S05.E08: Bagman

[nodorothyparker]

Airdate 2020.040.06

Quote

When a simple errand for a client goes sideways, Jimmy is pushed to the limit. Mike takes measures to contain the wrath of the cartel as Lalo gets an unexpected visitor.

 

[Sharper2002]

Kim, what are you even doing right now?

Mike looks like he needs to soak in a tub of Bengay, but he is the man with a plan. 

Jimmy, how’s that Davis & Main job that you pissed away looking?

[MrWhyt]

Well Kim, Lalo knows you exist and that you know more than you should, you've crossed the Rubicon. Laughed my ass off when Lalo said "my cousins will meet you, they're good boys, you'll like them", pretty much the only laughs in the episode though.

[Dianaofthehunt]

I couldn’t watch the last half. I have to keep reminding myself that there are crew just out of frame holding boom mics and wearing headphones.... that’s the only thing that got me through this harrowing episode.

[rhys]

How those 2 don't know they aren't walking in circles?? Yikes

[Skyfall]

So Kim dies by the end of this right? She overplayed her hand.

[Ohwell]

Great episode.  I loved Mike not helping Saul carry those bags of money.

Well Kim, like Mike said, you're in the game now.  Hope you're satisfied.  We'll see how you like things from now on.

And "Mr. Cartel Lawyer,"  I hope the $100k was worth it.  

[ShadowFacts]

Mike is in his 60s at least, just recovered from a stab wound, and how many miles are they from anything?  Thirty miles on the dirt road after a lot of other roads . . .yeah Mike is tough as nails and explained his motivation, but come on. 

Saul had his out with Lalo, but he had to make the stupid, self-destructive move.  It's too bad he's taking Kim into the game with him.  It cannot end well for her.

 

[mattie0808]

Damn, I really trying to think if I’ve ever been so unprepared for an episode of TV, ever. I don’t think so. WOW.

[Ohwell]

Kim going to see Lalo.  I cannot see how she thought this could in any way work out for her.  I mean, she did know who Lalo was, right?  Did she somehow think he'd do a 180 and become a gentleman, true to his word?   

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I have often wondered what it would take for JMM to finally give up his Esteem.

Mike signed Kim's death warrant.  Terribly sad.

For whom was the rat working?  Just a bunch of foolish co-workers looking to make a score?  It makes little sense it was Gus since Fring wants Lalo to get out of jail.

I missed any homages or callbacks to famous desert scenes in movie history.  

I was bored for most of this ep, especially before and during the gun battle.  I knew this would lead to something enormous.  Sure enough, it did.  The jail scene was awesome.  What question/proposition was Kim going to make when lalo cut her off?  Any guesses?

Mike's declaration to Saul as to his meaning of life did not have a large impact on me.  Typically, something like that from Mike resonates deeply.  I think that may be due to the wonderful scene Pop pop had reading to his granddaughter last week.  His, "Tara!" speech tonight fell short.

 

[Eulipian 5k]

That. was. Stupid. From. The. Get. How Jimmy could not see that he would be a sitting duck in that idiotic “car”. “Yes I’ll be responsible for your two bags of cash that no one would even think of stealing and leaving me AND Kim holding the bag.”
Lalo gave him an out! Now they’re F. F. L.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

3 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

Kim going to see Lalo.  I cannot see how she thought this could in any way work out for her.  I mean, she did know who Lalo was, right?  Did she somehow think he'd do a 180 and become a gentleman, true to his word?   

Giselle has been very, very, very lucky lately.  She probably figured that by going to Lalo with a vow to get his money back, her luck would hold.  Oops.

[GreekGeek]

25 minutes ago, Sharper2002 said:

Kim, what are you even doing right now?

Mike looks like he needs to soak in a tub of Bengay, but he is the man with a plan. 

Jimmy, how’s that Davis & Main job that you pissed away looking?

Hah! Ironic that he ended up drinking his own piss out of a Davis and Main bottle!

I wonder if Saul will finally make it home to find Kim dead?

This was pretty intense, but there’s not really any suspense since we know Saul won’t die in the desert. Kim’s fate is the only big unknown.

