Saul Gone
Better Call Saul has come to an end. It is not just a companion piece to Breaking Bad in form and spirit; it is a moral, ethical, and regal extension. Their shared universe is populated by serious-minded, everyday people with slightly extraordinary problems. The human connection remains the most compelling factor in each’s storytelling. That and a sense of uncompromising belief that every moment in their lives worked as a function of their choices and led them to another moment. ..
The season 6 finale is a return to form for Breaking Bad, but it’s also more sincere and honest and ambiguous than the previous season.
Bagman – Better Call Saul
In the Season 5 episode “Bagman,” Mike and Jimmy narrowly escape death after being trapped in a desert well. In this never-before-seen footage from that episode, Mike proposes they take $6 million and build a time machine to change their lives. Mike suddenly seems interested in the idea, and what would he change if he had the chance. ..
Mike responds with an answer – December 1, 2008 – but quickly changes his answer. March 17, 1984, is when he would go back to that day and be able to stop himself from taking his first ever bribe. And then, some years from that day to check in on his family. When it is Jimmy’s turn, his first bite at the cherry is one wish that millions of us wish for every day. Investing the remaining amount of money into Berkshire Hathaway on the day Warren Buffet took over the reins. Common stocks of the company have increased in value by more than a 1000%. He would have been a billionaire in the present. ..
In the finale, Jimmy and Mike are discussing their plans for the future. However, Jimmy is not honest with Mike and instead keeps hiding his true feelings. Mike is not one to probe and will ask you once, which means Jimmy can keep talking without feeling uncomfortable. However, we will see more of this in the episode as Jimmy has a lot of regrets and choices to make.
Gene is on the run after being accused of a crime. Marion, who is at home, sees that his car has been spotted and reads the information off of it. Gene goes to his house and escapes out the back when he sees officers arrive. The chase ultimately leads him to a dumpster, where he tries to do something with his belongings that is not clear. My best guess is that he wants to call Ed Galbraith, the Disappearer. To the best of my memory, Gene ran a vacuum cleaning store and had taken out a similar business card. His movements as he shuffles around attract the attention of officers and he is caught. Gene is arrested. ..
The officers watch a video of Gene as Saul while he waits for his phone call. They are respectful and professional in their watching, but Gene’s call to work is met with disbelief. He apologizes for not coming in and asks Kritsa to call the management: they would need a new manager. Saul cannot believe this is the end of his “heroic” tales and war stories.
He hits the metal door in frustration and is wincing in pain as he spots a message on the wall. “My lawyer will ream your ass.” Something clicks and he demands another phone call. He calls Bill Oakley, his old nemesis from the courthouse from the DA’s side. This is where we say goodbye to Gene and Saul emerges from within. ..
Saul is brought in front of a panel of government lawyers. He walks past Marie Schrader, who makes a surprise guest appearance on the show. The panel vehemently delivers a resounding sentence to Saul: there is no way he is seeing daylight again in his life.
The scheming conman has the one-upmanship spirit still stirring him forward. He asks for Marie to be called in. She does and says her piece. The unimaginable loss to Hank, Gomez and countless others is unforgivable. She does not hold back in her scything ridicule of Saul. It is now his chance to respond. In the most compassionate of tones, he begins weaving his preferential truth. He worked under duress and the threat of Heisenberg. He didn’t relish doing what he did; he himself was a victim. ..
Saul’s case against the AUSA is a sad story. He lost everything, including his profession and freedom, when the AUSA won’t let him win a case on the grounds that he doesn’t have a good story. Saul says he doesn’t need the jury to buy his sob story; he only needs one of them. If there is no unanimous decision, Saul will lose the case and be blotting his impeccable record.
The man is taken aback by Saul’s crafty and morally corrupt legal genius. He actually convinces the AUSA to come to the negotiation room to explore “the wiggle room”. From a hundred and ninety years (his original sentence) to seven and a half years; Saul is back. He starts getting cocky and even asks to be relocated to an amicable prison in North Carolina. He cannot take the place he is in for granted and be sent to a place like ADX Montrose. The AUSA reluctantly agrees but signals they’re done. Saul has one more trick up his sleeve and offers to give them one more unsolved mystery: that of Howard Hamlin. The panel laughs it off and reveals to him Kim’s confession. Saul is shocked beyond words. ..
Granite State – Breaking Bad
Episode 15 of Breaking Bad is where we end up next. Walter and Saul bunk together to be rerouted into new lives by Ed the Disappearer. Walt tries to work his science brain into ridding the room of the clicking sound from the basin. As he does, Saul asks him a question: the same one that he asked Mike. Walt laughs off the idea of a time machine, saying it is not even theoretically possible. Saul rebrands it as a “thinking experiment” and Walt bites. “Just ask about regrets!” is what Walt screams before sitting down to think about one. Walt explains about Gray Matter, the billion-dollar company that he was maneuverer out of.
When Saul says he should have told him about this before, Walt has the ultimate insult up his sleeve. “You’re the last lawyer I would have gone to.” I wonder what Chuck would think about that and how he could hide his chuckles. Walter asks the same question to Saul. Before trying to wriggle away from an answer, he finally blurts out something even more trivial from his life: a slip and fall when he was 22 outside of Marshall’s Field. Walt is in disbelief. “So you were always like this..” is another damning insult from Walt to Saul. He still cannot open up and really let the truth out. Whom is he waiting for? ..
Back on track – up in the air
Saul is being transferred, just like he is asked, to North Carolina. He is on an airplane escorted by a Marshall. Bill is on the flight too. Saul asks Bill to stop on his way to the bathroom. He again convinces the Marshall of talking to Bill in the hopes of him catching some incriminating testimony from Saul that he could report to the DA. What a genius!
