Jesse's appearances in the last two episodes and his and Walt's in Episode 11 aren't just fan service. Their presence helps frame what stage of decay Saul is in at any given moment, and helps ground viewers amid the shifting timelines. Peter Gould thinks that while Walt is seen as the franchise's über black hat, Saul actually did plenty to drag the meth kingpin down. He told "Talking Saul" host Chris Hardwick, "If Walt hadn't walked into that office, the story of 'Breaking Bad' would be, I think, very different."
In 1964, Abraham Kaplan coined what he called the Law of the Instrument, which evolved into an adage stating that if the only tool you have is a hammer, soon everything starts to look like a nail. Even after two identity changes, the only tool in Gene's kit is a screwdriver; as a result everyone around him is constantly getting screwed.
This week it's his pseudo-friend Jeff (Pat Healy) who gets the worst of it. Gene is trapped in an identity theft victim's house by two police officers eating in their patrol car outside, oblivious to the crimes he's committing just a stone's throw away. Our intrepid-but-sloppy thief coaches Jeff to crash his cab as a diversion and — after his inevitable arrest — make his one allowed phone call to fake daddy Gene.