[Eulipian 5k]

24 minutes ago, Dianaofthehunt said:

 

I couldn’t watch the last half

 

I’m in the middle of my viewing and no longer care about that fool Saul. What does he need money for to put Kim in this danger? He doesn’t have a taste for expensive anything!

[scenario]

2 minutes ago, Eulipian 5k said:

That. was. Stupid. From. The. Get. How Jimmy could not see that he would be a sitting duck in that idiotic “car”. “Yes I’ll be responsible for your two bags of cash that no one would even think of stealing and leaving me AND Kim holding the bag.”
Lalo gave him an out! Now they’re F. F. L.

Did Lalo really give him an out? I bet if Saul turned it down he'd be buried in the desert within a week. 

Someone with connections on the inside ratted Saul out. They either found out in advance where the drop was going to be done which shows someone pretty far up. Or they followed Saul's car which means they knew Lalo was in jail and that Saul was his lawyer and that Saul was going to get the money. Once again a pretty high up insider. Or most simply, someone saw the cousins coming out of the money place and followed them which means that the cousins were awfully sloppy not to notice a car following you for hours on a lonely desert road. 

[MrWhyt]

1 minute ago, scenario said:

Or most simply, someone saw the cousins coming out of the money place and followed them which means that the cousins were awfully sloppy not to notice a car following you for hours on a lonely desert road. 

when the cousins left the warehouse they explicitly showed a guy making a call and telling the person on the other end that they had something for them.

[tennisgurl]

Well shit, now Kim is in the game, like it or not. Good job Kim/Jimmy. 

"They're good boys, you'll like them."

Was it worth it Jimmy? Was it worth it?

Edited April 7, 2020 by tennisgurl

[scenario]

1 minute ago, MrWhyt said:

when the cousins left the warehouse they explicitly showed a guy making a call and telling the person on the other end that they had something for them.

Who was he and who did he call? Seeing the cousins leave the warehouse doesn't really tell him much. The place of the drop was a few hours away. The cousins don't seem the type to let a bunch of cars follow them for several hours in the desert without noticing. 

The guy who called almost certainly knew the drop spot in advance. That means he's pretty far up or the cartel is very, very sloppy. Someone didn't want Lalo to get out of prison. 

3 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Well shit, mow Kim is in the game, like it or not. Good job Kim/Jimmy. 

"They're good boys, you'll like them."

Was it worth it Jimmy? Was it worth it?

We'll find out if it was worth it. A guy like Saul doesn't make a hundred thousand dollars in a few hours without taking any risks. Dealing with high end drug dealers is inherently risky. But it can get you rich fast. It can also get you dead faster. 

[MrWhyt]

2 minutes ago, scenario said:

Who was he and who did he call? Seeing the cousins leave the warehouse doesn't really tell him much. The place of the drop was a few hours away. 

He worked for the salamancas and called the guys who ambushed Saul. As for how did they know the drop location, Lalo knew it's location very precisely suggesting it's a place they've used regularly.

[Ohwell]

I have a feeling that ponytail of Kim's is gonna go limp soon.

Damn she was stupid.

[thuganomics85]

Whelp, we now know how much it took for Jimmy to finally just aside any shred of being a legit lawyer and throwing in with the cartel: $100,000.  Hope it was worth it, buddy!

Knew it was going to be an interesting episode since Vince Gilligan himself was directing it (not to mention Gordon Smith writing since he tends to write some big episodes, if I remember correctly), and it certain didn't disappoint!  Besides the beginning and the Lalo/Kim scene, it was just one rough, hell of a nature walk for Jimmy and Mike!  This is why as beautiful as the desert is, I would be scared as hell to live there, because it could take a mere car issue (and not one that was in the middle of a drug war!) to get you stranded for hours.  Yikes!

It was great seeing Bob Odenkirk and Jonathan Banks together again for a lot of scenes, and both of them really sold how tough it was.  Certainly helped by the make-up department, which really made them look like they were put through the wringer.

Not sure what to make of Lalo dismissing Nacho being the driver, by saying he didn't quite trust him to handle $7 million dollars.  Was it just him arrogantly not thinking much about him or does he suspect something shady is going down?

Mike pretty much nailed it when he said Jimmy has drug Kim into the game now with their marriage, but even then, I was stunned that she decided to actually confront Lalo and show her face to him.  This really isn't going to end well for her, is it?

