Better Call Saul has now come to an end after yesterday's Saul Gone episode, and I think
many of us agree that this is the perfect end for this journey in the Breaking Bad world.
There's many ways they could have ended it, and there's many interpretations that we can apply to
the ending we got, but I think the heart of what it touches on is something that makes
it a great one, but more specifically, the right one. In this video essay, I'm going to
be discussing why I think Better Call Saul season 6 has a perfect ending and why the specific
choices made by the creators make the whole thing that much more effective. There will be
spoilers in this video, so if you haven't seen the finale of Better Call Saul, then I would
recommend catching up before watching my analysis. But before I get into it, if you want to see more
videos on the final season of Better Call Saul, then don't forget to support this
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videos, which is all linked in the description below. But without further a do,
lets dive into my thoughts on the perfect ending of Better Call Saul.
So in the finale of Better Call Saul, we learnt that there was someone that a returned Jimmy
McGill would put ahead of himself. We essentially got a reverse Breaking Bad, watching a
main character that had gone through a loop of identity complications, break good and live at
peace with himself, having redeemed that spark in his life. Having finally been captured by
the cops, the Saul Goodman in Jimmy orchestrated a plea bargain that would allow him to have a
more relaxed 7 years in prison. But it was Kim Wexler who changed that completely, and he
saw this as an opportunity to clear his ex-wifes name, but also to regain his real name,
after it was replaced by the sleazy lawyer Saul Goodman. While Jimmy will likely spend the
rest of his life in prison, having owned up, he will go down with the knowledge that he was able
to be truthful about his regrets, something that the episode focuses on and something
that this whole show, and universe rather has suggested would be difficult to overcome.
He's got to live with those of course, but he can go away knowing that he confessed to them and
now, he feels more inner peace with himself and his identities. The end of this Breaking
Bad prequel celebrates the end of the world the parent show started and this Saul Gone ending is
the final straw of that storyline, showcassing a long history of delivering on the tensions
built across numerous storylines. Of course, in Breaking Bad we saw a twisted criminal in
Walter White get everything he wanted, even if tremendous loss did come along the way. And the
finale to Better call Saul gives us the reverse to that. It doesn't give us the thrill and
pleasure of seeing Saul Goodman pull off one big con and getting freedom. We got that in Nippy
a few episodes ago. Instead we get the right ending, one that makes us consider the more
complicated, yet satisfying forms of the downfall, with a flawed character doing the right thing.
There was always going to be consequences but the way Jimmy would have a fitting ending
to that stops of loops that he's attached to with his identity, and he becomes Jimmy Mcgill
once again. He understands he will always be drawn to that slippin Jimmy lifestyle, and now
he's in a location that will for one, allow him to be surrounded by that kind of environment
and 2, by people who truly admire that person. This finale felt important by focussing in on
Saul’s moral problem and the characters around him that pose a question of regret.
The final episode gives Jimmy McGill the nearest option to a happy ending that he could deserve,
even if he'll be in a jail cell forever. He restored the soul of Jimmy and it's so
satisfying to see this, following his capture in Omaha, where Gene once again became Saul. And we
see the continuation of that in the meeting with the feds and Marie Schrader, where he
gives them a twisted version of his relationship with Heisenberg to negotiate a promissing plea
deal for himself. And this is where the genius part of this episode comes into play. Because
when Kim Wexler confesses to covering up Howard’s death, we all believe that having watched Saul
be refound in this Gene persona, that he's going to stay in those shoes until it's all
gone. And when Saul appears to be ready to reveal more dirt on Kim Wexler to reduce
his prison sentence, this all turns out to be a setup to convince her to come and witness his
testimony. We've become so comfortable seeing Saul work his own way out of things and seeing
a similar set of events with Walter White, that we never expected him to confess it all and
redeem himself like Kim has in the time since. Jimmy McGill gives a genuine confession,
taking the responsibility for not only his role in Heisenberg’s empire, but in the deaths of
Howard and Chuck. He gets to see Kim, look at her and have her see the real Jimmy. The one
who actually loves her, and not the man we saw signing the divorse papers and being smug while
doing so during that Breaking Bad flashback from the penultimate episode. It's a full on
character moment for Jimmy and showcased that in the consequences and fallback, someone can
redeem themself and own up to their regrets. Walter got what he wanted but
hurt everyone in the process. Whereas Jimmy confessed before it was too late
and feels at peace with where he's going and who he is now.
And when Jimmy and Kim finally reconnect at the prison, we get no overplayed emotional reuinion.
