“I’m not doing this to punish you.” (Oh shut UP, Chuck.)
“Sunk Costs”, the third episode of Better Call Saul‘s third season, picks up right where last week left off: in the desert. A Los Pollos Hermanos truck drives through the desert and under a pair of shoes hanging from a wire, which evidently drop from their spot. At present, Mike (Jonathan Banks) answers the phone ringing in the middle of the road, and Gus (Giancarlo Esposito) tells him two cars will arrive momentarily and not to touch his guns. Gus confronts Mike about his targeting of Hector, and clarifies that it’s not in his best interest for Hector to die… yet. Mike tells Gus that he’s not done with Hector Salamanca, and Gus tells him that he wouldn’t mind if Mike kept robbing their trucks, as they are in competition.
At Chuck’s house, a deflated Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) sits on the curb and lights up a cigarette. He tells his secretary to reschedule all of his appointments, and he waits for the police to arrive. Chuck (Michael McKean) tries to tell Jimmy that he’s saving him and he’ll be ready to help him fight the good fight when he comes around, but Jimmy doesn’t buy it. He tells Chuck that when this electromagnetic illness does get the better of him, he won’t be there – Chuck will die alone. As Jimmy is booked at the jail, a fabulous music montage ensues, and he encounters his old prosecutor buddy, who can’t help but make a remark about how the mighty have fallen. Back at Wexler/McGill, Kim (Rhea Seehorn) gets her own musical montage as she gets ready and showers at the gym, and is soon visited by Ernesto, who tells her that he was fired by Chuck… and where Jimmy is.
Jimmy appears in court and a familiar judge balks at the fact that he’s in this predicament due to a family altercation. As he prepares to represent himself, Kim interjects and attempts to assert herself as his legal counsel. Jimmy refuses, enters a plea of not guilty, and has his bond set at $2,500. He returns to the office and tells Kim everything, and all Kim can manage is an “okay” when Jimmy says he’ll work his way out of this situation.
Meanwhile, Mike heads to a doctor’s office where he retrieves a package and heads back out to the desert, where he puts a package in a pair of red sneakers like the ones that fell earlier. After a few failed attempts, he gets them on the wire above, and heads to a stake-out. He watches Hector’s truck come by and he fires several shots into the air, scaring the two men. Eventually he shoots at the sneakers, which releases what appears to be a stream of cocaine, and it coats the truck. This is discovered at the border, where they are apprehended by police.
At the courthouse, Jimmy finds out that no one that he knows from the Albuquerque office is going to take his case, and they’re bringing an outside prosecutor in. This prosecutor visits Chuck and recounts the events with him, and soon it’s clear that Chuck has a deal in mind. Jimmy reveals this deal to Kim back at the office as they share a cigarette; he’s been offered a pre-prosecution diversion, which entails him giving a written confession to all of his charges in exchange for no trial. While it initially seems like a good deal, it soon becomes clear that Chuck wants it this way so that the confession to the felony causes Jimmy to have his law license revoked. Chuck has him boxed in; no matter what path Jimmy takes, he has to face the Bar Association and risk disbarment. Kim tells him he’s not alone – they’ll fight this together, and Chuck can shove that PPD right up his ass. It’s a lovely moment, watching the duo join hands. Let’s hope that Kim has some tricks up her sleeve…
So what Breaking Bad Easter eggs did Saul hide away for us in “Sunk Costs”? Let’s take a look.
What do we have?
When Gus goes to meet Mike, he is flanked by Victor (who we met last week) and another man.
Seem familiar?
That’s Tyrus Kitt, who steps in as Gus’ right-hand man after Victor dies. He’s first seen in Breaking Bad Season 4, Episode 2, “Thirty-Eight Snub“.
What do we have?
Gus tells Mike that it’s not in his best interest for Hector Salamanca to die… at this time.
Sound familiar?
Gus goes to see Hector in Breaking Bad Season 4, Episode 13, “Face Off“, with the intention of killing him, but we know how that goes…
A few other stray observations – one Reddit user noted that the opening scene of this week’s episode was actually a flash-forward to Los Pollos Hermanos taking the same route – the shoes we see fall are actually the shoes Mike puts there to begin with (so Gus has seemingly gained control over this turf, as possibly seen in Breaking Bad Season 4, Episode 4, “Bullet Points“.) It looks like we might have some more familiar friends return next week, too…
That’s all for “Sunk Costs”, folks! Tune in next week for more mischief from Mr. McGill!
(Orange suits Jimmy surprisingly well…)
