Better Call Saul Finale S06E13

Vince Gilligan & Peter Gould‘s “Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul” universe is the greatest franchise to hit our screens since a box of tubes & wires found a way to work together to become this thing we call television. Now, I know that’s the kind of statement that gets folks feeling a bit defensive, eager to start putting shows like HBO’s The Wire on the table to counter my claim. Just so there’s no misunderstanding? This isn’t an all-or-nothing proposition because we still have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to just how much quality content there is on broadcast, cable & streaming. But what can compare to a saga that spanned two award-winning, critically-acclaimed & beloved series (for a total of 11 seasons) as well as a streaming film to tell its tale?

Breaking that down further, we had Gilligan’s Bryan Cranston & Aaron Paul-starring Breaking Bad innovating television over the course of five seasons, ending with a series finale that we use as the bar by which all series finales are judged. So you’ve just “landed the plane” on one of the greatest shows ever on television… now what? You decide to attempt another ending to the series, this time with a focus on what happened to Jesse Pinkman (Paul) in Netflix’s El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. And guess what? You nail the ending again. Mind-blowing, right?  What a great note to end on, it would seem. Thankfully, Gilligan & Gould didn’t think that way, seeing a ton of potential in Breaking Bad supporting character Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman. Did we see Saul as a spinoff possibility? If we’re being honest? Nope. And that’s one of the many reasons why we’re not Gilligan or Gould because they envisioned a world of possibilities. And the end result was the Bob Odenkirk & Rhea Seehorn-starring Better Call Saul, a six-season prequel/sequel/in-the-mix spinoff that would go on to fuel fan debate over which of the two shows they believe represents the “true story” of the franchise most. But the Gould-written & directed “Saul Gone” would be the one the final shot that would change forever how we view the show’s universe moving forward.

In the series-ender, Saul (Odenkirk) lies about having new testimony to provide as one of his last scams as a way of getting Kim (Seehorn) to come to court. Instead, Saul Goodman bids farewell to the world as he owns up to not only being involved in Walter White/Heisenberg’s (Cranston) crystal meth empire but also being the kind of high-level player who could keep amateurs like Walter & Jesse from getting killed. And at that moment, I realized… holy shit, he’s right. If you haven’t done so yet, rewatch Breaking Bad from the perspective of Saul being a major player in the background, especially after his initial appearance. It’s like watching a different series, but both are equally satisfying. But there’s that other aspect to consider. Sure, James McGill was sentenced to 80+ years in prison & Kim continues to exile herself in suburban/rural hell… but they both found a way to come back from breaking bad and live to tell the tale. When you consider who’s dead, who’s “disappeared,” and who’s scarred for life, it’s Jimmy and Kim who proved themselves the strongest. And with “Saul Gone,” Better Call Saul proved that when in the right creative hands, a prequel can still leave viewers questioning what happens next… and wishing that it would never end.