Better Call Saul Season 3 - Episode 2

"Witness" is the second episode of the third season of the AMC television series Better Call Saul, the spinoff series of Breaking Bad. The episode aired on April 17, 2017 on AMC in the United States. Outside of the United States, the episode premiered on streaming service Netflix in several countries.

Better Call Saul Season 3 - Episode 2

Goodman is a wild card, willing to bend the rule of law whichever way suits him at the moment. But in both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, his tendency to act selfishly brings him nothing but trouble and pain. In preparation for the premiere of Season 6 next month, here are the best Saul Goodman episodes to rewatch from every season of television in which he appears.

It took until only the second episode of the critically acclaimed prequel Better Call Saul to see an early glimpse of Saul Goodman breaking through the Jimmy McGill facade. Having been kidnapped by Tuco Salamanca (Raymond Cruz) and dragged into the desert with two skateboarding scammers, McGill flaunts his negotiating skills by convincing him to go easy on the teens. The scene is 13 minutes long and contains zero musical interludes, leaving just the tension in the dialogue and the sounds of the desert to set the mood.

Both Jimmy and Walt have a thing for denting metal objects. In Saul, the camera shows that the trash can at Hamlin, Hamlin, & McGill already has dents, suggesting that's Jimmy's default whipping post. Walt, meanwhile, takes it out on a paper towel dispenser in the season two Breaking Bad episode "Four Days Out" after a meeting with his oncologist. The motif returns in the season five episode "Gliding Over All," when Walt returns to the same restroom.

The opening credits' an inflatable Statue of Liberty was introduced as gaudy topper to Saul's office in season two's Breaking Bad episode "Better Call Saul," just before Jesse gives the famous "you want a criminal lawyer" speech.

Veteran Breaking Bad director (and helmer of this episode of Saul) told The Hollywood Reporter this desert scene was shot in the same spot the famous "Say My Name" showdown happened. Bad producers called this stretch of desert their "backlot," because they used it so often. Also shot there: the season four scene in which Gus, Jesse and Mike are blindfolded on their way to Mexico.

Tuco shows off his salsa making skills in Saul, and later makes some delicious-looking burritos in Bad after kidnapping Jesse and Walt. Unfortunately for our heroes, Tio Salamanca warns his nephew when Walt tries to slip some ricin into Tuco's burrito in the season two episode "Grilled." Tuco does not take that well.

In Saul, Tuco gets annoyed when No-Doze argues with Jimmy on his behalf. That becomes deadly in Bad, when No-Doze reminds Walt and Jesse who they work for. Tuco is ticked No-Doze is speaking for him, and beats him to death in the season two episode " Seven Thirty-Seven." Tuco actor Raymond Cruz told THR his character's reactions are more extreme in Bad, because he's a meth addict, while in Saul he hasn't yet started using the drug.

As he's tackled to the ground by police officers, Jimmy screams that he's got bad knees. He told Walt and Jesse the same thing in the season two episode "Better Call Saul" after they kidnapped him and drove him to the desert. "We thought he must have taken a lot of bad hits on the ice of Chicago and he probably messed up his knees falling down all the time," said writer Thomas Schnauz. "When we did it in Breaking Bad, we didn't have a reason that he had bad knees, but it's nice when we can tie those threads together."

When Jimmy wanders around the wilderness looking for the Kettlemans, he's treading in familiar territory to Breaking Bad fans. The segment was shot near where Walter killed Mike in the season five episode "Say My Name." (H/T to @hypergenesb for spotting the similarity, which was later confirmed by Bad alum and Saul writer Thomas Schnauz)

Saul's office decoration was seen in multiple Breaking Bad episodes, including season three's "Caballo Sin Nombre," in which he gave Jesse a big stack of cash. Episode three of Saul gave that a nod during its theme song. (H/T @BDF331)

Some mysterious graffiti tagging appears in both Jesse's trashed house in the season four Breaking Bad episode "Probem Dog" and on the phonebooth Jimmy frantically tries to contact Nacho at. (H/T Reddit).

When viewers first saw this bus stop ad, Badger was about to get busted for selling drugs to an undercover cop in the season two episode "Better Call Saul," which introduced the world to Saul Goodman.

The Mike-centered episode of Better Call Saul calls back to Breaking Bad's "Dead Freight." The first shot in the Saul episode features the train Mike is taking into town from Philadelphia, with a similar shot featured in Bad's train robbery episode. A key part of Bad lore is that Drew Sharp, the young boy who ultimately is gunned down by Todd, discovered a tarantula in the New Mexico desert. Before leaving Philadelphia, a bartender remarks to Mike that Albuquerque is known for its tarantulas, to which Mike responds that he'll be on the lookout. (H/T Reddit).

