Nacho trying to avoid the stick.
"You think you've lost everything? You have no idea."
— Kim Wexler
Kim's lateral move against Howard reunites Jimmy with some old clients. Nacho struggles as the forces against him close in. As the cracks in Gus' plans become apparent, Mike finds a way to take control.
Tropes:
- Accidental Murder: Gus' men go through the trouble of replacing the safe in Nacho's house with an identical one that includes bank transfers and a phone number Juan Bolsa traces to Nacho's motel. Nacho, who was told to stay there and shoot at anyone that bursts through his door, then discovers a man watching him from a nearby building. He confirms the spy was sent there on Gus' orders and was supposed to make sure he stays put. While Mike is strongly advocating for his rescue and the cartel wants him alive, Gus is planning on Nacho starting a shootout with Bolsa's men and the Cousins, hoping he'll die in the chaos.
- Ambiguous Situation:
- Kim asks if Jimmy actually gave the Kettlemans his bribe after they used "the stick" against them. He doesn't fully answer, but smiles and comments about "wolves and sheep". While likely, what's even more ambiguous is if he simply used the chance to purchase their inflatable Statue of Liberty off of them.
- It's not completely clear if Gus' spy knew who he'd been hired by, much like how the Sicarios only knew Tyrus as the middle-man. He claims he doesn't even know Nacho's name, as if to feign some sort of innocence. None of it matters after Nacho confirms he answers to Tyrus.
- As Jimmy and Kim leave the Kettleman's business at the end of the episode, another car is seen tailing them. We don't see who's in it.
- A-Team Firing: Nacho's shootout against the cartel's squad of gunmen goes in a Downplayed version of this. Nacho is able to land several shots against one while the Cousins kill another for being too reckless. Though, it ends with Nacho blasting through the windshield at the Cousins while they take their aim at his tires, and both come out of the firefight without a bullet in either of them. That said, it's established that the Cousins are trying to take Nacho alive, so they wouldn't be aiming to kill in the first place.
- Badass Boast: Mike to Tyrus during their standoff.Mike: Whatever happens next, it's not going to go down the way you think it is.
- Bad News in a Good Way: Kim assures Betsy she'll get at most 24 months in prison if the Kettlemans get busted for cheating their clients, because it's Craig the investigators will nail to the wall.
- Batman Gambit:
- The next part of Jimmy and Kim's plan involves convincing Cliff Main that Howard is a cocaine addict. So Jimmy goes to the Kettlemans, tells them he has evidence that Howard was on drugs while trying their case, and specifically begs them not to take the case to Davis & Main, and tells them that he's entitled to a finder's fee for originating the information. Naturally, they take the allegation straight to Davis & Main, and are careful not to mention Jimmy's name.
- Deconstructed with Nacho's sudden escape. Gus believes Nacho is willing to follow every order he's given and will obediently wait until he's told to leave, lying about the farm truck coming. Gus makes sure to plant a modified safe in his home to give the cartel Nacho's location. Knowing how bloodthirsty the Salamancas are, he intends for Nacho to follow instructions to shoot at anybody that bursts through his door, which the Twins do by kicking every door open. Unfortunately, Gus couldn't account for Nacho figuring out what was really happening and trying to make it out on his own. He also doesn't account for the Salamancas wanting to take Nacho alive. They want to kill him eventually, sure, but very slowly, and after they get information from him.
- Being Watched:
- Paranoid, Nacho takes time to look out the window to see if he's being suspected of anything. He eventually figures out that someone has been keeping tabs on him in a supposedly-abandoned building nearby.
- Gus has a sniper located outside his chicken farm and other men in different locations across Mexico to protect him from a wrathful Lalo. Mike also mentions there being wiretaps on possible phones Lalo might use.
- Blackmail:
- Betsy threatens to expose Jimmy and Kim over their smearing of Howard's reputation unless they can exonerate Craig properly.