I have a feeling the Salamanca Cousins will be paying a visit to that vault again to figure out who has been squealing...

Loved all of the call backs and props, like the Davis and Main bottle (now filled with piss!), the coffee cup, and the foil poncho, bringing back memories of Chuck!

[scenario]

1 minute ago, MrWhyt said:

He worked for the salamancas and called the guys who ambushed Saul. As for how did they know the drop location, Lalo knew it's location very precisely suggesting it's a place they've used regularly.

Using the same place over and over again that lots of people know about is really sloppy. Especially with 7 million is cash. The Salamancas don't seem to be the brightest bulbs but any secret drop place that 10, 20, 30 people know won't stay secret long. 

[WritinMan]

39 minutes ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

Mike signed Kim's death warrant.  Terribly sad.

She did that herself.

[Eulipian 5k]

Kim needs her vacuum cleaner repaired. Yesterday.

[Eulipian 5k]

17 minutes ago, thuganomics85 said:

Not sure what to make of Lalo dismissing Nacho being the driver, by saying he didn't quite trust him to handle $7 million dollars

Lalo must surely know Nacho wants to take his father and run. Seven million buys a lotta gas.

But, if he didn’t trust Ignacio, why did he trust the guys who weren’t the Cuzzins?

[K. Hergersheimer]

Did I miss something?  Why did they take Saul's shot-up Esteem instead of Mike's pickup truck?

[Dev F]

34 minutes ago, thuganomics85 said:

Whelp, we now know how much it took for Jimmy to finally just aside any shred of being a legit lawyer and throwing in with the cartel: $100,000.  Hope it was worth it, buddy!

I'd say it's not about the money per se -- it's about proving that he's worth that much money. After all, that's what he was shouting desperately at Howard last week: that he's something special, too special to worry about the ordinary human frailties that Howard was dredging up. If he capitulated to Lalo's assessment that maybe he wasn't the guy for the job after all, he'd be admitting his whole angry speech was just empty bluster.

10 minutes ago, Eulipian 5k said:

Lalo must surely know Nacho wants to take his father and run. Seven million buys a lotta gas.

I'd say precisely the opposite -- since deciding to save up for him and his father to escape, Nacho has been careful to deflect suspicion by cultivating a reputation for shallow venality. If Lalo doesn't trust Nacho with $7 million, it's because he thinks he's going to run off to spend it on crack whores and fancy clothes, not saving his dad.

[peeayebee]

Wow. Great episode.

I'm not sure who the guy in the ... cartel warehouse? called. It seems like he called some guys to steal the money, but I wonder if he actually called Gus or one of Gus's guys, which is how Mike came to be protecting Saul and ensuring that the money wasn't stolen. As for who the guys were who ambushed Saul, they could have just come from that warehouse, right? It's just not clear to me. 

And as discussed here, it's unclear how the ambushers knew where to catch up with Saul. The cousins don't seem like the types to be followed unawares. 

But aside from those little questions, this was great.

I wonder if Lalo knew Saul would ask for money to pick up the $7 mil. Or was he really giving Saul an out?

As for Kim, yes, she's in deep(er) doo-doo now. However, I loved that scene. Kim couldn't keep her fear hidden. I loved the little chin lift she did that was an attempt to look stronger.

Vince Gilligan directing is a treat. That one shot of Mike and Saul starting their walk across the desert with the clouds racing overhead was amazing.

But my favorite shot was when Saul was standing in the road as the cousins got out of their car. It was a mirror image. From our POV, the cousin on the left carried the bag in his right hand while the cousin on the right carried the bag in his left, and the back of Saul's head was  right in the middle of the shot. Beautiful.

[scenario]

The one question I have is what happened to Mike's car? Mike had to have driven there. He had to have parked somewhere off the road so the bad guys didn't see it. Why didn't they just drive Mike's car back? And why didn't someone as careful as Mike not have a few gallons of water in the car just in case. You're going into a potential gunfight. You might need it. 

[Quilt Fairy]

12 minutes ago, scenario said:

The one question I have is what happened to Mike's car? Mike had to have driven there. He had to have parked somewhere off the road so the bad guys didn't see it. Why didn't they just drive Mike's car back? And why didn't someone as careful as Mike not have a few gallons of water in the car just in case. You're going into a potential gunfight. You might need it. 

