Tuco into
releasing the twins after but the twins, desperate to find a way out, undo all
of Saul’s good work and incriminate Saul which earned all three of them a trip
to the New Mexico desert.
When we see Saul, the twins,
Tuco and three of his goons in the desert, I instantly perked up and paid
attention as in Breaking Bad trips to the desert accounted for some of the best
television of the last decade as characters either, died, made deals or talked
their way out of the death in the New Mexico desert and this scene in “Mijo was
no different. Trips to the desert in Breaking Bad often came across as a
masterclass in how talk your way out of impending death as Walt and Jesse found
themselves, more often than not, begging for their lives at the end of a gun
and in this episode, Saul showed us he can match Walt’s world class talent for
presenting rational arguments under duress.
Tuco and his crew interrogate
Saul who spills the beans on his original plan to scam his way into getting the
treasurer’s business that had gone woefully wrong but Tuco and his crew don’t
believe him. One of Tuco’s guys makes a trip to the van to take a toolbox which
only makes Saul reiterate his line which Tuco and his crew aren’t buying. Tuco
then takes out pair of sharp looking pliers and motions to cut Saul’s fingers
off which makes Saul talk real fast insisting he’s not a cop.
Tuco still doesn’t believe him
after taking checking his business card. After Tuco cuts slightly into his
fingers and realizing that the truth just might get him killed, Saul starting
singing claiming to be an undercover FBI agent and insist that Tuco lets him go.
Tuco is totally sold that Saul’s a fed but one of his henchmen is not so sure
as he questions “Jeffrey Steel” about the apparent “investigation” but Saul,
working off his wits, is running out of story. Saul’s already proven that he
has a real talent for deception but the BS story about operation “kingbreaker”
runs thin as Tuco’s man borrows the pliers and coldly asks him to tell the
truth. Seeing that his FBI deception isn’t working on Tuco’s savvier henchman,
Saul reverts back to the truth.
Probably thinking two moves
ahead of his less than strategic crew leader, Tuco henchman suggests that Tuco
let’s Saul go. After short exchange where Tuco’s Henchman convinces his boss
that Saul is not FBI agent, he cuts Saul loose reminding him that he knows
where to find him which, as we find out later in the episode, is way sooner
than Saul would like.
As one of Tuco’s other henchman
escorts Saul back to his car, Tuco, undoing his shirt cuffs, bears down on the
twins which prompts Saul into one of great performances of his life as he goes
from creating a BS story about the twins’ mother to talking Tuco down from
gutting, blinding and slitting the twins throat to breaking their legs with by
giving Tuco a small lecture in justice 101: proportionality.
It was truly a great feat to
watch and clearly a great feat for Saul to pull off as the whole ordeal gives
Saul a major shot in arm as he realizes he’s “best lawyer ever” after saving
the twins from a slow and painful death. It was the stand out scene the episode
and arguably the season as it will take something great in future episodes to
top it.
In the last two episodes we’ve
seen Saul’s ability to think on his feet but in “Mijo” his skill to react to
situations quickly made this less of a painful as we watch a signature Gillianesque
montage involving Saul negotiate the daily grind his profession of taking on no
hope clients, an overcharging prosecutor, poor pay and a formidable toll booth
operator an awful lot better than he did in the first episode.
However towards the end of the
montage, we see the daily grind of his job wear him down as the shot in arm
earned from the Tuco situation wears off. In the next scene we see Saul pass
through the nail salon to get to his office which is isn’t much to write about
but what was notable was that the ladies in the shop were much more receptive than
they were in “Uno” as he glided through the shop barely noticed.
Once we’re in his office, we
once again see his hesitation in checking his messages in fear he has none and
once again, his fear are realized. Just before Saul opens up takes a siesta on
his bed cum office sofa, his landlord inform that he has a customer but, as it
turns out, it’s not a customer he’d bargained for. Tuco savvy henchman pays
Saul a visit he’s less than glad to receive and propositions him to rip off the treasurer and his wife which Saul, surprisingly,
rejects swiftly stating that he’s “a lawyer, not a criminal”.
His insistence that he’s not criminal
took me aback as it brought out of me
the same “you’re shitting me” reaction it brought of Tuco’s henchman as it
seemed out of character of a man who has shown he’s prepared to break the law
to get clients. This was the only misstep made so far in the series as Saul in
just two episodes has shown a high level of street smarts that would make Tuco
henchman’s last line about Saul figuring out he’s “in the game” redundant.
Nonetheless, “Mijo” was a great
episode and another sterling performance by Bob Odenkirk who once again shows
he’s a great dramatic as well as comedic actor. More episodes like this and
Better Call Saul just might be as award laden as its predecessor.
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