‘Better Call Saul’ Season 6 Episode 10 Recap, ‘Nippy’ — Gene’s Mall Heist
Better Call Saul Season 6 Episode 10 went in a direction few fans could have predicted. The unprecedented episode took place entirely in Gene Takovic’s timeline. Gene makes good on his promise to “fix it myself” after being recognized as Saul Goodman by a cab driver named Jeff. Instead of running, he brings Jeff into the game, executing one of the most complex plans ever seen in the series.
[SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers ahead regarding the Better Call Saul Season 6 Episode 10 “Nippy.”]
Carol Burnett guest stars in ‘Better Call Saul’ Season 6 Episode 10
Gene Takovic returns for the all black-and-white Better Call Saul Season 6 Episode 10. The episode begins with a woman named Marion (Carol Burnett) grocery shopping in a motorized wheelchair. On her way home, Marion’s chair gets stuck in the snow, and who should help her but Gene Takovic. Interestingly, Gene is hanging up signs for a missing dog named Nippy. He tells Marion that Nippy jumped out of his car, then he helps wheel her home.
It turns out that this encounter is all a part of Gene’s plan. Jeff (Pat Healy), the cab driver who recognized Gene as Saul Goodman, is Marion’s son. He arrives home to Gene sitting in his kitchen with Marion, having a drink and charming her. A touch of the old Jimmy McGill is back. In the yard, Gene and Jeff talk. Gene tells Jeff he knows he doesn’t want cash or to blackmail him — he wants in the game. “I will show you the game, and then we’re done,” Gene promises Jeff.
Slippin’ Jimmy returns as Gene orchestrates a complex mall heist
At home, Gene digs out Marco’s old pinkie ring, channeling the old Slippin’ Jimmy. Better Call Saul Season 6 Episode 10 then cuts to an interesting montage. Night after night, Jimmy brings cinnamon roles to the mall security guards. He sits with a guard named Frank (Jim O’Heir) and shoots the breeze about sports. All the while, Gene times how long it takes Frank to eat his cinnamon roll with his back to the cameras.
Later, Gene takes measurements of the inside of the mall. He then creates a kind of obstacle course so Jeff can practice robbing the place. When Jeff expresses hesitation, Gene tells him a little story about a chemistry teacher who he helped gain “a pile of cash as big as a Volkswagon.”
Gene pulls off an elaborate con in ‘Better Call Saul’ Season 6 Episode 10
Jeff’s friend kicks off the heist by delivering a crate filled with “sprayer pumps” to the mall. The distraught manager asks to speak to the mover’s supervisor, who is really Gene, on the phone. Gene again channels Slippin’ Jimmy and convinces the manager to let the crate remain there overnight. He promises someone will pick it up, with flowers, first thing in the morning.
Gene does his usual cinnamon roll routine while Jeff bursts out of the crate and sprints through the mall, robbing the place. He is careful to take only three of each item so that the employees won’t notice anything is missing until it’s too late. Everything is going well until Jeff slips and falls. Gene then distracts Frank from turning around by breaking down in tears. He sobs about how his parents and brother are dead, and he has no wife, hitting way too close to home. Luckily Jeff manages to get back up, hide the stolen merchandise in the crate, and run into the camera-free bathrooms.
‘After all that, a happy ending’
At the end of Better Call Saul Season 6 Episode 10, Gene, Jeff, and his friend survey their loot. Gene warns them that their crime is punishable by quite a long time in prison. He instructs them never to contact him again and not to get greedy. Gene also chats with Marion one last time. He informs her that his dog Nippy has been safely located. “After all that, a happy ending,” Gene muses.
At the mall, Gene pulls a patterned shirt and tie off the rack — something he certainly would have worn in his Saul Goodman era. He looks at the outfit longingly before returning it and walking away.
Watch the final episodes of Better Call Saul airing on AMC Mondays at 9 p.m. ET.
