We’re back with another review of AMC’s Better Call Saul – nearly halfway into the final season of the Breaking Bad spin-off series. There’s more drama and suspense leading up to the season’s incoming crescendo, so let’s dive straight into it.
Recap
In last week’s episode, we saw Kim and Jimmy crank up their planned attack on Howard Hamlin. While Kim distracted Clifford Main, Jimmy “became” Howard and stole his Jaguar to create a story of Howard mistreating Wendy, all for the benefit of Clifford to see. The plan worked as in “Black and Blue” – Clifford confronts Howard, which leads to Howard and Jimmy facing off.
During the previous episode, we saw house number 1213, and we again see more of the surveillance operation in place, hoping to protect Gus from the clutches of Lalo Salamanca.
The Ghost of Lalo Salamanca
The specter of Lalo has been hanging over Gus as his paranoia begins to spiral. Gus has convinced his men that Lalo is alive, but the lack of information on his whereabouts has only increased his paranoia. Lalo’s absence is eating away at Gus and we see how he is becoming increasingly distracted. As Mike attempts to figure out Lalo’s next move – we finally see Tony Dalton‘s character reappear in Germany.
Cast your minds back to season four to the death of Werner, the German engineer in charge of building the Superlab, and his reappearance in Germany will make sense. Lalo has his eyes set on Werner’s widow, Margarethe and he’s determined to find proof that Gus is plotting against the cartel. Is Margarethe in danger? Will Lalo find the evidence he needs?
Those of you that are Breaking Bad fans will know who triumphs between Gus and Lalo. The journey till that eventual showdown promises to be a fascinating one. An intriguing scene during “Black and Blue” involves Mike taking Gus to the SuperLab and we see how much Gus is worried about Lalo when he hides a gun on-site, seemingly for the eventual showdown Gus is anticipating with Lalo.
Kim and Jimmy:
Near the beginning of this week’s episode, Kim is troubled. Since finding out Lalo is alive and having Mike’s men follow her. Her paranoia has increased drastically. Kim barricades herself and Jimmy into the apartment to keep them safe from Lalo yet she continues to hide the truth from Jimmy regarding Lalo surviving the attack on his compound. Why is Kim hiding the truth from Jimmy? Her focus on the takedown of Howard shows how hard-edged she’s become, but at the same time, her worry over Lalo shows her more vulnerable side.
Kim and Jimmy vs Howard:
The planned takedown of Howard takes more twists and turns during “Black and Blue”. Clifford Main confronts Howard – with his fears after seeing Wendy pushed out of Howard’s Jaguar in last week’s episodes. Despite his surprise at Clifford’s accusation – he soon realizes Jimmy is involved when Clifford lets slip he was at lunch with Kim when he saw Wendy fall out of Namaste (driven by Jimmy). As we’ve seen in previous episodes, Kim is the driving force behind this scheme, but Howard’s past dealings with Jimmy led him to believe it’s the other way round, and Jimmy is the driving force.
Howard realizing Jimmy is involved – leads to both men squaring off in a boxing ring, in a comical altercation where we see just how much they irritate each other. Following the confrontation between Jimmy and Howard – he and Kim do not appear worried that Howard is onto them. [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”z7b012ok3c” question=”What do Kim and Jimmy have in store for Howard?” opened=”0″]Kim reassures Jimmy everything is on track when she calms him down by hinting there will be a significant development in the Howard takedown coming very soon.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]
What does the future hold for Saul?
As the Superlab comes closer to fruition, Gus knows Lalo is coming for him, but no one knows when or how! What’s next in Lalo’s planned revenge against Gus? What does the future hold for Howard Hamlin? After Kim hinting that something big is coming next, it doesn’t seem like the future is bright for Howard.
While “Black and Blue” didn’t quite have the same impact as last week’s episode, the return of Lalo and what is seemingly in store whets the appetite brilliantly and reminds us what a great show Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould have created. The highlight of “Black and Blue” is undoubtedly Tony Dalton’s brilliant Casanova, Lothario’s performance in befriending Margarethe. He’s so convincing I almost forgot he’s a murdering sociopathic drug kingpin!
Check out our review of the Netflix documentary Abercrombie and Fitch.
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Featured Image Credit – Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television