"Plan and Execution" is the seventh episode and mid-season finale of the sixth season of Better Call Saul, the spin-off television series of Breaking Bad. It was written and directed by Thomas Schnauz. It aired on May 23, 2022, on AMC and AMC+. In several countries outside the United States and Canada, it premiered on Netflix the following day.
In the episode, Jimmy McGill and Kim Wexler carry out their plan to discredit Howard Hamlin during the Sandpiper settlement hearing. Meanwhile, Lalo Salamanca resurfaces in Albuquerque after discovering the location of Gus Fring's secret meth lab.
"Plan and Execution" was met with critical acclaim for its direction, cinematography, score, and on-screen performances, most notably that of Patrick Fabian as Howard. An estimated 1.19 million viewers saw the episode during its first broadcast on AMC.
Plot
On the day of the Sandpiper settlement mediation, Jimmy McGill, Kim Wexler, and Jimmy's film crew race to reshoot their photos of the actor portraying mediator Rand Casimiro so the real Casimiro's broken arm will be depicted in the fake pictures. They coat the photos with the pupil-dilating drug they procured from Dr. Caldera, then Jimmy gives them to Howard Hamlin's private investigator, who has been working with Jimmy and Kim all along.
At the Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill (HHM) office, shortly before the mediation session starts, Howard views the photos, which appear to show Jimmy giving someone the $20,000 he recently withdrew from the bank. Jimmy and Kim listen in on the conference call for the mediation. Howard is shocked to recognize Casimiro as the man from the photos and accuses him of accepting money from Jimmy. When Howard attempts to retrieve the photos from his office to prove his allegation, he finds they have been switched for innocuous photos of Jimmy. Howard's erratic behavior causes the end of the mediation conference, and HHM and Davis & Main are compelled to settle the case for less than they expected.
Lalo Salamanca spends several days monitoring Gus Fring's laundry facility. He makes a videotape recording telling Don Eladio he has proof of Gus's disloyalty. Surmising that Gus is monitoring Hector Salamanca's calls, Lalo tells Hector he intends to attack Gus that night. Mike Ehrmantraut plays a recording of the call for Gus, then adds additional protection for Gus by redeploying security teams from targets considered low-priority for Lalo. Howard pieces together Jimmy and Kim's con and confronts them at their apartment. Lalo arrives soon afterward. As Kim urges Howard to leave, Lalo kills him with a gunshot to the head.
Production
"Plan and Execution" was written and directed by Thomas Schnauz, a veteran writer on Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad. The episode features the death of Howard Hamlin, played by Patrick Fabian, a series regular since the first season. Fabian had been aware prior to the filming of the sixth season that his character would have an early exit but only received word of his character's death about two weeks before filming the episode, remarking that the writers characterized the moment as "a hinge that swings the rest of the season open". Schnauz said Howard's death was "inevitable" because "it just felt like something horrible had to happen as a result of the scam." Rhea Seehorn, who plays Kim, said Howard's death was "the embodiment of what Kim and Jimmy have been pretending is not true this whole season – that there are no consequences to their actions."