Bagman
Written by Gordon Smith
Directed by Vince Gilligan
Air date: April 6th, 2020
Lalo: Your man, he's... He's like the cucaracha, you know? Born survivor. If trouble found him, give it a day. If he's alive, he'll show.
Kim: And if he's...
Lalo: Well, then... day's not gonna make a difference, is it?
Kim: And if he's...
Lalo: Well, then... day's not gonna make a difference, is it?
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; Lalo gets an unexpected visitor.
Tropes
- Agony of the Feet: Jimmy gets a cactus spine embedded in his foot, apparently in his toe. There's a very unpleasant shot of him slowly pulling it out to reveal it's covered in blood.
- All There in the Script: Key members of the Colombian gang that attacks Jimmy have names based on their roles that only appear in the credits: Jefe, Matador and Tiburón.
- The leader who takes the cash from the Esteem's trunk and orders Jimmy's execution is named Jefe. (Spanish for "boss".)
- The man who tries to execute Jimmy and the first to be killed by Mike is Matador. (Spanish for "killer".)
- The man who escapes the initial assault and hunts for Jimmy and Mike throughout the episode is Tiburón. (Spanish for "shark".)
- Anachronism Stew: One of the robbers is armed with a MP7A1 sub machine gun, which would not be commercially available in 2004. Even if the Mexican black market would somehow procure the model, it had not finished development yet.
- Artistic License – Biology: Having Jimmy drink his own urine isn't just
Squick, it's also poisonous and can dehydrate the body much faster than if they never drank at all. If Mike had found a way to evaporate water and capture the vapor, it would have been a different story. - Asshole Victim: Mike ruthlessly killing the gunmen. Context wise all of this isn't even to protect Jimmy, who he puts in that situation in the first place, but to complete Gus' agenda, who might not be the lesser evil. But they're cartel hitmen who were just about to murder a guy for cash, so the viewer won't be mourning them.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: While their affection and care for each other was never in question, Jimmy and Kim's marriage seemed primarily motivated to protect themselves professionally. In this episode, Kim is against Jimmy going out into the desert to get the bail money for Lalo because of the risk factor. And when he doesn't return, a deeply rattled Kim reveals all to Lalo in the vain hope of getting some answers. While Jimmy is given the encouragement to soldier on by Mike's talk of loved ones and how he owes it to them to keep going.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Averted. Later into their ordeal, Jimmy and Mike practically look like zombies on death's door.
- Bittersweet Ending: Extremely downplayed: the episode ends with Jimmy and Mike still having to walk back to town on foot after their last chance at a ride or even supplies is flipped. Not only that, but due to being worried over Jimmy not coming home, Kim winds up letting Lalo know Jimmy has kept her in the loop about how he's been working for him. The only reason why the episode doesn't have an explicit Downer Ending is that Mike managed to kill the lone gunman that was still seeking to kill them.
- Bling-Bling-BANG!: Matador attempts to execute Jimmy with a gold-accented pistol before being shot by Mike.
- Blood-Splattered Innocents: Jimmy's shirt gets covered in the blood of the guy who tried to shoot him, and he cowers by his car while everyone is getting killed around him.
- Break the Haughty: Jimmy is brought very low indeed in this episode, just one episode after the one where he bragged that he was a god in human clothing.
- Call-Back:
- As Mike is inspecting Jimmy's car, he takes out the gas cap and stows it away in his bag, implying that he put a tracking device in there and that's how he found and saved Jimmy.
- Since they can't start a fire in the desert night due to not wanting to alert the lone gunman still scouting the area, Mike offers his solution to keeping warm: a space blanket. Jimmy firmly declines one because it reminds him of Chuck. Although later in the episode, he comes up with a crazy idea that involves walking around while covered in the blanket, but ultimately ending in failure.
- Call-Forward:
- The loss of Jimmy's Suzuki Esteem can be considered a counterpart to the destruction of Jesse Pinkman's RV.
- Marco drops a stack of money while he loads one of the duffel bags full of cash. A similar act of clumsiness will cost him his life when he drops the hollow point bullet that Hank uses to shoot him.
- When Jimmy lies down to die and Mike tough loves him to get up, it's filmed in the same way as their confrontation in "Full Measure".
