Jimmy and Kim discuss their impending nuptials outside of the courthouse while waiting to get their marriage certificate. Kim makes Jimmy promise to not hide anything from her ever again. After Huell arrives as their witness, Jimmy explains to him that this marriage is purely a formality. Jimmy and Kim exchange their vows in front of a judge, with Kim appearing very happy while saying her vows.
After the wedding, Kim leaves for her office at Schweikart and Cokely, promising to return home early. Jimmy gets a call from Nacho, who tells him that he has a new client named Jorge de Guzman. "De Guzman" is actually an alias being used by Lalo, who has been charged with the murder of Fred Whalen and the arson of Travel Wire. Jimmy tells the judge that Lalo pleads not guilty; however, the judge denies bail to Lalo. Later, as he and Jimmy privately discuss the case, Lalo says that he wants neither a deal with prosecution nor a trial, intending to be released on bail. Jimmy replies that that will be very difficult to do, since the charges against him are serious. Lalo assures him that he will be a friend of the cartel if he carries out the task. Noticing that Jimmy has hesitated and is entertaining the idea, Lalo suggests a new meaning for JMM: "Just Make Money."
Mike is reading the copy of The Little Prince he obtained from the library to Kaylee as a bedtime story. She eventually falls asleep. Mike joins Stacey in the kitchen and helps her do the dishes. Stacey is surprised when Mike casually brings up Matty, a subject he'd been reluctant to discuss in the past. Mike declares that his emotional state is much better now, deciding to accept the "cards that were dealt to him".
Kim, Rich, Paige, and Kevin convene at Mesa Verde's offices to discuss their disastrous last meeting. Kim apologizes profusely for the incident, but Kevin is disappointed with how poorly S&C dealt with the situation. Before Kim and Rich leave, Kevin tells Kim she can "do better" than Jimmy. Kim starts to leave with Rich, but changes her mind and returns to the meeting room. She tells Kevin that for all S&C's slip-ups, Kevin also has some responsibility to bear for the fiasco by ignoring her legal advice—Kevin decided to listen to Jimmy, even when Kim explicitly told him not to. Kevin is apparently impressed upon hearing Kim's counter argument, and declares that their next meeting is on Thursday.
Kim and Jimmy return home, while Kim talks about her meeting. When she asks about his day, Jimmy says, "I got married". They start to kiss each other, Jimmy lifts up Kim in his arms and carries her to the bedroom. They begin to make love, but Jimmy stops suddenly, making Kim ask what is wrong. Jimmy tells her about his new client, mentioning the offer of being a friend to the cartel. Kim tells that she is glad that he shared this news with her.
Lalo arranges for a cell phone to be smuggled to him in jail. Cooped up in his bunk, he calls Nacho from the phone and orders him to burn down a Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant. Nacho meets with Mike the next day, having decided since Lalo is incarcerated, Mike should help get him and his father an exit from the drug business. When Mike learns about Lalo's order to burn down a restaurant, he points out that this means Lalo is not really out of the picture yet, so Nacho can't get out from either Lalo's or Gus' employ.
In Houston, Gus is attending a board meeting of the CEOs of Madrigal's restaurant chains, chaired by Peter Schuler. Later that evening, after checking into a local hotel, Gus visits an adjacent room where Schuler and Lydia are waiting for him. Peter complains about the delays in building the excavation and warns that it will be difficult for him to get further funds, considering how close he's come to getting caught. Gus assures him that things will be smoothed out, reminding him of a situation in Santiago where Peter managed to save the both of them when their backs were against the wall, leaving Gus indebted to him. Lydia suggests that they arrange for Lalo to be shanked in jail, an idea Gus shoots down because such circumstances would cast suspicion on him for Lalo's death. It's clear Gus needs to do something, as he cannot risk his insider in Lalo's crew being exposed.
At Jimmy and Kim's apartment, Jimmy looks over real estate listings while Kim readies herself for work. After she leaves, Jimmy receives a phone call from Mike, calling to offer a job. Jimmy tries to make up an excuse for ending the call as he goes to answer a knock at the door... from Mike. Speaking as Gus' emissary, Mike asks for Jimmy to get Lalo bailed out of jail. Mike refuses to say who he's delivering this request on behalf of, as Gus doesn't want Lalo to know what he's up to, and hands Jimmy a dossier with the pertinent information from his visit to Lily Simmons.
