‘Better Call Saul’: 6 Things You Need to Remember for Season 6

It’s been two years since the Season 5 finale of “Better Call Saul,” leaving fans wondering what’s in store for the beloved crooked lawyer.

As Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) opens shop as Saul Goodman, Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) hints at her own breaking bad moment, with Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian) in her crosshairs. Meanwhile, Nacho Varga (Michael Mando) is on the run after playing a part in Gus Fring’s (Giancarlo Esposito) assassination attempt on Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton). Little do they know, Lalo lives to see another day after picking off Gus’ hitmen one by one in Terminator-like fashion. Meanwhile, a war is brewing between Gus and the Salamancas, with the fates of Kim and Nacho — both absent from the future events of “Breaking Bad” — looming ahead.

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Here are the major developments from Season 5 that you need to know before the final season premieres.

Jimmy Becomes Saul

After getting his law license reinstated, Jimmy fully embraces his Saul Goodman persona and rakes in criminal clientele thanks to his prepaid phone scheme and some 50%-off business cards. However, things ramp up quickly after Lalo makes him his go-to lawyer. After briefly running into “Breaking Bad” favorites Hank Schrader (Dean Norris) and Steven Gomez (Steven Michael Quezada) during a case, Jimmy later becomes Lalo’s bagman and must transport $7 million in cash to bail him from jail. It should be an easy job, right? But it never is. Jimmy gets ambushed, shot at, saved by Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks), stranded in the desert and forced to drink his own pee — all in one episode. Luckily, Jimmy and Mike make it back to civilization, and Jimmy and Kim are able to convince Lalo that everything is fine, despite Jimmy’s dehydrated desert adventure. At this point, Jimmy is fully in the game, and he may have dragged Kim further in with him.

Kim Plots Against Howard

After leaving her job at the glitzy law firm Schweikart and Cokely to focus on pro-bono clients, Kim runs into her former boss Howard Hamlin, who tells her Jimmy is harassing him and accuses Jimmy of manipulating her into quitting her high-profile role at S&C. At dinner, Kim and Jimmy joke about plotting to derail Howard’s reputation… but later it gets serious. If they sabotage Howard’s career, Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill will be forced to settle the Sandpiper class action suit, which Jimmy started in Season 1 and handed off for a referral fee. Once that case settles or reaches a verdict, Jimmy will receive about $2 million. Jimmy — who is typically not one to shy away from a revenge plot — is reluctant to ruin a man’s life, but Kim, on the other hand, seems ready to go, with her finger guns blazing.

Lalo Lives

In Season 5, Nacho is caught in the middle of the escalating war between Gus and the cartel, run largely by the Salamanca family. When Lalo arrives in Albuquerque to help with the family drug business, he recruits Nacho to undermine Gus’ operation, which includes burning down one of Gus’ Los Pollos Hermanos restaurants and anonymously snitching on “The Chicken Man” to the DEA. Meanwhile, Gus coerces Nacho to do his bidding under the threat of killing his father, forcing him to act as a double agent. With Nacho warning him of Lalo’s actions, Gus plays along and plots Lalo’s assassination in Mexico, which requires Nacho’s cooperation. At night, Nacho ushers Gus’ hitmen inside Lalo’s compound and makes his own escape. However, Lalo defeats the assassins — ordering the last one to tell Gus the hit was successful — and appears to realize Nacho’s involvement in the mission. In Season 6, we’ll likely see Nacho attempting to outrun Lalo and his own fate (since he’s not in “Breaking Bad”), plus Lalo may want a word from Jimmy after he lied about surviving in the desert by himself.

Mike Is Still a Badass

If you thought at 75 years old that Jonathan Banks would be anything less than the sharpest shooter in New Mexico, guess again. In Season 5’s standout episode “Bagman,” Mike easily picks off nearly every member of a mercenary squad hired to ambush Jimmy in the desert as he transports $7 million in cash. One gunman gets away and scours the desert in search of Jimmy and Mike, but Mike lines up a shot and snipes the man through his car window, as his truck rolls like a tumbleweed down the dirt road.

What Happens to Gene?

How much of post-“Breaking Bad” will we see in Season 6? The most recent flash-forward saw Saul, aka Jimmy aka Cinnabon employee Gene Takovic, get recognized at the mall where he now works. The suspicious cab driver from the Season 4 opener, who had an Albuquerque air freshener, finds Saul in Season 5 and makes him say his Saul Goodman catchphrase. Clearly unnerved, Saul calls Ed “the disappearer” (Robert Forster) and requests to be picked up and dropped off in another state to live life under a new identity. However, Saul changes his mind at the last minute and vows to “fix it myself.” What kind of plan is Saul cooking up? How much longer will he survive on the run? And how will Cinnabon replace its elder employee? Hopefully Season 6 gives us more answers and Saul is able to find peace.

Walt and Jesse Will Appear

Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) will guest star in Season 6, co-creator Peter Gould confirmed at PaleyFest LA in early April, but “how or the circumstances or anything, you’ll just have to discover that for yourself.” As “Better Call Saul” inches closer to the events of “Breaking Bad,” Gould also told Variety at the Season 6 premiere, “If it’s ever going to happen, this is when these two shows start crossing over.” Since we’ve seen Walt and Jesse’s fates in the “Breaking Bad” finale and “El Camino,” their appearances will almost surely be in flashback form. Could we see Walt back as a high-school chemistry teacher and Jesse snoozing in his class? Or perhaps they’ll come across a flyer for Saul’s firm, completely unaware that their lives will soon become intertwined and they’ll all become short-lived business partners.

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