I pulled right over, I’m screaming my head off “Nippy”!
But he was gone.
Aww that’s terrible.
I hope you find him.
Better Call Saul, Season 6 Episode 10, Nippy!
I thought it was another very well done installment, and just like with the previous week, this
one felt like another final resolution, although I don’t believe it was.
But we finally got an all Gene episode.
Gene embraced his inner Saul Goodman to get in front of the Jeff situation.
This plan started when Goodman befriended Jeff’s mother, then he coaxed Jeff into
joining the game, and Goodman’s grand scheme was orchestrating an elaborate ploy to ultimately
neutralize any leverage Jeff held over him.
It worked, and it was a vintage Goodman con that involved his salesmanship, it involved
his hard work and due diligence when it came to research and planning, it involved using
his charismatic likable demeanor and ability to understand people, it involved his mastery
of the criminal legal code, and most importantly it also required his ability to improvise
and make adjustments on the fly.
Down goes Jeff the Cab Driver, down goes…yeah.
This was the only time we saw any fighting spirit in Gene’s life.
Before this he was portrayed as a frightened paranoid man whose only pleasures came from
living in the past.
He missed living his previous life as Saul Goodman, and was trapped in the identity of
Gene Takavic for his own self preservation.
When first confronted by Jeff the cab driver, Gene initially wanted to run away and hide,
before he finally decided to take a stand.
This afforded him the opportunity to live in the past, as Saul Goodman, and it’s interesting
that he chose to sport Marco’s ring for this con, that he was really going back to
his Slippin’ Jimmy roots on this one.
But the plan nearly failed when Jeff slipped on the spot that maintenance had just polished
up nicely, and had Jeff been caught, Goodman would have been doomed.
As it stands, while Nippy felt as if it may have provided a final resolution with Jeff
the Cab Driver, I’m not so certain it has.
Jeff and his pal aren’t particularly bright, and at the end of the day they may call his
bluff, because Goodman clearly still has more to lose.
And Kathy Deutsche seems pretty on the ball, so what are the chances that she checks inventory
more often and more thoroughly than Gene is expecting?
One way or another, I feel like Gene abandoning his plan to reconnect with Ed the vacuum guy
was a bad choice road.
Looking back to the moment when Gene changed his mind, it reminds me an awful lot of when
Kim decided to turn her car around - that ruining Howard was more important than fulfilling
her pro bono dreams without the need to ruin poor Howard.
If Gene is really about self preservation, then relocating after being made was probably
the wiser choice.
But going the way he did, trying to neutralize Jeff’s leverage, he inherently endangered
himself.
This allowed Gene an opportunity to relive his past, and after he just barely succeeded
in pulling it off, he didn’t appear exhilarated, almost as if he had forgotten about how stressful
and dangerous and intense the stakes are, and why he bolted in the first place.
But this enabled Gene to be true to himself.
Even down to the cinnamon buns with the big con on Frank, you get the impression Goodman
didn’t know shit about college football, but his instincts as a charismatic con artist
and salesman enabled him to fake his way through.
But when the big day came, we have more proof that Goodman did his due diligence to stretch
out the talk if needed.
The con itself was all encompassing for Goodman, not unlike the intricate details they had
in store for poor Howard.
Finding Jeff, formulating the plan around his mother, detailing the path of the heist,
and then setting up a training obstacle course to make sure Jeff was prepared, befriending
the security team with tasty treats - it was all vintage Goodman.
In that sense, while Gene decided to stay and fight for self preservation, perhaps the
REAL self preservation in all of this is Gene staying true to himself, refusing to deny
his inner Saul Goodman and embracing who he truly is.
Incidentally, I thought Carol Burnett was fantastic in the role of Jeff’s mother Marion.
Terrific job.
And I likewise thought Pat Healy did an admirable job stepping into the role of Jeff the cab
driver.
The role was originally played by Don Harvey, and he had such incredible chemistry with
Odenkirk in the Season 5 premiere that Healy was put into an almost impossible situation.
These types of scheduling conflicts are part of the business, but Healy stepping into the
role was almost as if Gene was playing a newly introduced character, because of the impossible
task of recreating that amazing chemistry Harvey and Odenkirk shared.
All of that said, those scenes were still all exceptionally well donel, and I applaud
the efforts of Healy for stepping in and stepping up!
Nice job.
As a final thought, by the end of the episode Gene is checking out some flashy clothes in
the mold of Saul Goodman, and he is carrying a Kansas City Royals bag.
Hmm.
With 3 episodes left, we know we at least have some scenes coming up from the Breaking
Bad timeline, because we know we’re getting cameo appearances from Walter White and Jesse
Pinkman.
I assume we have more story coming in the Gene timeline, and that the con with Jeff
will come back to create a new obstacle for Gene, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we
see more flashbacks, from the normal Better Call Saul timeline.
If we do see more of Kim Wexler, at this point I’m almost hoping it’s in the form of
an unseen flashback, because the way her and Jimmy parted ways was so powerful that I believe
it acted as a perfect final resolution for their relationship.
But whatever they have in store, I can genuinely say that Season 6 of Better Call Saul has
provided an extremely enjoyable viewing experience, and I can’t wait to see how the final 3
play out.
Things have been tight!
Tight, tight!
Tight!
Yeah, can’t wait.
Thank you very much for watching everyone, I hope you enjoyed, and have a wonderful night.
Have you ever driven anyone famous?
Oh he sure did!
Tell him, Jeffie.
Pollos Hermanos, Pollos Hermanos, delicious chicken grilled or fried.
Pollos Hermanos, Pollos Hermanos.
Sammy Hagar.
No!
The red rocker?
Hey, I love him.
I can’t drive, fifty-five.
That’s it!
When the store opens the next morning, they won’t even know they were robbed.
By the time they do inventory, Abrakadabra, no more Jeffie on the tape!
Well Ricky’s just going to have to put the box back on the truck.
A little problem with that–cargo space.
A 76 yard pass to Reggie Baul and never sacked once.
Wow, you have got quite a memory.
He fell in with a bad crowd back in Albuquerque.
Albuquerque, huh?
Never been.
Lucky you.
Do you need help?
I’m good.
Well Barbara’s right here if you need anything.
Everybody has bad days.
You’ve felt like this?
No.
I mean, not me but…
Pollos Hermanos, Pollos Hermanos, delicious chicken grilled or fried.
Pollos Hermanos, Pollos Hermanos.
You know Quasimodo predicted all of this.
What is this?
That my friends is Albuquerque's public enemy #1.
Now I need you to say it, “we’re done”.
Come on.
Say it!
“We’re done”.
Say it.
We’re done when I say we’re done.
We’re done.
You’re done!
You are done!