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In Breaking Bad, was Mike Ehrmantraut 'the guy' that Saul knew could get Walt and Jesse in contact with a meth distributor (Gus)?

To refresh the memories, from the Mandala (season 2, episode 11) Sub-titles when Saul, Walt and Jesse are discussing the 38 pounds stock they have of the blue meth:

Saul: .. What you two need is an honest-to-God businessman. Somebody who treats your product like the simple high-margin commodity that it is. Somebody who ships out of town, deals only in bulk. Someone who's been doing this for 20 years and never been caught.

Walt: You know someone like that?

Saul: Let's just say I know a guy who knows a guy.

Was there any canon source (interviews, commentary on DVDs etc.) to suggest that 'guy' was actually Mike?

Mike was presumably working directly with Fring at that same time he was doing work for Saul, but whether he was leery of Saul knowing he had any connection with Gus/a meth distributor, is not clear.


Now I read that quoted material again, it strikes me as odd that Saul knew "doing this for 20 years" & "ships out of town".. That seems a surprising level of detail for someone who claims just to 'know a guy who knows a guy'.

Update

The wiki concludes it was (probably) Mike. From Mike Ehrmantraut: Season 2..

Saul manages to arrange a meeting with Gustavo Fring for Walter White and Jesse Pinkman to make a deal about selling Walt's Blue Sky. The contact referred to is probably Mike; as Saul says he "knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy [Gus]". ("Mandala")

2 Answers 2

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It's never outright stated in the show, but it's the only logical conclusion based on the characters we meet: nobody else is shown to have contact with both Gus and Saul. In chronological order:

Gus is the distributor

Walt first figures this out in S02E11- Mandala after observing his behaviour and knowing Saul's description of him and it's obviously the case in later seasons:

Gus: Can I help you, sir?

Walt: Diet Coke, please. And five minutes of your time.

[Gus feigns ignorance for a few minutes]

Walt: I was told that the man I would be meeting with is very careful. A cautious man. I believe we're alike in that way. If you are who I think you are you should give me another chance.

Gus: I don't think we're alike at all, Mr. White. You are not a cautious man at all. Your partner was late and he was high.

Saul knows Mike

In S02E13- ABQ after Jesse discovers Jane is dead, he calls Walt, and at the end of the phone call, he says:

Walt: Just sit tight. I know who to call.

[Scene change - Outside Jesse's apartment]

Mike: Saul Goodman sent me.

This certainly implies Walt called Saul, and Saul called Mike. This is backed up in S03E02- Caballo Sin Nombre, after Walt tells Saul that Skyler wants a divorce, Saul gets into his car and we cut to Mike:

[Mike answers the phone]

Mike: Yeah.

Saul: It's me. We may have a wife problem. Look, I need eyes on it.

Mike: You got an address?

Later on, Mike is seen installing a bug into Walt's house and observes The Cousins arriving with a fireaxe. This leads us straight into:

Mike knows Gus

After The Cousins have entered Walt's house, Mike picks up the phone and says:

It's me. There's something he should know about.

We then cut over to the man on the other end of the phone, who turns out to be Victor who was the man that Walt met in Los Pollos Hermanos to buy Walt's meth on behalf of Gus in Mandala:

Victor in Mandala

Caballo Sin Nombre ends with Victor approaching Gus in the Laundry, and passing on Mike's message:

Victor and Gus in Caballa Sin Nombre

Their relationship is then confirmed in S03E04- Green Light when Mike and Gus meet to discuss Walt's cancer:

Mike and Gus in Green Light

The only other candidate for "The guy" is Victor, but we never see Saul have contact with him.

Occam's razor would suggest that Mike being "the guy" is more likely than either Victor who misses 1 criteria on-screen, or there being a different contact who is never shown.

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    Well researched, explained and documented. Thanks! Commented Aug 19, 2014 at 3:21
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"I know a guy who knows a guy", is just one of the witty lines that Saul uses every now and then. It does not mean Saul did not know much about Gus. It should not be forgotten that Saul was a "Criminal" lawyer and he must have been in contact with a lot of criminals in the town. A lot of contacts. A guy like this must have had a lot of information about the criminal actvities going around in town and the criminals in the town. However it can assumed that Saul did not have any direct contact with Gus, but knew pretty well that Mike had direct contact with Gus. So my point is Saul could have known about Gus, not necessarily through Mike, but Saul knew that Mike was the guy to talk when a direct contact with Gus was needed. And to answer your question "Yes Mike was the guy. The guy who could arrange a meeting with Gus".

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