"Amarillo" is the third episode of the second season of the AMC television series Better Call Saul, the spinoff 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 Amarillo, Texas, Jimmy bribes a Sandpiper bus driver to have his bus "break down," allowing him to sign up new residents as plaintiffs for the lawsuit while ostensibly complying with bar association rules against soliciting clients.
Main story
On returning to Albuquerque, Jimmy presents his client outreach report at a joint Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill-Davis & Main strategy conference, proudly announcing he's obtained twenty-four more clients. Chuck expresses suspicion about the legality of Jimmy's methods, pointing out only one response to the law firms' mailed notices to prospective clients, and wondering if Jimmy has engaged in illegal solicitation. Jimmy explains that retirement homes are tight knit communities and information spreads fast by word of mouth, which satisfies everyone but Kim. Kim is wary and warns Jimmy to keep his methods legitimate, since she recommended him to D&M and his actions will reflect on her reputation. Jimmy tries to use the standard mailing of legal notices to prospective Sandpiper clients, but with little success, due to the elderly recipients either ignoring the letters or Sandpiper intercepting their mail. Jimmy suggests filming a targeted television ad, since the Sandpiper residents set aside one hour of free time to watch television. Cliff Main is intrigued by Jimmy's idea and promises to talk to him more about it when he returns from a week-long business trip. Jimmy views Davis & Main's previous television ad, but finds it dull and lacking "showmanship." Jimmy independently films his own TV commercial, hiring the camera crew he previously used for the billboard stunt. He contacts the sales department of KKTV in Colorado Springs, Colorado, a market that showed zero responses from the Sandpiper legal notice mailings, and arranged for the commercial to be run in that market as an "experiment". The ad depicts one of his elderly clients as a poor old woman being victimized by Sandpiper Crossing and the ad closes by urging residents to call D&M. Kim is impressed with Jimmy's work, and Jimmy decides to run the ad without the firm's approval. It is a massive success, with D&M gaining over a hundred clients in a single day. However, Cliff is furious that Jimmy released the ad without consulting him or the partners first and demands an explanation from him. Jimmy then lies to Kim about the setback. Stacey voices concerns to Mike about gunshots she has heard in her neighborhood over the past two nights, and says the police have done nothing about them. Mike does overnight surveillance without Stacey's knowledge and finds that the "gunshots" were apparently the sound of newspaper deliveries hitting the sidewalk. Stacey calls Mike the following morning, and says there were three more gunshots the night before. Mike visits Stacey's house and she points out a chip in an outside wall that she insists is from a bullet. Despite knowing that there were no gunshots, Mike tells Stacey what she wants to hear – that he will help her get out of the neighborhood. Dr. Caldera offers Mike a lucrative job as an enforcer for a loan shark, which pays better than bodyguard jobs. Mike declines, as he is not interested in performing any more illegal work, especially work that requires him to hurt or kill others. Caldera points out that if Mike wants "next level pay", he must be willing to do "next level work." Mike later receives a call from Caldera, who tells him about a job offer with a client who specifically requested Mike. Mike meets the client, who is revealed to be Nacho, and they discuss what seems like a "hit" on some "guy".
Reception
Ratings
Upon airing, the episode received 2.20 million American viewers, and an 18–49 rating of 1.0.
Critical reception
The episode received positive reviews from critics. It holds a 100% positive rating with an average score of 7.14 out of 10 on the review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes. The critics' consensus reads: "'Amarillo' finds Better Call Sauls talented leads settling into their characters while laying the groundwork for subsequent plot points." 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'." Nicholas Parco of the New YorkDaily 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." 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."
