What exactly are you offering to do for me?
What did Tom Hagen do for Vito Corleone?
I’m no Vito Corleone.
Pollos Hermanos, Pollos Hermanos, delicious chicken grilled or fried.
Pollos Hermanos, Pollos Hermanos.
Better Call Saul, Season 6 Episode 13, the series finale - Saul Gone!
I thought it was an extremely well done and fitting sendoff.
Gene’s escape plan following his fiasco with Marion didn’t go particularly well.
After using his best elusive tactics, his diamonds were clumsily scattered everywhere,
and he was quickly apprehended while inside a garbage dumpster.
Oof madone!
Saul Gone was predicated on the whole time machine angle of regret, that put 3 of the
most iconic characters in the forefront.
For Mike Ehrmantraut, he was tempted to list the day or the days before his son was murdered.
But on further reflection, Mike realized his true downfall began when he accepted his first
bribe back on March 17th, 1984.
For Walter White, it was about stepping away from Gray Matter, and his belief that he was
artfully maneuvered away from his own creation.
For Goodman, it was really all about opportunism.
Saul tells Mike he’d go back in time to 1965 and invest in Berkshire Hathaway.
It was all about money!
Just Make Money!
Even when he learned of Walt’s past with stepping away from a successful company, his
opportunist instincts are on full display!
Goodman was already thinking of how he could have exploited the situation into financial
gain.
This was Saul Goodman, the more evolved, or devolved version of Slippin’ Jimmy.
Jimmy told Walt of his “regret”, that he physically injured himself during a Slippin’
Jimmy scam.
Probably his first that put him on the path to becoming Slippin’ Jimmy, same with Mike’s
bribe, same with Walt stepping away - the moment that put them all on a Bad Choice Road.
Goodman proved to himself that he was still a master of his craft when he incredibly got
a deal that reduced his sentence to 7 years.
Jimmy proved to himself he was a greater legal mind than Chuck ever believed, or even Kim
for that matter.
Jimmy may have never gotten to prove that to Chuck, but he proved it to Kim here, and
more importantly he proved it to himself.
But yeah, Kim was impressed.
When truly put to the test, in his defining moment, Goodman got to live his time machine
moment.
Jimmy’s confession no doubt resulted in large part because he wanted Kim to witness
his confession.
But in a much larger sense, Jimmy’s confession was for himself.
All of the guilt that had festered inside him for years all came out - his role in pushing
his big brother Chuck toward his own demise, his role in ruining poor Howard Hamlin, where
he also tried to clear Kim from any blame whatsoever on that front.
And most importantly, Saul admitted to being an opportunist, and from his perspective at
least, he believes he was indeed Tom Hagen to Walter White’s Vito Corleone.
In that sense, Saul had an ego not unlike Walter White - he wanted credit for what he
accomplished in his illegal criminal enterprise, and he wanted the world to know that he was
absolutely essential to Walt’s success, Goodman was the one who created and controlled
the Heisenberg Monster.
Walt’s big regret was walking away from Gray Matter, and years later, Walt created
something of his own, something where he was a master of his craft and he wanted credit.
Saul’s ultimate regret proved to be not taking responsibility or accountability for
his actions which ultimately destroyed the one relationship he valued most with Kim Wexler,
when he had morphed into the Goodman Monster.
And years later, Goodman made amends and found redemption by rejecting the Goodman persona
and re-embracing his inner James McGill.
The name’s McGill.
I’m James McGill.
Kim and Jimmy went full circle.
Both with the first and last smoke we saw them share together, but also in the defining
moment that represented their fall and redemption.
The defining moment that led them down the path to ruin Howard, ultimately ruined them
- both as individuals and as a couple.
And that moment can be illustrated both here in the Season 5 finale when the fledgling
plot began to blossom, and here again in the series finale when Kim and Jimmy bid each
other a final farewell.
Kim and Jimmy both had a profound influence on one another.
They each led the other down a path of temptation that resulted in ill deeds that tarnished
them individually and ended their relationship.
And in the end they both inspired the other towards a path of redemption.
And now that Goodman re-embraced his inner James McGill, it acted as closure for their
relationship.
