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"Hero" is the fourth episode of the first season of Better Call Saul and the fourth episode of the series altogether.

Summary[]

Teaser[]

Better Call Saul - Hero - 1

In 1992, Jimmy (under the alias "Saul Goodman") and a man named Stevie come across an unconscious man in a Chicago alleyway. Jimmy pokes the man with a stick. He wakes up, flipping the two of them off and taunting them. Frustrated with the man's rudeness, Stevie takes money from his wallet and Jimmy steals his Rolex watch. Stevie offers a trade of the money in exchange for the more valuable Rolex and eventually offers him an additional $580 to bring the total to $1,580. It is later revealed that this was all a scam set up by Jimmy and the "unconscious" man, who is actually Jimmy's longtime friend, Marco Pasternak.

Act I[]

Better Call Saul - Hero - 2

In 2002, Craig and Betsy Kettleman plead with Jimmy not to expose them, offering $30,000 as a bribe that he initially refuses. Jimmy retorts with the option of them hiring him as their lawyer, which is in turn refused by the Kettlemans, who claim that he is "the kind of lawyer guilty people would hire." They refer back to the cash bribe.

The next day, Jimmy thanks Mike for his assistance in solving the Kettlemans' disappearance. As Nacho is released from custody, he discreetly accuses Jimmy of tipping off the family and warns him that he will face "consequences." Jimmy replies that he warned the family for the children's sake, and that Nacho brought his troubles upon himself since he let himself get identified by a neighbor.

At his backroom office, it is revealed that Jimmy took the Kettlemans' bribe as a "retainer." He calculates the fees which he can use to claim the money with, claiming premium rates, travel fees, storage, and other assorted expenses to cover $29,000 of the $30,000 bribe. Staring at the remaining $1,000, Jimmy begins formulating an idea.

Act II[]

Better Call Saul - Hero - 3

The next day, Jimmy purchases a new wardrobe from a local tailor, gets a makeover from Mrs. Nguyen at her beauty salon, and posts a billboard advertisement which shares obvious and deliberate similarities with HHM, presumably out of spite. When Kim confronts Jimmy and presents a cease-and-desist order at Howard's behest, he at first playfully tries to shrug it off until he angrily admits that Howard "fired the first shot" by attempting to force Jimmy to cease using his name for business. Jimmy claims that Howard doesn't appreciating Kim's talent and that she deserves better. Kim warns Jimmy that Howard is preparing an injunction against him, and that this is a fight Jimmy will not be able to win.

Act III[]

Better Call Saul - Hero - 4

Jimmy and Howard argue in a judge's chambers: Jimmy claims to be operating under "fair use", while Howard insists that Jimmy is violating HHM's trademarks. The judge sides with Howard and orders Jimmy to take down the billboard within forty-eight hours. However, Jimmy has been banking on this ruling and begins calling local news outlets in an attempt to cover his predicament as a human interest story.

When the media fails to show interest, Jimmy organizes a video plea, begging for sympathy to his situation. He hires a group of film students from the University of New Mexico (UNM) to shoot a speech in front of the billboard, portraying himself as a victim. During filming, however, the worker who is removing the advertisement slips and falls, held on only by his harness. Jimmy hurries to the man's rescue and pulls him to safety while his film crew and the public watch. It is revealed that the accident was staged by Jimmy and the worker as a publicity stunt. Seeing the incident on the news, Howard and Kim quickly see through the ruse. Due to his newfound popularity, Jimmy receives numerous new consultations.

Act IV[]

BCS 104 Chuck

As Jimmy brings newspapers to Chuck's house, he attempts to hide the Albuquerque Journal, which has covered Jimmy's "rescue" in its Metro section, to keep Chuck from seeing it. Chuck, still oblivious to Jimmy's stunt, congratulates him on his success. He notices the Journal is missing, which Jimmy dismisses. After he leaves, a suspicious Chuck painstakingly hurries to his neighbor's house and collects their copy of the newspaper, leaving $5 as compensation. Returning home, he reads about the story about Jimmy.

Official Photos[]

Trivia[]

  • This is the first episode of Better Call Saul where the "Saul Goodman" alias is used. 
  • Just like the tune Marco hums is Deep Purple's "Smoke On the Water", Jimmy's howls are a reference to another Deep Purple song, "Hush".
  • At the tailor's store, Jimmy checks out an orange shirt. In Breaking Bad he will often wear bright-colored shirts like the aforementioned one.
  • The worker that performs the billboard publicity stunt appeared briefly during "Mijo" as one of Jimmy's clients.
  • The name shown on the Alley Guy's license is Henry Gondorff. This is the same name as the main character of the 1973 caper film The Sting (Gondorff was a once-great con-man hiding from the FBI).
  • When Jimmy takes Chuck's daily groceries out of his trunk, the New York Times headline reads "Israel Acts To Seize Arab Land After Blast; Bush Delays Talk". This edition was published on June 19, 2002, indicating the exact time frame this episode took place. The Wall Street Journal headline that was shown, "Unhappy Returns: IRS Moves To Bring Back Random Audits" was published on June 20, 2002.
  • In the previous episode, Jimmy claims that he is "no hero". In this episode, he stages an incident to portray himself as one.
  • There is a slight anachronism in this episode: the song that plays when Jimmy is relaxing in the nail salon, "Samba Tropical" by Franck Sarkissian, was released in 2011, despite this episode taking place in the early 2000s.

