"Waterworks" is the twelfth episode of the sixth season of Better Call Saul and the sixty-second and penultimate episode of the series altogether.

Summary

Teaser

In 2004, Saul Goodman sits alone in his office, bouncing a rubber ball off the wall behind his desk. Francesca calls him through his earpiece, complaining that he hasn't seen any clients for the past hour while his waiting room is packed. Saul sits at his desk and takes something out of a large envelope: divorce papers from Kim. Eventually, he calls Francesca back and says, "What are you waiting for? Send her in."

Act I

In 2010, Kim, now wearing longer, darker hair and speaking in a different accent, hosts a cookout/potluck at her home in Titusville, Florida, with her boyfriend Glenn. The following day, she drives to her job at Palm Coast Sprinkler, where she composes sales material. After spending most of the day going through her normal work routine, she receives a call from a man calling himself "Viktor St. Clair". On the line is "Gene Takavic", wanting to reconnect after six years. Kim tells Gene to turn himself in; he reacts angrily and challenges her to do likewise. She doesn't respond, telling Gene she's glad he is alive and hanging up. She then joins her co-workers in singing "Happy Birthday" to a secretary, but her mind is somewhere else.

Act II

Kim flies to Albuquerque and visits the courthouse, observing places she remembers from her former life. She then visits the Hamlin residence, where she is met by Howard's widow, Cheryl. Kim gives an affidavit detailing Howard's frameup, his murder by Lalo Salamanca, and the staging of his "suicide" by men working for Gus Fring. Kim tries to assure an emotional Cheryl that Howard "didn't suffer," but Cheryl retorts that Howard had suffered prior to his death because of Kim and Jimmy's lies and that all people remember of Howard now is the false image they had conjured. Kim reveals she has already given a copy of the affidavit to the district attorney, but it is unlikely that she will be prosecuted or that Howard's body will be found. Cheryl asks why Kim has decided to come clean after all these years, but she does not respond. On her way back to Florida, Kim's demeanor fails and her emotions break through, causing her to sob uncontrollably on an airport shuttle bus.

Act III

In Omaha, after breaking into the house, Gene finds the cancer-stricken mark laying asleep on his living room floor. He proceeds to take photos of the mark's bank documents and steal expensive watches from his mezzanine rec room. Looking over the railing, Gene sees an empty spot where the mark had been. The mark emerges from bathroom and sits on the stairs, trapping Gene. Gene decides to knock him out with a cremation urn when the man once again passes out. Meanwhile, Jeff pulls up in front of the house to pick up Gene. However, a police cruiser pulls up behind his cab; while the cops inside merely stopped to have a meal break, Jeff believes that he is in trouble. Jeff tries to speed away but crashes into a nearby parked vehicle, earning the police officers' attention. The cops confront Jeff as he stumbles out of the cab as Gene escapes the house unnoticed.

Act IV

Back in 2004, Saul treats Kim dismissively as they sign the divorce papers, telling her to "have a nice life". Kim is visibly hurt at how callous and emotionless her ex-husband has become, and by the hardened criminals that he is now taking on as clients; one of them, Emilio Koyama, is his next appointment. Outside, it is raining heavily, and Kim is approached by Emilio's partner-in-crime, Jesse Pinkman, who asks for a cigarette. Jesse tells Kim that he recognizes her from when she successfully defended his friend Combo when they were minors. He asks her if Saul's legal skills lives up to his bombastic advertising, eventually reiterating his question as, "Is he good?" After some contemplation, Kim replies, "When I knew him, he was." Kim runs out into the rain to her car, leaving Jesse alone under the roof of Saul's office as he throws away a cigarette.

