Better Call Saul Episode 1.04 Hero

In a flashback, Jimmy stumbles out of a bar in Cicero, Illinois with his new friend Stevie, a fellow patron looking to keep the party going strong. As they walk through an alley to the next bar, Stevie asks Jimmy his name. Jimmy tells him that it's "Saul Goodman," a play on the phrase "It's all good, man." Stevie doesn't believe him, but before he can question Jimmy further, he notices a wallet on the ground. It's stuffed with more than $1000 in cash, and its drunken owner is lying semi-conscious nearby. Stevie offers to split the contents of the wallet evenly with his new pal, but then Jimmy discovers the inebriated man is sporting an expensive Rolex. Thinking the watch is worth several thousand dollars, Stevie persuades Jimmy to let him keep the Rolex in exchange for all the cash in the wallet, plus an additional $580 of his own money.Stevie snatches the watch, then sprints away before Jimmy can change his mind. "So long, sucker!" he shouts, thinking Jimmy got the raw end of the deal. As soon as Stevie is out of sight, the "drunk" man stands up, revealing himself to be Jimmy's partner in crime. The scam artists celebrate: they just traded a cheap fake Rolex for nearly $600.

Back to the present at the Kettleman family campsite: The Kettlemans try to bribe Jimmy into keeping their embezzlement a secret. Ethical Jimmy insists that he cannot accept a bribe, but offers instead that he could accept payment for his services as their lawyer. Mrs. Kettleman declines, explaining sheepishly, "You're the kind of lawyer guilty people hire." Jimmy deflates, his hands still clutching the Kettlemans' ill-gotten gains.

As he drives into the courthouse parking lot the next day, Jimmy stops to thank Mike for his advice about the missing family. Inside the courthouse, Nacho is finally released from custody. He's convinced that it was Jimmy's fault that he was arrested, and threatens: "You ratted on me. There will be consequences." An infuriated Jimmy counters that Nacho was careless and gave the cops abundant probable cause to arrest him: Nacho can only blame himself that he never cleaned the blood out of his van, and that the Kettlemans' neighbor caught sight of him casing the house.

Back in his office, Jimmy sits pensively at his desk. He pulls forward a stack of cash: He took the Kettlemans' bribe! Inventing a myriad of fake accounting expenses, Jimmy justifies the money to himself. "Upon this rock I will build my church," he proclaims quietly.

Newly-flush Jimmy's first order of business is a makeover. He goes to a tailor to have measurements taken for a bespoke suit, then heads back to the nail salon to debate hair color options with Mrs. Nguyen. What's he up to?

A week later, a distracted Hamlin asks Kim to go on a drive with him. He brings her to a parking lot right off the freeway, and she understands immediately what he wants her to see: a gigantic billboard advertising the law offices of James M. McGill. The billboard features a blonde Jimmy grinning suavely in a pinstripe suit, looking nearly identical to Howard Hamlin. Everything about the billboard screams Hamlin, Hamlin and McGill -- right down to a "JMM" logo that mimics the exact color and design of the HHM logo.

That night, Kim brings Jimmy a cease and desist order from Hamlin. Worried that Jimmy is in over his head, she warns him that the next step will be an injunction. Jimmy insists that Hamlin fired the first shot by asking Jimmy not to use his own name.

Refusing to back down, Jimmy argues his case against Hamlin in front of a judge. Unfortunately for Jimmy, the judge rules that the billboard constitutes trademark infringement, and orders it removed within 48 hours.

Before he even leaves the courthouse, Jimmy reaches out to news stations large and small to drum up attention for his "David and Goliath" story, but no one bites. Inspired by a passerby, Jimmy finally finds an audience: a couple of local film students whom he has paid to record his testimony.

The two-man crew haphazardly films Jimmy in front of his billboard, which is being disassembled by a construction worker. As Jimmy emphatically recounts his heartbreaking tale, the worker suddenly slips off the billboard's catwalk and dangles precariously from his safety harness high above the parking lot. Jimmy springs into action. He climbs the construction truck's ladder and heroically pulls the worker to safety -- with the camera crew recording the whole thing. The now-gathered crowd cheers. The worker and Jimmy exchange a surreptitious low-five: The entire accident was staged!At HHM, Hamlin watches televised news coverage of Jimmy's courageous rescue, seeing right through the publicity stunt. "People love a hero," Kim shrugs, hiding a smile.

Jimmy returns to his office after his long day. He rolls up his sleeves and turns to his perpetually-quiet phone: It's time to find out if his scheme worked. He wiggles his fingers for good luck and presses a button. To his delight, the machine declares that Jimmy has seven new messages!

The next morning, Jimmy stops by Chuck's house on his usual grocery run. He picks up Chuck's copy of the Albuquerque Journal from the sidewalk and sees the good news: Jimmy's heroic rescue has been featured in the Metro section! Instead of reveling in the press he's receiving, Jimmy seems apprehensive. He looks to his brother's house. "It's just showmanship, Chuck," Jimmy rehearses. Finally, he leaves the paper in the trunk of his car. Best not to show Chuck -- he wouldn't understand.

Inside, Jimmy unpacks Chuck's groceries and tells his brother about his recent increase in business. Chuck seems a little skeptical, but Jimmy explains that he merely followed Chuck's own advice: "Do good work, and the clients will come." This pacifies Chuck, until he notices that something's off: His copy of the Journal isn't in the stack of newspapers as usual. Jimmy hastily dances around Chuck's questions about the missing paper, and hits the road.

As Jimmy drives away, a suspicious Chuck peers out his window and spots copies of the Journal in his neighbors' driveways. Chuck grabs some money, wraps himself in his space blanket, and bolts outside. Gritting his teeth in agony as he passes beneath some power lines, he races across the street and grabs a paper resting on a neighbor's driveway. Chuck is no thief; he leaves $5 as payment before retreating to safety.

Back inside his house, Chuck opens the paper and discovers the article about Jimmy's heroics. Dismayed, he withdraws back inside his space blanket. Is this the return of Slippin' Jimmy?