Better Call Saul | An Unprecedented Miracle

there's nothing more exhilarating than pointing out the shortcomings of others is there this video was made possible due to those who support me on patreon I'd like to give a big shout out to Patron's bedside milk Chris Hutchison Conrad Truitt Dan Ray Eric Navarro flake frame by frame John Deere Jose Flores Joseph Abrams Josh Draper Kyle Kramer Elsie Maestro mafen Majin weeaboo Nestle Stephen Dillon and Tyler Findlay thank you all for your support so how do I put this when adhering to precedent Better Call Saul is a show that shouldn't logically exist when it would first announced that Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould would be developing a prequel series to the acclaimed Breaking Bad showcasing the origin story of morally dubious criminal attorney James Jimmy McGill AKA Saul Goodman I and I presume many others responded with a resounding her given the quality of its source material I didn't expect the show to be bad I figured it'd be along the lines of an enjoyable episodic comedy where we witness Saul represent a colorful collection of criminals indulging in wacky Shenanigans to keep them out of prison but frankly at best I figured it would be a cute little addition to the Breaking Bad universe and over time would Fade Into Obscurity and never have I been so glad to have been proven so so wrong Better Call Saul not only crafted its own hilarious romantic disturbing heartbreaking tragic tale but in my opinion defied the president set by countless cash grab prequels and surpassed its predecessor more nuanced and complex characters more subtle and methodical storytelling and a far more satisfying and thematically cohesive conclusion if there is enough interest I can always make a follow-up video where I flesh out my reasons as to why I can cetera to be superior but for now it's time to give praise to Better Call Saul a No Holds Barred unprecedented miracle [Music] before we begin a few quick notes when I embark on a long form analysis my first step is to decide on its structure for Better Call Saul I settled on focusing on three relationships which serve as the primary vehicles of the narrative we will Begin by discussing the relationship between Mike ehrmintrout and Ignacio nacho Varga and how's that relationship and their individual character arcs make up the spine of the cartel storyline this will also allow us to recap and discuss said storyline in its entirety so I can highlight some of my criticisms we will then move on to the two most significant relationships of our protagonist his relationship with his older brother Charles Chuck McGill which is the primary drive of the first half of the series and his relationship in Romance with Kim wechsler which takes Center Stage come the second half I find that splitting the series up in this fashion is the most coherent way to discuss Jimmy's Arc by first showcasing his relationship with the one who put pushes him down his path of corruption followed by discussing his relationship with the one who despite a multitude of complications eventually leads to his salvation also I won't be recapping the events of the series exactly as they unfold so to get the most out of this analysis you are going to want to have seen both Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad and though it should go without saying there will be Major Spoilers for both shows so with all that established let's Dive In everything up here is new so full disclosure I didn't actually end up watching Better Call Saul until the mid-season break of the sixth and final season of the show which concluded a mere five months ago as for why well there were a few reasons the first as I said was me initially believing it wouldn't be anything special the second even after seeing the positive reception the show received throughout its run I was a bit um hesitant if you will considering how a certain other show that shall not be named received High Praise only to end in deplorable fashion even to this day it is hard for me to commit to a show that has yet to conclude as I am always worried it will [ __ ] the bed on the home stretch and third because based on promos I saw over the years I was skeptical as to whether it was just going to be a Chronicle of things that I as an avid Breaking Bad fan was already aware of specifically in regard to the cartel storyline that is not to say that the cartoon our storyline is of poor quality however there were times when I felt as if there was a lot of screen time being spent on fleshing out events that didn't necessarily warrant it seeing how Hector came to end up in the state we find him in in Breaking Bad was interesting and US gaining insight into the construction of Gus's super lab was cool but both of them fall under the category of oh that's neat hence we see the emergence of what I call prequel problems much of the cartel storyline is spent fleshing out and or recapping events that really don't need to be fleshed out nor recapped which in turn makes it seem unnecessary at least on the surface I'm going to backtrack on this later however perhaps the most blatant prequel problem of the show is both the inclusion and demise of Lalo Salamanca despite being in the show for only about a quarter of its total run Tony Dalton's incredible performance cements the character as one of the most memorable of the franchise as charismatic as he is horrifying his unrelenting drive to take Gus down is gripping to Bear witness to but this comes with the catch specifically us knowing that Lalo will of course not be successful in taking Gus down and will most likely get capped by the end of the series now this isn't a flaw in and of itself the series is full of characters whose Fates we are fully aware of the Intrigue comes from how these characters get from A to B how they become the individuals we know them as that is how you can still add Intrigue to a prequel series but since Lalo is not in Breaking Bad this doesn't really apply now one could argue that just because Lyle doesn't appear in Breaking Bad doesn't mean he's necessarily dead however following the events of the season 5 finale yeah there's no way Lala would rest until the chicken man was in the ground so since I knew that Gus would not meet his end at the hands of wallow come season 6 I was certain this charming bastard was going to get God at some point but hey that's fine since how he dies can be interesting and subversive yeah about that I understand Lalo as a character was obviously designed to be more of a catalyst for the end game but for such an insanely based character I do think he met a rather anti-climactic end Lalo was initially dispatched to manage to Salamanca drug operation and soon begins to suspect that Gus may be up to something fishy eventually Gus decides that Lalo is too much of a threat and sends men to assassinate him though Lalo survives aware that it was Gus who tried to kill him Lalo Returns the ABQ and holds Gus at gunpoint at the laundry recording evidence of the super lab which he plans the show to Don Eladio thus proving Gus's disloyalty however after cutting the lights by kicking a power cord and retrieving a gun he had hidden earlier Gus manages to shoot and kill Lalo which obvious honestly Gus is hyper intelligent hence he set up the Ambush with the power cord in the gun as sort of a contingency plan but like what if he shot you like in the knee or made you stand I don't know like over there I get it was a last resort but the odds of this even turning out in Gus's favor at all seems slim to none when you consider that Lala was established as the [ __ ] Terminator all in all it just felt like a lackluster end for him however it is only a minor flaw in my book since Lalo's inclusion is more about the surrounding circumstances and their effect on other characters obviously lao's return was meant to facilitate his murder of Howard which leads to Serious ramifications in regard to Jimmy and Kim's relationship which I will touch upon later but for now I want to discuss how it leads to setting up Gus's final scene of the entire franchise one common complaint I have heard from fans is that while other characters in the cartel storyline were given at least some added depth or Nuance Gus for the most part was not which I would agree with if it weren't for his final scene after surviving his brush with death and achieving his victory over Hector by securing his own portion of the Albuquerque area in which to run his meth operation Gus heads to a wine bar and speaks with one of his usual wine stewards David who it is palpable he is sweet on the scene is quiet and peaceful the two men basking in their shared passion for wine and enjoying each other's company but after David steps away we close in on Gus as his joyful demeanor Fades replaced by Grim resignation he stands takes one last look at where David took his leave before departing this being our last shot of Gustavo Fring in the Breaking Bad Universe what is so brilliant about this simple scene is that it recontextualizes Gus's entire characterization as established in Breaking Bad when Max was killed by Hector at Donald's Mansion I presume that this was the death of Gustavo Frank yes his body is still alive but his soul has been eradicated he is now simply a Cutthroat emotionless being driven solely by Revenge hence his cold and stoic demeanor throughout both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul but it is at this moment that we see that there still is Humanity within Gus that he can experience joy laughter love but it is upon the Sullen realization that someone like Lalo could strip from him everything he holds dear just as Hector did to him so long ago that he suppresses it because he cannot bear to suffer such a painful loss once again it is a simple and subtle addition to his character that makes his fate in Breaking Bad that much more impactful so even though I have my issues with Lalo's inclusion and death I consider it relatively minor due to how it adds to both Gus's characterization and leads to the climax of Jimmy and Kim's relationship and thus this is why despite my critiques of the cartel story line they are not that big of a deal since the Riders use these familiar plot beats to develop the arcs of other characters namely Mike and Nacho the circumstances of Hector winding up in his debilitated state is the Catalyst for nacho being recruited by Gus into his organization the construction of the super lab is simply meant to act as the background to Showcase Mike's descent into true moral corruption and thus since these events are primarily used to explore and develop said characters let's discuss them it truly is amazing what Jonathan Banks was able to do with the character of Mike ehrmintrout the character was only written into Breaking Bad due to Bob Odenkirk not being available to shoot the season 2 finale in which Mike makes his first appearance yet went on to be one of the fandom's most beloved and thus it was more than a pleasant surprise to see that Mr Banks was given the chance to let his acting prowess shine and further explore his character as was briefly hinted it at in Breaking Bad Mike was employed by the Philadelphia Police Department where he partook in corruption within the force following in his Father's Footsteps Mike's son Matt also joined the force at some point upon being exposed to the corruption within the department Matt asked his father for advice who told him to go along with said corruption to avoid retaliation from his fellow officers however in fear of Matt's hesitance two of his fellow officers Troy Hoffman and Jack fenske murdered him following a bout of guilt-driven depression Mike murders both officers to avenge his son after which he flees to Albuquerque in one of the show's most powerful moments Mike confesses his crimes to Matt's Widow Stacy lamenting that not only did he lose his son but he made him lesser than by advising him to go along with the corruption it is Mike's guilt and self-hatred over as he puts it driving his son to debase himself that serves as his main internal conflict throughout the series the show not only reconnect actualizes Mike's characterization in Breaking Bad adding a level of nuance to his father-son-like relationship with Jesse Pinkman but also sets up an enduring mystery that keeps the audience enthralled throughout the cartel storyline yes in season 1 we see he has honed his operator skill set and has the capability for violence but it is made clear that the mic we meet at the beginning of Better Call Saul and the mic we meet in Breaking Bad are not the same man following Matt's death we see Mike do his best to live a straight life and keep a low profile only utilizing his skill set to provide for Stacy who was shown to be struggling with anxiety and Trauma following her husband's murder and granddaughter Kaylee he even goes to Great Lengths to forgo violent measures while in Breaking Bad Mike is not a man completely devoid of empathy for others it is apparent that he has resigned himself to a life of crime and violence and thus the question is posed what were the circumstances that led to him doing so the forego becoming a man that his son Matt would be proud of and his Arc in particular is an example of how the writers perfected their methodical storytelling craft Mike's transformation feels so realistic due to it implementing a death by a Thousand Cuts approach rather than Mike's regression being as a result of big life-defining moments though there are a few of those it occurs slowly almost without notice to both Mike and the audience there is no big definitive moment where he becomes the mic we were introduced to in Breaking Bad it was as a result of a nearly imperceptible series of seemingly innocuous decisions a journey whose causality only becomes clear in hindsight following him fleeing Philly and taking refuge in ABQ Mike does his best to remain as straight as possible only taking on menial bodyguard work to support Stacy but one of