I have just finished rewatching the whole better call saul.
For 7.5 years, we watched Jimmy McGill as he teetered between good and evil,more accurately, between the hard road and the shortcut. From when he was a young boy in the scene where the conman tricks his father but not him at the family store, Jimmy learned that there are Wolves and Sheep in this life, and that you must choose which one you’ll be. He wanted to be a Wolf. But deep down, he had the heart of a Sheep. He didn’t take the Kettlemans’ money, he was too scared to collaborate with Nacho, he knew it was wrong to exonerate Lalo for the murder of the Western Union employee, and he hesitated to accept the conspiracy against Howard. On the other hand, he always had a tendency toward deception and cons as a way of showing how smart he was,an outplay of every naïve person. This side of him surfaced whenever he felt betrayed, abandoned, or unworthy in the eyes of those he loved (Kim, Chuck). That’s when Saul Goodman would take over, clearly the Wolf. In the series finale, after once again managing to manipulate people in higher positions and sell them his version of events, everything changes. He manages to secure a 7.5-year sentence (as long as the series lasted) instead of life plus 190 years. A triumph. Saul Goodman at his peak. But Better Call Saul was always also about his love for Kim, and as long as Kim is in danger, and the great conman realizes she’s the last person he has left, someone he cannot live without, he changes his mind. He puts on a show as only he knows how. In his favorite courtroom, in front of a judge, prosecutors, and of course Kim, he reveals everything. He confesses to every crime, small or large, that has weighed on him his entire life. He frees Kim from all blame. Breaking Good. He admits his crimes and is ready to face the consequences. Besides Kim, three memories regarding regrets also played a significant role in his decision. The first was with Mike when they were carrying Lalo’s bail money through the desert. Jimmy asks him what he would change in his past if he could. Mike instantly replies that he would go back to the day that led to his son’s death, and after that, to the day he first took a bribe. Naturally, Jimmy chooses something that would have made him a billionaire. Money? Is that all? Mike asks with meaning. "I’d look to see if some people close to me were okay a few years down the line," he adds. The second memory is in the basement of the Disappearer just before Jimmy heads to Omaha, where he waits with Walter White. Asking the same question, he gets the same answer that he gave to Mike. "Gray Matter," Walt’s injustice from Gretchen and Elliott, the underestimation of him as a lawyer, money, and a painfully ironic "So, you’ve always been like this," from Walter. A gut punch when you know what Jimmy’s been through. The third and final memory relates to the time he had to take care of Chuck due to his supposed illness. His brother tries to talk to him. He says, "If you think you’ve taken the wrong path, it’s never too late to change." "Like you’re doing that," Jimmy replies and leaves. This followed Chuck’s heartbreaking question: "Why are you doing all this, Jimmy? Because you’re my brother?" The Jimmy-Chuck relationship was always the series’ barometer. Chuck saw him as a crook who didn’t want to change. Sixty-three episodes later, Jimmy proves him wrong. He accepts to spend the next 86 years in prison, living with the harm he caused. At least he will have lifted the burden from Kim. They’ll have one last cigarette together during the visit, just like at HHM, and with his fingers, he’ll make a gun gesture signaling he has killed Saul within himself. They’ll exchange one last look, like Walt and Jesse, and say their final goodbye.
Gilligan and Gould wrote an amazing series. They created their own multiverse. The two series are interconnected; one can’t exist without the other. They’re watched together and admired together. That’s how series should end, D&D of Game of Thrones—by giving each character the ending they deserve after 7.5 years. My only complaint is that there was no song accompanying the final scenes like "Baby Blue" in Breaking Bad. If I had heard the opening notes of either "Something Stupid" or "The Winner Takes It All," I would have placed it alongside the final episode of Mad Men.
