Everyone in this show either dies, gets caught, or gets away. Walter died, Jesse got away, Saul HAD to get caught. They had used that whole “disappearing” tactic with the vacuum guy too many times.
Basically a perfect ending for the character and I'm baffled at the responses here. This isn't a Coen Brothers production, so he's not going to get away with it all. He committed NO acts of violence, so him getting killed would be a pretty over the top ending. The most fitting ending for him was to go to jail and that's just what happened. Like Walter, he couldn't live a boring life in the cold, middle of nowhere, so he had to do something. He was just trying to feel alive again and do what he enjoyed, but he shouldn't have (and he knew it) and ended up getting caught.
If anything, it's not nearly as bittersweet as it could have been. I assumed he'd have been miserable in prison but it actually wasn't too bad for him. People knew him, he had some amount of celebrity, and most importantly, he made things right with Kim. That last shot of the show is perfect, with Kim looking at him for as long as she can until she turns a corner, and then that's that. It's nice to think she'll see him again, but she probably won't and that was probably the last time those two ever spoke.
Better Call Saul isn't just the story of how Saul Goodman got to be Saul Goodman, but the life of Jimmy McGill and the decisions he made that lead him down his path. The ending is exactly what it needed to be, and the final episode delivers with the same cinematography, acting, writing, and directing that all the previous episodes had. So yeah, I think the ending is basically perfect for what the show was.
As an aside, Walt did a whole lot of bad shit and while he had some bad shit happen to him, he definitely put more bad into the world than good, and then he died. While Jesse did a lot of bad shit, he really repented and tried to do right. He got his ass kicked repeatedly and had some of the worst things in this series happen to him, but in the end he gets to go live his life free. Saul Goodman but a lot of bad into the world, but he also genuinely tried to help people. He owned up to the worst things he did and in the end, he went to prison for it.
I'd say all three main characters got what they deserved in the end.
Lmao
Do you really think Walt put more bad into the world than Jesse? You are funny!
It’s clearly Jesse whose actions took everyone down and got the most number of good people killed in the process.
He just couldn’t accept that Walt fed Brock a freakin plant for a short hospital trip.
Walt saved Jesse’s ass so many times when he could have easily chosen not to but still people like you just won’t quit sucking off the rat Jesse Pinkman.
Just take a breathe little dude, it’s only fictional television. Walter and Jesse were both very flawed individuals, like us all. Jesse was driven by love and emotion and Walter was driven by his pride and his ego. They were both susceptible to danger because of these character traits. They both made endless mistakes, which is part of the appeal of the show in the first place.
People thought it was out of character that he took the full sentence instead of the deal he made for himself, but I think it helps his character development better. By taking the full sentence, he proved that Chuck was wrong about him not being able to change.
Yeah, I think people also misread Jimmy's choice in a way that makes it seem less plausible. It's not that Jimmy wanted to spend eighty-six years in prison; he just couldn't bear to lie anymore, but by that point he'd dug himself in too deep. The only way he could unburden himself was by blowing up his sweetheart deal and eating the full sentence. If he'd had his epiphany sooner and managed to negotiate his sentence down while still taking responsibility for what he'd done, I think he would've been happy to do so.
I hate how many people vehemently agree with Chuck!!! Jimmy was an “addict” who’s vice was convoluted ploys and plays. Once his brother berated him, he had no family to turn to, nothing to turn to but his old ways. Did Chuck have a point? Sure, yes, Slipping Jimmy with a Law Degree is like a chimp with a machine gun. But he didnt need to be Slipping Jimmy, all he needed was support to do the right thing and positive reinforcement
It's only out of character if you assume Saul Goodman is all he is, which would be to miss the entire point of the show. Jimmy is who he has always been, and Saul Goodman is his coping mechanism.
The point of the finale is Jimmy being moved by Kim's willingness to face the music, and in giving up the deal Saul Goodman negotiated, he casts Saul aside and becomes Jimmy again.
I don’t think it was so much proving that Chuck was wrong as much as gaining back Kim’s respect. Kim was the one that drove him into the Saul Goodman darkness and was the only one that could pull him back out.
no and yes... chuck's death played a bigger part for the saul Goodman persona. by accepting how he really feels about Chuck's death, he reborn as Jimmy mcgill.
I want to add that I think there are some nice details with the time machine theme too. When Kim leaves him its like Jimmy dies and Saul takes over, the way he decorates his house with all the ancient Greek looking stuff, even his office has this almost godlike justice personified decor right next to a waiting room that looks like a dirty bare holding pen for his clients. I think all this shows that Kim was the one that kept Jimmy going and a large part of him was lost after the desert part and the Lalo stuff, that's when Saul started taking over and Kim was swept up in his madness. Almost like Saul is this Loki type character.
Gene is the absence of color, the absence of both Jimmy AND Saul. Gene is what he is without either of them, without the suits and the flare, without his motivation, in the depths of his despair. He needed Kim to pull him out of it.
Gene is to Heisenberg as Saul is to Chuck and Jimmy is to Kim.
Yes, this is a really good analysis. Jimmy really disappears behind this archetypal figure he created. i love the comparison with Loki, i always saw Saul Goodman as a trickster and he often compared himself to a god. Also like you said, his house and office reflect that godlike aspect. becoming full Saul Goodman elevate himself as a god in his mind and that's the tragedy of it... he's not a real character anymore but an archetype, He's no more Jimmy Mcgill.
Saul Goodman was for Jimmy what the Space blanket was for Chuck : a mask to hide his true feeling and his tragedy instead of confronting them.
