Greetings, reader!
The acclaimed and popular Breaking Bad (2008-2013) spin-off Better Call Saul (2015-2022) came to its end last week. Did the series finale make the show's all-time top ten? Read this post to find out!
Here are my honorable mentions: Pimento (Season 1 Episode 9), Nailed (Season 2 Episode 9), Bad Choice Road (Season 5 Episode 9), Breaking Bad (Season 6 Episode 11), Waterworks (Season 6 Episode 12).
10. Witness (Season 3 Episode 2)
"Can I help you?"
While I greatly appreciate Better Call Saul's standalone value, with original characters and storylines that make it work as much more than a mere prequel, there's no denying that the Breaking Bad fan in me squealed with excitement whenever the series utilized its prequel format to cleverly weave in familiar characters and storylines, always naturally incorporating them into Better Call Saul's world instead of feeling like empty fan service. A top tier example of such moments is the first appearance of Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) - of course he was going to be in the series, as Saul (Bob Odenkirk) and Mike (Jonathan Banks) are major characters and we had to get a context for "I know a guy who knows a guy". I would've been excited to see Gus no matter what, as he is one of the very best characters in Breaking Bad and I love Esposito's performance, but the way he's brought into the series surpassed my expectations.
The cold open, where Mike follows a lead to a parking lot, and the camera zooms out to show us the Pollos Hermanos restaurant as the instrumental soundtrack intensifies, sent massive chills down my spine. And when Gus finally appears, it's not the big and nefarious villain entrance one might expect - instead he's deep in his lovable customer service persona, giving Jimmy a helping hand, in a scene that would make him seem like a truly kindhearted individual without context. This is a prime example of Vince Gilligan taking advantage of what the viewer knows - watching Gus be so courteous and nice, while fully knowing the monster behind the smile, is a horrendously suspenseful sensation.
9. Something Unforgivable (Season 5 Episode 10)
"Howard, I know Jimmy, and you're wrong"
"You know who really knew Jimmy? Chuck"
The season 5 finale is an interesting one, as my preliminary opinion after watching the episode had it outside my top 10 at the time. I saw it as a mixed bag, as I greatly enjoyed the Nacho (Michael Mando) storyline, but Jimmy and Kim's (Rhea Seehorn) storyline felt a bit anticlimactic for a season finale - the series was about to step into its final season, and instead of any major events or game-changing twists, we simply witness them starting to plan a cruel-sounding con against Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian)? It didn't quite feel bombastic enough for the finale of such a season.
However, having seen what followed in season 6, Something Unforgivable is totally redeemed in my mind. Jimmy and Kim getting the idea to sabotage Howard may seem a bit miniscule when watching the season finale, but having seen the whole series, you realize that what happens in Something Unforgivable is the final catalyst for the couple crossing every possible line to a point of no return, beyond all redemption. Many of season 6's greatest storylines, scenes and payoffs are built in this very point, which gives a whole new level of meaning to the fairly mundane-seeming conversation between the tragic lovers.
And, as I mentioned, Nacho's storyline in this episode is pure fire from the start. Watching him trying to assist in assassinating Lalo (Tony Dalton) is nerve-wrackingly intense, and the end result leaves delicious implications for season 6: Lalo has survived unscathed yet the cartel thinks he's dead, while Nacho has gone on the run as his cover is blown. Crime drama intrigue at its best.
8. Fun and Games (Season 6 Episode 9)
"I love you"
"I love you too...but so what?"
I adore the deeply unconventional structure of the show's final season. Better Call Saul had so many facets to it that it often felt like multiple TV shows rolled into one, and the final season feels like there are multiple series finales to wrap up different sides of the show. Nacho Varga was such a large-presence character, that the end of his story in season 6's third episode Rock and a Hard Place felt like his own personal series finale, instead of a mere character death. The midseason finale Plan and Execution feels like the finale to the Howard Hamlin / HHM / Jimmy-and-Kim-doing-cons-and-messing-with-people -series, and the following episode Point and Shoot feels like a finale to the Gus / Lalo / cartel drama series. Then we have Fun and Games, which feels like a series finale to Better Call Saul as a prequel, as many storylines are wrapped up and a time jump gives us the final steps into the protagonist being exactly the Saul Goodman we meet in Breaking Bad.
