S06.E03: Rock and Hard Place

[nodorothyparker]

Airdate 04.25.22

Quote

Still on the run, Nacho is forced to choose where his loyalties lie. Jimmy must decide whether he wants to remain a "friend of the cartel" after his reputation is called into question. Gus and Mike ready for a meeting.

 

[SailorGirl]

ummm . . . yeah . . . Imma need Michael Mando to be shirtless at least once in every episode he is in. . . please and thank you. 

[Crashcourse]

17 minutes ago, SailorGirl said:

ummm . . . yeah . . . Imma need Michael Mando to be shirtless at least once in every episode he is in. . . please and thank you. 

Shirtless Nacho is the best thing about this episode.  

I'm actually glad this is the last season because the show is just slogging along.

[BC4ME]

Man that was brutal.

[Dianaofthehunt]

My jaw is on the floor.

[Rick Sanchez]

Nacho looked like Daniel Plainview for a second. 😁

[Crashcourse]

Nacho!!! 😭

Fuck.

[Penman61]

So if Gus’s guy was going to kill Nacho anyway, why the grab-Bolsa move? So Nacho could honor-kill himself?
 

Did Mike know/help?

[Spartan Girl]

RIP Nacho. His final fuck-you to Hector was awesome.

[MrWhyt]

1 minute ago, Penman61 said:

So if Gus’s guy was going to kill Nacho anyway, why the grab-Bolsa move? So Nacho could honor-kill himself?
 

Did Mike know/help?

to be sure he went out cleanly. I doubt Mike knew. I think he was planning on killing Nacho himself if it looked like he would be handed over to the Salamancas.

[SailorGirl]

50 minutes ago, SailorGirl said:

ummm . . . yeah . . . Imma need Michael Mando to be shirtless at least once in every episode he is in. . . please and thank you. 

well . . . shit. . . . so much for that idea . . . damn. I was hoping he'd somehow make it out. . . . 

[Constantinople]

Good to see Hector getting some fresh air and a day trip away from Casa Tranquila

[BeatrixK]

I am going to need so very many moments.

 

Holy Shit was that episode brilliant.  The tension and the slow dreadful builf...then...NOT WHAT WE WERE EXPECTING.

So this is the Better Call Saul 'Ozymandius'.  God that whole Nacho unleash, go for broke, my fucks done gone and ain't coming back 'I PUT YOU IN THAT CHAIR'....I will storm the Emmy people if this episode doesn't win for writing...at the very least (The open...then the end...and 'OH SHIIIITTTTT')

[Sharper2002]

Oh no, Nacho. 😢

My only question is how did Gus explain being the one to bring Nacho in? If there was suspicion cast on him already, wouldn’t it be raised further since he wasn’t caught by the shiny suit twins or any of the other soldiers, but Gus magically finds him?

[Melonie77]

It's too early in the season to lose Nacho. 😢

[SailorGirl]

Side thought/question re: Huell -- Lavell Crawford lost a lot of weight after BB but he was "original Huell" tonight.

I'm wondering if they put him in a fat suit to make him original Huell or if it was done in post-production. Either way, it was very well done. Fat suits, you can usually tell around the face/neck areas, but this was seamless, no matter how it was done. You really couldn't tell. 

[Penman61]

Really looking forward the internet/youTube Rosetta Stone explainer of the Howard Heist Hieroglyphic post-its on the back of that painting.

Edited April 26, 2022 by Penman61

[MrWhyt]

3 minutes ago, Sharper2002 said:

My only question is how did Gus explain being the one to bring Nacho in?

Nacho came to Gus looking to be welcomed back into the fold for taking care of Gus's enemy. Gus was outraged at the crime against the cartel, had the information beaten out of Nacho and then turned him over to Bolsa. Gus mourns Lalo's loss along with the Slamancas, now lets all forget this unpleasantness and get back to business.

[UGAmp]

I think that’s the saddest I’ve ever said the word “Nacho” in my entire life. 

I hope this show wins all the Emmys for its final season. 

[PeterPirate]

Wow, that was a fantastic but depressing episode.  Great work my Michael Mando.  

I'm guessing that Saul is going to spill the tea to the DA and thereby incur Lalo's wrath.  

[SailorGirl]

and another question -- I'm apparently full of them tonight -- the warehouse area where Mike took Nacho the "night before," was that the future laundromat/super meth lab? It seemed to be, post construction but prior to bringing in the heavy-duty equipment, both above ground and below. They had lockers in there, I'm assuming for the future laundromat employees?

Now that we know the opening mansion clean-out sequence contained many future easter eggs, I am on a serious hunt. Was the picture Saul (because apparently that's now how we refer to him, per Kim) took down to access the Howard Heist Hieroglyphic post-its (thank you @Penman61) in last week's opening mansion cleanout sequence? We saw them removing pictures . . . was this one of them? 

