The Soundtrack: Dresage and Slow Shiver’s cover of “Perfect Day” (originally by Harry Nilsson, of Russian Doll fame). While the two go about their business like it’s the only thing on their minds, Mike (Jonathan Banks) and his crew dispose of Howard’s body and clean up absolutely all evidence of his murder. The Context: Jimmy ( Bob Odenkirk) and Kim ( Rhea Seehorn) have to have the absolute most standard-issue, nothing-to-see-here, boring-ass regular day so as not to arouse suspicion after Howard ( Patrick Fabian), who was last seen talking to Jimmy and Kim, was killed in their apartment. #8: The Going-About-Your-Day Montage (from Season 6 Episode 9, “Fun and Games”) Without further ado: Better Call Saul‘s Montage Elite, in descending order.

The Sadness Montage (Gene Takavic scams assorted Omaha douchebros, sleeps with hookers, and pines for Kim – Season 6 Episode 11, “Breaking Bad”).

The Housecleaning Montage (Cataloguing and hauling away all Saul Goodman’s many gaudy possessions – Season 6 Episode 1, “Wine and Roses”).

The Acker Scam Montage (Saul Goodman defends Everett Acker’s home from Mesa Verde with increasing ludicrosity – Season 5 Episode 5, “Dedicado a Max”).

The Scholarship Kid Montage (High schoolers interviewing for HHM’s college scholarship getting cut off after their first word – Season 4 Episode 10, “Winner”).

The Security Consultant Montage (Mike doing an unprompted and hilariously thorough inspection of Madrigal’s warehouse – Season 3 Episode 9, “Fall”).

The Mike the Mechanic Montage (Mike disassembling an entire car in search of Gus’ tracking device – Season 3 Episode 1, “Mabel”).

The Career-Ending Montage (Jimmy self-sabotaging his way out of Davis & Main – Season 2 Episode 7, “Inflatable”).

So – pats on the back and participation trophies for the following montages, each one of which I love and had to sacrifice for the greater good:

I would love nothing more than to write a 30,000-word article ranking every single Better Call Saul montage from front to back. Thus, before we get to the definitive List of Better Call Saul‘s Best Montages, period, no discussion necessary, a quick shoutout to the honorable mentions.

Just as every fan has a favorite scam or con from the show, everybody’s got a favorite Better Call Saul montage. The montage’s combination of fun and care also makes for some of the most memorable scenes of the show’s entire run. It makes sense that a show about – among other things – both a con man and the importance of craft would rely so heavily on the montage, which is itself both inherently fun (lining right up with depictions of con artistry) and the ideal visual aid for demonstrating the many steps that go into an entire process. So I’ll skip the preamble and get right to the bold, declarative statement: no television show has ever been as consistently creative or innovative with the montage as Better Call Saul, no show has used the montage as expertly or eagerly, and no show has ever been as willing to up its own game with this particular storytelling tool. I don’t think I can say anything about the basic function of the montage that the Team America song didn’t already cover.

Jimmy sponge stix