Breaking Down ‘Saul’: “Axe and Grind” (Season 6, Episode 6)

“Hey, kiddo. Relax! Ya got away with it.”

Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) has struggled with her moral compass for seemingly as long as she can remember; in a flashback, we see a young Kim scolded by her mother for attempting to steal jewelry from a store, but as soon as the owner is out of sight, her mother laughs it off. It’s all part of the plan. And even then, it doesn’t seem to sit entirely right with Kim – even if she got away with it. At present, Kim is surprised when Cliff Main (Ed Begley Jr.) approaches her at the courthouse and invites her to interview for a role at the Jackson Mercer Foundation, which is right up Kim’s alley. While she takes in this exciting news, she weighs the fact that this lunch is scheduled the same day as “D-Day” for their Howard plot. Despite this, she continues to plot against Howard (Patrick Fabian) with Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk). They visit their veterinarian friend and learn that he’s thinking of leaving all his shady business behind once he can get a fair price for his little black book full of contacts, a notion that piques Jimmy’s interest. After Jimmy does a test run of their mystery energy drug – hello, dilated pupils! – they continue along their Howard revenge schedule (including enlisting the help of Jimmy’s favorite student film crew).

Howard, meanwhile, is on his own mission to figure out what Jimmy’s up to behind closed doors. He moves through his meticulous morning routine, including making peace sign latte art for his wife (?), a woman who seems to have very little interest in him. The private investigator he hired turns up pretty boring photos of Jimmy with one exception – Saul Goodman himself withdrawing an unusually large sum of cash from the bank. While Howard contemplates what this means, Jimmy continues to weasel his way into HH&M’s dealings, pushing his secretary Francesca to call the firm and get the dial-in code for a big Sandpiper mediation coming up. It’s all falling into place (or so it seems) until D-Day comes and a chance encounter at a liquor store threatens to blow their entire plan.

While things get hectic stateside (and Mike continues to lay low on Gustavo’s orders), Lalo (Tony Dalton) is deep in the German forest, still on his quest to discover what Gustavo (Giancarlo Esposito) has been building. His latest target ditches his wood-chopping job and runs for it when Lalo draws a gun on him, and the two have an ugly throw down that wraps up with that singularly chilling/thrilling/perfect Lalo delivery. (God, Tony Dalton is good). Just another week and we’ll hit the mid-season finale. Let’s take a quick peek at any familiar faces we caught in Better Call Saul Season 6 Episode 6 “Axe and Grind”.

What do we have?

Jimmy and Kim flip through the vet’s coded little black book and catch a glimpse of a “Best Quality Vacuum Service” business card.

Seem familiar?

This card refers to Ed Galbraith’s “Best Quality Vacuum” business, both legitimate and a skilled extraction service, first seen in Breaking Bad Season 5, Episode 15, “Granite State“.

What do we have? 

Jimmy picks out a special bottle of tequila for D-Day celebrations.

Seem familiar?

Yep, that’s old reliable Zafiro Anejo, first seen in Breaking Bad Season 4, Episode 10, “Salud“.

Can you believe the mid-season finale drops next week?! ‘Til then…

Jade Budowski is a freelance writer with a knack for ruining punchlines, hogging the mic at karaoke, and thirst-tweeting. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski.