Why The Better Call Saul Finale is BETTER 

Jimmy was afraid that being in his sphere of influence made Kim a worse person, but it went both ways. Everyone assumed Kim didn't understand Jimmy and that he was the reason behind her irresponsible and/or morally questionable decisions. It was an assumption that took away her agency, and she loathed it. The Breaking Bad universe has a through-line of chain reactions, but it's the responsibility of the individual not to head down their "bad choice road." Kim was afraid she sent Jimmy down his own bad choice road by being something of a Lady Macbeth in later seasons and using him to do the dirty work she couldn't. In the end, she decided they're poison together and they both "crawl out of their skin." Kim banished herself and Jimmy retreated into the Saul persona Kim herself helped him cultivate. I don't think it was just that Kim inspired him to do the right thing. He angrily told her to own up to her own crimes, and she did. She's the only person in the world who would care if he died, and he wants to earn her respect back. I definitely don't think that, if Chuck were alive, he would have won his respect. Coming clean to try and make things right is part of Jimmy's cycle, and this would have fit the pattern. I don't think Jimmy changed so much as he just stopped hiding from his self-loathing and trauma in the skin of Saul Goodman. He stopped running from being "Chuck's loser brother" Jimmy McGill I feel like the fact that he's never going to shake the Saul Goodman persona no matter how many times he insists he's Jimmy is his real punishment. Which is why it's so impactful when Kim calls him Jimmy. Sure, he's in prison and they're physically apart at the end, but it felt more hopeful to me. Kim is likely facing a lawsuit and, potentially, jail time, but she's healing now and some degree of closure. Meanwhile, Saul is Jimmy again, and, historically, Kim has always been in Jimmy's corner.

I love all the endings equally. Walt got what he wanted, Jesse got away, and Jimmy paid for his crime. It’s quite Something special to be alive to witness it.

Excellent video. This show hurts so bad, in the best way possible. The idea of a timeline where this show was never made is existentially terrifying. Yeah that noise at the end was way, way, way too loud though.

Stop the video before 13:00 unless you want a really loud and harsh sound to blast out. I liked the analysis though. I was fairly underwhelmed after my first viewing of the finale, and it's one of those that is perfect in a theoretical sense and executed just as well in practice, but is a quiet victory for the soul at the expense of the usual satisfying 'getting away with it' victory. It's also not tragic in an explosive sense, so it's grounded and bittersweet. It's the polar opposite to Breaking Bad's Felina, and far more similar to El Camino; I've come to greatly appreciate all of these finales, but have to admit it didn't really land as a viewing experience the way it does when being assessed from a distance.

Something that I found really interesting and ironic, is that Chuck telling Jimmy that he cannot change may have put Jimmy down that road. Maybe if Chuck didn’t have his own flaws and supported Jimmy more there would be No Saul. As you discussed in the video! Great video! I just found this channel with the Sopranos video. Keep it going (:

This should have way more likes & comments. Absolutely fantastic analysis, I agreed with every word.

I really don’t care about finales, unless there are plot threads that are purposely left to tie up, and even then, a poor execution, or resolution I don’t agree with, never ruin a great show for me. If a series is excellent, up to its final episode, the finale can be terrible, or perfect, and I’ll still be bummed that the show is over. There are always exceptions, as with adaptations, or stories with a set endpoint from the start. It’s much worse when a truly great series, gets cut short before it has chance to drop off, or jump the shark, etc. Shows like Saul, were written to have a certain arc, and able to play out the entire series, as the creator intended. It’s very rare.

Your analysis is beautiful. Thank you

I know the show is on Saul, but god damn does Rhea Seehorn's Kim Wexler haunt us as the show matures. What an incredible performance.

Very well articulated. I think this highlights for me why I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the finale. I didn’t organically accept prison as a redemptive end for Jimmy, or for anyone in this show for that matter. The BB-BCS universe has never presented a black and white relationship between lawfulness and morality-and this seems to extend to the shows’ past depictions of life-incarcerated. Saul’s ending might not be morally nihilistic, but it certainly is environmentally. I think the Dostoyevsky comparison aids in making that ending feel spiritually earned though. It’s not so much about the state of New Mexico finally finding Albuquerque’s Most Wanted, it’s about Jimmy’s personal atonement. And for a show about lawyers, to end with our protagonist dramatically leveling the scales of justice against himself in the name of the law, what more could I ask for?

Just watched your video on Threads, a movie that I saw as a teenager, not long after it was banned (as quietly and as unofficially as the government and BBC could conspire to do so) in the United Kingdom where I’m watching you from. It was considered something of a right of passage for politically aware teens of my day, to get hold of a bootleg copy, watch it and discuss what we were going to do about it. My girlfriend left me for persuading her to watch with me, claiming I, “ruined her life.” Being a youthful idiot, I treated that as being her denial alone, and took no responsibility for robbing her of sleep, all sense of security and the ability to go back to her complacent teenagering. If I could find her now, I would apologise for that. Anyway, I followed the link from that video to this, and was impressed by your insights into the finale of BCS, so much so that I thought I’d better write that down and let you know. You’re a damned good critic.

