Wexler v. Goodman

"**Wexler v. Goodman**"
"Wexler v. Goodman"
Better Call Saul episode
	Promotional poster
Episode no.	Season 5; Episode 6
Directed by	Michael Morris
Written by	Thomas Schnauz
Cinematography by	Marshall Adams
Editing by	Skip Macdonald
Original air date	March 23, 2020
Running time	51 minutes
Guest appearances
	Ed Begley, Jr. as Clifford Main; Dennis Boutsikaris as Rich Schweikart; Rex Linn as Kevin Wachtell; Cara Pifko as Paige Novick; Josh Fadem as The Camera Guy; Nigel Gibbs as Tim Roberts; Viola Goto; Jeremiah Bitsui as Victor; Hayley Holmes as The Make-Up Girl; Beth Hoyt as Mrs. Wexler; Katie Beth Hall as Young Kim Wexler; Geri Courtney-Austein as Sally; Laci Mosley as Honeydew; Lela Lee as Lillian Simmons; Jay Johnston as Don Wachtell;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "Dedicado a Max"	Next →; "JMM"
	Better Call Saul season 5
	List of episodes

"Wexler v. Goodman" is the sixth episode of the

streaming service Netflix

in several countries.

In a flashback to Kim Wexler's teenage years in Red Cloud, Nebraska, her mother is late picking her up from school because she has been drinking. Kim refuses to ride home with her and walks away. Kim's mother angrily yells that Kim never listens to her.

Main story

Clifford Main

by falsely claiming he owes them money.

Hector Salamanca.^[b] Mike discreetly feeds police information about Lalo's car and its connection to Fred Whalen's murder^[c]

before using a tip from Nacho to have police converge on Lalo's location and detain him.

Jimmy meets with Kim,

Paige Novick to complete Acker's settlement and stuns everyone by demanding $4 million. When Kevin ridicules him, Jimmy shows his video: rough cuts of commercials seeking plaintiffs for class-action lawsuits against Mesa Verde, which unfavorably depict Kevin's father, Don Wachtell. Kim's insight from Sobchak's photos of Kevin's house^[a]

is that Mesa Verde's logo is based on a photograph the bank did not obtain permission to use. Jimmy uses the threat of lawsuits and an injunction against displaying the logo to persuade Kevin to accept a settlement that includes cash for Acker and the photographer.

When Kim comes home, Jimmy is apprehensive but says Kim and he should celebrate. Kim vents her anger at Jimmy for making her the "sucker" in his con. She says they either need to end their relationship or get married.

Production

The name of the Native American photographer referenced in the episode, Olivia Bitsui, is a reference to the daughter of actor

Victor.^[1] When Kim arrives home, Jimmy is playing the guitar riff from the Deep Purple song "Smoke on the Water."^[1] This is the same song Jimmy's con artist partner Marco was humming when he died, and the same one Jimmy was humming when he left the courthouse parking lot after initially turning down the job offer with Davis & Main.^[d] The guitar he plays is the white Fender Stratocaster he acquired from the music store owners when he staged a slip and fall accident after they refused to pay for the commercial he produced for them, another occasion when he played "Smoke on the Water."^[e]^[2]

Reception

"Wexler v. Goodman" was acclaimed by critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it received a perfect 100% approval from 13 reviews with an average 9/10 review rating, with a summary "Like a cookie full of arsenic, 'Wexler V. Goodman' delivers the fun and the toxic, enthralling viewers with Jimmy's plan before delivering a series of gut punches they aren't soon to forget."^[3]

Ratings

"Wexler v. Goodman" was watched by 1.40 million viewers on its first broadcast,^[4] which was a slight decrease from the previous week of 1.45 million.^[5]

Notes

^ ^a ^b As depicted in "Dedicado a Max"
^ As depicted in "Expenses"
^ As depicted in "Winner"
^ from "Marco"
^ from "Slip"

References

^ ^a ^b Sepinwall, Alan (March 23, 2020). "'Better Call Saul' Recap: Girl, Interrupted". Rolling Stone. New York, NY.
^ Mangione, Nick (June 6, 2017). "Slippin' Jimmy Returns on Better Call Saul". Geek.com. Ziff Davis, LLC. Archived from the original on March 24, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
^ "Wexler v. Goodman". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
^ Metcalf, Mitch (March 24, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.23.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on March 24, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
^ Metcalf, Mitch (March 17, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.16.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2020.

External links

"Wexler v. Goodman" at AMC
"Wexler v. Goodman" at
IMDb

[Dedicado-1] As depicted in "Dedicado a Max"

[2] As depicted in "Expenses"

[3] As depicted in "Winner"

[5] rom "Marco"

[6] rom "Slip"

[Sepinwall-4] Sepinwall, Alan (March 23, 2020). "'Better Call Saul' Recap: Girl, Interrupted". Rolling Stone. New York, NY.

[7] Mangione, Nick (June 6, 2017). "Slippin' Jimmy Returns on Better Call Saul". Geek.com. Ziff Davis, LLC. Archived from the original on March 24, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2020.

[8] "Wexler v. Goodman". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 24, 2020.

[9] Metcalf, Mitch (March 24, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.23.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on March 24, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2020.

[10] Metcalf, Mitch (March 17, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.16.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2020.

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