This video breaks down every time Saul Goodman outsmarted everyone, tracing Jimmy McGill's cons from the corner store in Cicero, Illinois to the courtroom trap in "Chicanery" and the Howard Hamlin scheme in Better Call Saul season six.
The episode follows the schemes in order, one at a time, explaining how each one was built and why it worked. It starts with the boy at the register learning about wolves and sheep, moves through the Slippin' Jimmy slip-and-fall years in Chicago, and then examines the two most intricate cons of the series: the cell phone battery planted on Chuck McGill during the bar hearing, and the year-long campaign that ended Howard Hamlin's reputation at the Sandpiper mediation. It is told slowly and in plain detail, so each moment stands on its own whether you follow it to the end or not. It closes with the arrival of Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad and the case that brought him in.
What's covered in this video:
The double meaning of Cicero, Illinois, a town tied to Al Capone and organized crime, and also named for the Roman orator and lawyer whose speeches are still taught as models of persuasion.
The flashback in the third season episode "Slip," where a con man tells young Jimmy there are wolves and sheep in this world before running a fake emergency on Charles McGill Senior at the family corner store.
Chuck's courtroom testimony that Jimmy embezzled roughly fourteen thousand dollars from their father's business over time, and why the number comes from a witness who is not neutral.
The origin of the name Slippin' Jimmy, staged slip-and-fall accidents on the icy sidewalks of Michigan Avenue and State Street in downtown Chicago.
The Chicago Sunroof incident involving a man named Chet, the children in the back seat, and Chuck getting the charges dropped.
Marco Pasternak, played by Mel Rodriguez, the fake Rolex trade, the fake 1964 Kennedy half dollar coin con in the finale "Marco," and Marco's death mid-hustle.
The pinkie ring and phony Rolex that Saul wears for the rest of his life, both originally Marco's, and the Band-Aid tin of childhood coins hidden in the store's ceiling tiles.
"Chicanery," season three episode five, written by Gordon Smith and directed by Daniel Sackheim, first aired May 8, 2017 on AMC, holding a 9.7 user rating on IMDb.
How Huell Babineaux planted a charged cell phone battery in Chuck's jacket pocket for one hour and forty-three minutes, and how Chuck's own testimony disproved his condition.
The 2001 flashback dinner with Rebecca Bois, her ringing phone, and her presence at the hearing as part of the trap.
The Howard Hamlin scheme across season six: the bowling balls, the fake cocaine planted at the country club in "Carrot and Stick," and the sightline con in "Hit and Run," directed by Rhea Seehorn.
The staged Rand Casimiro photographs, the broken arm that nearly exposed them, Doctor Caldera's drugs smeared on the prints, and the bought private investigator who swapped the evidence.
"Plan and Execution," written and directed by Thomas Schnauz, aired May 23, 2022, and Howard's verdict that Kim chose to abandon her ethics.
Saul's introduction in Breaking Bad season two episode eight, the commercial slogan and phone number, and Badger's teenth sale to an undercover detective.
Mentioned in this video: Saul Goodman, Jimmy McGill, Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad, Cicero Illinois, Al Capone, Cicero the Roman orator, Charles McGill Senior, Chuck McGill, Slippin' Jimmy, Michigan Avenue, State Street, Chicago, Chicago Sunroof, Chet, Marco Pasternak, Mel Rodriguez, Rolex, 1964 Kennedy half dollar, Denver Mint, Albuquerque, "Slip," "Marco," "Chicanery," Gordon Smith, Daniel Sackheim, AMC, IMDb, Huell Babineaux, Rebecca Bois, Howard Hamlin, Kim Wexler, Rhea Seehorn, Sandpiper Crossing, Clifford Main, "Carrot and Stick," Thomas Schnauz, Ariel Levine, Vince Gilligan, "Hit and Run," Ann Cherkis, Wendy, Rand Casimiro, Doctor Caldera, "Plan and Execution," AMC Plus, Badger, Brandon Mayhew, Matt Jones
Chapters:
0:00 Wolves, Sheep, And Cicero
8:57 Chicanery: The Battery Trap
16:17 Destroying Howard Hamlin
20:21 Drugged Photos, Ruined Career
27:41 Saul's Desert Grave Debut
36:38 The Rocky Face Photographs
46:24 Laser Tag Versus Car Wash
56:59 Buyout: Restraining The DEA
1:09:12 The Stolen Ricin Cigarette
1:17:21 The Vacuum Repairman's Exit
1:27:07 Real Law Behind The Cons
1:36:04 Four Episodes That Became Everything
1:43:24 Why We Root For Him