Of course, the series doesn't end there - after Fun and Games, we're treated to four episodes of concluding the black-and-white arch of Saul's life as Cinnabon manager Gene, and this untypical structure was just right for Better Call Saul's final season - it gives the series more meaning to know that it's not just a prequel, but also gives the character a post-Breaking Bad ending that has been teased throughout the seasons. But while I love those four last episodes and fully appreciate their importance, I still can't help but see Fun and Games as the "true series finale" on some level, to which the last four episodes are a (damn good) epilogue.
And what a "true series finale" it is. The ending of Saul and Kim's relationship is as emotional as it was inevitable - as much as the romantic in me was heartbroken by seeing what this breakup does to Saul, as his love for Kim was perhaps the greatest individual catalyst behind his actions throughout the series, it still feels very right on some level. As real as their love was, and as fun it was to follow them, there's no denying that they were toxic and this had to happen. Gus's storyline in Fun and Games is pure gold as well, as his standing in the cartel gets to the exact point where it is in Breaking Bad - but my favorite scene from this episode has to be Mike's conversation with Nacho's father. Fantastic closure, and yet another case study in how Mike, despite being a violent criminal, is an infinitely better person than the other violent criminals in this series (not to mention the series it was spun off from).
7. Chicanery (Season 3 Episode 5)
"I saved him! And I shouldn't have. I took him into my own firm! What was I thinking? He'll never change. He'll never change! Ever since he was 9, always the same, couldn't keep his hands out of the cash drawer! But not our Jimmy! Couldn't be precious Jimmy! Stealing them blind! And he gets to be a lawyer?? What a sick joke! I should've stopped him when I had the chance! And you - you have to stop him!"
Better Call Saul begins largely as a legal drama centering on the complicated relationship between two brothers. As the seasons progress, it grows beyond that to be something much more, with Chuck's (Michael McKean) death giving space for cartel narratives, high-stakes criminal endeavours and various Breaking Bad tie-ins. But, the 'legal drama centering on two brothers' part of the series will always be an important building block to the essence of Better Call Saul, and season 3's wonderfully engaging Chicanery is the hands-down best episode for that side of the show.
After two and a half seasons of build-up, we get to see what we had been dying to see that whole time - Jimmy McGill and Chuck McGill facing off against each other in court. It's the legal drama's version of Cleganebowl (the much-anticipated fight between the Clegane brothers in Game of Thrones (2011-2019)), and the writing in Better Call Saul is so good that watching these two brothers lash out years of conflict through legal arguments in a courtroom is every bit as riveting to follow as a more physical duel sequence in a different series would be. Jimmy's con that ends up giving him the upper hand is an insanely clever ruse, and watching it unfold is quite the satisfying payoff considering what an ass Chuck had been - although it gains some seriously dark implications later, when knowing how far over the edge these events would go on to push poor Chuck.
6. Point and Shoot (Season 6 Episode 8)
"Eladio...you greasy, bloated pimp. You talk of honor...but you have none. A pack of stray dogs fighting for scraps has more honor. Jackals. That's all you are! No vision, no patience, no thought. Stupid and impulsive! That is how I did all this. You couldn't see it, couldn't even conceive of it. And you Salamancas...you're the worst vermin of all. You say you believe in 'blood for blood', but you only understand blood for money! You're whores! I...understand blood for blood. Hector? I kept him alive. Kept him broken. I will save him to the last. Before he dies, he will know, I buried every one of you"
"Big talk. You done?"
"No. Not yet"
I like to imagine a young Vince Gilligan studying drama, reading about Chekov's gun (the storytelling trope that states: if a gun is introduced in a story, it will be fired at some point), and thinking to himself: "I'm going to build the most elaborate Chekov's gun example of all time".
