Season 6, Episode 12: “The Waterworks”
After years of blending in and keeping a low profile in Omaha, Gene Takavich, aka Saul Goodman, is about to blame it. In the final moments of this episode, he is kicked out by a terrifying but determined Marion, who discovers the truth about her overly supportive friend. All I needed was a computer, Ask Jeeves, and a few keywords: “scammer” and “Albuquerque.”
We still don’t know why Gene went from being a capricious and obscure shmo to a risk-taking Home Invader. We assumed there were clues gleaned from the conversation he had with Kim in the previous episode, but in this episode, we listen to that conversation and find out, “This guy needs a lot of cash, stats.” I won’t even say Scammers may need to cheat. Jimmy/Saul isn’t alive unless he cheats someone to get around the law. Perhaps this is not the story of a man who needs money. It’s about a man who can’t change.
If so, that sets a stark difference between Jimmy/Saul and Kim. She seems pretty content with her brawny boyfriend and her suburban backyard barbecue life. Her justice-seeking lawyers are devastated, and when Kim flew to Albuquerque to visit the courthouse, we get a brief peek at her former self as she looks enviously at her public defender. With one glance, she sees the life she has thrown away. It is her mission that has drawn her to such an extent that she has come up with her very nasty plan to turn Howard Hamlin into a drug addict.
Kim returned to New Mexico to right her wrongs. She confesses everything in her affidavit and presents it to both the prosecutor and Howard’s widow, Cheryl. it’s all there. Every minor twist in the plot that buried Howard, including his murder at the hands of Lalo Salamanca. This dramatic act takes place shortly after the phone call from Jimmy/Saul in the previous episode.
“I’m still pulling it off,” says Jimmy/Saul.
“You should turn yourself in,” Kim replied after a painful silence.
Return of “Better Call Saul”
The Breaking Bad prequel comes to an end this year.
“Why don’t you turn yourself in assuming you’re the one holding the guilt,” says Jimmy/Saul. “What’s stopping you?”
He then lists people who are all dead who could help get Kim involved. She reminds us that we were able to tell the authorities all the truth. If there were no bodies or witnesses, that might not matter.
It’s a point that Kim herself made when Cheryl asked whether this cleansing of conscience affidavit carries genuine legal danger. Maybe that’s why I cry when I’m on the rent-a-car bus. Her unburdened life is not available to her. It’s a fitting predicament for Dostoevsky, and a particularly gruesome fate given that it was she who conceived and pushed forward her plans against Howard.There was a time when Kim was the more evil of this duo–precisely. began at the end of Season 5.
Kim didn’t become a saint.Notice how she tells Cheryl her one rant — that Jimmy Might be so please die (To be legally specific about this, Kim has stated that there were no living witnesses to the events described in the affidavit other than her ex-husband, “assuming he is still alive.”) She knows he’s alive. She just told him. Kim has always been a good liar in this couple, and that’s still true.
But with her job and boyfriend in Florida, Kim was stuck in a boring, law-abiding life. It seemed difficult to understand that revolved around the . It seems far from the valiant efforts she made for poor clients. After working at , he went deep into the intricacies of banking regulation as a lawyer for Mesa Verde, a local bank with a regional dream. She once had a monotonous job in the office.
Whether or not she will be able to maintain a daily routine is no longer a question that only she can answer. Her affidavit also found Jimmy guilty, and at the very least, he would have to get away from the law. (“Dead Mess Baron Consigliere Has To Do With Ex-Wife!”)
Kim will be the only witness who can kick Jimmy out. And it’s getting easier to root for this guy’s jail time, right? In the last few episodes, the writers put their collective, heavy thumbs on the scale by turning Saul/Jean into a monster. He used to appear ready to chill the man in an urn containing the dog’s ashes.
This is a nervous event. The show has abandoned the idea that this is a story about love. Or sue? Will Kim testify against Jimmy, or will he get away with it?
What is the end of Saul Goodman?
odds and ends
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Great to see Jesse Pinkman back for another scene. This is the scene before he goes to talk to Saul about getting his friend Badger out of prison, an event from the Breaking Bad timeline, and his conversation sounds completely organic. (“Like bananas, this rain is crazy. We thought we were in the desert, right?”)
However, this feels a bit like stunt casting, as it’s hard to see how his presence moves the story forward. It was a point that could have been possible without Jessie, a point that was fairly obvious during the divorce papers signing, and shortly before that. , Saul feigned indifference when confusing the paperwork. There are even new things.
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Fun fact: Kim represented the combo after stealing the daycare.
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Wait, another scene where Kim brushes her teeth?
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Jeff’s freak life and car accident seem unbelievable even to him.
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Saul/Jean used the name Victor St. Clair as a pseudonym when calling Kim, and she seemed to recognize it right away. Sound familiar? This is the name he and Kim used in the Season 2 premiere when they went on their first scam with abusive stockbroker Ken (“Viktor, with a K”). Zaffiro Anejo).
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During that phone conversation, I learned that Kim had not received the Sandpiper Crossing settlement. Her conscience has haunted her for some time.
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Perhaps the best thing about this episode is that writer/director Vince Gilligan captures office life in a surprisingly real way. Birthday cakes, Miracle Whip’s lunch His talk, ceremonial hall-to-employee passing of his puncher, etc., all go off on a whim. Offices like Palm Coast Sprinklers have long been a part of television, but this may be the most accurate depiction Your Faithful Recapper has ever seen.
Next time is the final time. End of an era! Make your predictions in the comments section.