Better Call Saul: "Waterworks"

With there being two episodes left, it's only natural that we check back on Kim, who is just as central to the show as Jimmy is. "Waterworks" is an incredible penultimate episode of Better Call Saul, providing closure to Kim and Jimmy's relationship while also leaving room for it in the series finale, which promises to be nothing short of apocalyptic.

Having dyed her hair brown and now living in Florida, Kim lives the life of an ordinary housewife, making potato salad (sans mayonnaise) and doing jigsaw puzzles. At her job, she continues to live in mundaneness and self-flagellate herself for her sins, even refusing to choose the flavor of her co-worker's birthday cake. We get to see the other side of her phone call with Jimmy, where she advises Jimmy to turn himself in. Jimmy, somewhat righteously, furiously points out that she has yet to do so herself for her role in Howard's murder. Kim ends the phone call with an "I'm glad you're alive", seemingly closing the book on their relationship for good.

True to Kim, she takes Jimmy's accusations to heart and travels to Albuquerque, where she gives Howard's wife and the district attorney an affidavit confessing her involvement in Howard's death. As Cheryl points out however, Howard's reputation and legacy is still destroyed, and Kim is unlikely to be prosecuted as there is no proof or knowledge of where his body is. On the way back to Florida, Kim finally allows herself to feel the full weight of her guilt and breaks down sobbing on the bus (just give Rhea Seehorn next year's Emmy). Similar to when she was caught stealing as a child, the universe won't punish her for her sins.

Meanwhile, in Omaha, Gene follows through in breaking into the cancer patient's house, proceeding to compound his crime by stealing the man's watches and preparing to knock out the now-awake man with an urn full of his dog's ashes. A police car shows up and startles Jeff, frightening him enough to crash his car in an escape attempt. Gene uses the distraction to flee the scene and later receives a call from Jeff, who has been accused of robbing the mark's house.

We get a flashback to Alburquerque, where Kim arrives at Jimmy's office to sign the divorce papers. Jimmy is cruelly flippant about the whole thing, clearly using his Saul persona as a coping mechanism to deal with the end of their relationship. Kim leaves the office and encounters Jesse Pinkman, who is there with his partner Emilio to get legal counsel for the latter. After recognizing Kim from when she helped out his friend Combo, Jesse asks her if Saul is a good choice for legal representation. "When I knew him, he was", Kim finally replies before running back to her car in the rain, not knowing that she has indirectly helped bring her ex-husband into Walt and Jesse's orbit

Gene calls Marion and promises to bail her son out. Growing suspicious of why Jeff would call Gene instead of her, as well as his knowledge of the law in Omaha, Marion uses her new laptop to look up his old Saul Goodman commercials, thus confirming his identity. Gene arrives and attempts to stop her from calling the police, ripping the cord out of the wall and fashioning it as a garret. "I trusted you", Marion almost tearfully replies, distracting Gene enough for her to use her Life Alert to report him to the police. His cover now blown, Gene immediately flees the house.

Where do we go from here? The series finale of Breaking Bad at least ended on a decisive victory for Walter White. I don't see one for Jimmy McGill at this point.

Notes and observations:

* It's only natural that the man who started this all, Vince Gilligan, writes and directs this episode (ironically this is his first and only solo writing credit on the show). Lots of great camerawork but my favorite shot, other than the final scene with Kim, has to be the reflection of the colorful Saul commercial in Gene's glasses.

* I haven't commented on the teasers for the final six episodes as they have been deliberately vague, but the one for next week's series finale deserves special mention. The camera pans on an abandoned car and the monochrome slowly transitions to color as Gene attempts to remember the phrase for the vacuum cleaner repair man (played by the late Robert Forster). Does this mean that the finale will be in color?

* I really want to try tuna salad with Miracle Whip.

* I will unfortunately be out of town when the finale airs so the review for it will sadly be delayed.