Better Call Saul played a masterful long game with Francesca and Gene's phone call - here's the small detail that set up their verbal reunion. Flirting with Breaking Bad since 2015, Better Call Saul finally goes all the way in season 6, episode 11. Titled "Breaking Bad" (of course it is), the episode finally brings both shows together. One timeline explores Breaking Bad events from an alternate perspective, another continues the future misadventures of Gene Takavic. Until now, Gene's timeline has barely referenced Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, but Better Call Saul season 6 knocks that wall down when Gene shares a phone call with his former assistant, Tina Parker's Francesca Liddy.
Saul Goodman arranged this phone call to get the lay of the post-Heisenberg land around six months after leaving Albuquerque, hoping to hear how much dirt the DEA knows, how much heat is on him, and what became of their accomplices. Francesca tells him about Skyler White cutting a deal, Jesse's car being found, and Huell escaping from the safe house, while also detailing how every single bank account was uncovered. Better Call Saul's conversation between Gene and Francesca is crucial for Breaking Bad's ending, tying off multiple loose ends while also determining Gene's future, but the scene was cleverly set up four whole years ago in September 2018...
Better Call Saul season 4's "Quite A Ride" episode began on a flashforward set shortly before Saul Goodman's escape from Albuquerque, with Francesca helping her boss shred reams of documents as the DEA closes in. Before they part, Saul rhetorically asks, "Where you gonna be November 12th at 3pm?" Francesca assures him she'll be "there" but will leave if the phone doesn't ring at 3 o'clock sharp. No more is said on the matter, and nothing has been said since. The phone call in Better Call Saul season 6, episode 11 is the payoff. Saul evidently picked a remote public phone in advance, planted some cash nearby, then gave Francesca the details. On the appointed day, they both follow through the plan.
Better Call Saul's Francesca Payoff Is Even Better Than Expected
Better Call Saul season 4's setup for the Gene/Francesca phone call comprises a grand total of three lines spoken in under 10 seconds, and comes amid a frantic barrage of seemingly more important details as Saul Goodman prepares to run away. Though the foreshadowing is undeniably there, nothing about this scene suggested Francesca's phone call would prove critically important to the very fabric of Breaking Bad's universe. Based on Bob Odenkirk and Tina Parker's understated delivery, most would've expected the call to concern something minor like sending extra money or checking Francesca hadn't squealed.
Gene and Francesca's phone call actually represents a seismic franchise shift. The conversation adds a finishing touch to El Camino by revealing the DEA are looking for Jesse Pinkman in entirely the wrong place, and another to Breaking Bad by revealing Anna Gunn's Skyler White went ahead with the plea bargain Walt suggested. A slew of other character fates encompassing both Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad are provided, and these references perfectly cement both timelines together after five seasons of relative silence from Gene Takavic.
Rather than focusing solely on the past, Francesca then sets up Gene's future by revealing Kim Wexler phoned her. This juicy snippet sends Gene down a darker path as he calls Kim, suffers a setback, then embarks on another crime spree. His decision rumbles throughout the entirety of Better Call Saul season 6, episode 11, and will likely impact the two remaining installments even more. It's no overstatement whatsoever to say Francesca's phone call represents the ending of Breaking Bad's era, and the springboard for Better Call Saul's grand finale. Not bad for an almost throwaway line of dialogue...
Better Call Saul continues Monday on AMC.