Then, years later, he goes on to write season 6 of Better Call Saul, where a certain episode features a stand-alone scene where Gus Fring plants a gun in his secret underground meth lab construction site. Only for this odd build-up to be paid off not in the same episode, or even the next one, but just a few episodes later so that the average viewer has just forgotten about said scene, yet will remember it at the perfect time. And so, when Lalo has Gus at gunpoint and Gus gives the scathing monologue quoted above, the viewer has time to put two and two together and realize what's about to happen just before Gus reaches for the stashed gun and reverses his and Lalo's fortunes in a breathtaking manner.
And let's talk about the fact that Lalo Salamanca and Howard Hamlin end up being buried under the meth lab. Not only does it make perfect sense relating to Gus wanting to hide the bodies somewhere they'll never be found, as well as giving more meaning to all the construction work we saw in the previous seasons - it also gives some serious subtext for Breaking Bad. Every time you re-watch an episode taking place in the meth lab, you'll suddenly remember that Walt (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse (Aaron Paul) are unknowingly standing on a makeshift cemetery. I especially have to re-watch the classic episode Fly, which I reckon will feel thoroughly different after seeing this - I mean, what if the fly is there because of the rotting corpses underneath? Or, as we all know how Gilligan loves symbolism, maybe the fly represents the spirit of Lalo living on, still disrupting Gus's business from beyond the grave?!
5. Saul Gone (Season 6 Episode 13)
"So you were always like this"
In last week's post, Breaking Bad's series finale Felina sat at fifth place. And, as fate would have it, Better Call Saul's final episode is also the exactly fifth-best episode of the series in my opinion. Consistent work, Mr. Gilligan.
Where to start?
The setting - quite poetic. After starting off as a legal drama above all else, Better Call Saul drifted deep into cartel wars and other criminal endeavours, with each season having slightly less courtroom intrigue than the last - yet for the very last episode, the series returns to its roots. Instead of a big action-packed shootout, our final showdown is a trial, which is extremely fitting for this particular series.
The acting - Jesus Christ. Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn better win their long-overdue Emmys and Golden Globes for this season (and this episode in particular).
The cameos - perfection. They don't feel one bit unnecessary or extra, they all serve an important purpose. The flashbacks to first Mike, then Walt, and finally Chuck, are incredibly poignant as we see instances of Saul discussing themes of regret with these people who all played a massive part in his character arch. The dialogue in these calm conversation scenes is just as engaging to follow as any action sequence.
Themes - YES!! Focusing on regret in particular was a great choice in the final episode - across the series, one constant had been Jimmy's / Saul's inability to realize the consequences of his actions and reflect on them with regret or a genuine will to change. Here, he finally finds it, in a realistic manner true to his character. Naturally, it's his love for Kim that makes it happen - throughout the show, his love for Kim was the biggest motivation behind all of his actions (not in a corny "aww, he did it for love, how sweet" way, but in a quite psychologically realistic and often dark way). When he was breaking the law, it was often in order to raise money for his fantasy of running a legal office together with Kim. When he was helping others, he secretly just wanted to impress Kim and show that he can be a good guy. In the end, it was the realization that he can reverse Kim's miserable fortune (at least to some degree), by owning up to his mistakes for once in his life, that lead to Saul sacrificing his seven-year-deal and willing to serve the much, much longer sentence he admittedly deserved.
Comparison to Breaking Bad - interesting how both series finales have one scene of unforeseen brutal honesty. In Breaking Bad's series finale, just when you expect Walt to emotionally tell Skyler (Anna Gunn) how did it all for them, we get the ice-cold "I did it for me" speech. And in Better Call Saul's finale, just when you expect Saul to tell the judge the same bullshit he told earlier about doing it all out of fear, he is completely honest for maybe the first time in the series with his "Walter White couldn't have done it without me" speech. In last week's post, I said that Breaking Bad ends with Walt lying down, having won everything from a criminal kingpin's perspective but having lost everything from a father's and human's perspective. Better Call Saul's ending is sort of the opposite - as a criminal lawyer, Saul has completely lost his reputation, career and freedom, but as a human, he actually exhibits true growth after six straight seasons of regression.
4. Winner (Season 4 Episode 10)
"Absolutely, let's do this thing! Oh, and sweetheart, I'm gonna need one more form - a DBA - because I'm not going to be practicing under the name McGill, so..."
