Slip (''Better Call Saul'')

"Slip" is the eighth episode of the third season of the AMC television series Better Call Saul, the spinoff series of Breaking Bad. The episode aired on June 5, 2017.

Plot

Teaser

In a flashback, Jimmy and Marco break into the McGills' abandoned store in Cicero, Illinois. Hoping to use an Indian-head penny for a con game, Jimmy recovers his childhood coin collection, hidden in an old Band-Aid box inside the ceiling. He explains that he started his collection of curious-looking coins after his father's futile attempt to return a rare coin to its owner. Before they leave, Jimmy takes the Band-Aid box.

Plot

Mike, bringing a metal detector and a shovel, drives out to the site of the ice cream truck robbery. Using information supplied by Nacho, he searches and digs holes for several hours until he finds the body of the good Samaritan killed by Hector. He reports his find to the police anonymously.

At his home, Chuck shares journals of his depreciating pain levels with Dr. Cruz, hoping to get back to society once more. Dr. Cruz advises him that he should not get too excited and not to push himself too far. Chuck explains he had an epiphany that caused him to realize his EHS may be a mental illness after an embarrassing public incident and he hopes to confront his delusion. He is later able to go to a nearby supermarket and buy groceries on his own, indicating that his condition is getting better. However, he is greeted by Howard, who informs him that there is an issue with Chuck's malpractice insurance.

After the successful musical store commercial, Jimmy gets into a disagreement with his clients about the pricing. When the store owners refuse to pay him, Jimmy stages a "slip and fall" con, intentionally slipping on a drumstick and injuring himself in the process. Meanwhile, Kim is having lunch with Paige and Kevin when the party is greeted by Howard. She tries to pay back her law school loans to Howard, though he refuses and coldly accuses her of betraying the firm, to which Kim replies that he should not have tried to cover up Chuck's condition.

Kim returns to the office to find Jimmy with his half of the rent, indicating he used the "slip and fall" to coerce the guitar shop into paying him off. Despite Jimmy's assurances, Kim still expresses doubts about Jimmy's ability to pay and considers taking on another client. Jimmy later is able to make $700 during his community service, after helping a drug dealer "see his sick child" by threatening the supervisor with a class-action lawsuit.

Nacho puts his plan to kill Hector in motion. He breaks the air conditioning unit, in order for Hector to take off his coat containing his pills. Pretending to have found the money collected from his dealers suspicious-looking, he has Hector look at it while he steals his medication pills. Nacho then switches them with a carefully prepared substitute containing ibuprofen and slips those into Hector's coat pocket.

At night, Mike realizes he cannot spend the remaining $200,000 he stole from Hector without attracting suspicion. He approaches Gus to seek help in laundering the money so that it can be left to his family. Gus warns him that they cannot be publicly associated but nevertheless agrees, warning Mike that the process will be difficult. Both men shake hands.

Production

The episode is directed by Adam Bernstein, who previously directed the season 2 episode "Gloves Off", and written by Heather Marion, who co-wrote the season 2 finale with creator Vince Gilligan. The episode marks the return of Mel Rodriguez as Jimmy's friend Marco Pasternak, after a season-long absence, and Clea DuVall as Dr. Cruz, who last appeared in "Klick".

Reception

Ratings

Upon airing, the episode received 1.633 million American viewers, and an 18–49 rating of 0.5.^[1]

Critical reception

The episode received positive reviews. It holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 9 reviews with an average score 9.0/10. ^[2] Terri Schwartz of IGN gave a 9.2 rating, saying "The acting and direction is top notch in 'Slip,' even if this episode didn't surpass 'Chicanery' as the best episode of the season. It's a strong installment as Season 3 grows closer to the end."^[3] James White of Empire rated the episode 4/5 stars, noting the episode "represents yet another great episode, full of little Saul touches, including two wonderful montages – Mike in the desert, show in time lapse with his metal detector, and Nacho's careful pill preparation – examples of the show's continued ability to make the most mundane actions dramatic and watchable." ^[4]

References

External links

• "Slip" at AMC
• "Slip" on IMDb