‘Better Call Saul’ Recap: ‘Waterworks’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 612 of ‘Better Call Saul’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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Often times in crime themed storytelling, the ‘fresh start’ is seen as nothing more than punishment for a character that once was immersed in ‘the life’, and it makes sense as to why that is the case. After all, those with dubious moral cores, thrive in the darkness of the world and of course, they make a boatload of money in doing so. Which leads to a supremely lavish and free lifestyle, one that is severely constrained by the new rules imposed upon them when say, they are forced to leave it all behind due to trouble or witness protection. Which is, one of the few crime story tropes that Better Call Saul has abided by over the course of its six-year run. After all, Jimmy McGill’s post Breaking Bad career at Cinnabon, under the assumed identity of Gene Takovic has been troublesome for the man.
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Because despite being hidden away from the world and free to live a life without worry about being spotted as Saul Goodman, Albuquerque’s ‘finest’ lawyer and money launder extraordinaire to Walter ‘Heisenberg’ White, Jimmy has been miserable. For he’s been unable to enjoy the trappings of his former life and been relegated to playing it straight and reminiscing where he can… and he has only recently rediscovered his love of the game through his little plan with Jeffy and Buddy. But since this series is always eager to dig into new territory and explore concepts that aren’t traditional in the slightest in this genre, leave it to the show’s penultimate episode to explore the reality that for some folks… the fresh start when it comes to the crime world, is everything they ever needed in life.

For ‘Waterworks’ is a story that allowed for us to catch up with Kim Wexler, who we came to learn was indeed alive and well and living in Florida. And after a heartbreaking flashback sequence, wherein Jimmy coldly handled their divorce and she had a run in with a Mister Jesse Pinkman, Kim settled into Florida and did not look back and lived… a vastly different life than we are used to seeing her live. For she immersed herself into copywriting work at Palm Coast Sprinkler and just… transformed into a person that thrived within the simple life. For she found calm in the little tasks at work, and she reveled in talking about nonsensical things with her coworkers. Plus, she had a new boyfriend that she enjoyed weekend barbecues with and well… this was indeed everything she needed to forget about the horrors of the past. 

But of course, as this series is wont to do… it wasn’t long before the past caught up with her again through that mysterious phone call that Jimmy made to her during last week’s tale. Which we now know, involved a frosty and fearful reception from Kim, who angered Jimmy by telling him to come clean. A phrase that motivated Jimmy to demand she too, do the right thing and well… those words had quite the profound impact upon her. Because Jimmy was right, she had just run like he did, and did little to resolve the pain that motivated her to run in the first place and just like that… she decided to do something that Jimmy never would and come clean to the authorities regarding what happened on that fateful night.

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Which brought Kim right back to Albuquerque for the first time since she had Jimmy sign the divorce papers and well… despite the heavy memories that weighed upon her mind, she offered an affidavit to the District Attorney and then handled one more ugly matter regarding Howard’s end… informing Cheryl Hamlin of the truth. For Kim truly believed that Cheryl deserved that truth, regardless of all the hell it would bring down upon Kim. But it was the right thing to do, and it was a supremely difficult task for Kim to accomplish. To the point where she broke down on the way back home. But make no mistake about it, this was a powerful twist to inject into this story, one that flipped an old trope upside down and one that also spoke to how much Kim loved and still loves Jimmy. Since she made every point to keep the truth about him being alive, out of her statements and admissions.
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Speaking of Jimmy McGill, we’d be remiss to not take a moment and talk about his journey in this tale, since it was important and significant as well. Because his plan to rob another rich guy in the middle of the night, went sideways real fast. In part because he got greedy after getting all the necessary information about his mark. Since he took the time to steal the man’s classy watches and partake in his fine booze, and in doing so, he kept Jeffy waiting and that… was problematic for certain. Because as Jeffy was just hanging out, waiting for Jimmy to quit with his taste of the good life… the police rolled up and spooked Jeffy something awful. To the point where he basically panicked and peeled off and slammed into a car. Garnering the attention of the police, who stopped behind Jeff out of coincidence since they were hungry and ready to eat their meal… and of course… he ended up in jail while Jimmy made his way home.

Where he also patiently waited for a phone call. Because there was only one person Jeff could call in this time of dire need, and well… once the call came through and Jeff consulted off the record with one Saul Goodman, a plan to get him out of the slammer was set into motion. One where Marion would pay his bail and get him home so he could strategize with Gene/Saul/Jimmy on how to beat the burglary charge that arrived at the end of this madness, since the mark woke up and pointed the finger at the only person available. But there was… just one problem when it came to the latest twist in Jimmy’s scheme. In that, his conversation with Marion regarding her role in getting Jeffy out, flipped a switch in her mind, since he seemed to know a little too much about the ABQ and that, combined with what she’d seen late at night, prompted her to do a little unfortunate digging.

The kind that involved an internet search for the phrases ‘con man’ and ‘Albuquerque’, and of course… what turned up… was a man named Saul Goodman. Which led to a confrontation at Marion’s place, one that revealed to the authorities that Saul Goodman was alive and well and hiding in Omaha, Nebraska and well… just like that Jimmy is in real trouble once again. For his cover is blown and the clock is ticking, setting the stage for a powerhouse series finale. But while we wait to see how this story is going to end, we can revel in the majesty of one powerful penultimate tale. One that really showed us how Kim and Jimmy have grown apart since that dark day since she is clearly in a morally better headspace than Jimmy and well… one can only wonder if Kim Wexler and Jimmy McGill will cross paths one last time, before this harrowing saga and the Breaking Bad Universe as a whole, come to a close. Until next time.   

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