The Better Call Saul finale was beautiful. There is no other way to describe the hour-long heartfelt, emotional roller-coaster that did not let up until the final moments.
As our constant readers are doubtless aware, we at SK POP have often alluded to how Kim Wexler was Saul Goodman's final link to humanity. As the man went from a conman to a criminal and dragged his wife along for the ride, she kept him tethered to a semblance of normalcy. Even as Jimmy McGill became Saul Goodman became Gene Takovic, even during his moral decay, he did not lose the love he had for his wife.
A question runs through the course of the Better Call Saul finale. What if one had access to a time machine? What would one go back and change? Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) and Walter White (Bryan Cranston), while deceased in the show's current timeline, offered their thoughts and ideas about the same in flashback sequences. The show took the liberty of switching from grayscale to color to demarcate their return.
But perhaps the biggest bit of fan service was a flashback sequence featuring Michael McKean as Charles McGill. In the Better Call Saul finale, we see the older McGill in yet another verbal disagreement with his brother, with HG Wells' classic The Time Machine upon his table. But the episode isn't about smoke, mirrors, or star power that overpowers the story. It's the story of Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) and Kim (Rhea Seehorn) and the incredible ride they've taken us on all these years.
But before we go into that, let's mention the fourth and biggest surprise cameo we saw in the Better Call Saul season finale.
Betsy Brandt reprises her role as Marie Schrader from Breaking Bad as she accuses Goodman (who has been arrested in a garbage dumpster) of all his wrongdoings at the beginning of the episode. Unnerved and undeterred, Goodman explains how, with his gift of gab, he can sow the seeds of doubt in the mind of one jury member, and then the accusers have no case at all.
A sentence of well over a hundred years is brought down to just seven. However, Goodman then learns that his wife has gone on record about the unfortunate demise of Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian), and that changes everything.
The final moments of the Better Call Saul finale are truly uplifting
We lived vicariously through Goodman and even laughed as he conned good, unsuspecting individuals over the course of his journey. In the final moments of the Better Call Saul finale, he confesses his crimes in the presence of his ex-wife.
Goodman is then remanded to eighty-six years in prison, but Wexler, encouraged by the sense of redemption she witnesses, agrees to visit him as his lawyer. There is an endearing end to this story, as husband and ex-wife end the show just as they started it - smoking cigarettes without a care in the world.
By no means is Saul Goodman a good man. The end of the series is his journey towards making up for some of his wrongdoings. An impossible and imposing task for sure, but one that is absolutely beautiful.
No mention need be made of the writing and the performances in the Better Call Saul finale. If you're reading our account of the very last episode of the series, you're already well-acquainted with the caliber, the ability of the incredible cast. The writing, as unconventional as it is when it comes to standard television, is certainly something viewers have grown accustomed to, and following the conclusion of this series, will certainly yearn for.
The Better Call Saul finale is a full stop that concludes a beautifully worded essay. It's an assurance that the power of storytelling can still persevere in today's fast-food world.