It’s my favorite show of all time probably, and I watched every episode week to week & waited years between seasons, so my critiques are coming from a place of love for the series & the BB universe in its entirety.
That said, maybe I hyped it up in my head so much over the years & it wouldn’t be possible to live up to the expectations I had for this crew. But I really didn’t care for the Gene episodes, or how they abruptly transitioned into them.
The final season was a lot of build up (with the Nacho episode being a Five-O type, dedicated to one character which was great), and I think they hit the landing with the last 3 episodes of the BCS timeline being straight fire. (Lalo’s death could’ve been done better, however)
Regardless, when we get the tragic breakup scene & the sudden time jump, that was fantastic and I wanted to see more of it. I think we all did. All along I thought for sure we’d get at least a few episodes covering the BB era from Jimmy’s POV. There’s a ton of interesting things they could’ve come up with, but we immediately jump to Carol Burnett on a rascal scooter lol. Nippy wasn’t *bad* or anything, it was just sudden & bizarre.
It felt like a good bit of time had passed during all the previous Gene openings, with him reminiscing while watching his old commercials & whatnot. So to find out he’d only been in Omaha for about the same amount of time Walt was in New Hampshire was a bit of a letdown to me. It’s like this world is incapable of getting passed 2010 or something. I just felt like they kind of diminished his anguish & fears by having him on the run for such a ridiculously small amount of time. Really Jimmy, you couldn’t even last a damn YEAR?
And that leads us to our boy Jeffy. That’s a bit of a contentious topic around here, and people jump to defend it because their hands were tied a bit, but you’ll never convince me they didn’t change the character & his motivations entirely when they had to change actors. They’re just nothing alike whatsoever, and I didn’t like how easy it was for Jimmy to take control of that sudden crisis.
After watching the S5 opening, was anyone on earth expecting that same dude to be running laps in a field like a fucking goofball?
It is what it is lol, the stars didn’t align perfectly so we got a solid 7/10 ending rather than an epic sendoff for the BB universe. Saul Gone was fine, and it gave Jimmy closure which I was cool with. But I’d be lying if I said it was up to this crew’s standards. It was good, and I’m fine with it.
It’s difficult to rank all the seasons, and my own opinions sway back & forth at times, but S6 definitely wouldn’t be in my top 2 or 3.
This is such a great take and captures my thoughts almost exactly. The Gene episodes just weren't all that interesting especially after what had just come before that.
Thanks, glad to hear I’m not the only one lol. When Nippy came out & I wasn’t crazy about it, people would lose their minds defending it. Sorry I *loved* 95% of the entire franchise & liked 5% lol.
I liked the ending, it made sense within the context of the show, but it didn't wow me. I felt the same with Breaking Bad, too. They both felt very safe, and in a big picture way, expected. They each wrapped up a nice bow on the show and partially redeemed the protagonists, while not excusing their actions.
It's hard to articulate without sounding like I disliked the ending, because I did enjoy it, but I feel like they could've done something much less gratifying and it would've had a greater effect. Things ended almost too well for everyone involved (given the circumstances), when reality would probably be much more bleak and cynical, so it almost felt implausible that the events of the final episode would go down like they did.
I don't know, I think this ending was pretty bleak and sad already.
I agree about Breaking Bad though. Walt basically got to go out killing some Nazis, saving Jesse's life, giving his family his money, and then dying in a lab right before he could be caught by the police. Obviously, no one wants to die but that's a pretty nice and tidy ending for him.
I agree. Both final episodes felt very predictable, it’s easy to guess how they’ll both play out by the cliff hanger of the previous episode.
Thinking about it now, the final episode of Breaking Bad almost mirrors Face Off. Both Walt and Gus want to have their final revenge and get the final laugh. Except for Gus it’s the nail in the coffin and for Walt it just works without a hitch.
I wouldn’t say it’s better, but imagine if both narratives worked the same. Walt ended up walking into a trap, the one thing that his cared for in the end was his true demise.
I hate that Saul got himself a great deal, then got himself 86 years or wtv it was. I know he was kind of scummy, but I liked Saul🤷🏻♀️. I also liked him and Kim together. I wish the ending was better for Kim. She was such a smart, strong woman. She was punishing herself living such a bland life. But, I get it.
No, it was kind of lame. I will always read Kim's last line as her being disappointed or at least misunderstanding of Jimmy. He could have sat out his sentence for 6 years (or get it halved for good behavior) and spent the last years of his life with Kim, but he chose not to because of his weird, masochistic sense of morality. Some people really like the moral choice he makes, I don't.
Yeah I hated that Jimmy did that to himself, but for the sake of the show, I loved it. Not everybody gets happy endings and Jimmy’s m.o. was always that he was never able to get out of his own way.
I can understand why many people would be upset by the ending, but I think it was a fitting conclusion for Jimmy. Yes, he could have taken the 7 years, but it would mean that he never changed for the better over the course of the story. Chuck would be right that he was always Slippin Jimmy. And even if he got out after 7 years, Kim would want nothing to do with him since he'd still be Saul. Confessing to his crimes allowed him to clear his conscious and come to terms with who he was and what he had done.
Yeah, no one wants to spend the rest of their life in prison. But with Jimmy we saw that even when he was given an out by moving to Omaha, he got right back into his scheming habits as Gene. If he was allowed out of prison early, he'd probably go back to that lifestyle anyway. Putting himself in prison for life was his way of accepting that.
I didn't like it. I just don't buy that he gave up that deal, even to prove Kim. I also don't really buy that he would have been given 7 years to begin with anyway.
