Your Catch Up Guide For ‘Better Call Saul’ Season 3

Greetings, lawbreakers! You’ve been damn patient this past year, and all that waiting has finally paid off – Better Call Saul is back for its third season tonight, and the show is better than ever. If you’re racking your brain to remember where we left off, don’t sweat it – we’ve got a quick catch-up guide to make sure you’re up to speed for the show’s return.

Last year, we took the time to ensure that you were all caught up for the show’s second season, so be sure to check out the Season One Guide if you’re fuzzy on any of the happenings that hit our friend Jimmy McGill in the Breaking Bad prequel’s first season.

Wondering where Better Call Saul has called back to Breaking Bad? Breaking Down Saul, our breakdown of the Easter eggs from every single episode of the show, is here to help if you’re trying to expand your knowledge of Vince Gilligan‘s universe. In preparation for tonight’s episode and the impending third season, however, we’ve got a primer below:

CHARACTERS

James Morgan “Jimmy” McGill (AKA Slippin’ Jimmy AKA Saul Goodman) (Bob Odenkirk)
The eponymous Saul, the fast-talking, morally-conflicted lawyer just trying to get by. The show’s second season saw him toe the line between right and wrong. We also know he eventually ends up working as the manager of a Cinnabon under the name “Gene”.

Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn)
This sharp, chain-smoking shark left behind Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill to start her own private practice and split an office with her on-again, off-again love interest, Jimmy. While she’s definitely got a softer side, Kim is no-bullshit. She’s not here for Jimmy’s lies and schemes.

Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks)
Former big-city cop turned parking attendant/private investigator/”cleaner” of sorts, this beloved badass reluctantly fell into an alliance with Jimmy in the show’s first season, and now they’ve got each other’s backs. His number one priority is keeping his granddaughter Kaylee safe.

Charles “Chuck” McGill (Michael McKean)
Jimmy/Saul’s brother, the electromagnetic hypersensitive, brilliant lawyer from HHM who spends most of his days in his powerless home wrapped in a space blanket. He suffered a massive breakdown after attempting to re-enter the real world and practice law when Jimmy sabotaged him to ensure that he would lose Mesa Verde as a client.

Gustavo “Gus” Fring (Giancarlo Esposito)
Perhaps Breaking Bad‘s best villain, we’ve been eagerly awaiting drug kingpin/successful restaurateur Gus’ entrance to the Saul universe ever since whispers of Los Pollos Hermanos started happening on the show. He might seem polite and poised, but you do not want to get on his bad side. Thanks to Bad, we know that Jimmy and Mike eventually go into business with Gus.

SEASON TWO

EPISODE 1: SWITCH

Season Two kicks off with another visit to the black-and-white land of Gene’s Cinnabon, where he reminisces of a time when his initials were still ‘SG’. Back in Albuquerque, Jimmy panics when he receives a job offer at the cushy Davis & Main Law Firm, and decides to “quit the law”. He retires to a pool at a local resort, where he downs tiki drinks and snacks on nachos, but Kim quickly finds him and talks him down from his crisis (after a lot of alcohol and fun conning a familiar douchebag).

On Mike’s end, things are not as glamorous; his wannabe drug dealer, Daniel, insists on going to their deal with Nacho (Michael Mando) in his ostentatiously tricked-out Hummer (and matching sneakers). Mike bails, Daniel goes to meet Nacho alone, and evidently gets robbed for being too obvious with his wealth.

Jimmy eventually accepts the job at Davis & Main, and seemingly gets it all: the company car, the corner office, and the cocobolo desk. Though he’s still tempted to break the rules at every chance he gets, maybe Jimmy’s finally got the job he’s always wanted.

EPISODE 2: COBBLER

Now that Jimmy’s career seems to be on the upswing, Chuck finds himself abandoned and frustrated by Jimmy’s apparent success. While HHM and Davis & Main work together on their big Sandpiper case, Jimmy and Kim play a little footsie under the table at a meeting and seem to be in lovers’ bliss – she even gifts him with a “World’s 2nd Best Lawyer” travel mug. Jimmy settles into his fancy new car and his new job, though his inability to fit the travel mug into the car’s cup holder seems to be a pretty big metaphor for his current position.

Meanwhile, Mike confronts Nacho about Daniel’s robbery, and Nacho eventually agrees to return Daniel’s baseball cards – but only in exchange for Daniels “a school bus for 6-year-old pimps”. Even though Daniel is appeased, the police are still interested, and Mike is forced to involve Jimmy to throw them off the trail. Jimmy concocts an elaborate lie about what was actually hidden in Daniel’s wall (“fetish videos” involving a “squat cobbler”). To prove this, Jimmy tells Daniel he has to make a video – and he inevitably does.

Later, while canoodling with Kim, Jimmy recounts the day’s hilarious tales, but Kim is disheartened when she learns Jimmy has falsified evidence. She tells him she never wants to hear about anything like this again.

