Summary
Better Call Saul Season 5, Episode 9, “Bad Choice Road” continues to prove that this is maybe, maybe, the best TV series of all time.
This recap of Better Call Saul Season 5, Episode 9, “Bad Choice Road” contains spoilers and information of how it ended.
- Read the recap of the previous episode.
- Here is the archive of all season 5 episodes.
Did Saul and Mike finally get home in Better Call Saul Season 5, Episode 9, “Bad Choice Road”?
They certainly did — while Saul continued to traipse around with the money bags, Kim was at home sucking a cigarette with a strained look on her face. The relief on Kim’s face was extremely effective for an audience member as she begins to cry. The only issue is, Mike asks Saul to come up with a story; Saul drops off the cash for Lalo’s bail and he tells Lalo that his car broke down and had no signal; to make it less risky, he did not hitchhike, he walked north. Saul’s face is a picture when Lalo states that he met his wife.
What was Kim’s reaction when Saul finally made it home?
Surprisingly calm. She looked at Saul’s injuries and burnt skin and makes him an anti-inflammatory bath. Saul tells Kim the same story he told Lalo and sternly tells her not to see Lalo again. When Kim checks out the bag with money, she sees his coffee flask with a bullet hole in it.
She knows he is lying.
Kim tells Saul that she knows he is lying; she puts the marriage agreement aside and states she is here for him — “You can tell me, okay? No judgments”. Saul admits something did happen out there — he had to drink his own pee.
How does Lalo find out that Saul’s story does not add up in Better Call Saul Season 5, Episode 9?
Well, Lalo takes Nach to the border as he plans to return to Mexico. But then he takes a detour and sees Saul’s car tipped over with bullet holes sprayed all over it. Lalo is not a stupid man, he knows something isn’t right.
What’s the turning point in “Bad Choice Road?”
Kim has her own twist in Episode 9 — she tells Saul that she has quit the firm and gave up Mesa Verde as a client. Her reasons are valid to be fair; when she thought Saul was dead, she realised what was more important and Mesa Verde did not make her happy — doing pro bono clients makes her happy. Saul thinks it’s a bad idea.
Kim stands up for herself, explaining she stood by her husband when he changed his name to Saul Goodman, but the couple does not have time to argue about it as there is a knock on the door and Kim goes to answer it. Mike rings and asks Saul to put his phone down so he can hear…
Lalo visits their apartment.
What did Lalo want?
Lalo wanted to know what really happened. In one of the tensest scenes in Season 5, Lalo asks Saul to repeat his story over and over again, even mocking him by stating he has paid for the story. Mike is tentatively outside with his sniper rifle, ready to shoot Lalo.
Lalo drops the bombshell, stating he saw the car and Saul looks flabbergasted but then there’s a grandstanding moment with Kim f***ing Wexler.
What’s the Kim f***ing Wexler moment?
In quite possibly the best Kim moment, Better Call Saul Season 5, Episode 9, “Bad Choice Road” sees the character intervening in the conversation and standing up to Lalo. She states that Saul went “above and beyond” for Lalo, and that it’s pretty common for Americans to shoot bullet holes at stranded cars in the desert. And when you think that Kim is done standing up to a drug lord, she steps closer to him, telling Lalo to get his act together and get his house in order — “If you don’t trust your men with your men, you have bigger problems than if you trust Saul Goodman”.
Kim tells Lalo that Saul never lies and that he should try a shell company and wire money rather than berate a man that saved his life.
Lalo leaves the apartment, gets in his car with Naco and says he wants to go to Mexico — “Change of plans.”
The ending of Better Call Saul Season 5, Episode 9, “Bad Choice Road” was a grand moment; extremely tense and you only feel relief once the credits roll and you know Kim is safe.
Kim Wexler continues to surprise us all and we must applaud Rhea Seehorn — she deserves all the plaudits she gets.
Brief notes
- As Kim sorts breakfast, Saul suffers from PTSD. Saul speaks to Mike about it who claims it gets easier after a while.
- Mike briefs Gus about the people who attacked Saul and followed the Salamanca cousins. Gus claims the men were hired — the man who hired is trying to protect his business. Mike tells Gus that Nacho wants out. Gus disagrees.
Article by Daniel Hart
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FAQs
At Howard's funeral, Kim lies to Howard's wife Cheryl about Howard's supposed drug use. Shortly afterwards, Kim surrenders her law license and prepares to leave Albuquerque. When Jimmy arrives home, she tells him that she loves him, but that together they hurt too many people, then leaves.
Why did Better Call Saul end so abruptly? ›
Gould and the writing staff knew by the time the fifth season finale aired two years prior that this was the right ending for the series. They realized that Saul spent his career making a mockery of the justice system, so it was fitting to them that he ended the series as a part of it, only this time as a prisoner.