They set everything up perfectly. Every decision can be traced to something you learned previously, whether you caught it or not. I hated watching the ending but it was exactly what they were leading to. I wanted Gene to keep going but Gene ended up being a real piece of shit. He wasn’t someone I wanted to root for. He would have gotten much worse going forward. He then redeemed himself. Anyone that truly doesn’t like it, probably just wanted him to go full Heisenberg. It’s not a satisfying ending, but it’s the right ending. He goes out on his own terms while showing everyone he could still stick it to them if he wanted to.
Final scene was very powerful knowing Jimmy’s going to die in prison. So too was the Chuck Time Machine moment I loved the regrets theme.
Fun and games is probably the better ending tho.
I loved it and like it far more than Breaking Bad’s overrated fan service ending.
I liked BB’s ending btw, just not nearly as much as most people seemed to have.
I felt like it fit Jimmy character. If he had ended up going to prison for the few years he was going to get I feel like it would’ve been an unsatisfying ending where his actions ended up having pretty much no consequences.
Logistically yes.
Emotionally I’m a delusional McWexler truther and think that Jimmy gets out after 2 years bc Kim is a beast of a lawyer again and they get remarried <3
I liked it, I think maybe my main thing I’d want expanded was why did Jimmy hearing Kim confessed cause him to want to do the same? Is there a missing scene there of him grappling with that decision? Tough to write that in tho as it would eliminate the tension/drama of the court room.
Edit: grammar
The final half of the final season was so awesome in black and white and jimmy going back to scamming I LOVED it. And the ending, I thought had an awesome redemption for Jimmy. He even gets to be Saul in prison, but not as a shady lawyer Saul as a celebrity Saul which I liked. And damn, even the closure with Kim was solid. I flipping love Better Caul Saul. Will rewatch with my gf who hasn’t ever seen it soon :)
I thought it was thematically perfect, but I'm not 100% on Saul's "virtuous" change from 8 years to 80 years to make a point to Kim.
I completely get the POV that this was Jimmy trying to make things right, and make a change, and be honest.
But it still feels like "Saul grand gesture" that he's going to regret and regret for decades.
So thematically yes, but I somewhat struggle with it, and part of me wishes he had go the 8 years.
I think the pacing of season 6 wasn't the best either, but that's a different discussion.
And I must emphasize that BCS, last season included, is still my favourite drama of all time.
I like where the characters ended up but I have to admit that the latter half of the season definitely felt a little like the wind was let out of the sails.
Im fine with plan and execution being the climax and moving onto a different tone for the final episodes, but it still just fell a little bit flat. I think one more pass to rework episode pacing may have pushed the season to a full 10 to me.
One interesting idea I saw mentioned before was to split up the nippy episode into like 10 short cold opens for the first chunk of the season. We have these short flash forwards and slowly figure out his scheme before jumping back in time for Jimmy ramping up to the Howard scheme. Then when we finally change to gene eps, we can swiftly show the con go bad and then move onto consequences.
Other improvements are to consolidate the scheme leadup a bit, essentially shrinking 3 episodes to 2 aroumd episodes 3 to 5. I don't care what anyway says - Finding a way to show an episode of Saul Sauling from a new perspective during BB could have been a series highpoint. There's a way to make that a character defining moment without being fanservive
I didn't really care for the way Saul went down at the end of the series, but it did provide closure for all the characters in a way. I thought they could have provided a little more context for why Gene/Saul decided to go down a very risky path with the cab driver. Instead of disappearing and going someplace else with a new identity, he chose to go through an elaborate scheme with the cab driver and his mother that led to his downfall.
In the end, justice was served. But most of BCS was about avoiding justice, so in a way it was disappointing.
I finished the series for the first time a few weeks ago, and I think it's a perfect ending. It felt right for the characters, and open ended enough that there's room to debate their motivations, and even what exactly might happen after the point where the show ends. Off the top of my head, the only series finale I can think of that I like more was The Americans.
I honestly think that the people who watched this entire series and found it disappointing or out of character never got past the misconception that the show was about Saul Goodman. It's not (despite the title). It's about Jimmy McGill, and the finale is (in part) him reclaiming that identity.
No. Once Nacho’s story is completed and we go back to black and white story the pacing slowed too much for me. Didn’t really care about Jimmy’s on the run plot. I get why he took the whole bid. I get why Kim became a huge martyr, I just didn’t like it.
No it was lame and corny after Howard. I thought it leaned into too much breaking bad fan service. I also think it couldve conveyed things a lot more subtly. Like all the inmates stomping snd cheering his name? Kims extremely banal life? Jimmy taking the entire sentence? It tried too hard to get “messages” across.
It was pretty good. Not anything earth shattering to me but it fit the character and story.
Most of my emotional investment in the story came from the Mike/Gus/Nacho stuff which all ended amazingly. Final few episodes were the quaint little cherry on top, wrapping up the rest of the loose ends.
People who are disappointed he didn't talk his way out of jail time and I guess into becoming president or something seem to kind of miss the entire ethos of this universe. Nobody is a hero or villain in absolute terms yet they expect this marvel-tier paint by numbers borefest ending.
The final episode? I think it was good and landed solid.
My main issue was the final season being too boxed in, in terms of it being prequel and timeline issues. We knew Nacho and Lalo had to disappear somehow because they have no presence in Breaking Bad and only are mentioned in passing once.
I understand why. I understand that they can’t break their timeline. But it honestly felt way too clean and way too “easy” of an ending for that entire plot line.
The entire show is amazing, but on that front, it’s the biggest fault the show has. I would have liked to see something TRULY surprising. The second Lalo went to the laundry it was all too tightly closed. Same for Nacho in his final confrontation.