- Jimmy's idea of burying money in the desert for safekeeping is what Walt later does with his $80 million.
- Clothing Damage: Jimmy's nice lawyer suit gets ruined pretty fast, both by blood and him having more shit to carry through a burning trek in the desert.
- Cutting the Knot: Deconstructed: Jimmy suggests merely burying the two bags of cash, and returning with a car to pick them up, and Mike makes it clear that isn't a viable option, as they don't have anything to dig a suitably large hole, nor a method of finding their way back to dig it up. Even as Jimmy tries digging the hole with his license plate, Mike makes it clear all he is accomplishing is wearing himself out.
- Darkest Hour: On the promise of being paid $100k for the job, Jimmy decides to go to the desert to acquire Lalo's $7 million bail money. What happens soon after is Jimmy coming dangerously close to getting killed in the desert by a rival cartel, and having to travel on foot in the blazing heat (with little water) after his Esteem finally bites the bullet. It eventually gets to the point that Jimmy decides to just lay down and die.
- Dead-Hand Shot: When Mike inspects the crash of the last gunman, only his legs are seen sticking out of the windshield.
- Death Seeker: A darker interpretation of the climax. As the gunman's car comes closer and closer, Jimmy closes his eyes and mutters "Come on" to either to the driver or Mike aiming at the car. If he got run over, Mike could easily take out the driver, steal the car and deliver the money.
- Despair Event Horizon: After spending several days walking the desert, lugging $7 million in two duffle bags, and getting a cactus thorn impaled in his toe, Jimmy promptly declares that he's done, and falls to the ground, waiting to die.
- Dramatic Irony: Mike explains to Jimmy that what keeps him going is knowing that he still has people who are counting on him, and he outright states he doesn't care if he lives or dies as long as he's able to provide for them. However, this speech is a tragic reminder of his final fate in Breaking Bad, dying at a tempered Walter's hand with nary a cent left behind for Stacey and Kaylee.
- Lalo scoffs at Saul suggesting him to use Nacho to get the bail money, noting his "competitors" will get a whiff and try to intervene, as well as wondering if Nacho will ditch him for the money... not knowing that his "competitors", Gus and Michael aka Mike are the ones who made his bail possible, and would have likely forced Nacho to play ball to deliver the 7 million dollars.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Discussed by Mike. Although he never wants his loved ones to find out the sort of work he does, he will endure what he must to see them safe and provided for. It seems to dawn on a despairing Jimmy that the same applies to him as well, which motivates him to keep going for Kim.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: It takes a moment for Lalo to understand that Kim is putting herself on the line to ask for Jimmy. He initially doesn't even seem to consider that she's acting out of concern for Jimmy rather than self-interest. He even has some difficulty saying, "You love him," as if he's astounded anyone would do something so risky solely out of love of another person.
- Exact Words: "The alternator's shot. Literally."
- Exhaustion-Induced Idiocy: Jimmy is exhausted and dehydrated after walking in the hot desert for so long, so he decides to drag the money bags over the stony desert floor instead of carrying them further. This ends up tearing a hole in one of the bags through which several of bills fall out all over the way.
- Foreshadowing:
- Jimmy first notices that his cellphone has "No Service" when he first starts driving out to pick up the money. He thinks it'll be no big deal, which underlies his assumption that the day won't involve anything other than a drive and back.
- Mike makes it clear to Jimmy that, by letting Kim in on what he was doing with the cartel, she is now "in the game". Jimmy repeatedly denies this, only for Mike to laugh. Sure enough, the next time we see Kim, she is visiting Lalo in prison under the guise of being on his legal team, clearly worried about why Jimmy never came home.
- When the gunman reappears the first time, Mike tells Jimmy to remove anything that'll catch the light. When the gunman appears again, Jimmy puts on the shiny space blanket specifically to draw his attention.
- Friendship Moment: Downplayed: after saving Jimmy, Mike lets him process his shock and later tries to get him to focus on the fact that he's still alive. And later, when Jimmy informs him about his marriage to Kim, Mike gives him a quick "Congratulations" before spelling it out to Jimmy that her knowing what he was doing was a big mistake on his part.