his most causal actions comes when nacho Varga a cartel underling of chuko who Mike had associated with prior asks Mike to help him assassinate chuko Mike refuses opting frame more tactful approach by getting tuko arrested while he States He foregoes killing chuko because he does not want to attract cartel attention it is strongly implied that Mike refuses to do so to prevent himself from becoming too far gone to resist becoming a man he believes his son would look upon with ire and disappointment yet ironically it is Mike's decidedly less violent approach to dealing with tuko that result in him being approached by Hector Salamanca who threatens to kill Mike and his loved ones if he does not lie to secure chuko a lesser prison sentence in an effort to get back at Hector and secure his family's future Mike rips off one of Hector's trucks stealing from him a quarter of a million dollars but he is despaired to learn that his actions inadvertently led to the death of a Good Samaritan who stopped to help the truck driver Mike restrained and was subsequent frequently killed on Hector's orders it is then that Mike procures a sniper rifle and plots to assassinate Hector what I love about this section of Mike's Arc is that it is an instance of the writers not hitting the audience over the head with his inner motivations while Mike States later on that he desires to kill Hector out of Revenge for threatening his loved ones note that Mike only settled on killing Hector after learning about the Good Samaritan consider Mike did not know this man personally and given the fact that he has been around the block a few times is probably aware that Hector has had a hand in killing innocent people before so why would this drive might to forgo his previous commitment to forgo violence and the answer is a theme that is explored in both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul causal culpability Mike likely seeks to kill Hector not necessarily to avenge the Good Samaritan but to quell his own guilt in regard to his culpability in the man's death Mike may not have pulled the trigger but it was as a result of his actions cascading effects that led to the Good Samaritan dying thus the question is posed is Mike at fault for his fate well that would depend on one's own Outlook however what is certain is that Mike feels at fault and desires to kill Hector for making him culpable in an innocent man's death or perhaps one could argue it has displaced rage perhaps he blames Hector for making him betray the oath he took to become a different man shouldering off his guilt as deep down he truly blames himself Mike is of course hindered from accomplishing his goal by none other than Gus Fring it is here the relationship between Mike and Gus begins Gus allowing in a betting mic in sabotaging Hector's operation for his own benefit while helping Mike launder the money he stole from Hector at first it appears as if Mike is at least for the time being on a better path he is engaging in for the most part straight work by acting as a security consultant the Madrigal electromotive the corporation funding Gus's burgeoning drug operation and even begins to make progress via Stacy's support group befriending some of the other members we the audience are given a glimmer of hope that perhaps Mike might become a man his son can be proud of but of course we know this is not how things will turn out and it is not long until we see Mike begin to backslide upon realizing one of the members of the support group Henry is lying about having a deceased wife and being triggered by Stacy discussing her fear that she is beginning to forget Matt Mike exposes Henry and limb Bass the support group despite it having been shown to benefit him greatly it is clear that Mike is unable to or refuses to process the death of his son which in turn keeps him on the path of crime and violence and sure enough it is not long after this that Mike agrees to help Gus by overseeing the construction of the super lab not knowing that this will lead to one of the most defining moments of his descent into a life of moral corruption Mike supervises the recruitment of a crew to construct the lab including lead engineer Werner Ziegler despite their not so similar circumstances they form a friendship Mike considering Werner a truly kind inadmirable man particularly after he speaks of the love he holds for his wife which it is apparent is a soft spot for Mike he was repelled by both the idea of Matt being forgotten by both Stacy and Kaylee and Henry using a false story of his dead wife for sympathy perhaps part of his turmoil over the death of the Good Samaritan who was killed by Hector was the idea of the man's loved ones never knowing what truly happened to the one they loved Mike's season Werner a kind decent man but perhaps one not suited for this particular line of work after Werner drunkenly exposes details of the super lab to some bar patrons Mike pleads with him to understand the seriousness of his situation than to not do anything that will put him returning to his wife safely in Jeopardy yet sadly this is not a piece of advice Werner follows as he sneaks out of the compound he and the others were required to stay in and plans to meet his wife at a local hotel later accidentally letting details of the lab slip to Lalo who was tracking Werner realizing Werner could expose his plans if he were to be apprehended by Lalo Mike is given no choice but to kill Werner Mike allows Werner a final phone call to his wife to get her safely out of the country their final conversation being one of anger and bitterness before Werner accepts the consequences of his actions and walks out into the desert where he is executed by Mike Perhaps it is at this moment just before committing said act that Mike questions how he arrived here having to kill a good man and loving husband to make the man's wife a widow despite all the progress he made in trying to be a man his son could be proud of every choice Mike has made has led him to this becoming nothing more than a killer for hire following werner's death we see Mike's guilt compounded drinking heavily snapping at Kaylee displaying bitterness at Gus for his lack of compassion over werner's death even instigating getting his ass kicked which almost leads to his own death he is saved by Gus and while he's able to patch things up with Stacy and Kaylee sadly it seems he is almost fully regressed into the mic we meet in Breaking Bad not a man completely devoid of empathy and conscience but no longer concerned with maintaining a level of moral Purity or innocence perhaps after werner's death Mike believes he is no longer capable of redemption hence he continues to work for Gus no longer out of financial necessity but as a result of resigning himself to the immoral man he has become as Mike puts it the fight within him is all but gone but even after werner's death F all is not lost for Mike has come the conclusion of the series Mike is given one last chance at some semblance of moral Redemption once again we see the writers using the prequel format to their advantage with Mike the Intrigue comes from us wondering how he becomes the man we know in Breaking Bad but with nacho tension comes from us wondering where he is come the events of Breaking Bad hence despite the cartel plot recapping so much of what we the viewers already know there is still a driving force that keeps us invested to see how things play out nacho is originally introduced as a cartel underling of chuko not much is established about him out of the gate say for the fact that he is not only intelligent but has a much more measured temperament than his Superior though that isn't really saying all that much we initially get the impression that nacho is just some lowly criminal who wants to climb the cartel ladder for his own personal gain but as his character is developed but a much more sympathetic picture begins to take shape Nacho's father Manuel is an honest hard-working man who runs his own upholstery shop and it is clear that nacho loves his father dearly while the details of Nacho's initial exposure to the cartel are not known we can theorize that perhaps he was embittered by seeing his hard-working father struggled to succeed while living an honest life while his peers prospered by resorting to Illegal means perhaps it was a desire to live the good life his father was shut out of himself that drove nacho to become a criminal though he comes to realize that despite the lavish digs he enjoys as a result of his trade it is not all it's cracked up to be him becoming disillusioned as a result of having to associate with truly heinous individuals conversely or in addition to his desire for a materialistic lifestyle perhaps it was seeing his father struggle all his life for minimal reward that drove nacho to reach the height to ensure his father a better wife though he is constantly plagued with fear and doubt not only as a result of his father's Fierce disapproval of his criminal ways but also the knowledge that the longer he is in the game the more he risks said game corrupting everything around him the latter comes the fruition in season three after Hector plans to use Manuel's upholstery shop as his new front Nacho's criminality putting his father in a position where he must play the game or face deadly consequences but Nacho's Fierce love for his father supersedes his desire for financial gain and thus he plans to kill Hector to spare Manuel falling victim to his wrath this plot point in particular re-contextualizes a lot of what we have come to assume about nacho in retrospect perhaps nachos desire to kill chuko was not simply out of a desire to rise in the cartel ranks but to distance himself from the cartel as much as possible while saving enough to ensure a prosperous future for both him and his father it is both the surface level Simplicity and underlying ambiguous complexity in conjunction with of course Michael Mando's brilliant performance that make nacho such a fascinating and beloved character even among franchise veterans the relationship between nacho and Mike while not overly fleshed out is significant them acting as a pair of mirrored Spirits if you will a father plagued by letting down his son a son plagued by letting down his father despite them not showing any explicit feelings towards one another it is evident that they both sense one another has a level of decency within them and each tries to urge the other to stay out of Harm's Way forming a sort of unspoken Alliance and quasi-friendship thus to bring things full circle nacho stands at the last Avenue for Mike to perhaps achieve some semblance of redemption though we the audience know where Mike's path ultimately leads perhaps he can help nacho avert his own course yet sadly this is not what comes to pass following nacho successfully switching Hector's heart pills with placebos thus resulting in his stroke while we were at first thrilled to see nacho free himself and his father from Hector's wrath we are despaired to see how this one decision sets off a chain reaction that will eventually lead to his grisly fate after his attempted assassination of Hector is witnessed by Gus Gus capitalizes on this by making nacho his mole threatening to inform the salamancas of his role in Hector's fate as well as the safety of his father if he does not comply it is here that we see the walls of the prison nacho has made for himself slowly begin to close in around him praying that he can find some way out of this mess and he and his father can escape with their lives but it is soon made clear that any hope we had for nacho being given a life of Freedom was nothing more than a dream as he is ordered to help orchestrate the assassination of wallow and is later thrown under the bus by Gus who appease to Salama and can feel his own involvement despite Mike's pleas despair nacho and even him standing up to gasp when he tells him to bring Manuel to use as a means of intimidation he is powerless to prevent Nacho's ultimate fate the two men share a final conversation over a drink the night prior to nacho being turned over to the salamancas despite these two again never technically being friends both are sad to see it come to this Nacho the spared upon realizing Mike was aware he was being set up from the beginning Mike and turmoil over betraying nacho and having no way to stop what is to come in the end nacho is thankfully able to secure the safety of his father and after sharing a final heartfelt goodbye accepts his fate but not before going out in the most badass of fashions in his final moments telling Hector Gus and the rest just how much he despises them twisting the knife and Hector as he tells him he was the one who switched his pills and caused his stroke before taking bols's gun and robbing his enemies of their Satisfaction by ending his life on his own terms Mike reeling with guilt visits Manuel informing him of Nacho's demise wanting to give the man at least a bit of comfort by telling him that his son died a painless death however Manuel scoffs and Mike telling him that despite what he may tell himself he is no better than the criminals and Killers he Associates with sadly this is less of a wake-up call for Mike and perhaps even more so than werner's death the moment where he has resigned himself to becoming the individual we meet in Breaking Bad one without any hope or expectation of ever being a good man again bringing his ark in Better Call Saul officially to a close as he is condemned to the path that will eventually lead to his own end the only Silver Lining being that we the audience know that Mike's capacity for empathy was not completely snuffed out and at least one person he sought to help was able to escape to a better life even if he wasn't around to see it so while I do have my gripes with the cartel storyline it was astounding to see how the writers were able to still make it so gripping and emotionally impactful by utilizing the characters of Mike and nacho to keep a story we already