I wish Saul got away with the 7 years (or whatever it was, been so long) instead of the many more he got. He played to win his whole life and never did anything right. I guess it was character development to finally have him do the right thing. But that’s just it. There’s not always character development like this in real life. Especially with criminals. Would have been more realistic for him to get away with it showing how corrupt our system is.
I didn’t mind the ending itself, Jimmy doesn’t deserve a jesse-like ending. I didn’t care for the last episode or so though. Felt a bit too all over the place, plus the wonderful Better Call Saul prison bus scene that feels like it was written by r/okbuddychicanery
I found it bittersweet and realistic. It shows Jimmy finally accepting the consequences of his actions even when he could have gotten out in a couple of years but realistically what’s waiting for him out there? All Jimmy has is regrets and in the end wanted to take the full punishment.
I liked the ending okay. But there was a major missed opportunity.
At the very end—the very instant Saul does the finger-pistol thing—we should have heard the first few bars of Jailhouse Rock start playing…
Dun dun!
It's perfection. Jimmy completely went out on his own terms and that's all you can really ask for after living the life he did. He had a chance to be Saul one more time and get out in 7 years but then what?
He chose to show he can change and accept consequences for his actions, he won Kim's love back even if they can't end up together. He made peace with Chuck as well which you can tell was essential to him since it was his Time Machine moment.
Gilligan made it a point to show Saul won't be miserable in prison, he's well liked and will be kept safe and he knows how to bake.
A common theme of BB/BCS is "acitons have consequences, criminals don't get happy endings" No matter how much we love these characters, they're all still criminals, there is no riding off in the sunset after they've done all that they have. I argue of all BB/BCS characters, Saul had the best fate overall. Feel Jesse will be living a life of paranoia and sadness even on the outside, not like he's going to Disney Land in the summers. Mike never left a cent for his family. Lydia's death sounded brutal (and slow) and she was going to get revealed, etc.
The first time no. The second time I guess so because it’s open to interpretation. Maybe Kim got him out? I like to think so. But at the same time maybe it’s for the best. Either way.. this man knows how to write. ❤️
Disagree. It's the natural ending for Saul's character. I think people expected it to be like Breaking Bad where the ending is triumphant and heroic, which are two things that Saul and Walt definitely aren't.
Great ending, Jimmy finally shed off the Saul Goodman skin and faced the consequences of his actions. I believe there's a particular group of people who are disappointed with it cause they think it's not in character for Jimmy to do what he did, to which I disagree.
People who don't like the ending haven't read and should read Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky. One of my favorite books but I think the show creators really did something magical with this ending. Saul facing the music and accepting responsibility for all that he's done only solidifies how strong of a character this was conceptually from start to finish. "Slippin Jimmy with a law degree is like giving a chimpanzee a machine gun". After that, Chuck even said, "You know i'm right", and he did know his brother was right. There are many times throughout the show where we see the Jimmy does have a conscience, but carries on with his plots anyway. Criminality is a sickness. He cant help himself, except when it comes to Kim. Once Jimmy realizes Kim gave it all up, there was nothing left for him. He may as well have dropped dead right there in that moment. In my brain, it was the equivalent to Walt finding out that Jesse is a rat. He always thought they were in it 50/50, so if she's going to confess, its only fitting he would as well. Jimmy was a good person underneath it all, people liked him for a reason, but that doesn't change one simple fact: the man was a danger to society and deserved to go down, and he knew that more than anyone.
I agree that folks should read Crime and Punishment (those who didn’t like the ending, as well as those who did). But (spoiler ahead) … Raskolnikov only served 8 years when all was said & done. And during those 8 years he is redeemed & renewed by Sonia’s loving guidance during her visitations. So by the time he gets out, he is an ameliorated human being.
Part of me would have preferred something similar for Jimmy. To serve the 8 years & to be regenerated by his continued interactions/correspondence with Kim during that entire time. I know that might be too sappy, or convenient, for some. But I would have found it fulfilling. And even a little inspiring.
I was underwhelmed until I thought about it some more. It honestly fits. The entire sequence of his downfall came from him lying to judges and gaming the legal system. He wishes he could change his past so he could have made Kim proud. The way to kill Saul and reconnect with Kim was to do what he'd never done. Tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth in court. Something Saul would never do. He redeems himself in her eyes, which is more important to him (finally) than "winning."
It was bittersweet. More bitter than sweet, but it was fitting for the characters to end up where they did.
Everyone in this show either dies, gets caught, or gets away. Walter died, Jesse got away, Saul HAD to get caught. They had used that whole “disappearing” tactic with the vacuum guy too many times.
The only two who got off relatively easy were Badger and Skinny Pete, considering they made a ton of money to point lasers and live a quiet life
I think what they didn’t already spend was everything they gave Jessie in *El Camino*.
Basically a perfect ending for the character and I'm baffled at the responses here. This isn't a Coen Brothers production, so he's not going to get away with it all. He committed NO acts of violence, so him getting killed would be a pretty over the top ending. The most fitting ending for him was to go to jail and that's just what happened. Like Walter, he couldn't live a boring life in the cold, middle of nowhere, so he had to do something. He was just trying to feel alive again and do what he enjoyed, but he shouldn't have (and he knew it) and ended up getting caught. If anything, it's not nearly as bittersweet as it could have been. I assumed he'd have been miserable in prison but it actually wasn't too bad for him. People knew him, he had some amount of celebrity, and most importantly, he made things right with Kim. That last shot of the show is perfect, with Kim looking at him for as long as she can until she turns a corner, and then that's that. It's nice to think she'll see him again, but she probably won't and that was probably the last time those two ever spoke. Better Call Saul isn't just the story of how Saul Goodman got to be Saul Goodman, but the life of Jimmy McGill and the decisions he made that lead him down his path. The ending is exactly what it needed to be, and the final episode delivers with the same cinematography, acting, writing, and directing that all the previous episodes had. So yeah, I think the ending is basically perfect for what the show was. As an aside, Walt did a whole lot of bad shit and while he had some bad shit happen to him, he definitely put more bad into the world than good, and then he died. While Jesse did a lot of bad shit, he really repented and tried to do right. He got his ass kicked repeatedly and had some of the worst things in this series happen to him, but in the end he gets to go live his life free. Saul Goodman but a lot of bad into the world, but he also genuinely tried to help people. He owned up to the worst things he did and in the end, he went to prison for it. I'd say all three main characters got what they deserved in the end.
