Better Call Saul (2015–…): Season 4, Episode 8 - Coushatta - full transcript

I think I got everything.

If I forgot anything, I'll just, uh,
figure it out on the way.

- You're back on Thursday?
- Thursday. Yeah.

Unless we break down in Amarillo.

Kim, I want you to know, uh...

...I don't take this for granted.

It means a lot.

I'll see you Thursday.

[♪♪♪]

[SIGHS]

[EXHALES]



Can I sit here?

Uh...

Sure, man.

Just a word of warning...

...I had a pile of cheese-chili fries
back at Stuckey's. With onions on top.

Last guy who sat there
didn't last five miles.

But, uh, you know, welcome to it.

Ah, Jynetta. Ha.

Very nice, I like the hearts over the I's.

- This is a real nice touch.
- Thank you.

- How many have we got?
- Ten.

Ten.

Alrighty.

Would you like to do some postcards?



- Fifty cents per.
- Yeah.

- Different pens, please.
- Okay.

Oh, Bubba. Heh-heh.

Okay.

I like your passion.

But would you maybe tone down
the anger?

Make it that you're sad
that you even have to write the letter.

"I couldn't believe people could be
so heartless till I heard about you."

- Okay?
- Okay. Yeah, I got you.

- How many we got?
- Five.

- Mmm. Would you like another batch?
- Yeah.

Yeah?

All right.

Different, uh, pens.

Uh, Chasity, let's see what you got.

Don't... Don't use, uh, swears.

I thought we talked about respect.

We're gonna have to lose that one.

[TRUCK APPROACHING]

[COUNTRY MUSIC IN SPANISH
PLAYING OVER STEREO]

[♪♪♪]

[MAN SINGING IN SPANISH
OVER SPEAKERS]

I'm a little light.
Couldn't do nothing about it.

Some dumb-ass festival
over at the fairground, Indian shit.

Five-0 was all over.

But not real five-0, like, the rentals.

Can't sell in front of them neither.
We gonna make you right next time.

You're goddamned right you will.

For sure. Next week.

NACHO:
Hey.

Come here.

Nacho, man, I gotta get to getting...
NACHO: Shh, shh.

Just come here.

What's...? What's up?

[GROANS]

Shit.

[GROANING]

What you owe, you owe.

With interest.

You had to do that, man.

- Guy's not gonna learn otherwise.
- Mm-hm.

So why didn't you do it?

MAN:
What up, Domingo?

WOMAN [ON TV]:... include headache,
nausea, dizziness, and vision changes.

MAN 1:
The committee is the proper place...

[POLICE SIREN WAILS ON TV]

MAN 2:
But she wasn't the only witness that...

And I just wanna show you
the real difference with this.

If you wanna use the scrub too,
it's that same idea.

It's just that simple.
Smells like fresh lavender too, ladies.

- And you just will not...
- Hey, baby. You're in early.

You in for the night?

Want us to make you some dinner?

Takes the color right out.
And this bottle has smoothing agents...

...that protect your skin while exfoliating.

Thanks, babe.

Are you gonna smoke with us?

Look at that. Just look at that.
It's just... Well, I think that's incredible.

And I cannot believe
we're still offering this for under $70.

There's no way that will last.

[LOCK CLICKS]

[SIGHS]

[EXHALES]

[♪♪♪]

[SIGHS]

[DANCE MUSIC PLAYING
OVER SPEAKERS]

[MEN WHOOPING]

[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

Keep an eye on these guys.

[COUNTRY MUSIC PLAYING
OVER SPEAKERS]

Did you know, Michael,
my father was also an engineer?

Yeah.

Worked from the day
he could hold a hammer.

Learned the work from doing the work.

Hands like knots of a tree.

You see over there?

He built that.

MIKE:
The Sydney Opera House.

WERNER: Those concrete arches,
impossible in 1957.

Six years it took
to solve the problem. Six.

And years more to pour correctly.

To that, my father gave 10 years of life.

Another stout?

Uh, you know, could I get the, uh,
"Heefiweesen" this time?

WERNER: Oh. Heh.
- Sure.

Uh, no. Sir. Please. Uh, it's "Hefeweizen."

Oh, I'm sorry.

How'd you say it?

- Hefeweizen.
- Hefeweizen.

