Jimmy McGill planned to go straight when he gave up his Slippin’ Jimmy antics to become a lawyer, but Better Call Saul showed that, even as a licensed lawyer, he was still Slippin’ Jimmy. Jimmy was initially introduced in Breaking Bad as Walter White and Jesse Pinkman’s criminal lawyer, Saul Goodman. Very little of Saul’s personal life was seen in Breaking Bad as he was primarily used for comic relief but he was eventually given his own spin-off series that dived into the character’s unseen backstory and revealed that there’s a lot more to this slippery lawyer than meets the eye.
Long before he was known as Saul Goodman, Gene Takavic, or Viktor St. Claire, Jimmy went by the alias “Slippin’ Jimmy” in his hometown of Cicero, Illinois. Jimmy stopped using the nickname “Slippin’ Jimmy” when he decided to go straight and moved to Albuquerque to pursue a career in law like his brother. Even after becoming a lawyer, however, Jimmy never really went straight and his Slippin’ Jimmy antics extended into practicing law. He brought the tactics he learned as an unscrupulous con artist into the courtroom and used trickery to win cases, like fooling a witness with a lookalike of his client.
10 Fake Blueprints
At the beginning of season 4, episode 9, “Wiedersehen,” Jimmy and Kim run a successful scam to swap out the blueprints for a new Mesa Verde branch in Lubbock, Texas. Kim pretends to be an overworked single mother, while Jimmy poses as her obnoxious, unhelpful brother who left the baby alone in the car. When Jimmy spills milk on the original blueprint, the clerk offers to replace it with Kim’s copy, making unapproved building plans look like they were approved. This scam highlights Jimmy and Kim’s effectiveness as a team and Jimmy’s willingness to debase himself to make a character more believable.
9 Getting Fired From Davis & Main
Throughout Better Call Saul season 2, Jimmy quickly finds that he’s not a good fit for the corporate world of Davis & Main. However, if he quits, he won’t get his bonus. In season 2, episode 7, “Inflatable,” Jimmy launches a relentless campaign to get himself fired. He does everything from playing bagpipes in his office to not flushing the toilet in the men’s bathroom in a bid to lose his job. Cliff Main finally fires Jimmy when he determines that losing the bonus is worth it to get rid of him. This scheme illustrates Jimmy’s natural proclivity to rebel against authority (and his total lack of shame).
8 Leaving A Sleazy Stockbroker With A Huge Bar Tab
In season 2, episode 1, “Switch,” Jimmy and Kim meet a sleazy stockbroker named Ken at a hotel bar and rack up a huge tab as they have fun portraying fictional characters. Kyle Bornheimer reprises his role as Ken from Breaking Bad season 1, episode 4, “Cancer Man,” in which Walt blew up his car. Kim is so thrilled by the experience of conning Ken that she keeps a tequila bottle stopper as a souvenir (which became a recurring motif throughout the series). This marks the first time that Kim feels the rush of the con.
7 A Phony Heartfelt Speech To The Bar Association
Jimmy faces a hearing with the bar association over whether to reinstate his law license in season 4, episode 10, “Winner.” During the hearing, Jimmy breaks into a seemingly impromptu, deeply heartfelt speech, mourning the loss of his brother and promising to become “worthy of the name McGill.” And then, when the hearing is over, he reveals it was all an act. When Kim asks Jimmy to explain the scam, he simply says, “It’s all good, man!” Kim is left in a stunned silence as she fears Jimmy might not actually be capable of genuine empathy.
6 The Fake Mesa Verde Class-Action Suit
When Mesa Verde threatens to kick a man out of his home, Jimmy and Kim hatch a scheme to force the bank to offer a larger cash settlement. In season 5, episode 6, “Wexler v. Goodman,” Jimmy films actors pretending to be disgruntled Mesa Verde customers seeking a class-action lawsuit and plans to show the footage to Mesa Verde’s management. Kim calls off the scam at the last minute, but Jimmy goes through with it anyway. While Jimmy is thrilled by how well the scam worked, Kim is furious that Jimmy made her the “sucker.” This storyline demonstrates how easily Jimmy gets carried away with a scam.
5 Changing The Address On Chuck's Paperwork
Jimmy is enraged when Chuck sabotages Kim’s deal with Mesa Verde in season 2, episode 8, “Fifi,” so he plans a little sabotage of his own. He takes Chuck’s Mesa Verde files to a Xerox place, where he meticulously switches around the numbers in the address on every single page. He’s up all night, moving numbers around. The painstaking effort required to doctor every single Mesa Verde document in Chuck’s files either demonstrates how much love Jimmy feels for Kim or how much spite he feels for his brother (or a combination of the two).
4 Turning Huell Into A Hometown Hero
After Huell is arrested for assaulting a cop in a case of mistaken identity, in season 4, episode 8, “Coushatta,” Kim starts working on his defense with her co-workers at Schweikart & Cokely. Meanwhile, Jimmy takes a bus to Huell’s hometown of Coushatta, Louisiana. Along the way, he and his fellow engers write letter after letter praising Huell as a local hero. Just in time for Huell’s trial, the judge is bombarded with mail painting him as the greatest guy in the world. To seal the deal, Jimmy hires actors to answer calls from prosecutor Suzanne Ericsen and continue to sing Huell’s praises. Jimmy will do anything for his people.
3 Robbing The Mall With Jeff
Even after Jimmy becomes one of the most wanted criminals in America and goes into hiding in Nebraska, he can’t help himself from cooking up more “Slippin’ Jimmy” shenanigans. When he’s recognized by a taxi driver named Jeff, Jimmy recruits Jeff to help him rob the mall where he works at Cinnabon. The most impressive part of this con is the friendship that Jimmy develops with the mall’s security guard. He establishes a routine of bringing the security guard a free snack every night, all to keep his eyes off the monitors while Jeff is stealing merchandise. Jimmy even shows off his improv skills when he ad-libs an emotional breakdown.
2 The Phone Battery
Chuck’s case against Jimmy finally goes to court in season 3, episode 5, “Chicanery,” widely considered to be one of the best episodes of the entire series. Chuck expects Jimmy to trick him, so Jimmy has to pull a double-cross. When Jimmy questions Chuck’s electromagnetic hypersensitivity and presents a cell phone from his pocket, Chuck deduces that it has no battery. However, the battery has been planted in Chuck’s own pocket by Huell. This scam is particularly memorable because it paves the way for Chuck’s iconic Caine Mutiny-style breakdown, one of the best-acted monologues in Better Call Saul, delivered spectacularly by Michael McKean.
1 Destroying Howard's Reputation
Jimmy and Kim pull a long con on Howard Hamlin throughout the first half of Better Call Saul season 6. In season 6, episode 7, “Plan and Execution,” the scam finally comes together on the day of the Sandpiper settlement mediation. Jimmy and Kim use a pupil-dilating drug, rumors of cocaine use, and doctored photos of the mediator accepting a cash bribe from Jimmy to tarnish Howard’s reputation. This is Jimmy’s most complicated and impressive scam, but it’s also the one that exacts the heaviest toll as it leads to Howard’s brutal execution at the hands of Lalo Salamanca. Jimmy and Kim are left wondering what it was all for.