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"Lantern" is the tenth episode of the third season of Better Call Saul and the thirtieth episode of the series altogether.

Summary[]

Teaser[]

BCS 310 01

In a flashback to 1965, a young adult Chuck reads The Adventures of Mabel to a younger Jimmy in a tent in their family's backyard in Cicero, Illinois. As he continues reading, the camera closes in on the gas lantern lighting the tent.

Act I[]

Kim is taken to the hospital following her car accident and has her broken arm put in a cast. A worried Jimmy comes to her hospital room. That night, the two return to the scene of the crash, where Jimmy tries to pick up scattered Gatwood Oil documents.

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At HHM, Chuck confronts Howard and the other partners over his threat to sue the firm. Noting that HHM could go bankrupt if the lawsuit proceeds, he suggests they put their disputes aside. Instead of accepting Chuck's offer of a conciliatory handshake, Howard tells the other partners to leave the room. In private, he calls out Chuck for putting his vendettas ahead of the firm's best interest. Howard hands Chuck a check for $3 million (the first of three installments) paid out of his own pocket, eliminating Chuck's leverage over HHM. In the lobby, Chuck is forced to watch as Howard announces his departure in front of the assembled staff. Chuck leaves the building to applause.

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Meanwhile, Jimmy tends to Kim as she recovers at her apartment. While making her breakfast, Jimmy says that he plans to move out of Wexler McGill's office space and sublet the building. He blames himself for Kim's accident, feeling that the Mesa Verde address swap was the root cause of Kim overworking herself. Kim replies that falling asleep at the wheel was a result of her own decisions and expresses her guilt for putting herself and other people in danger. Jimmy promises Kim that he will "fix things."

Act II[]

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Hector, with Nacho and Arturo in tow, arrives at Manuel's upholstery shop. Nacho gives Hector a tour of the property and explains how it will be used for Hector's drug business. Hector approaches Manuel and offers him several hundred dollars, but Manuel tells him to get out of the shop. Nacho tells his father to think about their loved ones, persuading him to take the money. Outside, Nacho tries to tell Hector that his father will eventually come around, but Hector replies that he doesn't trust him.

At the apartment, Francesca presents Kim with get-well gifts from Mesa Verde and Billy Gatwood. She comments that Kim is lucky to have survived her crash on that particular road, commenting to have seen deadly accidents while driving there. Despite being told that they might be able to meet Gatwood's deadline, Kim tells Francesca to cancel his meeting and postpone her other appointments. The two women go to Blockbuster video store and rent a bunch of DVDs.

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Kim's words to Jimmy cause him to reconsider his dealings with Chuck, leading him to reluctantly drive to his brother's house to check up on him. Upon entering, he is surprised to see that Chuck has reinstalled the electricity to the house. Jimmy tells Chuck that he regrets how he handled their feud, and signals that he wants to make amends. Chuck rejects the overture, saying that his sentiments are pointless because it is in his inherent nature to hurt those around him, no matter what he says or feels. He further coldly tells Jimmy that he never really mattered to him. Crushed, Jimmy leaves. That night, Chuck, unable to sleep, goes to the circuit breaker panel and switches off all of the breakers. He lies awake in the dark, alone.

Act III[]

Jimmy drops by Irene's room at Sandpiper Crossing to celebrate the settlement with balloons and cake. He tries to make suggestions for how Irene can spend the money, but she tells him that her friends remain upset with her. At the shopping mall, Jimmy sits with Irene's chair yoga group and unsuccessfully tries to persuade the other ladies to reconcile with her. They remark that Jimmy is a "good friend" and that Irene doesn't deserve him, unaware of his role in manipulating them all into agreeing to the settlement.

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Meanwhile, Chuck suffers a major relapse of his EHS delusion. He calls the power company, asking why the meter is still running when he has shut off the power to his house. Seeking to find the source of electricity, he goes around the house flipping switches and unscrewing bulbs, periodically checking to see if his meter has stopped. After canceling an appointment with Dr. Cruz, he even disconnects his phone. Chuck combs the walls with his hands, trying to find the source of the usage. Each time he feels a likely spot, he tears into the wall with a hammer or pry bar. After hours of searching, he finds a piece of wiring hidden in the wall but discovers that the meter is still running. In anger, he destroys the meter with a baseball bat.

Act IV[]

Nacho sits in a truck outside an auto repair shop, with a gun on the passenger seat. When Hector pulls up in his car, Nacho takes the gun and attempts an ambush. However, Arturo and Carlos arrive and prevent Nacho from proceeding. The four watch as Gus and Juan Bolsa arrive for a meeting. Bolsa reiterates Don Eladio's position that Gus's "chicken trucks" will do all of the cross-border transportation for the Cartel. Hector becomes increasingly enraged and again suffers severe chest pains. He takes Nacho's fake pills, dropping the bottle and remainder on the ground. As planned, the pills have no effect and Hector collapses. Gus urges Bolsa to leave the scene as he performs CPR on Hector, saving his life while Nacho replaces the pills with Hector's original medication. After Hector is loaded into an ambulance, Gus suspiciously eyes Nacho.

