In the Season 4 premiere of Better Call Saul, “Smoke”, while Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) struggles to cope with Chuck’s (Michael McKean) tragic death in color, in black-and-white, Gene Teckovic is trying to leave Lowe Memorial Hospital. The Cinnabon manager in Omaha is almost out the door when a woman at the patient registration desk asks him to come back. He protests at first saying, “I have a taxi coming,” but she promises it’ll take just a moment. She wants to look at his driver’s license again. Gene hesitates for a moment and then pulls the driver’s license out of his wallet and gives it to her. She tells him with a smile, “For some reason, the computer keeps kicking it back.” She then asks for his social security number again.
When Gene tells the woman his social security number, he speaks slowly, especially when it comes to the last four digits. It’s as if someone is holding a gun behind his back or as if the last digit will cause the building to explode. Or maybe he realizes he’s so close to getting caught. Better Call Saul airs Mondays at 9pm on AMC.
