TV Review: Better Call Saul – Season Two – Episode 6

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

This recap/review of Better Call Saul is written with the expectation that everyone who reads this and comments below will have seen the episode already. Thus, if you've yet to see the episode in question, DO NOT GO ANY FURTHER. SPOILERS!

EPISODE: Season 2, Episode 6: Bali Ha'i

PLOT: Kim (Rhea Seehorn) has a potentially career-changing run-in with a rival while Mike (Jonathan Banks) finds himself on Hector Salamanca’s (Mark Margolis) hit list.

REVIEW: One of the most intriguing things about the second season of Better Call Saul is how the supporting cast has really been given the chance to flourish. While Breaking Bad always had a terrific ensemble, the show was always specifically focused on Walter’s journey from chemistry teacher to meth kingpin. While Bob Odenkirk’s Jimmy is still the star here, the last few episodes have really taken the time to give Rhea Seehorn’s Kim a chance to establish herself as a full-on lead in a way Anna Gunn’s Skyler never quite could in BB, given the fact that she purposely had to be kept in the dark for much of the run. Such is not the case with Kim, and it’s clear by the end of this episode that her part in Jimmy’s change into Saul might not be quite as innocent as we thought, with her being far-more than the doe-eyed victim we might have once assumed she was.

As such, Jimmy is absent from most of the episode, save for the teaser, which shows him escaping his condo for the dingy familiarity of his old office and the last act. This is Kim (and Mike’s) episode through-and-through. When we left off last week, it seemed like Chuck would smooth things out for her with Howard (Patrick Fabian) but while she’s out of doc review Howard is still giving her the cold shoulder. His icy walk down the hall before forcing-on a shit eating grin to meet some clients in a bravura moment for the still-sympathetic Fabian, with Seehorn getting a similar moment and she pokes her head out from behind the conference room doors to put her own game face on.

What’s really good is that we see just how brilliant a lawyer Kim is (something we never really did before) and it’s no surprise when her rivals on the Sandpiper case give her a juicy offer to jump ship – which she seems to be on-board with. Clearly she has her price, but who could blame her?

The most telling moment comes when Kim plays hooky from HHM to run a con-game, calling Jimmy in for back-up, with them walking away with a cheque for 10K. While neither of them is looking to cash-it, you can tell Kim is turned-on by making a score, and she essentially lets Jimmy off-the-hook for his conniving, even subtly suggesting that he could quit his firm. As the last thing we see of Jimmy this week is him ripping out his cup holder from the company car, this seems likely.

Meanwhile, Mike finds himself in the middle of a stand-off with Salamanca, but as usual he’s underestimated and easily gets the drop on the hoods sent to rough him up. He even manages to negotiate a rich deal for his cooperation, for enough money that he’s able to square thing with Nacho and walk away with the old man’s respect. One wonders if Mike is going to play a part in Hector’s eventual stroke.

As usual, this is an impeccable episode of BCS and as many other folks are pointing out on Twitter, the surprise isn’t that it’s taking longer than expected for Jimmy to turn-into Saul, but that the story is so compelling we almost don’t care.

Breaking Bad Crossover: A huge one, with Mike catching the infamous twin killers "The Cousins", Leonel and Marco Salamanca (Daniel & Luis Moncada) scoping out the motel Mike has his daughter-in-law and granddaughter stashed at. Breaking Bad fans will remember their epic gunfight with Walter's DEA brother-in-law Hank. Whenever these guys are around you know shit's about to get real.