SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you haven’t seen the 11th episode of “Better Call Saul” season 6, titled “Breaking Bad.”
“Better Call Saul” fans have waited more than seven years for the series directed by Bob Odenkirk to intersect with the world of Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul). This week’s episode of the spin-off, aptly titled “Breaking Bad,” gave viewers all that and more.
The episode goes back and forth between the black and white timeline, which includes Saul’s post-“Breaking Bad” character Gene Takovic in Omaha, and Saul Goodman’s world within “Breaking Bad” season 2. Unfortunately, Jimmy McGill and Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) remain in the past (at least for now).
In Gene’s timeline, our favorite Cinnabon manager relives his Albuquerque days, orchestrating another scheme with cab driver Jeffy (Pat Healy), who had recognized Gene from his days as Saul. Together, they slip enough personal information to steal the identities of a couple dozen friends, but it’s clear that Gene/Saul/Jimmy isn’t really in it for the rewards, but because he’s missing out on “the game.” In last week’s episode, “Nippy,” Gene stages a mini-department store robbery for Jeffy in exchange for keeping quiet about his true identity. This time, Gene is in it for the thrills.
In the “Breaking Bad” Season 2 flashback, Saul is strapped into a recognizable RV and loaded with bullets before being dragged outside into a shallow grave by two mysterious men. “Oh no no no!” he begs “It wasn’t me, it was Ignacio! He’s him!” We’ve seen this exact scene before, in the Season 2 episode of “Breaking Bad” titled “Better Call Saul,” when Albuquerque’s most famous meth chefs first meet their criminal lawyer. Back then, it was a byline. Now, six seasons into the spin-off with the dramatic death of Nacho (Michael Mando) still fresh in our minds, it puts it all into context and locks the two series into its place. Throughout its run, “Better Call Saul” has served as a prequel series that also shows the aftermath of “Breaking Bad.” At this point, however, the two series are running concurrently.
Walt and Jesse first met Saul in “Breaking Bad” because he represented one of his dealers, Jesse’s friend Badger, who was arrested for distributing meth. Fearing that Badger will turn Heisenberg (aka Walt) over to the DEA, Walt walks into Saul’s office posing as Badger’s uncle and offers him $10,000 to advise Badger to keep quiet. Saul expels him for the bribe. As a last resort, Walt and Jesse kidnap Saul and intimidate him into the desert, assuring that he will advise Badger to keep quiet. They wear ski masks to hide their identities, but Saul recognizes Walt’s cough and demands that he and Jesse put a dollar in his pocket…you know, for attorney-client privilege. In a pickle, Saul agrees not to make a deal with the DEA.
Now, in the “Better Call Saul” flashback, we’re treated to a new scene that takes place when the trio re-enters the trailer, and we finally see Walt and Jesse’s faces (13 years after Cranston and Paul first shot this fundamental sequence). ). Saul admires the makeshift meth lab and correctly assumes that Walt is, in fact, Heisenberg. Walt and Jesse are arguing (oh, how I’ve missed “Breaking Bad”), and Saul, minutes after being held at gunpoint, is beating them hard. After a short silence, Jesse asks Saul, “Who is Lalo?”
In the “Breaking Bad” version of the intimidation scene, Saul asks Walt and Jesse if Lalo sent them. Then again, Lalo was also just a random name and not the famous Salamanca villain we’ve come to fear in “Better Call Saul.” The lawyer pauses for a moment, perhaps reflecting on representing Lalo, taking the bail money across the desert, the failed assassination attempt, the Howard scam, Lalo’s surprise visit, the murder of Howard, Kim’s loss, and then simply replies, “It’s nobody.”
Later in the episode, Saul sits down in his office with Mike (Jonathan Banks), who briefs him on his potential clients. “Even if this guy were to live, I wouldn’t go near him. He’s a complete amateur,” says Mike of Walt. “If cancer doesn’t take him, it will be the police or a bullet to the head.”
“I have a feeling about it,” Saúl replies. “There’s something to this Heisenberg. It’s a top-of-the-line product, that’s the word on the street, and I just think that with the right management—” But Mike cuts him off. “Let him go,” he says. Ignoring the his advice, Saul arrives at JP Wynne High School, where Walt is teaching chemistry. He heads for the science building, but that’s all we get in this episode. It doesn’t matter, of course. We know what happens later
Don’t forget, at the beginning of this bombshell episode is Gene’s call with Francesca (Tina Parker), his former secretary. It’s been a while since the events of “Breaking Bad” and the spin-off movie “El Camino,” so Francesca (now a landlord helping her 20-something tenants unclog their sink) is updating Gene about the status of their friends and former partners. in Albuquerque. Here’s what we learn:
- Things have cooled down, but Francesca is still stalked from time to time. He says his mail is being opened and his home phone is tapped. “Skyler White got his deal, so the only ones left to go after are you and Pinkman,” he tells Gene, “and I heard they found his car at the border.” Francesca is actually referring to Skinny Pete’s car, the Ford Thunderbird that Badger drives to the Mexican border on “El Camino” to chase off the cops. As far as we know, Jesse is living peacefully in Alaska after escaping the Nazi compound and starting a new life, via Ed the Missing.
- The police are still looking for Saul Goodman.
- The feds found the nail salons, vending machines, and laser tag arena that Walt, Jesse, and Saul used to launder money.
- When asked how Saul’s Patrick Kuby (Bill Burr) is doing, Francesca replies, “No idea,” but says that Huell Babineaux (Lavell Crawford) is back home in New Orleans. Apparently, he walked because the DEA held him under false pretenses.
- Bill Oakley (Peter Diseth), the district attorney featured in “Better Call Saul,” has “switched sides” and become a defense attorney.
- At some point, Kim called Francesca to check on her and asked her about Jimmy and if he was alive. Francesca says she didn’t tell Kim anything about Jimmy’s current whereabouts (or new identity).
This last realization prompts Gene to call Kim, who we learn is now working in Titusville, Florida, presumably not as a lawyer since she gave up her license. We don’t hear any audio of their conversation, and it’s unclear if they even connect. But whatever’s on the other line is bothering Gene, who slams the phone against the dial pad and bangs the payphone’s glass booth until it shatters.
There are two episodes of “Better Call Saul” left and we haven’t seen Kim since she dumped Jimmy, so here’s hoping for a black and white happily ever after.