1x02 Mijo

This isn't an origin story exactly. We already know who Jimmy McGill is by the time he shows up on our screens. But at the same time, "Mijo" is an important building block in how Jimmy becomes Saul Goodman. It's darkly funny, but there's something very compelling about Saul more or less realizing his potential and gaining his confidence based on being able to negotiate a drug dealer seeking retribution down to a leg-breaking from murder. The ensuing montage, showing McGill employing that newfound confidence to hack it as P.D. and get honest pay for semi-honest work is a neat little tale that feels very much of a piece with the rest of Vince Gilligan's ouvre.

It also shows a certain conscience within Jimmy McGill. Sure, he's bending the truth and using his big mouth (which he thanks Tuco for pointing out) to help out criminals, but he also could have walked away from the whole Tuco mess scot free, and instead chose to put himself at risk again to save the lives of the twins that he'd put in harm's way. And his discomfort at the breaking of breadsticks (in a scene that was tremendously shot by ace director Michelle MacLaren) reveals that he can't quite just walk away from what happened, even if it's given him a new lease on life to some degree or another.

That scene out in the desert features the trademark Gilligan combination of terror and comedy, with a moral choice looming over the whole affair. The entire Tuco chain of events, from the tightly-wound boss's quiet reassurances to his grandmother, to his exuberant response to hearing he's "the king" in an FBI sting, was cracker-jack storytelling that paid off in the rest of the episode.

I also appreciated the slow development of the relationship between Jimmy/Saul and his brother. The show is sticking with a slow burn as to the real nature of Chuck's predicament, but his disapprobation and implied concern that Saul is back to his "Slippin' Jimmy" days after reading the hospital bill is good character work that helps motivate the "back to work" montage that follows. By the same token, Saul encouraging his brother not to use the "space blanket", and the meaningful looks exchanged nods toward the bigger issues of Chuck's situation without being too blunt about it.

And it all leads to a promising jumping off point for the story, with Tuco's henchman (Nacho?) hearing Saul's story and wanting to use the (apparently) scam-minded attorney to help him rip off the Kettlemans. The last scene does have a certain "something tells me we'll meet again, each and every week" vibe, but it works as a natural followup to the events of the episode. Engaging from the start, this was a great episode.