Better Call Saul 1.06: Mike's Back Story
Feb. 26th, 2025 11:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerI quipped in my previous blog that Better Call Saul improves from its ploddingly slow series start not by making Saul's story more interesting but by telling a fascinating story about a supporting character, Mike.
If you come to Better Call Saul without ever having watched Breaking Bad you wouldn't recognize the significance of the character Mike Ehrmantraut. For the first 4½ episodes he's a bit player who's part of a running gag. Mike is a taciturn parking lot attendant. He's the ticket-taker at the City Hall parking garage. Saul— who hasn't even changed his name yet and is still struggling young lawyer Jimmy McGill— never has the right number of validation stickers on his parking stub. He's always one short. And he always tries his swashbuckling best to sweet-talk Mike into letting him skate. But Mike stonily refuses every time.
Finally in episode 5 Jimmy can actually afford the parking and tries to make amends with Mike for his history of shenanigans. He even hands Mike one of his new business cards. Yes, business cards! Jimmy's finally getting a bit of traction in elder law, writing wills and such for elderly clients. His card bears the slogan in colorful print, "Need a will? Call McGill!"
And with that we go into Mike's back story— and why he needs to call a lawyer— and how and why, in Breaking Bad, he's not a parking lot ticket-taker but a bag-man, a fixer, and a hit-man for a powerful drug lord.
Mike gets a knock on his door at home in Albuquerque. Outside on the steps and front walk are four police officers. Two are in plain clothes, two are in uniform. "You're a long way from home," Mike says to the one at his door, apparently recognizing him. "Yeah, so are you," the plain-clothes detective responds.
The two detectives are from Philadelphia. They've traveled 2,000 miles to Albuquerque because they're investigating the murders of three police officers. Mike responds to all their questions with one word: "Lawyer." The cops remind him he's not under arrest; they just think he can help. "Lawyer." It's just a few simple questions. "Lawyer." Mike slides Jimmy's card across the table. The cops are bewildered by the slogan, "Need a will? Call McGill!" Because they're investigating Mike for murdering two of those police officers.
The backstory gets explained through a series of flashbacks at the end of episode 1.05 and through the meat of 1.06. Mike came to Albuquerque recently. His daughter-in-law, Stacey, met him at the train station. Their relationship seemed a bit strained. Mike excused himself to the bathroom before getting in her car. In the bathroom he changed a bandage under his shirt... a bandage covering an untreated gunshot wound.
Mike was drying out from alcoholism when he arrived in Albuquerque. He apparently turned to the bottle when his son, Matty, a Philadelphia police officer, was murdered. Mike was also a Philly cop, 20+ years. Matty's murder ostensibly drove him to drink. He retired. Or maybe he was pushed to retire if he was showing up drunk.
Matty was murdered in an apparent setup, the visiting cops tell us. His attackers were waiting for him. There were no leads they found. The other two murders happened later. One was Matty's partner, the other was another cop in their precinct. They were ambushed, too. And as with Matty's murder, there was scant evidence implicating who it could be.
In a private conversation flashback Stacey demands to know if Mike thought Matty was dirty. She noticed that he'd become distant and secretive in the days before he was murdered. Then, sometime after his killing, she found several thousand dollars hidden in a suitcase. It looked to her like maybe he took a bribe or stole money. Could it be that he was dirty and was killed by criminals he stole from?
Mike assures Stacey that, no, Matty wasn't dirty. He admits that he was the one Matty called one night when Stacey overheard part of the convo. Matty had been approached by the other two cops offering him a share of stolen money to join their graft. Matty was considering turning them in, and sought his dad's advice.
Mike's advice? Take the money. "That whole precinct was dirty," Mike explains to Stacey. The only way to survive there was to join in the graft, otherwise the dirty cops would kill the clean one to protect themselves. Mike urged his son to go dirty to survive.
The surprising advice from Mike broke Matty. He'd looked up so much to his dad. And his dad, too, wanted him to continue being a straight-arrow cop. But the situation wouldn't let him. Matty took Mike's advice and told his partners he was "in". ...Except it was too late. The other cops figured his delay in saying Yes meant he was considering turning them in. They murdered him to protect themselves.
