Admittedly it would have spoiled everything, but they could have tried to one-up The Newhart Show by ending it with: "You know, it's the second button that really makes or breaks the shirt."
Did I sorta call it or did I sorta call it? (post 517)
Anyways, solid way to end it. I love the whole "Time Machine" thing. Basically, at the end, Saul did take the time machine. He did have regrets, and he corrected them in the courtroom at the end, when he admitted everything, accepted responsibility and his true penance. In that moment in the courtroom, he time traveled back to before he was Saul. Much like Kim, he did redeem himself as much as he could.
Shady thing you may have missed (only saw it the second time I watched it): right after Jimmy leaves, Charles McGill grabs a book off the counter titled, "Time Machine."
One thing I was confused about: when Kim visits him in the jail and they share a cigarette. It's stupid, but how did he get out into the yard so soon after she left? And I didn't really know how to interpret the bang-bang gesture he makes -- I know that's what she did to him once when they were in the bedroom (can't remember what they were talking about exactly). Minor quibbles.
Anyways, Saul finally owns up to all the mistakes he's made -- not only with the crimes he's committed, but with his brother too. You can say Charles certainly wasn't an innocent victim in the situation, but nevertheless, Jimmy took responsibility for his part, even though it "wasn't a crime" as his lawyer tells him.
I would draw parallels between breaking bad and better call Saul in a similar way that I do with the Godfather and the Godfather part two.
First of all they are both extremely well written and extremely well cast/acted, of course. Second is how the second one mirrors the first in some ways while having juxtapositions in others.
For example in The Godfather Vito Corleone is such a devoted family man and in the godfather Two, Michael drives the family away.
Similarly, in Breaking Bad, Walter White starts for a noble reason and degenerates into an amoral character driven by his arrogance and knowing that he’s better than others right down to the scene in the finale of better call Saul where his regret is not anything he did to the ones he loved but the fact that someone else made money on his ideas and he did not get credit.
While with Saul he always worked from a position of inferiority or suffered from an inferiority complex always trying to prove himself against the better lawyer, first his brother then his wife.
So in the end he first proves his skill as a lawyer by bargaining down to a ridiculously low sentence, and then gives himself up and ends up with a much longer sentence because he has to tell the courtroom of his skills as a lawyer: “ Walter White could not have done it without me”. He had to let everybody know.
The other juxtaposition of course is Walt would do what was best for Walt and Jimmy actually would take the hit himself to protect someone else. He saved Kim instead of himself, vs Walt willing to give up Jesse to save himself.
The other comparison I would make between those two pairs is I always would make the contradictory claim “the Godfather is the best movie ever made, and the Godfather two might actually be better.“
And now I would say the same about these two series: “Breaking Bad may be the best series ever on television, and Better Call Saul may have been better.“
I would draw parallels between breaking bad and better call Saul in a similar way that I do with the Godfather and the Godfather part two.
First of all they are both extremely well written and extremely well cast/acted, of course. Second is how the second one mirrors the first in some ways while having juxtapositions in others.
For example in The Godfather Vito Corleone is such a devoted family man and in the godfather Two, Michael drives the family away.
Similarly, in Breaking Bad, Walter White starts for a noble reason and degenerates into an amoral character driven by his arrogance and knowing that he’s better than others right down to the scene in the finale of better call Saul where his regret is not anything he did to the ones he loved but the fact that someone else made money on his ideas and he did not get credit.
While with Saul he always worked from a position of inferiority or suffered from an inferiority complex always trying to prove himself against the better lawyer, first his brother then his wife.
So in the end he first proves his skill as a lawyer by bargaining down to a ridiculously low sentence, and then gives himself up and ends up with a much longer sentence because he has to tell the courtroom of his skills as a lawyer: “ Walter White could not have done it without me”. He had to let everybody know.
The other juxtaposition of course is Walt would do what was best for Walt and Jimmy actually would take the hit himself to protect someone else. He saved Kim instead of himself, vs Walt willing to give up Jesse to save himself.
