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Mijo (Better Call Saul)

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"Mijo (Better Call Saul)"

"Mijo" is the second episode of the first season of Better Call Saul, the spinoff series of Breaking Bad. The episode aired on February 9, 2015, one day after the series premiere. The episode was written by series creator Peter Gould, and was directed by Michelle MacLaren. The title refers to the Spanish term of endearment mijo [ˈmi.xo], a contraction of mi hijo ("my son").

Plot

While Tuco Salamanca is preparing salsa in his kitchen, his grandmother returns home followed by Cal and Lars. The twins, irate, begin to adamantly state the seriousness of the injury caused by the grandmother's hit and run. They begin to argue loudly and insult Tuco's grandmother, which agitates him. After sending her upstairs, Tuco reaches for a cane and violently beats the twins unconscious. After arranging for his henchmen, Ignacio "Nacho" Varga, No-Doze and Gonzo to pick up the twins with their van, Tuco answers his front door with a gun, dragging Jimmy McGill inside.

Under interrogation, Jimmy insists that he did not target Tuco's grandmother. He attempts to barter with Tuco to save himself and the twins. Just as Tuco agrees to free them, one of the brothers immediately outs Jimmy's role in the scam. Enraged, Tuco takes Jimmy and the twins, bound and gagged with duct tape, to the desert to question him further. Jimmy tells Tuco he's a lawyer, but when Tuco doesn't believe him and threatens to cut off his finger with pruning shears, Jimmy desperately claims he's an FBI agent, to satisfy Tuco. Nacho is suspicious of this answer, and when he threatens Jimmy, he changes his story back to the truth - he is a lawyer who intended to scam the Kettlemans. Nacho convinces Tuco this is actually the true version, and Tuco frees Jimmy, but moves to kill Cal and Lars in revenge for insulting his grandmother. Jimmy manages to convince Tuco to spare their lives, and talks him into merely breaking one leg on each of the brothers to make an example of them.

After dropping off Cal and Lars at the hospital, Jimmy goes on a date with a woman in a bar. Jimmy, traumatized from witnessing Tuco's maiming of the twins, is distracted by a customer snapping breadsticks. Jimmy excuses himself and vomits in the bathroom. After an intoxicated Jimmy arrives at Chuck's house and collapses on his couch, Chuck - who claims to suffer from extreme electromagnetic hypersensitivity - throws Jimmy's cell phone into the yard. The following morning, Chuck confronts Jimmy after seeing the brothers' hospital bills. Jimmy reassures Chuck that he isn't going back to being "Slippin' Jimmy" - in other words, he is not scamming people on this occasion.

After several days in court, Jimmy returns to his office and sees that he still has no messages. However, one of the beauty salon employees tells him that a client has arrived. The client turns out to be Nacho, who tells Jimmy that he wants to take the $1.6 million stolen by the Kettlemans in exchange for a finder's fee. Jimmy insists that he is a lawyer, not a criminal. Nacho disregards this, and writes his number on one of Jimmy's matchbooks. He reminds Jimmy that if he tells anyone about their conversation, he will be killed. Nacho exits the nail salon as the episode ends.

Production

The episode was written by series co-creator and executive producer Peter Gould, who originally wrote the episode that introduced Saul Goodman in the second season of Breaking Bad. It was directed by Michelle MacLaren, the most prolific director for Breaking Bad, directing 11 episodes and also served as an executive producer.[1][2]

Reception

Upon moving to its regular Monday slot, the episode received 3.4 million viewers and a 1.6 rating among adults 18-49.[3] This equated to a 50 percent drop in viewers, along with a 52 percent decline in the demographic.[4]

The episode received positive reviews from critics. Erik Kain of Forbes said that despite hating the long and drawn-out restaurant scene, the overall episode was good. Despite this he felt that he wasn't "sitting nearly as close to the edge of my seat [as in Breaking Bad]—but it’s entertaining and funny and still beautifully shot, acted, and written."[5] David Segal of The New York Times, in a positive review, noted that his favourite part of the episode "is the elaborate, jaunty montage of Jimmy at court, which pays tribute to the elaborate, jaunty montage in Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz, complete with the same Vivaldi concerto and “It’s showtime!” catchphrase.[6]

Catherine Gee of The Telegraph gave the episode 4 out of 5 stars, saying:

We got to see Jimmy McGill... truly show off his negotiating skills when haggling over the twins’ fate. And it is in the deft hands of the episode’s writer and co-creator Peter Gould that we got to indulge in a light chuckle over whether McGill can talk Tuco down from a flaying to a leg-breaking while avoiding the possible detours of eye-gouging and tongue-ripping. [7]

Roth Cornet of IGN gave the episode a 9 out of 10, saying "Better Call Saul hit the ground running with its second episode; setting the stage for a series that is part morality play, part Greek tragedy (replete with a foregone and less than savory conclusion) and part love letter to great performers – whatever walk of life they happen to be on."[8] Richard Vine of The Guardian was also positive in his view. In particular he felt that "The best thing to come out of the desert is our introduction to Nacho Varga. Tuco’s far more reasonable associate has sized up the situation and tracked Jimmy down to his “office”".[9] The Atlantic named "Mijo" one of the best television episodes of 2015.[10]

References

  1. ^ Mohamed, Stefan (February 11, 2015). "Better Call Saul episode 2 review: Mijo". Den of Geek. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  2. ^ Couch, Aaron (February 10, 2015). "'Better Call Saul's' Michelle MacLaren on Shooting at Iconic 'Bad' Location". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  3. ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (February 10, 2015). "Monday Cable Ratings: 'Better Call Saul' Tops Night + 'Love & Hip-Hop', 'Monday Night RAW', 'Black Ink Crew' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  4. ^ Hibberd, James (February 10, 2015). "'Better Call Saul' ratings drop from record premiere". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  5. ^ Kain, Erik (February 10, 2015). "'Better Call Saul' Season 1, Episode 2 Review: Dios Mijo". Forbes. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  6. ^ Segal, David (February 10, 2015). "'Better Call Saul' Recap: Jimmy's Step Toward the Netherworld". The New York Times. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  7. ^ Gee, Catherine (February 10, 2015). "Better Call Saul: Mijo, episode two, review: 'grimace-inducing violence'". The Telegraph. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  8. ^ Cornet, Roth (February 9, 2015). "Better Call Saul: "Mijo" Review". IGN. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  9. ^ Vine, Richard (February 10, 2015). "Better Call Saul recap: season one episode two". The Guardian. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  10. ^ "The Best Television Episodes of 2015". The Atlantic.
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