EPISODE 3: AMARILLO

Jimmy solicits Davis & Main’s services to Sandpiper Crossing’s senior citizens by the bus-full, and things get contentious with Kim when she suspects he’s been acting unethically. Her reputation is on the line for him, and she does not take this lightly. Jimmy resolves to start doing things the right way, but he’s met with hesitance from his boss when he pitches an idea for a commercial. Jimmy’s bored by the previous ads he’s been shown, so he enlists the help of film students to help him shoot commercials that will pack more of a punch.

Mike, meanwhile, deals with his daughter-in-law’s fears that there are gunshots happening in their neighborhood in the middle of the night. While he doesn’t find any evidence to back this up, he does promise to move Stacey and Kaylee into a better neighborhood. Mike decides to take on odd jobs from his vet friend that will rake in more money, and he’s evidently specifically requested for a certain task. Nacho enlists him to get rid of a guy he needs to “go away”.

EPISODE 4: GLOVES OFF

Well, Mike’s job may not have gone as well as planned, because “Gloves Off” kicks off with him stumbling into his house with a swollen eye and an envelope full of cash. When he settles in, he pulls a very familiar boxing glove necklace out of his pocket.

Jimmy’s quirky commercial idea also does not go over as planned, as Jimmy is grilled for airing an unapproved ad and other acts of “exuberance” to win over the partners. His boss Cliff evidently decides to give him a second chance, but before Jimmy can warn Kim of his missteps, she’s scolded by Howard and Chuck and condemned to Document Review. She’s rightfully upset – she knew this would happen. Jimmy attempts to save his relationship by going to Chuck’s house, but Chuck (after recovering from a state of complete mania) refuses to get down in the dirt with Jimmy.

We eventually get our explanation for Mike’s bruised state – Nacho enlisted him to take out Tuco. Mike sets Tuco up to get arrested, and it works – Nacho pays him the $25,000 he promised and wonders why Mike didn’t just kill Tuco, because Tuco is sure to come looking for him later. Mike quietly takes the money and leaves.

EPISODE 5: REBECCA

A piece of Chuck’s past is finally revealed in “Rebecca” when we are made privy to a (seemingly recent) flashback where Chuck and his violinist wife Rebecca prepare to have dinner with Jimmy, who’s just started in the HHM mail room. Rebecca calls out Chuck for shit-talking Jimmy before she’d even had a chance to meet him, and this colors what we’ve seen so far of the brothers’ relationship.

At present, Jimmy one-finger types a brief at Davis & Main and deals with Erin, perhaps the most annoying young associate at the firm. Kim tries to dig her way out of the doghouse by cold-calling clients, and after a ton of rejection, she finally seems to seal the deal with one – big bank Mesa Verde. Despite this, Howard tells her to return to Document Review, and she does. Chuck returns to work and ends up talking to Kim, informing her that Jimmy has good intentions, but he will always let down the people who trust him. In what seems to be an act of good faith, Chuck tells Kim he’ll talk to Howard about getting her back into action.

Meanwhile, Mike continues to deal with the repercussions of sending Tuco to jail, and receives a visit from Hector Salamanca. Hector asks Mike to lie to the police so that Tuco’s sentence is lessened in exchange for $5,000 (and probably not killing him). Mike ponders this in his favorite diner.

EPISODE 6: BALI HA’I

After fighting a bout of insomnia, Jimmy returns to his old digs at the nail salon, where he happily settles in on his pull-out bed for a good night’s slumber. He continues to leave messages for Kim, who is seemingly avoiding him, and she heads to work, where she’s back in Hamlin’s good graces (for now). She handles a frustrating Sandpiper hearing alone and is offered a job at the fancy law firm representing Sandpiper, but rejects it out of loyalty to HHM.

Mike receives threats from men sent by the Salamancas, and takes out the men sent to scare him with ease. He isn’t truly unsettled (and infuriated) until he spots the Salamanca Twins watching him and his granddaughter Kaylee at a motel pool. He’s not gonna take this much longer. Later, he meets with Hector, Nacho, and the twins, and Mike increases his price to $50,000. Hector eventually agrees, and Mike and Nacho come to an understanding.

Jimmy and Kim reconcile and con another unsuspecting schmuck into giving them a $10,000 check for an online dating service that doesn’t exist, and Jimmy tells Kim to take the job she’s been offered. On Jimmy’s way out of Kim’s apartment, he again attempts to make his travel mug fit into his fancy car’s cupholder – and breaks it to make it work.

EPISODE 7: INFLATABLE

We get a glimpse into Jimmy’s criminal beginnings as a young Jimmy witnesses his father get conned out of $10 and Jimmy resolves not to be a “sheep in this world”, and at present, Jimmy accompanies Mike to the District Attorney’s office to change his statement regarding Tuco’s gun.

Jimmy tries to convince Kim to tell Howard about her new job, but she brushes Jimmy off and says she won’t say anything until she has an offer in hand. Jimmy, tired of the restrictive environment at Davis & Main, attempts to dictate a resignation letter, but when he learns he can’t keep his bonus if he leaves before his year mark at the company, he has a change of heart – and decides to do anything and everything he can to get fired. This includes donning flamboyant suits, playing the bagpipe in his office, making smoothies in the kitchen (and silling everywhere), and not flushing in the men’s bathroom. Cliff, no fool for Jimmy’s antics, eventually confronts him and fires him, fully aware of what Jimmy’s been up to. Jimmy attempts to convince Kim to leave it all behind and start a firm with him, but she cannot commit to Jimmy’s “colorful” idea of practicing law.

