Better Call Saul season 6 episode 12 is the penultimate episode of the Breaking Bad prequel, and it looks like Gene’s quiet life as a Cinnabon manager could be coming to an end — all because of an AskJeeves search.
After Saul’s heated phone conversation with Kim, he leaves behind his persona as the mild-mannered Gene, with episode 12 — appropriately titled ‘Waterworks’ given the tears shed — showing him reverting all the way back to Saul. Here’s what happened in the latest episode.
Kim Wexler returns with brown hair and a boring husband
The episode largely focused on the now-brunette Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn), who seemed like she could be out of the picture entirely following her breaking up with Jimmy a.k.a. Saul. However, we get to see her living her life in Better Call Saul’s black-and-white timeline, and it ain’t pretty.
After giving up her days of scheming with Jimmy, Kim has settled for a middle-of-the-road life in Florida with a dull husband, dull co-workers, and dull friends. Far removed from her time as a lawyer, Kim now discusses the difference between Miracle Whip and mayonnaise. Kim has opted for the exact opposite of her life with Jimmy — a bleakly inoffensive existence where she makes none of her own decisions, and has surrendered her autonomy to a man who says “yup” when having sex.
We see Kim’s perspective of her call with Jimmy, in which she tells him to hand himself over to the police. He fires back by suggesting that she should do the same, pointing out how her life now isn’t much different from his. Surprisingly, Kim does just that.
Kim tells Cheryl about Howard really died
Viewers who were hoping for some closure for Howard will be pleased to know that his name is likely going to be cleared. Kim makes the journey to Albuquerque to visit Cheryl, handing her a written admission of her part in Howard’s death. After trying to console Cheryl that Howard didn’t “suffer” and that his death was over quickly, Cheryl rightly points out that there was plenty of suffering — his name has been dragged through the mud since his death.
In a flashback scene, we see Kim going to Saul’s office in order to sign divorce papers. Saul is in full Goodman mode here, being dismissive of Kim and telling her to “have a nice life” as he continues to put up his sleazy lawyer front. Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) also makes a reappearance, bumming a cigarette off Kim as he asks for her opinion on Saul and if he’s a reputable lawyer. Kim notes “when I knew him, he was,” before leaving her old life behind.
It’s unclear if Kim will face punishment — as she admits to Cheryl, there’s no physical evidence tying her to it — and we also don’t know if she’ll make a reappearance in the show. Her final moments in the show’s black-and-white present-day timeline show her breaking down in tears on the bus back to Florida.
How AskJeeves brings down the ‘conman in Albuquerque’ in Better Call Saul
Saul takes a backseat in episode 12 but when he does show up, it’s not good news. Still looking to rob the cancer patient from last week’s episode, he infiltrates his home before the drugged victim unexpectedly wakes up. After toying with the idea of hitting the man over the head with an urn containing his dead dog’s ashes, Saul eventually makes his escape.
However, the police just happen to be outside the home on their lunch break. To distract them, Jeff drives his cab into a parked vehicle, leading to his arrest. Later, he calls Saul — his “dad” — from jail to explain the situation, and the ever-confident Saul explains how he’ll have his partner-in-crime out by lunchtime.
But this is when Marion’s sleuthing gets in the way. Saul’s suspicious knowledge of the law — particularly Albuquerquean law, a city he claims he’s never been to — causes her to look him up. As she explains, all she had to do was enter ‘conman Albuquerque’ into AskJeeves and Saul’s old commercials popped right up.
Backed into a corner, Saul looks like he’s about to cross the one line he’s never crossed and kill Marion, wrapping phone wire around his hands. However, when she appeals to the Jimmy in him, letting him know that she once trusted him, he lets down his guard and the authorities are alerted.
Gene’s cover has now been completely blown, and reverting back into Saul Goodman mode sees him on the run from the law once again. With him clearly having gone way into the deep end after being backed into a corner — there are strong parallels with Heisenberg’s panicked ruthlessness in Breaking Bad — it’s not shaping up to be a happy ending for a Jimmy McGill, but rather a violent ending for Saul Goodman.