This video was very well made and I congratulate you. However, I disagree with fundamentals of your analysis. As a starting point, I should be clear: I am not a fan of who Kim became and I believe the writers never really knew why she transformed into a scammer and never really gave us anything from inside her being to help us understand. Rhea was a fan favorite who I think they felt they had to keep around, even at the cost of the storyline. Kim's alcoholic mother was an attempt to explain, but it fell short in connecting that childhood with a transformation into a severe reputation-ruining "sociopath" from previously impeccably ethical lawyer. I am also not a fan of how the writers tied up the series. Cinematically, season 6 is amazing. Plotwise, it felt unconnected at times, and unexplained most of the rest of the time. I loved BCS and I am sorry to have to speak out against it. Anyway, here are my disagreements with your analysis: 2:35 I don't agree that Jimmy was at all integrated with the Saul Goodman persona at the point where the flashback takes place (in Bagman timeline). He comes out of Bagman with PTSD and trying to hide it from Kim. She picks up on it. Then Lalo shows up and worsens things. Instead of truly caring for Jimmy with rest and support, Kim instead pushes Jimmy to continue scamming. Maybe she is trying to distract him, maybe she is doing it because she is addicted to scams, but one thing is certain, she is not helping him recover. And in 6x01, we see her almost oblivious to his continued PTSD, throwing the cup away and picking back up with the Howard scam. Jimmy may be DBA as "Saul Goodman" at this point, but not fully. Her pushing him to be flashier, etc., is met with reticence even in 6x01. 6:00 Kim enters the video almost as a blameless victim whose downfall is blamed on Jimmy. She is said to have punished herself with a mundane life. I recall a Kim Wexler who would disagree with Jimmy until it served HER ends. I recall a Kim Wexler who encouraged a PTSD Jimmy to embark on a scam against Howard at just the time that Jimmy needed some gentle guidance to recover from the fallout of Lalo's visit and the bagman events. We don't really get anything specific from the writers as to why she suddenly confesses. The conversation with Jimmy in 6x12 is supposed to have freed her to confess? She had not heard that Gus Fring was dead? She had to hold onto it until Jimmy's call somehow reminded her of her own guilt? 7:30 Jimmy's repressed guilt at leading HER astray? Seriously? She leads him further away from the good when he needs time to recover. I know everyone thinks he hatches the plan on the plane, but I personally think Jimmy's decision to change does not appear until the actual final courtroom scene. If you look how he views around the courtroom, it is in this moment that he realizes he wants Kim emotionally back in his corner, so he confesses to things she can see him confessing to, the things that she will respect him confessing to. He does not confess to anything about Brock or other deaths. Just the things that will move her. Not true redemption if you do it for reasons not having to do with one's own conscience -- as always, Jimmy needs the approval of others, and his need for Kim's approval is so great (as witnessed by him continually watching for her reactions in court) that he tanks his plea deal. 9:00 Wait, I thought Jimmy's repressed guilt about leading Kim astray led to his redemption. But here you are saying that Jimmy's remembering Chuck's line about changing your path is what unearthed his path to redemption. 11:00 Was Jimmy capable of positive change? Yes, it came at a steep price to lose his plea deal. But did he change? He ended the series feeling secure in having Kim's approval back. Perhaps that is enough reason to change. I can't deny that many of us change because of how we want others to see us. I just don't know if he has internally changed. I am skeptical. 12:40 Well said, but not reflective of the show we watched. Through no fault of Jimmy, his previous actions actually give him LESS suffering in prison, where everyone is his fan. Yes he is locked up, but it's not a redemption of personal conscience to lead to suffering to make amends. This is not Jimmy's fault, as he did not know he would be revered in prison, but it is the writers' fault. But not everyone can be Dostoevsky, not even Peter Gould and Vince Gilligan. One thing that still bothers me is when Kim is talking to Jesse outside the office and she says Jimmy McGill used to be a good lawyer, when she knew him... what the heck? It's an emotional line for the audience, but I don't see her confessing at this point. She left HIM and he reacted terribly by suppressing. Should she act as if he is a piece of crap? He is dealing. She had a chance to bring them together, get help for both of them, and then lead separate lives as friends. In 6x09 she sees that possibility. But she doesn't fight for it. She decides to self punish, but she is no better than Jimmy and in fact pushed him into the life he now feels he HAS to live.

Totally agree the ending was great better than breaking bad i agree i was concerned when i heard there was a spinoff from breaking bad one of my top 3 or 4 shows ever in my opinion doesn't matter how good a show is if the ending isn't good it takes away from the show thank you for this review very good work just one little trivial thing everyone can have there cake and eat it too, you have to have your cake to eat it. but you cant eat your cake and have it too 😎

True fiction on every level.

It would be interesting to watch your take on Chuck. Many people sees Chuck as a villain but i think there's more to him.

💯💯

Im still crying this final

Ngl, the finale left a disappointing flavor in my mouth, but I don't know why.

great video as usual. why are you suspended on twitter?

Hopefully, Jessie has found peace in Alaska.

BB and BCS is Shakespeare for midwits, it is designed to make you point at the screen and go “look at that” and then pat yourself on the back and feel smart for “understanding” incredibly obvious moments and themes.

I've only seen 2 seasons of Breaking Bad, but I watched all of Saul and I think it's possibly the greatest tv show ever filmed--much better than Breaking Bad, which is a bold statement, I know. I was stunned in every episode, probably because I was fully immersed; it's hypnotic.

The end point may be as meaningful as you say, but the change is way too sudden. Saul spent all this time fooling everybody and he suddenly flipped the switch, not good writing at all.

It is better

Good video, but I don't agree about the comparison to Crime and Punishment. The main character there was a murderer who committed his crime for twisted philosophical reasons as much as a need for money. And his reasons for killing an unpleasant old woman came apart when he had to kill his victim's sister, too, when she unexpectedly appeared at the crime scene. He confessed his crime but never showed remorse until the last few pages of the book. And even then, it was somewhat ambiguous. His redemption came from his willingness, finally, to accept the love of Sonya, the young woman who stayed by him, and, it is hinted, God's forgiveness. He also had hope for the future, because his sentence was only 8 years.

An analysis drowning in conformist morality.

Breaking bad is such overrated garbage

Breaking bad is such overrated garbage