The following article contains spoilers forBetter Call Saulseason 6.
Better Call Saultook important steps towards its mid-season finale with an episode that is more about setting up the final details of Kim and Jimmy’s plan to bring down Howard Hamlin than anything else that’s going on. Nevertheless, the result sticks to the high standard of the show, while also providing a fewBreaking Badeaster eggs fans might want to look out for.
Even more so, this week’s “Axe and Grind” (yes, every episode’s title this season sticks to the same format) also marks Giancarlo Esposito’s directorial debut, with his character taking a rare break as Gustavo Fring is nowhere to be seen. His absence seems merited though, as the actor’s work behind the camera turns out to be just as stellar as his performances inBetter Call Saul, starting from the very first shot.
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Before the opening credits, the audience meets a young Kim Wexler, who’s been caught shoplifting early in her teens; her mother is summoned by the store manager to handle the situation and she gets what’s coming her way. At least it seems like it because once they get to her mother’s car Little Kim gets the new earrings she desired courtesy of mom herself, as well as an unconventional parenting lesson “Relax. You got away with it.”
The moment is telling of what kind of episode this will be, it’s about character depth and exploration, rather than the accustomed high tension scenesBetter Call Saulgives fans when conflicts or action arise. Hence why the second scene featuresHoward’s morning routine (no boxing involved), he gets dressed and prepares a beautifully peaceful cup of coffee for his wife, and yet for all his efforts, her reaction is non-existent.
Better Call Saulwriters have turned Howard intoone of the show’s most beloved characters, he’s pretentious and Jimmy may have reasons to despise him, but a bad man he is not, and recent efforts to humanize him can only tease the atrocity of what Kim and Jimmy are about to do to him. If anything, the juxtaposition seems placed as if to further push the audience to view Kim as an agent of chaos.
From then on it’s all about Kim and Jimmy, with the two paying a visit to the most well-connected veterinarian in Albuquerque, Dr. Caldera, whose services are needed by the couple as some part of their scheme involves getting Jimmy’s pupils dilated to the bluest of blues. Most importantly, he tells them he’s leaving the underworld business, as well as hisZodiac-style black book of contactswhich includes a business card for thepriciest vacuum cleaning services inBreaking Bad’sUS, thus providing a new potential exit plan for Kim’s future that boosts theories where she doesn’t die but is merely in absent from Jimmy’s life.
Jimmy’s perplexed at the sight of the veterinarian leaving so much profit behind, however, this Kim seems to understand the desire to run away from such a life, and the same goes for her next morning hearing where she continues to establish herself as the best public defender in town. Clifford Main is impressed enough to offer her the chance to pitch her candidacy to head a criminal justice reform organization in the region.
SeeingSaul Goodman’s up-and-coming law practice and its decoris another welcomeBreaking Badreference, though the living room ambiance created by Francesca is a far cry from the future interior design of this space. Francesca is a key piece to lock in the final details of the couple’s plans, though at this stage she has her qualms with the kind of clients Jimmy draws.
Once they check on the film crew and share a bottle of wine outside HHM’s headquarters, it’s only a matter of time before things get rolling, though Kim is taking a rain check on D-day. At least according to plans, because when their entire strategy is compromised Kim takes an angry symbolic U-turn on the promise of a legitimate life to commit herself to the season-long scheme instead of a career fighting for criminal justice reform.
Jimmycontinues to be Jimmy in a Saul disguise, it’s Kim’s recklessness that’s on focus here, and whatever they do to poor old Howard could greatly determine her real fate in the series, especially if it somehow intertwines with the cartel’s interest, especially now that the victim’s PI has his eyes set 24/7 on Jimmy and his fake judge Casimiro.
Meanwhile, it appears Lalo’s revenge will have to wait until part two of the final season as he is still back in Germany. This time around the scene doesn’t skimp on slasher influences as Lalo narrowly survives to tear down Casper with his own ax, nonetheless, it seems like he still has too many questions that need answering before he can go back to Albuquerque and exact revenge on the chicken man.
Mike continues to do much of the same, only this time he’s built his own Gus-like fortress from where he can watch his granddaughter play and gaze upon the stars. It’s quite endearing, as Mike has always been inBetter Call Saulbut these types of scenes usually foreshadow negative consequences for their protagonists, according to series tradition.
Better Call Saulneeds to answer several questions, but not all of them, and the real puzzle right now is how Kim and Jimmy’s plan will intersect with everything else going on in the series. The show’s creators have always ensured to finish every season in style and that rule should still apply for next week’s banger of an episode.