knew the ending to so engaging and now it is time to discuss what I consider to be not only the most tragically brilliant Arc of the show but of the entire Breaking Bad universe [Music] well there is no doubt plenty of Brilliance to be found in the back half of Better Call Saul in my opinion the first three seasons of the show are one of the greatest stretches of television in history I knew that Better Call Saul would undoubtedly contain plenty of comedic Brilliance but I was floored by how I was able to absolutely emotionally gut me the character of Chuck McGill becoming my favorite character of the entire franchise a man whose neck I wanted to throttle constantly yet somehow the incredible Michael McKean was able to humanize this monster a seemingly impossible feat of acting prowess that makes the fact that the Emmys did not nominate him for any of the first three seasons and had the audacity to only nominate him for best supporting guest actor for season 4 is memes aside a sick joke it's time to explore one of the most fascinating dynamics of the show The Tragedy of the brothers McGill James Jimmy Morgan McGill's path to becoming the sly schemer we all know and love sometimes began as a child upon bearing witness to how the world rewards those who possess kind Hearts Jimmy's Father Charles senior was a righteous man who owned a convenience store in Cicero Illinois and was always willing to help those in need however this made him an easy target for the Wolves of the world after a chance encounter with one of these so-called wolves a grifter who was able to Swindle Charles out of five dollars Jimmy frustrated with his father's good nature leading to him being constantly taking advantage of decides to follow suit over the coming years Jimmy would go on to steal possibly thousands from his own father eventually Financial struggles resulted in his father having to shut the store down the stress of which may or may not have contributed to his death a mere six months later now there is a brilliant little Nuance here the show includes in regard to this pop point in season 2 Chuck mentions to Kim that he discovered over fourteen thousand dollars had been swindled from his father's business over the years however since it is never definitively stated just how much money Jimmy ended up stealing from his father it is unknown whether Jimmy had any substantial responsibility in regard to the store's failure perhaps it was primarily due to his father's over-generous nature however the Nuance comes as to where Jimmy and Chuck each place to blame later in the series Jimmy states that the store's closure was as a result of his father's as he puts it gullible nature and doesn't even acknowledge the fact that his own swindling could have possibly been a factor this could either be a case of Jimmy being oblivious as to how his own actions have negative effects on others or him denying his own culpability out of guilt on the flip side Chuck places the blame entirely on Jimmy's shoulders granted even if Jimmy only slightly contributed to their family business shutting down I can definitely understand Chuck's indignation but this demonstrates just how much resentment and bitterness Chuck holds towards his baby brother even decades later which as we come to see runs deeper than we could have possibly imagined it is such a small observation but shows just how perfectly realized these characters are Jimmy would go on to hone his swindling skills and earn himself the nickname slip and Jimmy by making a living via engaging in a number of cons and schemes with his friend and partner Marco however Jimmy's tenure as a con man hit a snag win he defecated through a sunroof while Under the Influence upon being arrested Chuck who had already established himself as a premier Albuquerque lawyer with his firm Hamlin Hamlin and McGill agrees to use his influence to get the charges dropped on the condition that Jimmy leave behind his scheming ways and live an honest life to which Jimmy agrees perhaps it was remorse over neglecting his family perhaps it was somewhere deep down the guilt of ruining his father's business perhaps he just didn't want to go to jail and would do anything to avoid such a fate however I think the key thing to note is that this was the moment where Jimmy finally felt as if someone was looking out for him chuck could have just as easily LED Jimmy rotten prison and to be frank I wouldn't blame him but despite Jimmy being embittered with the world believing that the little guy could never catch a break that one's generosity in compassion will only lead to getting played like a sucker his own big brother who has every reason to cast him aside gives him a chance trusts him to become something more and that is exactly what Jimmy does he leaves his slip and ways behind gets a job in the mail room at hhm and for the first time seems to have found a station for himself earned the respect and admiration of his co-workers and developing a romance with co-worker K Wexler a fire was lit within him to show everyone that he wasn't just slip and Jimmy to become the person Chuck believed he could be and thus he worked his ass off and after pushing through two failed attempts past the bar exam seeking to become a lawyer just like his big brother and make him proud but sadly Jimmy is told by Chuck's partner Howard Hamlin that hhm will not be taking Jimmy on as an attorney but Jimmy perseveres starting his own solo practice and taking on public defender work however as he faces setback after setback lopay drowning in debt losing out on representing Craig and Betsy Kettleman who are accused of embezzling 1.6 million dollars from the County Treasury to none other than hhm who assigns Kim to their case his disillusionment begins to resurface and we see the re-emergence of slip and Jimmy as Jimmy begins utilizing his scheming ways to promote his practice much to the Chagrin of both Howard and Chuck the latter fearing that his little brother may be backsliding into his old self and thus we see in his earliest season 1 the conflict raging within Jimmy between being the righteous man he desires to be to make his brother proud and the more jaded conster who believes playing by the rules is a Fool's errand however we also see something within Jimmy that perhaps he isn't even consciously aware of while he of course tries to play by the rules to make Chuck proud We also get a sense that Jimmy deep down has an intrinsic sense of justice of compassion of doing the right thing simply because it is the right thing to do we see this when he attempts to warn the kettlemans that nacho Varga may be coming to harm them and take their embezzled money we see this when he coerces the kettleman's into returning to hhm in order to salvage Kim's reputation even though he had a chance to Take the Money and Run we see this when he begins representing elderly clients and appears to Express sincere empathy for them despite him believing that his father's intrinsic compassion made him a fool perhaps there is a spark of said compassion that exists within him but then Jimmy is given perhaps the luckiest break of his life upon learning that Sandpiper Crossing retirement home where a number of his elderly clients reside has been scamming their residence Jimmy Springs into action and after conversing with Chuck who agrees to help him with the case seeks to pursue a class action lawsuit it is here we see Jimmy finally being given the chance to prove himself to become the man Chuck believed he always had the potential to be of course Jimmy is ecstatic to have stumbled upon such a juicy case but it is also apparent he pursues action against Sandpiper not only to raise his own profile but because he is disgusted at seeing these innocent people being taken advantage of because he knows what it feels like to be the little guy to be kicked when you are down but instead of giving in to jadedness once once again he defies it he overcomes it he fights back he and his brother despite their tumultuous past are working together as equals and partners we even see him utilize the same creativity and tactfulness that made him such a successful con man to achieve a righteous end finally we see Jimmy about to show everyone his true potential yet once again he has the legs kicked out from under him after Chuck tells Jimmy that the case is far too big for them to handle on their own they bring it to hhm but instead of allowing Jimmy to work on the case as a member of their team Howard simply offers him a consulting fee and a percentage of the final settlement despite the settlement potentially being worth millions Jimmy is livid because despite his insistence that he is all about the money this is not about the money it's about being respected about being seen as More Than Just a Nobody about being trusted incredulous Jimmy refuses to hand over the case and goes at it alone believing he can bring these Crooks to Justice and hopefully make his brother proud and that is when he receives his biggest gut punch yet to his immeasurable despair Jimmy learns that it was Chuck his own brother who not only told Howard to cut Jimmy out of the Sandpiper case but was the one who squandered his chance to join hhm all those years ago Jimmy confronts Chuck only to have Chuck lambast him us seeing a bitter and vindictive side of him that we have yet to Bear witness to saying that he will always be slipping Jimmy that no matter what he does he will never truly change and that he cannot be trusted with something as sacred as the law so now the question is if Chuck truly didn't believe Jimmy was capable of change if he truly held such bitter resentment for his brother for all these years then why did he vouch for him why did he give him a second chance instead of leaving him to rot in prison why did he make it seem seem as if he believed Jimmy was capable of making something more of himself and in order to answer these questions we have to examine the Enigma that is Charles McGill as I said leading up to the day that Jimmy asked for his help I completely understood Chuck's resentment for his little brother who ripped off their father who at least partially was responsible for their family business shutting down who abandoned their family and embarked on a dishonest life and yet while he was the one who did everything right who played by the rules who stood by his parents they couldn't or refused to see his brother for who he was couldn't be Jimmy not our precious Jimmy only adding insult to injury when it was Jimmy who their mother called out for with her dying breath and yet despite everything chuck had the strength to give Jimmy a shot a second chance into Jimmy's credit he took that chance and ran with it he worked hard did it the right way did anything he could to make it up to his brother helping him attempt to win back his wife Rebecca caring for him after he began suffering from EHS a condition that causes him to experience great physical pain when exposed to electromagnetic fields one that is heavily implied to be psychosomatic brought about by the anxiety and Trauma of his wife leaving him fighting tooth and nail to ensure he has not taken advantage of and left out in the cold by hhm but it was never enough let me say that I truly believe Chuck loves Jimmy deep down somewhere within him but there also exists within him a bitterness an anger like a virus eating away at him ironically he'll ambassed Jimmy for having something within him that prevents him from True change yet this more accurately describes himself the resentment he procurred for Jimmy all those years ago still plaguing him keeping him embittered in churlish while it is never confirmed exactly why Rebecca left Chuck based on his evident misery which follows him everywhere he goes in and his inability to take accountability for his own actions it can be surmised that it was just too much for her to take rather than seeing the good in his baby brother he can only see the worst instead of appreciating him for taking care of him and trying to help him mend his relationship with Rebecca he is envious of Jimmy's effortless charm and Charisma and this is why despite how much I wanted to strangle Chuck throughout the show I can't help but pity him again I truly believe Chuck loves Jimmy and like Jimmy and their father he has the capacity for good deep down within him in a flashback that occurs in the series finale we see this possible side of Chuck asking Jimmy if he wants to stay and talk over his cases as we see he is reading a copy of H.G wells's The Time Machine we presume that perhaps Chuck regretted what he did to Jimmy all those years ago and though he knows he cannot change the past wants to make amends to repair their relationship and yet the glim number of Light Within him is stamped out as he lets his resentment and bitterness take hold once again even as those around him who care for him who love him desperately attempt to reach out to him to bring him back from the brink he waves them off every single time going along with the idea of Chuck's bitterness and resentment being a poison that inflicts his soul that is Chuck's inability to believe that Jimmy truly has the capability to do good that conversely inflicts Jimmy with this same despair after learning of Chuck's betrayal Jimmy agrees to Howard's deal handing the Sandpiper case over to hhm upon realizing Chuck will never be proud of or believe in him no matter what he does Jimmy just gives up on making something of himself demonstrating how much Chuck's opinion of him meant and that everything he has done since that day in the Cook County Jail was to make his brother proud it is here we see Jimmy begin to unravel eventually returning to Cicero and continuing his old scheming ways with his partner in crime Marco who Jimmy finds right where he left him but after Marco's death Jimmy returns to Albuquerque inheriting Marco's ring representing a piece of his slip and Jimmy Persona and Hal will always be with him no matter what we then see Jimmy begin the