Better Call Saul Season 6, Episode 4 "Hit And Run" Review: The High Wire Life

Greg Ehrhardt, OnScreen Blog Columnist

The following episode review assumes you have seen Season 6, episode 4 “Hit and Run”. There will be spoilers.

There are some people who choose the criminal life because they don’t know any better. Some people choose it to protect their families or loved ones (these are the stories we see most often in Hollywood).

And some people choose the life because they love it.

Jimmy McGill and Kim Wexler

We know which camp Jimmy and Kim fall into, and while we knew it before this episode of “Hit and Run” aired, it was richly illuminated in this episode, while also taking note on who can thrive on the consequences, and who may not be able to.

Jimmy dressing as Howard, to a tee, complete with the suntan, is only done if you have Love (with a capital L) for the game. The whole scheme to throw a sex worker out of the car in broad daylight in front of a crowded restaurant where Cliff May is dining was brazen even by Jimmy and Kim standards, to the point that both of them were visibly nervous about it, a rarity for Viktor and Giselle.

(Side note: Jimmy usually gets away with his schemes in Better Call Saul, at least in the initial act, but when he was struggling with moving the “Patients Only” signpost in the parking lot, it was the first time we remember being highly nervous that he was going to get caught. One example of many of the expert job Rhee Seehorn did directing this episode)

As with most high wire acts, the thrill of the nerves is why people do them, which is why the ensuing scene with Jimmy and Kim laughing about it was so important. Jimmy, as we remember, did not want to pull a con on Howard and was pulled into it begrudgingly by Kim. The one thing we know about Jimmy, so far, is he never does a scheme half-heartedly. When he’s in, he’s in, as we saw with the visitor sign.

Jimmy and Kim don’t sweat it out afterwards, wondering how they got away with it, and vowing this is the last time They rejoice, they celebrate, they make love.

But this time, Kim starts to feel paranoid, like the walls are closing in. This is unusual for Kim, as she historically felt quite secure that no one is onto their game (as Jimmy reassured her in this episode). How will Kim deal with this? So far, all indications are she might crack under pressure, with her not holding up well after her first ever meeting with Mike Ehrmantraut (side note, how has it taken this long!!) while Jimmy, as we know, thrives under it, even going back to when he crossed the desert with $7 million of Lalo’s money.

Both are armed with a law degree, which makes them better equipped than most to handle any pressure from law enforcement. Jimmy also received validation for his nefarious choice to help Lalo escape prison time by getting a bevy of new prospective clients lining up for his services (side note, the running gag of the nail salon owner yelling at Jimmy about the cucumber water never fails to make us laugh).

Speaking of Jimmy, we had flashbacks to seasons 1-3 when Jimmy was walking around court like a pariah for helping Lalo skip bail. Why the early seasons specifically? At one point, Jimmy is pleading with DA Peter Diseth trying to understand why he’s being black balled, and at this point, we think he’s being genuine about his dismay. After all, in Jimmy’s world, he figured out a way to beat the system, and he won. Why isn’t he getting applause?

After Peter explains to him why, he gives the dagger of the episode when Jimmy demands he proves any of the allegations:

“There’s proving, and then there’s knowing”

This was reminiscent of how Chuck reminded Jimmy that he knew who the real Jimmy was, even if he couldn’t prove it to anyone else. That was always the dagger that wounded Jimmy the most, from his brother, and even the people who oppose him in the game of life. Jimmy thrives on people trying their best to not get conned. If no one wants to play his game, will he have purpose? As we’ve seen in the flash forwards to his life as Gene Takovic, it’s a very depressing life for him, and the only real future he fears.

(Side note, this is also reminiscent of one of the best themes of Mad Men, that being Don Draper, for all his bravado and smugness, having an emotional hole in his soul that he was dreadfully scared of revealing to a single person, never mind the world).

Kim feels the walls closing around her via law enforcement, and perhaps the Lalo-led cartel. Jimmy feels the walls closing in via being known and shamed for the choices he has made his entire life.

How they react to this in the next 9 episodes will be their true test to see if the high wire act is worth it.