After six incredible seasons full of lies, law, and larceny, Better Call Saul has finally come to an end. A sequel and prequel to Breaking Bad – one of the best TV series ever made – the show chronicled the rise and fall of Walter White’s slimy lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk).
What started as a pretty standard comedy series quickly evolved as showrunner Vince Gilligan explored what someone had to go through to become as vile as Walter White’s personal attorney. We saw Jimmy McGill go from a wide-eyed, optimistic public defender to the ruthless ambulance chaser Saul Goodman.
In the final season, the show got to grips with Saul’s new persona – Gene Takavic, the manager of a Cinnabon store in Nebraska – that he was forced to adopt after the events of Breaking Bad. The last few episodes asked the question, is the Saul persona really dead? Well, in the final episode, we finally got an answer to that pervading question. Here’s everything that happened in the Better Call Saul series finale.
Better Call Saul ending explained
‘Saul Good’ opens with Gene being arrested by Nebraska police after the events of ‘Waterworks’ – where Marion figured out Saul’s real identity. The cops quickly work out who ‘Gene’ really is, and the prosecuting attorney (who’s never lost a case) tells Saul he’s facing life in jail plus 190 years in prison for all his crimes.
The prosecutor offers Saul, though they’ll cut the sentence to just 30 years if he cooperates. Unfortunately, this is Saul Goodman we’re talking about, and he pulls out a fantastical story about being strong-armed into helping Walter White which absolutely zero people in the room believe.
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But as Saul points out, he doesn’t need them to believe it; all he has to do is convince one juror, and he gets a hung jury destroying the prosecutor’s perfect record. This forces the prosecutor to negotiate, eventually coming down on seven and a half years in a minimum security prison.
It seems that Saul has won at this moment, but we’re not yet done. Saul can’t help but push that little bit further, offering information on the death of Howard Hamlin.
Unfortunately, the prosecutor reveals that Kim has already given them the information they need on Howard, and she’s in serious legal trouble. At this moment, Saul Goodman dies, and Jimmy McGill is reborn.
Heading to Albuquerque for his arraignment Jimmy takes to the stand and spills his guts, completely ruining his chances of a light sentence, even confessing to driving his brother to suicide.
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He tells only one lie during his testimony; he claims that Kim had nothing to do with Howard’s death and takes full responsibility.
With Jimmy now in prison, Kim visits him, and they share a cigarette just like they used to in the Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill car park.
Is the Saul Goodman persona really gone?
The final lesson of Better Call Saul is that compartmentalisation is bullshit. There is no Slippin’ Jimmy; there’s no Saul Goodman; there’s not even really a Jimmy McGill.
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They’re all the same person, just Jimmy. So as the prisoners shout Saul when he gets on the bus, we’re supposed to see this as Jimmy finally realising, for better or worse, who he is and feeling comfortable with it at long last.
Are there any more Breaking Bad cameos?
There are plenty of Breaking Bad cameos in the final episode. Both Walter White (Brian Cranston) and Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) appear in flashbacks where Saul asks them about where they’d go if they had a time machine. Marie (Betsy Brandt), Hank Shrader’s widow, also makes an appearance during Saul’s plea deal.
Will there be more shows in the Breaking Bad universe?
No, Vince Gilligan has been clear that this is the end of his version of Albuquerque, so it’s time to find a new favourite show.
If you’re looking for something to watch now Better Call Saul is done, why not check out our list of the best animated series.