[IN GERMAN]
That's right.

Ah. Uh...

[IN ENGLISH]
It's on me.

Aw. Thanks, man.

[SPEAKS IN GERMAN]

[IN ENGLISH]
Where was I? Ah, the Opera.

It's for the ages.

For my father, it was his achievement.

A creation that will endure.

What about you, Michael?

Your papa, what did he do?

[MIKE SCOFFS]

My dad?

Oh...

Left behind a cold-water flat
and a stack of bills. That's about all.

Not true.

He also left you, Michael.

- You are his legacy.
- Ha-ha-ha.

Yeah. You ever think about having kids?

Being a papa yourself?

Once, maybe.

My Margarethe...

...she's enough for me.

She's my heart.

This is the longest
I've ever been away from her.

Twenty-six years...

...never this long away from home.

MIKE:
To home.

WERNER:
Yeah.

MAN:
Hey, Mike.

I gotta check on the boys.
You gonna be all right here?

Of course. I'll be fine. Go.

Sorry, Mike. This guy slipped off
for a private dance.

You're not throwing me out,
I paid my money.

You paid to look, not touch, asshole.
That's it.

I'm calling the cops. Let's see
how you like hanging out in MDC.

No, no, no. You don't need
to call the cops.

Who the hell are you?

I'm the guy telling you
this one's had too much...

...and I'm here to get him out of your hair.

What about his buddies?

They're not causing any trouble,
are they?

Let them stay a while longer.

This one? This idiot goes home.

- Sleeps it off.
- No, no. I'm not going. I paid...

You are done.

[HIP-HOP MUSIC PLAYING
OVER SPEAKERS]

Go on. Try me.

Get him out of here.

Sorry.

The girl, is she okay?

She's fine. Seen worse.

This is for her trouble.

All good?

Yeah, man. We're cool.

WERNER:
So...

Like this.

How about...?

Nein, nein, nein, Terry.

Support must be invisible.

Can't throw a column here,
a column there.

Maximum volume
and open space inside.

The final structure has
strict requirements.

- Load-bearing walls, then.
- Very good!

Now you use your thinking head,
not your drinking head.

But how do you get walls in place?

They would be seven,
eight meters to a side.

MAN: Pre-pour off site.
- Slide the slabs in with a crane.

WERNER:
Slide?

Through the existing construction?

You would knock down the Chrysler
Building just to add a subway stop.

No. Ah.

Time to go.

Why? Come sit with us.

Your wife's calling.

My wife?

Yeah.

Uh-huh.

Okay.

Thank you very much, gentlemen,
for your hospitality.

Good talking to you, Werner.

[IN GERMAN]
See you.

[ENGINE STARTS]

[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING
OVER HEADPHONES]

♪ Overflowing ♪

♪ Fails to only make
A better comeback ♪

♪ More powerful and poignant
And falls again ♪

♪ Destructive lust for life erected ♪

♪ On the verge pricked up ♪

[JIMMY SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

♪ Fearing to respond to the tempting ♪

Oh, hey. You say something?

Yeah, I'm gonna head over
to the nail salon. Finish setting up.

Oh, that's a good idea.
I'll see you later.

[WOMAN VOCALIZING
OVER HEADPHONES]

♪ Midway between happiness ♪♪

Yeah, I won't be that long.

You want me to bring you something?
Maybe Flying Star?

I'm just gonna scrounge here.
I think we have some old Chinese.

Pick up something for yourself, okay?

- Yeah. Yeah, okay.
- All right.

[JIMMY SIGHS]

[MUFFLED MUSIC CONTINUES
OVER HEADPHONES]

[JIMMY SIGHS]

Leaving now. You stick around?

Oh. Uh, yeah, I have...
Be here a little longer.

I'll lock up when I go.
Is that all right?

Wife mad at you?

She's not my wife...

I don't know.

Yeah. She's mad at you.

[SIGHS]

Go on.

- Whew.
- You take her to dinner.

Nice place with a waiter.

Cloth napkin.

You bring flowers.

You say sorry.

Then say sorry again.

Whatever she says, you say sorry.

I think we might be past that.

I'll leave the bottle.

[SIGHS]

Are you ready for me? I'm a little early.

No problem. Come on in.