flip-flop between these personas initially foregoing an offer from Davis and Maine another Law Firm who is partnering with hhm on the Sandpiper case opting to return to his cons and scams on his own but later taking the job upon the insistence of Kim while we will focus on the relationship in depth in the next section it is clear that at this Crossroads in his life where he lacks Direction following Chuck's betrayal it is Kim who represents Jimmy's Guiding Light That yearns to see him reach his full potential it is perhaps Kim's belief in him that drives Jimmy to Aspire to something more hence why he eventually becomes bored and unsatisfied a d m and gets himself all fired so he can once again set off on his own practice Jimmy tries to get Kim to come along with him and although Kim is hesitant given that Jimmy has to some extent returned to his less ethical ways of practicing Law And that even one point gets Kim put on the [ __ ] list with Howard she takes a chance leaving hhm and sharing an office space with him as they both pursue their own solo practices much to Jimmy's Delight showing the impact of how much just having one person who believes in you can make however their Joy is short-lived when Chuck refusing to allow his brother even the slightest Victory looks to Smite him once again after Kim gets put on the [ __ ] list by Howard as a result of Jimmy's actions she attempts to return to his good graces by securing a new big client Mesa Verde Bank and Trust upon leaving hhm Kim is successful in retaining Mesa Verde that is until Chuck uses his own tact to keep Mesa Verde as a client of H hm leaving Kim Sol in response to this Jimmy Alters the documentation in Chuck's proposal making Mesa Verde question Chuck's competence which eventually lead to them returning to Kim what is so tragically ironic is that wild Chuck resents Jimmy for his scheming ways and at least he claims wants nothing more than to see Jimmy live an honest life it is Chuck's own antagonism that leads to Jimmy perpetuating said ways it was Chuck denying Jimmy a place at hhm that eventually led to him resorting to try and scam the Cattlemen out of frustration it was Chuck telling Howard to cut Jimmy out of the Sandpiper case that led the Jimmy return to Cicero and working with Marco it was Chuck screwing over Kim that drove Jimmy to doctor The Proposal Kim blatantly tells Chuck as much after he confronts them about messing with the Mesa Verde files yet he still cannot see it now I want to make clear I am not saying Jimmy is not comparable people for his own morally questionable actions but it is just so frustrating to see Chuck claim to desire Jimmy to be a good honest man while oblivious to how his own disregard for his brother's capability to change causes him to backslide over and over and over again that it was Chuck's supposed faith in him that led to Jimmy striving to become something more to answer the question I posed earlier while Chuck does love his brother and wants to inspire him to live a moral and just life sadly I think Chuck is simply too far gone he had let the poison within him simmer for so long that he doesn't even realize how he's acting against his own supposed end goal the only thing he exists for now is to make Jimmy just as miserable and bitter as he is a Pursuit that will accomplish absolutely nothing while Jimmy and Kim Thrive together at their new office finally seeming to have found true happiness Chuck unable to Bear seeing Jimmy experience Joy boy orchestrates his final and most vicious scheme following the debacle with Mesa Verde Chuck resigns from hhm and tearfully laments to Jimmy that he fears his mind is beginning to slip even showing remorse for accusing Jimmy of doctoring his proposal unable to stand seeing his brother in such a dire State Jimmy admits to the Ruth claiming that he was only trying to help Kim despite everything Jimmy still loves his brother so much so that he risks revealing his role in the scheme by running the Chuck's Aid after he passed out while trying to prove Jimmy's culpability so much so that he continued to honor Chuck's request to not have him committed so much so that he was willing to admit to a felony to not allow his brother to feel as if he is less than because seeing Chuck like this is never what Jimmy wanted even still after everything he wants to salvage his relationship with his brother and we hope that maybe maybe there is a chance that these two men can put aside their differences and remember they are brothers and that they love one another only to have this ripped away as it is revealed Chuck's despair was merely a ploy to get Jimmy to own up to his actions which he now has him on tape admitting Chuck used Jimmy's love for him against him knowing he could capitalize on it to bring him down a truly despicable act upon Jimmy discovering Chuck's latest betrayal he confronts him enraged questioning why chuck would do something so Insidious and vile to his own brother Jimmy destroys the tape only to learn that his discovery of the Betrayal was orchestrated by Chuck who has Howard and a pi lying in weight as he knew Jimmy would destroy the tape in anger and that they would witness him doing so it is here that it appears Jimmy has truly forsaken Chuck Coley telling him that one day he will suffer another EHS attack and wind up in the hospital but rather than having his brother brother at his side he will die alone as much as I didn't mind seeing Jimmy finally putting Chuck in his place it was shocking to see Jimmy say something so cold and vicious to his own brother who despite everything he still loves Chuck then suggests that Jimmy rather than face jail time should be given community service but with the caveat that his confession while not admissible in Criminal Court be sent to the bar association which will most surely result in Jimmy's disbarment it is made evident that ironically it was Jimmy's aspirations to become a lawyer that exacerbated Chuck's vitriol towards him in Chuck's eyes the law was the one thing he had and he couldn't bear to see Jimmy take it from him despite the fact that Jimmy only wanted to become a lawyer to make Chuck proud it is then we come to perhaps the most memorable scene of the entire series upon the day of Jimmy's Bar hearing Jimmy and Kim work together to further discredit Chuck by demonstrating his resentment for Jimmy how he is held on vindictive grudge against him for decades and of course by revealing the psychosomatic nature of Chuck's EHS which Jimmy accomplishes by having kill babineau plant a phone battery in his pocket what follows is an unhinged rant by Chuck limbasting Jimmy spewing poison the true severity and intensity of his resentment for his own brother on full display for all to see how he has let it Fester within him for the majority of his life as much as you all know how much I love to meme this scene it truly is one of if not the most essential moment of the series how part of me wanted to see Chuck get what he deserved to be humiliated to be discredited in front of his peers and colleagues for all the horrible [ __ ] he has done yet still feeling sick to my stomach about cheering for his downfall to see a man to base himself completely in front of the love of his life his own partner and his own brother who is clearly regretful that it has come to this this is not a Victory by any means but rather a tragic combination of the deteriorating relationship between two brothers though he avoids this Barman Jimmy is given a one-year suspension from practicing law while one would think this would be seen as a victory the financial toll that Jimmy losing his practice takes begins to wear away at him like we see in season 1 Jimmy's Financial struggles eventually lead to him returning to his old ways foregoing his Integrity he stages a slip and fall scheme at a local music store whose owners refused to pay him for a TV spot he threatens his community service supervisor with legal action allowing a drug dealer to take off in exchange for seven hundred dollars and yet his most heinous act Is Yet To Come realizing he is still entitled to a portion of the Sandpiper settlement totaling over a million dollars Jimmy seeks to force a resolution he tries to convince Howard to settle attempting to guilt him into it by saying that prolonging the suit is only an H hm's Financial benefit only to have Howard throw this assertion back in his face knowing Jimmy only wants to settle so he can get his cut we will discuss Howard's characterization later on and how the audience's perception of him slowly changes over the course of the series but even at this point it was so refreshing to see him call out Jimmy's hypocrisy how Jimmy initially withdrawn to the Sandpiper case due to his drive to see the victims of the scheme redeemed but now only cares about his own Financial benefit in response Jimmy approaches Irene one of his elderly clients who initially led him to the discovery of sandpiper's illegal activities and through a series of schemes alienates her from her friends by convincing them that Irene by not agreeing to the settlement is preventing them from getting their fair share of the money this results in Irene's friends turning against her allowing Jimmy to capitalize on her isolation to get her to accept the deal the same man who gave Irene a discount in season 1 and a small but tender Act of empathy is now manipulating her for his own personal gain we the audience fear that despite Jimmy defeating Chuck in a sense he is allowing the same bitterness and rage that destroyed his brother to destroy himself conversely as we see Jimmy begin to regress Chuck it appears begins to see the light following his Outburst Chuck makes progress at overcoming his EHS ironically despite Jimmy revealing the psychosomatic nature of said condition being an effort to ruin Chuck it appears as if it was a necessary step in Chuck seeing the truth a wake-up call of sorts making him not only question the true nature of his condition but also how everything turned out with Rebecca and of course Jimmy we wonder if Chuck can achieve some sort of redemption perhaps he will be the one who by admitting he was wrong by accepting responsibility can bring Jimmy back from the brink and Salvage what remains of their relationship yet sadly this is not what comes to pass unbeknownst to Chuck earlier Jimmy had tried to get a refund on his malpractice insurance but learn that not only can he not get it refunded but when he does return the practicing law his premiums will rise tremendously embittered he purposely lets the details of Chuck's mental state and courtroom Outburst slip in an attempt at sabotage as a result of Jimmy's actions the insurance company plans to raise the premiums of hhm and requires that Chuck be supervised by a fellow attorney Chuck scoffs at such requirements but Howard in order to save hhm and as a result of seeing just how much his resentment for Jimmy has clouded his judgment insists that Chuck retire Chuck threatens the Sue hhm in response but Howard calls his bluff leading to Chuck's forced exit from hhm in one seemingly innocuous action of petty Vengeance Jimmy not only destroyed the partnership and friendship between Howard and Chuck but took from his brother the one thing in his life he held so dear the only thing he had left to hang on to and thus obliterated any chance that Chuck May overcome his flaws his shortcomings and become a better man however there is one final glimmering Hope come the end of the third season after Kim who has been taking on extra case work to help support Jimmy financially falls asleep at the wheel due to exhaustion and severely injures herself Jimmy appears to receive his own wake-up call realizing that his turmoil and bitterness led to him losing sight of what truly matters in life it is then that Jimmy makes his last effort to salvage his relationship with Chuck entering his home the sea Chuck has begun to overcome his EHS though Jimmy expresses remorse for everything that has transpired chuck coldly brushes him off telling him that there is no need to feel bad or to try to patch things up as what's done is done you can't change the past and it doesn't matter anyway since Jimmy will always end up hurting those around him it is almost more heartbreaking the sea Chuck treat Jimmy like this I almost would prefer if Chuck began screaming at him like he has in the past at least that would show that there was still something there that even if Chuck hates Jimmy he still feels something towards his brother but instead Chuck's tone is completely detached and he ends their conversation with the final words he will ever speak to his brother I don't want to hurt your feelings but the truth is you've never mattered all that much to me I can't help but wonder how this conversation would have gone had Jimmy not sabotaged Chuck's Insurance perhaps chuck would have continued to progress in overcoming his EHS perhaps he would still be with hhm and perhaps when Jimmy came to speak to him that day chuck would have been in better spirits and the brothers could have made amends but sadly this is not how things turned out yet unlike previously where Chuck's antagonism caused Jimmy to become more embittered and dispel the good within him it appeared as if Chuck cutting ties with Jimmy has not completely turned him into a soulless monster upon learning that even after Irene agreed to the settlement her friends are still alienating her Jimmy's conscience gets the better of him and decides to make things right during a chair yoga session with a group of elderly residents including Irene and her friends Jimmy orchestrates an accident in which he admits to conning Irene and convincing her friends to turn against her while Jimmy is successful at getting Irene's friends to forget give her it comes at the cost of losing the friendship and admiration of all the elderly residents whom Jimmy was so close and kind to I remember thinking of my first watch of the series that ending the season with this plotline