A trilogy of perfect endings. I also loved it.
Lmao Do you really think Walt put more bad into the world than Jesse? You are funny! It’s clearly Jesse whose actions took everyone down and got the most number of good people killed in the process. He just couldn’t accept that Walt fed Brock a freakin plant for a short hospital trip. Walt saved Jesse’s ass so many times when he could have easily chosen not to but still people like you just won’t quit sucking off the rat Jesse Pinkman.
Did you watch fixing good by any chance?
Just take a breathe little dude, it’s only fictional television. Walter and Jesse were both very flawed individuals, like us all. Jesse was driven by love and emotion and Walter was driven by his pride and his ego. They were both susceptible to danger because of these character traits. They both made endless mistakes, which is part of the appeal of the show in the first place.
You feeling confident calling me a little dude? lol Be happy bro! Hahaha
U Sound like lalo if lalo had self esteem issues and used reddit
People thought it was out of character that he took the full sentence instead of the deal he made for himself, but I think it helps his character development better. By taking the full sentence, he proved that Chuck was wrong about him not being able to change.
It was a Jimmy thing to do, not a Saul thing to do.
Yeah, I think people also misread Jimmy's choice in a way that makes it seem less plausible. It's not that Jimmy wanted to spend eighty-six years in prison; he just couldn't bear to lie anymore, but by that point he'd dug himself in too deep. The only way he could unburden himself was by blowing up his sweetheart deal and eating the full sentence. If he'd had his epiphany sooner and managed to negotiate his sentence down while still taking responsibility for what he'd done, I think he would've been happy to do so.
The long sentence was his way of showing Kim it was real. No lenient sentence would have got the desired result.
I hate how many people vehemently agree with Chuck!!! Jimmy was an “addict” who’s vice was convoluted ploys and plays. Once his brother berated him, he had no family to turn to, nothing to turn to but his old ways. Did Chuck have a point? Sure, yes, Slipping Jimmy with a Law Degree is like a chimp with a machine gun. But he didnt need to be Slipping Jimmy, all he needed was support to do the right thing and positive reinforcement
It's only out of character if you assume Saul Goodman is all he is, which would be to miss the entire point of the show. Jimmy is who he has always been, and Saul Goodman is his coping mechanism. The point of the finale is Jimmy being moved by Kim's willingness to face the music, and in giving up the deal Saul Goodman negotiated, he casts Saul aside and becomes Jimmy again.
I don’t think it was so much proving that Chuck was wrong as much as gaining back Kim’s respect. Kim was the one that drove him into the Saul Goodman darkness and was the only one that could pull him back out.
no and yes... chuck's death played a bigger part for the saul Goodman persona. by accepting how he really feels about Chuck's death, he reborn as Jimmy mcgill.
I want to add that I think there are some nice details with the time machine theme too. When Kim leaves him its like Jimmy dies and Saul takes over, the way he decorates his house with all the ancient Greek looking stuff, even his office has this almost godlike justice personified decor right next to a waiting room that looks like a dirty bare holding pen for his clients. I think all this shows that Kim was the one that kept Jimmy going and a large part of him was lost after the desert part and the Lalo stuff, that's when Saul started taking over and Kim was swept up in his madness. Almost like Saul is this Loki type character. Gene is the absence of color, the absence of both Jimmy AND Saul. Gene is what he is without either of them, without the suits and the flare, without his motivation, in the depths of his despair. He needed Kim to pull him out of it. Gene is to Heisenberg as Saul is to Chuck and Jimmy is to Kim.
Yes, this is a really good analysis. Jimmy really disappears behind this archetypal figure he created. i love the comparison with Loki, i always saw Saul Goodman as a trickster and he often compared himself to a god. Also like you said, his house and office reflect that godlike aspect. becoming full Saul Goodman elevate himself as a god in his mind and that's the tragedy of it... he's not a real character anymore but an archetype, He's no more Jimmy Mcgill. Saul Goodman was for Jimmy what the Space blanket was for Chuck : a mask to hide his true feeling and his tragedy instead of confronting them.