Act V

In 2010, Gene makes his way back to his residence. In the early hours of the morning, he receives a call on his burner phone; it is from Jeff in jail, who is calling his "father" for help. Jeff explains that he has been arrested for robbing the mark's house and asks "Dad" what to do. Tapping into his skills as Saul, Gene tells Jeff that because he wasn't found in possession of stolen items, nor would there be evidence of him being inside the mark's house, he cannot be linked to the crime and therefore cannot go to jail for it. Gene tells Jeff that he would get Jeff out by lunchtime by having Marion post his bail. Gene then calls Marion, and when he states that bond requirements are looser in Omaha than in Albuquerque, despite having previously claimed to have never been to Albuquerque, she becomes suspicious. She then performs an internet search on her new computer for "con man Albuquerque."

When Gene arrives at Jeff's house, he finds Marion in the kitchen. Recognizing his commercial through her headphones, he unplugs them and turns the laptop to see that Marion has been watching old Saul Goodman commercials that are on the Internet. Marion tries to call the police to report him, but Gene rips the phone cord out of the wall and fashions it into a garrote; as he menacingly approaches her, he sees her pull out her LifeAlert button and warns her against pressing it. Marion then tells Gene that she trusted him; as Gene hesitates and puts down the phone cord, Marion presses the button and tells the operator that the fugitive Saul Goodman is in her kitchen, and the operator replies that the police are on their way. Finally exposed, Gene panics and flees from the house.