This is Gary Strote,
Stef Carvaines and Pat Malakovsky.

- My associates.
- Hi.

Suzanne Ericsen.
STEF: Hello.

- Good to meet you all.
- Nice to meet you.

All right. You have a response
to our proffer?

We do. Time served.

Three to six months' probation.
We plead to simple battery.

- A misdemeanor?
- Yes.

You're asking to go from
18 months' jail time down to nothing?

Sorry. I can't do that.

Okay.

GARY:
This is a motion for continuance.

We're going to need more time
to prepare our defense.

The officer's report states that he didn't
canvass for additional witnesses.

There were none.

And no one is contesting
that Mr. Babineaux struck the officer.

Be that as it may, there are
several businesses nearby with cameras.

We need time to subpoena all of them.

Isn't that a bit much?

We don't believe
the judge will see it that way.

We'd simply like to have the most
complete information at our disposal.

To that end...

...we're filing a motion
to compel discovery.

You want to open
Officer Platt's personnel file.

Good luck with that.
STEF: It's a reasonable Brady disclosure.

Officer Platt had a history
with Mr. Babineaux...

...we'd like to know its extent.

And if there's any larger history
Officer Platt has with friends, relatives...

...or colleagues of Mr. Babineaux,
we'd like to know that too.

You're thinking
of pursuing civil litigation?

We are in conversation with the ACLU.

Assessing the possibility
that Mr. Babineaux's civil rights...

...may have been violated.

Okay. Is that all?

For now.

We will deal with
all of these issues in turn.

And then we will set a trial date.

I think that's all we have to talk about.

All right, then.

Ms. Wexler, a word in private?

I'll catch up.

Kim, you're throwing three $400-an-hour
associates at a pro-bono case?

I never said this was pro bono.

Okay, what's the plan here, Kim?

Because shock and awe
isn't gonna cut it.

Bring every fancy associate you got,
file all the motions you want.

And at the end of all this,
your client is still going away.

Okay.

I guess we'll see.

[SIGHS]

[CHATTERING IN GERMAN]

[LAUGHS]

Everyone seems much improved.

This, uh, R and R was a good idea,
Michael. Heh-heh.

Something the matter?

This?

Hmph. Don't be concerned.

I said nothing.

Men at a bar, talking to make talk.

And look.

No details. No scale at all.

Could be a skyscraper,
could be a box for shoes.

I said nothing about the construction
that would not be true for 1000 others.

By now they've forgotten me entirely.

They forgot.

The German national
in the middle of Albuquerque...

...talking about pouring
hundreds of tons of concrete...

...at a secret underground location?

Eh, you're right.

I'm sorry, Michael.
I had too much beer.

And I may have said
more than I should have.

Listen to me carefully.

The man we're working for
is very serious.

Think about the precautions we take
to keep everything that goes on quiet.

Think about how much money
you're making.

Think about what happens
if something goes wrong.

Do you understand
what I am saying to you?

I do understand.

And I'm sorry to cause any problem.

You have my word.

Nothing like this will happen again.

Okay.

Let's get you to work.

I have one question for you,
Ms. Ericsen.

- Are you prosecuting Santa Claus?
- Your Honor?

Because it's like
Miracle on 34th Street in here.

This is just today.

Today's batch. Huh?

All addressed to me.

All from some backwater in Louisiana.

Uh... "Get your hands off our hero,"
they say.

"Mercy for Huell Babineaux," they say.

Like I'm sending him
to the electric chair.

Tell me, Ms. Wexler, did you start
this particular ball rolling?

Did I instruct the people
of Coushatta, Louisiana...

...to start writing letters to the court?
No, Your Honor, I did not.

That being said, it's clear
Mr. Babineaux has touched the lives...

...of many people in his hometown.

They're planning to send a contingent
to show their support during the trial.

Are you talking about a bunch
of yahoos packing my court?

I'm sorry, Your Honor, but I'm not sure
what bearing any of this has on the case.

What does Mr. Babineaux's relationship
to his hometown in...?

Did you say Louisiana?

This can't be a complete surprise
to the assistant district attorney.

She knows the defendant's history
as well as I do.

If I get one more letter
from some swamp-dwelling do-gooder...

- ...I'm gonna scream.
- Thank you...