seemed so strange but now I understand its vital significance Jimmy was always at the mercy of Chuck he always cared so much what Chuck thought that it dictated his behavior and led to him doing some truly bitter and unpleasant things but here we see Jimmy finally Breaking Free from that despite his brother cutting ties with him Jimmy musters the courage and integrity to make up for his past actions not out of a desire to impress his brother or prove he is a good man but simply because it is the right thing to do how ironic that Jimmy utilizes his con man skills that made him a bad person in Chuck's eyes to do something so selfless and righteous how he at first used the trust that Irene had for him to betray her but now sacrifices that trust in order to help her her it was a moment of tremendous growth for Jimmy and proved that he was his own man that he was not beholden to others that deep down he truly was capable of good despite him and Kim having to give up their shared office space as they can no longer afford it we the audience are confident that Jimmy will turn out just fine that he will continue to do the right thing to take accountability for his actions and perhaps one day become the man he strives to be not to impress or win the approval of Chuck but for himself yet unbeknownst to Jimmy following the confrontation where he told his baby brother that he meant nothing to him Chuck's EHS begins to rapidly increase in severity we come to the sad realization that despite everything Chuck does love Jimmy and that severing ties with him was the straw that broke the camel's back Chuck's anxiety shoots through the roof causing him to literally tear his home apart come the end of his breakdown Chuck sits alone cold and in the dark having lost his wife his partner his passion and now finally his brother his bitterness his resentment his rage causing him to push everyone and everything away until he is left only with himself and it is then that he makes his final fateful decision as he knocks over a kerosene lantern purposely setting his home Ablaze and bringing his life to an end and it is here that the tragedy of James Morgan McGill truly begins [Music] while many of my albeit minor critiques of the series do crop up in the back half of the show I want to stress that while it may not be as perfectly structured or paced as the first half it makes up for it with its audacity just when I thought I knew where the tale was taking me when I felt as though I could tell where the narrative was heading it went somewhere completely different and it was only upon re-watching where I saw the meticulous trail of subtle breadcrumbs that led to such a brilliant resolution for this section I am going to focus on the three main narrative threads that are the primary focus of seasons 4 5 and 6 respectively the inability of Jimmy to process Chuck suicide which in turn facilitates his transformation into Saul Goodman Kim's transition from being the voice of reason keeping Jimmy from his self-destructive Tendencies to the devil on his shoulder in a sense and their scheme to destroy Howard's reputation the resulting consequences and the ultimate conclusion to our story and since all of these threads center around Jimmy Kim and their relationship let's back up and discuss Jimmy and Kim first met while working in the mail room at hhm and began dating sometime after them being Kindred Spirits of sorts perhaps sensing both the best and worst of themselves within each other the best being the intrinsic good that exists within each of them while we initially see her attempt to climb the corporate ladder Kim eventually becomes jaded with the world of financial law an Ops to pursue pro bono work to fight the good fight to help those in need and it is as a result of the good within her that leads to her falling for Jimmy due to the sincerity within him his inner sense of right and wrong his compassion for those in need his love for his brother even though Jimmy at times despises these parts of himself as he feels they make him a sucker they are ultimately what win Kim's affection however them being Kindred Spirits may also be as a result of their more toxic sensibilities in season 2 we see Kim enjoying the thrill of pulling off Cons with Jimmy despite her expressing this taste for Jimmy's underhanded ways it is pretty clear she not so secretly digs it yet she doesn't allow things to get too out of hand as she she recognizes this more potentially destructive side of herself and does her best to quell it but this is hindered by her sincere love for Jimmy which leads her to Aid and abet his schemes even when it goes against her better judgment and or awakens a part of herself that she would rather remain dormant what we are left with is a wonderfully complex relationship elevating Kim to a far more dynamic character as opposed to merely a stock love interest meant to act as an angel on Jimmy's shoulder though that doesn't mean that she doesn't simultaneously act as said Angel as Jimmy drifts more and more into bitterness constantly being brought down by Chuck's antagonism Kim is the one who keeps The Light Within him alive always on his side never losing faith in the good within him and come the end of season 3 we see her belief in Jimmy bring him out of his downward spiral not only does Kim's car accident lead to Jimmy seeing past his bitterness and trying to make amends with Chuck but even after Chuck coldly Cuts ties with him with her inspiration he uses his scheming ways to carry out a truly selfless and magnanimous act despite Jimmy's quest to become a better man being initially driven by his desire to make Chuck proud it is now driven by his love for Kim hence while it is sad to see Chuck cut ties with Jimmy I think this was the best thing for him as now the most significant relationship in his life is with a person who not only Returns His affection but believes in him more than perhaps he believes in himself thus we the audience are confident that Jimmy and Kim will weather whatever comes their way and continue to bring out the best in each other so about that following Chuck's death and upon learning that it was him getting Chuck's malpractice insurance canceled that led to the chain of events that resulted in his suicide we see Jimmy fall into a state of detached denial displaying an unsettlingly aloof and even chippy demeanor now I have heard different takes on this particular scene so I want to give my own two cents since I consider it one of the most essential beats of Jimmy's Arc now some interpret this scene as demonstrating that Jimmy had lost all love for Chuck following their final conversation and thus this is what results in Jimmy Soul rotting away into nothingness however I think it is much more tragic at the end of season 3 despite everything he did Jimmy was still willing to try and make amends with Chuck and though Chuck coldly Cuts ties with him that doesn't mean that his love for Chuck just up and vanishes I also doubt that if this was the moment where Jimmy truly became lost that he would then go on to do what he did for Irene nor would he have reacted the way he did upon learning of Chuck's death all the way up until after his funeral the key moment is when he learns from Howard about how him getting Chuck's Insurance canceled contributed to his downward spiral and ultimately his suicide the idea that he was responsible for Chuck's suicide that such a seemingly innocuous moment of sheer bitterness led to his horrifying death was simply too much for his mind to handle so when he is given a chance to displace his guilt by putting it all on Howard forcing Chuck out of hhm he takes it Jimmy has not lost his love for his brother on the contrary he loves him so much that the thought that he did something so horrible that he was the one who brought about his tragic fate was simply too much for him to take thus in order to cope he purposely shuts down that part of himself his empathy his compassion the good within him one of the main reasons I believe this to be the case is because this is exactly what Chuck does at the end of season three again I believe Chuck truly does love Jimmy but he allowed his bitterness and resentment to override said love thus we the audience know that his last words to Jimmy were not the truth that he simply said them to hurt Jimmy but also I believe this was Chuck refusing to process his complex relationship with his brother and simply shutting down hence why after this interaction Chuck's EHS begins to rapidly return seeing as Chuck's EHS symptoms first appeared following his divorce from Rebecca it seems like it is a sort of trauma response he couldn't bear to lose her but rather than process it he internalized it and he does the same thing with Jimmy after he says something so cold and terrible after he knows that this is officially the end of their relationship his trauma returns making his death all the more tragic Jimmy being in denial of his role in Chuck suicide also explains why he is so hostile to Howard throughout the rest of the series even as we the audience see Howard struggle with his own guilt and attempt to make things right Jimmy responds with scorn he has to in his mind Howard has to be the bad guy the one who is solely responsible for Chuck's death Jimmy has to believe this because if he doesn't he must then grapple with his own culpability something he cannot bring himself to do from here on out we see Jimmy regress he becomes emotionally distant engages in self-sabotage and begins selling burner phones to Aid in abet the criminals of Albuquerque seeing if he had to Snuff out the good within him to cope with Chuck's death All That Remains is the resentment the bitterness he is slowly becoming a shell of his former self but all hope is not lost as just like throughout the three previous Seasons he still has someone in his corner someone who can revive the good within him of course Kim though she struggles with Jimmy refusing the process Chuck's death his dishonesty and his misdirected anger at her she tries her best to be there for him to bring him back from the brink even when it means enabling his less than exemplary behavior and indulging in her own worst impulses she is his last remaining tether to humanity but things become complicated as while Jimmy regresses Kim revitalizes her passion for the law neglecting her previous commitment with Mesa Verde to take on pro bono cases striving to become someone who fights to give a second chance to those who deserve it this leads to them growing apart over the course of several months and as they do we the audience fear that this may spell the end of their relationship and thus Jimmy's last chance to see the light however part of me wondered if this would be for the best it was heartbreaking to see Kim try to help Jimmy only to see him as a result of his inability to process his grief project his insecurities onto her drag her down particularly when he ends up recruiting her for more schemes to be clear I am not saying that Kim is free of culpability there is clearly a part of her that enjoys the thrill but she also recognizes these destructive Tendencies and does her best to quell them yet she goes along with Jimmy's underhanded ways not solely out of a desire to satiate said Tendencies but because she loves him and will do anything she can to help him not realizing that by enabling his scheming ways she's only sending him further down his Road of corruption we fear that despite admiring Kim's Devotion to Jimmy eventually if he continues down this path he will ultimately bring her down with him yet come the conclusion of Cesar and 4 we are given a glimmer of hope that not All Is Lost After Jimmy has his bar reinstatement denied Kim tells him that it was because he did not address his grief over Chuck's death or even mention him at all I have seen some argue that Jimmy was being sincere at his initial hearing because at that point he no longer possessed any love or feelings for Chuck but I wholeheartedly disagree he does still care for Chuck but is suppressing that part of himself to avoid grappling with his culpability in his death until he does so he will never be able to pull himself out of his downward spiral despite recognizing this Kim AIDS Jimmy in getting the bar board to reinstate him hoping that doing so will at least Point him in the right direction put him back on the right path and perhaps be a small step towards him processing Chuck's death and yet during the hearing to Kim's immeasurable Delight Jimmy forgoes their initial plan and appears to sincerely speak his feelings about Chuck how despite him being a difficult man he loved him and even if he is not reinstated he will still strive to make his brother proud and it is here that Kim sees the Revival of the man she knows so well yes his scheming ways May thrill her but that isn't what made her fall in love with him it was the good within him the desire to become something more the deep love he held for his brother even when he didn't deserve it this is the man she adores who she will always go to bat for who she will always believe in despite fearing that she may have lost him forever she is overcome as she sees the Ascension of this man once more only to have this moment of Joy ripped from her upon Jimmy revealing it was all just another con that the sincerity he displayed was merely a sham that he fooled the board and worst of all he fooled her as Jimmy is reinstated and tells the clerk that he intends to practice law as Saul Goodman symbolically rejecting his identity as James McGill it is at this moment that Kim and we the audience fear that the man we know and love is truly and forever lost come season 5 we see Jimmy begin to fully Embrace his Saul Goodman Persona his clientele is made up of criminals who rather than seeking a second chance to make something of themselves merely desired to continue their life of crime he continues to refuse to process his guilt over Chuck's death lambasting and antagonizing Howard even as Howard