Better Call Saul season 5 episode 6 review: Kim proposes, Lalo gets picked up

Saul drops a bomb on Mesa Verde (and Kim) while Nacho and Mike hatch a plan to take Lalo down in explosive Better Call Saul episode “Wexler v Goodman.”

On the whole, Better Call Saul has been a series that’s more than content with playing the long game — but last night’s episode, “Wexler v Goodman,” raised the stakes so much that it’s difficult to imagine how the show could slow down from here.

Things are in such a high gear that every plotline — Kim and Jimmy, Mike and Gus, Nacho and Lalo — is on a collision course, and one that will likely end with blood and tears for all parties involved. “Wexler v Goodman” kicks that collision course off with some of the best Saul antics we’ve seen on the show, a reunion two seasons in the making, and two cliffhanger endings that turned everything we thought we knew upside down.

The episode begins with a first for the show: a flashback to Kim’s childhood. It was a surprising opener considering how it had no direct correlation to the rest of the episode, but it’s certainly a much-appreciated insight into Kim’s character. As much as Better Call Saul is a show focused on fleshing out Breaking Bad characters (Jimmy and Mike are the first two who come to mind), we still know very little about Kim, even though she’s the second biggest character on the show.

After a brief glimpse into Kim’s childhood with an alcoholic mother, we jump right into the middle of Saul’s latest scheme. He’s filming yet another commercial (with the help of the college film crew, who are delightful additions as always), this time based off of an old Mesa Verde ad featuring a young Kevin Wachtell.

Although we won’t get to see the contents of the ad until much later in the episode, it’s still a fun montage, and some necessary setup for the absolute insanity that is the last 20 minutes of “Wexler v Goodman.”

Across town, we finally get to catch up with Nacho, who has been absent in the last two episodes. He’s called a meeting with Gus, and after updating him on Lalo’s latest plans, he is told that going forward, all of his dealings will be with Mike.

This is music to our ears because Nacho and Mike are one of our favorite duos from the early seasons of Better Call Saul, so it will be great to see them back together. Working with Mike also seems like something good is (finally) happening to Nacho. His appeal to Mike’s good side about his father seems to have worked, and Mike agrees to do what he can, but only after Lalo is taken care of.

From there we get to see Mike whip out his false private eye identity (which hasn’t been seen since Breaking Bad) as he does a little digging — and using his skills as a crooked ex-cop, he successfully makes the right calls to get Lalo picked up by the police.

It’s interesting to see Mike get back in his groove again, especially because of his relationship with Nacho. Mike and Nacho’s interactions remind us of Mike and Jesse’s. Although Nacho and Jesse are both criminals, they both have good hearts deep down, and Mike can clearly see that. Although we’re still worried about Papa Varga’s fate in the long run, it seems like working with Nacho should help to ease a little bit of the guilt that Mike has been feeling after his falling out with Kaylee a few episodes ago.

Lalo getting picked up by the police is also a pretty major revelation — and if next week’s episode is any indication, it looks like Mike will be calling Saul to represent him. Whether he’ll be trying to get him out or keep him in prison, however, remains to be seen. Lalo hasn’t done a whole lot this season, but we know from experience that Salamancas do the most damage when they’re backed into a corner, so we have a feeling that even though he’s been charming up until this point, we may see an uglier, more violent side of Lalo come out — especially if he were to find out that Mike and Nacho are working together.

Back in Jimmy’s world, we see him have a little fun torturing Howard (by sending a pair of hookers over to his table while he’s at lunch with a client to disparage his reputation) in a move that seems particularly heartless, given how much we now know about Howard, and how he’s tried to mend the bridge between himself and Jimmy.

Between the hookers and the bowling ball vandalism, we can’t help but side with Howard more than Jimmy. It seems like this may be building to a blowout between the two, and although Howard has turned over a new “zen” leaf, it still might not be enough to stop things from going completely south. After all, if Saul wants there to be chaos, there will be chaos.

On the subject of Saul causing chaos, the most talked-about scenes of the night will likely be Saul and Kim’s meeting to discuss what should’ve been Acker’s settlement with Mesa Verde. But things go nuclear when Saul pulls out trick after trick to back Kevin (and by proxy, Kim) into a corner.

First, he demands $4 million, then makes claims about copyright, but the real stinger is that he uses the evidence Kim found against Kevin (the Mesa Verde logo) against her — and reveals a set of disparaging ads that would ruin Mesa Verde’s reputation. It’s a move that’s straight from the playbook of Breaking Bad‘s Saul, and although it may not be the most morally dubious thing he’s done thus far, it certainly feels like it, because this time, Kim is on the receiving end.

However, as has been the case quite a bit lately, Saul is too caught up in his own schemes to notice how upset Kim is, which finally culminates in a blowup at their house and the end of the day. Kim cusses him out and (finally!) tells Jimmy that things may be coming to an end — before taking a complete 180 and suggesting marriage.

It’s a hell of a way to end an episode, and it had our jaws on the floor, but even though marriage would make it seem like Kim is willing to forgive Saul, we’re not quite sure yet. Kim has put up with season after season of Jimmy’s antics, and deep down, we think both of them know that Kim deserves better. It’s possible that her marriage suggestion could just be a legal scheme, but if it isn’t, it’s another tragic example of Kim’s crippling need to self-sabotage, whether it’s conscious or not.

“Wexler v Goodman” starts solid and builds to spectacular — certainly one of Better Call Saul’s season five’s best entries, and possibly one of the greatest the show has produced — with schemes and antics worthy of “Chicanery,” and bombshells that will forever change how the show moves forward.

Why do you think Kim proposed to Jimmy? Will Lalo get out of prison? Sound off in the comments below?