...for bringing this to our attention.

- May I see one of these?
- Oh.

Take as many as you want. Yeah.

Please. Take them all.

I have looked at this case.

It does not merit a circus.

Now, you two work it out.

- We've tried, Your Honor.
- Try again.

Pull the Babineaux file.

Every parking ticket, every time
he is mentioned in the records.

You, call the arresting officer...

...and find out what, if anything,
he left out of his reports.

I want known associates.
Places of residence.

MVD records. All of it.

We missed something,
and I wanna know what.

Right now. Go.

Ben.

What are we looking for?

I want to figure out why a pickpocket
has people this overheated.

"Huell Babineaux
is wrongfully accused.

He's a good man.

He'd never do nothing like the things
you say he's done.

He's a kind man
and good friend to everyone."

Jesus. They do make him sound
like Santa Claus.

- This one has a phone number.
- Let me see this.

[LINE RINGS]

MAN [ON RECORDING]:
You've reached Elmer Fontaneau.

I'm not here at the moment,
but leave a message...

...I'll get back at you soon as I can.
Have a blessed day.

Hello, Mr. Fontaneau.

My name is Suzanne Ericsen from
the Albuquerque District Attorney's office.

Um, could you give me a call
when you have a moment?

It's in regards to Huell Babineaux.

My number is 505-186-1945.

Thanks.

[LINE RINGS]

WOMAN: Hello?
- Is this Eloise Luckard?

- Speaking.
- Hi, my name is Suzanne Ericsen.

I'm an assistant district attorney
in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

You wrote a letter to Judge Munsinger
about a Huell Babineaux.

Oh, I love Huell.

- He's the dearest, dearest man.
- Heh-heh. Um...

Do you mind my asking,
how exactly do you know Huell?

Everyone in Coushatta knows Huell.

- He's a pillar of our church.
- Which church is that?

Free Will Baptist,
right over on Bogan Lane.

Um, I've seen several letters from
fellow members of your congregation.

Could you explain to me,
is there some reason why Huell...

...in particular, holds so much esteem
in your church?

I'm sorry, who are you again?

I'm, um, an assistant district attorney
from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

I'm handling a case
that Mr. Babineaux is involved in.

- Handling how?
- Um...

I'm prosecuting it.

You're the one persecuting our Huell?
How could you?

To go after someone so sweet
and kind with all those lies.

Well, I'd tell you
what I really think of you...

...but Jesus is listening,
so I'll just say shame on you!

Uh...

Okay.

All right.

Not too shabby.

I've been taking improv classes.

[CELL PHONE RINGING]

Oh, shit. Which one is it?

CAMERA GUY: It's that one.
- Oh.

It's the church.
The church, the church.

Hurry, hurry, hurry.

[ORGAN MUSIC PLAYING
OVER SPEAKERS]

[IN SOUTHERN ACCENT] Hello. Free
Will Baptist, Pastor Hansford speaking.

- Uh, who this?
- Good afternoon, pastor.

My name is Suzanne Ericsen.

I'm an assistant district attorney
from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Oh, that's a long way off, cher.

Can you hold on a second? Uh...
Clarence is going at the organ.

I'll step into the vestibule.

[VOLUME LOWERS]

Ah. There we go. Uh...

Now, what can I do for you,
Ms. Ericsen, you say?

Mm-hm. Um...

The court has received
numerous letters from members...

...of your congregation
in regards to Mr. Huell Babineaux.

May I ask you a couple questions
about Mr. Babineaux?

Surely. Uh, what I can tell you
about our Huell?

Well, what kind of person
would you say Mr. Babineaux is?

Why, I'd say he's a lovely person,
both inside and out.

I'm sure you'd say that about
all your parishioners.

Right. Ha-ha. I suppose I would.

But no, no. Huell, he's special.

He's got a heart as big
as Lake Pontchartrain.

Mm. Do you mind my asking,
what did he do...

...to gain so much devotion
in Coushatta?

Well, ma'am, for starters...

...he's a bona fide hero.

- He's a hero?
- Yes, ma'am.

See, about a year ago,
there was a fire in the rectory.

It was during Bible study.

Uh, at night.

Because, uh, some of the old folks
around here...

...they like to brush up on the Bible
before, uh, they go to sleep.

