Better Call Saul (SPOILERS)

[SoundscapeMN]

"You're not a real lawyer!"

[Chino]

I'll honestly be shocked if this series ends in any way other than Saul ending up in prison. He is a "criminal" lawyer after all. Walt died and Jessie escaped (we assume). I don't see him getting either of those endings, especially since he already had his shot on the run.

I know it's a small detail, but I'm still hung up on the vet's black book with the weird language in it. We never saw Kim or Saul obtain that, right? But we know the fuzz found it when Saul's mansion was being raided. Are we to assume that's how Saul knew about the vacuum guy? For a while I thought that was going to be Kim's ticket out, thinking she would be in more danger than she ended up being in.

[MirrorMask]

I'll honestly be shocked if this series ends in any way other than Saul ending up in prison. He is a "criminal" lawyer after all. Walt died and Jessie escaped (we assume). I don't see him getting either of those endings, especially since he already had his shot on the run.

You "assume"? you didn't watch El Camino, didn't you? 

Anyway I agree that it's very unlikely that the third major protagonist of this universe gets the same ending as one of the main two. I wonder however how he will face prison - in a bittersweet way? as in, he accepts he has to pay and maybe, dunno, he becomes a reference in jail for other people giving legal counsel and feels at ease being the "Saul Goodman for the inmates"? or Kim testifies against him and he goes to jail a miserable and bitter man, maybe hurting Kim in a "I watched Jane die" way?

[Chino]

I saw and loved El Camino, but Jessie is still young, and he's going somewhere with zero support system, like Saul. For all we know, 5-10 years later, Jessie was back in the game and doing his thing.

[gmillerdrake]

I saw and loved El Camino, but Jessie is still young, and he's going somewhere with zero support system, like Saul. For all we know, 5-10 years later, Jessie was back in the game and doing his thing.

I don't think that'd be the case. Jesse was trying pretty hard to escape the clutches of Walt for a while before it all went down but he couldn't shake him.....largely due to his sense of loyalty to him. I get the impression from his character and the way things ended that it was indeed a 'fresh' start. Could totally envision him just living out his life where he was at in a salt of the earth type job with a wife and kids. I don't think he had the same 'drive' or was 'attached' to that lifestyle like Walt or Gus had.

[MirrorMask]

Also, it's a show / movie. "Happily ever after" is an unwritten rule. Of course if it all was real bad things could happen to him, but since the movie ended with him escaping, we can assume he will have a tranquil and somehow happy life from now on.

[KevShmev]

I saw and loved El Camino, but Jessie is still young, and he's going somewhere with zero support system, like Saul. For all we know, 5-10 years later, Jessie was back in the game and doing his thing.

I don't think that'd be the case. Jesse was trying pretty hard to escape the clutches of Walt for a while before it all went down but he couldn't shake him.....largely due to his sense of loyalty to him. I get the impression from his character and the way things ended that it was indeed a 'fresh' start. Could totally envision him just living out his life where he was at in a salt of the earth type job with a wife and kids. I don't think he had the same 'drive' or was 'attached' to that lifestyle like Walt or Gus had.

True, but Jesse, long before he started working Walt, was a deadbeat whose was cooking and selling meth.  He never would have risen to what he did without Walt, but remember the scam he ran at the intervention in trying to sell meth to those in recovery?  That is who he is.  I don't think it's realistic that he will move to Alaska and give up being a petty criminal, but his El Camino "happy ending" leaves it open-ended, so I get why a more optimistic view of his future is a bit more comforting.

[MinistroRaven]

Just saw on FB a post that says the last ep is going to have a runtime of 1h 38 mins.

I hope is true.

[SoundscapeMN]

yeah, I forget if it was on TheVividKiwi on YouTube or on the BCS Insider Podcast where they mentioned the Series Finale is going to be extended.

Honestly, if it is relevant, I'd have gone for it to be 2 hours aka a Double episode, but whatever. The last few episodes all have felt so closely connected, the writers/producers might have originally wrote them all as 1 long episode and split them up.

[Elite]

This is a double episode though. Most of the episodes have been around 50 minutes, so essentially 1h38 is twice that.

[MinistroRaven]

Haha this is fantastic! I love the last second of Howard here

https://fb.watch/eWiKkE3Equ/

[Elite]

I'm so excited, yet I know half the world will see it in a few hours and I have to wait until tomorrow evening, so I'm just not going to check this thread at all and avoid social media/

[DragonAttack]

Very sad.

Jimmy was the lovable scoundrel.  Saul was a bit tarnished, but some traits could be overlooked. He always retained that soft spot for the old folks. His speech at the reinstatement hearing and then his 'suckers' comments afterwards to Kim were the real beginning of the downward slide.  'Charlie Hustle's' hatred of Howard wouldn't cease, and that caused both his and Kim's ultimate downfalls.  He didn't deserve the desert trek with Mike, or all that followed.