- Heroic Second Wind: For a given value of hero, anyway. Jimmy is ready to lay down and die when a brutal trek through the desert goes From Bad to Worse. Mike lifts him out of his torpor by telling him the reason he does what he does, the reason he has to survive. Jimmy, perhaps realizing the same applies to him, gets to his feet and gives us a rare but unquestionable display of courage by intentionally getting the attention of the lone gunman so that Mike can shoot him off-guard. And even though his gambit fails (in the sense that, while the gunman was killed, they now can't use his car to leave the desert), he picks himself up and continues the long trek home with no more complaints.
- Homage: Fans and critics alike have likened this episode to the show's equivalent of the Pine Barrens episode from The Sopranos. Two guys find themselves in a hostile environment that pushes them to their limits just to make it out alive. But instead of the deathly cold Pine Barrens in the middle of winter in New Jersey, it's the lack of water and the hot searing sun in the Mexican desert.
- Hope Spot:
- Right after Mike saves Jimmy, and the two proceed to leave the desert, Jimmy's car ultimately breaks down due to the alternator (literally) being shot.
- Just after Jimmy falls into his Despair Event Horizon and believes they'll never make it out of the desert, Mike spots the lone mercenary coming up the road again, and Jimmy actually goes out into the road clad in the light-reflecting space blanket to catch his attention, it becoming clear that Mike will then shoot the man and they'll be able to claim his car. ...except once Mike takes the shot, the car spins out of control and flips over, completely ruined. So Jimmy and Mike are still left with no option but to walk on foot. That the jug of water had burst apart during the crash is salt in the wound.
- Impromptu Tracheotomy: Matador gets shot in the throat by Mike.
- Just in Time: After Jimmy picks up the $7 million, several members of a rival cartel corner him in the desert and almost kill him... only for Mike to kill all but one, with the lone survivor opting to leave instead of die.
- Minimalist Cast: Roughly two-thirds of the episode only focuses on Jimmy and Mike. Kim and Lalo only get two scenes each, and they share one. Daniel and Luis Moncada as the Cousins are the only listed guest stars.
- Mythology Gag: Jimmy mentions a public defender case that Kim once took on about a kid who got kicked out his parents' house after they found a joint on him.
- Not So Stoic: Marco is very clearly confused when Jimmy tries to explain he's a lawyer who was sent by Lalo. Same can't be said about Leonel, though.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Motor Mouth Jimmy is uncharacteristically quiet for much of the trip through the desert, after the double trauma of almost getting murdered by cartel members and being caught in a shootout.
- When Kim first visits Lalo in jail, there is no trace of the latter's usual charm when he thinks Jimmy has betrayed his confidence.
Lalo: Who the hell are you that he tells you my business? - Popthe Tires: Mike shoots out the tires of one of the cartel gang's cars, moving the car downward so Mike can shoot the gunman using the car as cover.
- Properly Paranoid: Kim was absolutely against Jimmy agreeing to pick up Lalo's bail money, as there was no amount he would be paid to make the job worth it. One near fatal encounter in the desert later, it's clear Jimmy should've taken her advice.
- Rule of Symbolism:
- As Mike and Jimmy prepare to get rid of his car after it finally dies, Jimmy stops to grab his "World's 2nd Greatest Lawyer" cup from the floor... and it has a bullet hole through it. A clear sign if any that Nothing Is the Same Anymore.
- The death of the Suzuki Esteem itself displays just how much today marks a no-going-back point for Saul: one of the biggest emblems of his old life as Jimmy McGill the honest lawyer just got shot and buried. The car's red door originally tied in with the show's thematic use of red as crime to indicate that Jimmy mostly played it straight but had a leaning penchant to go the criminal route. Now there is no more red door to lean on. Saul has opened it up completely.
- In a similar vein, the space blanket. Jimmy refuses when it's offered at night, being reminded of Chuck and how he's always hated those things. But when he's partly given up, attempting a distraction at best and Heroic Suicide at worst, he wraps it around himself. With the breakdown in the courthouse, and his Sanity Slippage in the last couple of seasons, he's becoming more like his brother.
- Jimmy electing to store his urine inside the only container he has available: his Davis & Main water bottle. This time he's literally taking the piss with that firm.
- Also, despite his thirst, he is very reluctant to go so far as to drink his own urine. After reaching a breaking point, he's ready to do whatever it takes to survive this ordeal and risks his life to draw out the driver searching for them. When they start walking again, he takes a drink.
