Summary: A flashforward shows a beach where Howard's suicide has been staged. In the present, Lalo orders Jimmy to go to Gus' house with a gun and shoot him. Jimmy manages to get Kim to go instead and remains with Lalo. Lalo ties up Jimmy and leaves. Kim gets to the door but is stopped by Mike. Mike and his men go to Jimmy's place but don't find Lalo there. Gus realizes this was all a diversion and takes his remaining men to the lab where Lalo has gone. Lalo kills them all and films Gus, forcing him to show him the meth lab. Gus has a big speech against Eladio and the Salamancas, then he makes a play for his hidden gun and kills Lalo after a brief shootout. Kim is returned to Jimmy and Mike tells them to act normal and that they will stage a cocaine-related suicide for Howard, but the body won't be found. Howard and Lalo are buried together underneath the lab.
The Good: This was such a suspense-filled episode. This went at a breakneck pace, and every scene offered some sort of twist, or moment of suspense which made this such an engrossing and engaging experience. I have to especially credit the directing in the episode. every scene was shot to perfection with tremendous shot choices, gorgeous lighting, and impressively dynamic cinematography. "Better Call Saul" has always been excellent in this department, but this episode was top-notch, and the fantastic production of the episode is a big reason for why it was so intense. Another big reason is the acting. Every actor in this episode did a tremendous job, from Jonathan Banks to Rhea Seehorn. I was impressed by everybody, and the terrifyingly realistic performances added so much to the experience of this episode. Jimmy and Kim's tense conversation with Lalo was a stellar way to kick off the episode's plot. We're kept in the dark about Lalo's plan so the question remained what exactly he wanted from Jimmy and Kim. Even with 6 weeks to ponder this, I could never have predicted that Lalo would send them on a mission to go kill Gus at his house. This was a lovely twist, aided by how casually Lalo gave them this order. Lalo's calm body language throughout this scene was terrifying, complimenting the raw fear in both Jimmy and Kim. This also made Jimmy's big moment where he opts to send Kim out instead even more of a surprise. When you consider how quickly Jimmy shut down the last time he saw Lalo, I never expected Jimmy to get his game back on so quickly this time around. But he does, and when you realize that Jimmy is sacrificing himself so Kim can get away, it's a real emotional kicker. Both Jimmy and Kim know what the plan is, Jimmy is resolved, and Kim is terrified and in denial. The emotional state of both characters is captured perfectly, and the scene is almost darkly funny in a way with Lalo getting frustrated with their squabbling. Jimmy's short scene with Lalo afterwards gives us a direct tie-in to "Breaking Bad", which I really enjoyed. Under immense pressure and learning about Nacho's betrayal, Jimmy desperately shouts "it wasn't me, it was Ignacio!" as Lalo ties him up. This is a direct connection to "Breaking Bad", suggesting that Jimmy was flashing back to this very moment when Walt and Jesse took him out into the desert. This episode also answers why Jimmy was terrified of Lalo in that episode of "Breaking Bad". Even though he knows Lalo is dead, Lalo has come back from the dead once before, and I'm certain that Jimmy will always be terrified that he might come back once again. Another nice little connection to "Breaking Bad" is when Jimmy falls over onto his side, facing Howard's dead body. In his position, Jimmy is bound and forced to face the consequences of his actions. This positioning will be familiar to "Breaking Bad" fans who will recall Walt in the same position facing Hank's dead body, as well as Gus facing Max's dead body. Then we get into Kim's mission to go kill Gus, and this was ruthlessly intense. Who would have imagined that Kim Wexler, attorney at law, would find herself in such a morally corrupt situation? But here she is, heading over to kill a random civilian to save her husband's life. Rhea Seehorn played this unexpected turn in Kim's life unbelievably well and incorporated impressive layers of frustration, fear, and inner turmoil. A fantastic scene is when a police car pulls up next to Kim and she's forced to decide whether she should involve them or not, and she ultimately decides against it. The scene is gripping, tense, and emotionally powerful, what more would you expect from a scene like that? Kim's trip takes her to Gus' house (where we get a shot that mirrors Walt going to Gus' house back in "Thirty-Eight Snub") and the build up to her making the choice to kill is spectacular. Luckily Mike saves her from having to make that decision, but we're still left with the fascinating question of "would she have done it", a great bit of moral contemplation surrounding the character of Kim Wexler. Following this, we finally start to figure out what's really happening. Mike goes after Lalo immediately, but not after a terrific moment where Kim rages at him for not being there to stop Lalo and save Howard. Mike's guilt is a palpable aspect of this episode as Lalo outsmarts him on every level. Mike immediately goes to find Lalo, but he once again plays right into Lalo's hands as Lalo sneaks inside of the now undefended Lavenderia Brilliante. Gus is the only one to figure out Lalo's plan. Consistent with Gus' sixth sense that he displayed in "Breaking Bad", Gus is able to smell something fishy in Lalo's plan to send Kim and realizes that this whole assassination attempt was a diversion. The reveal of Lalo's plan in these minutes was done really well, and it was a great dramatic reveal to set up the big showdown between Gus and Lalo. And boy was that showdown fantastic. Lalo outsmarts Gus one final time by sneaking into the lab, and even Gus' sixth sense couldn't save him this time. What results is a total dominant victory for Lalo. For a few minutes, Lalo has complete control on a passive and helpless Gus and it is glorious. Here Lalo is gathering all the proof he needs while utterly dominating the man that he despises so so much. It's a shocker to see Gus in such a vulnerable and helpless state, and that's telling of the threat that Lalo poses. Both