- In turn, Kim responds by calling the IRS's Criminal Investigation Division and threatening to report the Kettlemans' current scam to them.
- Bring It: Just as Nacho gets ready to run into the Cousins, Marco gestures him with a single finger, daring him to come at them.
- Bullying a Dragon: Tyrus brandishes a gun against Mike, whom he certainly knows is a stone-cold badass, when he angrily defies Gus' order to fetch Nacho's father. Mike, despite having a pistol trained at his face point-blank, warns Tyrus it's not going to go the way he assumes it will. A phone call from Nacho defuses the situation, however.
- The Bus Came Back:
- Call-Back:
- When Mike and his men break into Nacho's safe, he finds the fake ID cards Nacho had set up for himself and his father. He makes sure to keep the one for Nacho's father just in case.
- Jimmy and Kim need to make sure the people they use have history with Howard to make their story believable to Cliff Main, but not trustworthy enough to keep Cliff's interest. Kim then gets a good idea of who they can use—one that Jimmy will hate due to experience.
- Once again, the Kettlemans are using their specialization in managing finances to scam others and reap benefits for themselves. This time, they're making sure to steal from elderly clients, lying about their returns while pocketing the difference for themselves, much like Sandpiper.
- After witnessing the scene between Kim and the Kettlemans, Jimmy makes a small remark to himself before they drive away: "Wolves and sheep."
- The Kettleman's family sedan still has stickers on the rear window depicting the family and a camping tent.
- Call-Forward:
- When Jimmy stops by the trailer home the Kettlemans operate their business out of, he stops to admire the giant Statue of Liberty float set up outside. His strip mall office in Breaking Bad will have an extremely similar float displayed on top.
- Hector surprises Gus by looking him in the eyes and shaking his hand with a warm smile, invoking their final confrontation in Breaking Bad. There's even a shot where Hector's hand obscures the right side of Gus' face. It's implied that his later stubborn refusal to look Gus is the eyes afterwards stems from him later realising this mistake of his in hindsight.
- Nacho backs a truck up against the Cousins while escaping (though they dodge the attack), which is how Hank cripples Leonel later on.
- Gus' spy smugly points out to Nacho that he knows Nacho can't shoot him because it would attract attention, like Jesse will explain to Neil Kandy in Todd's apartment.
- A sniper is positioned several meters away from Gus' chicken farm, and in a contrast to Gaff's intimidating attack on the compound, this sniper is meant to protect Gus and his men. For added irony, the sniper is actually the same guy that gets shot by Gaff.
- Car Fu: Nacho tries to ram into the Cousins using the hot-wired truck. This also serves to ram their vehicle blocking his way out of the place.
- Chronic Villainy: Even after Craig has been sent to jail for embezzling from the county, the Kettlemans decide it's a good idea to rip off the customers of their tax business. Invoked by Kim when she mentions that Craig would have a much harsher sentence than Betsy for the tax fraud, as he would be a two-time offender.
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: When Kim is at the Kettlemans (being the stick), she's wearing a far more colourful shirt than her usual blacks and blues, showing how much she's embraced the Saul Goodman methods.
- Concealment Equals Cover: Averted, as both parties know the truck won't act as good cover. Nacho ducks under the truck and out of sight of an approaching gunman so he can reload. Since the gunman knows he's there, he instead tries aiming closer so he can shoot through the truck.
- Continuity Nod: Gus decides to threaten Nacho's father again to keep Nacho in line. Mike doesn't just object, but outright refuses his orders in defense of Nacho.
- Didn't Think This Through: Shockingly, applies to Gus. While the cartel explicitly wants Nacho alive to find out who's he working for, an outcome that would lead directly to Gus, he's hoping Nacho will shoot at the Cousins and their men and die in an ensuing fire fight. Nacho ends up discovering he's being watched and escapes through a blind spot, buying him just enough time (and ammo) to fight his way out with a hot-wired truck. Now with him on the loose, Mike points out it won't be long before Nacho gets caught, worst case scenario in Lalo's hands.
