'Better Call Saul' Season 6 Episode 12 review: Emotional rollercoaster of an episode sets up exciting finale

"Waterworks" is the title of the twelfthepisode of Season 6 and penultimate episode overall of 'Better Call Saul'. I expected the episode, which is the final one of the show to be directed by Vince Gilligan, who originated the 'Breaking Bad' universe, to be emotional since "waterworks" informally means the shedding of tears, but it is instead a splendidly heart-pounding hour of television that sets up what should be an exhilarating finale to the entire saga by ending on a cliffhanger. And that is not a bad thing at all.

Here is your spoiler alert. If you have not seen "Waterworks" and plan to, perhaps this is the time to stop reading. This piece discusses the episode in some detail. So better watch it and then come back.

Also Read:'Better Call Saul' Season 6 Episode 11 review: Kim Wexler's fate revealed & Walter White, Jesse Pinkman return

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The last episode of 'Better Call Saul' gave us the much-awaited return of Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul). While the cameos may not have been crucial to the story of Bob Odenkirk's Saul, it was still nice to revisit them, it was a bit like meeting old friends.

In "Waterworks", we learn where Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) has been all this while. She was in a quiet desk job at a company called Palm Coast Sprinklers in Florida. And, we learn she encountered Jesse outside Saul's office when they both signed their divorce papers. We see her unsettled at the nonchalance with which the Jimmy McGill she knew treats the whole thing. She then gets out for a smoke and meets none other than Pinkman, who is there for his friend Emilio Koyama, who met in the first season of 'Breaking Bad'.

Then we see her receiving a call from Jimmy in the present, who is calling himself Gene now. She told him to turn himself in after his multiple crimes during the events of 'Breaking Bad', which sent him in a fit of rage. Now newly burdened by guilt, she goes back to Albuquerque and confesses her crimes to Cheryl Hamlin, Howard Hamlin's wife. She also reveals she has submitted her affidavit to the district attorney but believes she might not face prosecution due to the absence of any tangible evidence or witnesses. Later, on a bus, she cries with ragged sobs, her conscience finally making her face as to what she and Jimmy did.

In Omaha, Jimmy breaks into a man who is suffering from cancer. He tarries too long and Jeff, who is waiting outside in his car panics after spotting two cops, rams his vehicle into another, and gets captured for not just the damage but also on charges of breaking and entering. He calls Gene, who says he will send Marion.

Also Read:How 'Better Call Saul' became Kim Wexler's story

On a phone call from Gene, Marion realises who Gene really is, and confronts him when he arrives. After threatening her, Jimmy realises he does not have it in him to kill someone (that was Walt) and finally runs.

The episode epitomises the pacing of 'Breaking Bad' and 'Better Call Saul' as a whole. It has both quiet drama and thrill elements and they are both nicely balanced. In an hour, the episode serves as a brilliant tease for the finale and is also a gripping hour of TV in itself. There are reveals, emotional moments, and once again the writing team behind his saga proves that even the most quotidian aspects of life can be made entertaining through great writing, cinematography, and acting.

'Better Call Saul' is streaming in India.