"Rebecca" is the fifth episode of the second season of the American television drama seriesBetter Call Saul, the spinoff series of Breaking Bad. Written by Ann Cherkis and directed by John Shiban, "Rebecca" aired on AMC in the United States on March 14, 2016. Outside of the United States, the episode premiered on streaming service Netflix in several countries.
Plot
Opening
In a flashback, Chuck is shown to not yet have experienced the symptoms of electromagnetic hypersensitivity, as he easily changes a light bulb in his dining room chandelier. Jimmy visits Chuck's house shortly after moving to Albuquerque, where he meets Chuck's wife, Rebecca. During dinner, Rebecca is charmed by Jimmy's personality and charisma, which makes Chuck obviously uncomfortable.
Main story
Jimmy meets Kim in the HHM document review room, where she is relegated to entry-level work, and proposes that she sue HHM for discrimination and creating a hostile work environment. Kim rejects this idea, suggesting it would be career suicide because no one would ever hire her again. She tells Jimmy to worry about his own job while she worries about hers. Throughout his day, Jimmy is accompanied by junior associate Erin, who claims to want to help Jimmy fit in better at D&M, though Jimmy realizes Cliff directed her to "babysit" him in the wake of the controversy over his TV ad. Kim decides that bringing a major new client to HHM is her best course of action for escaping document review, so she spends her free time calling law school, law firm, and business contacts. Kim capitalizes on one of these relationships to land Mesa Verde Bank as a client, meaning the potential of millions of dollars in revenue for HHM. Howard is happy to have the new client, but gives Kim no credit, and keeps her working in document review. Chuck promises to work on Kim's transfer out of document review, and tells her a story about when Jimmy and Chuck's late father ran a store in Cicero, Illinois. According to Chuck, Jimmy embezzled money, which eventually led to the store's failure. As a result, Chuck is always skeptical of Jimmy's schemes and plans. Mike is approached by Hector Salamanca, the leader of the Salamanca drug cartel and Tuco's uncle. Hector has no issue with Tuco spending time in prison as a learning experience, but objects to the length of the sentence he will receive for assault with a deadly weapon. He offers Mike $5,000 to tell police the gun at the scene of the fight between Tuco and Mike was Mike's, which will result in a reduction to Tuco's sentence.
Reception
Ratings
Upon airing, the episode received 1.99 million American viewers, and an 18–49 rating of 0.8.
Critical reception
The episode received positive reviews from critics. It holds a 93% positive rating with an average score of 8.42 out of 10 on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. The critics' consensus reads: "The effectively subtle and refined "Rebecca" sheds light on the McGill brothers' relationship while focusing on the ways Kim is affected by the fallout from Jimmy's mistakes." Terri Schwartz of IGN gave the episode a 9.0 rating, writing "Better Call Saul took the focus off Jimmy for a great Kim and Chuck episode."
