Better Call Saul Season 6, Episode 11 Recap & Ending Explained: A meeting of the minds; the colors of the two worlds spilling into one another; an intertwining beyond speculation and firmly enjoined by nostalgia. That is the newest episode of Better Call Saul’s season six. It is aptly titled “Breaking Bad”. Because it is in this episode that the two universes become one. Although Gilligan and co already mixed and matched pieces from both storylines before in season six, this instance was just a little more special. A little-known trivia on the matter is that the first episode that we saw Saul in Breaking Bad was titled “Better Call Saul” So, yes, that is an indication that Cranston and Paul make their much-awaited guest appearance in this episode. Even the opening credits of the show feature a mixing of tapes to show the phenomenon. Read our recap and ending explanation of the episode that brought forth a lot of different points in time together to weave a charming spell.
BETTER CALL SAUL (SEASON 6), EPISODE 11 RECAP:
BREAKING BAD
So, the open. We harken back to season two, episode eight of Breaking Bad, ‘Better Call Saul’. Jesse and Walter rush to get Badger a lawyer after he is arrested. The entire operation is in jeopardy and they must act decisively. Walter had tried the decent way by going to Saul’s office to change his mind from asking Badger to flip and rat on his “bosses” (i.e., Walter and Jesse). But that didn’t work. Kidnapping and burying Saul alive is the last resort. We then cut to the Better Call Saul universe, where Saul, living as Gene, calls Francesca. The weary former assistant has a hard time looking after her young and shady bachelor tenants. She is still getting followed, probably by the DEA or the FBI, as the episode’s events take after everything has gone down and the players have gone into hiding. Once she is sure that the tail has lost interest, she drives out to an old gas station, secluded from the main town.
She goes to the payphone and Gene is on the other end of the line. He gives her instructions to take the money he “owes” her from the job and for feeding him information. This is the final call between them as Gene suggests. He takes a measure of things on her end. Francesca explains how the authorities are still after him, even though the interest has cooled off. She mentions that Jesse will be caught soon also; Skyler White has already got her deal.
With Jesse, though, what she mentions is that his car is found at the border. We saw in the El Camino movie that Jesse left it intentionally and escaped. So maybe he was successful in fooling everyone. Coming back to track. In a shock to Gene, she explains that all the money he hid through shell companies and other ancillary businesses (and the likes of vending machines) is all gone. The authorities have taken everything, although he himself still has a large amount of money with him. There is one more thing that means the most to Gene that she mentions: Kim. She reveals that Kim called her to ask after her. Saul’s name came up and she asked if he was still alive. This gives Gene a bit of a new life. After Francesca keeps the phone unceremoniously, Gene decides to call Kim.
We are not sure what quite happened on that call as the dialogue is washed off by the sounds of highway trucks and their horns. All we see is Gene’s reaction; an angry one where he breaks the glass of the booth and repeatedly smacks the phone against the holder. Visually, we see Gene is at a “crossroads”. He has to make a decision about what tomorrow will look like. And he does. We go back to Marion’s house, where Jeff is surprised to find Gene’s car outside. He goes in and Gene is showing Marion cat videos on her new laptop. Jeff and Gene go to the garage to talk more. Although jeff thinks Gene has come there to say to Jeff that he is spending a lot of money, it is for something else. A new scheme to “make” (steal) money. Jeff is in and so the game begins. It goes something like this. Gene will be on the lookout for a certain kind of target: single, rich, egoistic, duds who like to drink. Gene is once again enticed by a taste of criminality; he is back for more. And, he is breaking out again as Saul Goodman.
So once Gene finds the men, he will offer him drinks and slip in drugs. Just as they call cabs, the victims’ would always arrive first, driven by none other than Jeff, and would go back to their house. Jeff would stick a piece of tape on the door frame to prevent it from closing and Rick, the third wheel in the operation, will come in and steal all of their secret information; credit cards, passwords, account numbers, and such. Back in the Breaking Bad universe, we see Saul noticing the equipment in Jesse’s van. He instantly recognizes the duo as the hot street sellers of the blue thing. He agrees to help badger out and even charges a legitimate fee for it to make the case go away. There is a mention of Lalo by Jesse and Saul’s mind immediately goes to that horrible night. But he moves on from that conversation.
BETTER CALL SAUL (SEASON 6), EPISODE 11 ENDING EXPLAINED:
Then there is one of the most profound scenes of the season. An image of the buried ground from the Breaking Bad episode superimposed upon a visual of Gene lying down in bed. Majestic to look at and even deeper meaning hidden in there. Following that is a montage that might seem confusing but it is not. Gene is trying to get the life back – the one he can – that of Saul Goodman. The scheming scammer is back; so is the horrendous machine for the legs that Mike hates so much. The Bluetooth earpiece, the burner phones; he is living the life again. Mike reiterates his concern about the machine when he comes to visit Saul in his office. This is from the BB timeline. Mike is used by Saul as his private investigator and even mentions Walter White has cancer. Mike seems to think he is an amateur and a very insignificant player.
Life is good until this one man comes around. Poor thing has pancreatic cancer, just as Rick’s father did. Gene thinks of maybe calling it off this time – at least we thought he would be the one doing it. The last speck of humanity could save Gene. But it is not him; it is Rick. He decides to pull from the operation and the smooth criminals are now just two. Even Jeff seems to be leaning towards not doing the scam anymore. But Gene is adamant and even breaks into the house to go through with the job. Saul, in the BB timeline, goes to Walter’s high school science fair.
A role reversal of sorts is on the cards in the episode. In one line, it was Saul “breaking bad” from Gene’s skin, finally after he realized that he had no chance at redemption: to get Kim back. Maybe that phone call ushered all the events of the episode? We will never know for sure. It was Gene’s Walter White moment. Once he knew he had cancer and did not have more of a life left, he just kinda went rogue. I mean, he did it for his family. But somewhere deep down, there was a part of him that the incidents unleashed.
Saul does not have anyone. He goes to that reminder every single night. But it does not stop him from doing what he wants; and what he does best. Life coming full circle kept us fully in the loop. Is Saul also heading towards a similar fate as his illustrious peers? Or will it be different this time? No one can say. We are just left with two more episodes now. The end is coming near and the quality of episodes is reaching an optimum level.
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BETTER CALL SAUL (SEASON 6), Episode 11 LINKS – IMDB, WIKIPEDIA
CAST – BOB ODENKIRK, JONATHAN BANKS, RHEA SEEHORN, TONY DALTON, MICHAEL MANDO, PATRICK FABIAN
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