Where can Better Call Saul go after last week’s game-changing episode? Back to black and white Omaha, obviously.
Monday’s episode was all about Gene Takavitch, finally giving us an update on Saul’s post-Breaking Bad identity. Last we saw Gene (in the Season 5 premiere), he was being followed by a mysterious man named Jeff, but he told janitor Ed Galbraith that he’d “fix it myself.” Now we see what this looks like: Jean tracks down Jeff Marion’s elderly mother — hello, Carol Burnett! — and intrigued her with a fictional story about his missing dog named Nippy. (He’s also secretly cutting a wire in her motorized scooter, so he’ll have to help her get home.) When Jeff gets home from work, he finds Jean laughing with Marion in their kitchen—and Jean gives a smug look to the puzzled Jeff .
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Once they are alone, Jeff threatens Gene: “All I have to do is pick up the phone and it’s goodbye, Saul Goodman.” But Gene has a better idea: he knows that all Jeff wants is more big piece of the pie, and promises to cut him one. “Here’s the deal: I’ll show you the game and then we’re done,” he tells Jeff—and a new scam is born. (Gene goes home and puts on Saul Goodman’s little ring to complete the transformation.) Gene starts bringing a few extra Cinnabons to the mall’s security office, which head security guard Frank—hello, Parks’ Jim O’Hare and Rec! — happily swallows with his back to the monitors. Jean times exactly how long it takes Frank to finish his bun each time, and also browses Lancaster’s Department Store, counting his steps as he goes. What is this guy up to?
We learn when Gene places an exact replica of the department store in a snowy field, training Jeff to steal the most expensive things during the three-plus minutes it takes Frank to eat his Cinnabon. Just take three of each item, Jean warns Jeff: That way, they won’t notice until they take inventory in three days, by which time the duct tape will be on. Jeff isn’t sure about the scheme, which sounds crazy to him. So Gene refers to Walter White’s story: “I’ll tell you what’s crazy: a fifty-year-old chemistry teacher walks into my office. The guy is so broke he can’t pay his own mortgage. A year later, he has a pile of cash as big as a Volkswagen. That’s crazy.” That’s enough to convince Jeff to take the plunge.
Lancaster manager Cathy is doing her morning check, noticing a scratch on the floor, when she’s interrupted by a delivery of a huge wooden crate. She didn’t order it, so she calls the supplier’s manager—ie. Jean — to complain. Gene starts a long story about how long it will take him to come get it, so Cathy reluctantly agrees to keep the crate there all night. The scene is now set, and as Frank digs into his Cinnabon that night as usual, Gene texts Jeff that it’s time to go. Jeff gets out of the crate and runs through the store, grabbing Armani suits and Air Jordans, just like they’ve been training for. Gene watches over Frank’s shoulder as Frank forgets about Nebraska football and everything is going according to plan… until Jeff stumbles into the freshly cleaned area where the scratch was and slips, knocking himself out. uhh
Gene can only watch in horror as Jeff lies motionless on the tile while Frank finishes his Cinnabon. He starts to turn back to the cameras, but Jean stops him by breaking down in sobs, crying that he doesn’t know what he’s doing with his life. Frank has a wife to come home to, but “I have no one. My parents are dead. My brother is dead. I don’t have a wife. There are no children. No friends. If I die tonight, nobody will care. (Wow…that hits hard, knowing how true it is for Jimmy after what happened with Chuck and Kim.) Frank heartily comforts him, and that gives Jeff time to get up and out of the frame before Frank return to work. Wow. The next morning, Jeff sneaks out of the store after hiding in the bathroom all night, and a delivery clerk picks up the crate overflowing with luxury goods.
Back in their garage, Jeff and his friend are giggling over their newfound riches, but Gene isn’t laughing. He reminds them that they face several decades in prison if they are caught, and if they turn on him, he will beat them up. “You don’t need to threaten us. We’re all friends here,” Jeff pleads, but Gene is firm, “I’m not your friend.” He warns them not to try anything like that again and to stay out of his life, starting now, ordering Jeff to say the words : “We’re done.” Marion almost catches them, but they pretend to work on Jeff’s car and Jean helps her with the groceries, with Marion telling him that Jeff fell in with a bad crowd in Albuquerque, but she’s glad that Jean is a good influence . She asks about Nippy and Gene says he got him back, “After all that, a happy ending.”
Gene returns to work at Cinnabon looking more confident than we’ve ever seen him. He takes his lunch break and heads to the department store, looking at a flashy shirt and tie that Saul Goodman would have loved. He holds it up in front of him in the mirror… but finally puts it back and leaves.
Are you happy with how Jean’s story ended if this is the end? And when will we see Walt and Jesse — and maybe even Kim again — in the final three episodes? Submit your thoughts in a comment below.
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