The story then shifts back to 2002, where we meet Jimmy McGill, a struggling public defender in Albuquerque. His office is a cramped boiler room in the back of a Vietnamese nail salon, and his bank account is nearly empty. Despite his silver tongue and high energy in the courtroom, he is barely scraping by, earning a measly $700 for defending three teenagers. The Struggle for Identity

In the first episode of , titled " Uno ," the story begins with a glimpse of the future—a paranoid, mustached man named Gene working at a Cinnabon in Omaha, Nebraska. By night, he retreats to his apartment to tearfully watch old VHS tapes of his former life as the flamboyant lawyer Saul Goodman.

Jimmy’s life is further complicated by his brother, Chuck McGill , a brilliant attorney who has become a reclusive shut-in due to a belief that he suffers from "electromagnetic hypersensitivity". Chuck lives in a darkened house with no electricity, working by lantern light. He pushes Jimmy to "build his own identity" rather than ride the coattails of their family name, which is shared by the prestigious firm Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill (HHM). The Scam and the Slip

The episode ends on a chilling cliffhanger as Jimmy, attempting to talk his way into the house to rescue the twins, finds himself staring down the barrel of Tuco’s gun.