Mike's car was the gray pickup that slowly pulled up after the first round of shooting.  It apparently got shot, they showed something leaking from it.  But you're right he should have had some extra water with him. 

[LittleIggy]

2 hours ago, MrWhyt said:

Well Kim, Lalo knows you exist and that you know more than you should, you've crossed the Rubicon. Laughed my ass off when Lalo said "my cousins will meet you, they're good boys, you'll like them", pretty much the only laughs in the episode though.

I laughed when Mike said, “The alternator is shot...literally.” I said to the TV “literally” the exact same time he did. Mike sure is one badass. That cannot be said enough. Jimmy’s decoy move was badass, too.

[chick binewski]

8 minutes ago, scenario said:

The one question I have is what happened to Mike's car? Mike had to have driven there. He had to have parked somewhere off the road so the bad guys didn't see it. Why didn't they just drive Mike's car back? And why didn't someone as careful as Mike not have a few gallons of water in the car just in case. You're going into a potential gunfight. You might need it. 

I'm still trying to suss out some of the episode, but Mike thinking he didn't need any backup seemed off to me. That they didn't try to take another car and to rely on the Esteem alone seemed an even poorer choice.

I'm thinking Lalo didn't seem too concerned his 7 mil didn't arrive yet. That jeep was waiting for Saul's car, and the would-be thieves brought a lot of guys. Was Lalo trying to steal from his family, then blame it on Saul? I'm confused and may need a rewatch.

[MrWhyt]

25 minutes ago, scenario said:

The one question I have is what happened to Mike's car?

they showed mike drive up to the scene in a truck. Which then got damaged by the final bandit before he escaped.

4 minutes ago, chick binewski said:

Was Lalo trying to steal from his family, then blame it on Saul?

why would Lalo bother stealing a measly 7 million?

 

5 minutes ago, chick binewski said:

That they didn't try to take another car

 they showed mike shooting out the tires of the other cars

[LittleIggy]

Why do people refer to the Salamanca boys as “cousins”? They are identical twins.

[scenario]

1 minute ago, chick binewski said:

I'm still trying to suss out some of the episode, but Mike thinking he didn't need any backup seemed off to me. That they didn't try to take another car and to rely on the Esteem alone seemed an even poorer choice.

I'm thinking Lalo didn't seem too concerned his 7 mil didn't arrive yet. That jeep was waiting for Saul's car, and the would-be thieves brought a lot of guys. Was Lalo trying to steal from his family, then blame it on Saul? I'm confused and may need a rewatch.

How many cars did the badguys have? 5, 6. Mike shot out the tires of the cars but most cars have spares. It seems weird that every car was out of commission and not one of the bad guys brought extra water.

Even with the tires shot out, they weren't all shot out. I doubt he shot out all the spares or the the tires on the far side of the cars. 

Find a car that's still working and swap tires around. Who cares if the tires the wrong size. As long as the holes in the rim line up, go for it.  

[Bannon]

2 hours ago, rhys said:

How those 2 don't know they aren't walking in circles?? Yikes

My guess is that Mike was Marine sniper in Vietnam. They don't walk in circles

 

[Bannon]

9 minutes ago, scenario said:

How many cars did the badguys have? 5, 6. Mike shot out the tires of the cars but most cars have spares. It seems weird that every car was out of commission and not one of the bad guys brought extra water.

Even with the tires shot out, they weren't all shot out. I doubt he shot out all the spares or the the tires on the far side of the cars. 

Find a car that's still working and swap tires around. Who cares if the tires the wrong size. As long as the holes in the rim line up, go for it.  

A bad guy got away, in a car. It really didn't make a lot of sense to be taking time to change tires, as opposed to taking the car that could move immediately.

[scenario]

1 minute ago, Bannon said:

A bad guy got away, in a car. It really didn't make a lot of sense to be taking time to change tires, as opposed to taking the car that could move immediately.

True. But why not find all the water in the other cars first. It won't take long and a car with bullet holes in it isn't the most reliable car there is. 

