“Whatever happens next, it’s not gonna go down the way you think it is.”
In the second part ofBetter Call Saul‘s two-episode premiere event, “Carrot and Stick”, Mike (Jonathan Banks) gets down to business at Nacho’s (Michael Mando) house. He offers Nacho’s girlfriends some cash to get outta dodge, and gets up to some funny business around his place (obviously on Gus’s orders). They replace Nacho’s safe with a new one and plant an envelope intended to lead Bolsa and the Salamancas right to him, throwing them off Gus’s trail. Nacho, stir-crazy in his motel room and sure he’s being watched, makes a break for it just in time for the Salamancas to ambush the place. He struggles to hot wire a truck to speed away in, drawing the attention of the cousins, who want to take him in alive. It’s thrilling stuff, the kind of sequence that made Breaking Bad such an exhilarating watch at its height. (I found myself checking my pulse more than once). After an intense shootout, Nacho escapes, but it won’t be long before the Salamancas (and everyone else) are on his tail again.
Gustavo (Giancarlo Esposito) is distressed by Nacho’s disappearance, worried he might blow the whole operation. Even if Mike knows he’s lost Nacho, he seems determined to keep Nacho’s father out of it all, and when Gustavo suggests they bring in the senior Varga, Mike vehemently opposes. Mike doesn’t often disagree with his employer, but this seems like where he draws the line. Only time will tell if Gustavo will respect it, but one thing’s for sure: he’s got bigger fish to fry. After visiting Hector (Mark Margolis) and receiving a stunning handshake, GustavoknowsLalo is still alive. And he knows he’ll be at the top of Lalo’s list for revenge.
While matters of life and death rage on in the desert, Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) and Kim (Rhea Seehorn) continue their plot against Howard by turning to some familiar faces: the Kettlemans. The disgraced couple are less than thrilled by this blast from the past, but intrigued by the idea Jimmy pitches them: exoneration for Craig via suing HH&M on the grounds of inadequate representation. (Yep. Publicly accusing Howard of being a co*kehead). Unwilling to give Jimmy the business, the Kettlemans take this case to Cliff Main (Ed Begley Jr.), who turns them away (along with several other firms). It seems no one is willing to believe Howard Hamlin was “nose deep in the devil’s dandruff”, and the Kettlemans now don’t believe it, either. When they threaten Jimmy, Kim decides it’s time for the gloves to come off: no more “carrot”. She makes a call to a buddy at the IRS and informs them that she knows of a small business committing tax refund fraud, which scares the hell out of the Kettlemans – especially because Craig would be facing alotmore prison time if convicted. Looks like the Kettlemans might be cooperative after all. (And Kim might be more conniving than Jimmy – or any of us – ever imagined).
If there was ever any doubtBetter Call Saulmight not finish strong, “Wine and Roses” and “Carrot and Stick” quickly remind us why it’s one of the best shows on television. There’s heart-racing suspense and intrigue, beautiful little moments of character development. It’s hard to ask for much more. And Kim! God, Kim. In these first episodes of Season 6, Kim is acting more like Saul Goodman than Jimmy is. Scheming and plotting and reveling in taking people down never seemed to be Kim’s jam before, but boy, has she changed. Rhea Seehorn has long been the series’ most under-appreciated hero, and watching the way Kim has evolved and grown in her hands since she dressed down Lalo last season only speaks further to her immense, one-of-a-kind talent. If this is only the beginning of the season, I’m equal parts terrified and thrilled to see what else is in store for Kim Wexler.
What do we have?
We finally discover the origination of the famous inflatable Lady Liberty, seen here at the Kettlemans’ Sweet Liberty Tax Services.
Seem familiar?
We first see Lady Liberty when Saul is introduced in Breaking BadSeason 2, Episode 8, “Better Call Saul“.
What do we have?
A customer of the Kettlemans named Joseph Prado has his truck parked outside their office.
Seem familiar?
That looks an awful lot like the beat up Chevrolet truck Walter buys off a man in the desert in Breaking Bad Season 5, Episode 14, “Ozymandias.” Saginaw Grant, who played the owner of the truck onBreaking Bad, passed away last year, so it’s entirely possible that the man getting his tax refund is the same character now recast.
That’s all ’til next week, folks!
Jade Budowski is a freelance writer with a knack for ruining punchlines, hogging the mic at karaoke, and thirst-tweeting. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski.
The key to Gus' plan and the answer to "why did Mike switch Nacho's safe?" was the envelope Mike planted in Nacho's safe. Inside was a bank statement detailing payments from a mysterious source – falsified transactions implying Nacho was paid to betray the Salamancas by someone other than Gus.
