Winner (Better Call Saul)
"Winner" is the tenth and final episode of the fourth season of the AMC television series Better Call Saul, a spinoff Breaking Bad. The episode aired on October 8, 2018, on AMC in the United States. Outside of the United States, the episode premiered on Netflix.
In the episode, Jimmy McGill attempts to convince an appeals panel of the New Mexico Bar Association that he should be reinstated as a lawyer, after the original panel rejected him for being "insincere". After Werner Ziegler escapes from the secret, high-security construction project he is working on for Gus Fring, Gus' fixer Mike attempts to find him and bring him back. At the same time, Lalo Salamanca is pursuing Werner so that he can figure out what Gus is up to.
Plot
Opening
In 1998, HHM's staff visits a karaoke club to celebrate Jimmy McGill attaining admission to the New Mexico bar. Chuck and Jimmy return to Jimmy's apartment where they fall asleep in Jimmy's bed as they sing "The Winner Takes It All" by ABBA, the song they sang together at the bar.Main story
In 2004, Mike Ehrmantraut tracks Werner Ziegler to a money wire agency and convinces the clerk, Fred Whalen, to let him view security camera footage. Based on Werner's actions in the agency's lobby, Mike guesses Werner is going to meet his wife at a hot spring resort and begins calling hotels. He notices Lalo Salamanca's car following him and evades it.Kim Wexler and Jimmy stage several events where Jimmy feigns remorse over Chuck's death to influence the appeals panel considering Jimmy's reinstatement.
Lalo goes to the money wire agency, kills Fred, reviews the security footage, then calls hotels until he locates Werner. Pretending to work for Gus Fring, he extracts some details of Werner's work before Mike arrives at the hotel to end the call.
Jimmy sits on a panel reviewing candidates for scholarships in Chuck's name. Jimmy tries unsuccessfully to persuade Howard Hamlin and the other members to award a scholarship to Kristy, whose background includes a shoplifting charge. Afterward, he encourages her not to stick to the upright path she is attempting to follow, but to do whatever is necessary to succeed because "the winner takes it all".
Gus decides Werner must die and offers to send men, but Mike accepts responsibility. He has Werner call his wife and convince her to return home, promises to make Werner's death look accidental, and guarantees the safety of Werner's crew. He shoots Werner, then reports to Gus as Gus and Gale Boetticher inspect the unfinished meth lab, which is being created according to Gale's design.
At his appeal, Jimmy gives an impromptu speech promising to be "worthy of the name McGill", and wins reinstatement. He then stuns Kim by revealing his performance was insincere and states his intention not to practice under the name McGill. Kim asks why and as Jimmy leaves with a clerk to procure a doing business as form, he exclaims "S'all good man!".
Production
"Winner" was written by Peter Gould and Thomas Schnauz. It was directed by Adam Bernstein, who also directed the episodes "Five-O", "Gloves Off", and "Slip".This episode includes guest appearances from Michael McKean as Chuck McGill and Brandon K. Hampton as Ernesto, both of whom appear in the flashback. The directors had written the cold open with the desire to utilize McKean's background as a singer. In Episode 1 of Season 1, Jimmy displays post-meeting frustration with Howard by kicking a trash can located inside the doorway between the HHM office building and parking garage. In "Winner", Jimmy passes the dented trash can, which is still visible inside the doorway.