Better Call Saul season 6 was Jimmy’s greatest trick of all

Saul Goodman died. Saul Goodman, long live!

Following a series of disastrous, self-destructive and sloppy choices that put the con artist Jimmy McGill under police arrest, I was ready for an unsatisfying series finale. One that involved all of us enjoying Saul’s smarmy schemes at great cost to real lives. I had been ready to tell the story of the man who will never be the same again, up until the halfway point. However, the series finale of Saul deserves better It proved that it can pull the wool over our eyes once more, leaving us with romantic optimism for change and not a nihilistic “I-told you so” about Jimmy/Saul/Gene. Jimmy’s last con was making us believe he was totally irredeemable, and we all fell for it.

Highly detailed Saul deserves better It has been about the art of craftsmanship since its inception. We witness Jimmy set up a Post-it wall to exact his revenge on Howard Hamlin. Mike Ehrmantraut carefully drills dozens more holes in the ground. Kim Wexler adjusts her ponytail, buttoned her suit and straightens her posture before each professional conversation. It is quite an art to see the people who pull off these tricks. You can’t fear being found out as a fraud if you’re not one — if you’ve convinced yourself you’re in the right, and if you’ve already played out and anticipated every possible outcome in your mind. I think that all these characters would be great. The Rehearsal.)

Photo: Greg Lewis/AMC, Sony Pictures Television

It has been this way for centuries at the micro-level of character, but it’s part of the genius. Saul deserves better’s storytelling was its complete inability to exist in a vacuum. You couldn’t miss an episode; you’d miss a tiny, crucial detail that would eventually build to some big, devastating reveal. Saul deserves better You could have easily forgotten the little things that were important until the very last minute. It’s possible that you won’t be able keep up with it all. But Jimmy, Kim, Mike, Lalo and Gus could. Many of the greatest episodes can be recalled. Saul — season 3’s “Chicanery,” season 5’s “Wexler v. Goodman” — could sound boring and procedural if described on their own, out of context. “A lawyer does something smart in court” could be applied to the high drama of Saul Or the monotony in any CBS copaganda show. But Saul deserves better often felt so satisfying because of the investment we as viewers made into keeping tabs on the behavior of these super-intelligent and competent characters, which often seemed nonsensical up until the very moment it didn’t. The characters did not leave any stone unturned and followed every step. They made this journey together so rewarding.

The enormous tragedy of Howard Hamlin’s wrong-place, wrong time death near the beginning of the final season should have clued us in to the fact that, no matter how well we get to know these characters, their circumstances and schemes could still surprise us. In a way, it was silly to go into this finale believing Jimmy McGill was irredeemable, that he’d crossed moral lines that could never be uncrossed in the same way Walter White did on Breaking Bad Many years ago.

Walter White is a different animal than Jimmy. Heisenberg’s intrinsic bitterness and greed, hidden by the bland circumstances of suburbia and monotonous middle class Americanness, turned a high school chemistry teacher into a monster once achievable power was introduced into the complicated equation of his life and illness. Jimmy’s motivations are more base. Less Shakespearean, more quotidian. Although they were motivated by greed, hubris and egoism respectively, Jimmy did not have the bloodlust that Walter White had. While he’s just as flawed as Walter White and nearly as misguided as him, Jimmy McGill is at the core of what he wants. He just wants someone to be proud.

Photo: Greg Lewis/AMC, Sony Pictures Television

Photo: Greg Lewis/AMC, Sony Pictures Television

That’s not necessarily true of Saul Goodman, the walking mutation and coping mechanism Jimmy became as he diverged further and further from his loved ones. Saul is motivated by spite in a way Jimmy wasn’t; he takes Jimmy’s “watch me” attitude and his desire to do things just because he can to a whole new, dangerous level.

Saul Goodman was charming, smart and masterful in his plea bargain negotiation skills. He’s so effective that he transfigures multiple life sentences into only seven years behind bars — and a hand-delivered pint of ice cream each week for good measure. No matter what we really want, it’s amazing to see a craftsman at work.

It’s also incredibly satisfying to see the craftsman, in his hubris, taken down a peg. Saul was at the end of his negotiation when he realized that Kim had already told the police everything she knew about Howard’s murder. The realization gives rise to a feeling of guilt that may be his first since a long time. Hearing Kim’s name cracks open the hard plastic of the Saul persona, revealing the insecure and eager-to-please Jimmy McGill hidden underneath.

The flashback to Chuck’s conversation is what cushions the scene. It was early in their battle with mental illness, which would ultimately lead to Chuck’s tragic death. I’d forgotten how much Jimmy cared for Chuck, and how much Chuck relied on Jimmy. While there were always hurt feelings and resentments, Jimmy wanted to show respect to everyone he knew.

Photo: Greg Lewis/AMC, Sony Pictures Television

Jimmy is the lover. Saul holds him back. When Saul stands up in court and says he wants to be tried as Jimmy McGill, he’s telling us who he’s decided to be going forward. He wants to do the right thing because Kim — the love of his life, his partner in crime and all else — is watching. He desires to be proud of her, to live up to her morality and occasion. What’s the point of scheming if your accomplice wants nothing to do with you?

Unfortunately, Jimmy will always be accompanied by Saul until his death. Jimmy confessed, somewhat dubious, that he was the one behind the Walter White Operation in court. He ended up being sent on a bus to jail for the next 80 years. First, he needed to show he could escape, then he needed to show he can do difficult times. He’s recognized as Saul almost immediately. He isn’t able to deny his identity, so the others begin rhythmically singing the slogan that made him popular to anyone who might end up in a bus station. We later see him, as Saul, working in the kitchen in prison, coming to terms with what he can’t just walk away from. It’s tragic that no matter how much work he does on himself, he will still carry this major blotch on his morality record, and he will always be known for the things he did while he was at his lowest and loneliest point emotionally.

It’s tragic, but it’s not a death sentence or a fine point. Six years later, Jimmy became Saul, and Gene was born. But the old versions of Jimmy are always readily available to anyone who needs them. From the moment Gene was put in prison, we witnessed him transform into Saul. We also saw Jimmy transform into Saul when he learned about Kim and was extradited to New Mexico. You can’t escape your worst reputation or your most destructive behaviors, but you can change your actions and choose to do the right thing at any point. Jimmy is just as good at it as Kim.

The latest McGill mutation — the one that brings Kim Wexler back into his life, the one that’s willing to do hard time to pay for his mistakes — isn’t a step backward into the Jimmy McGill we first met working his way up the ranks of his brother’s law firm. He might have the same name, but he can’t hide from his mistakes, and he’s no longer trying to. The ultimate Jimmy McGill is a conglomeration of all the Jimmy McGills who came before, meticulously built up — like the series he led — to be better and greater than the sum of his parts. This story’s Jimmy McGill ends up choosing accountability over escaping with his crimes. Because he knows that Kim’s absence is not worth the risk, he chooses to share a cigarette and enjoy a good time with his loved one behind bars.

Although 99% of Jimmy’s scenes after their breakup were in black and White, the tip of that cigar lights up when Kim and Jimmy find themselves in the jail cell. Your actions can lead to light leaving your life. But it’s comforting to understand that it can always come back. It is possible to regain your identity and make positive changes for those who know you.