Synopsis Jimmy and Kim find a new way to make use of old adversaries; harsh realities dawn on Nacho in his not-so-safe haven, leaving Mike to hold the line; Gus investigates his suspicions as he deceives the Salamancas.
James Morgan McGill and Walter White join forces one final time midway through “Saul Gone.” It is a flashback to the two of them hiding out in the vacuum store's basem*nt circa the “Granite State” episode of Breaking Bad, each of them waiting for Ed to secret them away to their new lives under assumed identities.
Before he realizes who his captors are, Saul pleads, "It wasn't me, it was Ignacio.He's the one!" Following a spot of Spanish begging, he then asks, "Lalo didn't send you?" Thanks to Better Call Saul, audiences now know "Lalo" is Tony Dalton's Lalo Salamanca, and "Ignacio" is Nacho, played by Michael Mando.
Mando considered Nacho the only character in Better Call Saul that was "breaking good", as "an ambitious person who believes in a morality outside of justice" and trying to improve his situation, making him "heroic, romantic, and transcendent".
Gus was determined to be the one and only person to punish Hector Salamanca, and when Nacho decided to take things into his own hands and make an attempt on Hector's life, Gus was furious. He was used to people (Mike, for instance) stepping out of the way when it came to revenge on Hector.
Juan Bolsa and Gus meet with Hector Salamanca and promise to avenge Lalo Salamanca's death, but Hector's demeanor convinces Gus that Lalo is alive. Juan and his men break into the duplicate safe and find the envelope, which contains the phone number of Nacho's motel and details of an offshore bank account.
He can be the wolf when he needs to humble a pompous jackass or he can be a sheep when he really shows his heart to his brother or somebody else he cares about . . . even if showing his heart often results in him being taken advantage of. Which is precisely what reinforces his “wolf and sheep” philosophy.
Gould and the writing staff knew by the time the fifth season finale aired two years prior that this was the right ending for the series. They realized that Saul spent his career making a mockery of the justice system, so it was fitting to them that he ended the series as a part of it, only this time as a prisoner.
During the final episodes of Better Call Saul, taking place in 2010, it is revealed that Skyler used the lottery ticket that identified the location of Hank and Gomez's bodies to negotiate a deal with authorities. In the final episode, Marie accuses Saul of enabling Walter and the events that led to Hank's murder.
A frightened Skyler enters the room and peers down at Walt, who demands to know where the money went. She nervously admits that she gave the money to Ted. Walt lets out a violent scream and begins to cry, but his tears abruptly turn into maniacal laughter.
Rhea Seehorn's Kim Wexler. Kim becomes as close to Bob Odenkirk's Jimmy McGill as can be during Better Call Saul's latter seasons, but doesn't receive so much as a glancing mention during Breaking Bad - an oddity the spinoff needed to address before the end.
Jimmy descends fully into his Saul Goodman persona. After signing their divorce papers, Kim departs Saul's office and meets Jesse Pinkman. Kim rejects her share of the Sandpiper settlement and moves to Titusville, Florida, where she lives a mundane life with a new boyfriend and works a boring desk job.
As his role in both the Cartel and Gus' drug operation began to amplify, Nacho became increasingly discouraged with the organizations as his affiliation with them put both his and his father's lives in danger.
Conversely, Mike's fondness for Nacho is no secret. After losing his own son, Mike has becoming something of a surrogate father to Nacho throughout Better Call Saul, and sees him as a kindhearted individual who made a mistake and got in too deep with the wrong crowd.
He grabbed Juan Bolsa's (Javier Grajeda) weapon and held him at gunpoint, but instead of taking out Hector, Gus or any of the other high-ranking cartel members with him, he died by suicide. He also protected Gus' reputation and cleared up any suspicion (for now) that Gus was involved in the failed hit on Lalo.
So in the scene where Nacho shoots himself, Gus's original plan was for Nacho to admit he was working with the Peruvians and then try to escape before getting shot by Victor. But nacho instead takes Don Bolsa hostage with his own gun before killing himself.
Plot. Nacho Varga aids Victor and Tyrus Kitt in making it appear that Nacho's car was attacked and the drugs he and Arturo Colon picked up at Los Pollos Hermanos were stolen. Victor and Tyrus riddle the car and Arturo's body with bullets and shoot Nacho twice.
Hobby: Gunsmithing, Embroidery, Parkour, Kitesurfing, Rock climbing, Sand art, Beekeeping
Introduction: My name is Roderick King, I am a cute, splendid, excited, perfect, gentle, funny, vivacious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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