- Double-Meaning Title: The two plotlines of the show both have a "Carrot and Stick" situation.
- Jimmy and Kim want to make sure the Kettlemans comply with their plan and keep quiet about their intentions once they figure out they were manipulated. Jimmy offers a cash bribe as the "carrot" while Kim threatens blackmail against their current tax scams for the "stick". In this case, the "stick" works.
- Mike tries to convince Gus several times into giving Nacho an easier way out of his situation, while Gus insists on having Nacho killed and intends to threaten the life of his father to get him to work. As a contrast, the "stick" does Gus no favors.
- Entitled Bastard: Betsy Kettleman continues to have a pathological inability take responsibility for anything. Her husband was caught embezzling millions of dollars, Kim and Jimmy strong-armed them into taking a plea deal, and she blames them because he went to jail, their reputation was ruined, and their kids had to go to public school.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Mike's patience with Gus and his callous treatment of Nacho is reaching its limits. When Gus finally decides to target his father, Mike flatly and threateningly rebukes him, spurring Tyrus to his defense.
- Everyone Has Standards: Jimmy is rather hesitant to threaten the Kettlemans and hopes they'll listen to his more generous offer, and he finds Kim's willingness to use the threat of blackmail against them rather off-putting.
- Fair-Play Villain: Despite the gravity of the situation, when the Twins confront Nacho face-to-face, they calmly stand their ground, withdraw their weapons, and let him make the first move with a Bring It gesture. Only when he finally makes his move do they attack. This is contrast to their minions that fired at him guns blazing the moment they sight him, one of whom the Cousins even kill for their recklessness.
- False Friend: While any kindness is obviously not genuine (unlike with Mike), Tyrus is seemingly nothing but supportive of Nacho ever since he escaped Lalo's hacienda. Early on, Nacho has no reason to doubt his instructions. Upon sighting extremely suspicious activity in the motel he was assigned to, Nacho discovers Gus is most likely disposing of him. Despite Tyrus' repeated assurances he isn't and to stay put, Nacho does not trust him and bails.
- Frame-Up:
- To further sell the idea that Howard is a cocaine addict to Cliff, Jimmy and Kim convince the Kettlemans to bring the claim to him for an attempt at exoneration. For added measure, they go to more law firms spreading this idea about Howard.
- Gus and his men change Nacho's safe and its contents to make it look as though he was working for someone and got out, while still distancing him from Gus' organization. They take some of the cash out and place an envelope detailing off-shore bank account transfers, with a phone number to Nacho's motel so they can find him.
- Gangland Drive-By: Nacho's last move is to drive into the Cousins while firing wildly at them.
- Good Cop/Bad Cop: Jimmy and Kim are respectively the "Carrot and Stick" for the Kettlemans. Jimmy tries to offer them a bribe to keep quiet about the role they played in assassinating Howard's character, while Kim threatens to report their recent criminal activities if they don't follow their demands.
- Guns Akimbo: Nacho takes the spy's Glock and uses it alongside his Browning Hi-Power.
- Human Shield: One of the cartel's men puts an innocent between him and Nacho, threatening to shoot her. He gets the first shot as Nacho doesn't start shooting until he lets go, but it doesn't do him any good.
- I Have Your Wife: Gus once again relies on putting Nacho's dad on the chopping block. Mike defies this and instead lets Nacho have a turn talking to Gus.
- Internal Reveal: Gus learns from Hector that Lalo survived his assassination attempt in this episode.
- I Want Them Alive!: After killing a Trigger-Happy gunman who was clearly just trying to kill him, the Cousins remind the overlooking cartel gunmen of the memo in regards to Nacho.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Much like their previous encounter with Jimmy, the Kettlemans decide to get out whiel they still can when Kim threatens to report their unethical business practices to the higher-ups should they press on about threatening Jimmy.
