Better Call Saul season 6’s latest Breaking Bad cameo makes a hilarious running gag out of a memorable Hank Schrader scene. As Better Call Saul‘s final season creeps closer to the Breaking Bad era, even more classic characters are entering the spinoff. In “Hit & Run,” we get David Ury’s Spooge turning up at Jimmy McGill’s lawyer office, but more integral to the plot is Wendy, once again portrayed by Julia Minesci. A recurring character throughout Breaking Bad‘s earlier seasons, Wendy is a meth addict, a sex worker, and an associate of Jesse Pinkman’s.
Wendy makes her glorious spinoff debut in Better Call Saul season 6, episode 4 (“Hit & Run”), as she’s hired by Jimmy and Kim for the latest phase of their Howard Hamlin scam. Wendy’s task is to get kicked out of Howard’s car (driven by a tanned, wig-wearing Jimmy), make a scene, then rendezvous with Kim who’ll pay her fee and provide a lift back to the motel. The performance goes perfectly – but almost failed before it began. When Jimmy first picks Wendy up, she’s too busy buying a root beer from the vending machine. After Jimmy’s protests (and the promise of an entire crate full of the stuff), Wendy leaves behind her hard-earned quarters to jump in Howard’s Jaguar.
Wendy’s fruitless quest for root beer is much more than just a comedic riff between Bob Odenkirk and Julia Minesci or a narrative device to ramp up tension as the clock on Howard Hamlin’s therapy session ticks down – it’s a genius callback to Breaking Bad season 2. In “Bit By A Dead Bee,” Hank questions Wendy over the movements of Jesse Pinkman, suspecting he was involved in Tuco Salamanca’s murder. Wendy opens her interview with, “Where’s my root beer, c’mon…” and Hank promises her a “root beer and a tinkle” is she tattles on Jesse. Wendy remains true to her word and maintains Jesse’s alibi, and as the interview ends, she repeats her earlier request for root beer, only for a mean-spirited Hank to visit the refrigerator and grab one for himself instead.
Better Call Saul‘s surprising reprisal of Wendy’s root beer obsession turns the original line into a recurring joke. There’s also a running gag in how Breaking Bad characters keep depriving Wendy of her favorite beverage. First (chronologically speaking), Jimmy McGill drags Wendy away from her vending machine before those final quarters are slotted into place. Then four years later during Breaking Bad‘s timeline, Wendy is promised a root beer during her DEA interview, but is foiled once again, this time by Hank.
Wendy’s endless hunt for root beer is an amusing Breaking Bad callback, but there’s a (slightly) deeper meaning behind the gag. In both scenarios, Wendy is being used as a pawn in the wider Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad game, whether that be convincing Cliff Main that Howard Hamlin is a drug addict, or providing Jesse Pinkman with an alibi and refusing to aid Hank’s investigation. Despite her involvement in these crucial events, Wendy shows absolutely no awareness of her importance. Her priority lies squarely on getting her next can of root beer, and that innocent attitude adds a refreshing perspective to the violent squabbles of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Curiously, a question even more important than Kim’s survival emerges… did Jimmy ever buy Wendy that crate of root beer?!
Better Call Saul continues Monday on AMC.