tries to make things right even as he sees Howard dealing with grief of his own and continues to dig himself deeper and deeper with the cartel to the point where his own life and the lives of those he loves are put at risk now on my first watch of the series season 5 was my least favorite season season of the show since despite its Brilliance it seemed as if Jimmy's Arc was spinning its Wheels a tad he has fully embraced his solgum and Persona and it is only at the end of the season where he begins to reconsider his current path however in retrospect the reason I was not fond of season 5 was because I was so focused on Jimmy that I failed to pay attention to the true focus of the Season Kim's turn to the dark side again I was truly pleased to see how both the writers and the immeasurably excellent Ray of seahorn were able to develop Kim into a fully Dynamic and nuanced character especially considering that the writers have stated they initially didn't know how big of a role she would play into the story however nothing could have prepared me for the gutsy Direction they took Kim's arkhan coming off season 4 I figured that would have been it that eventually she would see that Jimmy was a lost cause and leave him which in turn would make him truly fall off the deep end but I did not expect them to have the guts to have her walk that path herself and this is what season 5 primarily focuses on how now that the good within Jimmy is seemingly all but gone Kim's belief that the good within him still exists is the very thing that sends her down her own path of moral decline but that is not to say that her Devotion to Jimmy is the only aspect of Kim's characterization that leads her to the dark side yes her love for Jimmy causes her to indulge in her worst impulses under the guise of supporting him but there is also something to be said about her desire to use the law to accomplish True Justice becomes warped as the series progresses this is to some extent what we see with Jimmy there is a part of him that truly wants to do good to fight against Injustice to go to bat for the little guy but as the series goes on as he faces setback after setback he doesn't necessarily give up in the sense that he becomes a soulless part of the establishment but he does become more jaded instead of fighting against Injustice he succumbs to it instead of remaining true to his Integrity he resorts to his scheming tactics and underhanded ways yet he is able to convince himself that he is still the good guy even as we can blatantly see he is no more moral or righteous than the people he positioned himself against we see this when he tries to convince Howard to reach a settlement with a Sandpiper case he positions himself as if he is the one fighting for what is right even though as Howard notes he is only doing it for his own financial gain him representing low-level criminals throughout season 5 isn't out of some righteous belief that even the most desperate and down on their luck deserve a rigorous offense it's because he can make a shitload of cash doing so but perhaps the scene that best demonstrates this idea comes at the end of season 4. while sitting in on a board hearing for a scholarship in Chuck's name Jimmy vouches for a young girl named Christy Esposito who had previously been convicted for shoplifting despite Jimmy's heartfelt plea that regardless of her past mistakes she deserves a second chance the board ends up not selecting her Jimmy runs after her and instead of telling her to keep her head up to stick to her guns and keep fighting he basically tells her to just forget that and beat them at their own game instead of advising Christy to keep grinding until she finds someone who is willing to see in her something more he basically tells her that no one will ever see something more in her to not see the good in others and that she should simply strive forward out of spite this isn't a nice wholesome moment this is a moment of defeat hence why when Christy says she understands Jimmy she doesn't seem encouraged but rather resigned instead of telling her that he believes in her and that there will be others out there who will give her a second chance he instills within this young girl the same seeds of bitterness resentment and despair that killed the good within him and it is this pessimistic Outlook we see begin to infect Kim while the schemes she undertakes in season 5 namely her taking Jimmy's advice and lying to a client to entice him to take a plea deal and later using an array of cons to prevent Mesa Verde from evicting Everett Acker from his home are motivated by truly righteous reasons engaging in said cons rather than exciting her rubs her the wrong way her feeling sick after lying to the client and her wine to back out of the scheme to prevent Everett from being evicted while at first glance this may seem contradictory that actually makes perfect sense to go back to my point about Jimmy's speech to Christy while yes she may end up succeeding if she does so by cutting corners or breaking the rules if she does so out of spite then how is she any better than those who refuse to believe in her how can she ever truly be a winner if she lets them get the best of her if she lets them kill her spirit and bring her down to their level this is exactly what Kim is struggling with yes these schemes are done to help others but they are still schemes right yes she is fighting in opposition to the corporate bigwigs she detests but is she not letting them compromise her integrity and even if she is able to get what she wants by resorting to these underhanded ways does this come with the risk of losing the sense of trust that she can instill in her clients after telling Everett that Mesa Verde will evict him and there is nothing he can do to stop it she returns and genuinely opens up to him discussing her past how she and her mother Never Had A Home of Their Own she understands that she may not be able to stop his eviction but at least wants him to know she understands his incredulity and wants to help him in the small ways she can and yet he rebuffs her telling her that she will say anything to get what she wants her sincerity is met with skepticism it is at this moment that she fears that she is beginning to lose her ability to instill a sense of trust in others which significantly is exactly the same thing Jimmy lamented about when he accosted her in season four him believing that she no longer is able to trust him note that Kim states she was inspired to become a lawyer after seeing To Kill a Mockingbird a film in which White attorney Atticus Finch represents black man Tom Robinson against a false rape accusation But ultimately fails to prevent Tom from being convicted though as a result of his Valiant efforts he earns the respect and admiration of the black townsfolk is sticking true to one's principles Paramount even if it means not always ending up the winner is maintaining your ability to generate trust in others worth not always getting what you want furthermore if one decides that the ends justify the means in one case when does it stop once your ethical framework is compromised how can you hold yourself accountable or recognize when your judgment begins to falter when does said ends justify the means attitude becomes solely about your own benefit as opposed to the benefit of others see see what I did there because that's because that's not from that's that's from the other oh brother despite her inner conflict Kim continues to stay with and stick by Jimmy even as his influence exacerbates the more toxic side of herself and begins to chip away at her own personal Integrity however one of the most decisive moments in regard to Kim's conflict comes when Kim tells Jimmy to draw drop their plan to prevent Everett from being evicted despite initially believing that the use of underhanded methods is worth keeping him from losing his home Kim ultimately decides against it planning to help Everett as best she can the right way even paying him restitution out of her own pocket it appears that she does not want to risk her integrity and or allowing herself to indulge her toxic Tendencies even if it is for a righteous reason and yet Jimmy goes forward with the Khan against her wishes that night Kim is furious not just because he went through it the con but because she was left out of the loo she was the sucker and as a result she is beginning to lose her ability to trust Jimmy this is a conflict that has been building ever since the end of season four Kim has always been hesitant to indulge Jimmy in his scheming ways despite how much she may enjoy them however it never reached a level that to her was cause for alarm yes slip and Jimmy may have slipped out from time to time but he was still the Jimmy she knows and loves but after his Cons with the bar hearing and Mesa Verde Kim is horrified at the realization that this man is no longer the man she loves that he has become someone she can hardly recognize maybe despite how much she wants it not to be true the Jimmy she knows is gone and thus this culminates in her telling him they can't go on like this as heartbreaking as it was to see Kim reach her Wit's End I was glad to see her finally draw a line in the sand to not just enable Jimmy's behavior that she was recognizing the bad influence he was having on her and deciding to divert course that the best thing for her perhaps for both of them is to call it quits before things get too out of hand before things go too far before they do something truly Unforgivable or maybe maybe we get married ah [ __ ] it's amazing how the show was able to have a scene that I would have been elated the fee come the end of season three now make me sick to my stomach one of Kim's main character flaws is her toxic perception of love where instead of holding the one she loves accountable she believes that enabling or looking past certain behaviors is how you express your love instead of giving Jimmy an ultimatum to change his ways or lose her she tries desperately to salvage what they have by following him down on his downward spiral I think this is what they were trying to communicate with the flashbacks to Kim's childhood that being raised by her toxic mother resulted in her becoming a person who cleans up her loved one's messes and how this resulted in her believing that doing so is the same thing as loving them although I will say I don't think said flashbacks were necessary to get this point across while the empathy that exists within her was result in her desire to help those truly in need it also results in her being at times loyal and supportive to a fault only exacerbating the toxic Behavior displayed by others as well as herself however while we fear Jimmy may end up taking Kim with him as he plunges into his downward spiral something occurs that seems to snap him out of it following him being tasked with retrieving seven million dollars in bail money for wallow which in turn results in him almost getting killed seeing half a dozen men gunned down in front of him and enduring a scorching track through the New Mexico desert it seems Jimmy in a similar fashion as to how he did following Kim's car accident in season 3 has a sort of epiphany he suffers from PTSD questions Mike on how he allowed himself to get mixed up with the cartel it seems that for this brief moment he has gained some truly need perspective remembering that despite all the [ __ ] and all the bitterness he has someone who truly loves him in his Corner who will always stand by him and upon realizing that his association with the cartel has put her in danger and knowing that due to her love for him she will gladly accept that danger and stand by him to the end he realizes he must change his ways he realizes there is still time to stop going down the road he is on but unfortunately this Epiphany comes just a tad too late at the courthouse Kim is confronted by Howard who tells Kim of Jimmy's antagonism of him that he is clearly a bad influence on her and that he desperately needs help Kim reacts with hostility believing he is wrong about who Jimmy has become it is after the scene that Kim seems to adopt a vendetta to take Howard down she joked with Jimmy about ruining his reputation in order to bring a forced resolution to the Saiyan hyper case and it is Jimmy who was the voice of reason but in one of the boldest turns of the series it is Kim who is undeterred prepared to destroy Howard's reputation without a shred of remorse in a brilliant reversal of the Season 4 Finale where Kim looks on in horror upon seeing the man she loves is now a stranger to her it is Jimmy who was barely able to recognize the woman standing in front of him now while Kim's turn to the dark side is one of my favorite arcs of the series there are many who actually find it contrived and or not in character for her however I would argue the reason for this has to do with Howard's Arc throughout the series and particularly the audience's shifting perception of him as a character I have spoken on this channel before about how character development can come in different forms the most common being progression and perception progression is when a character actually changes throughout the course of the series we see Jimmy change from a good-hearted get flawed man into a truly disgusting and immoral human being whereas perception is when a character doesn't necessarily change but via new information being presented our view of said character and or the context of their actions shift Chuck as a character changes very little but our perception of him throughout the first three seasons shifts quite a bit it should go without saying that truly good character development utilizes both to an extent hence why Howard though he may seem like an innocuous side character at first ends up being such a complex and nuanced character come the end of the series throughout the first three seasons our perception of Howard shifts in a big way initially we are led to believe that Howard is simply an arrogant