In the episode, Jimmy McGill and Kim Wexler finish their preparations for "D-Day" in their attempt to ruin Howard Hamlin's career, but the plan hits an unexpected obstacle.

"Axe and Grind" was met with positive reviews for its writing, direction, pacing, cinematography, and on-screen performances, most notably that of Rhea Seehorn as Kim.

[a] In a strained conversation, Howard Hamlin tells his wife Cheryl he is attempting to solve Jimmy McGill's harassment campaign.

Caldera explains his plan to quit as the middleman for Albuquerque's criminals and shows them his encrypted "black book" of underworld contacts.

Clifford Main invites Kim to a Santa Fe luncheon to meet representatives of a foundation that funds programs similar to her pro bono work.

Kim is worried that the meeting is scheduled for "D-Day", the day they execute their plan against Howard, but Jimmy assures her she does not need to be present for it to work.

Jimmy works with his film crew to photograph an actor made up to resemble Sandpiper case mediator Rand Casimiro.

[8] Furthermore, "Axe and Grind" featured John Ennis as Lenny, the actor hired to impersonate retired judge Rand Casimiro.

As an actor, Esposito had not watched every episode of Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul, nor binged any show on television, because he believed it would affect his performances on screen.

He originally wanted to film the parking lot sequence as a crane shot that would lift away from and lower back toward the characters as they talked.

"[6][12] There was a shortened amount of preparation for Lalo's scenes because the crew had to work around the schedule of German actor Stefan Kapičić, who plays Casper.

Since the greenery was not as lush as Esposito wanted, the crew planted extra trees and helped to water the grounds for two weeks before shooting began.

He saw the shot as an echo of the opening scene, in which her mother first publicly confronts and then privately praises her for stealing, "an analogy of part of her whole life".

Club's Kimberly Potts gave it an "A−" and compared Kim's development in the episode to that of Walter White's development throughout Breaking Bad, asking if they were always destined to be immoral characters even before breaking bad: "Perhaps that question, considering the nuance Saul has spun for her, can be applied to Kim, who just wants to do good but is willing to do some not-so-good things to achieve that end.

Rivera also made note of the pacing and said, "If this was any other show, I would guess the audience would start to become weary, but as it stands, this is more about impatience for what's to come rather than any perceived slowness.