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The 'Better Call Saul' series goes in the right direction with its satisfying ending

2022-08-16T08:34:39.833Z


After six seasons, the series "Better Call Saul" presented its final chapter, facing the overwhelming expectations generated by its Emmy-winning predecessor, "Breaking Bad". 


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Editor's Note:

This text contains spoilers for the series finale "Better Call Saul," which premiered on August 15, 2022.

(CNN) --

After six seasons that were drawing to the foreshadowing of Saul Goodman's downfall, the series "Better Call Saul" returned to its final chapter, facing the overwhelming expectations generated by its Emmy-winning predecessor, "Breaking Bad."

Adding calls to that series and building on its own execution, the series offered a thoughtful contemplation of what transformed the main character and the possibility of some path to redemption.

The series was never exactly a racehorse in terms of pacing, the extra-long finale continuing the show's slow and steady strategy, which this season included an entire episode seemingly dedicated to being an insanely funny visual gag inside a department store.

Still, Better Call Saul came to a logical if understated conclusion, one that saw Jimmy/Saul (Bob Odenkirk) engage in a single selfless and noble act to get back together, however fleetingly, with his ex, Kim Wexler ( Rhea Seehorn).

His fate had always been the show's most fundamental mystery and the key to Jimmy's evolution (or descent) into the fast-talking huckster he became.

  • How 'Breaking Bad' Engineered the Addictive Formula of 'Better Call Saul'

Having been trapped in a dumpster by a medical alert bracelet (creating an invaluable starring role for Carol Burnett), Saul set about doing what he does best: game the system.

It was something—as Walter White (Bryan Cranston) observed in a pointed flashback—he was always up for, which explains why he couldn't resist reverting to his thieving ways, which ultimately led to his capture.

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"So, you were always like that," Walt said.

Back in his element arguing on his own behalf, Saul seemed to have outsmarted the defendants once again by securing an absurdly light sentence.

That was despite fellow "Breaking Bad" alumna Marie Schrader (Betsy Brandt) demanding justice for her complicity in the death of her husband, Hank.

The "bad" characters served a purpose, with fellow transplant Mike (Jonathan Banks) expressing barely concealed contempt when Saul questions him about a time machine, saying he would use it to invest shrewdly and become a billionaire.

"Is that all? Money?" Mike scoffed.

In the end, though, Saul found something more important, so it seemed to be not so much rescuing Kim or getting her out of a possible lawsuit, but simply seeing her again.

It was an expensive cigarette in terms of years added to his sentence, but all things considered, it was worth it to him, getting at least a piece of his soul back.

  • Bob Odenkirk is in stable condition after collapsing on the set of 'Better Call Saul'

Bob Odenkirk as Gene in Better Call Saul, Season 6, Episode 13. (Credit: Greg Lewis/amc/Sony Pictures Television)

Better Call Saul's twist ending

"Saul," a series written and directed by Peter Gould (who co-created the show with Vince Gilligan), obviously couldn't provide the same fireworks that marked the end of "Breaking Bad," but it was satisfying in a way felt real to the show.

Notably, "Better Call Saul" had never won an Emmy in any category prior to the current season.

In addition to its pending nominations, this second batch of episodes, which played outside of the current eligibility window, will likely put the series, and perhaps especially Odenkirk, who survived a near-death experience to deliver the performance of his life, in contention for an award next year, assuming anyone can remember that long ago.

With his cover blown early in the episode, Saul put his priorities on display by trying to take his money and run.

Ultimately, however, first Kim and then Saul/Jimmy had to atone for what, in hindsight, was the show's pivotal moment: how their shared joy at perpetrating con-arts ultimately resulted, albeit inadvertently, in Howard's death. (Patrick Fabiano).

At that moment all innocence was lost, drawing a straight line to Jimmy's "Breaking Bad" years and his drab, colorless future.

Even then, his honed Cinnabon expertise with baked goods would come in handy, a skill he was shown applying in his new role as a prisoner.

Because just like "Breaking Bad," "Better Call Saul" always found ways to tie past, present, and future together, even if it was something as small as Jimmy's ability to manipulate a different kind of dough.

Better Call Saul

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2022-08-16

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