Review – ‘Better Call Saul’ S5/E6: “Wexler v. Goodman”

Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy McGill, Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler; group – Better Call Saul _ Season 5, Episode 6 – Photo Credit: Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television

 

Episode 6 of season 5 sees the return of Nacho Varga to the storyline, as well as a determined Mike and a relentless Saul bent on taking down Lalo Salamanca and Mesa Verde, respectively. Wexler v. Goodman also sees a showdown between Kim and Jimmy, with their relationship reaching its breaking point. These two are either ending things or getting married!?

 

SPOILER WARNING

 

The Episode begins with a flashback of Kim when she was younger. Her mom was late picking her up because she was out drinking, and Kim refuses to get in the car with her, so she walks home. This shows both Kim’s morality and stubbornness from the time she was young. Her moral center has played a large role this season, and even more so in this episode.

 

 

We then see Jimmy filming another commercial, presumably as a way to get to Mesa Verde, but Kim insists that they stop the scheme because she believes her boss, Rich, is onto her. Based on Kim’s reaction, I was very worried that I wasn’t going to see the final version of the commercial Jimmy created, but more on that later.

 

 

Wexler v. Goodman also sees the return of Nacho Varga to the storyline. It feels like it’s been a while since we’ve seen Nacho, so it was nice to see this character show up again. Gus Fring clearly has a hold on Nacho because he basically has a gun to his father’s head, in Nacho’s words. Gus is determined to take down Lalo Salamanca, and he believes Nacho is the key because he has earned Lalo’s trust.

 

The Mike we know from Breaking Bad has seemingly returned to form in this episode, working as Gus’s right hand man to take down Lalo. Mike uses his police expertise to lead the cops to Lalo by the end of the episode. However, Mike does tell Nacho that they will talk about his situation after they take care of Lalo. Mike has seen what Gus can do to innocent people that are in his way, so perhaps he can get Nacho out of this situation. I’ll be interested to see if Nacho makes it out of this series in one piece.

 

 

Once again, the episode really shines when the spotlight is on Jimmy and Kim. Jimmy finally meets face to face with Kevin (CEO of Mesa Verde), Kim, and Rich. The tension in this scene was palpable, and Jimmy clearly went against Kim’s wishes and behind her back by showing them the commercial he made. As a viewer, I wanted Jimmy to stop, but he just continued to show more and more actors giving false testimonies against Mesa Verde in order to blackmail them.

 

Jimmy is always rooting for the underdog, and has found his opponent in the big wigs at Mesa Verde. Despite his intentions to seek justice, this may have been the last straw when it comes to his relationship with Kim. At the end of the episode, she says they either need to end things, or… get married!? This was an interesting twist to be sure, so I can’t wait to see what happens next!

 

Easter Eggs/Cameos

  • When Mike goes into “private investigator mode”, he uses the alias Dave Clark, which is the same alias he used in Breaking Bad, Episode 501.
  • Detective Tim Roberts is seen in this episode, and he was a fellow officer and good friend of Hank Schrader in Breaking Bad.
  • Saul Goodman’s phone number (505-503-4455) is revealed in this episode during the commercial he filmed to blackmail Mesa Verde. This phone number was referenced several times in Breaking Bad