Better Call Saul Season 6 Director On Kim’s Massive Decision
Better Call Saul season 6 director and executive producer Michael Morris breaks down Kim Wexler’s monumental decision from episode 9, Fun and Games. Better Call Saul season 6 director and executive producer Michael Morris breaks down Kim Wexler’s monumental decision from episode 9, “Fun and Games.” After an extended hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic and star Bob Odenkirk’s health scare, the beloved Breaking Bad prequel returned to small screens on AMC in April. The first half of the season follows two separate storylines which converge in dramatic fashion during the Better Call Saul midseason finale, when Lalo Salamanca enters Jimmy McGill and Kim Wexler’s apartment and shockingly murders Howard Hamlin.
The recently aired episode 9 picks up soon after the Better Call Saul season 6B premiere, which finally saw Gus kill Lalo in the underground superlab construction site. The morning after, Mike Ehrmantraut and his men clean up after Howard’s death while Jimmy and Kim resume their regular lives as lawyers. The couple later attend a memorial for Howard at HHM, where they continue to push their cover story for his death. Throughout the episode, Kim does not appear to be handling the guilt very well and during its final moments, she surrenders her law license and leaves Jimmy, deciding they are too destructive as a couple.
Julia Clark Downs? Better Call Saul S6, Ep 9 Tribute Explained
The end of Better Call Saul season 6 episode 9 features a touching tribute to Julia Clark Downs. But exactly who was Julia Clark Downs on the show? Better Call Saul season 6, episode 9 included a touching tribute to a mysterious woman, but exactly who is Julia Clark Downs and what is her connection to the show? Although the hit show heavily fictionalizes aspects of the New Mexico criminal underworld, part of what makes Better Call Saul so compelling is its commitment to realism. Such an accurate atmosphere simply wouldn’t be possible without the involvement of real people like Clark Downs.
In many ways, both Better Call Saul and its predecessor, Breaking Bad, tell larger-than-life tales of criminal enterprise and the drugs trade. However, throughout both series – in particular Better Call Saul – is the sense that the fictional characters that appear on screen are not too far removed from reality. In particular, the titular character of Saul Goodman née Jimmy McGill feels like a genuine representation of the kind of unscrupulous legal expert who is required to facilitate the top end of the drugs trade. Creating such a compelling character is no accident. In fact, much of Better Call Saul’s authenticity is owed to the involvement of people like Julia Clark Downs.
But Rhea being Rhea, you always want it to play on Rhea’s face. She’s never ever going to give you a shot where nothing’s happening. Never. It’s not possible. We talked at length about what was happening and the way that we imagine Kim’s psyche to be developing in the course of the episode. There’s ways that we talked that I think are really productive, but there’s no way that I would say to Rhea, “I want to see this on your face in this moment,” because it’s all there.
The kiss in the parking garage was certainly not a good omen for their relationship. The proverbial kiss of death occurs moments after Kim gaslights Howard’s grieving widow, Cheryl, into believing the lie that her late husband was a drug addict and sends her off in tears. This, in all likelihood, is the moment that causes Kim to realize how destructive she and Jimmy are as team, propelling her to make the decision to leave Jimmy moments later. The Better Call Saul creative team was smart to think through the exact moment, and actor Rhea Seehorn certainly played it perfectly. Now that Kim’s climatic choice has caused the proverbial death of Jimmy McGill and ushered in the full birth of Saul Goodman in the Breaking Bad timeline, it isn’t yet clear if audiences have seen their last glimpses of Kim Wexler. There is a slight chance Saul had some interactions with Kim during the events of Breaking Bad, which could be explored during the final four episodes. If not, Gene Takovic could reunite with Kim in her home state of Nebraska during the post-Breaking Bad timeline. The next episode, titled “Nippy,” is sure to be equally dramatic considering that Morris passes the reins off to Michelle MacLaren, known for directing many standout episodes of both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.