Better Call Saul Season 6 Episode 10 has just released on Netflix and AMC, and we get quite
the self contained episode, yet one that will likely have important messages for where this
show goes.
In this spoiler review, I'm going to be giving you my recap of Better Call Season 6 episode
10, entitled Nippy, alongside discussing my general thoughts on it.
But before I get into it, if you want to see more videos
on the final episodes of Better Call Saul, then don't forget to support this video by
giving it a like rating, subscribing to the channel and
turning on your notifications.
Also, feel free to check me out on twitter, facebook, reddit and instagram at cortex videos,
which is all linked in the description below.
But with that out the way, lets dive into my recap and review
for Better Call Saul Season 6 Episode 10.
So the latest episode of Better Call Saul is sure to be one that gets mixed reactions,
but I myself, found it a very meaningful addition to the current situation and inner-feelings
of one Gene Takovic.
In particular, I think it was a perfect self-contained episode to really get us ready for what is
likely going to be an eventful final 3 instalments.
Better Call Saul's parent show, Breaking Bad, gave us one of
the most critically acclaimed, yet controversial episodes with Season 3’s Fly, which was
set almost entirely inside Gus Fring’s Superlab as
Walter White and Jesse Pinkman work on a batch of meth, all while dealing with a pesky fly.
It tapped into the anxieties of those character at that particular point and suggested that
they would have to make a move if they were going to gain control over operations.
We saw the complications that followed between Walt and Jesse, and when rewatching this episode
after we know what happens it makes it all the better.
And while the new episode of Better Call Saul, entitled Nippy, isn't all set in one location,
the events that take place make it a more self-contained episode than the ones we've
seen.
And like Breaking Bad's Fly instalment, it focussed on some very important beats.
Whether that be a solution to Gene's Jeff problem or a
suggestion of what will happen to Gene, as he re-embraces his slippin Jimmy persona.
Throughout, it makes us ask... why are we watching this and what is it telling us about
the larger story at hand?
Well, I'm going to get straight into my breakdown of everything that happened and discuss these
exact questions.
Starting with the buildup to episode 10, as we know from previous seasons, Gene Takovic
is Jimmy McGill’s post-Saul persona.
It was an exchanged identity for a very large amount of
money by the vacuum repairman Ed, and we learn that with this identity, Gene now manages
a Cinnabon in Omaha, Nebraska.
In the scenes with Gene from preious seasons, his life appears
dull, but everything seemed to be safe up until the last time we saw him in season 5.
During his lunch break he was interrupted by a cab driver and former Albuquerque resident,
Jeff, who recognized him as Saul Goodman.
This of course made Gene ring up Ed and ask him for another new identity.
But after a few minutes, Gene changed his mind and told Ed that he's gonna fix
it himself.
That brings us to the new episode, which surprisingly is a full on Gene instalment, following the
re-introduction of Saul Goodman in the Breaking Bad era last week.
And based on what happens at the end of this, it's actually
quite fitting that we see what we do.
But we start Nippy with the introduction of a comedy television legend in Carol Burnett,
and she plays the character Marion, a fiery older
woman who happens to be Jeff the cab driver's mother.
None of us predicted that one.
And before we learn of those details, Marion has an
encounter with Gene on her way home from the supermarket, and a ridge in the ice stops
her from getting over a curb while using a mobility scooter.
Gene is meanwhile posting signs about his lost dog, Nippy, but pretends to help
Marion, in turn, deactivating her chair so he can push her back to her house and confront
Jeff.
So he's still at his slippin Jimmy ways and once
again, he uses a scheme to get access to something he wants.
That something is Jeff, who comes home and soon finds Gene sitting with his mother at
the kitchen table and once Jeff is able to speak with Gene alone outside,
we finally learn what Gene plans to do to prevent Jeff from using his Saul Goodman identity
against him.
Like we've seen Saul do before, he aims to neutralise the situation by getting the
subject involved in the game.
By involving your target in a crime so that if they ever bite and try to give up your
cover, you can then use the crime against them to nudge them into silence
or if worst comes to worst, both ships would sink.
Gene tells Jeff that he knows he doesn't want to turn him in, because he would have
already ratted him out called the cops.
And because of their previous conversation, he gambles that Jeff would be interested in
learning and using a particular set of criminal skills to
get in the game, and pull off something that would help him out.
I think what we see is Jeff motivated by the idea once Gene introduces him to it, similar
to how we've seen Jimmy grow ideas on people before and make them believe
that this is the way to go.
But what's also possible is that Gene wants to get back in the game himself, and if he’s
able to silence the Jeff situation at the same time, it's a win-win
situation.
At the end of this episode, it becomes very clear that this is exactly what we're seeing.
So what does this plan involve.
Well, Gene aims to help Jeff devise a plan to steal in bulk from a department store in
the mall he works in, and Gene himself will befriend and manipulate
the chatty security guards that works there to give them the time to do so.
One of these security guards is the character that takes away the shoplifter which Gene
helps them find and the other is played by Jim O'Heir from Parks
and recreation, and he specifically is manipulated by the constant delivery of Cinnabons that
Gene brings up to him.
On his daily stops to the security room, he fakes his discussions about
sports and times exactly how long it takes for the guard to eat the cinnamon roll, understanding
the every detail of how to pull this con off and do it in secret.
He also paces around the store, noting exactly how many steps it would take Jeff to get from
one clothing item to the next.
And he does so because then he can mark out a model of the store on a training
field for Jeff to practice.
When it does come to that practice with Jeff and his friend, who's also involved with delivering
Jeff off in a shipping container, it gives us a crucial
turning point for the whole heist.
Jeff begins to doubt it all and seems ready to back out, but Gene, giving him the full
convincing nature of saul, continues to back it up and be persuasive.
In doing so, he tells Jeff the tale of Walter White, a man who followed his advice and made
millions in a year.
He didn't explain all the issues and how that story ended, but the
money perspective would always sell that idea.
But eventually, he gets Jeff to follow through with it and as I mentioned before, this
is for two reasons.
He needs eveidence on Jeff as back up and Gene feels genuinely good because he's pulling
off a con once again.
And when it comes time to execute that con, we get
quite the tense scene.
Everything goes to plan with Jeff sticking to the 3 minute 20 second limit in which the
security guard isn't looking at the monitors and he is scoffing on the
cinnabon that Gene takes up to him.
That's until Jeff slips on a recently polished section of the store floor and is knocked
out by the fall for a few minutes.
It's a hilarious yet incredibly tense scene as we watch Gene try
to keep the guard distracted, and he does so by telling him stories that are inspired
by truth.
He keeps his attention by discussing the deaths of family members and how he's all alone.
By using this real level of emotion he appears convincing and gives Jeff enough time to get
back to his feet and escape with the last lot of
stolen clothing.
It's all a success, but now Gene must deal with what this means going forward.
He meets with Jeff and his friend back at the house and reveals to them that this is
a one-time con and if Jeff was to ever give
up his identity, he would use this against them with the laws they broke.
And then there's also his mother Marion, who is still wondering how
Gene could be so broken by the loss of his dog, yet forget it's name a couple of weeks
later.
Of course, there's no missing dog and everything he does in this episode is about him
returning back to those schemeing ways that Slippin Jimmy and Saul Goodman encapsulate.
And this is only solidified in the final scene of episode 10.
We see Gene come back to the store on his luch break, following the heist he just pulled
off with Jeff, and he's drawn to a particular part of the store with fancy shirts
that you'd expect Saul Goodman to purchase and wear.
He holds it up over his body and looks at himself in the mirror, and for a brief
moment, we get the sense that he can't deny those instincts that he's come back to many
times before.
And that's the slippin Jimmy we've always known.
Yes he needed to pull this con off to survive and give Jeff a reason to not say
anything, but when it comes down to the core of what happened, he did it because that's
how he actually survives.
It's what he's always known.
He wants to use his criminal skills and there's no better indicator than the ring that he
put back on before undertaking this con, which was the same ring that he took on from his
old con-artist friend Marco.
He doesn’t want a new life or identity, he wants the one he's always known.
But deep down, we're still asking, why does he want this kind of life forever?
Well I think we will get that answer in the final
3 episodes and I think it's no coincidence that Kim Wexler grew up in Nebraska, which
is where Gene is hiding out.
Is he looking for her or hoping that one day he can have a moment that
settles their story.
Would he suit back up as Saul to pull something off that would get her attention?
And how would she react to that years later?
It's all interesting questions and I think it will all come down to how they will use
something like that to give us an answer to Saul Goddman's identity.
I think it will all come down to answering the question of... is he
capable of changing and can he overcome the same repeating pattern we've seen?
It becomes the central talking point surrounding the story of
Gene after this particular episode and it makes this instalment all the more important
for what's to come.
It's not filler at all in that sense and it even ties in to the poster of
Season 6 which is a black-and-white shot of Gene putting on the red jacket.
It's always been about the identity that Jimmy alligns with and from looking at the history
of this show, we'd guess that he'd be doomed to continue that.
But whether he will change or not is something the last few episodes will likely focus on
and I'm especially intrigued to see how this all
connects to the Breaking Bad timeline, alongside the re-introductions of characters from the
show that we equally love.
I trust these writters and showrunners when it comes to nailing the
ending and I think we're in for 3 huge episodes to end this fantastic show.
But what are my overall thoughts of Episode 10.
Well, I do understand that Nippy is going to be quite the polarizing episode as a standalone
endeavour, but it feels like a tribute to what
Better Call Saul does superbly.
A scaled back, yet dramatically tense set of events that shows a con man in his element,
all while displaying his feeling usings suttle dialogue or moments
with him.
It showed us that no matter how many identities this person has, he’ll always be Slippin’
Jimmy, and in turn, it seems like Chuck might have been right.
The black and white footage and slower pacing might seem
off-putting for a few people, but for me, it seemed like a good choice after the more
dramatic episodes to give us the opportunity to really
think about all the death and heartbreak.
It allows us to anticipated what lies ahead for Gene and how the Breaking Bad era episodes
will link into what we see.
Now that Jeff has essentially been used to light the match of
Saul, we realise that Saul will never go.
He's always there, waiting inside of Gene and there's no stopping him from re-emerging.
Being that con-man is his one true love and it will likely
be his big downfall.
Yes he loved Kim and I'm sure we'll get a conclusion to that in the next 3 episodes,
but it's clear that when Gene breaks a smile in looking at that Saul-like
shirt, he can't wait to put that suit back on.
I can see us getting one last ride with Saul in the Gene timeline, and it will be interesting
to see how they conclude it and what messages it gives us towards the end of this story.
But overall, I thought this was a wonderfully shot and told episode to really echo what
this show is interogating and how it might end.
We'll just have to see what happens, but after a flash forward this week, I suspect we'll
be seing a return to the Breaking Bad timeline in the next
2 episodes, and hopefully, it will be what we've all waited for.
But that was my spoiler review and recap for Better Call Saul Season 6 Episode 10.
I'm giving it a rating of 9.5 out of 10.
But to those who have already seen this episode, what are your
thoughts on all the events that went down and what do you think will happen in Episode
11?
Let me know down below in the comments section.
For more videos on the final episodes of Better Call Saul Season 6, then subscribe to the
channel and turn on your notifications.
Also if you enjoyed this video remember to leave a
like rating and follow me on social media via the links in the description.
But anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed it, I've been Cortex and as always make some noise.