Act V[]

Jimmy returns to Kim's apartment, where she is taking time off of work and watching a marathon of rented movies. Jimmy reports that his efforts to fix the rift between Irene and her friends have kept ending in failure, with his efforts to put in a good word for Irene having the opposite effect. Jimmy finally devises a way to do right by Irene, but tells Kim that "I really, really don't want to do it."

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The following day, Jimmy shows up at Sandpiper to lead Irene's chair yoga group. Erin Brill appears and demands to see Jimmy outside, where she confronts him about lying to his clients to get an early payday from the settlement. Jimmy confirms her accusations and makes jabs at Irene and her friends, seemingly unaware that they all can hear him back in the yoga room through his wireless microphone. When he returns, Irene and her friends silently rebuke him and walk away. It is revealed that Jimmy engineered the incident with Erin to help Irene and forego the settlement, though Erin says that she was telling the truth when she said that Jimmy is disgusting.

Later, Jimmy and Kim move out of their office space at WM. They apologize to Francesca for laying her off, but she says that she will be able to return to her job at the Motor Vehicle Division. Jimmy promises to hire her back if he and Kim restart their practice, but Francesca gives a disbelieving acknowledgement. After she leaves, Jimmy throws away his Rolodex, seeing as he has disgraced himself with his elderly clients. Kim pulls it out of the trash, saying "you never know." After admiring the WM wall mural, the two leave.

That night, Chuck has thrown all of his electrical appliances into his backyard. Chuck, broken and alone, sits in the middle of his now wrecked house wrapped in a space blanket, and kicks his desk repeatedly in an attempt to knock over his gas lantern. He eventually succeeds, allowing the house to catch fire with him inside.

Official Photos[]

Trivia[]

  • This is the first season finale of Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul that wasn't written by Vince Gilligan or Peter Gould.
    • This is the first episode directed by Peter Gould that he did not write.
  • This is only the second episode in which Mike does not appear. This is also the only episode where Gus appears but Mike does not.
  • The episode marks the death of Chuck. While his fate is ambiguous in the episode itself, Michael McKean confirmed Chuck's death in an interview with the New York Times. Chuck's fate is later confirmed on-screen in "Smoke".
    • Chuck is the first main character to die.
  • The toll-free number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) was shown after the end credits of this episode.
  • The episode is the first one to not use the traditional end credit theme composed by Dave Porter, opting to use another dramatic piece of music by him to accompany the somber tone of the ending. The next episode to use this device would be "Rock and Hard Place", and after that "Plan and Execution".
  • This episode explains what led to Hector suffering the stroke, which would leave him permanently disabled throughout the events of Breaking Bad.
  • During the episode, Kim has Billy Gatwood referred to the law firm of Schweikart & Cokely. This is the same firm that's representing Sandpiper Crossing and that Kim had gotten a job offer from.
  • Before he collapses, Hector's lip curls similarly to how it did throughout Breaking Bad.
  • In the episode's teaser, we see a teenage Chuck read to a young Jimmy "The Adventures of Mabel", something that was first referenced in the season premiere ("Mabel"). Two important elements of this episode are also visible in the tent: the lantern and the baseball bat.
  • When Kim is in the Blockbuster video store, a DVD of Beverly Hills Ninja starring Chris Farley is visible. Bob Odenkirk worked with Farley at Second City and Saturday Night Live, and helped write and create the popular Farley character "Matt Foley: Motivational Speaker" famous from SNL. Also visible on the wall rack are DVDs of A Knight's Tale, which co-starred Laura Fraser.
  • While trying to resuscitate Hector, Gus utters the phrase "no te mueras, cabrón" multiple times. This translates from Spanish to "don't you die, you bastard". Notably enough, this line is not translated in Netflix subtitles, instead saying that Gus is speaking Spanish.
  • According to Talking Saul, Peter Gould based the scene in which Chuck smashes the walls of his house with an axe on the scene at the end of the The Conversation (1974) where the character Harry Caul dismantles his apartment looking for a listening device, while Michael McKean based his performance on the Ray Bradbury short story "The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl".
  • When Chuck is breaking down his bookshelf, the camera angle resembles the infamous "Here's Johnny" scene from The Shining.
  • In "Alpine Shepherd Boy" (fifth episode of the first season), Dr. Cruz tries to alert Jimmy that Chuck suffers from a mental illness and is a danger to himself. In particular, she warns that the gas lantern could set his house on fire.
  • This episode contains the earliest flashback in the Breaking Bad universe to 1965.
  • The whole third season has left subtle clues foreshadowing Chuck's final act, often by making the gas lantern take center stage:
    • "Mabel": The title was a reference to The Adventures of Mabel, a book Chuck read to Jimmy when they were children. The author, Harry Thurston Peck, committed suicide following professional disgrace.
    • "Witness": The lantern is prominently seen as Chuck and his private investigator wait inside the house for Jimmy to steal the confession tape, and Jimmy threatens to burn the house down when grilling Chuck on the location of a possible second tape.
    • "Sunk Costs": While he is waiting for the police to take him into custody, Jimmy predicts that Chuck will alienate everyone he knows and die alone after being overwhelmed by his EHS.
    • "Sabrosito": Mike is hired by Jimmy and Kim to take photos of Chuck's house to present to Rebecca. One of these photos is of the lantern sitting atop a bunch of newspapers, which Jimmy takes special note of when they meet at the diner to make the exchange.
    • "Chicanery": Jimmy presents said photo during his bar hearing.
    • The flashback at the beginning of the episode, where the camera zooms in on a lantern as Chuck reads The Adventures of Mabel to Jimmy.
    • Just the fact that the episodes that he was getting better in were "Slip" and "Fall".