uptight business clown who thinks of himself above others he is the one who has kept Jimmy out of hhm as he sees him as lesser and he is the one who is trying trying to keep Chuck on the payroll so as to avoid him cashing out his share of the firm however as we come to learn Howard is only acting on Chuck's orders to prevent Jimmy from being hired by hhm and him keeping Chuck on the payroll is as a result of him believing that his friend and partner will one day overcome his condition slowly our perception of Howard Morse from a sleazy Rich prick to that of a loyal friend who rather than forcing Chuck out of hhm for his own vanity or greed is heartbroken to do so believing it is what must be done to protect his father's Legacy and what is best for his partner and friend following Chuck's suicide Howard is plagued with guilt which is only exacerbated by Jimmy refusing to own up to his own role in the circumstances surrounding Chuck's death through short glimpses we see Howard's struggle with his guilt suffering from insomnia and working through his turmoil and there therapy in contrast to Jimmy who following Chuck's death begins to morally regress Howard does whatever he can to make things right culminating in him reaching out to Jimmy and offering him a job at hhm if my perception of Howard was still as it was in say season one or two I would call [ __ ] on this I would presume he was just doing it in an effort to alleviate his own guilt and or try and Salvage hhm's reputation but now I see that this is a truly sincere Outreach from Howard he could tell Jimmy was struggling with Chuck's death he admired Jimmy for sticking up for Christy his offer to Jimmy was out of sincerity of seeing the error of his ways of understanding that while he was being loyal to Chuck by shutting Jimmy out of hhm that Chuck's resentment for Jimmy ran deeper than he could have ever imagined and perhaps his own perception of Jimmy was poisoned by Chuck and thus he wants to give Jimmy the respect he believed leaves is owed to him but of course by this point Jimmy is so deep in denial that he can't bear it and in response proceeds to make Howard's life a living hell the reason I bring all this up is because while the audience's perception of Howard shifts it is important to keep in mind that this doesn't apply to the other characters namely Kim whose relationship with Howard has been quite tumultuous it is likely that Kim still holds resentment towards Howard over how he treated her in season 2 after being penalized for not warning him about Jimmy's Antics at Davis and Maine as well as him and Chuck stealing Mesa Verde from her after she resigned from hhm there is even an evident Mutual resentment following the Fallout of Jimmy's Bar hearing with Chuck however their most significant shared plot beat is of course Chuck's death while Jimmy and we the audience are fully aware that he is responsible for Chuck's malpractice insurance being canceled sold Kim is not thus she believes Howard's actions are what led to Chuck's suicide and as a result Jimmy's downward spiral also note that while we the audience know how hard it was for Howard to force Chuck into retirement given Kim's interactions with Howard before this point it is likely she believes Howard did so without remorse she views his actions in the worst possible light which is why Kim later lambasts him for telling Jimmy the details of Chuck's demise we know he sincerely thought he owed it to Jimmy but Kim simply believes he was trying to unload his guilt is her anger misdirected of course but that doesn't make it any less intense I do not mean to say all this in Aura to hand wave Kim's wrongdoing later on simply to illustrate that in her eyes Howard is not the same man he is to us the audience it is also evident that Kim turning on Howard is in order to conceal her own doubts and fears about her relationship with Jimmy not only does this man who she blames for Jimmy's downward spiral have the gall to say that he needs help not only does he question her agency in regard to her decision to drop Mesa Verde claiming Jimmy must have had something to do with it but and this is what I believe is the most crucial Factor he confronts her with the fact that Jimmy is slowly becoming the very thing that Chuck always believed he was this is what primarily drives Kim to take him down because on some level she knows he is right she knew it the day she saw Jimmy con the bar she knew it the day he went behind her back with Mesa Verde she knew it the day he took an insanely dangerous job from the Mexican cartel and later lied to her about what happened in the desert but she can't stand to face the truth so when Howard confronts her with the truth she like Jimmy does throughout season 5 has to make Howard the bad guy no no no he isn't right about Jimmy he is the one responsible for Chuck's death he is the one responsible for Jimmy struggles he is the one who can't see the Jimmy that I see and it is here where Kim reaches her final form of sorts all the resentment she feels toward Howard the denial of the person Jimmy is becoming making her into someone unrecognizable Kim has allowed the very thing she feared to come to pass she has lost both her integrity and self-accountability we see her rationalize that them taking down Howard is out of some righteous Crusade they are doing this for the Sandpiper clients of course not for their own selfish gain not due to their own misdirected resentment not because they just get their kicks by indulging in their worst impulses if you were to tell me in season 1 that the series would come to a close with Jimmy and Kim scheming the takedown Howard I'd probably be like good screw that stuck up bastard and yet come season six we are horrified to see a truly good man having his reputation destroyed by two people we hardly even recognize motivated by Spite and greed and by the possibility that these two people we thought we knew that this is who they truly are we fear that once they accomplish their goal of destroying Howard of making him appear as an unhinged drug addict to his friends and colleagues of doing something truly unforgivable that nothing will be able to bring them back thank you following their successful scheme an indignant Howard confronts Jimmy and Kim at their home watching Howard a character we once despised revealed Jimmy and Kim for the exact sort of people they have become was immeasurably satisfying seeing Jimmy and Kim show not a shred of remorse for all the awful things they have done because in their eyes it wasn't a big deal it was only a minor setback for a man like Howard until something is done that cannot be undone as Lalo enters and execute Howard to Jimmy and Kim's horror it is at this moment that any [ __ ] rationalization or denial Falls away where Jimmy and Kim can no longer deflect blame where the consequences of their actions hit them with full force upon realizing that Howard a truly good caring righteous man who was loyal to his friends who decided to see the good in Jimmy will forever be remembered as a drug addict who took his own life and it is all their fault it is this that finally leads to Kim realizing the person she has become there are plenty of times throughout the series where Kim used her own smooth talking skills to meet her own ends when she is able to retain Mesa Verde as a client following Jimmy scheme by giving Kevin a reality check when she was able to face down the horrifying Lalo Salamanca saving Jimmy's life but when she utilizes these same skills to rebuff the accusations of Howard's wife Cheryl that they had something to do with Howard's death by a way of gaslighting her making her feel guilty for not recognizing Howard's completely fabricated drug addiction it was revolting this final manipulation by Kim gives her no satisfaction unlike Jimmy who it seems has been wholly consumed by his alternate Persona Kim it appears has snapped out of it to an extent she fully recognizes the monster she has become she realizes her worst fears have come to pass she is horrified at just how easy it was for her to destroy a woman's entire world and upon doing so rather than filling her with the thrill she once loved her final kiss to Jimmy is not one of exhilaration but rather unbeknownst to him of goodbye it is after this that Kim rescinds her law license and decides to leave Jimmy I have heard some argue that the show lets Kim off the hook in a sense in that it frames Jimmy as more of the bad guy and corrupting Force if you will but I honestly don't know how anyone can say that following this scene the show blatantly demonstrates that Kim is not a powerless victim of Jimmy's bad influence but a fully autonomous character who makes her own choices for her own rationalizations in sharp contrast to Jimmy who for the last three seasons has almost religiously shouldered the blame for his actions onto others and even does So In This Very scene refusing to take responsibility for his role in Howard's murder it was both cathartic and heartbreaking to see Kim defy this to take full accountability for her actions to see her recognize that the one person she loves most in this world who brings out the best in her also brings out the worst that she is in part responsible for the moral Corruption of this man she loves so dearly perhaps wondering what would have been different if she had drawn the line sooner or left Jimmy instead of asking him to marry her wanting so badly the turn back time but accepting that she can't and what's done is done disgusted with herself upon admitting that she caused others so much pain and tragedy for nothing more than a cheap thrill a masterful scene and culmination of Kim's transformative Arc and immediately upon Kim leaving Jimmy we smash cut to to years in the future where Jimmy has fully embraced his Saul Goodman Persona I have also seen some say that this was a bit abrupt however I could not disagree more the immediate jump to Jimmy fully becoming Saul demonstrates that Kim truly was his last connection to humanity that she was the only thing keeping the glimmer of good buried within him from being snuffed out and upon her leaving him there was nothing to keep that glimmer a light as I have said in the past what makes a prequel work is how it re-contextualizes or makes you view in a different light the events of the source material and I was floored upon how effectively Better Call Saul did so I went back and re-watched a number of Saul Goodman scenes from Breaking Bad and my God it is incredible how differently I perceive not only him as a character but just his overall Vibe every time Saul showed up in Breaking Bad it felt almost like a nice comedic break I was always glad to see him and felt the scenes with him were far more lighthearted but now every time I see his smug [ __ ] grin I am filled with disgust I am revolted by him unable to see him as anything more than a hollowed-out shell of a man I once felt so much for to see the contrast between Kim who he later learned couldn't even bring herself to accept her cut of the Sandpiper money who still feels immense guilt for her actions who still despite knowing them being together is not possible feels so much love for the man he used to be to see him coldly dismiss her to act as if there is nothing nor was there anything between them just as his own brother did to him so long ago is devastating not only does it put the Saul Goodman I knew from Breaking Bad in such a different light in terms of his characterization and my feelings towards him but as men many others have pointed out it in a way re-contextualizes the entire show as him as the Secret main character as noted in the series finale had it not been for Saul Walter White wouldn't have gotten nearly as far as he did he truly was vital to building and prolonging Walt's Empire and thus had a direct hand in every crime and every death that came about as a result as I re-watched Breaking Bad I at times don't even see it as the story of Walter White but as Walter just being another opportunity another step towards complete moral corruption made by the man who was once Jimmy McGill from helping Petty criminals get off scot-free to associating in working with the Mexican cartel to finally aiding and abetting the formation of a drug Empire of enabling the creation of a monster Beyond his control all of which led to nothing but death horror and destruction and into true tragic fashion it was only a matter of time before the consequences of his actions finally caught up to him following the events of Breaking Bad namely Walter White's drug Empire collapsing and his subsequent death Jimmy is forced to go into hiding eventually taking on the name of Gene takovic and finding work as a Cinnabon manager in Omaha Nebraska though Jimmy is for the time being a free man he is plagued by both paranoia of someone discovering his true identity but also immense no longer being on top of the world of being a winner of kicking ass and taking names of being Saul Goodman but after he is recognized by a cab driver by the name of Jeff Jimmy is given the chance to resurrect his former Persona after using his Charming Charisma to con his way into the home of Jeff's mother Marion he recruits Jeff and his friend buddy in a con to Rob them all at which Jimmy Works following the heist Jimmy is successful in protecting his identity as he informs Jeff and buddy that if they tell anyone his true identity he will implicate them for the robbery and take them down with him despite this initially seeming like it was simply a ploy to keep himself out of jail it is evident that Jimmy is once again enthralled by returning to his flipping ways and seeks to keep that train going recruiting Jeff and Buddy to indulge in more schemes namely drugging businessmen and stealing their financial info even after barely avoiding a grisly death on numerous occasions even after losing everything he had even after being urged by Kim who has begun a new life in Florida but continues to be plagued by guilt for her role