Better Call Saul series finale: the showrunner breaks it down (SPOILERS)

After a terrific six-season run, AMC’s Better Call Saul ended last night, bringing the Breaking Bad universe to a bittersweet but fitting conclusion. If you haven’t watched the series finale yet, you definitely want to avoid this story, as there will be spoilers ahead.

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So, as we saw, Better Call Saul ended with Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) reclaiming his old name, Jimmy McGill, and finally taking responsibility for his actions. Initially, it seemed he was going to throw Kim (Rhea Seehorn) under the bus, but in the end, he opted to come clean about his criminal career. If he had kept his mouth shut, he would have gotten off with seven and a half years in Club Fed, but now he’s stuck in a hellish prison for the rest of his life. 

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Peter Gould, who was co-showrunner with Vince Gilligan (and wrote and directed the finale), admitted putting Saul (Jimmy) behind bars had been the plan for a while: 

We’ve been wondering how to end the show forever. It was only in season four that we started having the image of Jimmy McGill, instead of being an attorney in court, he’s the prisoner. He made such a mockery of justice his entire career that it felt right that he now has to defend himself and to suffer the consequences of his actions.

The only silver lining for Jimmy is that he’s now living a more honest life and has been (somewhat) redeemed in the eyes of his ex-wife, Kim. While the show ended with her very much alive and out of jail, she still has a costly civil court case hanging over her head. Gould admitted it’s not exactly a “happily ever after” ending for her either.

Kim doesn’t trust herself anymore—she’s decided she’s not going to do any harm to anybody else, but she’s not doing good either. She’s put herself into this kind of limbo, partially as punishment for what she’s done. But partially just because she knows damn well she’s made some terrible decisions and lost her footing as a person. And I think in this last episode, you see her start to regain her footing.

When asked if that meant she might be back to practicing law he said, “I think so.”

Could there be room in the Breaking Bad universe for another spinoff focusing on Kim? Gould, in a separate interview with Deadline, said, “I think I would be really interested seeing what happens to Kim, but right now, we have no plans in that direction.” 

Sounds like the door’s open, right? Let us know what you thought of the Better Call Saul finale in the comments!