Production[]

Credits[]

Co-Starring

  • Anthony Escobar as Gesualdo
  • Manny Rubio as Worker
  • Kimberly Kiegel as Senior Attorney
  • Courtney Taylor as HHM Employee
  • Jessica Flores as EMT #1
  • Zacharia Azar as EMT #2
  • Marissa Woolf as Hospital Technician

Uncredited

  • Aeryn Peterson as Corporate Client
  • Leana Lewis as Actress
  • Tom Thumb as D.E.A. Agent

Filming Locations[]

  • The A-Z Upholstery Shop is located at 6611 Zuni Rd SE Albuquerque NM , which is actually an upholstery shop named Walts Top Shop & Seat Covers.

Featured Music[]

  • Dinero Sucio by Los Grandes de Tijuana
  • Little L by Jamiroquai
  • It Never Entered My Mind by Miles Davis
  • Steal Away by Robbie Dupree
  • Walls by Dave Porter (When Chuck is tearing his house apart.)
  • Fallen Lantern by Dave Porter (Plays over the credits.)

Memorable Quotes[]

"All those years we built this place together. And all that time I've supported you. Looked up to you, deferred to you. Because I always thought you had the best interests of the firm in mind. (...) You did. For a long time. But you've let personal vendettas turn your focus away from what's best for HHM. You've put your needs first. To our detriment. (...) And the moment that I mildly suggest, with empathy and concern, that maybe it's time for you to consider retirement - the first instinct you have is to sue me? To sue the firm? In what world is that anything but the deepest betrayal of everything we worked so hard to accomplish? In what world is that anything but the deepest betrayal of our friendship?"
―Howard confronts Chuck.

Chuck: "Three million dollars?"
Howard: "The first of three payments, as per the partnership agreement."
Chuck: "The firm can't afford this. Are you... ? Your're not shutting down, are you?"
Howard: "I Would never endanger the firm. This is mostly from my personal funds... and a few loans."
Chuck: "You're paying me out of your own pocket?"
Howard: "You won."
―Howard eliminating Chuck's leverage over HHM.

"You're not feeding me, Jimmy. There are lines we do not cross."
―Kim to Jimmy while she has trouble eating with one arm in plaster.

"Look, after everything... I don't give a shit about the office."
―Jimmy to Kim about Wexler McGill offices.

Kim: "I could've killed someone, Jimmy"
Jimmy: "Yeah. Yourself."
Kim: "I worked most of last week on maybe six hours of sleep, and then I... I crossed three lanes of traffic and I don't remember any of it."
Jimmy: "Look, you were just doing what you thought you had to do. Because of me."
Kim: "You didn't make me get in that car. That was all me. I'm an adult. I made a choice."
―Kim and Jimmy about Kim's accident.

Nacho: "I'll talk to him. He'll come around."
Hector: "I don't trust him."
―Nacho and Hector about Nacho's father.

"In the end, you're gonna hurt everyone around you. You can't help it. So stop apologizing and accept it. Embrace it. Frankly, I'd have more respect for you if you did."
―Chuck encouraging Jimmy to accept who he actually is.

"Hey. I don't want to hurt your feelings... but the truth is you've never mattered all that much to me."
―Chuck to Jimmy.

Bolsa: "...There's no disrespect to you or your family."
Hector: "[towards Gus] What's he doing here?"
Bolsa: "The boss wants you to settle this."
Hector: "I settle it right now, okay?"
Bolsa: "You have to work together. It's what the boss wants."
Hector: "The boss can suck me."
Bolsa: "I'd watch what I say if I were you."
Hector: "Who you think you are? You should be kissing my ass right now. Me and my family. We built this whole business."
Bolsa: "We all did. Together."
Hector: "No, no! Salamanca did! Salamanca money! Salamanca blood!"
Bolsa: "You have to calm down."
Hector: "That hacienda, I pay for it! And you treat us like dogs!"
Bolsa: "Hector, this isn't personal!"
Hector: "IT IS! IT IS PERSONAL!!–"
―Hector argues with Juan Bolsa immediately before collapsing.

"­¡No te mueras, cabrón!"
―Gus to Hector while giving CPR.


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