Under the cover of darkness, Gus and Nacho break into a Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant in Los Lunas. While Nacho vandalizes the seating area, Gus turns up the burners in the kitchen, filling the room with gas, and heats up a fryer full of oil. He then grabs a frozen chicken from the freezer and sets it on the backside of the cooker's cover as an improvised ramp, so it will slowly slide down into the fryer when the thawing ice lubricates it. He then leaves the restaurant, returning to his car as the chicken falls into the fryer's hot oil and creates a flash that ignites the gas, causing a massive explosion that guts the interior.
At the courthouse, Lalo is in for his bail hearing. Jimmy tells the judge that the prime witness in the case was coached by a private detective; the prosecutor admits to this fact. Jimmy has even hired actors to perform as Lalo's fake family to prove that he has community ties to Albuquerque. Based upon these factors, the judge sets Lalo's bail at $7 million in hard cash. Lalo says he can arrange for the money, but Jimmy's going to have to personally drive south of the border to pick it up.
Jimmy and Howard unexpectedly meet outside the courtroom. When Howard inquires about the job offer, Jimmy says that he still has not decided. Howard is apparently aware about Jimmy's misdeeds and accuses him of throwing bowling balls at his car and sending prostitutes in the restaurant. Jimmy initially denies the allegations but after Howard says, "Jimmy, I'm sorry you're in pain", he accepts them and begins a vicious outburst at Howard. He suffers a complete meltdown, yelling at Howard as he leaves the court.
Tropes
- All for Nothing: Mike's work to get Lalo off the streets is undone, partially by himself. That said, his freedom still costs him $7 million and could put him under suspicion, so it's still a significant setback.
- Armor-Piercing Question: While Kim's delivery is very subtle and polite, the question itself still is intended to shake Jimmy up.Kim: But... do you want to be a "friend of the cartel"?
- Artistic License – Physics: As revealed by the MythBusters when testing a similar situation from The Bourne Supremacy, letting a line leak some gas into a room for a couple of minutes and then igniting it won't do anything more than cause a fire. Granted, setting off a fire in the middle of a kitchen filled with cooking oil and other flammable materials would set off a blaze strong enough to eventually gut the building, which is what Nacho was supposed to do, but it wouldn't be as visually spectacular as the building-levelling explosion that Gus causes here (it would probably take close to a half-hour for the gas to build up to the necessary level; one assumes that Gus and Nacho might've taken their sweet time when they were trashing the place). All of that said, boiling oil will react violently if a frozen chicken were to land in it.
- Awful Truth: Discussed: when Jimmy and Kim are laying down the foundations for their legal union (specifically, that Jimmy needs to keep her in the loop), Jimmy asks what would happen if he tells her something she doesn't want to hear. Kim just responds that she would want to know regardless.
- Beyond the Impossible: Downplayed: Given how he was arrested for ramming a car in a parking lot, murder, and arson, Lalo stating he wants to get out on bail (no trial) clearly takes Jimmy aback. And then Mike shows up later on in the episode, claiming to be giving Jimmy all the evidence he needs to get Lalo out.
- Black Comedy:
- Lydia's immediate reaction to Lalo being a problem is to try to have him killed and she goes about it like they were discussing a rodent infestation. In fact, she seems genuinely confused that Gus hasn't had him assassinated already.Lydia: [puzzled] I know this isn't my area of expertise but don't people get killed in prison all the time? I mean, "shanked" and "shivved" and whatnot?
- Lalo is so insensitive, he doesn't even remember the name of the man he killed and stares at Saul like he has no idea what he's talking about when the victim's name is brought up.Saul: That's gotta be his family. Fred Whalen.
Lalo: [stares in complete incomprehension]
Saul: The guy who died... at the TravelWire?
Lalo: [casually] Mm.
- Lydia's immediate reaction to Lalo being a problem is to try to have him killed and she goes about it like they were discussing a rodent infestation. In fact, she seems genuinely confused that Gus hasn't had him assassinated already.
- Both Sides Have a Point: Kevin Wachtell is disappointed at how poorly the Tucumcari situation went, and particularly at Kim and the rest of Schweikert and Cokeley not being able to fight Acker and his attorney in the end despite their panels of lawyers, paralegals, and assistants and Kim's experience and commitment to the case. Kim and Rich Schweikert acknowledge their firm's fumbles (and of course, Kevin is still unaware that Kim was actually sabotaging him) but Kim also bluntly points out that as lawyers, they are solely there to advise Kevin on courses of action. But Kevin ignored every piece of advice that they gave him along the way, and most of the problems happened because he was too stubborn to listen to anyone else, and they as his legal advisors can't continue a relationship that works like that.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Lalo legitimately had forgotten who Fred Whalen was despite having killed him.
- Call-Back:
- When Mike calls Jimmy to acquire his services once again, Jimmy blows him off by repeating Mike's previous excuses of being in a tunnel and claiming "the work's just not for me".
