Amarillo (Better Call Saul)
"Amarillo" | |
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Better Call Saul episode | |
Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 3 |
Directed by | Scott Winant |
Written by | Jonathan Glatzer |
Featured music | "Waltz Across Texas" by Ernest Tubb |
Original air date | February 29, 2016 |
Running time | 42 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
| |
"Amarillo" is the third episode of the second season of the AMC television series Better Call Saul, a spin-off series of Breaking Bad. The episode aired on February 29, 2016 on AMC in the United States. Outside of the United States, the episode premiered on streaming service Netflix in several countries.
Plot
Opening
In
Main story
Jimmy presents his outreach report at a Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill-Davis & Main strategy conference and announces he has obtained 24 more plaintiffs. Chuck McGill expresses suspicion, pointing out there was only one response to the notices the attorneys mailed to Sandpiper residents. Jimmy claims that in retirement homes news spreads quickly by word of mouth, which satisfies everyone but Kim Wexler. She warns Jimmy to operate ethically since she recommended him to D&M and his actions reflect on her.
Jimmy finds that mailed notices to Sandpiper residents are not successful because residents ignore them or Sandpiper staff intercepts their mail, so he suggests filming a television ad.
Jimmy hires the camera crew he previously used[a] and films an ad of his own. He decides to run it without the firm's approval and contacts a station in Colorado Springs, where no Sandpiper residents responded to the mailings. The commercial is a success, and D&M gains over a hundred new plaintiffs in a single day. Cliff is furious to discover that Jimmy ran the ad without permission.
Reception
Ratings
Upon airing, the episode received 2.20 million American viewers, and an 18–49 rating of 1.0.[1]
Critical reception
Terri Schwartz of IGN gave the episode an 8.5 rating, writing "Better Call Saul is right for leaning into the sense of dread its existence creates, and it does a great job of using that to its advantage in 'Amarillo'."[2] Nicholas Parco of the New York Daily News wrote, "'Amarillo' sets up two important scenarios moving forward: McGill will deal with the fallout of his cleverness, for the first time at Davis & Main, while Ehrmantraut is about to enter the underworld of Albuquerque, on Nacho's behalf."[3]
Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club gave the episode an A− rating, writing, "as season 2 hits its stride, Gilligan and Gould are doubling down on their radical narrative strategy of simplicity. Characters pause before they make decisions. The small and finite set of contexts and causes impinging on them is clearly delineated. Consequences proceed directly from actions. And at the end of every episode, Jimmy and Mike, the protagonists of the only two plotlines, have moved a few spaces along a game board whose finish line is already set, and we know exactly what to anticipate the next time we see them."[4]
Notes
References
- ^ Welch, Alex (March 2, 2016). "Monday cable ratings: 'Love and Hip Hop' leads the night, "Street Outlaws" falls". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
- ^ Schwartz, Terri (February 29, 2016). "Better Call Saul: "Amarillo" Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 2016-03-02. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
- ^ Parco, Nicholas (February 29, 2016). "Better Call Saul, Season 2 Episode 3 Review: 'Amarillo'". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
- ^ Bowman, Donna (February 29, 2016). "Better Call Saul's showmanship has one simple secret". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
External links
- "Amarillo" at AMC
- "Amarillo" at IMDb