"Wait, Jimmy - Jimmy? What??"
" 'S'all good, man!"
For most of its duration, Better Call Saul escalates its tempo in a manner similar to Breaking Bad, with every season feeling a bit faster and more intense than the previous ones in a well-built natural crescendo. The only exception? Season four.
You see, the fourth season is a classic slow burn. The pace slows down a bit from season 3, but in a very specific way, where you just know that they're building up to something big and that is enough to keep you on the edge of your seat even though much isn't happening. The bold and brilliant writers take this so far that parts of the season feel almost stale - there were scenes that I would find downright boring in another context, but here I didn't mind, because after five seasons of Breaking Bad and over three seasons of Better Call Saul, I had learned to trust Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould to a staggering degree. When Mike is discussing construction deadlines with his German team for the fourth episode in a row, or when Kim sits in on yet another Mesa Verde board room meeting, a viewer who knows Gilligan&Gould's brand of writing just knows that everything is happening for a reason, nothing is extra, and if you patiently watch through it, all of these threads will be paid off.
And boy, was I right - after nine episodes of steady building, the fourth season culminates in one hell of a finale that brings everything to a climax. For the 1-hour runtime, my eyes were just glued to the screen, as everything that happened had me 100 per cent hooked and invested, with an incredible chain of events naturally rolling by in a delightfully fast pace - and this wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for the near-full season's length of slow-paced build-up. Everything that happened was indeed worth it, as this one episode brings us unforgettable moments from Lalo intensely chasing Mike and Mike undergoing a tragic character transformation as he has to kill poor Werner (Rainer Bock), all the way to Kim and Jimmy pulling a series of tricks in order to get Jimmy reinstated as a lawyer and Jimmy ending the season with finally becoming Saul Goodman by speaking the cleverest of lines.
The episode also gains a lot of emotional momentum from the beyond-the-grave presence of Chuck McGill, who had died in the previous season's finale and whose death had dominated Jimmy's character arch throughout season four: Michael McKean returned for an Emmy-nominated guest performance (who gets an Emmy nomination for just one scene??? That is some serious quality acting), as the episode opens with a powerful flashback to a rare moment of the McGill brothers getting along for once, while the bulk of the episode takes place on the anniversary of Chuck's death. Even from beyond the grave, Chuck manages to get into Jimmy's head and be a huge factor in his character development - that's quite a presence for a character to have.
3. Bagman (Season 5 Episode 8)
"I have people. I have people waiting for me. They don't know what I do, they never will. They're protected. But I do what I do so they can have a better life. And if I live or if I die it really doesn't make a difference to me as long as they have what they need. So when it's my time to go, I will go knowing I did everything that I could for them"
Ah, the episode where Saul and Mike go on a wacky desert adventure. Channeling the atmosphere of classic Breaking Bad episodes like season 2's 4 Days Out, this magnificent instalment is a true testament to the endurance and greatness of the characters created by Vince Gilligan - Saul and Mike are so complex, so engaging to watch, and acted by such brilliant actors with impeccable chemistry, that you can create a top-notch entertaining episode by just sticking the two of them in the middle of the desert for most of the episode. Odenkirk and Banks will take it from there.
Sure, there's a lot more to Bagman than that - the few action sequences are choreographed with lightning-sharp precision, with Gilligan having said that they were the hardest sequences he has ever directed. And it shows - the intensity and realism of those scenes is just something else. But my favorite thing about the episode is that the mere conversations between two characters who have been hanging around for multiple seasons of two different TV shows manage to be even more riveting to follow than the stunning and chaotic action sequences - that speaks volumes about the level of dialogue, acting and character work on Better Call Saul.
2. Rock and a Hard Place (Season 6 Episode 3)
"Alvarez has been paying me for years...years. But you know what? I would've done it for free, because I hate every last one of you psycho sacks of shit. I opened Lalo's gate. And I would do it again, and I'm glad what they did to him. He's a soulless pig. And I wish I'd killed him with my own hands. And you know what else, Hector? I put you in that chair. Oh, yeah. Your heart meds? I switched them for sugar pills. You were dead and buried, and I had to watch this asshole bring you back. So when you are sitting in your shitty nursing home and you're sucking down on your Jell-O night after night for the rest of your life, you think of me, you twisted fuck!"