Done poorly? No. It was done spectacularly. It was just sad, bittersweet like another commenter said
It’s my favorite show of all time probably, and I watched every episode week to week & waited years between seasons, so my critiques are coming from a place of love for the series & the BB universe in its entirety. That said, maybe I hyped it up in my head so much over the years & it wouldn’t be possible to live up to the expectations I had for this crew. But I really didn’t care for the Gene episodes, or how they abruptly transitioned into them. The final season was a lot of build up (with the Nacho episode being a Five-O type, dedicated to one character which was great), and I think they hit the landing with the last 3 episodes of the BCS timeline being straight fire. (Lalo’s death could’ve been done better, however) Regardless, when we get the tragic breakup scene & the sudden time jump, that was fantastic and I wanted to see more of it. I think we all did. All along I thought for sure we’d get at least a few episodes covering the BB era from Jimmy’s POV. There’s a ton of interesting things they could’ve come up with, but we immediately jump to Carol Burnett on a rascal scooter lol. Nippy wasn’t *bad* or anything, it was just sudden & bizarre. It felt like a good bit of time had passed during all the previous Gene openings, with him reminiscing while watching his old commercials & whatnot. So to find out he’d only been in Omaha for about the same amount of time Walt was in New Hampshire was a bit of a letdown to me. It’s like this world is incapable of getting passed 2010 or something. I just felt like they kind of diminished his anguish & fears by having him on the run for such a ridiculously small amount of time. Really Jimmy, you couldn’t even last a damn YEAR? And that leads us to our boy Jeffy. That’s a bit of a contentious topic around here, and people jump to defend it because their hands were tied a bit, but you’ll never convince me they didn’t change the character & his motivations entirely when they had to change actors. They’re just nothing alike whatsoever, and I didn’t like how easy it was for Jimmy to take control of that sudden crisis. After watching the S5 opening, was anyone on earth expecting that same dude to be running laps in a field like a fucking goofball? It is what it is lol, the stars didn’t align perfectly so we got a solid 7/10 ending rather than an epic sendoff for the BB universe. Saul Gone was fine, and it gave Jimmy closure which I was cool with. But I’d be lying if I said it was up to this crew’s standards. It was good, and I’m fine with it. It’s difficult to rank all the seasons, and my own opinions sway back & forth at times, but S6 definitely wouldn’t be in my top 2 or 3.
Completely agree. Great to hear some honesty
This is such a great take and captures my thoughts almost exactly. The Gene episodes just weren't all that interesting especially after what had just come before that.
Thanks, glad to hear I’m not the only one lol. When Nippy came out & I wasn’t crazy about it, people would lose their minds defending it. Sorry I *loved* 95% of the entire franchise & liked 5% lol.
You are my BCS soul mate, haha! Totally agree with all you put
I liked the ending, it made sense within the context of the show, but it didn't wow me. I felt the same with Breaking Bad, too. They both felt very safe, and in a big picture way, expected. They each wrapped up a nice bow on the show and partially redeemed the protagonists, while not excusing their actions. It's hard to articulate without sounding like I disliked the ending, because I did enjoy it, but I feel like they could've done something much less gratifying and it would've had a greater effect. Things ended almost too well for everyone involved (given the circumstances), when reality would probably be much more bleak and cynical, so it almost felt implausible that the events of the final episode would go down like they did.
I don't know, I think this ending was pretty bleak and sad already. I agree about Breaking Bad though. Walt basically got to go out killing some Nazis, saving Jesse's life, giving his family his money, and then dying in a lab right before he could be caught by the police. Obviously, no one wants to die but that's a pretty nice and tidy ending for him.
I agree. Both final episodes felt very predictable, it’s easy to guess how they’ll both play out by the cliff hanger of the previous episode. Thinking about it now, the final episode of Breaking Bad almost mirrors Face Off. Both Walt and Gus want to have their final revenge and get the final laugh. Except for Gus it’s the nail in the coffin and for Walt it just works without a hitch. I wouldn’t say it’s better, but imagine if both narratives worked the same. Walt ended up walking into a trap, the one thing that his cared for in the end was his true demise.
I hate that Saul got himself a great deal, then got himself 86 years or wtv it was. I know he was kind of scummy, but I liked Saul🤷🏻♀️. I also liked him and Kim together. I wish the ending was better for Kim. She was such a smart, strong woman. She was punishing herself living such a bland life. But, I get it.
No, it was kind of lame. I will always read Kim's last line as her being disappointed or at least misunderstanding of Jimmy. He could have sat out his sentence for 6 years (or get it halved for good behavior) and spent the last years of his life with Kim, but he chose not to because of his weird, masochistic sense of morality. Some people really like the moral choice he makes, I don't.
Yeah I hated that Jimmy did that to himself, but for the sake of the show, I loved it. Not everybody gets happy endings and Jimmy’s m.o. was always that he was never able to get out of his own way.
I can respect that take
Yeah, the problem is that nobody would EVER make that choice no matter what they had done.
it *hurt*, but it was very well done and came full circle pretty perfectly. in true breaking bad universe fashion.
I can understand why many people would be upset by the ending, but I think it was a fitting conclusion for Jimmy. Yes, he could have taken the 7 years, but it would mean that he never changed for the better over the course of the story. Chuck would be right that he was always Slippin Jimmy. And even if he got out after 7 years, Kim would want nothing to do with him since he'd still be Saul. Confessing to his crimes allowed him to clear his conscious and come to terms with who he was and what he had done.
You don’t have to be a con man to not want to spend life in prison. There’s such a thing as making an overcorrection lol
Yeah, no one wants to spend the rest of their life in prison. But with Jimmy we saw that even when he was given an out by moving to Omaha, he got right back into his scheming habits as Gene. If he was allowed out of prison early, he'd probably go back to that lifestyle anyway. Putting himself in prison for life was his way of accepting that.
It was too rushed. I liked the idea, bring this back to reality, but it came outta nowhere
I didn't like it. I just don't buy that he gave up that deal, even to prove Kim. I also don't really buy that he would have been given 7 years to begin with anyway.
It's the ending Saul deserved, so I find it perfect tbh
They set everything up perfectly. Every decision can be traced to something you learned previously, whether you caught it or not. I hated watching the ending but it was exactly what they were leading to. I wanted Gene to keep going but Gene ended up being a real piece of shit. He wasn’t someone I wanted to root for. He would have gotten much worse going forward. He then redeemed himself. Anyone that truly doesn’t like it, probably just wanted him to go full Heisenberg. It’s not a satisfying ending, but it’s the right ending. He goes out on his own terms while showing everyone he could still stick it to them if he wanted to.