And the tie Kim was adjusting on Jimmy in the same scene. One of the "falling ties'??  SO. MANY. QUESTIONS!! 

Edited April 26, 2022 by SailorGirl

[nodorothyparker]

That was damn fine TV. Brutal but damn good.

It felt pretty obvious as the episode wore on that Nacho surviving this was going to be a tall order. The way his voice cracked in asking Mike "So when he puts me down?" was gutting. But he found a way that if it had to happen at least he was going out cleanly and as much as possible on his own terms. And to lay that glorious smackdown on Hector to let him know that "I put you in that chair" before he went.

[Penman61]

1 minute ago, SailorGirl said:

Now that we know that the opening mansion clean-out sequence contained many future easter eggs, I am on a serious hunt. Was the picture Saul (because apparently that's now how we refer to him, per Kim) took down to access the Howard Heist Hieroglyphic post-its (thank you @Penman61) in last week's opening mansion cleanout sequence? We saw them removing pictures . . . was this one of them? 

Yup, same painting. Good catch!

[peeayebee]

21 minutes ago, MrWhyt said:

to be sure he went out cleanly. I doubt Mike knew. I think he was planning on killing Nacho himself if it looked like he would be handed over to the Salamancas.

I think Mike did know. If Mike had shot Nacho, wouldn't the Salamanca's be suspicious? It would just make more trouble. This way the situation was resolved.

But then, I don't think Mike would know about Nacho having the broken shard of glass from his drink. So... I'm just not sure.

But yes, Naked Nacho was a nice treat before his sad end. And how pathetic was Hector having the Cousins carry him in his wheelchair over to Nacho's dead body so he could shoot him over and over with his little peashooter.

The other storyline, with, you know, the main character, wasn't all that interesting. I do wonder, however, about Suzanne telling Kim, who then tells Jimmy, that he wouldn't be in trouble if he didn't know his client's name was actually Lalo Salamanca. But the DA (I think it was the DA) heard him accidentally say "Lalo," so it appears they're trying to trick him.

[Penman61]

1 minute ago, nodorothyparker said:

It felt pretty obvious as the episode wore on that Nacho surviving this was going to be a tall order. The way his voice cracked in asking Mike "So when he puts me down?" was gutting. But he found a way that if it had to happen at least he was going out cleanly and as much as possible on his own terms. And to lay that glorious smackdown on Hector to let him know that "I put you in that chair" before he went.

Yes, and disgusting and pathetic of Hector to pump more bullets into Nacho’s corpse, especially since he knows Lalo is alive.

[sistermagpie]

1 minute ago, Penman61 said:

Yes, and disgusting and pathetic of Hector to pump more bullets into Nacho’s corpse, especially since he knows Lalo is alive.

Well, he did find out the guy put him in that wheelchair, so that probably wan't for Lalo.

I actually forget--how did Nacho get the glass?

I can't believe I actually had some moments of hope there at the end when Nacho got out. It was like the last ep of Blackadder - no cunning plan was going to get him out.

[MrWhyt]

2 minutes ago, sistermagpie said:

I actually forget--how did Nacho get the glass?

i thought it was leftover from the glass Gus broke last episode.

[tljgator]

2 minutes ago, sistermagpie said:

I actually forget--how did Nacho get the glass?

 

Chekhov's broken glass from last week...we all wondered what the point of that was. 

 

[sistermagpie]

1 minute ago, MrWhyt said:

i thought it was leftover from the glass Gus broke last episode.

 

1 minute ago, tljgator said:

Chekhov's broken glass from last week...we all wondered what the point of that was. 

 

Thanks! I thought people were referring to the drink he had with Mike and was so confused about how that happened!

[Penman61]

25 minutes ago, tljgator said:

Chekhov's broken glass from last week...we all wondered what the point of that was. 

 

Wait, Gus cleaned all that up, even scrupulously dusting the smallest grains from his palm. More likely Nacho’s piece of glass came from the drink he shared w/Mike. And if so, then Mike did indeed plan and help. (And I thought the point last week—borne out this week—is that if Gus makes a mistake, he will clean ALL of it up.)

ETA: Nope, I was wrong. See SailorGirl’s post below. :)

Edited April 26, 2022 by Penman61

[LittleIggy]

Aww, Nacho…😞

[SailorGirl]

10 hours ago, Penman61 said:

Wait, Gus cleaned all that up, even scrupulously dusting the smallest grains from his palm. More likely Nacho’s piece of glass came from the drink he shared w/Mike. And if so, then Mike did indeed plan and help. (And I thought the point last week—borne out this week—is that if Gus makes a mistake, he will clean ALL of it up.)

