Breaking Bad had a habit of killing off significant characters. Better Call Saul, the prequel, has been a little more conservative in that department throughout the course of six seasons. Sure, every now and then you’ll see a furious Charles McGill suicide or a rare cartel murder that doesn’t disrupt the continuity of the original episode. However, the courtroom drama framework of Better Call Saul does not provide many opportunity for bloodshed. As a result, it feels especially momentous when a character dies. And man, oh man, has there ever been a character death as horrific as Howard Hamlin’s? (Patrick Fabian).
Jimmy and Kim’s evil scheme comes to reality in the Better Call Saul season 6 midseason finale, shattering Howard’s reputation. They had no idea, however, that another bad actor was hatching a far more sinister scheme, one to which Howard’s very presence would be an impediment. Oh well, nothing that a quiet bullet to the head can’t remedy.
Bravo to the Better Call Saul creative team for pulling off such a surprising scene, and an extra bravo to the episode’s director for tweeting this rope-a-dope while keeping a straight face.
Simply simply, there was a lot to absorb in this episode, so let’s take it all in together. The following is our attempt to make sense of “Plan and Execute…many “‘s plot lines. Oh, my God, the episode is called “Plan and Execution.” Those trolls…trolls to the core. Anyway, let’s go over the ending.
What Did Jimmy and Kim Have in Mind?
Last week, we offered our best estimate as to what Jimmy and Kim might be planning for Howard. And, to our surprise, we did rather well! Except for a few minor details. Jimmy and Kim’s strategy was to make Howard lose his cool in public during the crucial Sandpiper case mediation. They couldn’t possibly have predicted how beautifully it ended out.
The fact that Judge Rand Casimiro broke his arm was simply a small stumbling block. Jimmy was able to mobilize his UNM students and his “actor” to reshoot the candid photographs of Jimmy bribing the phony Casimiro. Then, with barely seconds to spare, Jimmy was able to entrust those images to “Janidowski,” the fictitious private investigator Jimmy had hired.
While we were able to deduce that Jimmy produced a bogus P.I. (since that’s what he does), Howard is gracious enough to fill in some further gaps. After realizing he’s been duped, Howard informs Cliff Main that the office recently received a phone call stating that they’d need to switch security providers. Jimmy installed Janidowski after HHM fell for a textbook phishing technique, he believes. We don’t recall this scene occurring during Better Call Saul season 6, but knowing the show, we’re sure it happened, and knowing the show’s fans, we’re sure they’ll find out in no time.
Janidowski (who is worth three times what Jimmy pays him) not only drugs the images he gives Howard with the caffeine-like substance to make him appear insane, but he also swaps out the incriminating photos for benign ones when Jimmy isn’t looking. Howard appears to be a conspiratorial wild-eyed maniac when he believes he has Judge Casimiro dead to rights. It’s game over. The Sandpiper case has been concluded. Jimmy is victorious. Howard is defeated. He always seems to lose.
What is Plan A for Lalo?
There are some interesting connections between Howard Hamlin and Lalo Salamanca that remained overlooked until this midseason finale, as Nick Harley points out in his Den of Geek review of this episode:
“Aside from engaging in their respective family enterprises and possessing superhuman charisma, both men spend the episode properly believing that their largest adversary is carrying out a covert, complex strategy to undercut them.”
While their current circumstances are relatively similar, their reactions to them could not be more dissimilar. Lalo has been searching for proof that Gustavo Fring is acting against the cartel’s best interests for the entire season. His quest for proof absorbs him completely, sending him halfway around the world to gather evidence in Germany before coming home to live in a sewer.
Despite his neurotic concern with proof, Lalo is able to take a step back, acquire some perspective, and realize that he’ll never have enough. The Chicken Man is far too intelligent. He’s way too good at hiding his tracks. Lalo sounds exactly as insane as Howard when he tapes a sweaty video message to Don Eladio from his sewer, stating that Gus has a secret villains lair in an industrial laundromat. And he’s well aware of it. So he phones his uncle Hector and informs him that he is returning to Plan A.
Plan A is unquestionably to simply kill Gus. This is more dangerous, but it will be easier and more fulfilling for Lalo. Is it possible, though, that Lalo isn’t quite as impatient as he appears, and that he’s still playing the long game?
When Lalo contacts the hospital facility where Hector Salamanca is being held, he gets a sudden wave of paranoia and hangs up. He then calls back, gets through to Hector, and informs him that he’s going back to Plan A. Now, I’m no expert in cartels, but “Plan A” doesn’t strike me as a particularly strong operation name. Anyone with a basic understanding of the situation can tell that Plan A entails killing some people. In fact, some persons who are listening to that phone call are aware of the situation. Mike’s team quickly intercepts the call and delivers it to Gus in less than 20 minutes. Of course they are capable. Gus Fring would, of course, bug the phone line of the facility where his archenemy is housed. That’s Gus Fring 101 material.
In the end, Lalo’s Plan A may not be Plan A at all, but rather a clever extension of Plan B. Is it possible that I sound like Howard Hamlin? Don’t respond to it. In the case of Howard Hamlin…
What is Howard’s fate?
As if you could possible forget, he dies. Howard’s demise is hastened by a bullet to the head from Lalo Salamanca’s pistol. No Better Call Saul fan will soon forget this violent, horrifying scene. It will very certainly overshadow the equally spectacular scene that comes before it in history.
Howard’s encounter with Jimmy and Kim appears to be the emotional culmination of the entire series before we have any inkling that Lalo has crept into the Goodmans’ home (and with those flickering candles, he may as well be an actual ghost). It could still be the case. Howard finally says what he really thinks of Jimmy McGill after biting his tongue for so many seasons… He’s got him down to a tee.
But it’s Kim who irritates him the most. Jimmy is well-known for his abilities. Since the days of Slippin’ Jimmy in Cicero, he’s been rotten. What about Kim? One of the nice ones, she was meant to be. Howard will never know what triggered Kim’s awful behavior. To be honest, none of us may ever know. But there is one thing Howard knows: “You’re made for each other.” You’re missing a piece. It was purely recreational for you. You get a kick out of it.”
He claims he had no idea Jimmy and Kim were making love while listening to his demise, copulating on his metaphorical corpse just before he became a real one.
Better Call Saul has been more patient and empathetic of its characters than Breaking Bad over the course of six seasons. Walt’s darkness has always been there, waiting for an opportunity to emerge. Jimmy McGill and, eventually, Kim Wexler have never given off that vibe.
Both Jimmy and Kim have valid grounds for feeling betrayed. They’ve fought, clawed, and scratched their way to the top only to have the Howards of the world walk into their daddy’s job with a smile and a strong handshake. They’ve let themselves slip, and slip, and slip, until they’ve become unrecognizable creatures in order to right the supposed scales of justice.
They no longer even have the same names. They’re the Goodmans, and their carpet has a body on it.
Better Call Saul’s last episodes premiere on AMC on Monday, July 11 at 9 p.m. ET.
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