Tony Dalton and Giancarlo Esposito nail these scenes and they are brilliantly executed. There may not be a huge amount of tension (see: The Bad), but the scenes are very well done. We know that Gus is buying time to get that gun hidden in the lab, and the episode builds its suspense by having us wait until the shoe drops. In the meantime, Lalo indulges in Gus' final monologue, and we get a magnificent hate-filled speech that directly parallels Nacho's speech from "Rock and Hard Place". Gus clearly took inspiration from Nacho, perhaps confirming that Nacho did earn Gus' respect in the end. Utilizing this distraction, Gus gets to his gun and after a few frenzied bullets fly, Gus manages to take out his despicable rival. This gunfight was outstanding in my opinion. It's not visually spectacular or a logn action sequence. Instead it's a brutally real flash of bullets and anxiety, a surprise explosion of action that delivers a few nail-biting moments as we are left wondering if Gus got Lalo or not. Those few moments in the dark with Gus breathing rapidly in total fear before revealing Lalo's motionless legs were outstanding. It was a perfect way to connect us emotionally with Gus' fear and uncertainty before giving us the reveal that he lucked out of this situation and managed to defeat Lalo. This sequence was fantastic television and it was a perfect end for Lalo. Gus toughing through his gunshot wounds to tower over Lalo, and Lalo's sly final laugh as he bled out were beautiful character moments to cap off this spectacle of a sequence. What a way to conclude the war between these two characters, with a thrilling sequence that handles both characters with utmost respect. Well done. Afterwards we get the aftermath as Gus calls in for a week and gets Lyle to cover for him (always good to see sweet, innocent Lyle again). Mike moves into clean-up mode as he reunites Jimmy and Kim and handles disposing of Howard's body. His scene explaining the story that Jimmy and Kim will have to go with was brutal. Howard's fate is absolutely depressing, and it weighs on both Jimmy and Kim what they did to this innocent man. Using the fridge to remove Howard's body from the scene is quite clever, and it also allows for that harrowing shot of Howard's body being shoved into the fridge, an image that Jimmy will not soon forget. Surrounding all of this chaos, we have two wonderful scenes that open and close the episode. These two scenes are slow-paced, melancholic, and atmospheric, creating a sorrowful atmosphere. The opening scene is completely different from anything we have seen setting-wise. This is the first time we've ever seen a beach in the "Breaking Bad" universe, and the change in visuals is striking immediately. It quickly becomes apparent that we are looking at a staged suicide for Howard, and the sequence extracts plenty of emotion out of that idea. Then we have the final scene, a sad burial for both Lalo and Howard underneath the lab. Not only does this change how we will rewatch "Breaking Bad", knowing that these two significant characters are buried in the superlab, but it also serves as a permanent way to marry the legal half and cartel half of the show with the two characters that best represent either side. The scene itself is atmospheric and sad, and Mike's clear sadness over the fate of Howard adds further depth to this scene. Where the first scene is sad because of the idea of Howard's fate, this final scene is sad because it shows us his real fate, and it's nowhere near as beautiful as being lost on a beautiful beach. Instead, Howard in manhandled by Mike's men and buried next to his killer underneath an illegal meth lab where he will never be found. It's a final depressing turn for Howard, concluding his story in a deeply upsetting way. The Bad: The only issue with this episode is that it is predictable at times, which means that it is unable to sustain an extreme level of tension throughout the episode like it is attempting to do. The directing, acting, and writing get the absolute most out of the episode, but that can't overcome the prequel problem of knowing where things end up. We know that Jimmy is not going to die, so there is only so much suspense we can get out of his scenes with Lalo. More significantly, we know that Gus can't die and that Lalo will never be able to tell anyone about the lab. This means that Lalo dying in this sequence is predetermined, and it's only a matter of time before it happens. Knowing that Lalo has to die here saps a lot of tension out from an otherwise superbly directed scene. It's a shame, but "Better Call Saul" had no way to overcome this problem, and the Gus/Lalo sequence was doomed to never be up there with some of the best suspense-based scenes in the show. The Unknown: Will Jimmy and Kim be able to adjust to their normal lives after what happened? How will this affect their relationship? Will they be able to stick to Mike's lie? Will anybody be investigating the circumstances of Howard's disappearance? Howard told Cliff about Jimmy, will Cliff look into things? What will be the fallout of Lalo's death? Will Gus go brag to Hector like we see him do in "Breaking Bad"? With Lalo dead with so many episodes left before the finale, will we be heading to the "Breaking Bad" timeline sooner rather than later? Best Moment: This episode is filled with terrific scenes, and I debated with half a dozen other moments. But in the end, I'll go with Kim reaching Gus' house with the gun and trying to convince herself to kill. A terrific scene, outstandingly acted by Rhea Seehorn. I would never have guessed in a million years that Kim would have ended up knocking on someone's door with the intent to kill, and yet here we are. The shocking nature and intensity of the scene was enough to leave me gripped to see what happens next. Character of the Episode: Lalo. Conclusion: This was a magnificent episode filled with tension, brilliant acting, and impressive directing. There was an issue of this being predictable, but the near-perfect execution of this episode manages to overcome that flaw and ensure that this is still fantastic television. What a way to return from a midseason break. Score: 82
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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