Official Photos

Trivia

• This is the first and only episode of Better Call Saul to be solely written by series co-creator Vince Gilligan. He had previously co-written episodes with Peter Gould and Marion Dayre. These episodes include "Uno", "Klick", and "Mabel".
  • "Felina" and "Waterworks" are the last episodes directed by Gilligan for Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul respectively.
• The title "Waterworks" can either refer to Kim Wexler's emotional breakdown on the bus after revisiting Albuquerque or Jimmy/Saul having a presence in her life again; Gilligan prefers the latter interpretation.^[1]
  • It also references Palm Coast Sprinkler, where Kim works after her leaving Albuquerque due to Howard's death.
• The scene where Kim has an emotional meltdown is similar to Marie Schrader breaking down in tears after her arrest in "Open House".
• Similar to the previous episode, the opening title sequence again mostly features a blue background with the title and creator credits, but flashes twice to new images that were previously unseen:
  • Jimmy's car parked out in the snow, with a distorted and out of tune theme song playing.
  • Kim's silhouette at the Albuquerque airport, which briefly flashes after the title and creator credits.
• This episode marks the final appearances of Francesca Liddy and Jesse Pinkman; however, chronologically it is Jesse's first non-flashback appearance.
  • Aaron Paul filmed his scene several months before the rest of the episode was filmed due to his schedule. His scenes were kept dark to conceal his visibly aged face.
  • Aside from a Popcorners advertisement, this is the last time Aaron Paul played Jesse Pinkman.
• Kim is the only Better Call Saul exclusive character to have met Jesse Pinkman.
  • According to Gilligan, the scene of Kim meeting Jesse did nothing to move the plot further, but the writers' room wanted the scene anyway because having Kim meet Jesse would have "these two worlds collide," referring to the worlds of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.
• This is the only episode of the Breaking Bad franchise where Jesse Pinkman appears but Walter White doesn't.
  • Similarly, the next episode "Saul Gone" is the only episode of the franchise where Walt appears but Jesse does not.
• While arguing with Kim, Jimmy mentions the deaths of Gustavo Fring, Mike Ehrmantraut, and Lalo Salamanca, which had occurred in "Face Off", "Say My Name", and "Point and Shoot", respectively.
  • Jimmy mentions to Kim that Lalo is apparently dead, once again showing his uncertainty over Lalo truly being gone.
• After Jimmy phones Kim at work, Kim joins the other office workers to sing "Happy Birthday" to a colleague. However, that day was also Jimmy's 50th birthday (November 12, 2010), which Kim would have known.
• Combo's baby Jesus theft was mentioned by Hank Schrader in the Breaking Bad episode "ABQ".
• John Koyama's appearance as Emilio Koyama makes him the actor with the most time between appearances in the Breaking Bad universe, with his last appearance in "Cat's in the Bag..." fourteen years prior.
  • Emilio's appearance is a reference to Jesse telling Walt in "Better Call Saul" that Saul has gotten his friend Emilio out of serious legal trouble twice while arguing for them to hire Saul to help Badger.
• This episode confirms that Jimmy and Kim got divorced, something that was only previously hinted at.
  • The divorce papers list "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for the divorce.
  • Jimmy has also gotten his share of the Sandpiper settlement by this point.
• The final scene mirrors a scene in "Ozymandias", where Jimmy and Walt respectively realize they have to run away, after someone close to them (a friend in the case of Jimmy and his son in Walt's case), finds out the truth and decides to call the police.
  • Before Marion calls the police, Jimmy asks her, "What are you doing?" Walt asked Walt Jr. the same question before Walt Jr. called the police.
• Allusions to past Better Call Saul episodes that are featured include:
  • Jimmy bouncing a rubber ball against his office wall, much like he did during his time at CC Mobile ("Talk").
  • Miracle Whip's logo contains a fused 'WM', similar to that of Wexler McGill ("Fifi").
  • "Escape" by Rupert Holmes playing on the radio in the background of Kim's potluck. Jimmy previously sang this to two elementary school administrators to convince them that Rupert Holmes went there ("Nailed").
  • Kim pondering what wording to use on a sprinkler brochure, in the style of how she used to work on legal documents ("Sunk Costs").
  • Jimmy using the pseudonym "Viktor St. Claire"; he used this name while pulling off scams with Kim, while calling her at work ("Switch").
  • When Jimmy discovers the video of his Saul Goodman commercials on Marion's laptop, the screen's reflection on his glasses appears in color, just like when he was watching them on VHS tape in the series' opening ("Uno").
• Marion is able to identify Jimmy/Gene as Saul Goodman thanks to YouTube videos on her computer. The computer was a gift from her son Jeff, who bought it with proceedings from the robbery organized by Jimmy, and Marion got used to watching cat videos because Jimmy showed her how to. Therefore and ironically, Jimmy indirectly provided Marion with all the tools for her to identify him.
  • The Saul Goodman advertisement that Marion watched on her laptop is the same one featured in the Breaking Bad episode "Better Call Saul".
• Several Easter eggs are hidden in the cancer scam victim's house:
  • On one of the bank statements Jimmy looks at, the cancer scam victim has $737,612.62 in his account. $737,000 was the amount Walt originally wanted to get to cover his family's expenses before he passed away. ("Seven Thirty-Seven")
  • $612.62 is a reference to this episode being the twelfth episode of the sixth season and the sixty-second episode in the series.
  • When Jimmy looks for the passwords, the desk he's rummaging through is very similar to the Cocobolo desk he requested when hired at Davis & Main. ("Switch")
• Vince Gilligan's wife, Holly Rice, makes a cameo in this episode. When Kim breaks down in tears on the bus, she is the passenger sitting next to her who puts her hand on her shoulder to try to comfort her.
  • She had already appeared in the first episode of season 3 of Breaking Bad, an episode written by Gilligan. After the Wayfarer 515 disaster, she appears among the teachers during the student assembly at J. P. Wynne High School, next to Walt.
• When Kim exits Jimmy's office after signing the divorce papers, Jesse is initially hidden behind a pillar before the camera slowly moves and makes him appear. Vince Gilligan used the same effect during the last meeting between Walt and Skyler in the episode "Felina".
• Kim and Glen watch an episode of "The Amazing Race" in this episode. The episode is from "The Amazing Race" season 17 and is titled "I Want to Be in the Circus, That's Where I Belong" which originally aired on November 7, 2010. This is the most recent episode before the phone call on Jimmy's birthday, November 12, 2010.
• Cheryl says that she could sue Kim for the damage she caused to Howard's reputation, and Kim agrees. However, the statute of limitations for defamation in New Mexico is three years, and as six years have passed, this would not actually be possible.
• Rhea Seehorn submitted this episode for her Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Production

Credits

Featured Music

• "Escape" by Rupert Holmes (plays at Kim's Front Yard)
• "The Tide is High" by Blondie (sung by Jimmy at his car while driving to pick Marion up)

Memorable Quotes

Jimmy: "Hey, Kim. You know who this is? (Kim remains silent) I'm gonna take that as a yes. Uh, that receptionist of yours, is she the type to listen in?"