- This is not the first time a McGill has engaged in a full-scale public rant in a courthouse that has embarassed them personally.
- Call-Forward:
- Peter Schuler expresses concerns over being caught by the feds, explicitly saying that if he's caught, "it's over".
- In his introductory scene, Schuler happily dips and slow munches on food while reveling in Gus' business success. A few years later, and we'll see him eating that way again, a lot less happy looking...
- Lydia is starting to display her nervous tics as she frets about Lalo's interference in Los Pollos Hermanos. Most notably, she wonders aloud if having Lalo get shanked in prison would be the best way to solve things.
- Lalo promises Saul that if he gets him out on bail, he'll be "a friend of the cartel", an offer he states in Spanish first. When Walter and Jesse kidnap him, Saul (believing he's been kidnapped by Lalo's men) desperately pleads in Spanish that he's always a friend to the cartel.
- Jimmy's and Kim's getting married is motivated primarily by making it so that Kim can't be forced to testify against Jimmy should he end up in court for the Mesa Verde case or any of his other scams, much like how Skyler never actually went through with divorcing Walt so that she wouldn't ever be forced to testify against him. Though Kim does genuinely love Jimmy (even if not quite to the extent where she'd have married him under normal circumstances), whereas Skyler's motivation was more to save her and her children from the humiliation of having Walt's dealings come out in the open.
- When Jimmy and Kim are filing the paperwork for their marriage license, the clerk asks for documentation on Jimmy's two previous dissolutions. Saul had mentioned being married three times before in Breaking Bad. note
- The Cameo: This episode showcases Peter Schuler's first on-screen appearance in the Gilliganverse timeline.
- Control Freak: There was no reason whatsoever for Gus to be at the Los Pollos Hermanos branch that was torched – Nacho could have both trashed the place and set the fire. The only reason for Gus to set up the actual fire/explosion is that he wanted to control when and how his property got destroyed, not Lalo.
- Continuity Nod: Jimmy follows through with his excuse for the initials on his gifted suitcase from Kim, reciting "Justice Matters Most."
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: This is a key component of Jimmy's rant towards Howard, openly accusing him of pitying him.
- Easter Egg: When Nacho "breaks" into the Los Pollos Hermanos, you can see a couple objects on a nearby wall that resemble the Heisenberg caricature, assembled from a folded chair and some posters.
- Everyone Has Standards: Seeing Fred's grieving family in court gives Jimmy pause during Lalo's trial, given how he's working to get Lalo bailed out.
- Evil Pays Better: When Jimmy explains to Lalo that getting him out on bail would be extremely tricky, Lalo just calmly asks if he wants to be a "friend of the cartel". This is also the explanation for the episode's title:Lalo: Just. Make. Money.
- Failure Gambit: Lalo orders Nacho to burn down a Los Pollos Hermanos. Gus counters this by targeting a restaurant far away enough from his real operations that it won't affect too much of his work, while satisfying Lalo into thinking it went the way he wanted.
- Faking and Entering: Nacho and Gus break into one of his restaurants to make it look like Nacho broke in and trashed the place on his own accord. Gus even orchestrates a big explosion with a frozen chicken and a controlled slide into a fryer.
- False Flag Operation: Technically—Gus and Nacho burn down one of Gus' restaurants to satisfy Lalo. Since Nacho is The Mole and Gus owns the restaurant, you could argue this as Lalo will likely believe the Salamancas were in full control and Gus took an actual blow from Nacho.
- Fire-Forged Friends: Gus and Peter Schuler are revealed to have this relationship, as Peter saved them when they faced serious trouble in Santiago.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: When the courthouse official hands over Jimmy and Kim's driving licences, they're clearly readable when the screen is paused and you can find out Jimmy and Kim's details including their heights and dates of birth.
- Friendship Moment:
- Even though it's for legal reasons only, Jimmy has Huell be his best man when marrying Kim at the courthouse. He even offers to get Jimmy rings... by suggesting he go out and stealing someone else's for them.
- Gus manages to calm Peter Schuler down over his concerns of being caught, and Lydia mentions taking him to the rodeo the next day.
- Howard tries this with Jimmy, as he's willing to ignore everything Jimmy's been throwing his way during the last few episodes and make him Chuck's replacement. The already stressed-out Jimmy doesn't take this well.
- Gaslighting: Jimmy acts like he has no idea of what Howard is accusing him of, on top of still blaming Chuck's death on him, going so far as to call him "unhinged."
- A God Am I: During his episode-ending rant, Jimmy screams, "I'm like a god in human clothing! Lightning bolts shoot from my fingertips!"