[Bannon]

24 minutes ago, chick binewski said:

I'm still trying to suss out some of the episode, but Mike thinking he didn't need any backup seemed off to me. That they didn't try to take another car and to rely on the Esteem alone seemed an even poorer choice.

I'm thinking Lalo didn't seem too concerned his 7 mil didn't arrive yet. That jeep was waiting for Saul's car, and the would-be thieves brought a lot of guys. Was Lalo trying to steal from his family, then blame it on Saul? I'm confused and may need a rewatch.

It's certainly possible that Lalo was in on the robbery, but that does still leave him jail.

Just now, scenario said:

True. But why not find all the water in the other cars first. It won't take long and a car with bullet holes in it isn't the most reliable car there is. 

It's possible that our bad guys weren't anticipating much of a fight from Lalo's lawyer in his Esteem, and didn't come prepared. They were only 30 miles from a paved highway, not 300.

[Dev F]

12 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

Why do people refer to the Salamanca boys as “cousins”? They are identical twins.

They're not each other's cousins, but they were introduced on Breaking Bad as Tuco's cousins and the nickname stuck. It turns out they're also Lalo's cousins, probably just to reinforce the nickname. Though I always did find it weird that none of the Salamancas are in the same immediate family; aside from the twins, the youngest generation are all cousins of each other and nephews of Don Hector, instead of any of them being each other's brothers or Hector's sons.

[Bannon]

2 hours ago, ShadowFacts said:

Mike is in his 60s at least, just recovered from a stab wound, and how many miles are they from anything?  Thirty miles on the dirt road after a lot of other roads . . .yeah Mike is tough as nails and explained his motivation, but come on. 

Saul had his out with Lalo, but he had to make the stupid, self-destructive move.  It's too bad he's taking Kim into the game with him.  It cannot end well for her.

 

I'm pretty sure that Mike is in his early to mid 50s, and Banks is trying to play 20 years younger than he is. He's a great actor, but it can be tough in the action scenes.

[ahmerali]

3 hours ago, rhys said:

How those 2 don't know they aren't walking in circles?? Yikes

Mike would lack the ability to walk with a sense of direction? Unlikely.

3 hours ago, Skyfall said:

So Kim dies by the end of this right? She overplayed her hand.

The brief notes for each episode indicate that Kim is still around.

3 hours ago, Ohwell said:

Great episode.  I loved Mike not helping Saul carry those bags of money.

 

Well, somewhat logical. It doesn't make sense for Saul to carry the guns, as he wouldn't know what to do with them in a pinch.

2 hours ago, Ohwell said:

Kim going to see Lalo.  I cannot see how she thought this could in any way work out for her.  I mean, she did know who Lalo was, right?  Did she somehow think he'd do a 180 and become a gentleman, true to his word?   

She thinks its 7 million of drug money, that would be the logical conclusion for Lalo's motive.

[ahmerali]

2 hours ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

For whom was the rat working?  Just a bunch of foolish co-workers looking to make a score?  It makes little sense it was Gus since Fring wants Lalo to get out of jail.

 

I thought at first it was Fring too, but the best conclusion is a rival arm of the Juarez cartel. The Salamancas aren't the only part of it and surely they have other enemies.

1 hour ago, chick binewski said:

I'm thinking Lalo didn't seem too concerned his 7 mil didn't arrive yet. That jeep was waiting for Saul's car, and the would-be thieves brought a lot of guys. Was Lalo trying to steal from his family, then blame it on Saul? I'm confused and may need a rewatch.

They're the cartel. They're OG gangsters. If his 7 million didn't arrive today, he'll arrange another 7 million through the cousins and some other mule.

[ahmerali]

1 hour ago, peeayebee said:

I wonder if Lalo knew Saul would ask for money to pick up the $7 mil. Or was he really giving Saul an out?

Same deal. Not hard to find someone to be a mule for some amount of cash.

1 hour ago, LittleIggy said:

Why do people refer to the Salamanca boys as “cousins”? They are identical twins.

In Breaking Bad, Tuco refers to him as his cousins, which they are. The name stuck.

1 hour ago, scenario said:

How many cars did the badguys have? 5, 6. Mike shot out the tires of the cars but most cars have spares. It seems weird that every car was out of commission and not one of the bad guys brought extra water.