Kim: "No."

Jimmy: "Good. Okay. So, how's Florida been treating you? I'm catching you between hurricanes I hope. Kim, are you there?"

Kim: "What do you want?"

Jimmy: "I don't... I don't want anything. I just... it's been awhile. You know, just thinking it's been awhile, and uh, might be nice to catch up."

Kim: "Catch up?"

Jimmy: "Yeah, my mind was wandering this morning, I was just not thinking of anything in particular, just random thoughts and bam, it suddenly occurred to me it's been six years. I mean, Jesus. I -- I couldn't believe it. I thought you might wanna know I'm still alive. Yep. Yeah, I'm still out here. Still getting away with it. Feds couldn't find their own ass with both hands and a proctologist."

Kim: "You shouldn't be calling me."

Jimmy: "Oh, hey, you're awake."

Kim: "You shouldn't be calling."

Jimmy: "Why not? What am I, tying up the line for important irrigation business? Come on, Kim, say something. Call me an asshole. Yell at me. Just let me know you still got a pulse. Say something!"

Kim: "You want me to say something?"

Jimmy: "Yeah."

Kim: "You should turn yourself in."

Jimmy: "Do what?"

Kim: "You heard me. I don't know what kind of life you've been living, but it can't be much."

Jimmy: "Says the pot to the kettle! What? That is... that is really rich. You... you preaching to me? See, you have no idea what I did or didn't do, okay? And, and why don't you turn yourself in? Seeing as how you're the one with the guilty conscience, huh? What, what is stopping you? Fring's in the ground. Mike's in the ground. Lalo's in the ground, apparently. You, you don't have to hold back on my account! They can only hang me once, so, so go ahead, spill your guts, put on your hair shirt, see what it gets you! Why... Kim, why are we even talking about this? We're both too smart to throw our lives away for no reason. Just... I just... I only wanted to... Kim? Kim? Kim?"

Kim: "I'm glad you're alive."

―Jimmy and Kim's argument.

---

Cheryl: "Howard was murdered? (Kim nods) Why?"

Kim: "He was... in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Cheryl: "Where's his body?"

Kim: "I don't know."

Cheryl: "And the police? Will they search again?"

Kim: "They'll search. I don't think they'll find him. Cheryl, he... it... it all happened in an instant and he didn't... he didn't suffer."

Cheryl: "He didn't suffer? The lies you two made up. The picture you painted. That's all he is now. That's all anybody remembers."

Kim: "I wanna change that."

―Kim reveals the truth about the scam and Howard Hamlin's murder.

---

Cheryl: "What happens now? Will you be tried? Will you go to jail?"

Kim: "I don't know."

Cheryl: "You're a lawyer, right? You're a, a great one Howard said! How could you not know?"

Kim: "Bernalio County has my affidavit. It's up to the district attorney whether to prosecute. And she may not."

Cheryl: "Why?"

Kim: "There's no physical evidence. No remaining witnesses other than my ex-husband, assuming he's still alive."

Cheryl: "I could sue you in civil court, I could take everything you've got."

Kim: "Yeah."

Cheryl: "Why are you doing this?"

―Kim and Cheryl discuss the potential consequences for Kim and Jimmy's actions against Howard.

---

"Have a nice life, Kim."

―Saul's last words to Kim after singing their divorce papers.

---

Saul: "Hey, sweetcheeks, who do we got next? Let's make some money!"