Bill reveals that he and Kim took a notarized statement to Cheryl, who is now lawyer-shopping to take her to a civil suit. She can take everything Kim has got. Saul is concerned and on Bill’s way back, he divulges that he has more information he’d like to barter with the government, even if that meant Kim falling deeper into the marshes. This is new. Will Saul really do that? Probably not. Another scheme is in play.
Kim leaves work early that day to go to a Free Legal Aid clinic nearby. She volunteers there that night and is notified by the DA from Albuquerque, Suzanne Ericsen, of Saul’s arrest. She can put Kim into deeper trouble if she stays silent about what she knows. ..
“Saul Gone” Ending Explained: Why does Saul give himself up?
Saul walks into the courtroom, and notices Kim sitting in the back. He keeps looking at her, nervously tapping his feet. The presiding judge mostly agrees with the sentencing recommendations by the government is what Bill tells Saul. The AUSA is called to explain its rationale. Saul interrupts him in between and asks to speak. The judge warns him it could imperil his plea deal but Saul goes ahead anyway. He has nothing to lose and everything to gain by speaking. But how? Just bear with me. Saul begins by saying that he understands why the government would recommend a sentence of imprisonment for him, but he wants to offer a different perspective on why he did what he did. He says that he was motivated by revenge against those who had hurt him and those close to him, as well as a desire for power and control over his own life and destiny. He says that while his actions were wrong, they were not criminal in nature, and therefore should not result in a prison sentence. The judge seems skeptical of Saul’s explanation, but decides to give him a chance to present his case further before making a decision on sentencing. ..
The judge allows Saul Goodman to be on the stand. Saul begins the same sob story from before in the episode but pauses in between. He pauses at the point in the story when Jesse and Walter unbound him and he actually senses an opportunity. He had struck gold, career and money-wise. And that is what we hear. He says the truth. Every single word he says under oath is true. Slippin’ Jimmy is back and Saul Goodman, as we knew, takes a rest. He is still there but Jimmy has taken over. His testimony surprises everyone. The government begs the judge for him to keep going; Bill, the opposite
Jimmy also confesses that Kim has no part in the wrongdoing and he lied to the government because he wanted her present. Now, do you understand? He has “everything” to gain. Winning back Kim is everything to Jimmy; maybe not Saul. Jimmy is relentless in establishing that he was pivotal in keeping Walt’s operation going and keeping him out of jail. He accepts all wrongdoing. “After Howard, Kim had the guts to start over. I’m the one who ran away”. The day that Jimmy died and Saul was born. Redemption is nigh. Kim is more accepting and amicable and low-key proud of Jimmy as he goes on. And then he comes to Chuck. Yes, Charles McGill, his illustrious brother who thought nothing of him.
In this season’s episode, “Chuck vs. Jimmy”, Kimmy makes a powerful statement about what she believes should have been done with her brother Chuck. She reminds Jimmy that he should have done more to help Charles, and Jimmy bares his heart out in response. This confession shows the crowd that Kim is the most compassionate person in the family, and it is fitting that we see a montage of the brothers together doing brotherly things for each other without hate or an agenda. This confession endears the crowd to Kim -0 the most. In his most trying circumstance, Jimmy comes clean and shows courage and bravery. He stands up to his regrets and lets it all out. He does what few men would even think about doing. It is like he is confessing to God himself, with the sanctum of judicial authority and the court of law playing Him.
After the long and arduous trial, Bill is done. The AUSA is arguing with the judge to strike off testimony, but Jimmy doesn’t care. He’s found Kim again and their eyes lock. Their faces light up with an accepting grin and an approving nod as they finally find closure. ..
After the montage of Charles’ arrest and transport to ADX, we see Jimmy being transported in a bus to a hellhole known as ADX. The government has won the case and dumped him into this place where he never wanted to go. Something even more spectacular awaits us. A prisoner on board recognizes him as Saul, and the prisoners sing his name in appreciation and chant “Better Call Saul!” This is a final hurrah for Jimmy as Saul. He is somewhat proud of what he did. ..
Jimmy is back in the kitchen, baking buns with his old friend, the cellmate Kim Wexler. Kim has come to visit him and explain that her New Mexico bar card hasn’t expired yet. They share a cigarette and laugh like old times at the HHM offices. Kim praises Jimmy for his manoeuvring and getting down the jail time to seven years. Now he has eighty-six years.
Jimmy stands in the courtyard; Kim is on the other side of the fence. They are separated by the contours of law. They look at each other with a glint in their eyes. Jimmy shoots fake finger guns at her. Kim lets out a chuckle. The door to the outside world opens and Kim exits. She takes one more peek at Jimmy. He is still standing there, looking at her. The scene cuts to black and the credits roll ..
The yellow butt of the cigarette is a beautiful sight, just seeing them be themselves again. The place, circumstances, and everything else takes a back seat. Kim and Jimmy, who fell in love, might just start falling back again. At least that is how I would like to see it.
The Episode Review
The finale of “All good things must come to an end; but why?” is a great way to end a show. It is a story of its own and it drifts further away from the characters. The show’s popularity outgrew its bounds and it emerged as a truly masterful cinematic think piece without a peer. The finale is a great way to end the show.
It is an improvement upon Breaking Bad. I really appreciate the cast and Gilligan and Gould. There will be a season review that will talk more deeply about the entire season as a whole. I hope you will forgive me for not saying any more. Goodbye, Better Call Saul.
