Bingo (Better Call Saul)

"**Bingo**"
"Bingo"
Better Call Saul episode
Episode no.	Season 1; Episode 7
Directed by	Larysa Kondracki
Written by	Gennifer Hutchison
Editing by	Skip Macdonald
Original air date	March 16, 2015
Running time	47 minutes
Guest appearances
	Julie Ann Emery as Betsy Kettleman; Jeremy Shamos as Craig Kettleman; Barry Shabaka Henley as Detective Greg Sanders; Omid Abtahi as Detective Abbasi; Jean Effron as Irene Landry; Caleb Burgess as Warren Kettleman; Sage Bell as Jo Jo Kettleman;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "Five-O"	Next →; "RICO"
	Better Call Saul season 1
	List of episodes

"Bingo" is the seventh episode of the first season of the AMC television series Better Call Saul, the spinoff series of Breaking Bad. The episode aired on March 16, 2015 on AMC in the United States. Outside of the United States, the episode premiered on streaming service Netflix in several countries.

Plot

Jimmy McGill and Mike Ehrmantraut return Abbasi's notebook,^[a] claiming they found it in the police station parking lot. Despite Abbasi's accusations, Sanders, an old friend of Mike's who was against corruption, privately assures Mike he has little to fear. Jimmy finds Chuck McGill standing outside his home, claiming to be building up a tolerance to electromagnetism. He stores his case files at Chuck's house, secretly hoping to rekindle Chuck's enthusiasm for the law. He later brings Kim Wexler to an office suite he is considering renting and asks her to be his partner, although she turns him down because of her loyalty to HHM.

Kim meets with Betsy and Craig Kettleman and proposes a plea deal that includes the return of the embezzled $1.6 million and 16 months in prison for Craig. Since losing a trial would mean 30 years in prison, she recommends Craig accept. Betsy refuses, maintaining Craig's innocence and denying there is any money to return. The Kettlemans fire Kim and hire Jimmy, who initially urges them to accept the plea bargain. Betsy blackmails Jimmy by pointing out that if they returned the money, there would be $30,000 that would be missing, which they had used to bribe Jimmy^[b], therefore would implicate him in their crime. While receiving files from HHM, Jimmy discovers Kim has been demoted as a result of losing the Kettlemans as clients.

Jimmy enlists Mike's help, and Mike sprays a fluorescent liquid on cash taken from Jimmy's bribe, which he plants outside the Kettleman house. The Kettlemans find it, assume it came from the embezzled money, and add it to the rest of the cash in their hiding place. Mike breaks in and uses a blacklight to trace the money to a false bottom in a bathroom cabinet. He leaves with the cash, and Jimmy has him deliver it to the district attorney. Mike tells Jimmy that completing this task satisfies the debt he owes for Jimmy representing him and helping him steal the notebook.

The next day, Jimmy visits the Kettlemans. When they discover the money missing, Betsy again threatens to reveal that Jimmy took a bribe. Jimmy replies that if she does, she would be arrested along with Craig. Jimmy then tells them that their best is to return to Kim Wexler and beg her to reclaim them as clients and accept her deal. Since the Kettleman children will grow up without parents if both parents go to prison, Craig accepts the deal. Jimmy then drives them to HMM and they return to Kim, who thanks Jimmy. Returning to his office, a frustrated Jimmy kicks the wall to vent his anger.

Production

This was the second episode written by supervising producer Gennifer Hutchison for the series. It was directed by Larysa Kondracki.

Reception

Upon airing, the episode received 2.67 million American viewers, and an 18–49 rating of 1.3.^[1]

The episode received a generally positive reception from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, based on 24 reviews, it received a 92% approval rating with an average score of 7.69 out of 10. The site's consensus reads, "A more low-key episode than the heart-wrenching one that came before, "Bingo" feels like a turning point in Jimmy's ongoing quest to be a better person."^[2] IGN gave the episode an 8.8 rating.^[3] The Telegraph rated the episode 4 out of 5 stars.^[4]

Notes

^ As seen in "Five-O".
^ During "Hero".

References

^ Bibel, Sara (March 17, 2015). "Monday Cable Ratings: 'WWE Raw' Wins Night, 'Better Call Saul', 'Bates Motel', 'Love & Hip Hop', 'The Fosters' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 19, 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
^ "Bingo". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
^ Cornet, Roth (March 16, 2015). "Better Call Saul: "Bingo" Review". IGN. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
^ Power, Ed (March 3, 2015). "Better Call Saul: Bingo, episode seven, review: 'a turning point'". The Telegraph. Retrieved March 17, 2015.

External links

"Bingo" at AMC
"Bingo" at IMDb

[1] As seen in "Five-O".

[2] During "Hero".

[3] Bibel, Sara (March 17, 2015). "Monday Cable Ratings: 'WWE Raw' Wins Night, 'Better Call Saul', 'Bates Motel', 'Love & Hip Hop', 'The Fosters' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 19, 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2015.

[RT-4] "Bingo". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 24, 2020.

[Cornet-5] Cornet, Roth (March 16, 2015). "Better Call Saul: "Bingo" Review". IGN. Retrieved March 16, 2015.

[Power-6] Power, Ed (March 3, 2015). "Better Call Saul: Bingo, episode seven, review: 'a turning point'". The Telegraph. Retrieved March 17, 2015.

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