Temptation, Ill Deeds, and Redemption.
Now Kimmy can live her life, volunteering at a legal aid joint, eating Miracle Whip,
and living out the rest of her days with the Yep Yep Yep Man.
Yup!
For Saul Goodman, he was done when he said he was done.
McGill found redemption, he was willing to pay the price for his crimes, and he no longer
needed to live life hiding under the miserable guise of Gene Takavic.
Jimmy was back to being the kind hearted person he was back in the good days when he was doing
the right thing taking care of Chuck simply because Chuck was his brother and it WAS the
right thing to do.
Ironically, now that McGill will be spending the rest of his days in prison, he is now
free from a miserable life in hiding.
Now he can instead be miserable behind bars, where he can at least be true to himself,
and where he is revered and celebrated by the same type of people he once represented.
Saul Goodman, King of the Shitters!
Better!
Call!
Saul!
Better!
Call!
Saul!
I for one thoroughly enjoyed the series finale, and I thought it ended about as perfectly
as it could have.
I really enjoyed the cameo appearances where we got to see Mike, Walt, Chuck and especially
Marie - tough to tell whether she was wearing purple or not, but I thought her and Gomez’s
wife showing up was a very nice touch.
Tight!
Tight, tight!
Tight!
I really enjoyed this final season of Better Call Saul.
I honestly thought the finale provided a proper resolution to every major loose end in Saul
Goodman’s story throughout the Breaking Bad universe.
Saul may be Gone forever, but James McGill had been reborn!
Thank you very much for watching everyone.
I hope you enjoyed the season and the finale as much as I did, and for those who’ve followed
along with my reviews - I appreciate your support!
Thank you very much, and have a wonderful night everyone!
I’m done!
I am done!
Pollos Hermanos, Pollos Hermanos, delicious chicken grilled or fried.
Pollos Hermanos, Pollos Hermanos.
March 17th, 1984.
The day I took my first bribe.
And I had to show him that I was down in the gutter with the rest of them.
Broke my boy.
I broke my boy.
But little did I understand that they were artfully maneuvering me into leaving my own
creation.
For personal reasons I decided to leave the company.
I took a buyout!
And I sold my share, my potential.
If he hadn’t walked into my office that day, Walter White would have been dead or
behind bars within a month.
If you cook the blue stuff then that means you’re Igor, and that makes you, you’re
Heisenberg.
Wow!
The fact is Walter White couldn’t have done it without me.
Well this genius of yours, maybe he’s still out there.
What happened to Howard Hamline was… was…
I think I’m in the middle of something.
There’s really no need to.
Oh!
Oh shit!
A complete mental breakdown at the bar hearing.
Your brother, he had a breakdown in court?
It’s in the transcript.
Stealing them blind!And he gets to be a lawyer?
What a sick joke!
I should have stopped him when I had the chance!
I got his malpractice insurance canceled.
I took away the one thing he lived for, the law.
You want me to say something?
Yeah.
You should turn yourself in.
Do what?
You heard me.
I lied to the government about Kim Wexler.
Uh, I just wanted her to come here today.
I wanted her to hear this.
You had them down to 7 years.
Yeah I did.
Yup.
Better!
Call!
Saul!
Better!
Call!
Saul!
Pollos Hermanos, Pollos Hermanos, delicious chicken grilled or fried.
Pollos Hermanos, Pollos Hermanos.
You know Quasimodo predicted all of this.
What is this?
That my friends is Albuquerque's public enemy #1.
Tell me, how much product can you churn out with a setup like this.
Alright we’re done!
We’re done with the questions.
Now I need you to say it, “we’re done”.
Come on.
Say it!
“We’re done”.
Say it.
FCI Butner low Wing D. Wing D. And now we are done!
I’m done.
You and me, we’re done.
We’re done.
We’re done, when I say we’re done.
You’re done!
You are–
Wait! Wait, Jimmy, Jimmy, what?
Saul Goodman.
That thing with your brother, that wasn’t even a crime.
It was.
Mr Goodman!
Sit down and stay seated.
The name’s McGill.
James McGill.