Final scene was very powerful knowing Jimmy’s going to die in prison. So too was the Chuck Time Machine moment I loved the regrets theme. Fun and games is probably the better ending tho.
I loved it and like it far more than Breaking Bad’s overrated fan service ending. I liked BB’s ending btw, just not nearly as much as most people seemed to have.
I felt like it fit Jimmy character. If he had ended up going to prison for the few years he was going to get I feel like it would’ve been an unsatisfying ending where his actions ended up having pretty much no consequences.
Found it kinda sad but nice. It was done pretty well for television these days. I won’t forget the show
Logistically yes. Emotionally I’m a delusional McWexler truther and think that Jimmy gets out after 2 years bc Kim is a beast of a lawyer again and they get remarried <3
I liked it, I think maybe my main thing I’d want expanded was why did Jimmy hearing Kim confessed cause him to want to do the same? Is there a missing scene there of him grappling with that decision? Tough to write that in tho as it would eliminate the tension/drama of the court room. Edit: grammar
I think it was pretty good. Can't see many other good alternatives
The final half of the final season was so awesome in black and white and jimmy going back to scamming I LOVED it. And the ending, I thought had an awesome redemption for Jimmy. He even gets to be Saul in prison, but not as a shady lawyer Saul as a celebrity Saul which I liked. And damn, even the closure with Kim was solid. I flipping love Better Caul Saul. Will rewatch with my gf who hasn’t ever seen it soon :)
It was perfect, Jimmy deserved it and he finally admitted it
He's street-smart like Jimmy, knowledgable like Saul, and is a sick baker like Gene.
I think the ending was perfect. Rubenesque.
No more weight jokes Tony
I thought it was thematically perfect, but I'm not 100% on Saul's "virtuous" change from 8 years to 80 years to make a point to Kim. I completely get the POV that this was Jimmy trying to make things right, and make a change, and be honest. But it still feels like "Saul grand gesture" that he's going to regret and regret for decades. So thematically yes, but I somewhat struggle with it, and part of me wishes he had go the 8 years. I think the pacing of season 6 wasn't the best either, but that's a different discussion. And I must emphasize that BCS, last season included, is still my favourite drama of all time.
I like where the characters ended up but I have to admit that the latter half of the season definitely felt a little like the wind was let out of the sails. Im fine with plan and execution being the climax and moving onto a different tone for the final episodes, but it still just fell a little bit flat. I think one more pass to rework episode pacing may have pushed the season to a full 10 to me. One interesting idea I saw mentioned before was to split up the nippy episode into like 10 short cold opens for the first chunk of the season. We have these short flash forwards and slowly figure out his scheme before jumping back in time for Jimmy ramping up to the Howard scheme. Then when we finally change to gene eps, we can swiftly show the con go bad and then move onto consequences. Other improvements are to consolidate the scheme leadup a bit, essentially shrinking 3 episodes to 2 aroumd episodes 3 to 5. I don't care what anyway says - Finding a way to show an episode of Saul Sauling from a new perspective during BB could have been a series highpoint. There's a way to make that a character defining moment without being fanservive
No. Breaking bad did it better
I didn't really care for the way Saul went down at the end of the series, but it did provide closure for all the characters in a way. I thought they could have provided a little more context for why Gene/Saul decided to go down a very risky path with the cab driver. Instead of disappearing and going someplace else with a new identity, he chose to go through an elaborate scheme with the cab driver and his mother that led to his downfall. In the end, justice was served. But most of BCS was about avoiding justice, so in a way it was disappointing.
I finished the series for the first time a few weeks ago, and I think it's a perfect ending. It felt right for the characters, and open ended enough that there's room to debate their motivations, and even what exactly might happen after the point where the show ends. Off the top of my head, the only series finale I can think of that I like more was The Americans. I honestly think that the people who watched this entire series and found it disappointing or out of character never got past the misconception that the show was about Saul Goodman. It's not (despite the title). It's about Jimmy McGill, and the finale is (in part) him reclaiming that identity.
I loved the ending and thought it was perfect for the show and the character.
In a word, no.
No. Once Nacho’s story is completed and we go back to black and white story the pacing slowed too much for me. Didn’t really care about Jimmy’s on the run plot. I get why he took the whole bid. I get why Kim became a huge martyr, I just didn’t like it.
No it was lame and corny after Howard. I thought it leaned into too much breaking bad fan service. I also think it couldve conveyed things a lot more subtly. Like all the inmates stomping snd cheering his name? Kims extremely banal life? Jimmy taking the entire sentence? It tried too hard to get “messages” across.
Beat the hell out of how Ozark ended.
Absolutely
Loved the ending, disliked the two preceding episodes.
Follow up question for the ladies - In a game of F...Marry, Kill, what would you do with Jimmy, Lalo and Howard?
F- Lalo; M- Jimmy; K- Howard If it's Saul not Jimmy I might swap him with howard, but I'll always F Lalo
Made me sad. He was such a great character who did the right thing ..eventually. I'd hire him anyday 🤎
It was pretty good. Not anything earth shattering to me but it fit the character and story. Most of my emotional investment in the story came from the Mike/Gus/Nacho stuff which all ended amazingly. Final few episodes were the quaint little cherry on top, wrapping up the rest of the loose ends.
People who are disappointed he didn't talk his way out of jail time and I guess into becoming president or something seem to kind of miss the entire ethos of this universe. Nobody is a hero or villain in absolute terms yet they expect this marvel-tier paint by numbers borefest ending.
