[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Season 6, Episode 7 of Better Call Saul, “Plan and Execution.”]
Better Call Saul has reached its midseason finale with a major bang in the episode, “Plan and Execution,” which sees Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) and Kim’s (Rhea Seehorn) scheme come together.
As viewers will recall, the couple’s plan began to fall apart in the previous episode’s final moments when Jimmy realized the judge they were trying to replicate was now wearing a cast on his arm, rendering their photos useless. Kim decided to turn around on the road to Santa Fe in order to help sort out the hiccup. Everything comes to a crescendo in this pivotal episode that sets the rest of the series on a collision course to its final episodes.
Below, we’re breaking down all of the key details, so beware of major spoilers ahead.
(Credit: Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television)
Lalo Back in New Mexico
The episode opens with Lalo (Tony Dalton) emerging from a manhole cover in the ground of a darkened street in New Mexico. Walking over to a car, he opens the trunk to retrieve a change of shoes and drives himself to a nearby rest area where he grabs a shower. Returning to the parked car, he pulls a timer from the glove box which he sets. When it rings, he returns to the spot near the manhole cover, parking on the street and re-entering the sewers.
As he walks underground, it’s revealed that he has a little set-up down there with a chair and water for drinking. Settling himself on the perch, Lalo’s seat positions him so he can peek out of the street drain facing Gustavo Fring’s (Giancarlo Esposito) mysterious laundry business. Using binoculars, he searches for something that will tell him what’s hiding inside.
Scrambling Scheme
Meanwhile, Jimmy and Kim are wrapped up in wrangling up their key players for the scheme against Howard (Patrick Fabian) by staging new photos with their judge lookalike. This begins with Jimmy driving up to the actor who is doubling as the judge, convincing him to get in the car despite being on the clock at his day job, and driving off to their next stop. Next, we get a glimpse into the life of Jimmy’s camera guy (played by Josh Fadem) who is laying down rules for college students who will be using cameras from the equipment department.
(Credit: Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television)
When Jimmy bursts into the classroom where the camera guy is speaking to students, he’s summoned to the hallway and they discuss their latest shoot. The camera guy reluctantly agrees to reshoot the bribery photos in exchange for a higher rate. Once they arrive at a nearby park, Kim and the rest of the filming crew meets them there as they prepare the actor for the photography with Jimmy. It’s a chaotic ordeal, but they manage to snag a few good shots of Jimmy handing the actor an envelope while sporting a fake cast that resembles the judge’s own.
Dashing off to the darkroom, photos are developed and Kim and Jimmy add some drops to a few of the sheets, refusing to tell the camera guy what they are before packaging them up in envelopes. The biggest shock is when Jimmy hands over the envelopes to none other than the private investigator that Howard hired.
Howard’s Fall From Grace
Unaware of the hoops Jimmy and Kim are jumping through, Howard helps ready things in the conference call for the Sandpiper proceedings when he encounters a young colleague who is carrying a bundle of soda cans. When he accidentally drops some, Howard shows the young man how to prevent the cans from exploding when opening, he tells the colleague that he learned the trick from Chuck McGill (Michael McKean) before looking fondly up at a portrait of the late lawyer.
(Credit: Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television)
When Howard’s called away from the room, he’s informed he has a visitor who happens to be the private investigator with photos. In his office, Howard files through the images, touching the surface of the photos unaware that they’re spiked with something meant to enter his bloodstream. The images are exactly what he was hoping for as the private investigator hints the envelope being handed over from Jimmy to the other man resembles a parcel he collected earlier that week. In response, Howard requests that the investigator dig deeper to uncover more before he heads off to meet with Cliff (Ed Begley Jr.) and Sandpiper’s representative Irene Landry (Jean Effron).
As the men reassure Irene that they’re taking small steps towards justice and Cliff promises that the judge presiding is fair, they begin making their way to the boardroom. This also happens to be the moment in which the chemical begins to take an effect on Howard as he comments on how hot it is before loosening his tie. Jimmy and Kim are listening in on the call as Howard and the rest of the team carry on with proceedings and the judge is introduced to the room.