It's one that's truly in line with how Kim and Jimmy connect and it's the best description
of their relationship and time together. There's few words, but an instant connection
and a true intimacy. There’s no kiss, no apologies from either of them, and no happily ever after
settlement. Their final scene together is deeply moving because they are both at peace with
themselves. She poses as his attorney and even while Kim slightly showcases her slippin Kimmy
past and Jimmy is feeding on all of that while the two of them share a cigarette, they both have
been redeemed. Kim chose to own up and tell the truth after feeling all of the regret
surrounding Howard's murder and Jimmy confessed the truth in court once he realised that Kim had
done that and he truly needed to as well. He realised that Saul is the monster that
replaced Jimmy McGill and it was time to put that right, even if he still loves being recognised and
gets the thrill of the small time con. Jail is the perfect place for that. He can't do
anything too wrong, but he can ooze the slippin jimmy persona he once had with no bigger
consequences. In the scene with Kim, the embers on the cigarette are the only bit of colour in
this black and white world. And it sybolises that while Jimmy will live out his days in prison,
known for his legacy as Saul Goodman, the flame between him and Kim is what redeemed the
inner Jimmy. The love for her is what made him have a better moral compass in the end. At the
same time, I guess you could say that the final parting shot between them is one that still
brings a layer of malancholy to this ending. He's now presumably separated from the love of his
life, and there's still questions over whether Kim will be sued by Howard’s widow. But in
saying that, Kim can now live with herself, knowing it's not going to haunt her for the rest
of her days. Both of them have chosen to accept their fates and have been sentenced in their
own fitting ways. And while they can only have that spark of their once intimate love
in prison due to slippin Kimmy and her New Mexico bar card, they both ulyimately keep their souls.
This ending is the perfect symphony of light and dark, good and bad, just like the choice
of lighting in that final moment between them. And just like the choice of only having the embers
on the cigarette be in colour. It's the heart that remains in all of the consequences they face
and why they owned up to them. Nailing these ending messages on the head
are of course the 3 flashbacks we get throughout the episode,
moments in colour that go back to when Saul or Jimmy was still free of Jail. Yet
they are probably the moments that deserve to be black and white, because he hides the regrets
he has. Mike, Walter White and Chuck McGill, frame and build on the idea of regret and what
it can teach someone. Jimmy tried to live his life regretting nothing, and ignored them to
the point that one day he won't remember. But as we learn, he can't do that. And it's only when
his biggest love is reframed at the centre of his mind that he's willing to live with those mistakes
and not ignore them. It's Jimmy's way of changing for the better and all of these
scenes become some of the most powerful flashbacks in the show. The scene between Jimmy and Chuck
is sad in terms of what eventually happens but it's also engrained with the idea that
Jimmy does care for his brother, and one day he will make that right. And the use of that time
machine book can refer a lot to that changing process that Jimmy has been through, and the
struggles he's faced of changing over time. Not to forget that this final episode acts as
a kind of time machine itself, moving seemlessly through important conversations, characters and
moments in Jimmy's life and bringing it to a head with his change. Yes he gives off a smile in that
prison bus to the mention of Saul Goodman, and he likes being somewere where slippin
Jimmy can thrive, but he's now contained in doing that and he's owned up to his biggest downfalls.
He's somewhere where he can feel freedom in not hiding that regret anymore and it's
just a stroke of masterclass that they really aimed in on all of this in one final episode.
Sticking the landing and not losing sight of what this show has truly been about.
Better Call Saul's ability, especially in its last few episodes, to alternate between important
moments in the past, the breaking bad timeline and the gene one, yet tell a focussed story
about the textures of real life, is what makes it so effective. We didn't expect this level of
storytelling for the sleazebag lawyer in Breaking Bad. But it was the series willingness to
let Saul fall, and Jimmy, the character we started this prequel with, come into the light.
It's a sort of reverse to what we saw in Breaking Bad with Walter White's ending yet it's one
that feels inherently right for this story. We were gripped and thrilled by Walter White's
transformation in Breaking Bad and saw him achieve everything he wanted to by the end. And in
Better Call Saul, we saw the endless ignorance of a man who could not help himself from doing
wrong. Someone who needed to pull off a con even in the face of keeping his identity
a secret. But at the final moment, he unveils the heart he'd been refusing to show. He broke the
cycle we'd seen repeated throughout the series and his life. And the finale showcases all
of those shading identities in the process. Gene was the coward on the run until he was caught
and had no more places to run too. Saul was always winning and scrambling out of problems and
in the middle of the episode he manipulated and won a plea bargain. And Jimmy was a good
person at heart, and that heart was lit up by Kim Wexler. He did what was the right thing, he came
clean, and owned up to his mistakes and regrets. I think it's the right ending for this character
we've followed for so many years and Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould have hit the landing
once again. In my opinion, they've made Better Call Saul into one of the great
TV shows of its time and gone out in such a perfect way with season 6.
But that was my video essay on the ending of Better Call Saul. It's been a ride covering
the show this season and I want to thank all of you for supporting the channel and all of the
excitement you've shared towards it. Even though we've reached the end, I want to
assure you that I will be doing much more essays and topical videos on the final season over
the next few weeks and in particular, I will doing a full review on season 6 in the coming days.
But let me know down below in the comments section what you thought of Better Call Saul
Season 6, alongside whether you think the ending we got was the right choice?
For more videos on the ending of Better Call Saul Season 6, then subscribe to the channel and turn
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I hope you guys enjoyed it, I've been Cortex and as always make some noise.