- Hypocritical Humor:
- Nacho tells Mike that he wants out completely, not just from Gus' hold on him but the cartel entirely. This coming from a man who told Jimmy four episodes ago that "It doesn't matter what you want; once you're in, you're in".
- Played for Drama: Jimmy outright accuses Howard of acting unhinged... right before acting unhinged himself when tearing him a new one.
- Immediate Self-Contradiction: Nacho tells Mike that Lalo is out of the way, before explaining that Lalo called him from his cell. Mike points out that if being in prison has no effect on his ability to do his work, he's not out of the way, is he?
- Locked Out of the Loop: Mike explicitly doesn't tell Jimmy who his employer is or why he wants Lalo bailed out, as Lalo cannot know Gus' latest hand.
- MacGyvering: Gus turns a deep-fryer into a firebomb by putting its metal cover above the cooker at an angle and placing a frozen chicken on it. Turning the fryer on, Gus leaves the chicken to slowly thaw out, becoming a delayed fuse as it slides into the grease. The ice and the boiling oil have a violent reaction that ignites a leak from a gas line that Gus had disconnected.
- Might as Well Not Be in Prison at All: Lalo's cell is just a small room he shares with another inmate, but his connections allow him to handle things from the inside with a smuggled mobile phone. Mike lampshades this, pointing out that Lalo isn't "out of the picture" if he can still communicate and make decisions with the rest of the cartel.
- Mood Whiplash: After Lalo's trial, and Jimmy quietly watches Fred's family from the corner, Howard tries one last time to see if Jimmy is interested at all in his job offer, before accusing him of throwing the bowling balls at his car, and being involved with the prostitutes that showed up at his lunch last episode. Jimmy promptly begins metaphorically tearing Howard's head off, following him down the hallway all the while ranting about how small Howard is compared to him... and the note the episode ends on is of Jimmy abruptly stopping his rant and trying to recompose himself, straightening his tie while settling his breathing, before quietly walking away.
- Mouth of Sauron: Mike's role in asking Jimmy to ensure that Lalo gets bail.Mike: You're representing Eduardo Salamanca AKA "Jorge de Guzman"?
Jimmy: He's a client of mine, yeah. So?
Mike: I need you to get him out on bail.
Jimmy: Wh-What do you have to do with Lalo Salamanca?
Mike: I represent someone who has an interest.
Jimmy: Someone like who?
Mike: Someone your client can never know about.
Jimmy: Yeah, look, I don't take marching orders from the man behind the curtain.
Mike: Mmmm. In this case, it's better that you do. - My God, What Have I Done?: Saul has to act as Lalo's lawyer. During a hearing, Saul notices Fred's mourning family is in the courtroom and he's clearly going through something in his head.
- Never My Fault:
- When Howard asks why his job offer offended Jimmy so badly, he curtly responds "You killed my brother", meaning that he's still perfectly willing to unload all of his guilt over Chuck's suicide onto Howard.
- Kim initially takes fault for what happened with Acker, but then Kevin makes the mistake of disparaging her husband, so she walks back in and tells him (while hiding the fact that she and Jimmy sabotaged the whole thing) that he's to blame for not following orders.
- Noodle Incident:
- While this episode does make clear that Kim wasn't the ex who Saul referred to in Breaking Bad, it still doesn't give any further explanation concerning Jimmy's prior marriages.
- Santiago is brought up once again. This time, it's revealed that whatever the incident in Chile was, Peter Schuler was a part of it too. Gus reminds him of how they had their "backs up to the walls" and says he'll never forget what Schuler did for him.
- Not so Dire: When Lalo's bail is set at $7 million, Jimmy is extremely apologetic... until Lalo causally remarks that he can pay that. All Jimmy has to do is pick it up for him.
- Plausible Deniability: Mike manages to help get Lalo out on bail by having Saul reveal that the key witness to the crime was tampered with by someone (Mike) posing as a PI, and casting doubt on the prosecution's claim of "Jorge" having no ties to the community by planting a fake family in the courtroom and having Jimmy claim them to be his fiancé and stepchildren. The prosecution having been firmly smeared as running on false intel, the judge agrees to Jimmy's plea for bond.
- Precision F-Strike: The third instance of this this season is done by Jimmy this time, when practically going feral towards Howard:Jimmy: You have no idea what's going on! You're just a teensy tiny man in a teensy-weensy little bubble!
Howard: [sympathetic] Oh, Jimmy...