I'm rewatching the encore episode -- Gus's broken glass pieces were in the trashcan under the window. While waiting in the trailer, Nacho was drinking his water and went to look out the window. He looked down and saw the broken glass in the trash and, as we found out, took a piece as a last-stand weapon.

Edited April 26, 2022 by SailorGirl

[peeayebee]

I thought he was looking at his own glass which he had just set down on the table in front of the window. I guess Ima gonna have to rewatch.

ETA: Well, whaddya know. Yup. He looks down into the trash. Chekhov's broken glass indeed.

Edited April 26, 2022 by peeayebee

[LittleIggy]

I’m still not sure what Mike was supposed to do with his sniper rifle. Didn’t he say something like “go on…do it”? What was he wanting Nacho to do? 

[peeayebee]

Maybe Mike was waiting/hoping for one of the Salamanca's to fire so Mike could kill them.

[Jodithgrace]

I was really shocked that Nacho died because I had misremembered him as being in Breaking Bad, so I knew he was safe. I even thought his death was somehow faked, until Hector used him for target practice. 
 

Jimmy/Saul and Kim work so well together as partners in crime. Makes me really want to know what happens, since she, I do know, isn’t in Breaking Bad. 
 

Kim is so smart, feeding the Suzanne incriminating evidence against her own client, making Suzanne feel obligated to return the favor. It paid off when Suzanne gave her the heads up about the Salamanca business. It’s always good policy to do unsolicited favors for people, making them much more likely to help you out in the future. At least if you’re in the sleazy law business. 

[chick binewski]

1 hour ago, Melonie77 said:

It's too early in the season to lose Nacho. 😢

I really didn't want to lose Nacho this early in the season, but Bolsa was right - it was a good death!

1 hour ago, Penman61 said:

Really looking forward the internet/youTube Rosetta Stone explainer of the Howard Heist Hieroglyphic post-its on the back of that painting.

Carrot illustration! "Costume"!

This interview provides some insight into the call with dad, which I wasn't clear on when watching. 

[Melonie77]

I'm finally watching from the beginning and I see there is a piece of glass laying on the ground in the opening desert scene. The camera highlights the blue flowers and as it starts to rain the focus moves over to the piece of muddy broken glass - end scene. Could Nacho simply have lucked out and picked it up off the ground after being brought to the desert meeting?

[Dev F]

17 minutes ago, Melonie77 said:

I'm finally watching from the beginning and I see there is a piece of glass laying on the ground in the opening desert scene. The camera highlights the blue flowers and as it starts to rain the focus moves over to the piece of muddy broken glass - end scene. Could Nacho simply have lucked out and picked it up off the ground after being brought to the desert meeting?

No, he already has it in the van. The teaser scene is a flash-forward.

[Bannon]

It's always amazed me that a story that has frequently had me laughing out loud is likely the saddest show I've ever watched. No exception tonight, although not much in the way of laughs in this episode. Mando was exceptional, of course.

In such an episode like this, it's easy to overlook an early scene, like the one between Huell and  Saul, in which lies to himself about why he and Kim are engaged in this potentially career ending fraud. Jimmy and Kim can't admit to themselves that all their machinations are being borne of grief and anger.

 

Edited April 26, 2022 by Bannon

[Scout Finch]

I see that Huell's already mastered his pickpocket skills! The "I put you the in the wheelchair" made me gasp, just like Walt's "I let Jane die." I had completely forgotten about Nacho doing that.

[dwmarch]

Okay so I already know Vince Gilligan won't let us down but we're not exactly at the "did Lalo send you? It wasn't me, it was Ignacio!" point yet. Ignacio is dead and as far as Jimmy knows, so is Lalo. I can't really see how we get from here to there but I guess I should just listen to Mike from the trailers when he gives that warning about things unfolding differently than anticipated.

[Melonie77]

1 hour ago, Dev F said:

No, he already has it in the van. The teaser scene is a flash-forward.

Thanks Dev F. Yes I see...now that I've watched the whole episode. I guess it must be a flash-quite-a-bit-forward as I don't think there were any flowers growing in the area during the shooting scene.

The flowers look like Desert Bluebells - perhaps they were meant to symbolize Nacho's sacrifice for his dad.

Edited April 26, 2022 by Melonie77

[thuganomics85]

Well, alrighty then!  Only three episodes in and apparently Vince, Peter, Gordon Smith (this episode's writer), and everyone else decided to just go ahead and break my heart now.  Definitely the endgame here, folks!

