Attention: SPOILERS for the 10th episode of season 6 “Better call Saul.”
The 6th season of “Better Call Saul”, the 10th episode contains an excellent reference to “Parks and Recreation areas” thanks to the choice of Jim O’Hare for the role of Frank. Titled “Nippy,” it was the first episode set exclusively in the timeline of Gene Takavik’s “Better Call Saul.” Deciding to deal with the Albuquerque taxi driver Jeff, rather than run away again, Gene used his services for a petty robbery at the mall to give the man a taste of the criminal lifestyle. Ultimately, the scam was a double cross designed to blackmail Jeff into keeping quiet about Gene being Walter White’s criminal defense attorney.
In order for the robbery to succeed, Gene has to break into the security office, so he befriends Frank, played by Jim O’Hare from Parks and Recreation. In Parks and Recreation, O’Hare portrayed the long-suffering and intimidating Jerry Gergich. Jerry was gentle and patient in the office and often fell for various practical jokes and scams that his colleagues from the Pawnee Parks Department played on him. It’s this much-loved role that makes O’Hare such an amazing actor, like Frank in “Better Call Saul.”
RELATED: The Cinnabon Mall Scam in Season 6 of “Better Call Saul” is Fully Explained
Over the years, Jerry has suffered many humiliations, including his infamous “fart attack,” but the writers tried to compensate by presenting his perfect and loving family later in “Parks and Recreation.” Jerry was exactly the kind of honest, hardworking man that James McGill could never be, instead he was looking for shortcuts to success that would pave the way for Saul Goodman. However, Jim O’Hare’s casting for the role of Frank in the “Better Call Saul Gene” timeline was even more successful for the show than if he had met Saul Goodman instead.
Why Jim O’Hare’s “Better Call Saul” Role Was So Good
The selection of Jim O’Hare from Parks and Recreation for the role of Frank was successful on two levels. First, and most obviously, Gene’s Sinnabon scam was exactly what a gullible person like Jerry Gergich could fall for. Jerry’s main drawback in “Parks and Recreation” was that he was constantly caught on someone’s practical jokes and took their sometimes cruel taunts on the chin. For a mall security guard, Frank trusted him too much. He was immediately won over by Cinnabon Gin pills and invited him to talk football with him while he ate. Nick, a mall security guard who didn’t like Gene, was a little suspicious, but his doubts were quickly settled thanks to Gene’s bribe and Frank’s friendliness towards Gene. Always optimistic, Jerry and Frank saw no ulterior motives in the seemingly altruistic actions of the Pawnee Parks Department or Cinnabon manager Gene Takavich.
A more subtle reference to “Parks and Recreation Areas” appeared when Gene had to unfold a heartbreaking tearful story to distract Frank from the CCTV monitors. Drawing on everyone he lost in the transition from Jimmy McGill to Saul Goodman, Gene spoke about how he felt lonely, with an uncomfortable Frank. “I have no wife… no children… no friends. If I die tonight, no one will care,” he told an anxious Frank, who was struggling to console the frustrated Omaha Cinnabon manager. When Gene asked Frank if he had ever experienced such a feeling of hopelessness and loneliness, Frank replied: “No, I mean, not me, but…”, but it showed how much James McGill sacrificed for success during “Better Call Saul”.
