Better Call Saul Photo: Michele K. Short/AMC/Sony Pictures Television
Gene, Gene, the scam machine. Our version of Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman with a moustache, Dockers suits and candy has finally appeared on Better Call Saul this season. And he is a changed man.
Well, changed from the meek sad sack we knew, frosting cinnamon buns and supervising his fellow Cinnabonians at Cottonwood Mall. When we last saw Gene, in season five, he was considered the man who had made a name for himself as Albuquerque’s most infamous criminal lawyer. As we learn in the long-awaited “Nippy,” his run-in with Jeff has had a profound effect on him. The menacing cabbie confronted Gene, forcing him to admit that he had been Saul back in ABQ. And while Gene’s initial reaction was to call 911 on Ed about another missing person, he changed his mind and told the vacuum repairman that he would take care of matters himself. And that’s where we pick up in this change of pace of an episode, where Gene gathers all the Slippin’ Jimmy and Saul Goodman he has in him and takes on Jeff’s case. For now anyway.
As is the trademark of Saul Goodman’s patented con/revenge act, the kind we saw unfold in slow, intricate detail over the first half of the season, Gene’s plot is an elaborate one, involving security of Cottonwood, that season. four fainting spells that brought him into Jeff’s orbit to begin with, a department store, and a real knowledge of the law. Fresh Cinnabons and con knowledge also factor into cleverly shot scenes by Saul/Breaking Bad favorite director Michelle MacLaren, who creates a cheeky atmosphere with split screens and Lalo Schifrin’s “Jim On The Move” score from Mission: Impossible.
Gene (Jimmy, Saul… all those guys that live in that head) wouldn’t let that Jeff aggression stand, man. So he gets so into locking up Jeff that he explores and also scams his mother, Marion (the legendary Carol Burnett), as part of his overall plan for the episodes.
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Sounds good. It has excellent sound clarity to make sure your bass rumbles in your stomach and your higher notes resonate through time thanks to the 40mm drivers, they have true adaptive noise cancellation to keep – you are completely immersed in what you are listening to, you have up to 50 hours of battery life, and it can even be used to make calls thanks to the four hidden microphones.
The pace of the black-and-white outing may seem rather abrupt, given the breakneck speed (for BCS, anyway) at which surprises and revelations have been delivered since this second half of season six began. But I think it’s intentional, giving us a chance to pause and continue to digest the death, the destruction, the breakup, and the official, Saul-Goodman introduction of it all, not to mention anticipating what’s coming. just wait. Now we’re only three episodes in and the arrivals of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman are imminent.
But it feels right and potentially very satisfying for Saul to tie all of these characters together (along with Mike and Gus and hopefully Kim in some way) to end the saga that started with Breaking Bad. Now that Jeff has caused the release of the Saul Goodman-ness that was just waiting inside Gene to get dirty again, there’s no need to put the cork back in the con man’s bottle. The Gene who used to sit alone on a mall bench, eating a brown bag lunch and hoping not to be noticed, is reborn as the Saul of old, eagerly frosting buns and climbing the steps of the escalators to get to his new scam. who could finally be his one true love.
It could also be his ultimate downfall. Jimmy loved Kim, and the end of that relationship will remain one of the great heartbreaks of the Bad/Saul universe. But Gene sure looked fondly at that Goodman-esque paisley shirt and graphic tie combo at the department store. Like she couldn’t wait to put the dress back on.
Incorrect observations
- Up until this episode, this season’s key art could have been interpreted as a black-and-white shot of Gene either taking off a bright red Saul sport coat or putting one on. Now we know it’s the last one.
- Speaking of gear, Gene has also donned Marco’s ring and all that it symbolizes.
- Big Call: The return of the security guard (who we now know as Nick) from the season three premiere. He’s the one who helps the Omaha police take away the young thief Gene helps them find, when Gene yells at the kid to keep quiet and get a lawyer. Nick is not happy with Gene’s advice, and reminds him when Gene shows up at the security office in “Nippy”. Nothing a few well-iced buns couldn’t soften, though.
- Schnauz Farms Extra Sharp Wisconsin Cheddar is a nod to writer/director/co-executive producer Saul Thomas Schnauz. Too bad Marion wasn’t a fan.
- Gene is at the top of his Saul game when he jumps into emergency action to prevent security guard Frank (guest star Jim O’Heir) from watching Jeff burn out during his robbery at the department store store. Along the way, Gene concocts a story of grief that ties in real misfortunes from his past, including the death of Chuck and the loss of Kim.
- No, you’re not mistaken: it was a new actor playing Jeff, or Jeffy, as his mother calls him. Don Harvey played the cab driver in seasons four and five. EW notes that Harvey was tied up with his role on HBO’s We Own This City and wasn’t available to return for Saul, so actor Pat Healy is now playing the role. Since Burnett also previously confirmed that he’ll be in multiple episodes, it seems like a safe bet that despite Gene’s best efforts, he might not end up with Jeff. Or maybe Jeff and Marion aren’t done with him.
- Marion seems like a nice woman who can be a little salty when she wants to, like when she rudely responds to a fellow shopper’s offer to help her get something off a high shelf and when she punishes the kind of delicatessen to give him a quarter. of a pound of pastrami dough on a previous grocery trip. What if there’s a lot more to Marion than meets the eye? And what if he discovers that Gene, who he thinks is a good influence on his Jeffy, has not only conned and blackmailed him into screaming, but has also tricked him into thinking he’s just a kind man who met while looking for a lost pet? She, to say the least, is a pretty sharp lady. Jeff is a chest, but Marion might not be too happy with Gene, and she might not be too inclined to let him get away with it.