Realistically, I had a feeling that there was no way Nacho was going to have a happy ending.  But I still held out hope for it, only for it to be dashed very quickly.  On one hand, yes, Nacho did some awful things and his ending was due to a lot of his decisions and questionable choices in life.  But thanks to the writing and Michael Mando's performance, I really did come away with seeing him as someone who was capable of good and, in another life, might have become a decent person if never got intertwined into the drug game.  And despite all of it, once he saw the writing on the walls, he did what he could to at least ensure that his father would be taken care of and that maybe his death would at least have some good come out of it.  Noble might be too strong of a word in the grand scheme of things, but amongst all of these criminals and monsters, Nacho at least went out with his head held high.

Oh, and also got the added bonus of telling off Hector in awesome fashion: especially him revealing that he was the one who switched the pills that lead to him being in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.  So satisfying.  Even if it ended with Hector continuing to riddle Nacho's corpse with bullets, Nacho clearly won in some ways.  Definitely a hell yeah moment similar to Game of Thrones when (spoiler just in case some haven't gotten to that show yet) 

Spoiler

Lady Olenna told Jaime that she was the one who killed Joffrey

At least Mike didn't have to be the one to pull the trigger, but you can see how much it hurt to watch someone else he was somewhat close to die because of this business.  And it really helps show how Mike will become who he is on Breaking Bad.

Ironically, Jimmy/Saul and Kim were almost afterthoughts here, but there was still some good progress with them.  Looks like the next step in their plan involves copying the key to Howard's car and it looks like they can know control the locks somehow?  Not sure what the plan is here.  Also, Kim now knows that the D.A. have figured out Jimmy was representing Lalo this entire time and I want him to flip on the cartel.  So, Jimmy only has two choices at this moment: 1) b a rat or b) go even deeper with the cartel.  Have a feeling I know how this might play out!

Great episode and a perfect send-off for Michael Mando.  Hope he gets a shot at an Emmy this go around.

[millennium]

I love it when Vince Gilligan reminds us in no uncertain terms that this show, and its predecessor, are westerns. 

[kitkat343]

5 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

I’m still not sure what Mike was supposed to do with his sniper rifle. Didn’t he say something like “go on…do it”? What was he wanting Nacho to do? 

I'm not entirely certain.  My personal belief is that he was rooting for Nacho to kill off some of the cartel before dying, but I don't know for certain.

[Ellaria]

Shocking and heartbreaking but not unexpected. Nacho was clearly running out of options. I hate losing him so early in the final unfolding of this story but I’m glad that he was able to go out on his terms.

Kim’s question to Jimmy about the choice of being a cartel lawyer or a rat seems ominous. Maybe it is an indication of the choice that she will eventually make.

8 hours ago, Penman61 said:

Yes, and disgusting and pathetic of Hector to pump more bullets into Nacho’s corpse, especially since he knows Lalo is alive.

9 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

RIP Nacho. His final fuck-you to Hector was awesome.

I loathe Hector Salamanca. So glad that Nacho admitted to putting him in that chair.

Nancho is an unforgettable character, thanks to Michael Mando.

Edited April 26, 2022 by Ellaria Sand

[Pike Ludwell]

Great episode, but I don't like how they added nothing to the previous show's surprise ending of the car emerging after Saul and Kim left the Kellermans. Seems like a sort of cliffhanger that has usually been dealt with the next show.

Also, scenes like the cards on the back of that painting, and the Huell scene, where we have no idea what's it's all about and have to just wait to see -- Seems like usually there is better exposition later in the same show. And, it seems like they have been having those "wait and see" scenes more often this season. I don't like that technique when it seems overdone.

Maybe it's just that the need to spend so much time with Nacho cut into time they would have otherwise had for these things. Now that the Nacho plot is pretty much over, they can spend more time on Saul and Kim.

Edited April 26, 2022 by Pike Ludwell

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Was the lone flower due to the nutrients a dead Nacho provided?  If that wasn't the shard of glass that we saw rain falling on, it can't be.  

I did not get Kim's anger expressed to the D.A. lady as she was outlining the understanding that office had of the situation.  Pointing out some thing that may have helped Saul is one thing.  Practically spitting those out?  To a D.A. who was at least appearing to bend to give them a break?  Turrible choice by RS and/or TPTB.  in the end, all the suspicions were affirmed by Kim's resentful acknowledgements anyway.  She knew instantly that they had the goods.  Just what was to be gained by being so adversarial?

Nice epilogue with Huell in the Taurus.  I do not believe that Saul actually believes he is on the side of the angels with this Howard scam.  He sure can sell lies, can't he?  Goodness.  Or is it Goodman? 

The Mike we see is pretty much spent physically and aged significantly.  I hope we get to see him re-energizing/re-charging before Saul ends.  Working for Gus like this is crushing him utterly. 

 

[BonnieD]

Glad to know I'm not the only one that:

Quote

was really shocked that Nacho died because I had misremembered him as being in Breaking Bad, so I knew he was safe. I even thought his death was somehow faked, until Hector used him for target practice.