When asked to give a hint about how Better Call Saul would end during a Tribeca Festival panel in June, Bob Odenkirk said two words: “second life.” This clue turned out to be much more accurate and perfect than anyone could have guessed. And it was a kind of perfect ending – and a new beginning for Jimmy McGill. Jimmy gave way to Saul, who briefly gave way to Gene Takovich, who gave way back to Saul who claimed a redemption for himself as Jimmy. That redemption came in the form of trading a seven-year prison sentence for an 86-year-old to prove that, despite what the likes of Mike Ehrmantraut, Walter White and his brother Chuck told him, he wasn’t all about slick, Slippin. “Jimmy tricks at the end. Busted Gene was made by Marion, the intrepid Ask-Jeeves-seeking lady who used her LifeAlert to alert the cops, along with the car’s description and license plate number, to Saul Goodman’s location. He tried to escape on foot after taking the bandage box full of diamonds, but the jewelry slipped from Slippin’ Jimmy’s hands when he was hiding in a trash can, and Omaha cops led him to the crease. Showrunner and episode writer/director Peter Gould’s storyline sent Saul to prison early in the finale, which built up excitement for all that lay ahead. One of the episode’s biggest surprise appearances was Saul’s lawyer, or rather, “consultant,” Bill Oakley, the former Albuquerque district attorney who took Saul’s place on a bus bench, advertising his new position as a lawyer. defense. No longer in awe of Jimmy’s success after learning of his connection to Salamanca, Bill nevertheless accepted Saul’s call and agreed to represent him after Saul assured him that he would do wonders for his legitimate faith. And from the modest car he drives, we’re guessing he could use the high-profile job. Not that Saul is doing Bill any favors. Bill is there to help Saul gain a little local street cred, someone without a load of pending criminal charges to help Saul get the government a very generous seven-year sentence in a quiet Club Fed-type prison (in Butner , North Carolina, where Bernie Madoff died), with golf perks and a weekly pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream. This last perk is Saul’s way of proving that he can get the upper hand, even in his condition, and defeat the prosecutor who tells him he’s never lost a case. He can completely possess his opponent, even when he should be looking at decades in prison. G/O Media may receive a commission But then, a twist: When Saul tries to play one more card, offering what he thinks is fresh, juicy information about Howard Hamlin’s death, he learns that Kim had already dished out that dirt as part of the confessional package which he did. Albuquerque DA and Howard’s widow, Cheryl. He’s shocked that Kim did what he told her to do during their recent tense phone call, telling all about her role in the circumstances of Howard’s murder. Initially, we believe that Saul is angry that Kim succeeded him and has limited what he can get from the government. He really wants that weekly Blue Bell ice cream and tells Bill, in front of a marshal herding him in an Albuquerque courtroom, that he has one more piece of information that he’s sure Kim hasn’t shared, stating that it’s something that will be used against her, perhaps prompting a devastating civil lawsuit from Cheryl Hamlin. Saul seems eager to do so, and when Assistant Albuquerque District Attorney Susan Ericksen informs Kim that Saul plans to present new testimony involving her, Kim appears in the courtroom to witness the latest herself. his fuss. But there’s another twist, one that explains both Bob Odenkirk’s allusion to the finale and the title of the finale, “Saul Gone.” With a great shot of a courtroom exit sign lit over Saul’s head, he interrupts the proceedings to emphasize to the judge that Walter White’s criminal enterprise has made him millions of dollars and that without his legal maneuvering on Walt’s behalf , Walt would have ended up in jail in a month. Saul gets emotional as he tries to talk about what happened to Howard, but then, when he sees Kim in the back of the room and sees that she’s actually listening, he finally reveals what he did to Chuck, ruining his ability to practice. law, to intentionally harm him, after which Chuck committed suicide. “And I will live with it,” says Saul. And just to make sure everyone knows, officially, what Kim meant when he turned and locked eyes with her, Saul corrects the judge when he tells Mr. Goodman to sit down. “The name is McGill. I’m James McGill,” he says, pointing to himself, unbuttoning the jacket of Saul’s very shiny suit. Bob Odenkirk in Better Call Saul Photo: Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television Poor Bill is trying to save the day, because while Saul was putting on his Jimmy McGill and making out with Kim, he was costing himself that sweet government deal. Get out, literally, Saul, and take Jimmy on the bus to prison…not Madoff, but Montrose, the one he had earlier described as “the Alcatraz of the Rockies.” And he’s scheduled to stay there for the next eight and a half decades, which is a life sentence even with parole for good behavior. All is not lost, though: During this bus ride, his fellow inmates recognize him not as Jimmy, but as “Better Call Saul,” and they stomp their feet and chant his smash line in appreciation of their hero. Within Montrose, it is clear that he is eager to bring his Saul back to live out this phrase as comfortably as possible. His cohorts refer to him as Saul, and a photo of him running a dough machine tricks us into thinking we might be back at Cinnabon until we see Saul working in the prison kitchen baking bread. And then he gets a visit from his lawyer, but it’s not Bill. It’s Kim, who uses her old New Mexico bar card to visit her ex-husband. In another beautiful scene, Kim and Jimmy (as she calls him) stand across from each other in the visiting room and share a cigarette that has been hidden from him. For a minute, they’re those two people in the show’s first episode, “Uno,” when they’re in the HHM garage, dripping with chemistry while passing a cigarette back and forth. This is a very emotional, if brief, reunion, and Jimmy is standing in the yard, watching Kim come out when she fires finger guns and knocks them away as she leaves. They stand on opposite sides of fences, of freedom, but Kim might just come back. He plans to tell Jimmy that he came in to see him with this New Mexico bar card that has no expiration date. Kim, like Jimmy, still likes to bend the rules a bit herself.
Stray observations
Which surprise flashback character do you love most: Peter Diseth’s Bill Oakley, Jonathan Banks’ Mike, Michael McKean’s Chuck, Bryan Cranston’s Walter, or the biggest surprise of all, Betsy Brandt’s Marie Schrader, returns to make sure that Saul will be punished. justice for her hank? Placed organically in Saul’s inevitable journey to prison, it was a welcome reunion of loved ones. Jimmy’s big break started by dumpster diving for information to help the residents of Sandpiper sue the company. His life in prison began in another dumpster, where he dropped all those diamonds and ruined the chance to call Ed for another life by the throat. Arguably the funniest line ever said about a craft store, as Jimmy describes to Chuck how his law practice is going: “One of my clients got caught swinging the kid outside a Hobby Lobby.” During Jimmy’s flashbacks with Mike (during their infamous trip to the desert in “Bagman”) and Walt (from their time together in Ed’s basement while they waited to be transferred to their new life), he was curious obsessing over what they would do. otherwise with access to time travel. Walt, in his most arrogant and dismissive ways, points out that time travel isn’t possible and then says that all Saul really wants is to talk about his regrets. Later, in his flashback to visiting with Chuck, Chuck has a paperback book on the kitchen counter: The Time Machine by HG Wells.