The other comparison I would make between those two pairs is I always would make the contradictory claim “the Godfather is the best movie ever made, and the Godfather two might actually be better.“
And now I would say the same about these two series: “Breaking Bad may be the best series ever on television, and Better Call Saul may have been better.“
I agree for the most part, but I still think BB is better. That's just me. This was a fantastic series though.
It's funny you mention the Godfather -- did you catch the little nod they did in the 2nd to last episode, when Kim and Francesca exit Saul's office after Kim signs the divorce papers, and she gives a look back through the doorway at Saul; and then the door closes? Definitely a nod to when Kate is in the doorway at the end of Godfather and the door closes on Michael.
You know, I might be the only one who give credit to Walt when he "rescues" Jesse. Yes, Walt definitely fucked him over, but then again, they fucked each other over multiple times throughout the series. In the end though, Walt jumped on Jesse so he wouldn't get hit by the bullets and he does technically take a bullet for Jesse, even if he did put Jesse in that situation. I love that nod they give to each other at the end too.
When Walt mentions how he regrets walking away from the business he started in college, I sorta thought that he meant that, had he never walked away, he would have never had to go down this terrible (meth) path that led him to be in a room with Saul and running from his family and his life, etc. But I see your interpretation too.
I would draw parallels between breaking bad and better call Saul in a similar way that I do with the Godfather and the Godfather part two.
First of all they are both extremely well written and extremely well cast/acted, of course. Second is how the second one mirrors the first in some ways while having juxtapositions in others.
For example in The Godfather Vito Corleone is such a devoted family man and in the godfather Two, Michael drives the family away.
Similarly, in Breaking Bad, Walter White starts for a noble reason and degenerates into an amoral character driven by his arrogance and knowing that he’s better than others right down to the scene in the finale of better call Saul where his regret is not anything he did to the ones he loved but the fact that someone else made money on his ideas and he did not get credit.
While with Saul he always worked from a position of inferiority or suffered from an inferiority complex always trying to prove himself against the better lawyer, first his brother then his wife.
So in the end he first proves his skill as a lawyer by bargaining down to a ridiculously low sentence, and then gives himself up and ends up with a much longer sentence because he has to tell the courtroom of his skills as a lawyer: “ Walter White could not have done it without me”. He had to let everybody know.
The other juxtaposition of course is Walt would do what was best for Walt and Jimmy actually would take the hit himself to protect someone else. He saved Kim instead of himself, vs Walt willing to give up Jesse to save himself.
The other comparison I would make between those two pairs is I always would make the contradictory claim “the Godfather is the best movie ever made, and the Godfather two might actually be better.“
And now I would say the same about these two series: “Breaking Bad may be the best series ever on television, and Better Call Saul may have been better.“
I am with you on a lot of this... explanation in the spoiler tag.
outside of the spoiler tag, I will say that this is quite possibly the most "saul" ending there could have been.
I agree with most of what you said with the exception of Saul in court having to flex and destroy his case.
The reason I call this the most "Saul" ending possible is because IMO, Saul has shown time and time again that he will always put others before himself, and will paint himself as the villain to keep others clean.
He had the sentence whittled away to almost nothing. He was fully in control during the bargaining.
The only time his composure cracked was when he found out kim had fucked herself.
The prosecution mentioned RICO at the bargaining table. That puts walter and the cartels crimes on saul.
Theoretically, Saul admitting the Hamlin thing could have been done omitting kim. Most likely would have been.
But- if he corroborated kims story, that would likely be enough to bring kim to trial- he was the only other witness.
Oakley on the plane solidified the decision for saul to nuke himself in order to save kim.
He shows up in the shiniest, gaudiest suit he could find, plays everyone like a fiddle to show he absolutely could manipulate people- and then shot himself down, basically saying to everyone "See? I am the mastermind, and this is how I worked kim in to doing my bidding. Give me the punishment. She was an innocent party being misled".
