Summary: A flashforward shows Saul's house getting repossessed. In the present, Jimmy and Kim go to the courthouse to work. They meet up at a diner at the end of the day and Kim begins to discuss her plan for Howard, suggesting that they attack Howard's reputation in Cliff's eyes. Jimmy is reluctant but ultimately goes along with the plan. Their first step sees Jimmy going to Howard's country club, and after an encounter with Kevin and making a distraction in the bathroom, he sneaks into the locker room and plants a bag of baby powder in Howard's locker, making it look like cocaine. Howard opens his locker and it falls out, which startles Cliff. Gus learns that the hit was a success but he's skeptical. Mike wants Gus to help Nacho but Gus has other ideas. Nacho is on the run in Mexico and Tyrus directs him via phone to a motel where he is told to stay. Lalo goes to a house where he has invested in someone to use as a body double. He kills him to help fake his death. The Twins see the burned fake body and go after revenge. Lalo prepares to head back across the border, but quickly calls Hector to let him know he's alive. Hector tells Lalo to find proof, and Lalo decides to remain in Mexico.
The Good: Season 6 opens up with a surprise from the start. What we expected would be a black and white Gene sequence quickly gains colour and transforms into a beautifully directed sequence of Saul's mansion being repossessed following the events of "Breaking Bad". The sequence is gorgeously shot to a rendition of "Wine and Roses" and filled with lovely little details as we get a grasp of what the home life of Saul Goodman looked like. The sequence flows along like a delightful dream up until a brilliant final moment that can't help but feel sad and ominous. Out from all of the boxes falls the iconic Zafiro Anejo bottle stopper, and the music stops as the camera zooms in to focus on it in silence. It's a memento of Saul's past, and another suggestion that there is not likely to be a happy ending for Jimmy and Kim (see: The Unknown). In the present, the show is quick to illustrate the change in Kim's demeanour and how Jimmy feels about it. Kim has a ruthless side to her now, and this is shown in a brilliant scene where Kim decides to throw away Jimmy's iconic mug. She does it impulsively without asking Jimmy, and the moment can't help but feel like Kim's rejection of Jimmy McGill for the flowery Saul Goodman, a sad indicator that Kim might actually be the final push that gets Jimmy to become Saul like he is in "Breaking Bad". Jimmy's clearly unsure on what to feel about Kim. He is lying there awake as she sleeps next to him when we first check in with them, and there's a lovely shot later in the episode where Jimmy tells Kim that he's feeling great, only for the show to cut to a shot of Jimmy in the elevator where he looks anything but. Jimmy is still torn up by everything and he gets caught with his pants down, accidentally name-dropping Lalo's name to the DA with a classic Freudian slip. It's evident that all is not right with Jimmy at the start of the season. And that takes us to Jimmy and Kim's scene at the diner. We know that Jimmy is not feeling good about himself, and that he is a bit offput by Kim's change. But we are given a great reminder of what it is about Kim that we love so much as she talks about the "best day of her professional life" that she spent helping her unfortunate clients get out of unwinnable positions. Jimmy sees this, and upon seeing how disheartened Kim is that her plan with Howard won't be going through, Jimmy reluctantly dips his toes in the water. And as it always is with him, it doesn't take very long before Jimmy is swept up by his excitement and is soon helping Kim execute the first step of her plan. The country club scheme is a blast to watch. True to form, we don't know what the plan is so a lot of suspense comes from us being unsure if things are working out or not. The case in point is a hilarious cameo from Kevin as he spots Jimmy in the country club and immediately makes a scene to have him removed. But in a brilliant twist, Jimmy turns it around on Kevin and accuses him of antisemitism, giving him some slack from the tour guide and ensuring that he will be able to get into the bathroom no questions asked. Another brilliant example of the fun that "Better Call Saul" extracts from these schemes is Jimmy getting naked to avoid being made by Howard. It's a delight and it neatly sets up the reveal of the little bag of "cocaine" in Howard's locker, right when you think that maybe Jimmy wasn't able to do what he needed to do with the locker. The set up is great and I'm