Last week's Kim ABQ scenes were gut wrenching (trivial....we did the BB/BCS tour five years ago, as my stepdaughter was working at Los Alamos.  Also rode that rental car shuttle back to the airport).  My wife has a Univ. of American Samoa tee shirt, I've got a 'S'all good, man' tee, we've got Saul, Gus, and Mike bobbleheads, a mini meth RV, a 'Heisenberg/Goodman' 2016 coffee mug....

....and no other weekly shows to watch after tonight.

Fortunate that Jimmy's affections for the elderly remained in tact.  I'm guessing we'll see Kim see him through jail cell bars tonight, and then another future scene set in 'our' present.

Oh, and kudos to Vince Gilligan's limo driver for hooking him up with Carol Burnett.  I did NOT like her casting, as I want to see the 'character', and not know the person.........but she has been perfect.

It's only a TV show, but....   

[KevShmev]

Whew. Fantastic ending.  I didn't always like the pace of the show, but overall, a damn fine show from start to finish, and dare I say, that is one of the better finales of any TV drama ever.

[faizoff]

That finale was the most apt finale for the character. S'all good man!

[gmillerdrake]

Loved the Finale……loved the series. Great stuff.

[SoundscapeMN]

what it kind of lacked in action and maybe a bit of drama, it kind of made up in nostalgia and really revisiting and summarizing the entire show and even character in BB.

I guess it seems he gets more or less all of his guilt off his chest, almost like he confessed to the judge. And then he goes to prison and is well liked by the other inmates.

He's more or less found peace.

That I think is what the ending left me satisfied about.

He and Kim seem to be at peace and still alive.

[Zoom E]

That really was a perfect finale. Well done.

[KevShmev]

Great finale, yes, but one interesting note: I was surprised to not see Anna Gunn there as Skyler.  Seems like she would have shown up to support her sister, but maybe Gunn wasn't available, so they wrote in Steve's wife to be there with Marie in court.  Hard to say.  Given that Saul and Skyler directly worked together, him seeing her again could have been another great little moment.

And hey, by appearing last night, Marie has the unique distinction of being only one of two characters to appear in the series finales of both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul (Walter White being the other).

[axeman90210]

Great finale, really tied a bow nicely on the whole BB/BCS universe. I loved the scene with Walter and Saul in the basement, really got to see Bryan Cranston flex those muscles one last time. What stood out in the last few scenes was just how much both Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn were able to do with small changes in their facial expressions.

[gmillerdrake]

Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn were able to do with small changes in their facial expressions.

Not only that but the show did a great job with the make-up and way they presented the characters. The scenes of Kim in the 'Florida' era of her life she looked disheveled and just 'frumpy' and like life had beat her down. The closing scene with her in the prison with Saul she looked refreshed and more 'together'. Whereas....Jimmy was the opposite....he looked 'defeated'.

I really liked how the whole episode (time travel/regrets) ....and really a bulk of the last season or two....had set Jimmy up as this heartless asshole who cared about nothing. But in the end...he 'came clean' and made sure to clear Kim, and go on record about how he felt about turning his back on his brother. 'Saul' or 'Gene' could have ripped that Life Lock necklace off her neck and he'd have had a good head start to escape but even then his 'heart' was taking over. Despite being a real POS by the end it was good to see Jimmy get to 'confess' and try and make things right.

[faizoff]

Agreed, it was a lot more optimistic ending than I imagined, the acting chops of Kim and Jimmy were just fantastic in that final episode. BCS has always been more of a slowburn and artsy type of show in contrast to Breaking Bad, but both are done so well in their own way. I was very happy with that finale and really am looking forward to watching everything again. Hard to say if it has beat BB for me but I don't care to rate them, I will enjoy both of them and maybe even just treat it as one giant show.

[MinistroRaven]

Jimmy's future story according to Bob Odenkirk

How does the story continue in your head? When do they see each other next?

I think she comes to see him! I think she comes to see him once a year — every other year at the least. And I think he helps a bunch of guys in prison to get out who are innocent, or he helps shorten their sentences. He gets treated really well. And I don't think he gets out early…-ish. I don't think he gets out. I don't know what kind of dispensation they have for an 80-year-old, but I believe they have some, once you get to be that age where you can do something else. But I think he's kind of the king of the prison because he's a really, really good lawyer and a great lawyer for the kind of people in there. And he puts that to good use, probably even does some good work, like, genuinely good work. And then I think they see each other and I think he thinks she should stay married to that guy and have a life. I don't know what she does, though. She doesn't seem very happy at the water place.

https://ew.com/tv/better-call-saul-bob-odenkirk-on-series-finale/?utm_source=smsshare&utm_medium=sms&utm_campaign=sms-share-article&utm_content=20220816

[gmillerdrake]

Jimmy's future story according to Bob Odenkirk

How does the story continue in your head? When do they see each other next?