On the time machine conversation and Sauls surface level answers- Were he a bad person, were he the me first type, he would have regretted admitting his mesa verde address switch to his brother.
He would have regretted running in to the copy store to help his brother.
He would have regretted destroying his own credibility with the old lady that was ready to settle sandpiper.
Saul was only ever successful when he was looking out for himself and himself alone. During Breaking bad, he had a palace, power, and all the money in the world, but he was miserable and alone.
But every time he is confronted with a situation where it is is him or someone "innocent", he always takes the hit.
I think the point of him looking out for everyone else before his own good was served to us on a silver platter, clear as day in jail.
His very first phone call was to Cinnabon- to assure everyone had their schedule posted, and to assure that they could get a new manager.
He had zero reason to make that call- especially from jail.
He did it because he took responsibility for his people.
Reflecting back on every momentous occurrence Saul had, He always put others before himself except for possibly the post kim through breaking bad years.
During those years, the only time he ever put himself first, he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.
Had he continued that behavior, he would be elsewhere safe and sound.
But, he could not see others get hurt to save himself, which I believe was his default setting from day 1.
The flashback with Walt was really good. I was confused at first. But it was after they both called the vacuum guy. He had to hide them before their destination. Saul had the card still too....
I am with you on a lot of this... explanation in the spoiler tag.
outside of the spoiler tag, I will say that this is quite possibly the most "saul" ending there could have been.
I agree with most of what you said with the exception of Saul in court having to flex and destroy his case.
The reason I call this the most "Saul" ending possible is because IMO, Saul has shown time and time again that he will always put others before himself, and will paint himself as the villain to keep others clean.
He had the sentence whittled away to almost nothing. He was fully in control during the bargaining.
The only time his composure cracked was when he found out kim had fucked herself.
The prosecution mentioned RICO at the bargaining table. That puts walter and the cartels crimes on saul.
Theoretically, Saul admitting the Hamlin thing could have been done omitting kim. Most likely would have been.
But- if he corroborated kims story, that would likely be enough to bring kim to trial- he was the only other witness.
Oakley on the plane solidified the decision for saul to nuke himself in order to save kim.
He shows up in the shiniest, gaudiest suit he could find, plays everyone like a fiddle to show he absolutely could manipulate people- and then shot himself down, basically saying to everyone "See? I am the mastermind, and this is how I worked kim in to doing my bidding. Give me the punishment. She was an innocent party being misled".
On the time machine conversation and Sauls surface level answers- Were he a bad person, were he the me first type, he would have regretted admitting his mesa verde address switch to his brother.
He would have regretted running in to the copy store to help his brother.
He would have regretted destroying his own credibility with the old lady that was ready to settle sandpiper.
Saul was only ever successful when he was looking out for himself and himself alone. During Breaking bad, he had a palace, power, and all the money in the world, but he was miserable and alone.
But every time he is confronted with a situation where it is is him or someone "innocent", he always takes the hit.
I think the point of him looking out for everyone else before his own good was served to us on a silver platter, clear as day in jail.
His very first phone call was to Cinnabon- to assure everyone had their schedule posted, and to assure that they could get a new manager.
He had zero reason to make that call- especially from jail.
He did it because he took responsibility for his people.
Reflecting back on every momentous occurrence Saul had, He always put others before himself except for possibly the post kim through breaking bad years.
During those years, the only time he ever put himself first, he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.
Had he continued that behavior, he would be elsewhere safe and sound.
But, he could not see others get hurt to save himself, which I believe was his default setting from day 1.
This is a good post but I gotta disagree with Saul being a selfless character and always putting others before himself. I'd agree that there were moments where he did so, but overall, I don't view him as a completely selfless character who always put others before himself. I feel like he conned and used people more than ever acting selflessly -- you can clearly see this throughout but also when he's Gene with how he treats Carol Burnett, the mall security guards, etc. -- it's all for his benefit. But again, that's what makes a show great; when you can debate things like this.