The man who is squeezed into the Loyola's bathroom during Jimmy's meeting with the Kettlemans is the same guy who later helps rig up the magnet in the season five Breaking Bad episode "Live Free or Die."

Better Call Saul season 6 aired between April and August 2022 on AMC. New episodes were made available on Mondays on the AMC Plus streaming service. If you want to catch-up on the series, you'll need a subscription to AMC Plus.

Internationally, the series streamed on Netflix. New episodes were made available on Tuesdays following the release on AMC on Mondays. All episodes of the final season are available on the streaming platform now. However, viewers will need a Netflix subscription in order to watch these.

REVIEW: And so, Jimmy's slide in murky moral waters continues. Picking-up right where last week's left off, this second episode of Better Call Saul's second season continues Jimmy's descent, with it becoming clearer and clearer that it's Jimmy's relationship his big brother, Chuck (Michael McKean) that put him on his eventual collision with Walter White.

Overall, this is another excellent episode and it's worth saying that Better Call Saul's on an amazing roll getting into season two. By contrast, think back to where Breaking Bad was two episodes into season two. It was great, but it wasn't until about halfway through the season that it became the dramatic juggernaut we remember. In that way, Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad are almost running neck-and-neck with how good they were in their individual runs. I wonder where this will be a season from now?

"Better Call Saul," which is currently airing its final episodes at the time of this writing, has always been a show with extreme attention to detail. Creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould have taken advantage of the shared universe of "Better Call Saul" and its critically acclaimed forebearer "Breaking Bad." What's more impressive is that a spin-off show is of the same caliber, if not better, than its predecessor. The incredible tension, drama, and character work of "Better Call Saul" has helped to make the show progressively better each season. Moreover, its connection to "Breaking Bad" and the six years that it takes place before that show occurs helps to create an exciting through-line that eagle-eyed viewers can pick up on if they're paying attention.

The earliest "Breaking Bad' reference in "Better Call Saul" comes from "Uno," the first episode of the series. The opening, shot in black and white, depicts Saul Goodman living life as "Gene," a manager of a Cinnabon in Omaha, Nebraska. Saul's new life as Gene is a reference to his line to Walter White in the final season of "Breaking Bad," in which Saul begins to get ready to disappear, saying his best-case scenario is "managing a Cinnabon in Omaha." The opening flash-forward sequence of "Better Call Saul" shows us that's exactly where he ends up, with each season of the spin-off series (save for season 6) opening with a little black and white look into Saul's life on the lam as Gene.

Loyola's family restaurant is another locale re-introduced in season 1 of "Better Call Saul." The restaurant was first featured in "Breaking Bad" as the first meeting place between Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) and Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) in season 4, episode 6 of the original series. Jimmy and his clients used the diner later (or should I say before?) in "Better Call Saul," and it would also become a meetup spot in the spin-off series, mainly for Mike Ermenthraut, who frequents the diner in both series. Since both shows take place in Albuquerque, it only makes sense that there would be overlap in some of their backdrops.

In season 1, episode 3 episode of "Better Call Saul" titled "Nacho," Jimmy waits anxiously by a pay phone to contact the threatening Nacho, whom he inadvertently got arrested in that same episode. Another blink-and-you-miss-it moment, Jimmy's payphone to talk to Nacho has layers of graffiti. Still, one particular tag is that of Jesse Pinkman's, featuring the initials "JP." An identical tag is featured on the walls of Jesse's house in "Breaking Bad" season 4, episode 7. It's good to know that in the early 2000s ABQ, Jesse Pinkman was tagging telephone booths instead of focusing on his chemistry homework.

One of the most significant references comes early in "Better Call Saul," when Jimmy (before he becomes Saul Goodman) decides to try out Elder law in season 1. Where better to develop some clientele than "Casa Tranquila," a nursing home that would be blown up six years later by Walter White and Hector Salamanca in "Breaking Bad" to kill Gus Fring. While Hector isn't there yet (more on that later), seeing the locale in "Better Call Saul" feels like an ominous ode of things to come.

Don't let his license plate fool you. In the world of "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul," Ken does nothing but lose. The character, portrayed by Kyle Bornheimer, makes a brief appearance in each show. Early in "Breaking Bad," season 1, episode 4, Walter White gets cut off in a parking lot by Ken and waits behind him in a line at a bank while Ken speaks on the phone obnoxiously loud through his Bluetooth earpiece. Walt runs into him again at a gas station, as his cringe-worthy "Ken Wins" license plate is pretty unmistakable. Walt, spurred by the life-changing news of his cancer, sets the stockbroker's car on fire, much to Ken's misery. 041b061a72