- Beyond this, yellow is one of the colors used thematically in the show to indicate criminality. He's now at the point where he's wilfully drinking yellow, however distasteful it might be at first. He steels himself and does what he has to do to survive. He knows now beyond reasonable doubt that fully embracing criminality and being un amigo del cartel is his only realistic move.
- Shout-Out: Mike misses the car that's trying to run Jimmy down. He braces himself, intensifies his sniper aim, and nails the driver of the vehicle before it reaches Jimmy. It's very similar to when John Dunbar in Dances with Wolves missed the buffalo running for a Sioux youth, adjusts his position in his stirrups, aims very carefully, and shoots the buffalo dead before it can run down the youth.
- Saved by Canon: Jimmy and Mike will survive the ordeal because they'll appear in Breaking Bad.
- A Simple Plan: All Jimmy had to do was drive into the desert to pick up Lalo's bail money from the Cousins. He almost gets killed trying to deliver it, and takes more than a day to get home after his car breaks down.
- Sniping the Cockpit: When Mike shoots the gunman, he and Jimmy quickly find out that when a car is traveling at high speed and suddenly finds itself without a driver, the results generally aren't pretty. Though in fairness, Mike was likely expecting the gunman to stop and get out of the car before finishing off Jimmy, and had to act quickly when it became apparent that he intended to run Jimmy down instead.
- Spiritual Antithesis: Like "4 Days Out", the plot concerns two of the main characters experiencing the harsh conditions of the desert due to car troubles. Unlike Walt and Jesse, however, Mike and Jimmy are unwillingly in the desert for an extended period of time, are being hounded by a cartel member, have to walk on foot the entire way back to civilization, and have to carry a large amount of money out of the desert (as it is meant to be bail money). Also, while Skyler had no reason to worry about Walt (as she was under the impression he was visiting his mom), Kim knows where Jimmy went to, and is understandably worried when he doesn't come back.
- Stalker Shot: The Twins are grabbing $7 million dollars at a Cartel stash house to pay for Lalo's bail and to meet with Saul to deliver him the money. As they leave in their car, the camera zooms out to reveal one of the workers at the stash house was observing the Twins and he makes a phone call to someone to inform them about the Twins' next move.
- Tempting Fate: Jimmy brushes away Kim's valid concerns, saying this is just a quick job and he will be back before Kim finishes her Mesa Verde work. Not only it goes horribly wrong, as Jimmy would have died if not for Mike, the subsequent events costs them more than a day.
- Thirsty Desert: After Jimmy's car dies, he and Mike have to continue on foot, and it very clearly takes a toll on the both of them.
- Tragic Keepsake: Played with: during the night, Mike pulls out two space blankets so they can keep warm. Jimmy (obviously being reminded of Chuck) pointedly refuses.
- Urine Trouble: The morning after camping in the desert, Jimmy wakes up take a piss... only for Mike to pointedly tell him to not "waste it". And sure enough, during the montage that follows, a filled bottle is one of the first things we see, dangling off of Jimmy's person. And yes, he does ultimately have to drink from it.
- Villainous Rescue: The rival cartel members seize the Cousins' money and decides to kill Jimmy to ensure he doesn't talk... as Mike snipes the would-be shooter.
- We Need a Distraction: When the lone survivor of the cartel shootout finally catches up to Jimmy and Mike, Jimmy grabs both bags and wraps himself in a space blanket in order to draw his attention away from Mike, so he can shoot him.Jimmy: LOOK AT ME!
- Yank the Dog's Chain:
- Following the shootout with the rival cartel, Mike and Jimmy take off in his Esteem... only for it to die due to the alternator getting a bullet through it.
- The episode ends with Mike taking out the lone gunman... only for this to result in the car he was driving getting totaled, meaning Jimmy and Mike still have to walk. And as the kicker, the car's crash rips the gunman's water bottle to shreds, forcing Jimmy to quench his thirst with his own urine.
- You Always Hear the Bullet: Averted, as there's a delay between Mike's bullets hitting their target and the gunshot reaching Jimmy's location.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: He doesn't actually say it, but Mike's brief glance skyward conveys this after shooting the lone gunman causes his car to roll and get totalled.
