Top 10 Better Call Saul Schemes and Cons
#10: Tequila Scam
“Switch” Jimmy McGill, a.k.a. Saul Goodman, is a different kind of lawyer. While trying to explain this to his love interest Kim Wexler, they overhear an obnoxious stock broker, Ken, loudly talking at the bar. To illustrate his particular skills, Jimmy decides to con Ken. Pretending that he and Kim are wealthy heirs to a fortune hoping to invest their money, the two of them have Ken believing he’s landed a golden opportunity. In the meantime, they order expensive tequila. By the meal’s end, Ken, to ingratiate himself with his “new clients,” insists on paying for the bill, which he realizes too late is astronomically high. It’s a solid scam, and it serves to bring Jimmy and Kim closer together.
#9: Letter Writing Scheme
“Coushatta” This is another Jimmy/Kim concoction, this time to aid Jimmy’s buddy Huell. After Huell is busted for unwittingly attacking a cop who was yelling at Jimmy, the two of them hatch a scheme to make Huell look good. To accomplish this, Jimmy travels to Huell’s hometown in Louisiana, paying his fellow bus passengers to write letters in his defense. After flooding the judge with these, Jimmy and his camera crew proceed to imitate Huell’s defenders on the phone when the prosecutor calls. These tactics are enough to get Huell’s sentence reduced to probation instead of prison. While Jimmy assumes Kim is angry they had to resort to underhanded tactics again, she has the opposite reaction, again improving their relationship.
#8: Faking Out the Board
“Winner” Jimmy McGill has a complicated relationship with his brother Chuck. More on that later. His application to get his law license back is denied due to his lack of remorse for his actions toward his late sibling. So, the second time around, Jimmy plans to use Chuck’s final letter to him to stir up sympathy. But instead, he seems to come clean, apparently preferring to keep his brother’s final words to himself. Jimmy’s impassioned speech on his brother and their relationship leads both us and Kim to tears. Yet, when the hearing is over and Jimmy is a lawyer again, he reveals that it was all an act. We may feel like suckers, but we gotta appreciate Jimmy’s acting ability. Or should we say, Saul’s.
#7: Planting Drug Traces
“Sunk Costs” When it comes to clever criminal plans, Mike Ehrmantraut might be even better than Saul Goodman. Mike starts working with Gus Fring, due to their mutual hatred for Hector Salamanca. In order to hurt Hector’s business, Mike devises a cunning scheme. At one of Hector’s dead drops, Mike throws a pair of shoes onto a wire above the road. Then, he lays in wait with a sniper rifle, firing it off when Hector’s men arrive to make a drop before the border. Assuming it’s hunters, the men don’t pay attention when Mike shoots the shoes, dropping drug traces onto the truck. This gets them busted at the border, hurting Hector’s business. The careful planning of each step makes this a simple, but brilliant scheme.
#6: Getting Tuco Arrested
Top 20 Breaking Bad Questions Answered in Better Call Saul
“Gloves Off” Mike is incredibly skilled at killing people, but he wasn’t always as willing to go through with the deed. When Nacho hires him to kill Tuco Salamanca, Mike decides to get rid of the drug dealer another way. After calling the cops ahead of time, Mike picks a fight by running into Tuco’s car. Tuco, the eagle-eyed maniac that he is, spots this and immediately gets into Mike’s face about it. Mike plays the ornery, difficult old man perfectly, and works Tuco up enough that he beats Mike up soundly. Just in time for the cops to arrive. While Mike is considerably worse off personally, we admire his endurance and dedication to his plan.
#5: Billboard Hero
Top 10 Craziest Billboard Music Award Moments
“Hero” When beginning his solo practice, Jimmy has a tough time attracting clients. To make his name, Jimmy creates a billboard with himself dressed exactly like his brother’s partner Howard Hamlin. Naturally, Howard threatens litigation and Jimmy must take it down. To drum up interest, he gets a film crew to come as the ad comes down. Unluckily, the worker falls off the billboard, leading to Jimmy rescuing the poor guy. Except, naturally, Jimmy is in cahoots with the man, and it was all a stunt to make him look like a hero and drum up even more business. Everybody loves a hero.
#4: Changing Mesa Verde’s Address
“Fifi” Kim is an incredible lawyer, so it’s only natural that her client Mesa Verde decides to stick with her when she goes solo. However, after Chuck and Howard steal them back, Jimmy takes matters into his own hands. While ostensibly watching an insensate Chuck, Jimmy takes Mesa Verde’s proposal documents to a copy place and makes new copies, but with a different address number. This small error leads to Mesa Verde being unable to get their new branch address permit in court, and the bank going back to Kim. Jimmy’s well-intentioned actions have long-lasting consequences for not just Kim, but also for himself and his brother.
#3: Mike Tracks Gus
“Mabel” If there’s anyone smarter and more devious than Mike on “Better Call Saul,” it’s Gus Fring. When Gus finds out Mike has an interest in Hector, he plants a tracking device in Mike’s car. After Mike tears his car apart in search of it, he finds it in the gas cap. However, now that he knows about it, he uses it to his advantage. After draining the battery of the one planted in his car, he replaces it with his own, which he uses to track Gus’ man back to him. Given how well thought out this is, it’s no wonder Gus wants to work with Mike.
#2: The Pill Swap
Top 10 Ways Better Call Saul Changes Breaking Bad
“Slip” Even rookie criminals can deliver a smart con. Nacho Varga, fearing for his father’s life, decides to swap out Hector’s heart medicine pills with fakes. In order to make the switch, he practices for days until he gets the drop of the pill bottle just right. And when the time comes, the resulting sequence is pure, pulse-pounding tension as Nacho carefully takes the bottle, switches the pills, and replaces the bottle, all while Hector is in the room! By enacting this plan, Nacho ensures that Hector has a stroke, which leads to the state he’s famously in in “Breaking Bad.” While comparatively simple, this scheme really “rings our bell,” so to speak. Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
Blueprint Switch, “Wiedersehen”
Kim Cons Her Way Into a Better Deal for Her Client, with Jimmy’s Help
Unframing Irene, “Lantern”
Jimmy Has to Undo His Worst Deed Through an “Accidental” Confession
Delaying Mesa Verde, “Dedicado a Max”
Jimmy Keeps His Client’s House Standing Through All Manner of Amusing Trickery
Stealing From the Kettlemans, “Bingo”
Sure They’re Dumb, But It’s Still Satisfying Seeing Jimmy & Mike Steal From These Criminals
Lalo’s Fake Family, “JMM”
Wave to “Jorge” Kids!
#1: Exposing Chuck in Court
“Chicanery” Jimmy and Chuck’s relationship comes to a head when the latter tricks his brother into confessing to altering the Mesa Verde documents on tape. While a slick move by Chuck, Jimmy ultimately gets the best of his brother. After taking Jimmy to court for trying to destroy the tape, Chuck is put on the stand. Jimmy does his level best to lull Chuck into a false sense of security, letting Chuck “expose” his initial attempts to discredit him. But the kicker occurs after he reveals that he had Huell plant a cell phone battery on Chuck, showing that his “electrical allergy” isn’t real. This pushes Chuck into a rant where he reveals how much he despises his brother, calling his motives and mental health into question. Impressive chicanery.