Francesca: "Emilio Koyama! (Emilio walks up) Where's your paperwork?"

Emilio: "I don't do no paperwork."

Francesca: "He doesn't do paperwork."

Saul: "Who cares? Come on, come on."

―Saul's next client arrives.

---

Jesse: "Hey, yo... Can I bum one of those? Thanks. [gestures towards the rain] What's up with this shit?"

Kim: "Raining."

Jesse: "Yeah. I dunno, it's... It's crazy! Like, bananas, all this rain. I mean, I thought we were, like, in a desert, y'know? You're a lawyer, right? [Kim turns to him] Yeah. I recognize you. You defended my buddy, Combo. Christian Ortega? Juvie court, little baby Jesus? I mean, not like a real baby. Just, uh... y'know, one of those things outside of the... church?"

Kim: "Nativity scene."

Jesse: "Yeah."

Kim: "Knights of Columbus."

Jesse: "I mean, what the hell did he even want that thing for? Huh? I mean, I—I still don't know, dumbass. I told him he could go to hell for stealing something like that. I mean—But did he listen to me? No. But you... You got him off, like, scot-free, that... That was pretty slick, yo!"

Kim: "Well... Tell him I hope he's keeping his nose clean."

Jesse: "Yeah, yeah. Right on. Absolutely. Uh... Hey, so, you having all this expertise and all... This guy, Goodman... [pause] He the real deal? Like, lawyer-wise?"

Kim: "Why do you ask?"

Jesse: "I got a buddy in there who's facing some serious time. I mean, not... y'know, not baby Jesus time, but... but serious. You know, he needs top-shelf legal representation. And I tell him that, right? But, you know, he sees this dude's commercials on TV, and this is where he wants to go. I mean, I tell him, "Yo... Emilio, you know, a funny TV commercial's not a sound... basis for, like, you know... [pause] I mean, like, would you go to a doctor to do, like, an operation on you in, like a... On, like your spleen, or whatever... All on the fact that there was a funny TV commercial? No. I mean, c'mon. How is this any different, y'know?" Anyways... This guy. Any good?"

Kim: "When I knew him, he was."

―Jesse Pinkman asking Kim Wexler if Saul Goodman is any good.

---

Jimmy: "What's that?"

Marion: "You tell me."

Jimmy: "Marion, do you think that's me? 'Cause it's not."

Marion: "There never was a Nippy, was there?"

Jimmy: "What did Jeff tell you?"

Marion: "Oh, he didn't tell me anything. Ask Jeeves told me. I typed in "con man" and "Albuquerque," and up you popped, big as day."

Jimmy: "What are you doing, Marion?"

Marion: "What do you think I'm doing? I'm calling the police."

Jimmy: "Here, lemme help you with that. Listen, I think we're losing sight of the bigger picture here, okay? Jeff is in trouble, and I wanna help him. He and I sure could use your support here."

Marion: "What did you get my son into?"

Jimmy: "Nothing that he didn't ask for. (...) Now, listen, I'm still the good friend you thought I was, okay? Jeff understands me, Buddy understands me. And you will, too. It's just, you have to, uh, you know, keep things on an even keel, all right? (...) What have you got there?"

Marion: "Uh..."

Jimmy: "Put that down."

Marion: "Huh..."

Jimmy: "Put that down, Marion. Put it down. Do not do it, Marion. Final warning."

Marion: "I trusted you. (button clicks, pendant beeps)"

Valerie: "Marion? This is Valerie with LifeAlert. Are you okay?"

Marion: "No, Valerie, I'm not okay. There's a criminal standing in my kitchen, threatening me! He's a wanted man, and his name is Saul Goodman!"

Valerie: "All right, Marion, I'm calling the police. I'm calling right now."

―Marion identifies Gene as Saul Goodman and shatters Jimmy's false identity, prompting him to flee Omaha in a hurry.^[src]

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