You know, get right
in case the Lord call them home.

- Mm-hm. Yes.
- Wouldn't you know it...

...there was a short circuit
in the coffeemaker.

Whole thing catch fire, and the flame
leaped up to the windowsill.

Well, Huell happened to be visiting
his people, and he saw the smoke.

Well, what did he do? He burst right in.
CAMERA GUY: Pfft.

And he carried out
every last one of them oldsters.

Mm. My goodness.

And, um, what happened to the church?

The church is fine.

I shudder to think...

[COMPUTER DINGS]

...what might've happened if God,
in his grace, hadn't seen fit...

...to send us old Huell.

I see.

Now, y'all sound like a real nice lady,
and I know you're only doing your job.

But I want you
to understand something.

I think you got the wrong end
of the stick here.

Huell Babineaux is important to us.

Now, he...

He would never hurt a police officer.

I believe it's just a misunderstanding.

I believe he might've been
helping his friend.

That's the Huell that I know.

Uh, put that down, Clarence!

Get rid of them robes, now.
That's for communion.

Now, I will be with you presently!

Uh, is there anything else
I can help you with?

No. No, pastor. Thank you for your time.

- I think that's all.
- Oh, um...

Have you set a date yet
for Huell's trial?

Uh, no, not yet.

Would you do me a kindness
and, um, ring me up when you do?

Because we got a couple
of charter buses.

We're gonna bring the whole
congregation up to y'all in Albuquerque.

I'll make sure to let you know.

Bless you.

And I look forward to meeting you.

[BEEPS]

[JIMMY SIGHS]

[SIGHS]

Is it over?

[IN NORMAL VOICE]
All right.

Here's what we're gonna do.
I'm gonna take the church phone.

She might call back.

If any of these ring,
I want you to pick up every third caller.

Okay? Thirty seconds max,
stick to the script.

Let the rest go to voicemail.

Uh... So are we just supposed to...

...hang around here till...?

You're paid for the day,
you stay until I say you can go.

[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

Well?

JIMMY:
Heh.

KIM:
Do it one more time?

JIMMY:
You sure you can take it?

KIM:
I can if you can.

JIMMY:
All right. You asked for it.

[IN SOUTHERN ACCENT]
Hello there.

Look in your heart, cher,
and find forgiveness.

Let us take you on a trip
down New Orleans way...

...where they put a little extra roux
in the gumbo.

- Oh, that's a beautiful red snapper.
- Heh-heh-heh.

It's wondermous, I guarantee.

Wow, it's like I'm in the bayou.

Yes, well, I got crawdads in my pants.

[LAUGHING]

- That's not a thing.
- It's a thing that happens to you...

...when you're sitting in the bayou.

The phones were genius.

- [IN NORMAL VOICE] The phones?
- Yeah.

Well, the phones were a touch.

This was all you, start to finish.

Bank shot off the judge.

Four months' probation, time served.

It's like watching
Roy Hobbs smash out stadium lights.

Yeah, but the DA overplayed her hand.

- Oh.
- Yeah.

[SIGHS]

Gotta go?

Yeah.

What are you up to today?

I'm, uh, gonna check out an office
on Lomas, down by the courthouse.

I thought you already found one.

That one was a little more office
than I needed.

KIM:
Mm.

You working late?

Mm-hm. Playing catch-up.

All right.

I gotta go.

I gotta go, I gotta go.

[SHOWER RUNNING]

PAIGE: The near-term window is set,
but we have to hit every target...

...to stick to that timetable.

As we look down the road,
we get more flexibility.

When we get to rollouts
in the six-to-12 month timeline...

...and beyond,
we have some breathing room.

It's an opportunity to retrench and meet
our minimum capital requirements.

We should be stable as a table
by the time we start on Wyoming.

Sounds good.

We should talk about Wyoming.

Six months is gonna go by fast.

[KEVIN CLEARS THROAT]

- Unless, Kevin, did you have something?
- Um...

Sorry. I don't wanna slow us down.
Paige will hate me for bringing this up.

What's on your mind?

The foot traffic at Tucumcari
is off the charts...

...and that's driving
a lot of new accounts.

Seems to me it's because
the building itself is damn eye-catching.

