Better Call Saul Season 4 Episode 6
Is it time to start worrying about Better Call Saul? We’re now over halfway through the latest season, a season that was promised to up the ante considerably by smashing the worlds of Jimmy McGill and Saul Goodman closer together than ever, and yet six episodes in, it feels like Season 4 of Better Call Saul is still resetting the table after Season 3’s shocking finale. If you’ve been following my reviews, my disappointment here might be a little puzzling; I’ve written positively about each individual episode and still stand by my ratings of each one. However, looking at the bigger picture, it can’t help but feel like Better Call Saul is spinning its wheels, even if that wheel-spinning is satisfying when viewed in a vacuum. Seehorn in particular has been fantastic. She can say so much with just a single glance, like when gazing upon a peacefully sleeping Jimmy and the notepad by his side containing his dream logos for their imagined future law firm together. It’s a cute idea, but Kim knows it isn’t practical, just like she knows that she can’t continue working on Mesa Verde alone. She decides to ring up Rick Schweikart and after a productive meeting, reveals her plan to Jimmy; she’s going to join Schweikart’s firm as a partner, that way she can use the firm’s resources to handle the Mesa Verde business while continuing to follow her passion, which is criminal defense. Though Jimmy obviously wants Kim to be happy, the news is a bit of a blow. Tonight’s cold open was there to show us just how important Kim has always been to Jimmy’s legal plans. Though Chuck was also a chief motivating factor, particularly because of the way that he belittles his brother (always great to have Michael McKean back), Jimmy’s pursuit of becoming a lawyer was also a way to impress and gain the admiration of Kim. If Kim isn’t going to a part of Jimmy’s plan as a lawyer going forward, then he’s certainly going to start indulging his baser instincts, like his phone hustle. Elsewhere, Mike strategizes with Gus on how to house the German engineers that will be in Albuquerque under the radar to complete the super lab. I made it plain last week that the genesis of the super lab was one of those prequel-y details that I couldn’t care less about, but the idea of six men in a souped-up bunker for 10 months unable to leave or communicate with the outside world sounds like it could have been a fun little BB-universe backdoor pilot. The episode heavily foreshadows coming problems with one of the men, Kai, so this at least could lead to a fun scene of Mike showcasing why no one should ever mess with him. Mike also apologizes to Stacey for his group therapy outburst. A healthy working relationship leads to a healthy family life for Mike, apparently. Finally, Gus visits Hector in the hospital, who’s condition is getting worse with an infection. We know where Hector will end up, but this was still our first extended period of time with Gus that didn’t directly involve Mike. We’re treated to a quintessential Gus monologue, equal parts evocative and sinister, about an animal that threatened the fruit he used to eat and survive back as a child. He trapped and wounded the animal, but instead of killing it, he kept it, which serves as a metaphor for his relationship with Hector. Though the outcome to these two men’s story is already known to most, their tangled, tragic, and doomed relationship is still able to muster some powerful scenes. Nick Harley is a tortured Cleveland sports fan, thinks Douglas Sirk would have made a killer Batman movie, Spider-Man should be a big-budget HBO series, and Wes Anderson and Paul Thomas Anderson should direct a script written by one another. For more thoughts like these, read Nick’s work here at Den of Geek or follow him on Twitter.