Mike gets Kaylee and Stacey into a nicer neighborhood and continues to tail the Salamancas, watching their restaurant carefully. After Kim interviews gracefully at Schweikert & Cokely, she rushes to Jimmy at the salon, where she tells him they should definitely go into business together, but as separate firms under the same roof. Jimmy is speechless – Kim asks him to say yes.

EPISODE 8: FIFI

A long take following a Regado Helado truck to the Mexican border kicks off the episode, and back in Albuquerque, Kim resigns from HHM and scrambles to keep Mesa Verde as her client. Howard does the same, and it’s war. Jimmy and Kim joyfully find a prospective new office where they giddily kiss and celebrate their new business venture, and Kim tells Jimmy she was able to convince Mesa Verde to come with her. Things are lookin’ up for our dashing duo. Jimmy continues to use unorthodox (and illegal) methods to shoot his hammy commercials, but the results are too good to pass up.

Howard, furious with the loss of Mesa Verde, enlists Chuck’s help to win them back, and they do – but not before Chuck collapses due to the electricity exposure. Kim second-guesses her career move and confesses to Jimmy that she lost Mesa Verde. Jimmy heads over to Chuck’s to check in on him, where he edits one of the Mesa Verde files while Chuck sleeps. Chuck graciously thanks Jimmy for looking out for him.

The Regado Helado truck and the Salamancas are pursued by Mike, and in his spare time, he enlists his granddaughter’s help to poke holes into a hose (that he later fills with nails). He’s planning something big.

EPISODE 9: NAILED

Mike makes use of the spiked hose and tosses it into the path of the Regado Helado truck, which blows the tires and delivers the driver straight into Mike’s hands. He ties up the driver and takes cash from the tires, and leaves the driver unharmed. Later, Mike watches Hector freak out on his men and toss back some pills, and Mike contentedly heads to a bar, where he buys everyone a round.

In court, Chuck makes a fool of himself by putting the wrong address on the application for Mesa Verde’s new bank – he knows Jimmy is responsible, but he has no way to prove it. He heads home and has a complete breakdown, and Mesa Verde calls Kim. They want her back. Chuck calls Kim over to take the Mesa Verde files, and Jimmy accompanies her. Chuck immediately tears into Jimmy, accusing him of ruining things, and Kim defends Jimmy – and berates Chuck for always tearing him down in the process. Kim knows the truth, but she refuses to let Chuck continue this game.

Mike learns from Nacho that his act against the cartel did nothing but get the driver killed, and he retreats to his car, crushed. Meanwhile, Jimmy heads to the copy store where he defrauded Chuck to pay off the attendant, and he’s almost too late. Chuck shows up and frantically interrogates the copy store worker, and when the employee continually denies it, Chuck becomes completely overwhelmed by the electricity and emotional turmoil. He collapses, hitting his head on the counter as he falls, and Jimmy watches from across the street, horrified.

EPISODE 10: KLICK

We open on another flashback, this time to Jimmy and Chuck at their mother’s deathbed. While Jimmy is gone to get sandwiches, their mother wakes up and calls for him, and Chuck tearfully tries to tell her that it’s Chuck, not Jimmy. She dies, but when Jimmy returns, Chuck tells him she said nothing.

Back at the copy shop, Jimmy rushes in after his brief hesitation to save Chuck. At the hospital, Chuck refuses tests because of the electricity, and he accuses Jimmy of responsibility for all of this. Ernesto, Chuck’s assistant, covers for Jimmy, and admits that he’s noticed that Chuck’s been out to get Jimmy lately. Jimmy is appointed emergency guardian of Chuck, and Chuck is submitted for a CAT scan. Jimmy is suddenly overcome with shame after hearing his own words in one of his commercials, and resolves to stay by Chuck’s side until he emerges from his catatonic state.

Mike continues to follow the Salamancas (who are toting a hostage) and buys a gun off the black market, and prepares to shoot Hector from a distant vantage point. Nacho stands in the way, however, and their hostage is shot into a freshly dug grave. Mike misses his chance to take out Hector, and he’s drawn away from his spot when the sound of a droning car horn cuts through the desert’s silence. He returns to his car, where he finds a stick lodged against the horn and a note that simply reads “DON’T” on his windshield.

Jimmy heads to Chuck’s house to check on his condition, where Chuck is frantically electricity-proofing the whole house. In an attempt to relieve Chuck’s emotional duress, Jimmy admits to everything. After Jimmy leaves, it’s revealed that Chuck’s recorded the entire confession. Uh oh.

WHAT’S AHEAD

As we mentioned last season, Twitter user @sirena6783 cleverly arranged the titles of this season’s episodes to spell out a message:

Evidently, this prediction proves to be true, as hints of Gus have been all over the promos for season three. As Gilligan told us last year, “if you’re a fan of Breaking Bad, you will have even more reason to watch Better Call Saul in Season 3.”

Tune in Tuesdays for our weekly recaps and Easter egg hunts, folks!