BETTER CALL SAUL: A Review Of The Final Season

Introduction

For almost the last fifteen years, Vince Gilligan has created a “Breaking Bad Universe” that has enthralled fans and made critics swoon. Starting in 2008, Breaking Bad took over the prestige “must-see TV” mantle from The Sopranos. That show ended its run in 2007. During this time, Gilligan has nurtured two incredible series as well as a Netflix film, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019). Gilligan’s prequel series, Better Call Saul is more than halfway through its sixth and final season. Much like its predecessor, the showrunner has managed to create a masterpiece that gets better from season to season.

Synopsis

At the center of Better Call Saul, we follow the journey and transformation of James “Slippin’ Jimmy” McGill (Bob Odenkirk). He transforms from a small-time hustler to a struggling lawyer, to the colorfully dressed and corrupt criminal attorney, Saul Goodman. The name ‘Saul Goodman’ is a play on words (“it’s all good, man!”). There are some ‘flash-forward’ post-Breaking Bad scenes throughout the six seasons of Better Call Saul. However, the majority of the series takes place over a six-year period prior to the Breaking Bad timeline. 

Jimmy’s older brother is Charles ‘Chuck’ McGill (Michael McKean), a name partner in the prestigious Albuquerque law firm of Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill. Jimmy attempts to leave his hustling life behind by getting a job in the firm’s mailroom. He finishes college and gets his Juris Doctor degree through The University of American Samoa. While working at HHM, Jimmy clashes with Howard Hamlin, managing partner and close friend to Chuck. Jimmy also becomes close with Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn). She also works in the mailroom, eventually becoming one of the firm’s associates and rising stars.

Eventually, Jimmy passes the bar association exam. However, he is summarily rejected for employment at HHM as Chuck simply doesn’t trust his younger brother. He has good reason not to. Subsequently, Jimmy tries to make ends meet by focusing on low-paying cases, as well as working as a public defender. He soon begins to fight with his brother about why he’s not good enough to work at HHM.

Meanwhile, Kim, who has become an HHM attorney and Jimmy’s lover, reveals that she has a dangerous side that draws the pair to each other like moths to a flame. Kim eventually decides to leave HHM in order to start a solo practice and perform pro bono work for clients in need. She shares office space with Jimmy. As all of this is happening, Chuck is secretly plotting and attempting to have Jimmy disbarred.

Jimmy’s world takes a turn for the worse when, in a series of bizarre accidents, he is accidentally pulled into the orbit of Alberto “Tuco” Salamanca (Raymond Cruz). A psychotic Mexican drug kingpin, Alberto is the nephew of Hector (Mark Margolis), leader of the Salamanca cartel. Further, there is serious bad blood between Hector Salamanca and Gustavo “Gus” Fring (Giancarlo Esposito). Fring is a rival drug lord who uses a successful chain of fried chicken restaurants called Los Pollos Hermanos to front his operations.

Salamanca soldier Ignacio “Nacho” Varga (Michael Mando) is plotting with Fring, along with his head of security, fixer, and hitman Mike Ehrmantraut, to kill Hector Salamanca. This is in order to save Nacho’s father’s livelihood and life. Soon, Fring starts to assert his dominance. As the rival cartel leader begins to grow more powerful and more brutal, Fring meticulously takes his revenge against the Salamancas.

Meanwhile, Don Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton), the enraged and vengeful nephew of Hector, begins to disrupt Fring’s business dealings. Lalo soon takes over the business operations of the Salamanca cartel and seeks justice and retribution for his Uncle. Lalo wants Fring, as well as all those close to him, dead. Subsequently, Nacho is forced to play both sides as he desperately tries to keep his father, and himself, safe. 

Kim and Jimmy plot the ultimate revenge play on Howard Hamlin as well as a way to get rich off of Howard’s downfall. However, when Lalo calls on Jimmy to perform “legal services” for the now jailed cartel boss, Jimmy’s transformation into Saul Goodman is nearly complete. At this point, Jimmy and Kim have now gotten married. Further, they are directly in harm’s way as Lalo goes on the rampage dispensing justice to all those who would do him or his family wrong. 