excited to see where Jimmy and Kim's plan goes from here. The cartel half of the show remains detached from Jimmy and Kim in this episode, but that's probably for the better as we have a whole lot going on here. Lalo is on a path to vengeance following what happened to his house, and it is brutally compelling to see him turn a corner and embrace that hidden fury instead of maintaining his charm. The sequence with poor Sylvia and Mateo was brilliant. It quickly becomes apparent that Lalo has been preparing Mateo to be used as a body double in case he ever needed it. But what's brilliant is that the show dwells on how much killing these two effects Lalo. He remembers their names and he sees that they respect him, and we can tell that Lalo enjoys being a good leader to these people. But Gus's actions have forced his hand, and we can see remorse clear as day on Lalo's face as he does what he needs to. The next step for Lalo is to head back to Albuquerque and go after Gus, but before he goes he makes a call with Hector, which ends up being a fantastic scene. Mark Margolis is as brilliant as ever, conveying Hector's despair as it turns to glee and delight upon hearing Lalo's voice. And Lalo is spitting fire to Hector, furious that he has been attacked and readying himself for vengeance. His anger is beautifully brought to the forefront by Tony Dalton, and there's a lovely little scene as Lalo immediately flicks a switch to being charming when the lady working at Casa Tranquila briefly takes over the call. The scene is unnervingly effective, and we conclude with another perfect example of Lalo's brutality as he ruthlessly murders the people responsible for the transportation because they did not play nice. Lalo is ruthless and he's unflinching in the face of opposition. Nacho's scenes on the other hand are a stressful viewing experience. Every scene is tense as he's deep in hostile territory with no friends, understanding full well that if anybody sees him, he is as good as dead. His scenes are fraught with danger and that makes them quite the thrilling experience. Be it hiding from some farmers or openly checking into a motel, everything he does has me on the edge of my seat. What makes it worse is that Gus seems to have no intention of helping Nacho, and may be willing to sacrifice him for the cause. The only person we know that cares for Nacho's best interests is Mike, and while Mike does attempt to convince Gus to help the poor guy, it doesn't seem to work. Concerningly, Mike does not pick up Nacho's phone call either, and it seems like Nacho's last ally may be unable to help him in whatever is coming next. I really like the new intro. The intro has slowly been getting more and more glitchy across the seasons, and it is beautiful to watch in this final season. The Bad: Nothing I would call outright bad. The one thing working against this episode is that it is very clearly a set-up episode and a lot of time is spent on laying foundations for the season. There is definitely still some of the excellent character work that this show is known for, but more time is dedicated towards the plot and set-up than what we usually get in season premieres. I suppose that's a consequence of this season having more plot to get through. It's not something that I dislike about the episode, but it is something that prevents the episode from being top quality. The Unknown: That was an interesting opening scene. Why does Jimmy have Kim's bottle stopper? Did something happen to her or happen between them? Is it possible that she was living in that house? It seems unlikely because we don't see any sign of any others living there. What is Gus planning for Nacho? Will Mike go along with it? Is there somebody coming to save Nacho or is Gus setting him up? What will be the consequences of Jimmy accidentally mentioning Lalo's name to the DA? What is Kim's next step in her plan? How much of the country club stunt was planned? Was Jimmy always supposed to make a scene with Kevin or did he have to improvise to get to Howard's locker? What proof is Lalo going after? Is he going to hunt down Nacho? Best Moment: Lalo's phone call with Hector. It was amazingly acted and portrayed the change in Lalo's composure to perfection. Character of the Episode: Jimmy. Conclusion: A welcome return for "Better Call Saul" in its final season. As ever, this is a methodical and well thought out episode that sets up the season's story and explores the characters in unique ways. Score: 68
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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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