Production[]

Credits[]

Co-Starring

  • Paul Geoffrey as Tailor
  • Eddie J. Fernandez as Billboard Worker
  • Julian Bonfiglio as Phil
  • Rose Liotta as Chuck's Neighbor
  • Staci Robbins as Lady Onlooker
  • Bau Thi Duong as Salon Employee #1
  • Le Hai Dang as Salon Employee #2

  • Uncredited

  • Gene N. Chavez as HHM Attorney
  • Tim Childress as HHM Attorney
  • Alan Humphrey as Lawyer
  • Jyl Murray as HHM Attorney

  • Featured Music[]

    • "Smoke On the Water" by Deep Purple, performed by Mel Rodriguez as Marco
    • "Listen" by Chicago
    • "Battle Hymn of the Republic (LP Version)" by Herbie Mann
    • "Stick N Brush" by Kenny Werner
    • "Ma Mamma Mia" by That's Amore
    • "Samba Tropical" by Franck Sarkissian
    • "Tropical December" by Steve Rice
    • "Unsquare Dance" by Dave Brubeck
    • "Billboard Stunt" by Dave Porter
    • "Three Moves Ahead" by Dave Porter

    References to other media[]

    Jimmy makes many references to other media during the series. In this episode, he makes references to:

    Memorable Quotes[]

    Jimmy: "All right, well, uh You still got a little bit of maneuverability, all right? You you're outdoorsy, right? So you went on an impromptu camping trip. I don't know. It's something people do, apparently. Uh, you left the house a mess, and you kicked in your own front door because (Breathes deeply) It's a free country. Kim Wexler is very good. She'll make it work."
    Betsy: "Yeah, what what about the money? Uh, well, if she knows about it, she'll tell, right? She'll have to tell."
    Jimmy: "Well, like they say in Silicon Valley, it's not a bug, it's a feature!"
    ―Jimmy attempting to reason with Craig and Betsy.

    Betsy: "I'm sorry. You're just..."
    Jimmy: "Just I'm what?"
    Betsy: "You're the kind of lawyer guilty people hire."
    ―Betsy and Jimmy.

    Jimmy: "Not the loquacious sort, are you?"
    Mike: "We can't all be as blessed as you."
    ―Jimmy and Mike the morning after discovering the Kettlemans' hideout.

    "You didn't need any help getting caught, okay? The neighbor ID'd you. You were sloppy. Any trouble you might have... that's on you. Not to mention the blood in your van. Here's a thought... Ajax, Formula 409! You have no idea the tap dance I had to give those cops to get you out of here. You gave them probable cause out the wazoo. Now, and whoever that somebody is who may have warned the Kettlemans got them out of there before you did anything even more stupid. You should be thanking this Good Samaritan. Because whoever he is, he did you a favor."
    ―Jimmy to Nacho about his arrest.

    "Okay, um, I'm thinking hourly here. There were some special circumstances, so (Clicks tongue) Our elite-tier pricing would be $950 an hour. (Calculator clicking) Round it off to 20 hours. (Clicking continues) $19,000 Plus $1,000 for travel expenses. Consulting fees $1,500. And, uh, research... Five for filing fees. I ate on the road. And storage fees. (Sighs) Miscellaneous expenses. (Sighs) Upon this rock, I will build my church."
    ―Jimmy working out how to account for his bribe from the Kettlemans.

    Jimmy: "Whoa, whoa. Back up. Hamlindigo Blue?"
    Howard: "Yes. That is our trademarked name."
    Jimmy: "Holy crap. You seriously named a color "Hamlindigo"? That is... yikes."
    ―Jimmy and Howard appearing before a judge.

    Joey: "Jesus, just you said $100 for one hour, not freaking 3."
    Jimmy: "You clearly have a journalistic impulse. You're a real go-getter, you know that?"
    Joey: "Go get this."
    ―Jimmy and Joey Dixon arguing over the video shoot.

    "I'm James McGill. Like most Americans, I'm a self-made man. I put myself through law school. Working in the courts as a public defender, I represented those with nowhere else to turn. I believe in service. It's what I built my career on. But I've also had a dream, a dream that many of us have. A dream to own my own business. Well, I scrimped and I saved, and finally I was able to buy one billboard. A tiny foray into advertising for my fledgling law firm. I've always been told that America is the land of opportunity, and I believed it, until today. Huh. Not 24 hours after my billboard went up, a large law firm came after me. They said that I was hurting their business. They're rich, they're powerful. I'm just one man. So who do you think the court sided with? So now, my little billboard comes down. Let me tell you something. If they want a fight, they're gonna get a fight because I'm not giving up --"
    ―Jimmy's speech before his "heroic" save.


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