What happened to Saul at end of Breaking Bad? Explained

At the end of Breaking Bad, the police find Saul and accuse him of his crimes while working for Walter. He first strikes a favorable plea agreement, but at the last minute, he backs out to take accountability for the harm Walter caused. Despite receiving an 86-year term in federal prison, Saul manages to find some redemption by going back to being Jimmy McGill.

Saul was originally introduced to Walt and Jesse by the attorney they retained to prevent the DEA from tying Badger (Matt Jones) to "Heisenberg." After discovering Walt's true identity, Saul offered to act as Walt's counselor and legal counsel despite Saul's dubious moral practices. Furthermore, Saul devised strategies for Walt to effectively conceal the proceeds from the sales of his meth distribution ventures.

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Saul’s story in Breaking Bad

In the penultimate episode of Breaking Bad, Saul is forced to flee after his mother, Marion (Carol Burnett), discovers who Saul is and calls the police on him. Jeff, the cab driver, was caught after a scam went wrong.

Saul succeeded in his escape for a brief while, but he was soon trapped. When he tried to hide in a dumpster, he was apprehended by police and detained at gunpoint. Without wasting time, Saul met with law enforcement to negotiate his sentencing and phoned Bill Oakley (Peter Diseth) to assist him as co-counsel in his case.

He spoke with Marie (Betsy Brandt), the widow of Hank Schrader, who told him how his backing of Walter White (Bryan Cranston) affected both her and Blanca, the widow of Steve Gomez.

Saul clarified that he went into hiding because he feared Walt and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), not the police and that he was threatened with helping them. Ultimately, he convinced the prosecution to reach a compromise, which resulted in a seven-year prison sentence.

However, upon discovering that Kim had previously admitted to everything that had transpired before Howard Hamlin's (Patrick Fabian) murder at the hands of Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton), Saul chose to alter his strategy during the hearing.

In the penultimate episode of Breaking Bad, Kim had an affidavit prepared in which she disclosed how Lalo killed Howard and how the crime was covered up. She and Saul were both aware of this but remained silent out of fear for their lives.

At his hearing, Saul admitted everything to keep Kim safe from prosecution by Howard's widow. Saul said that Walt would have died or gone to prison if it weren't for him, reversing his prior claim that Walt and Jesse threatened him, as Kim observed.

Speaking of Walt, near the end of Breaking Bad, Cranston reappeared in a flashback to one of his last scenes with Odenkirk, where Saul and Walt hid while awaiting new identities.

In a different flashback from Breaking Bad, Saul—then known as Jimmy McGill—met his late brother Chuck (Michael McKean), and they quarreled about Jimmy's legal career while he brought supplies for their sibling.

At his trial, Saul accepted full responsibility and received an 87-year prison sentence. Saul's fellow prisoners cheered "Better Call Saul" as he was being transported to prison because they had seen his advertisements encouraging the prosecution of similar criminals.

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As the show came to a close, Kim visited Saul in jail. The two talked about the future and smoked a cigarette just like they used to when they were married. Saul stated that he might be released from prison earlier "with good behavior" while talking about his 87-year term.