BCS 1.04: Jimmy's Heroic Billboard Rescue

[canyonwalker]

One of the story arcs in the first season of Better Call Saul is how Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) hate the law firm of Hamlin, Hamlin, and McGill ("HHM"), and especially its managing partner, Howard Hamlin. Yes, Jimmy's family name is in the firm's name. His older brother,  Charles, is one of the senior partners. Jimmy hates Howard because he sees Howard trying to screw Charles out of his share of the partnership. We also learn in a later episode, via flashback, that a few years earlier Jimmy was working in HHM's mailroom and earned his law degree and passed the bar exam, Howard refused to hire him as an attorney.

In episode 1.04, "Hero", Jimmy comes into some money from criminal defendants who pay him $20k. It's stolen money— a fact Jimmy is well aware of— and it's a bribe, not a legal fee, but that's another (humorous) story arc. Jimmy carefully sets aside most of the money for expenses. Seeing a few thousand left, he hatches a plan.

The Billboard

Jimmy visits a tailor to have a bespoke suit just like Howard Hamlin's made, then pays the ladies at the salon— the one his office is in the back room of— to dye and style his hair, also just like Howard's look. What he does next we see from Howard's reaction to it. Jimmy has rented a billboard with his name and (new) likeness on, closely copying Howard's look on HHM billboard.

Howard is outraged and sues Jimmy for trademark infringement. Jimmy defends himself in front of a judge, but the judge sides with Howard and HHM. Jimmy is ordered to take the billboard down. But something goes wrong when he does.



Jimmy first tries to get local news media to cover his "David v. Goliath" story of a struggling young lawyer being sued out of existence by a big firm. When none care to take the story— and we see Jimmy calling down a list of at least 6 local papers and TV news stations— Jimmy hires a makeshift TV crew from a local university to record a commercial with him in front of the billboard as it's being taken down. And that's where something goes wrong. The construction worker who is removing the billboard (the ad is a vinyl sheet over an aluminum frame) slips off the catwalk and is left hanging by his safety harness 65' in the air!

Jimmy's Heroic Rescue

While the makeshift TV crew's cameras are still recording, Jimmy does something that seems a bit uncharacteristic for him. Rather than wait for emergency crews to arrive— though he does call 911 first or ask one of the college TV students to do it— he climbs the ladder to the billboard and pulls the stranded construction worker back up. Local news media care about this story. Jimmy gets coverage on TV news that night and a front page story the next morning— well, front page of the local news section of the paper— lauding him as a hero.

At the HHM offices Howard is pissed. He shut down Jimmy's ad not only because it's harmful to his business but because he finds Jimmy to be a personal nuisance— a fly buzzing in his ear that just won't go away no matter how many times he swats at it. The partners are all gathered around a TV, watching. Howard is in a fit of pique. While the other lawyers are generally impressed and there seems to be a murmur of, "We totally should hire this guy!", Howard angrily charges that Jimmy faked it. That the accident and the rescue are a con, a scam.

Was it a Scam?

In the moment, the accident on the billboard seemed... well, accidental. And Jimmy's precarious climb up the ladder plus hand-to-hand rescue of the dangling construction worker all seemed earnest. Howard angrily snapping "FAKE!" in front of a room full of impressed colleagues seemed the height of pettiness. But was Howard right? Did Jimmy stage the accident and rescue for publicity?

To be continued....

Comments

[merhawk]

My take on it after your last post was it was definitely a scam. It’s the exact type of thing jimmy does. I’d even argue that he knew the billboard would need to come down quickly and had this ready from the start of his transformation.