The episode features an extended flashback scene to Philadelphia some weeks or months earlier.
Mike's in a cop bar, deep in his cups. Matty's partners are there, too. Mike approaches them, wobbling on drunk legs and slurring his speech, and tells them he knows they killed Matty.
Mike continues drinking at the bar until closing time. He stumbles out, walking home. The two cops offer him a ride. He's drunk. They're being friendly. Until he says no a few times and they get out, grab him, and push him into the back of the patrol car.
At this point in the flashback I'd been wondering, Is Mike faking being drunk? Because the flashback started with Mike breaking into a police car behind the bar before going in. He fished the lock open. He did something in the car; we're not sure what. So clearly he had some plan in place when he approached the officers and (quietly) accused them murder. But it's hours later now, and if he's been faking drunk this whole time he's really doing a fantastic act.
The cops drive for a while, talking to Mike about his accusation in the bar. They allow that he's drunk and still grieving the loss of his son. Surely he didn't mean it with that accusation. Except Mike insists he did. And moreover, he insists now he's got evidence and can prove it.
The cops drive Mike to what looks like an abandoned factory. They pull him out of the car and let him stumble over to the wall. Meanwhile the two quickly rehearse their plan to kill him. They've got his gun; they pulled it out of his pocket "for safety!" when they picked him up outside the bar. They plan to use his gun now to stage a suicide. Ex-cop? Sad over his son being murdered? Alcoholic? Last seen all night at a bar and barely able to walk home? Sure, suicide's a reasonable excuse. Except Mike's not drunk.
Mike calls the dirty cops' attention. He's standing tall, walking smoothly, and not slurring his words anymore. He's holding a gun, ready to shoot. A flashback within a flashback shows him fish the gun out from the seat cushion in the back of the patrol car moments earlier. That's what he broke into the car for— to hide a gun!
The dirty cop holding Mike's service gun fires at him. *CLICK*, *CLICK*. Mike unloaded it as part of his ruse! Mike fires back with his other gun, killing the first cop. The second cop draws his weapon and returns fire, hitting Mike in the shoulder. Shrugging off the injury, Mike shoots and kills the second cop. Then he picks up his unloaded service weapon and walks off into the night.
If you come to Better Call Saul without ever having watched Breaking Bad you wouldn't recognize the significance of the character Mike Ehrmantraut. For the first 4½ episodes he's a bit player who's part of a running gag. Mike is a taciturn parking lot attendant. He's the ticket-taker at the City Hall parking garage. Saul— who hasn't even changed his name yet and is still struggling young lawyer Jimmy McGill— never has the right number of validation stickers on his parking stub. He's always one short. And he always tries his swashbuckling best to sweet-talk Mike into letting him skate. But Mike stonily refuses every time.
Finally in episode 5 Jimmy can actually afford the parking and tries to make amends with Mike for his history of shenanigans. He even hands Mike one of his new business cards. Yes, business cards! Jimmy's finally getting a bit of traction in elder law, writing wills and such for elderly clients. His card bears the slogan in colorful print, "Need a will? Call McGill!"
And with that we go into Mike's back story— and why he needs to call a lawyer— and how and why, in Breaking Bad, he's not a parking lot ticket-taker but a bag-man, a fixer, and a hit-man for a powerful drug lord.
Mike gets a knock on his door at home in Albuquerque. Outside on the steps and front walk are four police officers. Two are in plain clothes, two are in uniform. "You're a long way from home," Mike says to the one at his door, apparently recognizing him. "Yeah, so are you," the plain-clothes detective responds.
The two detectives are from Philadelphia. They've traveled 2,000 miles to Albuquerque because they're investigating the murders of three police officers. Mike responds to all their questions with one word: "Lawyer." The cops remind him he's not under arrest; they just think he can help. "Lawyer." It's just a few simple questions. "Lawyer." Mike slides Jimmy's card across the table. The cops are bewildered by the slogan, "Need a will? Call McGill!" Because they're investigating Mike for murdering two of those police officers.