When Howard sees the man, he immediately falls into the trap set for him, believing he’s the one Jimmy bribed in order to create an outcome he could benefit from. Sitting back, Howard listens but mentions that the judge is compromised, despite Cliff’s claims that he’s a fair man. Howard accuses the judge of knowing Jimmy and taking a bribe, arguing that he has photo evidence.
(Credit: Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television)
Once the photos from Howard’s desk are delivered, he opens them to find different versions of the photos that include Jimmy in the park with a man who is playing frisbee. Howard asks his secretary to gather the right photos, but she claims this was the only envelope on his desk, and to make matters worse, Howard’s eyes are dilated to an alarming point, making him look quite crazy in front of all involved parties.
Cliff is apologetic to everyone and Rick Schweikart (Dennis Boutsikaris) puts his original offer on the table before leaving. Meanwhile, Cliff follows Howard upstairs and asks if his secretary has called a doctor. Howard turns then and explains everything to Cliff, adding all of the puzzle pieces together in his mind, and claiming he’s been duped by Jimmy. He knows it’s hard to prove, but the damage is done as Cliff asks Howard to take Rick’s offer. Meanwhile, Howard refuses but Cliff puts his foot down, forcing them to settle the suit for Sandpiper’s residents. In the background over the phone listening in, Jimmy and Kim celebrate in an interesting way, unaware of the damage they’ve set in motion.
Lalo Untethered
In the sewer, Lalo records a video for Don Eladio (Steven Bauer), revealing that he’s alive and scoping out Gustavo’s mystery project, which he’s discovered is a “mother of all meth labs.” He tells the Don that he plans to infiltrate the space, kill the guards and gather physical proof for him to decide what he wants to do about it. After ending the video recording, Lalo gives the nursing home a call and hangs up almost immediately after connecting, throwing his chair in anger, realizing that the call system could be bugged against him.
(Credit: Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television)
Noting this, Lalo calls again to inform his uncle that there is no proof of Gustavo being involved in the compound attack, as he tries throwing off his scent. The call makes Hector visibly angry but creates the proper distraction Lalo is looking for as he watches the security at the lab drive off to find Gus. Meanwhile, Gus is at a local school handing off a giant check to a children’s charity. Mike (Jonathan Banks) comes into the gymnasium and beckons to his boss, telling him to go to the safe house and drive calmly there as they don’t want an incident to occur around little kids. Mike reassures Gus that the laundry is being watched by Tyrus (Ray Campbell) and that a trap has been set in the event that he tries to infiltrate the space.
Celebrations Go Sideways
At Jimmy and Kim’s apartment, they’re sitting and watching old movies while basking in the glow of their successful scheme, until a knock at the door forces Jimmy to get up. As he opens the door off-camera, a flicker of the candle flame on the table indicates that someone has entered the home. Howard’s voice asks Jimmy to enter the apartment and he’s permitted.
Carrying a bottle of booze, he offers it in congratulations, acknowledging their ability to dupe him, but he then asks for an explanation. He wants to know the reason for their plot against him before saying they’re both soulless. Howard can’t understand Kim’s involvement in it all, and as his speech continues, the flicker of the candle flame hints that another individual has entered the apartment, but this time, not through the door it would seem. No, Lalo has managed to sneak in and as Jimmy and Kim cower in fear, Howard turns in confusion.
Jimmy can’t understand how Lalo is alive, Kim begs Howard to leave, and Howard asks Lalo who he is. Lalo casually says he’s no one and makes it clear he wants to speak with his lawyers, but Howard doesn’t heed Kim’s advice soon enough as Lalo puts a silencer on the end of his gun. Pointing the weapon, he pulls the trigger, letting a bullet rip through Howard’s head making a scene in Kim and Jimmy’s living room.
Without much time to react, Lalo turns his attention to the shocked couple, asking to talk. And that’s where fans are forced to leave things until the show returns in July. What did you think of the midseason finale? Let us know in the comment section, below, and don’t miss Better Call Saul when it returns for the final run of episodes later this summer.
Better Call Saul, Season 6 Continues, Monday, July 11, 9/8c, AMC and AMC+
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