Off Brand

"Off Brand" is the sixth episode of the third season of the AMC television series Better Call Saul, the spinoff series of Breaking Bad. The episode aired on May 15, 2017.

Plot

Teaser

At the restaurant where Tuco used to do business, Nacho collects drug money from various dealers as Hector Salamanca reads a newspaper behind him. Domingo "Krazy-8" Molina arrives to deliver his payments but Nacho discovers he comes up short. The former promises that he will make it up the following week and leaves. However, at Hector's goading, Nacho is forced to drag him back to the restaurant and beat him up. That night, while working at his father's shop, Nacho seems troubled and accidentally injures himself with a sewing machine.

Plot

Kim makes her closing argument before the New Mexico Bar Association, arguing that Jimmy has made good contributions to society through his elder law practice. She further argues that Jimmy had cared for his brother. Meanwhile, Rebecca takes a taxi to Chuck's house, but a devastated Chuck does not answer the door. The state bar rules to suspend Jimmy's law license for a year.

While Jimmy and Kim celebrate the verdict at Wexler-McGill, Rebecca drops by the office, hoping to get Jimmy to have Chuck open his door. He refuses to get involved, and when Rebecca says that Jimmy lied to her about wanting to help Chuck, he coldly says that he told the truth about Chuck having problems and needing her help and that's all he wanted to say. Rebecca says Chuck is Jimmy's brother and Jimmy says "Not anymore, he's not." Rebecca angrily says Chuck was right about Jimmy and leaves after bitterly telling him and Kim to "enjoy your champagne". Jimmy isn't moved by this but Kim looks upset.

Mike accompanies Stacey to a church support group, where she talks about how she and Kaylee are dealing with Matt's death. Outside, Stacey tells Mike that she has volunteered him to help build a playground, recounting a story Matt told her about helping Mike pour concrete for his garage. Meanwhile, Chuck reluctantly lets Howard into the house. Howard says the bar hearing was a success and tries to dissuade Chuck from further pursuing Jimmy, saying Jimmy is not worth any more of his time or effort. Chuck seemingly agrees and toasts with Howard to new beginnings. After Howard leaves, Chuck removes the battery from his tape recorder and clutches it.

Jimmy and Francesca call all of his clients to inform them of his one-year "sabbatical". Realizing that he cannot air new commercials while under suspension, Jimmy rushes to contact a local TV station to pull it off the air. Because he pulled out of his station's contract early, Jimmy is out $4,000 and must figure out what to do with his remaining television commercial slots.

Jimmy approaches the owners of a carpet store, pitching to shoot a commercial for their business on a cheap budget and broadcast for free. The owners briefly consider the offer, but balk when Jimmy explains that he has to shoot the commercial after 15 minutes. When Jimmy informs Joey's film crew of the news, he is struck with inspiration after the make-up artist suggests that he shoot a commercial for himself. Jimmy and the film crew drive to the TV station to shoot an impromptu ad in front of nearby antennas and satellite dishes.

At the Los Pollos Hermanos chicken farm, a truck arrives to drop off restaurant supplies, after which Victor and Tyrus take out several bags of cocaine. They bring it to Nacho and Arturo but when the former takes six bags instead of five, Victor pulls a gun to his head. When Nacho explains that Hector is expecting six, Tyrus calls Gus by cell phone, who says to give it to him. Gus is revealed to be inspecting an industrial laundry facility that is for sale. After browsing the place, he steps into a car driven by Lydia Rodarte-Quayle and tells her that "it could work".

Wearing his space blanket, Chuck struggles to walk through the brightly-lit downtown Albuquerque, hoping to use a payphone to contact Dr. Cruz , but is told to leave a message.

Back at the restaurant, Nacho tells Hector about his encounter with Gus's men. Hector tells Nacho that he plans to use his father's upholstery shop as a new front business. However, Nacho refuses, telling Hector that his father is a simple man. When he learns that Tuco knifed an inmate, Hector is outraged and gets into a coughing fit, spilling his medication before leaving. Nacho notices a pill on the floor and hides it.

At Kim's place, Jimmy explains his new business plan: to air a "commercial for commercials," offering the services of himself and his film crew to shoot ads for small businesses and putting them on the remaining airtime in his contract from the TV station. Jimmy shows Kim a videotape of the tacky commercial, in which he wears a disguise and uses the name "Saul Goodman". Kim, taken aback, notes that Saul has "a lot of energy", but Jimmy says that it's "just a name".

Production

The episode was directed by Keith Gordon and written by Ann Cherkis, who previously wrote the season 2 episode "Rebecca".

Laura Fraser briefly reprises her Breaking Bad role as Lydia Rodarte-Quayle, Gus's business associate. In a Q&A with AMC, Fraser distinguished of the show's version of Lydia from that of Breaking Bad's remarking "She hasn’t started unraveling. She feels really secure and confident in her place in the world, and she even experiences moments of happiness and contentment. She’s ambitious and enjoying her profession. She still has this air of irritability that betrays her genuine comfort levels, but she hasn’t yet started to fray." ^[1]

Reception

Ratings

Upon airing, this episode was watched by 1.72 million American viewers and received an 18-49 rating of 0.6 dipping one-tenth from a 0.7 in the previous week.^[2] With Live+7 viewing factored in, the episode had an overall audience of 4.19 million viewers, and a 1.7 18-49 rating.^[3]

Critical reception

The episode received positive reviews. On the site Rotten Tomatoes, it received a 100% rating with an average score of 8.4/10 based on 10 reviews. The site consensus reads "Off Brand" adds another well-written, solidly crafted chapter to Better Call Saul's terrific third season -- as well as a reminder that even the show's transitional episodes are compelling."^[4]

References

External links

• "Off Brand" at AMC
• "Off Brand" on IMDb
• "Off Brand" at TV.com