I think she comes to see him! I think she comes to see him once a year — every other year at the least. And I think he helps a bunch of guys in prison to get out who are innocent, or he helps shorten their sentences. He gets treated really well. And I don't think he gets out early…-ish. I don't think he gets out. I don't know what kind of dispensation they have for an 80-year-old, but I believe they have some, once you get to be that age where you can do something else. But I think he's kind of the king of the prison because he's a really, really good lawyer and a great lawyer for the kind of people in there. And he puts that to good use, probably even does some good work, like, genuinely good work. And then I think they see each other and I think he thinks she should stay married to that guy and have a life. I don't know what she does, though. She doesn't seem very happy at the water place.

Seems like a pretty realistic take on what would go down and how it'd play out for Jimmy going forward.

To think, had he not tried to get the Ice Cream on Fridays and learned that Kim had already provided the Howard reveal he'd most likely have not 'confessed' and been out in 7-8 years.

[Elite]

[MirrorMask]

They did it. They ended it masterfully!!!

I did not see it coming. I could envision Saul going to prison and more or less thriving in it, but the "confession"... that surprised me. The only person who could defeat Saul Goodman was.... Saul Goodman. Or better, Jimmy McGill. Kim owning up to her mistakes was what finally made him realize that he had to pay as well for all he did. Awesome ending.

It was also great to see again Marie and obviously Chuck. I knew Walter White was coming back one last time, but those two other cameos were a surprise. Interesting how even Walter White got it - "so you have always been this way?".... and funny how Jimmy could have answered back about his regrets. Walt's regret is not all the trail of death and ruin he left in his wake... it wasn't even "not dying at the right time" like he once told to Jesse... no, he's still bitter and resentful about Grey Matters. Which we knew, of course, but we got a final reminder of how he was just a bitter man out to prove the world he could build an empire.

I was ready for the show to end with the shot of Jimmy and Kim sharing a cigarette in prison. The two of them together, like in the first episode, and a light hearted joke from Jimmy. It would have been perfect. Ok, the final shot was poignant (was it cheesy to expect the color to return?), but if they ended with the shot of Jimmy and Kim in the cell, I probably would have applauded like I did with Breaking Bad's ending.

Speaking of Breaking Bad's ending, we didn't get this time around a memorable and iconic closing song such as Baby Blue! my enjoyment of the series is ruined 

[KevShmev]

I loved the closing shot.  Kim turns the corner and looks back at Jimmy, whose face is the last thing we see before he falls out of her vision as she keeps walking. 

While he is not looking forward to dying in prison (86 years means he won't live until whenever he could get out with good behavior), Jimmy did take great satisfaction in knowing that he talked his way down to 7 years before his confession.  It was, in essence, his last con.  And, like always, he pulled it off masterfully.

[faizoff]

The more I think about it, the more I feel that was a near-perfect finale, great drama, cameos that gave additional depth, Jimmy's whole arc in just the episode was stuff you could fill a whole season. Everything neatly tied without really feeling out of place or gratuitous. Just excellent.

[gmillerdrake]

I loved the closing shot.  Kim turns the corner and looks back at Jimmy, whose face is the last thing we see before he falls out of her vision as she keeps walking. 

While he is not looking forward to dying in prison (86 years means he won't live until whenever he could get out with good behavior), Jimmy did take great satisfaction in knowing that he talked his way down to 7 years before his confession.  It was, in essence, his last con.  And, like always, he pulled it off masterfully.

Yeah. I’m now thinking that Jimmy never intended to not confess. But, that….like you mention…..he just wanted to prove that he ‘could’ basically get away with it all. Which that original sentence would have accomplished.

[KevShmev]

I loved the closing shot.  Kim turns the corner and looks back at Jimmy, whose face is the last thing we see before he falls out of her vision as she keeps walking. 

While he is not looking forward to dying in prison (86 years means he won't live until whenever he could get out with good behavior), Jimmy did take great satisfaction in knowing that he talked his way down to 7 years before his confession.  It was, in essence, his last con.  And, like always, he pulled it off masterfully.

Yeah. I’m now thinking that Jimmy never intended to not confess. But, that….like you mention…..he just wanted to prove that he ‘could’ basically get away with it all. Which that original sentence would have accomplished.