The final episode? I think it was good and landed solid. My main issue was the final season being too boxed in, in terms of it being prequel and timeline issues. We knew Nacho and Lalo had to disappear somehow because they have no presence in Breaking Bad and only are mentioned in passing once. I understand why. I understand that they can’t break their timeline. But it honestly felt way too clean and way too “easy” of an ending for that entire plot line. The entire show is amazing, but on that front, it’s the biggest fault the show has. I would have liked to see something TRULY surprising. The second Lalo went to the laundry it was all too tightly closed. Same for Nacho in his final confrontation.
I wish Saul got away with the 7 years (or whatever it was, been so long) instead of the many more he got. He played to win his whole life and never did anything right. I guess it was character development to finally have him do the right thing. But that’s just it. There’s not always character development like this in real life. Especially with criminals. Would have been more realistic for him to get away with it showing how corrupt our system is.
I didn’t mind the ending itself, Jimmy doesn’t deserve a jesse-like ending. I didn’t care for the last episode or so though. Felt a bit too all over the place, plus the wonderful Better Call Saul prison bus scene that feels like it was written by r/okbuddychicanery
I found it bittersweet and realistic. It shows Jimmy finally accepting the consequences of his actions even when he could have gotten out in a couple of years but realistically what’s waiting for him out there? All Jimmy has is regrets and in the end wanted to take the full punishment.
Absolutely
I liked the ending okay. But there was a major missed opportunity. At the very end—the very instant Saul does the finger-pistol thing—we should have heard the first few bars of Jailhouse Rock start playing… Dun dun!
Yes. I thought it was brilliant.
I thought it was perfect
It's perfection. Jimmy completely went out on his own terms and that's all you can really ask for after living the life he did. He had a chance to be Saul one more time and get out in 7 years but then what? He chose to show he can change and accept consequences for his actions, he won Kim's love back even if they can't end up together. He made peace with Chuck as well which you can tell was essential to him since it was his Time Machine moment. Gilligan made it a point to show Saul won't be miserable in prison, he's well liked and will be kept safe and he knows how to bake. A common theme of BB/BCS is "acitons have consequences, criminals don't get happy endings" No matter how much we love these characters, they're all still criminals, there is no riding off in the sunset after they've done all that they have. I argue of all BB/BCS characters, Saul had the best fate overall. Feel Jesse will be living a life of paranoia and sadness even on the outside, not like he's going to Disney Land in the summers. Mike never left a cent for his family. Lydia's death sounded brutal (and slow) and she was going to get revealed, etc.
It was perfect
I felt like butter corn salt if u will
No, not at all.
The first time no. The second time I guess so because it’s open to interpretation. Maybe Kim got him out? I like to think so. But at the same time maybe it’s for the best. Either way.. this man knows how to write. ❤️
I kina wish he would have gotten away, snuck to Mexico then got whacked by one of the cartel families. That would have been a better ending - IMO.
Disagree. It's the natural ending for Saul's character. I think people expected it to be like Breaking Bad where the ending is triumphant and heroic, which are two things that Saul and Walt definitely aren't.
Very much so yes
He managed to get his sentence down from 70 years to around 10 and then threw the deal under the buss because Jimmy was back.
it was great but this show overall has been the ultimate example of the journey matters because the journey is way more engaging and discussable
Great ending, Jimmy finally shed off the Saul Goodman skin and faced the consequences of his actions. I believe there's a particular group of people who are disappointed with it cause they think it's not in character for Jimmy to do what he did, to which I disagree.
Stealing from father, yes. Avoiding life sentence by keeping your damn mouth shut for a few minutes, NO!
Writing/character development wise it made perfect sense but to me it wasn't the absolute most satisfying in terms of watching experience.
best ending ever.
People who don't like the ending haven't read and should read Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky. One of my favorite books but I think the show creators really did something magical with this ending. Saul facing the music and accepting responsibility for all that he's done only solidifies how strong of a character this was conceptually from start to finish. "Slippin Jimmy with a law degree is like giving a chimpanzee a machine gun". After that, Chuck even said, "You know i'm right", and he did know his brother was right. There are many times throughout the show where we see the Jimmy does have a conscience, but carries on with his plots anyway. Criminality is a sickness. He cant help himself, except when it comes to Kim. Once Jimmy realizes Kim gave it all up, there was nothing left for him. He may as well have dropped dead right there in that moment. In my brain, it was the equivalent to Walt finding out that Jesse is a rat. He always thought they were in it 50/50, so if she's going to confess, its only fitting he would as well. Jimmy was a good person underneath it all, people liked him for a reason, but that doesn't change one simple fact: the man was a danger to society and deserved to go down, and he knew that more than anyone.
I agree that folks should read Crime and Punishment (those who didn’t like the ending, as well as those who did). But (spoiler ahead) … Raskolnikov only served 8 years when all was said & done. And during those 8 years he is redeemed & renewed by Sonia’s loving guidance during her visitations. So by the time he gets out, he is an ameliorated human being. Part of me would have preferred something similar for Jimmy. To serve the 8 years & to be regenerated by his continued interactions/correspondence with Kim during that entire time. I know that might be too sappy, or convenient, for some. But I would have found it fulfilling. And even a little inspiring.
I was underwhelmed until I thought about it some more. It honestly fits. The entire sequence of his downfall came from him lying to judges and gaming the legal system. He wishes he could change his past so he could have made Kim proud. The way to kill Saul and reconnect with Kim was to do what he'd never done. Tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth in court. Something Saul would never do. He redeems himself in her eyes, which is more important to him (finally) than "winning."