The backstory gets explained through a series of flashbacks at the end of episode 1.05 and through the meat of 1.06. Mike came to Albuquerque recently. His daughter-in-law, Stacey, met him at the train station. Their relationship seemed a bit strained. Mike excused himself to the bathroom before getting in her car. In the bathroom he changed a bandage under his shirt... a bandage covering an untreated gunshot wound.
Mike was drying out from alcoholism when he arrived in Albuquerque. He apparently turned to the bottle when his son, Matty, a Philadelphia police officer, was murdered. Mike was also a Philly cop, 20+ years. Matty's murder ostensibly drove him to drink. He retired. Or maybe he was pushed to retire if he was showing up drunk.
Matty was murdered in an apparent setup, the visiting cops tell us. His attackers were waiting for him. There were no leads they found. The other two murders happened later. One was Matty's partner, the other was another cop in their precinct. They were ambushed, too. And as with Matty's murder, there was scant evidence implicating who it could be.
In a private conversation flashback Stacey demands to know if Mike thought Matty was dirty. She noticed that he'd become distant and secretive in the days before he was murdered. Then, sometime after his killing, she found several thousand dollars hidden in a suitcase. It looked to her like maybe he took a bribe or stole money. Could it be that he was dirty and was killed by criminals he stole from?
Mike assures Stacey that, no, Matty wasn't dirty. He admits that he was the one Matty called one night when Stacey overheard part of the convo. Matty had been approached by the other two cops offering him a share of stolen money to join their graft. Matty was considering turning them in, and sought his dad's advice.
Mike's advice? Take the money. "That whole precinct was dirty," Mike explains to Stacey. The only way to survive there was to join in the graft, otherwise the dirty cops would kill the clean one to protect themselves. Mike urged his son to go dirty to survive.
The surprising advice from Mike broke Matty. He'd looked up so much to his dad. And his dad, too, wanted him to continue being a straight-arrow cop. But the situation wouldn't let him. Matty took Mike's advice and told his partners he was "in". ...Except it was too late. The other cops figured his delay in saying Yes meant he was considering turning them in. They murdered him to protect themselves.
The episode features an extended flashback scene to Philadelphia some weeks or months earlier.
Mike's in a cop bar, deep in his cups. Matty's partners are there, too. Mike approaches them, wobbling on drunk legs and slurring his speech, and tells them he knows they killed Matty.
Mike continues drinking at the bar until closing time. He stumbles out, walking home. The two cops offer him a ride. He's drunk. They're being friendly. Until he says no a few times and they get out, grab him, and push him into the back of the patrol car.
At this point in the flashback I'd been wondering, Is Mike faking being drunk? Because the flashback started with Mike breaking into a police car behind the bar before going in. He fished the lock open. He did something in the car; we're not sure what. So clearly he had some plan in place when he approached the officers and (quietly) accused them murder. But it's hours later now, and if he's been faking drunk this whole time he's really doing a fantastic act.
The cops drive for a while, talking to Mike about his accusation in the bar. They allow that he's drunk and still grieving the loss of his son. Surely he didn't mean it with that accusation. Except Mike insists he did. And moreover, he insists now he's got evidence and can prove it.
The cops drive Mike to what looks like an abandoned factory. They pull him out of the car and let him stumble over to the wall. Meanwhile the two quickly rehearse their plan to kill him. They've got his gun; they pulled it out of his pocket "for safety!" when they picked him up outside the bar. They plan to use his gun now to stage a suicide. Ex-cop? Sad over his son being murdered? Alcoholic? Last seen all night at a bar and barely able to walk home? Sure, suicide's a reasonable excuse. Except Mike's not drunk.
Mike calls the dirty cops' attention. He's standing tall, walking smoothly, and not slurring his words anymore. He's holding a gun, ready to shoot. A flashback within a flashback shows him fish the gun out from the seat cushion in the back of the patrol car moments earlier. That's what he broke into the car for— to hide a gun!
The dirty cop holding Mike's service gun fires at him. *CLICK*, *CLICK*. Mike unloaded it as part of his ruse! Mike fires back with his other gun, killing the first cop. The second cop draws his weapon and returns fire, hitting Mike in the shoulder. Shrugging off the injury, Mike shoots and kills the second cop. Then he picks up his unloaded service weapon and walks off into the night.