Jimmy: Oh, don't you fuckin' "Oh, Jimmy" me. - Production Foreshadowing: During the lead up to the premiere of Season 5, AMC released some in-character videos involving the cast of the show talking to the audience. One such video saw Jimmy (as Saul) giving the audience advice
on getting out of jury duty. One of the things he suggests is starting up a relationship with someone behind closed bars, explicitly mentioning "[shying] away from cartel bosses". - Pun:
- One of the Madrigal companies represented at the meeting is Luftwaffles.
- Later in the meeting, Gus introduces curly fries with southwestern influence, named the "Spice Curls."
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Potentially as a result of Lalo's trial, Jimmy is in no mood to deal with Howard upon meeting him in the halls of the courthouse, and finally just explodes at him over his repeated insistence of Jimmy taking him up on his job offer at HHM.
- Revealing Cover Up: Gus rejects Lydia's suggestion to simply have Lalo killed in prison, as it would raise too many red flags, and the cartel leaders would immediately suspect him, as Gustavo's enmity with the Salamancas is well-known.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Right in the middle of Jimmy's extended rant, Howard decides to just silently walk away from Jimmy, even as he follows him to continue screaming at him.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Jimmy calmly admits to Howard that he wasn't considering the job offer at HHM because it had become "too small" for him.Jimmy: IT'S NOTHING TO ME! IT'S A BACTERIUM! I TRAVEL IN WORLDS YOU CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE! YOU CAN'T CONCEIVE OF WHAT I'M CAPABLE OF! I'M SO FAR BEYOND YOU! I'M LIKE A GOD IN HUMAN CLOTHING! LIGHTNING BOLTS SHOOT FROM MY FINGERTIPS!
- Spousal Privilege: Jimmy claims that this is the main reason he and Kim are getting married. If they are, neither can be asked to testify against the other in court.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- As it turns out, Mike's brief stint at playing a private detective is instrumental in getting the judge to reverse his decision not to offer bail. No matter how bad the guy you're trying to screw over is or how noble your intentions, witness tampering is still grounds for testimony being dismissed.
- Although Jimmy is successfully able to argue that the information that led to Lalo's arrest and the prosecution's case for his lack of standing is speculative and manipulated, and thus get Lalo granted release on bond, the judge still has to make the bond a hefty $7 million due to the nature of the charges.
- Tempting Fate: When Mike calls Jimmy for a favor, Jimmy does the "going through a tunnel" bit... only to find Mike standing at his front door.
- Time Bomb: Gus improvises one out of a frozen chicken.
- Title Drop: "JMM" is seen on Jimmy's suitcase that Kim bought for him before he decided to practice law under Saul Goodman. Lalo sees the case while Jimmy visits him in prison and asks what it means. Jimmy lies that it's his motto, "Justice Matters Most". Lalo suggests a better acronym: "Just Make Money".
- Tranquil Fury: Gus is silently but visibly upset after burning down an LPH restaurant.
- Unflinching Walk: Gus walks back to his car unfazed as his restaurant explodes behind him in a huge fireball.
- Villainous Friendship: Turns out Gus and Peter Schuler the Madrigal Chairman have a very close and genuine friendship formed from the bond they shared during their escape from certain death in Chile. Even Lydia seems to have a good rapport with them.
- Villains Out Shopping: After their secret meeting with Gus is concluded, Lydia cheerfully invites Schuler to go to the rodeo with her.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- Kim makes a point of informing Kevin that the reason why the case against Mr. Acker fell apart for Mesa Verde was wholly because he went behind his lawyers' backs and agreed to Jimmy's offer.
- After several episodes of hemming and hawing, Jimmy lays into Howard over the job offer at HHM, going so far as to once more take Howard's belief that he contributed to Chuck's suicide and throw it into his face.
- You Are What You Hate: No matter how much he claims to not be thinking about Chuck, it's Jimmy's turn to have an unhinged breakdown in court.
- Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: A strange example. Howard renewing his offer to hire Jimmy seems to push Jimmy's Berserk Button; why? Possibly because it shows a striking difference in Howard's previous behavior; not only refusing Jimmy a higher position in HHM but putting Kim in doc review were what made Howard look like a Jerkass in Jimmy's eyes. But Howard has been through a lot, has gone to therapy, and the magnanimous offer of employment to Jimmy, even despite knowing that Jimmy is behind the pranks played on him, shows that Howard has really grown as a person. This deeply unsettles Jimmy, who, instead of trying to examine and improve himself, is running away from his past, his pain and his issues as fast as he can. He doesn't like seeing Howard do what he feels unwilling—or unable—to do, so he lashes out.
- Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: When Nacho meets up with Mike, he is informed that getting Lalo sent to jail wouldn't be enough to ensure his dad's safety.