There are certain things I'd love to have a definitive answer on, but I feel like the creators intentionally left them ambiguous. For example:
Like you mentioned, was Saul going to rat out Kim when he was negotiating with the DA and when he first mentioned Howard? Would he have only mentioned his involvement?
When exactly did Saul decide that he was going to take the fall entirely? Because before he entered court, he was going in as Saul -- not Jimmy. He was dressed like Saul; he even requested that "Saul Goodman" be the name used for his trial. It was only after seeing Kim in the courtroom that he decided to take the fall, which begs this question:
Would he have still taken the fall if Kim had never shown up in court?
Was it a last minute decision, or was it his intent all along to completely take the fall and save Kim? We'll honestly never know, but that's what makes it so great.
This is a good post but I gotta disagree with Saul being a selfless character and always putting others before himself. I'd agree that there were moments where he did so, but overall, I don't view him as a completely selfless character who always put others before himself. I feel like he conned and used people more than ever acting selflessly -- you can clearly see this throughout but also when he's Gene with how he treats Carol Burnett, the mall security guards, etc. -- it's all for his benefit. But again, that's what makes a show great; when you can debate things like this.
There are certain things I'd love to have a definitive answer on, but I feel like the creators intentionally left them ambiguous. For example:
Like you mentioned, was Saul going to rat out Kim when he was negotiating with the DA and when he first mentioned Howard? Would he have only mentioned his involvement?
When exactly did Saul decide that he was going to take the fall entirely? Because before he entered court, he was going in as Saul -- not Jimmy. He was dressed like Saul; he even requested that "Saul Goodman" be the name used for his trial. It was only after seeing Kim in the courtroom that he decided to take the fall, which begs this question:
Would he have still taken the fall if Kim had never shown up in court?
Was it a last minute decision, or was it his intent all along to completely take the fall and save Kim? We'll honestly never know, but that's what makes it so great.
Can't say I've ever had Duke's -- I'm a Hellman's guy -- but substituting Miracle Whip for any other mayo is a fucking travesty.
It's funny because, during that time, she's indecisive about everything. She can't make that decision and leaves it up to her pud boyfriend; she can't decide between ice-cream flavors for her co-worker at work; and there's one or two now that I'm forgetting. Maybe there's a subtext: only indecisive people choose Miracle Whip.
Can't say I've ever had Duke's -- I'm a Hellman's guy -- but substituting Miracle Whip for any other mayo is a fucking travesty.
It's funny because, during that time, she's indecisive about everything. She can't make that decision and leaves it up to her pud boyfriend; she can't decide between ice-cream flavors for her co-worker at work; and there's one or two now that I'm forgetting. Maybe there's a subtext: only indecisive people choose Miracle Whip.
Can't say I've ever had Duke's -- I'm a Hellman's guy -- but substituting Miracle Whip for any other mayo is a fucking travesty.
It's funny because, during that time, she's indecisive about everything. She can't make that decision and leaves it up to her pud boyfriend; she can't decide between ice-cream flavors for her co-worker at work; and there's one or two now that I'm forgetting. Maybe there's a subtext: only indecisive people choose Miracle Whip.
re: the indecisiveness, I thought it was cool and subtle at first, but in keeping with one of my main vince gilligan complaints, the writing decided to repeat it and run it into the ground to to the point of cartoonish 2-dimensionality.
re: the indecisiveness, I thought it was cool and subtle at first, but in keeping with one of my main vince gilligan complaints, the writing decided to repeat it and run it into the ground to to the point of cartoonish 2-dimensionality.
Yeah I noticed that with certain elements too. A little overdone, but still cool in the sense that, now she's afraid to make even the smallest of decisions. She will not "take the lead" like she did with the Howard thing; it sort of illustrates her PTSD from that experience. That's how I read it anyway.
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