I mentioned in last week's post that although no character in television history has gone down with final lines quite as badass as Hank Schrader from Breaking Bad, there is one who comes very close - and that, my friends, is Mr. Nacho Varga. It was written in the stars from the get-go that this tragic character was going to die during the course of Better Call Saul - there had to be a reason for him not being present in Breaking Bad's timeline, and the hole he dug himself into as a double agent between two cartel factions couldn't possibly lead to a happy ending. But, thankfully, he wasn't going to die before he spoke some serious facts to all of the cartel's top dogs.
Despite his criminal ways, Nacho always was a likable character - he didn't hurt anyone outside the game, didn't display the same cruelty that Gus, Hector (Mark Margolis) and company always had about them, and only got in so deep because he wanted to protect his poor father. So, his death was a tragic one, especially as the episode leads up to it with tear-jerking material like his last phone call to his old man, the fact that he willingly turns himself in and accepts his impending execution on the condition that his father goes unharmed, and just generally Michael Mando's acting performance being incredibly layered and emotional. His pre-death monologue is so genius, because in addition to sticking it to the Salamancas, he also sticks it to Gus - without deviating from the cover story that Gus ordered so that the deal concerning his father will hold, Nacho still lets the chicken man know just what he thought about the cruel way in which he had entrapped Nacho and his family.
The next time I re-watch Breaking Bad, I'll most definitely remember that moment during Hector's scenes, and picture Nacho's iconic final words ringing in his twisted head.
1. Plan and Execution (Season 6 Episode 7)
"Jimmy, you can't help yourself. Chuck knew it. You were born that way. But you? One of the smartest and most promising humans I've ever known, and this is the life you choose. Oh, good - phony compassion, no, very, very believable but I'm far from done! You're perfect for each other...you have a piece missing. I-I thought you did it for the money, but now, it's so clear - screw the money, you did it for fun. You get off on it. You're like Leopold and Loeb, two sociopaths. No, you know it's true, you just don't have the guts to admit it!"
What really gets to you in that scorching Howard Hamlin monologue is just how 100 per cent true his words are. Just like Jimmy and Kim themselves, the viewer doesn't want to admit it - we've spent six seasons liking the flawed but charismatic main characters, intensely following them concoct their schemes, while very much not siding with the successful and arrogant Hamlin. And this is the moment a mirror is held up to the viewers, asking whose side they're really on. Howard is such a brilliantly written character, because there are just enough characteristics of typically unlikable characters that you don't naturally relate to him - he's a bit insincere, a bit snobby, and often at odds with the main character. But when all is said and done, he never does anything all that wrong, and is honestly one of the few truly decent humans on the series - and this is the episode where that harsh truth hits you. Moments after we've watched Jimmy and Kim gleefully take him down with his career up in flames, and moments before he is tragically killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
And let's talk about that death. Lalo's entrance is nothing short of bone-chilling - the flickering of the light, the Emmy-worthy look of fright on Jimmy's face, just everything. Like much of the series, this moment adds major subtext to Breaking Bad - when Saul is kidnapped by Walt and Jesse in his season 2 debut, he is scared for his life as he thinks it's Lalo's men (or maybe Lalo himself, once again back from the grave in Jimmy's head?) coming for revenge. And this moment demonstrates why Saul has such a livid fear of him - no matter what kind of criminals and monsters he has dealt with, no one will ever trump the man who Jimmy thought to be dead until he suddenly entered Jimmy's home and shot an innocent man right in front of him.
After six seasons of Better Call Saul feeling almost like two separate TV shows, the legal drama and the crime drama clash together in the most unforeseen, shocking and tragic way one can imagine. Bravo.
Thank you for reading! Tune in next week as I celebrate the anniversary of Twin Peaks' ending by sharing my top 10 theories and interpretations of my all-time favorite TV series.