Analysis

Much like its predecessor, Better Call Saul makes you actively root for a flawed antihero. However, what separates the two shows is the slow burn that is Better Call Saul. In Breaking Bad, Walter White joins up with Jesse Pinkman to start cooking meth in the very first episode. While this is not a criticism, the slow, and almost Shakespearean transformation of James McGill into Saul Goodman is satisfying on so many levels. 

Additionally, Better Call Saul has black and white scenes that take place post-Breaking Bad. Usually one or more each season. We see Jimmy, living his miserable existence as Gene Takovic, his new identity. This is yet another brilliant move by Gilligan and Gould as viewers and fans of both series will wonder if Saul/Jimmy/Gene will get the ‘happy ending’ we are hoping he gets. Walter White, in the final episode of Breaking Bad, has his fate sealed and delivered. Slippin’ Jimmy still has a chance for redemption.

The final season of Better Call Saul has upped the tension. It’s also upped the anxiety and exhilarating cinematography. Much praise needs to be given to the showrunners as we are wholly invested in the character arcs of people like Gus, Mike, and Jimmy. This is even though we are fully aware of what happens to these characters as this is set several years before the events of Breaking Bad take place. Since we already know what happens to these characters, watching Better Call Saul will change the way you see them when you re-watch Breaking Bad.

Season six of Better Call Saul continues to use the New Mexico vistas and landscapes to great effect. The opening scenes of each of the nine episodes that have so far aired are visually and creatively stunning. Season six, so far, might be the tensest season yet. Everything is coming to a climactic head as the timeline is about to explode into the events that mark the start of Breaking Bad. It should be noted that Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) and Walter White (Bryan Cranston) will be reprising their roles this season. How, or in what manner, has yet to be determined.

The Cast

Better Call Saul has one of the finest assembled casts on television. It rivals its predecessor Breaking Bad, as well as shows such as The Wire and The Sopranos. At the forefront of this cast is Bob Odenkirk. The two-time Emmy winner and the seventeen-time nominee has been at it since 1987 when he was hired as a writer on Saturday Night Live. Odenkirk delivers such pathos as he struggles internally to be the honest lawyer his older brother wanted him to be. Simultaneously hilarious and tragic, Odenkirk, throughout six seasons delivers one fantastic performance after another.

Rhea Seehorn, after being ignored for years, has finally gotten a well-deserved Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress – Drama Series. While Odenkirk may be the star of Better Call Saul, it’s Seehorn who’s the true standout of the series and its emotional centerpiece. Additionally, since her character does not appear in Breaking Bad, there is an element of mystery there that the viewer does not experience with some of the other characters on the show. Seehorn’s portrayal of a conflicted attorney on a journey of self-discovery is a joy to watch.

Jonathan Banks and Giancarlo Esposito are both back reprising their Breaking Bad roles as Mike Ehrmantraut and Gus Fring, respectively. Esposito, in particular, delivers an astonishing performance in the ninth episode of the final season. His facial expressions and mannerisms, at times, show a man that simply wants to love again and enjoy a good glass of wine. We almost feel sorry for him. The tenuous relationship between Mike and Gus gets to boiling point levels as the sixth season rolls along. Michael Mando, as “Nacho” may deliver the single greatest performance of the season in the series’ third episode. It’s an absolute tour de force.

Tony Dalton as the vengeful and intelligent Lalo Salamanca delivers both a menacing physicality as well as incredible charm and dry wit. He fits perfectly into the Breaking Bad universe. Special mention must also be given to the incredible Patrick Fabian as Howard Hamlin. Go figure that over the course of six seasons of Better Call Saul he would go from a hated and stereotypical law firm partner to a deeply complicated, and ultimately beloved character in Gilligan’s universe. His arc over the course of the series is fantastic. 

Conclusion

Better Call Saul is a series about the tragedy of life. While at times it’s fall on the floor hilarious and witty, it’s still a grim and tragic show. This makes it all the more remarkable in that it’s so engrossing and enjoyable to watch. Much in the vein of Breaking Bad, these flawed often horrific characters are incredibly likable. The difference between the two shows is that Better Call Saul has a willingness to slow everything down and build deep characters and relationships. The result is an absolutely riveting drama that is one of the very best series of the decade.

‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Better Call Saul’ are available to stream on Netflix.

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