Breathe (Better Call Saul)

"Breathe" is the second episode of the fourth season of the AMC television series Better Call Saul, the spinoff series of Breaking Bad. The episode aired on August 13, 2018 on AMC in the United States. Outside of the United States, the episode premiered on streaming service Netflix in several countries.

"Breathe"
Better Call Saul episode
Episode no.Season 4
Episode 2
Directed byMichelle MacLaren
Written byThomas Schnauz
Original air dateAugust 13, 2018 (2018-08-13)
Running time46 minutes
Guest appearance(s)

Plot

Jimmy looks for a job while serving the suspension of his law license. He interviews for a sales position at Neff Copiers (having noticed a collection of Hummel figurines on display in their office). The owners show apprehension about his recent exit from the law, but Jimmy pitches himself well and the owners say they’ll get back to him in a few days after interviewing other candidates. He starts to leave, but turns back and gives them his "hard sell" routine. The owners are impressed and offer to hire him. Jimmy refuses to accept, upset at how easily they fell for his con, and departs for his next interview.

Lydia meets with Mike to discuss his recent security audit, reminding him that his job with Madrigal was only meant to be a paper transaction to launder the money he stole. Mike says the audits provide a plausible cover story if anyone questions the payments. When Lydia complains to Gus, he tacitly approves of Mike's actions.

Howard meets with Kim and Rebecca to discuss Chuck's estate. The bequests include a sealed letter from Chuck and US$5,000 for Jimmy, which Kim recognizes as a common tactic to give Jimmy just enough money to appear that he was not left out — any challenge to the will would likely be denied. After Rebecca leaves, Kim furiously accuses Howard of treating Jimmy poorly by unloading his guilt over Chuck onto Jimmy. That evening, Kim holds off on giving the documents to Jimmy. They plan to watch a movie on TV but they end up making love instead on Kim’s initiation. Afterward Jimmy checks on the value of one of Neff Copiers' Hummels, then calls Mike about “a job.”

Gus learns that Hector is comatose and arranges for Dr. Bruckner, a skilled physician from Johns Hopkins to oversee his recovery. She speaks fluent Spanish and explains Hector's course of treatment to Leonel and Marco (the Cousins). Tyrus brings Gus a copy of Hector's medical file, which reveals there was no nitroglycerin in Hector's system. Gus realizes that Nacho tried to kill Hector.

Nacho and Arturo arrive at the Los Pollos Hermanos chicken farm to take their share of the next drug shipment. Arturo strongarms Gus's men for an extra kilo as he saw Nacho do on a previous occasion. As they leave, Gus suddenly leaps on Arturo and suffocates him with a plastic bag. Gus then tells Nacho he knows Nacho switched Hector's medication, but has not told the Salamancas. Gus warns Nacho, "From now on, you are mine."

Production

The episode's centerpiece, Kim's confrontation with Howard over how he has treated Jimmy in the wake of Chuck's death, was written by the series' executive producer Thomas Schnauz. The producers considered how both Howard and Kim had been reacting to Jimmy, with Howard feeling guilt for ousting Chuck from HHM and believing it led to Chuck's suicide, and Kim aware that something was causing Jimmy emotional hurt, but neither aware of Jimmy's role in Chuck's ouster. This led the producers to consider the situation between the characters from Kim's point of view, rather than Jimmy's. When coupled with Howard's past treatment of Kim, they believed the interplay between Howard and Kim would result in a powerfully emotional scene.[1]

One scene in "Breathe" shows Mike watching his granddaughter Kaylee on a playground swing. This shot was added as an Easter egg, as it is similar to a scene in the Breaking Bad episode "Say My Name", which was Mike's final appearance.[2] In "Say My Name", Mike is watching Kaylee swing in a park when he learns that the DEA is about to arrest him, and he's forced to flee without saying goodbye. Both "Say My Name" and "Breathe" were written by Thomas Schnauz.

Reception

"Breathe" received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, it garnered a 94% rating with an average score of 8.4/10 based on 17 reviews. The site consensus reads, "Better Call Saul's exceptional ensemble continues its excellent character work in 'Breathe'."[3] Matt Fowler of IGN gave "Breathe" a positive review, with an 8.8 out of 10 rating and wrote that the episode "was a sublime example of how an excellently-crafted, extended scene, featuring impeccable character beats, can easily outshine the grit and grime of TV's natural tendency to wow us with shocking violence."[4]

Ratings

"Breathe" was watched by 1.55 million viewers in the United States on its original air date.[5]

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gollark: I mean, arguably antivaccination stuff is an infohazard.
gollark: There's that weird thing which is *apparently* a very mild infohazard where [REDACTED].
gollark: Seriously? But they're infohazards.
gollark: There was an archived category but it was empty when I looked.

References
  1. McLevy, Alex (August 13, 2018). "Better Call Saul's co-creator sheds some light on tonight's explosive confrontation". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  2. "Better Call Saul Easter Egg: Season 4, Episode 2". AMC. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  3. "Breathe". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  4. Fowler, Matt (August 13, 2018). "Better Call Saul: "Breathe" Review". IGN. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  5. Welch, Alex (August 14, 2018). "Monday cable ratings: 'WWE Raw' ticks up, 'Better Call Saul' dips". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
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