Better Call Saul Episode 1.03 Nacho

In a flashback, Chuck passes through security at a Chicago jail on the way to visit a client. It's Jimmy, who's been arrested for his latest "Slippin' Jimmy" mischief. Chuck has traveled here from Albuquerque, and hasn't seen his brother in years. Wisecracking Jimmy seems to be in high spirits -- until Chuck makes clear how serious the charges are. Jimmy tears up, begging Chuck to find a legal loophole to help get him out of trouble. Chuck reluctantly agrees, on the condition that Jimmy clean up his act. Jimmy promises that he'll do whatever it takes.

Back to the present: Jimmy, still concerned about Nacho's inquiry from Episode 102, calls Kim in the middle of the night to casually suggest that the Kettlemans -- Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill's newest clients -- could be in danger if word gets out that the $1.6 million missing from the county treasury may be in their possession. When Kim presses him about what he's saying, Jimmy nervously backtracks and ends the call. Still unable to sleep, he drives to a pay phone in the middle of nowhere and places an anonymous call to the Kettlemans, warning them of impending danger.

The next day, Jimmy is leaving court when he receives an urgent call from Kim regarding the Kettlemans. Too rushed to deal with Mike's continuing insistence that he have enough validation stickers, Jimmy reaches inside Mike's booth, pushes the button to open the gate, and floors it. "Screw you, geezer!" he bellows as he speeds away.

Jimmy drives to the Kettlemans' house and finds it swarming with cops. He runs into Howard Hamlin, and learns that the house has been turned upside down and the family has disappeared. Jimmy hastily drives to a pay phone and calls Nacho. He leaves message after message urging Nacho to call him back, but receives no response. Jimmy is about to give up when he notices two tough-looking men heading his way. He tries to hit the road, but his car won't start, so he makes a break for it on foot. The men chase Jimmy down an alley and tackle him, revealing themselves to be local plainclothes detectives. As they cuff Jimmy, they realize exactly why he's been calling Nacho: Jimmy's his lawyer -- or so claims Nacho.

The detectives escort Jimmy to an interrogation room where Nacho is being held in custody. Jimmy brings his "new client" up to speed: A neighbor saw Nacho's van parked in front of the Kettlemans' house and reported the plates to the police. Upon searching the van, the detectives found blood on the floor (actually belonging to Lars and Cal, but identifying it would take weeks) and arrested him. Nacho refutes the charges. His van was at the scene, but only because he was casing the house, planning his future heist.

"You get me outta here. Today. Or you're a dead man," Nacho snarls at Jimmy. If the police uncover evidence of his actual illicit activities during their investigation, Nacho will hold him responsible. A fearful Jimmy exits the interrogation room, insisting to the detectives and Kim that Nacho is innocent. Given the opportunity to look around the crime scene, Jimmy promises he could find proof. Worried about her clients' safety, Kim agrees to bring him to the house.

Jimmy walks through the Kettlemans' ransacked house with Kim and the detectives. As Jimmy tours the room of the Kettlemans' daughter, he notices something odd. "Where's the doll?" Jimmy wonders, pointing out that the seven-year-old is holding a doll in numerous photos -- a doll that is nowhere to be found. Jimmy poses the theory that the family faked their kidnapping: If the little girl took the doll with her, she probably left willingly. The detectives are skeptical, pointing out the Kettlemans' cars are still at the house, and there's no record of the family boarding any planes, buses or trains.

In private, Jimmy admits to Kim that he had suspected Nacho might go after the Kettlemans' money, so he placed an anonymous call to warn the family. He's now afraid that his call could have prompted them to go on the run. Kim believes Jimmy, but refuses to encourage the cops to pursue his theory, because it would further incriminate her own clients in the embezzlement case.

Jimmy returns to the courthouse, where Mike, still stung from Jimmy's departure without proper payment, refuses to open the gate and let him park in the lot. Hot-tempered Jimmy gets out of his car to confront Mike, insulting him and jabbing a finger into his chest. Phlegmatic Mike immediately grabs Jimmy's wrist, spins him around, and face-plants him coolly into the pavement.

At the police station, the detectives working the Kettleman case convince Mike to press assault charges unless Jimmy tells them what Nacho did with the missing family. However, after interacting with these detectives and hearing Jimmy's theory about the Kettlemans kidnapping themselves, Mike changes his mind and drops all charges.

Afterward, Jimmy catches up to Mike in the stairwell to ask him about what just happened. Mike admits that he believes Jimmy's story, and recounts the details of a case he worked during his tenure as a cop in Philadelphia. A bookie was on the run for stealing, and was found living in a foreclosed home just two doors away from his own house. "It's human nature to want to stay close to home," Mike observes, guessing that the Kettlemans probably haven't left Albuquerque.

With the afternoon growing long, Jimmy returns to the family's house, where he notices a decal on their station wagon: a family of stick figures going camping. On a hunch, he heads to their backyard, where he discovers a path that leads into the woods-covered hills. As dusk falls, Jimmy seems to be about to give up his search when he overhears the faint sound of voices singing. It's the Kettlemans, belting out campfire songs from inside a tent.

Jimmy calls Kim to let her know that he's found her clients, then barges into the tent with a hearty "Heeere's Johnny!" The family shrieks in terror, but no-nonsense Jimmy doesn't have any time to waste while Nacho is still stewing in lock-up. He orders them to pack up their gear and go home. The Kettlemans refuse, so Jimmy picks up one of their duffel bags, determined to drag them back down the mountain. Mrs. Kettleman grabs hold of the bag as well, and the two wind up in a tug-of-war. In the struggle, the bag rips open and millions of dollars in cash come tumbling out. The tent falls silent as everyone stares at the stolen fortune. Jimmy gulps, then turns his gaze back to the Kettlemans: This might change everything.