Better Call Saul is the highly acclaimed prequel series to Breaking Bad, exploring how Saul Goodman came to be the disingenuous attorney that audiences know from the original show. What starts off as a much funnier and more lighthearted show than Breaking Bad ultimately becomes just as tragic and stressful as Jimmy McGill’s life comes crumbling down around him and his crimes have increasingly more severe consequences. There’s even an argument to be made that Better Call Saul is better than Breaking Bad, and the show’s intense finale offers some strong evidence for that.
In Better Call Saul’s final episodes, the show flashes forward to the timeline that was teased throughout the show: Saul’s new life in Omaha, Nebraska. Here, the attorney is finally caught and charged with all the crimes that he committed throughout both shows – money laundering, conspiracy to commit murder, etc. However, in typical Saul Goodman fashion, he manages to charm his way through the trial and decrease his sentence to only seven years. But when he realizes just how far he’s come from the perfect life he once had, Saul Goodman gives an emotional testimony and accepts the entire sentence.
Saul Goodman’s Trial Was The First Time Jimmy Hold Himself Accountable
Throughout Better Call Saul (and the majority of Breaking Bad), Jimmy McGill is a character who never holds himself accountable for his actions. The attorney is constantly making excuses for the crimes that he commits, always persuading himself that he’d be doing something more noble if his situation were different. It’s this mentality that allows him to get away with so much in Better Call Saul’s later seasons, as he’s completely enveloped by his alter-ego to the extent that he almost views them as two different people.
The ending of Better Call Saul is the first time he acknowledges that Jimmy McGill and Saul Goodman are the same person, and the former must take responsibility for the actions of the latter. It’s an extremely full-circle moment that speaks volumes to the themes of both shows, relating to the character’s obsession with power and his dismissal of morality in search of wealth and influence. Rejecting the deal in Better Call Saul’s final moments proves that Jimmy no longer wants to benefit from the cunning actions of his alter-ego, recognizing that the law has finally caught up with him.
Seeing Kim At The Trial Made Jimmy Want To Come Clean For The First Time
Another clear reason for Jimmy’s rejection of the deal is his reconciliation with Kim Wexler, the woman who left him earlier in the season due to his criminal background. The relationship between Jimmy and Kim was one of Better Call Saul’s most engaging aspects, and it importantly mirrored (and countered) the relationship between Walter and Skyler in Breaking Bad. Both couples are initially brought together by their crimes, but Kim ultimately lets her morals get the better of her and leaves Jimmy out of fear that she’ll become as dangerous and heartless as him.
The dissolution of Jimmy and Kim’s relationship happens just a few episodes before Better Call Saul’s finale, and this is where Jimmy finally has to reckon with the effects of his criminal behavior. Losing Kim is the first time that he faces real consequences for his actions, becoming the distant and heartless character of Saul Goodman that’s seen in Breaking Bad. It’s not until he reunites with Kim that he realizes how much he’s damaged himself over the past few years, and he truly wants to be Jimmy McGill again.
Saul Goodman Coming Out At The Top Would’ve Betrayed The Show’s Themes
Ultimately, Better Call Saul is not only the story of Jimmy’s evolution into Saul Goodman, but also the devolution of Saul Goodman back into Jimmy McGill. It’s a show about the futility of morality, which is something that Breaking Bad also explores in depth; both Jimmy and Walter learn that being “bad” doesn’t always have consequences, and this freedom leads them further and further down the road of absolute power. However, the difference between these two shows is that while Walter dies happily at the hands of his own criminal empire, Jimmy realizes that he doesn’t want to be Saul.\
The monochrome flash-forwards of Jimmy’s new life in Omaha are interspersed throughout the narrative, constantly reminding audiences of the mundane life that’s awaiting him after his exciting crimes are all over.
Jimmy’s decision to reject the persona of Saul Goodman is a very profound ending to the show, and it was foreshadowed right from the beginning. The monochrome flash-forwards of Jimmy’s new life in Omaha are interspersed throughout the narrative, constantly reminding audiences of the mundane life that’s awaiting him after his exciting crimes are all over. This gives an element of futility and pointlessness to everything Jimmy does, but it’s not until he experiences that loss for himself (i.e., breaking up with Kim) that he learns just how empty Saul Goodman’s life is.
Jimmy McGill’s Ending In Better Call Saul Was Bittersweet But Fitting
During Better Call Saul’s final season, there was much discussion among audiences about what would happen to Kim Wexler’s character. She wasn’t present in Breaking Bad, and she’s never mentioned by Saul Goodman in the original show, which led many to suspect that she would die in the final moments of the prequel series. However, Kim Wexler ultimately couldn’t die because she was the missing piece of the puzzle leading to Jimmy’s redemption. The show needed to remind Jimmy of what he’d lost before he could find the motivation to repent for his sins.
This ending was extremely bittersweet; while it was a relief that both Jimmy and Kim were alive, there was a lingering sense of grief for the relationship that Better Call Saul spent so many episodes cultivating. However, it was ultimately fitting that Jimmy and Kim didn’t end up together. Kim even admits at the end of “Fun and Games” that they’re “poison,” which is the moment it finally becomes clear their romance is dead. They bring out the worst in each other, but the memories of their love are real enough to make Jimmy accept his punishment in the end.
