Carrot and Stick
"Carrot and Stick" | |
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Better Call Saul episode | |
Episode no. | Season 6 Episode 2 |
Directed by | Vince Gilligan |
Written by |
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Produced by |
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Featured music | "Battle Hymn of the Republic" by Chill Wills |
Cinematography by | Paul Donachie |
Editing by | Skip Macdonald |
Original air date | April 18, 2022 |
Running time | 61 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
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"Carrot and Stick" is the second episode of the sixth season of Better Call Saul, the spin-off television series of Breaking Bad. Vince Gilligan directed the episode written by Thomas Schnauz and Ariel Levine. The episode aired back-to-back with "Wine and Roses" on April 18, 2022, on AMC and AMC+. In several countries outside the United States and Canada, the episode premiered on Netflix the following day.
In the episode,
"Carrot and Stick" was met with critical acclaim for Gilligan's direction and Mando's performance as well as its tension, cinematography, and action sequence. An estimated 1.16 million viewers saw the episode during its first broadcast on AMC.
Plot
Nacho becomes restless while hiding at the motel, realizes he is being surveilled, and sneaks out of his room to confront the watcher. Nacho confirms the watchman is reporting to Gus and realizes Gus has betrayed him to the cartel. A cartel hit team including
Production
Series co-creator
The tax preparation scam in the episode was inspired by Gould's wife, who was the victim of fraud when someone filed a
Actor Michael Mando performed the majority of the stunts for his character, Nacho, except for jumping out of the motel window and driving the truck when it collided with another vehicle. The window jump was performed by stuntman Victor Lopez. It required two takes, something Gilligan rarely does to minimize the risk of injury. Gilligan thought the first take was too perfect and looked like a "superhero landing", so he asked Lopez to do it again and "make it look not so good". Lopez agreed and even suggested adding a limp to his run after the landing, which Gilligan thought was a nice touch.[1]: 32:52–36:14 Mando called the work "incredibly physical. It's excruciatingly emotional, and psychologically, you're just hitting every note on the piano. It was just such an amazing rollercoaster ride." The motel sequences were shot in two locations. The scenes in the interior of Nacho's room were shot in a studio while the exterior scenes were filmed on location. While filming Nacho's escape from the motel room, Mando and Gilligan would take turns bashing the air conditioning unit.[7] A shot during the shootout, where the camera seemingly goes through the windshield of Nacho's truck, was the idea of cinematographer Paul Donachie. Gilligan was initially hesitant in shooting it but accepted the fact that the sequence needed a lot of shots from various angles. The shot was done practically; the crew spent some time figuring out the logistics and used a windshield that was sawed in half. The shootout took two to three days to film.[1]: 41:28–47:14
Gilligan said it was difficult to convey information visually when trying to minimize the dialogue, especially during Nacho's scenes. He wanted the watchman to be smart in concealing his location. One moment in the episode has Nacho looking out of his room window and catching a glint of light and a small amount of movement from the watchman. A young
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website
Ratings
An estimated 1.16 million viewers watched "Carrot and Stick" during its first broadcast on AMC on April 18, 2022.[13] According to AMC, the two-episode premiere generated over half a million engagements across social platforms including Twitter and Facebook, an increase of more than 60% compared to "Magic Man", the premiere of the show's fifth season. Social analytics tracker ListenFirst said a 10-hour national trend on Twitter made the show the "#1 television drama in social engagement, organic search, conversation, and content shares." The two-episode premiere also resulted in the biggest day of new subscriber sign-ups for AMC+.[14]
Accolades
The episode received two nominations at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Sound Editing and Outstanding Sound Mixing.[15]
Lawsuit
Liberty Tax filed a lawsuit against AMC and the production of Better Call Saul in August 2022 due to the appearance of the Kettleman's tax service. The lawsuit states that Liberty's trademarks were violated and that the episode gave the appearance that their services were fraudulent.[16]
Notes
- ^ Nacho's side of the call is depicted in the following episode, "Rock and Hard Place".
References
- ^ a b c d e McCaleb, Chris; Dixon, Kelley; Gould, Peter; Gilligan, Vince; Schnauz, Thomas; Levine, Ariel; Reinisch, Joey (April 19, 2022). "602 Better Call Saul Insider" (Podcast). AMC. Archived from the original on April 23, 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
- ^ a b c Snierson, Dan (April 18, 2022). "Better Call Saul co-creator breaks down Jimmy and Kim's scheme, Lalo's mission". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
- ^ Lynch, Jason (June 15, 2017). "Acura Caps This Season's Better Call Saul Partnership by Bringing Back Some Memorable Season 1 Characters". Adweek. Archived from the original on April 23, 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
- ^ Anderson, Lauren (April 10, 2022). "Better Call Saul: American Greed Special Drops Hints About Final Season". Showbiz Cheatsheet. Archived from the original on April 10, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
- ^ a b Davids, Brian (April 24, 2022). "Better Call Saul Star Julie Ann Emery on Return of Her Fan-Favorite Character and That Unexpected 'Karen' Connection". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 25, 2022. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
- ^ Evangelista, Chris (April 18, 2022). "Better Call Saul Season 6 Begins With The Shocking One-Two-Punch Of 'Wine And Roses' And 'Carrot And Stick'". /Film. Archived from the original on April 20, 2022. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
- ^ Davids, Brian (April 19, 2022). "Better Call Saul Star Michael Mando on the Dangerous Road Ahead for Ignacio". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 23, 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
- ^ "Carrot and Stick". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
- ^ Potts, Kimberly (April 18, 2022). "Better Calls Saul's final season opens with a duo of tense, thrilling episodes". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on April 20, 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
- ^ Greene, Steve (April 19, 2022). "Better Call Saul Review: In 'Carrot and Stick,' Everyone Takes Their Turn as the Bad Guy". IndieWire. Archived from the original on April 23, 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
- Segal, David (April 19, 2022). "Better Call Saul Recap, Season 6 Episode 2: Do the Hustle". The New York Times. Archivedfrom the original on April 23, 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
- ^ Tobias, Scott (April 18, 2022). "Better Call Saul Recap: Scamming Season". Vulture. Archived from the original on April 23, 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 19, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Monday 4.18.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
- ComicBook.com. Archivedfrom the original on April 23, 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie; Hipes, Patrick (July 12, 2022). "Emmy Nominations: The Complete List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
- ^ Oganesyan, Natalie (August 2, 2022). "Better Call Saul Sued for Making Statue-Themed Liberty Tax Service Look Like Embezzlers". TheWrap. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
External links
- Official website at AMC
- "Carrot and Stick" at IMDb