Better Call Saul Season 6 Plays Some 'Fun And Games' And Takes Us Somewhere Unexpected

Hoo boy, let me catch my breath. Compared to other episodes, especially the one that came immediately before, tonight's "Better Call Saul," titled "Fun and Games," was low on violence and suspense. And yet ... I once again found myself with a sick feeling in my stomach. Scenes that could be read as perfectly innocuous still managed to cause dread. Case in point: midway through this packed episode we're treated to a scene that feels almost alien to "Better Call Saul."

Gus Fring, having vanquished his enemy Lalo Salamanca, is taking a bit of a victory lap. First, there's a tense meeting with the Dons, where Don Hector finally accuses Gus of staging the hit on Lalo, and states that he's known Lalo is alive this entire time. However, luckily for Gus, Don Eladio, the head of the cartel, doesn't buy Hector's story. He shrugs the entire thing off even as Hector incessantly rings his bell. 

After this, Gus tells Mike he wants construction to begin again on the superlab, and then he heads out to a fancy restaurant. Here is the scene that feels oddly out of place: Gus, sitting at a bar in a fine dining establishment, sipping wine. In the midst of this, a waiter name David comes over. It's clear these two men know each other, and David insists Gus try a much better vintage. This, in turn, gives way to David rambling about his life, including his time backpacking across Europe. While Gus is skilled at putting on a smiling face when he's out in the "real" world, it's hard to believe Gus would normally sit and let this man go on, and on, and on. But Gus does. It's clear there's an element of flirtation here — it's long been assumed Gus is gay. While this isn't completely confirmed, Gus' relationship with his friend and partner Max Arciniega revealed in "Breaking Bad" suggested as much. 

And perhaps it's Max that comes back to Gus' mind as he sits at the bar. After David excuses himself to get more wine, Gus' face goes from serene to dark and haunted. Earlier, we saw him staring into the same pool in Eladio's yard where Max was killed. It's an odd, melancholy moment for the Chicken Man. But maybe this isn't about Max. Maybe it's about Gus realizing he has no more obstacles, and he can finally begin his grand plan to take over — and he doesn't need a romance in the way to mess that up. And while nothing intense happened here, I still felt that dread. And it's likely that dread is going to stick around. But then again, by the time this episode ends, it looks like some big changes are in store.

As the episode begins, we see Jimmy and Kim doing exactly what Mike told them to do: going about their normal day. Kim heads to court, Jimmy heads to his office, and the day ticks on. Meanwhile, Mike and his guys are cleaning out the condo and removing any trace of Howard's murder. Sure enough, when Jimmy and Kim finally return home that night, it's as if nothing had ever happened. The place is spotless. But the two of them can't easily forget what happened, so they head out to a motel for the night. 

At the motel, Jimmy makes it clear that he thinks — or at least hopes — they'll get beyond these horrible events. "One day we'll wake up and brush our teeth and go to work and at some point, we'll suddenly realize we hadn't thought about it at all," he says — and Kim remains silent. Things only get increasingly worse, especially after Jimmy and Kim stop by a memorial being held for Howard at the offices of HHM. 

Everyone seems inclined to believe Howard was a drug addict who died by suicide walking into the sea. Everyone, that is, except Howard's wife, Cheryl. She swears up and down Howard was clean, and mentions she heard from Howard that Jimmy was tormenting him and playing pranks. Jimmy swears he's innocent and tries to play off his cruelty to Howard over the years as jealousy. But Cheryl isn't buying it, and finally, Kim steps in — telling an obviously fake story about how, when she was still working at HHM, she saw Howard snorting cocaine. Having a know con man like Jimmy say something might not be convincing, but hearing it from dependable, respected Kim Wexler is another matter. Unable to keep this up, Cheryl runs to the bathroom, sobbing.

In the parking garage, Jimmy says he knows that was hard, but now they can move on. "Let the healing begin!" he states. Kim stops, pauses, looks at him — and then plants a passionate kiss on his lips. Here I thought the show was once again leaning into the idea that being bad (or breaking bad, if you will!) is a huge aphrodisiac for Kim. But then a curious thing happens: Kim gets in her car and drives away, leaving Jimmy behind. 

The Jimmy and Kim relationship has long been fascinating, strange, and anxiety-inducing. At first, the show operated under the impression that Jimmy was bad for Kim; that he was corrupting her in some way. But as "Better Call Saul" neared its final season, it became clear that wasn't the case. Instead, Kim was just as flawed as Jimmy, and they enabled the worst in each other.

And finally, Kim realized that. First, she flat-out quits being a lawyer. When Jimmy hears that, he races home to the condo, understandably freaked out. He wants them to think things over, and to maybe go on vacation and cool down. But he's stopped in his tracks when he sees Kim is in the process of packing up all her stuff. It's over. And she tells him why, and she's honest. She reveals that Jimmy isn't bad for her — they're bad for each other. Their actions hurt people. "Together, we're poison," Kim says.

Once again I must sing the praises of Rhea Seehorn, who nails the emotional complexity going on here — Kim does love Jimmy, and there's a part of her that wants to stay with him. But there's another part that knows it's dangerous. "I love you," Jimmy says, heartbroken. "I love you too," Kim says. "But so what?"

As great as Seehorn is in this moment, I must also sing the praises of Bob Odenkirk, who makes Jimmy feel truly lost and pathetic here, unable to talk his way out of this moment, try as he might. Kim was probably the one bright spot in his life; the one person really in his corner. Now it's over. But the episode has one last shock in store for us. After the tense Kim and Jimmy break up, a time jump happens. Jimmy McGill is finally, completely gone. Saul Goodman is in his place, complete with a bad combover and hideous suits. 

Where's Kim? She's clearly long gone. Jimmy is now living in the gaudy mansion we saw being raided at the start of season 6. He spends his entire morning on his Bluetooth phone, talking to shady clients and performing crooked deals. Finally, he ends up at his office, which is now exactly as we remember it from "Breaking Bad," complete with the once-chipper secretary Francesca Liddy completely miserable and bitter. 

The transformation is complete. Jimmy McGill is dead. 

• Mike has a small but effective subplot this week where he talks to Nacho's father and tells the old man that his son is dead. He stresses that while Nacho fell in with some bad people, he still had a good heart. This is very little consolation for Nacho's dad. 
• With Howard dead, HMM is downsizing — and changing its name. 
• Obviously, there's no way that's the last we see of Kim. But I'm mighty curious to see where she's gone, and whether or not she and Jimmy (or Saul, or Gene) will cross paths again. I'm guessing yes.
• Mike's guys are really thorough about cleaning! I want to hire them to clean up my house, it's a mess. 
• Four episodes left! I'm gonna puke!