Now, I want to hit all the milestones
we're talking about.

And Paige tells me
what I'm gonna ask is impossible...

...but what if we made the Lubbock
branch the same as Tucumcari?

I reminded Kevin that Tucumcari
has a much larger footprint...

...than the current Lubbock design.

And that design is the one
we've been hanging our estimates on.

I know, I know.
We're down the road a ways on this.

But what do you think, Kim?

Can you pull another rabbit
out of the hat for us?

Kevin, I'm sorry.

But I have to agree with Paige.

It took almost two months to get
local approval for the current design.

Starting over now?

There's simply no way
we could stick to our timetable.

I hate to say it...

...but it is. It's unfeasible.

Okay.

I get it. I had to ask.

Paige, you were right. This time.

All right, Wyoming, then.

Yellowstone, here we come.

PAIGE:
Great.

So looking to Wyoming...

...we are moving forward
with market research, as planned.

[♪♪♪]

MIKE: Space is closing in
on rough final dimensions.

Most of the spoil's out and dispersed.

The tunnel's holding and it's clear.

The front loader hit
this support stanchion.

Guys had it back up in an hour.

No permanent damage.

Then the form
they use to pour cement into...

...it's totaled.

We're gonna have to make a new one
before we can go back to the wall.

So we're looking at four,
maybe five days for that.

Could've been worse.

The rock, that is more of an issue.

It is smack-dab in the middle
of our elevator shaft.

Can't work around it, can't dig it out.

So we're back to blasting.

Set up, clearing away debris...

...adds maybe another week.

Best estimate,
we're a little past the halfway point.

Way behind schedule,
but the work is solid.

And Werner?

[SIGHS]

I gave him the come-to-Jesus.

He screwed up. He knows it.

Said it won't happen again.

And what do you say?

I've got eyes on him.

But, yeah. He's good.

Good.

Is that water?

MAN: The landlord will kick in
for small repairs like that.

They already took care
of the rodent problem.

Rodent problem?

You asked for small and near court.
This is both.

And it's in your price range.

Use your imagination.

Think creatively.

Uh, excuse me for a sec, would you?

Yeah. Take your time.

JIMMY:
Hey.

KIM:
Hey.

Is this your new office?

JIMMY:
Um, it's a contender.

What are you doing here?

I was driving.

Saw your Esteem in the parking lot.

So, what's up?

Nothing.

Just driving around.

Thinking about things.

Listen, Kim, I...
I know what's on your mind.

That thing that we did,
I mean, it was nuts.

And I dumped it in your lap.

Ex parte communication...

...contempt of court.

I mean, what, talking about
a couple hundred counts of mail fraud?

I could've wrecked you at Schweikart.
I could've boned me too.

I'm this close to being reinstated.

I mean, come on.

Kim.

Don't worry.
No one's gonna know about it.

Be like it never happened.

And, also, I agree.

We are totally done with all that.

Over and out.

No more.

Let's do it again.

[MAN SINGING IN SPANISH
OVER SPEAKERS]

[MAN SINGING ALONG IN SPANISH]

Oh, hey!

[IN SPANISH]
You're here! Right on time.

[IN ENGLISH]
Hold on one second. Wait.

You are going to love this.

I made this just for you.

[IN SPANISH] Never in your life
have you tasted something...

...so delicious, it's true. Wait, wait...

You're gonna die.

[IN SPANISH]
No, thank you.

[SNIFFS]

Smell it!

You can't say no, are you crazy?

[IN ENGLISH]
I used epazote. Come on.

[IN SPANISH]
Very well. You're not hungry.

That's your problem.

This is a special recipe.
A family secret.

- [IN ENGLISH] Salamanca family?
- [IN ENGLISH] Them!

[IN SPANISH]
I am Eduardo.

[IN ENGLISH]
But you can call me Lalo.

[IN SPANISH]
And you must be Varga, no?

They told me you were smart.
And look...

...here you are, and you are.

[CHUCKLES]

What are you doing here?

[IN ENGLISH]
I'm just here to lend a helping hand.

Make sure the business
is running in order.

I got... I got a good head for numbers.

But, listen...

...don't even worry.

It's gonna be like I'm not even here.

[IN SPANISH]
Come on, Varga. Let's go!

[♪♪♪]