Better Call Saul season 6 episode 5 recap & review: Black and Blue

In Better Call Saul season 6 episode 5, Gus continues to wait patiently for Lalo Salamanca to make his next move while Lalo finally turns up in Germany as part of his plans. The series is currently streaming on Netflix.

Recap

The episode opens with showing the manufacturing of what looks like a souvenir built from encasing a measuring tape in glass with “With Love… The Boys” written on it in German.

Gus, while still being meticulous, is at his wit’s end worrying about Lalo Salamanca’s next move.

After witnessing Howard smoothly convince a bunch of clients, related to the Sandpiper Crossing case, to maintain patience in hopes of a higher payout, Cliff confronts Howard about the situation with Wendy which he witnessed in the last episode, not knowing that it was Jimmy playing it out as Howard.

Cliff Maine brings Howard up to speed with everything he has witnessed since the first instance at the golf club. He also reveals that he was meeting Kim Wexler when the mentioned event took place.

Howard, being the smart guy he is, quickly realises that Jimmy is behind everything. While Cliff keeps asking him to seek help for his drug problems, Howard drives away.

Meanwhile, Francesca Liddy is hired by Jimmy as his secretary. A bribe and special privileges in decor decisions makes her stay.

Kim meets with returnee character Viola Goto to find the name of the judge handling the Sandpiper case. On the pretext of extending an apology for leaving things abruptly at the firm she worked at, Kim successfully manages to reel out the name of the judge.  

Later that night, Howard, in a bid to set things straight once and for all, challenges Jimmy to a boxing match and Jimmy decides to test his luck after some hesitation.

A few punches are exchanged before Howard knocks Jimmy on the ground. He warns Jimmy in a passively aggressive manner and hires a guy to keep an eye on Jimmy all the time.

Gus, in a perpetual state of nervousness, finds it hard to have some shuteye. Mike escorts Gus to his unfinished superlab where Gus stashes a gun in a nearby crane, just in case Lalo turns up there.

Lalo finally turns up. But, in a swanky restaurant in Germany where he meets Margarathe, the widow of Werner Ziegler, who supervised the construction of Gus’ superlab. He keeps his real identity a secret in a bid to find some information about Gus’ superlab from Margarethe.

The next day, he breaks into her house to find something related to her husband’s work but only gets his hands on the glass piece we saw in the beginning.

The glass souvenir is a gift from Werner’s men who assisted him with the lab and Lalo will head to find them next in hopes of finding more about Gustavo Fring’s plans.

Review

  • The episode provides a lot of fan service for long time Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul fans with a couple of returning characters and familiar references.
  • A faceoff, albeit of a different kind than expected, between Howard and Jimmy, proves to be the peak of the episode.
  • Lalo’s appearance finally creates a situation of worry for Gus and knowing Gus, it’s always fun to see him sweating with anticipation.
  • Jimmy and Kim also have more at their hands with Howard now on their tail and Lalo’s return to Albuquerque imminent.
  • The episode sets the direction of the story and answers a couple of pertinent questions.

Rating: 3.5/5


Also Read: Better Call Saul season 6 episode 4 recap & review: Hit and Run

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