- Make an Example of Them:
- The Twins don't feel like telling the Trigger-Happy gunman to stop and just shoot him. While others are confused, they turn to another attacker and remind them that Nacho must be captured alive.
- Gus' first instinct is to get Nacho's father to keep Nacho in line. Mike disagrees with this and refuses to follow his order.
- Mistaken for Junkie: To help paint Howard as a cocaine addict, Jimmy encourages the Kettlemans to sue for exoneration following mismanagement of their case, due to their previous lawyers' abuse of substances while on the job. The Kettlemans actually somewhat believe this by pointing to Howard's rather energetic demeanor and go to Davis & Main under the belief that they have a case. Amusingly, Betsy assumes Jimmy was talking about Kim at first.
- Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Nacho discovers a spy keeping tabs on him under Tyrus' orders, and after everything else Fring put him through, assumes the worst and fears he's been left to die, bailing on their plan and escaping by himself. The only person he now trusts at this point is Mike, who warned Gus that something like this would happen.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Despite Lalo telling Hector to let the cartel keep thinking he's dead, his uncle decides to smugly smile at Gus when he would otherwise be indignant. This instantly confirms to Gus that Hector hasn't lost family and that Lalo is alive. It's implied that Hector's future refusal to look Gus in the eyes again is because he recognised this error of his in hindsight, and refuses to repeat it.
- Oh, Crap!: It's very subtle given Gus' nature, but it's clear that he realizes that Lalo is alive as soon as Hector shakes his hand and his eyes give off a very mild sign of alarm.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
- Gus accompanies Juan Bolsa to a visit to Casa Tranquila to see Hector and offer their condolences for his nephew's apparent death. Uncharacteristically, Hector actually reaches his hand out to shake Gus'. This, along with the look in Hector's eyes, is apparently enough for Gus to conclude without doubt that Lalo is still alive. It would have been much less suspicious if Hector had blamed Gus openly, which fits his spiteful and paranoid character.
- Gus himself is struggling to keep his composure after he realizes that Lalo is alive. He is visibly shaken when he shares the news with Mike, his fingers twitch when Tyrus updates him on the situation with the Cartel (the twitch being Gus' tell when he is particularly agitated with a situation, as was seen in Breaking Bad), and he accidentally knocks over a drinking glass despite normally being very meticulous in his movements.
- Mike's voice cracks in a solemn tone when Gus decides to use Manuel Varga as leverage, and he uncharacteristically lowers his voice to a vengeful growl when warning Gus he is not going to be doing what he's attempting to do as he locks the door in preparation for a possible confrontation with Tyrus.
- Overzealous Underling: One of the men sent to get Nacho gets Trigger-Happy and forgets they're supposed to capture him instead of outright executing him. He gets shot in the back by the Twins for this.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: Kim is absolutely ruthless with the Kettlemans, making it clear that she'll make sure they both end up in prison and lose what little they have left if they try and approach Hamlin with what they know. But she does this after figuring out the Kettlemans are defrauding their clients, and makes sure to add an additional demand that the two give back what they stole.
- Penny Shaving: The Kettlemans' current racket is pocketing the difference of a larger charge against customers using their tax and revenue services.
- Pet the Dog: Mike knows that Bolsa and the Salamancas will murder Nacho's girlfriends without a second thought should they find the girls still in Nacho's home. So he tells them in no uncertain terms, with increasing harshness out of necessity, that they need to leave immediately, as far away as possible, and never return. He even gives them some cash to facilitate their departure.
- Pistol-Whipping: Gus' spy smugly comments that Nacho can't shoot him since it would alert everyone in the area. Nacho responds by beating the back of his head with the pistol.
- Pop the Tires: The Cousins elect to shoot out Nacho's tires rather than him directly, since they need him alive.
- Reverse Psychology: Jimmy tells the Kettlemans several times not to take his information on Howard to other lawyers, and specifically says not to go to competition like Davis & Main. Of course, they do exactly that, just as he planned.
