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Depressed? No, no, no. I love being a vet. Look over there, see that? That's what it's all about. Animals are my life. It's this other stuff that's getting to be too much, no offense.
― Caldera to Jimmy McGill talking about his job. [src]

Dr. Caldera is a veterinarian and criminal who provides illegal contacts and work for his clients. Apart from running a legitimate veterinary clinic in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Caldera acts as an intermediary, or "fixer", matching prospective clients with providers of illegal services ranging from protection and bodyguard jobs, burglary, theft, obtaining military-grade hardware, intimidation and assassination. His contacts include Mike Ehrmantraut, Jimmy McGill, Daniel Wormald, Nacho Varga, Huell Babineaux, Patrick Kuby, an unidentified loan shark and Ed Galbraith, the Disappearer.

Additionally, Caldera uses his expertise as a veterinarian and access to pharmaceuticals to provide discreet medical treatment to his contacts for injuries such as gunshot wounds that would draw attention from law enforcement if the victim went to a real hospital. When Mike Ehrmantraut first arrived in Albuquerque, Caldera acted as Mike's initial liaison with Albuquerque's criminal underworld, supplying him with illegitimate work and helping him begin his criminal career. When Caldera retires from the criminal business, he sells his notebook of contacts to Jimmy McGill.

History[]

Better Call Saul[]

Season 1[]

With a bullet wound in his shoulder, Mike relies on a streetwise taxi driver to help him find someone who can stitch it up without asking any questions, which leads him to Caldera. After offering him different types of pain killers, Caldera offers to help Mike find work. Mike declines, having put his dark days behind him. ("Five-O")

Mike visits Caldera once again, and has him examine a shelter dog he adopted. While there for the dog's examination, Mike asks the vet whether he still has the "work" available to which he previously alluded. ("RICO")

Season 2[]

Mike visits Caldera for the third time to inquire about additional work. Caldera offers him a low-paying bodyguard job, but Mike requires more money. ā€œYou want next-level pay? Youā€™ve got to do next-level work,ā€ Caldera responds, mentioning that he knows a loan shark in need of an enforcer. Mike refuses to do any work requiring him to break legs, and settles for the bodyguard job instead. Later, Caldera calls Mike and offers him a ā€œnext-levelā€ job from a guy specifically requesting Mike. ("Amarillo")

Season 3[]

After finding out he is being followed, Mike has Caldera meet him in a secret location in the middle of the night to help him find a tracking device of his own. He charges Mike double for the "after hours house call", and asks about whether or not his dog is being cared for properly. ("Mabel")

Jimmy brings a cheap goldfish in a bag as a cover to see Caldera, who chastises Jimmy for not having enough oxygen in the bag. Jimmy asks Caldera for his assistance in finding a professional pickpocket, and they eventually settle on Huell Babineaux. ("Chicanery")

Season 4[]

At Caldera's office while looking for someone to steal a valuable Hummel figurine from Neff Copiers, a frustrated Jimmy waits for Caldera to finish a cell phone call in an adjacent room. Jimmy barges into the room and Caldera tells him that his contact is not interested in the job. Despite Caldera's protests, Jimmy breaks protocol by taking the phone and talking to the contact directly, managing to set up a meeting. He leaves Caldera's office with his goldfish and passes Leonel as he walks out the door.

The Cousins enlist Caldera into stitching up a delirious Nacho, driving both of them to a disused Jiffy Lube garage to perform clandestine surgery. After the life-saving procedure, Nacho wakes up to find that Caldera has set up a blood transfusion between him and Marco. Caldera informs Nacho that he had to leave the bullet in his shoulder, advises him to visit doctors with imaging equipment, and gives him instructions on properly healing his injuries. He further tells Nacho that he never wants to see him again, as he doesn't want to get caught up in the business of the cartel. ("Something Beautiful")

Season 6[]

Jimmy McGill and Kim Wexler enlist Caldera's help for their plan against Howard Hamlin by having Caldera give Jimmy a drug that dilates his eyes. Caldera reveals that he's grown tired of the criminal lifestyle rather than just being a vet which is what he truly loves. As a result, Caldera is retiring from the criminal lifestyle soon and leaving town to focus on just being a vet, selling his black notebook with all of his criminal contacts before he goes. At Jimmy's request, Caldera allows him and Kim to take a look. The book is coded and contains a business card for Best Quality Vacuum, revealing that Caldera has connections to Ed Galbraith, the Disappearer. Jimmy is incredulous that Caldera is walking away from all of the money that his contacts offer him, but Kim is more understanding. ("Axe and Grind")

Criminal contacts[]

Better Call Saul[]

Episodes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5
Season 6

Trivia[]

  • As revealed in Better Call Saul, Caldera is the original source of some of Saul Goodman's major contacts, including Huell Babineaux, Danny, Ira and Ed Galbraith.
  • Caldera's criminal contact book is amongst the items repossessed in the flashforward in "Wine and Roses", suggesting that Saul was the one to ultimately obtain it from him.
    • The criminal contact book given to Saul by Caldera was seemingly decoded by a reddit user named AsuranFish, who used the characters within the black book to break down the contacts and crack the cipher Alphabet used in the creation of the book and contact information. The decoded contacts include some of Saul Goodman's "A-Team", including Huell Babineaux, Patrick Kuby, and other criminal contacts who eventually worked with Mike Ehrmantraut.[1]

References[]

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