I think he planned to confess, so long as Kim showed up, but had she not, I don't think he would have confessed.  For as much as he came off like Slippin' Jimmy during the negotiations, you could almost see the humanity come back into his face when he saw Kim in court.  And when he was done confessing, he sat down and then turned around in his seat and looked right at her.  It was almost like he was seeking her approval for what he had just done.  In a way, Jimmy always knew he who he was. He knew he was a con man, but he thought Kim was better than him, which is why he was always so hesitant about her ideas to go the extra miles for example with the Howard scam, because, in his mind, she was better than that.  To a large degree, I think he viewed her as the kind of person he wishes he could be.

[MirrorMask]

The way I interpreted, Jimmy totally planned to get away with it. He even said that in reply to the lawyer, "how do you plan to come out of this?", he said "on top, like always".

So he was actually able to get his way, and get just 7 years in prison. Only when he learnt that Kim confessed about Howard he changed his mind, and realized that Kim really went through with "turning herself in first", as he spitefully suggested during their phone call.

He finally, at long last, realized that he had to change and to pay for his crimes, so he threw his deal to the wind owning up to what he did, and clearing Kim. Seven years of prison and a life alone? no, better to die in jail but knowing he did Kim right, and showed her he still cared for her and he was able to owning up to his mistakes.

Also, what a big, gigantic F U to Walter White. A man so consumed by "his pride and ego" (RIP Mike) outed as someone who would have been dead or in jail in a month, had it not been for Saul Goodman guiding him, mentoring him and introducing him to Gus. I don't know how famous Saul's "confession" will become in-universe, but what a way to ruin the legacy of the great, terrible Heisenberg. Screw you Walt, that's payback for being a condescending, uptight asshole when someone asks you about a time machine 

[Elite]

That’s a great interpretation and how I felt about Jimmy’s actions as well.

There was a lot of symbolism in this episode and some stuff was awesome. Giving Mike a final scene, even though we know he’ll die in BB, so what he said makes it a little sad. Walter’s final scene - as people predicted in the safe house!! - was amazing. That was definitely end-of-BB Heisenberg we got. It showed us that Walter was always a miserable person. In essence his final remark to Saul, also applies to himself. And then we got the ‘McGill. My name is James McGill’ scene which was fabulous. He killed Saul himself, the moment he said out loud that he felt reaponsible for his brother’s death. I was nearly crying and then WE GOT CHUCK. Biggest surprise of the entire season, honestly.

We all knew this wouldn’t end well, and this is not a typical finale in any way, but then again, this was not your average show either. I watched Breaking Bad only when it had already finished. I started Better Call Saul from the first episode onwards. 6-7 years of amazing television ended. I’m sad, and greatly thankful. What a ride.

Two things:

Better Call Saul > Breaking Bar

Nobody helped out poor Jeffie

[MirrorMask]

Eh, my stance is that it's impossible to properly judge the two shows since one is a spinoff and stands on the shoulder of the show that came before.

When Vince and Peter will do another show, that will be a fair comparison, but Better Call Saul benefits from the characters and the fandom of Breaking Bad, plus of the years of experience the writers gained while writing Breaking Bad.

By all means everyone is entitled to prefer one show over the other, but BCS had a good head start, while BrBa had to built everything from scratch. It didn't have characters, a fandom and the experience of the writers in that fictional universe already served on a silver plate.

Nobody helped out poor Jeffie

Also Better Call Saul had to have a "What will become of Huell" moment 

[Elite]

That is absolutely true, so in that sense I agree that it's an unfair comparison. That said, I think that while BCS definitely benefited from the Breaking Bad world already existing, it also managed to add a lot to it. I found the pacing of Better Call Saul to be better as well; things unfolded rather slowly, but there were also multiple things happening at the same time (it wasn't necessarily just Saul) and more than one storyline to follow, and those occasionally intertwined, whereas Breaking Bad was basically all about one man and what happened around him.

Yes, the comparison is unfair, but also my enjoyment of watching Better Call Saul was higher than with Breaking Bad (which, for the record, already set an incredibly high bar).

[Chino]

Great wrap up to the series. I still don't like how the last four episodes were handled, but it was still good and the kind of ending I think we all needed. It was kind of poetic seeing an elderly woman take down Saul seeing as the exploitation of one kind of got Saul on his feet in law. I was so happy to see Chuck get a final scene. I had a feeling we were going to get one more with Walter because Jessie got a solo spot, but Chuck caught me off guard. So did Marie! Was not expecting to see her at all. Speaking of Walter, hats off to BC as an actor. Man, that guy stepped right back into that role like he never left.

I really enjoyed this series, and it's a shame how many people I know who bailed early on because it was too slow. I can't wait to go back an re-watch this in a year or two after I forget half of the little things that happened.