Better Call Saul – Season 6 Episode 12 “Waterworks” Recap & Review

‘Waterworks’

We open episode 12 of Better Call Saul Season 6 in the Saul Goodman timeline when business was booming. Saul had clients left and right visit him to solve their legal troubles. Despite the heavy traffic in sight, he plays with a jump ball. His reverie is broken by Francesca, who urges him to get on with the day. She is not staying late to finish up the clients.

Saul has a look in the mirror kept in the drawer of his desk and also sees one of the fake pillars in his office fall over. The very first problem he has to deal with in the day is one of his own. Kim has filed for legal separation and Saul has a mixed response. “Send her in” is the command but we cut to somewhere else before that happens.

Black and white Florida is nothing like what you’d imagine. The skies, terrain, and peppy energy are all lost. Why are we in Florida? To meet the new Kim Wexler; the one who got away. She cuts potatoes in her brunette hairdo and typical Florida get-up.

A man walks in with more groceries. They have a barbecue in the back of the house, where we see desperate attempts from Kim to fit in. Still trying after almost six years. The event is a hit and her man and she both agree. A quick love-making session follows and the man then takes his leave. He sets another date for Friday as Kim goes back to her lonely existence.

Gene had called Palm Coast Sprinklers in the previous episode and that is our next destination. It is a mid-size irrigation company. The atmosphere in the office is mild, relaxed, and far detached from the stress of the courthouse. Someone like Kim should sail through this job: and she does.

She works in the “Catalogue & Brochures” department. A big slide down from being one of the top corporate lawyers in Albuquerque. But it is what it is. She goes through the processes of the day – lunch with her co-workers, the customary visit to the factory, and calls to suppliers and vendors. Except for one exceptional event. Out of the blue, she receives a call from Viktor St. Claire.

Gene is on the other end. Before she even picks up the phone, she draws the blinds and even shuts the door of her office to keep the emotions in. Typical Kim. She picks up and Gene is jovial. It has been six years since they last saw each other and Kim was not expecting the call at all. She is mostly silent as Gene uses the gift of the gab to create a conversation. When he urges her to say anything, she replies he must turn himself in. For all that has happened, Gene must take responsibility. And that is where it all goes haywire.

Gene is outraged because Kim takes the moral high ground. Why has she not turned herself in? What right does she have to ask him to do that when they both were complicit? She joins in the office celebrations for Tammy’s birthday while she ruminates what Gene said.

The next thing we know, she has already reached Albequerque. She goes to the courthouse, desperately trying not to miss the place again. She has indeed turned herself in. She submits an affidavit that she then presents to Cheryl, Howard’s wife. Cheryl is alone too and still lives in the same house.

The affidavit bears it all: what happened, who was involved, and the entire scheme is divulged. But Kim will not be prosecuted. Why? No evidence.

Courts do not work like that. Law can only be wielded if you have the right evidence to back up your claims and arguments. Cheryl is in shock and reprimands the late action. She takes offense to the ploy of Kim and Jimmy to paint Howard as a coke addict. There is no forgiveness forthcoming. And perhaps, Kim isn’t looking for one. She did this for herself.

She takes the bus back to her new home and en-route, she breaks down. The “Waterworks” start flowing and she sobs uncontrollably. The brunt of everything is finally taken out. She is human indeed. And a faulty one at that.

We cut to Gene breaking into the man’s house from episode 11. As he predicted, the man is still out, snoring away on the floor. Heff is parked outside. Gene goes through the routine that Rick (Buddy) used to do.

Just when he is about to leave, something strikes him. He goes back up the stairs and wanders around with a drink in his hand. He has gotten too cocky. The man has woken up from his slumber but is still pretty heavily under the influence. Outside, a police patrol car parks behind Jeff’s. He increasingly suspects they are suspicious and his step grows nervous.

He has been in trouble with the law before and cannot fathom that happening again. Gene veers down to see if the man is awake. He takes an object in his hands. He is about to knock him unconscious – worse, kill him – but the man falls asleep at the right moment. Gene is able to escape this one. Jeff cannot take it any longer and thrashes into a parked car. Unbeknownst to him, the policemen were discussing the correct way to make a fish taco and were almost done for the night. They had no interest in Jeff or anything else. But, as fate would have it, Jeff is arrested. Gene takes the bus back and makes another drink for himself at home.

Jeff calls him and Gene assures the guy that he will arrive there to post bail. Since there is no evidence on him – the man came screaming out and said he had been robbed – Jeff cannot be implicated. Gene phones Marion, who is surprised to learn that Jeff called him first. And then, the skies come apart as she finds out the truth about Gene.

She catches an old advert for Saul Goodman when she types “Albequerque con-man” on Google. Gene is at once threatening. He physically advances toward her, prepared to do anything for his own survival. When she says she trusted him, he lets go of her and she uses the Life Alert device to alert the authorities. He runs for his life. And we cut to the credits.

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The Episode Review

We are at the business end of the season and a clear conclusion is now in sight. This long journey has not been kind. The ups and downs our characters have seen are no ordinary events. This just does not happen in real life. But the emotions they feel and how the experiences have shaped their lives are done within the realms of human behaviour.

The brilliance of this show is how it confronts you with reality. Its hard-hitting sensibilities are not executed in an over-the-top manner. The subtlety with which they operate is exhilarating. If we consider the second half of the season, it has unravelled in an ugly realization of the truth.

The confrontational bandwagon was missing when the actual crimes against their moralities were being committed. The happiness has been sucked out, replaced by a sinking void. We just do not recognize these characters anymore. Their arches have turned in a way that none of us could have imagined. It is really sad to see things turn out in this way but it is fair. The universe of BCS is a great leveller in the end; history has repeated itself, albeit not in the most endearing fashion.

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You can read our full season review for Better Call Saul Season 6 here!