Better Call Saul Season 5, Episode 9 recap: Bad Choice Road

Um, Better Call Saul where have you kept this version of Kim this entire time?

Better Call Saul aired its season 5 penultimate episode this week, and it was quite possibly the strongest of the season. Actually, it was the strongest of the season, and we can thank Rhea Seehorn’s phenomenal performance. I didn’t realize she had it in her until this very moment, and I can say it’s when I fell in love with Kim.

Why am I ranting and raving about Kim? Well, to explain this let me backtrack a little bit. You all remember how Jimmy and Mike were trudging through the desert in last week’s episode? Well, when this episode begins, we see them finally make their way out of the desert to a place where they have a cell signal.

The first call is, of course, Kim who is more than relieved to know Jimmy is alive. At this point, she was assuming the worst, and that uncertainty and fear were all over her face when the episode began. Who else loved the side-by-side comparison of Kim and Jimmy at the beginning of the episode? While one was out in the desert dehydrated, the other was hydrating herself.

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Yin-yang as always, right?

Anyway, once Jimmy makes it back to civilization, he gets Lalo out after paying the $7 million bail. Naturally, it’s awkward AF because that’s a whole lot of cash, and it certainly puts them on the radar. Well, Lalo at least.

After Lalo gets out, his plan is to go to Mexico. But along the way, Nacho takes the same route that Jimmy took when he was initially driving, before getting stranded and getting attacked by the Lagunas cartel.

Lalo knows something is off about Jimmy’s story of how he brought back the money, especially given his physical condition. But it was more than that. Jimmy’s story felt too easy for Lalo, and its this paranoia and suspicion that leads Lalo to investigate along the way.

Not only does he find Jimmy’s car in the ditch, but he sees all the bullet holes in the car. You see, Better Call Saul took an interesting turn because Lalo is in the dark about the Lagunas cartel attack. And he has no idea that Nacho is basically a double agent working with both him and Gus Fring. The double whammy in potentially learning about this secret would be that Mike showed up to help Jimmy through the whole ordeal.

Meanwhile, Jimmy is definitely dealing with the repercussions of everything he went through with the cartel and roaming around in the desert with two really heavy bags. His body is definitely feeling the pain, but Kim is there for every moment to help him through it. In fact, she even makes an impulse decision to quit her job, which is definitely taking us in an interesting direction when it comes to Kim. I have a feeling that we will learn that Kim has been in Jimmy’s life this entire time, including the time in Breaking Bad.

And after this episode is the moment she ends up joining efforts with him. Why do I think this? Because this is Better Call Saul we’re talking about, duh!

With a suspicious Lalo on the way and Mike’s tracker to alert him to this, Mike calls Jimmy and tells him to leave his phone on. Obviously, Lalo was on his way to confront Jimmy, and find out the truth of what really happened.

Can I just say Lalo freaks me out? He’s one of the better villains we’ve had in the series, apart from Gus Fring. But there is something about this episode that really makes him more frightening, especially when he asks Jimmy to repeatedly recall the story of picking up the cash.

Meanwhile, Mike is on a rooftop nearby with a gun aimed right at Lalo. Things don’t take a turn until Kim decides to get up and talk Lalo down from all his “accusations”. And again, this is the moment I fell in love with Kim.

Not only did she address Lalo’s concerns about finding the car in the ditch, but she put him in his place about not having anyone but Jimmy to trust in the first place. Burn! Kim saves both her and Jimmy’s life as Lalo leaves their place speechless. Way to go, Kim!

Mike hesitates to shoot Lalo and eventually decides not to do anything. That’s probably a good thing because Nacho was in the car waiting for Lalo and now tasked with taking him to Mexico. There’s been a change of plans, and um, it seems a bit nerve-wracking, folks.

That was one hell of a Better Call Saul episode, and I’m freaking out over what is going to happen in the season 5 finale next week. Are we going to see a completely different Kim from here on out? And is she going to join Jimmy’s cartel shenanigans?

I have a strong feeling that the answer to those questions is a loud, resounding YES!

Did you enjoy the season 5 penultimate episode of Better Call Saul? Tell us below!