Why does Kim cry on the bus Better Call Saul? ›
The breakdown on the bus was not solely caused by Kim's confrontation with Howard Hamlin's widow, but rather the culmination of guilt, grief, and the realization that her previous life in Albuquerque was gone, leaving her with a mundane existence in Florida.
Do they mention Breaking Bad in Better Call Saul? ›
During Gene's call to Francesca in Better Call Saul season 6, for example, the fates of Walter White, Jesse Pinkman, Gus Fring, and other Breaking Bad characters are discussed.
Why did Jimmy get 86 years? ›
Even though Jimmy tries to be optimistic in his talk with Kim, the reality is that he received an 86-year sentence for his crimes in Breaking Bad. This was designed to give Jimmy no way out since he fully confessed to everything in Better Call Saul's finale, which means any future deals are off the table.
Is Kim Wexler mentioned in Breaking Bad? ›
Rhea Seehorn's Kim Wexler. Kim becomes as close to Bob Odenkirk's Jimmy McGill as can be during Better Call Saul's latter seasons, but doesn't receive so much as a glancing mention during Breaking Bad - an oddity the spinoff needed to address before the end.
Why did Jimmy confess at the end? ›
However, as explained in Walter White's Better Call Saul finale scene, the ending is about regret. This is why Jimmy also confesses to the court about his involvement in pushing his brother Chuck to the brink of suicide, even though it technically had nothing to do with Jimmy's RICO case.
How did Saul get 7 years? ›
The massacre had led to 10 men being killed within three prisons in under two minutes. In the end, Saul muses out loud; he doesn't need to convince the entire jury. He only needs one juror to believe his story. The deliberation led to his sentence getting reduced to 7 years.
Why does Kim Wexler always wear blue? ›
A potential indicator of Kim Wexler's future is the color blue, which she wears repeatedly throughout Better Call Saul. Though the meaning behind color in Breaking Bad is wide open to interpretation, one possible reading of blue tones is purity and innocence - but always with tragic consequences.
Does Saul really love Kim? ›
's answer and say that Saul doesn't really love Kim, but Jimmy McGill absolutely does. And this is a theme throughout the show.
Despite Kim and Jimmy's unconditional love for each other, Kim left him and Albuquerque after one of their schemes went horribly wrong, causing her to believe that they were bad for everyone around them. She subsequently retired permanently from her law career, and divorced Jimmy later that year.
What becomes of Kim in Better Call Saul? ›
After a few episodes where Kim doesn't appear, she returns, and it is revealed that she is now living in Florida, working for a sprinkler sales company, and in a new monotonous relationship.
Is Nacho ever mentioned in Breaking Bad? ›
Though Nacho never appears in Breaking Bad, Saul mentions him when Walter White and Jesse Pinkman kidnap and hold Saul at gunpoint to coerce him into representing Badger, who has been arrested for selling drugs. Believing Walt and Jesse were sent by Lalo, he says in a panic, "It wasn't me, it was Ignacio!
What does maestro buying the farm mean in Better Call Saul? ›
Instead of it being a grand Saul Goodman redemption plan, however, it seems as though he really just wants to catch up on the latest news with his old employee. Thankfully that gives us plenty of Breaking Bad era tidbits. “So the maestro buying the farm didn't change anything?” Saul asks, referring to Walt's death.
Who does Saul mention in the desert? ›
Act III. After nightfall, Walt and Jesse, donning ski masks, kidnap Saul as he leaves his office and haul him in the RV to a freshly dug shallow grave. While Jesse and Walt have Saul on his knees in the desert, Saul utters "It wasn't me. It was Ignacio!" and asks them if "Lalo" sent them.
Did Saul confess to save Kim? ›
Abandoning his previous lies, Saul confesses to the court about his pivotal role in building Walt's drug empire in Breaking Bad, even stating for the record that he wants to be recognized as James McGill. Jimmy also clarifies his intentions to the judge: to confess in front of Kim and own up to his misdeeds.
Why did Kim quit Schweikart? ›
Way back in Season 2, Kim told Rich Schweikart (Dennis Boutsikaris), her former boss at Schweikart & co*kely, that she grew up in a small town along the border of Kansas and Nebraska, and that she left because she couldn't stomach the idea of who she would become if she stayed.
What happened to Saul at the end of Breaking Bad? ›
However, just a few months after Breaking Bad's conclusion, Saul finds himself drawn into a life of petty crime again when he is recognized by an Albuquerque resident. Saul is eventually apprehended by the police and charged with the crimes he committed while working for Walter.
Why did Kim cry when Jimmy read Chuck's letter? ›
Unlike Jimmy, Kim didn't see between the lines of the letter. She took the words at face value – a heartfelt tribute from brother to brother. She didn't know how badly their last conversation went and didn't register the condescending tone beneath the surface of Chuck's prose.