- Shoot the Dangerous Minion: Heavily implied to be Gus' plan for Nacho. With Lalo having survived and as the chances of Nacho getting captured become likely, Gus most certainly intended for Nacho to stay inside the motel and end up dying in a shootout against Bolsa's men. Unfortunately for Gus, Nacho figures this out and makes a run for it on his own.
- So Crazy, It Must Be True: Cliff Main expresses clear skepticism at the outrageous accusation that Howard is a cocaine addict, but recalls the previous episode and starts really thinking about it once he's left to his own devices. The Kettlemans also jumped at the idea, but only in a desperate bid to restore their reputations.
- Spotting the Thread:
- Nacho looks out to see if there's anyone to worry about from time to time. Eventually, he notices the "abandoned" shack actually has a working air conditioner, and a boarded window with a slight opening. Both clue him into the fact that he's being watched.
- Gus looks into Hector's body language to determine if Lalo is still alive or not. He gets his confirmation when Hector accepts his handshake and smiles at him. If Lalo were actually dead, there'd be no way Hector would have such a calm atmosphere around someone like Gus.
- The Kettlemans eventually figure out what Saul is up to when they get rejected from multiple law firms, and immediately threaten that they'll go to Howard and reveal it.
- Kim then reveals she's spotted her own thread, which is that the Kettlemans are once again committing tax fraud, this time by giving reduced returns to their clients, most of which are elderly Native Americans, and pocketing half of the real return.
- Stealing from the Till: This time, the Kettlemans have been lying to customers of their tax services by listing smaller returns on their documents while giving the real amount to the government, pocketing the difference for themselves.
- Title Drop: Jimmy and Kim discuss meeting Betsy and Craig the following day. Kim hopes he'll use "the stick", but Jimmy claims the Kettlemans are "more carrot types" and hopes they'll listen to reason. When push comes to shove, however, Kim decides their "carrot" isn't working and shows what they have over them.
- Trigger-Happy: The cartel gunmen go ballistic with this when they spot Nacho despite implicitly needing him alive. One man gets a little too excited with this and is promptly shot dead by the Cousins.
- Uriah Gambit: Tyrus instructs Nacho to wait at the motel until their men get there, instructed to shoot anyone that might come through the door. While a lot of time passes with no contact, Bolsa and his men open Nacho's safe where Gus has planted evidence of his location. After nobody comes through the door, Nacho then discovers he's being spied on and makes sure he knows they were working for Gus' men, ultimately concluding he was supposed to die in a shootout.
- Villain Ball:
- The Cousins could have shot off the tires of Nacho's car before he accelerated again, but as mentioned in Fair-Play Villain, it's likely they are simply giving him a fighting chance.
- They also could have caught him while he was trying to hotwire the car simply by running over a little faster, but they’re a little too fond of the Ominous Walk, giving him just enough time to get the engine started.
- Gus forgoes any merciful options to get Nacho back or dispatch of him, insisting on keeping him in the dark and planning to have him die at the motel. Mike warns him against this and offers alternative solutions, but Gus sticks to his guns and the whole plan proceeds to go horribly awry, with Nacho figuring out what's going on and escaping on his own. Now, as Mike points out, things are a whole lot worse for Gus, because Nacho is stranded in Mexico with no backup; he's going to get caught eventually, and when he does, the things he might say...
- What the Hell, Hero?: Jimmy doesn't say anything, but his expression gives it off in spades as he watches Kim viciously bully the Kettlemans into keeping quiet. It's to the point where he gives his offer of money to them anyway.
- Worf Had the Flu: The Twins have previously been shown to be a two-man army, but they need to make sure they get Nacho alive so the cartel can question him. Otherwise, they wouldn't have aimed for the tires instead.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: What Nacho concludes Gus has done, with no help in sight and the cartel descending on his location.
