If you were wondering where Lalo has been during the last few episodes of "Better Call Saul," we now have an answer: Germany! And no, he's not there for Oktoberfest. Instead, Lalo is still gathering definitive proof that Gus Fring is up to something (beyond the whole "fast food franchise owner moonlighting as a drug kingpin" thing, that is). Lalo knows Gus tried to have him killed, and he knows that Gus is working in his own interests to climb higher in the drug world. But he needs evidence to back up his claims.
So why go to Germany? Because that's where Margarethe Ziegler lives. And who is Margarethe Ziegler? She's the wife of Werner Ziegler, of course. As you might recall, Werner was the very pleasant German man who was overseeing construction on Gus' underground bunker meth lab. Werner was portrayed as a great guy, but he was also clueless as to what a dangerous world he had entered into. Sadly this came back to bite him in the end — Werner proved too fast and loose when it came to talking to outsiders about the bunker construction, and Gus eventually ordered him killed. Mike was the one who pulled the trigger, which was a big deal because Mike and Werner had grown close.
Lalo only has bits and pieces of this info, but he knows enough to find Margarethe in a bar and strike up a friendly conversation with her. He's flirty and polite, and she ends up telling him all about Werner. Margarethe doesn't know the whole truth – she thinks her husband died in a cave-in during construction. But Lalo is hoping Werner spilled some of the beans to her before his demise. "What was his building?" Lalo asks. Margarethe doesn't know.
Later, Lalo accompanies Margarethe home, and for a moment she thinks about inviting him in — but says she has work early in the morning. It's an incredibly tense sequence because Margarethe seems like a nice person, and she's already lost her husband to violence. We all know what Lalo is capable of, so there's a moment of dread when we worry Lalo is simply going to murder Margarethe and go digging through her house. But he doesn't.
Instead, he waits an entire night and then breaks into the home the next day after Margarethe leaves. But in a truly anxiety-inducing scene, Margarethe returns home to retrieve her cell phone. Lalo has a gun at the ready, with a silence. Once again I found myself on edge, just waiting for Lalo to pop out and kill poor Margarethe. Long stretches of silence accompany shots of Margarethe nervously looking around her house, aware that something is amiss. It certainly looks like she's doomed.
But that's not what happens! Instead, before he gets around to killing Margarethe, Lalo spots a plaque on a shelf in Werner's home office. (We saw this plaque being made during a hypnotic, cryptic cold open.) It has a sticker on it that we can't quite read — but Lalo can, and whatever he sees there gives him a sudden burst of inspiration. And like that, he's gone, leaving Margarethe unscathed. Phew.
Gus Underground
Meanwhile, Gus remains on edge. He knows it's only a matter of time before Lalo comes gunning for him, and he continues to have Mike run an elaborate surveillance operation because of this. It looks like the plan is to deliberately lure Lalo out, with Mike even saying, "Sooner or later he's going to end up right here," in regards to Gus' house. All of this is playing hell with Gus' mental state, and we see him drifting around in a kind of daze. At one point, unable to sleep, he starts scrubbing the title of his bathroom with a toothbrush.
But then something curious happens. Gus has Mike take him back to the underground meth lab bunker, which remains in limbo. Is construction going to start up again? We know the lab gets completed soon-ish, since we see it in "Breaking Bad." But it's unlikely Gus will restart things while the Lalo situation remains unresolved. For now, Gus hides a gun down in the bunker, probably knowing he'll need it at some point.
Jimmy V. Howard
Jimmy and Kim are still in the midst of their "get Howard" campaign, but the plan hits a snag ... or does it? During a meeting with the folks in the Sandpiper lawsuit, Howard gives a big impassioned speech that calms down some nervous old folks. But his hyped-up energy causes Cliff Main to finally admit he knows Howard has a problem, what with the whole "drugs in his locker" and "throwing a prostitute out of his car" situations. Howard is flummoxed by all of this, insisting he doesn't know what the hell Cliff is talking about. Cliff doesn't buy it, and thinks Howard is lying.
But a lightbulb goes off above Howard's head when he learns that Cliff witnessed the prostitute incident while having lunch with Kim. Howard immediately realizes that Jimmy is deliberately targeting him, so he decides to confront Jimmy head-on. He does this by posing as a client (Mr. Ward) and luring Jimmy to a boxing gym. Howard wants Jimmy to step into the ring so they can duke it out, like old timey men challenge each other to a duel. Jimmy scoffs and motions to leave — but ultimately gets in the ring, where Howard proceeds to beat the crap out of him. But Howard knows that this probably won't be the end of things, and he's even hired someone to start watching Jimmy.
And yet ... this isn't the end of Jimmy and Kim's plan. While the whole "fighting Howard in a boxing ring" wasn't in their initial outline, it's clear that Jimmy and Kim are still on track, and a whole new phase of the plan is about to take shape. More on that below.
Kim Watch! How Worried Should We Be About Kim Wexler This Week?
Level Of Worry: VERY HIGH.
Kim's paranoia is getting worse. Since learning Lalo is still alive (something she still hasn't told Jimmy about), Kim seems to be constantly looking over her shoulder. And when we first see her in this episode, she's unable to sleep due to her worry. She double-checks to make sure the front door is locked, and even drags a chair in front of it for extra security. But her newfound sense of worry isn't doing anything to change her scheming ways, at least when it comes to Howard.
First, she meets with Viola Goto, her old paralegal at Mesa Verde, and pumps her for information regarding the name of a judge. Just how this fits into the "get Howard" plan remains to be seen, but it's clearly related. Kim scamming a former employee who still looks up to her is bad enough on the surface, but the concern for Kim rises even higher before the episode ends. After Jimmy returns home battered and bruised from his bout with Howard, he asks Kim why he took the bait and climbed into the ring with Howard. "Because you know what's coming next," Kim replies ominously.
What do you mean, Kim?! What do you mean!? I'm very worried here!
Sidebar
- There's something romantic, in a film noir sort of way, about Kim smoking a cigarette on the balcony in the dark, and flashing a little smile when she sees Jimmy's car drive up.
- Francesca Liddy, who we all know is destined to become the secretary of Saul Goodman, returns! She takes the secretary gig working for "Saul" out of his new "office," which is still just an empty storefront. Okay, it's. not entirely empty. There's a card table for Francesca to work at. And oh yeah, there's a toilet in the middle of the room, too.
- Speaking of Francesca, I got a good chuckle out of Jimmy giving her a "signing bonus" in the form of a handful of cash he pulls out of his wallet.
- Jimmy's totally going to impersonate the judge with the fancy mustache, isn't he?
- "Thank god he's dead," Jimmy says at one point to Kim, re: Lalo. Kim, who knows Lalo is still alive, says nothing.
- Only two episodes remain after this before "Better Call Saul" takes a brief break, then returns in July for its final six episodes. I can only imagine things will get more intense from here.
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The post Better Call Saul Season 6 Leaves Us 'Black and Blue' With Another Tense Episode appeared first on /Film.
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