Better Call Saul: Read SPOILER's Shocking Death on Script Page
Warning: this story contains spoilers for the "Plan and Execution" episode of Better Call Saul Season 6. "The single most horrific moment they've ever witnessed in their lives. And maybe the last thing they ever see." So reads the final pages of writer-director Thomas Schnauz's script for "Plan and Execution," the midseason finale of Better Call Saul's final season. Released online in full as part of Deadline's It Starts on the Page, the script details the shocking murder of Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian) — the HHM lawyer brazenly gunned down by Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton) in front of horrified witnesses Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) and Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk).
AMC has submitted the acclaimed midseason finale — currently ranked as the best-rated episode ever of Better Call Saul by IMDb voters — for Emmy Awards consideration. Below is an excerpt from the "Plan and Execution" script, which you can read in full here.
HAMLIN
Who are you?Lalo puts his hands in his coat pockets. Shrugs.
LALO
Me? Nobody. Just need to talk to my lawyers.HAMLIN
That right. Well, you want my advice? Find better lawyers--KIM (shaking)
Howard! Please, go. Just... please, please--LALO (friendly)
No, no, no, no, no. Take your time.Howard looks back and forth between Lalo and the stunned couple, his Spidey-senses now rising.
HAMLIN
What's this about?Lalo takes his hands out of his pockets. He looks down at a GUN in one hand, and a SILENCER in the other. As cool as ice, like he's taking out a pack of cigarettes. Jimmy remains paralyzed, while Kim holds back tears.
KIM (to Lalo)
Please. What do you want?Lalo blows air through the silencer, making sure it's clear, and then screws it easily on to the barrel of the weapon.
LALO
Like I said. To talk.Hamlin does his best to remain calm.
HAMLIN
I, um, I... don't know what I'm in the middle of here, but... there's really no need for--Lalo raises the gun at Howard's head. FTHHHT! Blood SPRAYS from Howard's temple as he drops lifelessly to the floor.
We don't focus on the gory details of Howard's death, but in Jimmy and Kim's eyes we know it's more gruesome than we can imagine.
The single most horrific moment they've ever witnessed in their lives. And maybe the last thing they ever see.
JIMMY
No!KIM
Oh God!Jimmy and Kim both want to SCREAM, but Lalo points the gun at them as he raises a finger to his lips.
LALO
Sh-sh-sh-sh-shhhhhh...Jimmy and Kim hold each other, crying, shaking and numb, trying their best to do as Lalo commands.
When Lalo finally decides it's quiet enough for him, he nods.
LALO
Okay. Let's talk.Off of Jimmy and Kim, with Howard Hamlin dead on the carpet between them and a ruthless killer, we... END EPISODE.
"[The producers] were like, 'You have a demise.' So, I was in the dark as to exactly what it was and how it worked, which is always good," Fabian told the AMC Blog about Howard's death after six seasons. "The whole show has worked for me script to script, week to week, not really knowing in advance. So it didn't change anything the way I played going up into it, but there was certainly an existential dread of like, 'Oh, the party's over for Howard. The party's over for Patrick as an actor on BCS.'"
Fabian continued, "And so that has its own sense of ennui. You know, it's senior year of high school and it's after spring break and you're like, 'Oh no, where are you going to college? We're never going to see each other again.'"
Better Call Saul returns with its final six episodes July 11 on AMC. Watch the teaser trailer.