"Mijo" is the second episode of the first season of the American television drama seriesBetter Call Saul, the spinoff series of Breaking Bad. Written by series co-creator Peter Gould and directed by Michelle MacLaren, "Mijo" aired on AMC in the United States on February 9, 2015, one night after the series premiere. Outside of the United States, the episode premiered on streaming service Netflix in several countries. The title refers to the Spanish term of endearmentmijo, a contraction of mi hijo. This episode marks the first appearance of Michael Mando.
Plot
is preparing salsa in his kitchen when his grandmother returns after the run-in with Cal and Lars. Though they accidentally targeted the wrong driver, Cal and Lars follow her home and falsely claim serious injuries from their staged hit-and-run accident. They demand money from Tuco's grandmother and follow her into her house. Tuco sends his grandmother upstairs to her bedroom and then uses her cane to beat Cal and Lars unconscious. He arranges for Ignacio "Nacho" Varga, No-Doze and Gonzo to come with a van to pick up Cal and Lars. Jimmy McGill arrives searching for Cal and Lars, and Tuco answers the front door and drags him inside at gunpoint. Tuco questions Jimmy, who insists that Cal and Lars did not intentionally target Tuco's grandmother. Tuco allows Jimmy to see Cal and Lars, who are tied up in the basement, but when Jimmy removes the gag from one of them, he immediately implicates Jimmy in the phony hit and run scam. Tuco and his men take Jimmy, Cal and Lars to the desert and continue questioning Jimmy. Thinking quickly, Jimmy tells Tuco he's a lawyer, but when Tuco doesn't believe him and threatens to cut off a finger, Jimmy falsely claims he's an FBI agent. Nacho is suspicious and threatens Jimmy again, so Jimmy goes back to admitting the truth—he is a lawyer who intended to scam the Kettlemans. Nacho convinces Tuco this is the truth and that killing a lawyer would attract unwanted attention. Tuco frees Jimmy, but moves to kill Cal and Lars. Jimmy convinces Tuco to spare their lives and talks him into only breaking one leg each as punishment. After bringing Cal and Lars to a hospital, Jimmy meets a woman for a date at a bar. A customer's snapping breadsticks reminds Jimmy of the broken legs Cal and Lars suffered, so he excuses himself and vomits in the bathroom. An intoxicated Jimmy later arrives at Chuck's house and forgets to leave his cellular phone in the mailbox before collapsing on the couch. Due to Chuck's electromagnetic hypersensitivity, he throws Jimmy's cell phone into the yard. The following morning, Chuck admits to seeing the brothers' hospital bill. Jimmy reassures Chuck that he is not going back to the "Slippin' Jimmy" cons he used to run. After several days in court, Jimmy returns to his office and sees that he has no messages. One of the beauty salon employees tells him a client has arrived—Nacho. Nacho tells Jimmy he wants to take the $1.6 million stolen by the Kettlemans, for which he will pay Jimmy a finder's fee. Jimmy insists he is a lawyer, not a criminal. Nacho writes his number on one of Jimmy's matchbooks and tells Jimmy to let him know when Jimmy figures out he is "in the game".
Production
The episode was written by series co-creator and executive producer Peter Gould, who originally wrote the episode that introduced Saul Goodman in the second season of Breaking Bad. It was directed by Michelle MacLaren, the most prolific director for Breaking Bad, directing 11 episodes and also served as an executive producer.
Cultural references
During the episode, there is a montage in which Jimmy's routine is revealed: Grabbing his coffee, defending clients, collecting his check, and his ongoing battle with the parking attendant, Mike. During his routine he always looks in the mirror as states, “It’s showtime, folks!” a line from Bob Fosse's All That Jazz. All That Jazz is about a director and choreographer trying to balance out his work and personal life. The use of the particular line “It’s showtime, folks!” emphasizes the concept that Jimmy really does view this as a performance…and he probably does it 8 times a week like any old Broadway professional.
Reception
Upon moving to its regular Monday slot, the episode received 3.4 million viewers and a 1.6 rating among adults 18-49 in the United States. This equated to a 50 percent drop in viewers, along with a 52 percent decline in the demographic. The episode received positive reviews from critics. Erik Kain of Forbes said that despite hating the long and drawn-out restaurant scene, the overall episode was good. Despite this he felt that he wasn't "sitting nearly as close to the edge of my seat —but it's entertaining and funny and still beautifully shot, acted, and written." David Segal of The New York Times, in a positive review, noted that his favourite part of the episode "is the elaborate, jaunty montage of Jimmy at court, which pays tribute to the elaborate, jaunty montage in Bob Fosse's All That Jazz, complete with the same Vivaldi concerto and "It's showtime!" catchphrase. Catherine Gee of The Telegraph gave the episode 4 out of 5 stars, saying: Roth Cornet of IGN gave the episode a 9 out of 10, saying "Better Call Saul hit the ground running with its second episode; setting the stage for a series that is part morality play, part Greek tragedy and part love letter to great performers—whatever walk of life they happen to be on." Richard Vine of The Guardian was also positive in his view. In particular he felt that "The best thing to come out of the desert is our introduction to Nacho Varga. Tuco's far more reasonable associate has sized up the situation and tracked Jimmy down to his "office"". The Atlantic named "Mijo" one of the best television episodes of 2015. Michael Star of the New York Post gave the episode a 3 out of 4 rating, saying:
