"Off Brand" is the sixth episode of the third season of the AMCtelevision seriesBetter Call Saul, the spinoff series of Breaking Bad. The episode aired on May 15, 2017 on AMC in the United States. Outside of the United States, the episode premiered on streaming serviceNetflix in several countries.
Plot
At the restaurant where the Salamancas settle accounts with their dealers, Nacho collects weekly payments while Hector observes from the table behind him. Domingo's payment is short, and he promises to make it up the following week. Nacho acquiesces, but Hector prompts him to administer a beating to Domingo as a warning not to be short again. That night Nacho is working in his father's upholstery shop and becomes distracted while thinking about the incident with Domingo, which causes him to accidentally injure himself with a sewing machine. Kim makes her closing argument before the New Mexico Bar Association, and points out that Jimmy has positively contributed to society through his elder law practice and his care of his sick brother. Rebecca tries to see Chuck at his house, but he won't answer the door. The bar association suspends Jimmy's law license for a year, but doesn't permanently disbar him. While Jimmy and Kim celebrate at Wexler-McGill, Rebecca drops by and asks Jimmy to help her get Chuck to let her into his house. Jimmy refuses and when Rebecca says that Jimmy lied to her about wanting her to help Chuck, he says he told the truth about Chuck's health. Rebecca says Jimmy should help because Chuck is his brother and Jimmy says "Not anymore, he's not." Rebecca angrily says Chuck was right about Jimmy using her to embarrass Chuck and leaves after bitterly telling Jimmy and Kim to "enjoy your champagne". Jimmy is unmoved, but Kim appears upset. Mike accompanies Stacey to a church support group, where she talks about how she and Kaylee are dealing with Matt's death. Outside, Stacey tells Mike that she has volunteered him to help build a playground, recounting a story Matt told her about helping Mike pour concrete for his garage. Chuck reluctantly lets Howard into his house. Howard says Chuck should consider Jimmy's suspension a victory and tries to dissuade him from continuing to hound Jimmy, and Chuck seemingly agrees. After Howard leaves, Chuck removes one hand from under his space blanket and reveals he's holding a battery. He forces himself to continue holding it in an apparent effort to overcome his EHS symptoms. Jimmy and Francesca call his clients to inform them of his one-year "sabbatical". Realizing he's wasting money if the TV ads for his law firm, for which he's pre-paid, air as scheduled, Jimmy rushes to contact a local TV station to pull his ads off the air. The early cancellation will cost him $4,000 and he needs to find a way to use the remaining long-term time slots he reserved so that he won't incur additional penalties. Jimmy approaches the owners of a carpet store, pitching to shoot a commercial for their business on a cheap budget and broadcast it for free. The owners briefly consider the offer, but balk when Jimmy explains that he has to shoot the commercial right away. When Jimmy informs Joey's film crew of the news, the make-up artist suggests he shoot a commercial for himself, pitching his ability to produce ads for other businesses. Struck with inspiration, Jimmy and the crew drive to the TV station and shoot an impromptu ad in front of nearby antennas and satellite dishes. At the Los Pollos Hermanos farm, a truck arrives to drop off restaurant supplies, after which Victor and Tyrus recover several concealed bricks of cocaine. They lay them out so Nacho and Arturo can choose the Salamancas' portion, but Nacho expects six instead of the agreed-upon five. Victor pulls a gun, but Nacho explains that Hector expects six, so Tyrus calls Gus Fring, who tells Tyrus to give Nacho the sixth kilo. Gus is revealed to be inspecting an industrial laundry facility that is for sale. After walking through the site, he gets into a car driven by Lydia Rodarte-Quayle and tells her that "it could work". Continuing his effort to defeat the symptoms of his electromagnetic hypersensitivity, Chuck wears a space blanket as he struggles to walk through downtown Albuquerque. He uses a pay phone to contact his therapist, Dr. Cruz, but is told the doctor is unavailable and he should leave a message. Nacho tells Hector about his encounter with Tyrus and Victor. Hector tells Nacho he plans to use Nacho's father's upholstery shop as a new front business so that the Salamancas won't have to rely on Gus to do their smuggling. Nacho asks Hector to reconsider, telling Hector that his father is a simple man who wants to run an honest business. Hector is outraged to learn that Tuco knifed another inmate leading to Tuco being locked up in a solitary cell, which prompts a coughing fit. He spills some of his prescription capsules before leaving, and after he picks them up Nacho notices that one was inadvertently left behind, which he stands over to hide and later recovers in secret. Jimmy explains to Kim a new business plan for making use of the remaining time he still has reserved on the local TV stations—a "commercial for commercials". He intends to offer his services as producer and spokesman in ads for local businesses and shows Kim a videotape of the ad, in which he wears a disguise and uses the name "Saul Goodman". Kim is taken aback and notes that "Saul" has "a lot of energy", to which Jimmy responds that it's "just a name".
Production
The episode was directed by Keith Gordon and written by Ann Cherkis, who previously wrote the season 2 episode "Rebecca". Laura Fraser briefly reprises her Breaking Bad role as Lydia Rodarte-Quayle, Gus's business associate. In a Q&A with AMC, Fraser distinguished the Better Call Saul version of Lydia from that of Breaking Bads remarking, "She hasn't started unraveling. She feels really secure and confident in her place in the world, and she even experiences moments of happiness and contentment. She's ambitious and enjoying her profession. She still has this air of irritability that betrays her genuine comfort levels, but she hasn't yet started to fray."
Reception
Ratings
Upon airing, this episode was watched by 1.72 million American viewers and received an 18–49 rating of 0.6 dipping one tenth from a 0.7 in the previous week. With Live+7 viewing factored in, the episode had an overall audience of 4.19 million viewers, and a 1.7 18–49 rating.
Critical reception
The episode received critical acclaim. On the site Rotten Tomatoes, it received a 100% rating with an average score of 8.35/10 based on 13 reviews. The site consensus reads "Off Brand" adds another well-written, solidly crafted chapter to Better Call Saul's terrific third season—as well as a reminder that even the show's transitional episodes are compelling."