 

I counted three cars...clearly they didn't think they would or could be taken out like that.

[ahmerali]

48 minutes ago, Bannon said:

It's certainly possible that Lalo was in on the robbery, but that does still leave him jail.

 

Nope. Gotta be a rival arm of the cartel. Makes zero sense for Lalo to have engineered it, possibly endangering his cousins.

[Quilt Fairy]

54 minutes ago, Bannon said:

I'm pretty sure that Mike is in his early to mid 50s, and Banks is trying to play 20 years younger than he is. He's a great actor, but it can be tough in the action scenes.

I keep hoping he makes it to the end of the series. 

[gallimaufry]

What an episode.  It felt like BCS's answer to "Two Days Out".  A terrific nearly two-hander and the kind of substantial episode with its two leads together that the show has been waiting a very long time for.

Highly unusual for the show to introduce a new party, especially just for the sake of what seems to be a one-off incident.  We're so used to the show colouring within the lines of the BB world as established but clearly this required a third party.  That said, it seems very late in the day to introduce yet another player into this so I'll be interested to see how it's handled -- I assume, being the kind of series it is -- this group won't be a one-and-done.

Obviously the direction was stunning -- the mirrored scene behind Saul is the second shot highlighting his duality in as many episodes and the scenes in the desert were amazing.  Now I know what Bob Odenkirk was talking about in press about the scenes that nearly killed him.

And of course he chooses to work for Lalo -- having him be pressured into it wouldn't fit at all (although I do agree that Lalo's opt-out option would not have ended well for Saul), especially while he had information about a drop-point.

Great spot thuganomics85 -- I'd spotted the Davis & Main bottle and the World's Best Lawyer mug but hadn't clocked the significance of the foil blanket and why Jimmy would refuse to use one.  I think this episode is a masterclass in the symbolism of props.  The long payoff to the Esteem metaphor is particularly excellent although I was sad to see the portentous death of the "World's 2nd Best Lawyer Again" mug.

What's interesting is that there was very little conversation of any meaning in this episode.  Whereas usually having two characters together, they pour their hearts out and we get scenes like the one between Jesse and Walt about his cancer, Mike's character precludes that -- except, ironically, that Mike himself explained his motivation.  Which is consistent and works.

But of course the big stuff was Kim -- I gasped when I realised where Kim was and being called "Mrs Goodman" really brought it home.  That said, when Jimmy returns, I think they've got their most difficult sell with Jimmy and Kim.  Surely Kim at this point will want out but knowing this show it won't be the external threat of Lalo that keeps her in.  Kim may have come a long way over the series but this is still big stuff to sell. 

It also occurs to me that revenge has been such a big theme of the show.  Jimmy's revenge against Howard, Gus's revenge against Hector, Mike's revenge against the Salamancas even Kim's plot against Mesa Verde seems to be driven by slights against her and people she feels a need to protect.  So far we haven't seen a vengeful streak to Lalo but we know from Saul's BB debut that this is a fear of Jimmy's -- it's just a question of when we see this emerge.

One logistical question... why on earth would the court want $7 million to be delivered in cash anyway?  Surely if someone is raising bail for a murderer and arsonist, you'd want to be able to trace where the money came from.  What's the benefit to the court of a cash transaction?

[Bannon]

Ah, Jimmy you once were happy running small and even medium sized cons on greedy jerks you met in bars. You were happy to toil for 6 years in a mailroom, in pursuit of a career with your brother, and alongside Kim. You were happy to have an office in a janitor's closet, working in elder law, because you had a relationship with Kim. Your elder law work snagged you a sweet gig at a nice-sized firm, as Kim's career began to take off, too.

But because you can't let go of your anger at your dead brother, you find youself covered in blood, dying of thirst and exposure in the desert, to get a piddling 100k from a drug cartel. What's worse, you get Kim, now your wife, in the drug cartel's crosshairs, against her better judgement, because she really does love you, against all odds.

Yeah, that qualifies at screwing things up, for really bad reasons.

[Xena]

Ok, I was pretty stoned watching last night, but didn't Mike take the gas cap out of the Esteem?  I just figured that's how the robber gang knew the drop spot - someone had bugged the gas cap before Saul left town.