in Howard's death to turn himself in Jimmy just can't help himself he continues to sink deeper into his own misery even going so far as to nearly murder a man with cancer after breaking into his home something even Jeff and Buddy hold reservations about he is void of guilt or shame for anything he has done it appears as if the man he once was is truly dead and gone but Jimmy's plan hits a snag after Jeff is arrested during the robbery Jimmy calls Marion who has come to see Jimmy as a true friend and tells her that Jeff has been arrested and that he is going to pick her up to bring her to bail Jeff out which raises Marian's suspicions about Jimmy's true motivations and now we come to what I consider to be the most important scene of the series Jimmy arrives at Marion's home to bring her to jail to facilitate Jeff's release but sees that she has discovered his former identity as Saul Goodman Marion prepares to call the authorities but Jimmy rips the phone cord from the wall and stalks towards her wrapping the phone cord around his hands as Marion backs away in fear there were many times throughout the run of the show where I was disappointed in Jimmy but this was the first time I was terrified of him considering his affinity for those who were vulnerable particularly the elderly it was disgusting to see him do this to Marion to see just how much of a monster he has allowed himself to become to realize that there will be no going back from this but then as Marion seems to accept her fate she slowly looks up at Jimmy and says I trusted you and it is here we come to the true tragedy of Jimmy McGill in the previous section I spoke about how Chuck's antagonism of Jimmy is what exacerbated his dishonest and scheming ways how Chuck's an ability to see the good in Jimmy or have faith that he could truly change is what conversely drove him to succumb deeper and deeper into his darker persona but as I also said it would be foolish nay simply ignorant to put this all on Chuck's shoulders and relieve Jimmy of his own culpability the show succeeds in making Jimmy so likeable and sympathetic and allows us to empathize with him even when he makes truly terrible decisions but what I consider so brilliant is how the show subverts this come the end of the series see I mentioned earlier how I believed deep down there was good in check there was at least a glimmer of the good of the compassion that we see Jimmy Express throughout the series said glimmer was Simply Stamped Out as he allowed his own bitterness and resentment to consume him but in retrospect there was also a part of Chuck in Jimmy that made him at times see the worst in others that made him Overlook those who truly cared and believed in him and focus on those who cast him aside on the surface Better Call Saul is the tale of a man who was shaped and molded into a monster after being kicked when he was down after being deemed as nothing after being reminded over and over and over that no one trusted or believed in him however this is complete [ __ ] because there were those who didn't see him as nothing who did believe in him who did trust him who gave him the benefit of the doubt who saw in him the man he always wanted to be seen as and yet it was always the setbacks that drove Jimmy to allow himself to become nothing more than a petty crook a selfish bastard and a moral criminal and as a result of doing so he let down those who believed in him who trusted him again and again and again and again and again and again that glimmer of good within him being consumed by bitterness like a poison running through his veins but at this moment looking into Marion's eyes seeing her heart breaking upon realizing that this man who she trusted who saw him as the man he always wished others saw him as has betrayed her Carol Burnett's delivery is so perfect not vindictive rather almost sorrowful her feeling so foolish how could I have ever trusted a man like you and it is here we see the glimmer of good within Jimmy returning Bob odenkirk's performance being so incredible you can actually see the humanity within him resurfacing just in his facial expression in her eyes he sees all the people he let down all the people who put their trust into him only to have said trust taken advantage of he is finally become the wolf but instead of feeling like a winner he only feels shame and disgust upon realizing what he has become succumbing to his fate as Marion calls the authorities and he is taken into custody not long after however despite us seeing the humanity within Jimmy return it unfortunately doesn't last long as upon being incarcerated we see the re-emergence of his Saul Goodman Persona in true Dr Jekyll Mr Hyde fashion him laughing maniacally in his cell before requesting former colleague Bill Oakley to assist in representing him and once again utilize his manipulation skills to as he puts it come out on top one last time seeing him State he was merely a helpless victim at the mercy of the Monstrous Walter White callously feigning Sympathy for the death of Hank Schroeder in front of his wife Marie was a truly disgusting display Jimmy almost reveling in his ability to make the prosecutors Bend his will toying with them as he widows what would have been a life plus a hundred ninety year sentence to a mere seven and a half years but his master stroke hits a snag as he learned that Kim confessed her culpability in Howard's murder to both the Albuquerque D.A and Cheryl while due to a lack of physical evidence the D.A will most likely not bring charges against her she has opened herself up to a civil suit on Cheryl's behalf which could cost her everything upon learning that the woman he loves will pay the price for having a conscience Jimmy once again sees an opportunity to Aid on himself he tells bill that he has more information in regard to Howard death that he can use as leverage even though anything he gives them will implicate Kim likely condemning her to a lifetime in jail in exchange for a weekly pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream just when you thought he couldn't succumb any lower on the day of Jimmy's hearing Kim is present waiting helplessly as she awaits her fate as Jimmy takes the stand beginning his sob story of being a victim of Walter White playing the court like a fiddle once again demonstrating he is incapable of acknowledging his own culpability when it comes to anything to acknowledge how his actions could possibly hurt others me stealing from my own family store no there is no way that had anything to do with it shutting down that was all my father's fault him and his good nature just another way of saying he was a pathetic sucker me me trying to bring the Sandpiper settlement to a close no see I was the one looking out for the client while hhm were the bad guys it wasn't strictly for my own financial gain you see me sabotaging my own brother's malpractice insurance that had nothing to do with him ending his own life it was all Howard he's the one responsible I am not representing and enabling criminals to continue their illegal ways for my own financial gain I'm fighting against a system defending the little guy I had no choice but to get involved with the salamancas despite my initial scheming ways getting me associated with them in the first place and the of course very lucrative incentives it's not like I played a role in exacerbating Kim's own destructive Tendencies besides she is the weak one who threw her life away for nothing it was Lalo who was responsible for Howard's death it was Walter White who was at fault for so Much Death and destruction me a criminal a liar a manipulator couldn't be Jimmy not precious Jimmy and it is at this moment we the audience begin to wonder you know what maybe Chuck was right maybe despite his own limitations he was the one who saw Jimmy for what he truly was that the good within him was only an act that he was a snake a coward someone who would undoubtedly end up hurting those around him it simply took longer for everyone else to see who he truly was maybe this is not the story of a good man gone bad maybe it is the story of a man finally embracing his true nature whether he is known by slip and Jimmy Saul Goodman or Gene takovic deep down he is the same selfish bitter immoral bastard who takes accountability for nothing and hurts everyone but then something funny happens as Jimmy to the astonishment of the entire courtroom finally owns up to everything how he was an integral part of keeping Walter White's drug Empire up and running how he had a hand in every death that occurred as a result of the wrath of Heisenberg how he went along with destroying Howard Hamlin's reputation despite him being a good man who was loyal as they come to his partner even to a fault how Kim was the one who couldn't stomach her role in his death and confessed her culpability the good within her being unable to Bear keeping it in and finally acknowledging his action which contributed to Chuck's suicide as I mentioned earlier one of these shows overriding themes is the murkiness and complexity of culpability how who is to blame for anyone action is not always an easy question to answer I am not saying that Jimmy sabotage was the the sole reason Chuck ended his life ultimately that choice was his own but by that same logic how much can we truly blame Chuck for Jimmy's actions it would be foolish to say Chuck played no part in driving Jimmy to embrace his darker side but Jimmy is a grown man and made his own choices hell we even saw in season 3 that Jimmy had the capacity in him to not let Chuck's actions dictate his behavior that despite others kicking him when he was at his lowest trying to bring him down to their level he was able to overcome his Despair and do the right thing he can't control the actions of others but he damn well sure can control his own and this was the moment that he finally took accountability for his own decisions for his own choices the causal chain of events that led him to this exact moment if he could go back would he do things differently if he had a second chance would he walk a different path as much as I'd like to think yes it's a question that sadly we will never know the answer to you can't travel back in time you can't undo what has been done but what you can do is take responsibility for your actions and do your best to make right what you can his admission of guilt giving those who suffered as a result of his decisions perhaps a sliver of catharsis this doesn't make Jimmy a hero he has done so much wrong and hurt so many that Redemption doesn't seem like it's in the cards but that isn't why Jimmy did what he did in the final sequence of the series Kim visits Jimmy it being revealed that he has been sentenced to 86 years thus ensuring he will spend the rest of his life in prison however it is also noted that Kim's legal license never expired perhaps hinting that despite what may happen as a result of her confession in regard to Howard's death she May return to Legal work and reignite her passion for defending those who need help the most it will not allow her to undo what has been done but is all she can do to try and derive something good as a result but why would Kim decide to continue fighting the good fight because at least in part her faith in the good in both herself and Jimmy has been restored Jimmy knows he can't make up for the crimes he has committed he knows he can't bring back those who have been lost as a result of his actions he knows he and Kim will never be together but with his final Act he showed her that he has become the man she always knew he had the potential to be when no one else believed in him when everyone else thought he was nothing she saw something different something more despite being condemned to a life in prison despite being remembered as a soulless immoral criminal despite us not knowing where he and Kim will go from here or if they will ever even see each other again his single Saving Grace is that at least in her eyes he is finally the man she knew he could be not Flippin Jimmy not Saul Goodman not Gene takovic but James Morgan McGill [Music] if you were a fan of this channel you will know that every time I embark on an analysis whether positive or negative my intention is to highlight what it is you can learn from a piece of media that will improve your ability to critique your own writing and or the writing of others obviously there is much one can learn from Better Call Saul but there is one lesson in particular that I want to highlight there are all sorts of biases in regard to certain types of media that are perpetuated even to this day whether that is award ceremonies overlooking stories or performances due to genre bias not that I am speaking of anything in particular or maybe many being under the impression that animation is a lesser medium of Storytelling something that has been disproven time and time and time again and yet as much as I rail against this [ __ ] I clearly am guilty of it myself since my initial skepticism of the series was in part driven by its status as a prequel historically most prequels and our spin-offs stand as more or less glorified cash grabs that scream we can't think of something original so here is this thing that you will like because it's derived from the other thing that you like while this attitude has thankfully been misspelled when it comes to sequels I definitely say it still persists when it comes to prequels and spin-offs well not anymore even if you disagree that it is superior to Breaking Bad Better Call Saul still stands as not only a show infinitely better than it had any right to be that's not only one of the finest television series of all time but as a resounding [ __ ] you to anyone who doubted it though all of those who worked on this series deserve praise I particularly want to give notoriety to up Peter Gould who took over as Seoul showrunner after Vince Gilligan's departure from The Writer's room at the beginning of season three while I saw Jimmy McGill AKA Saul Goodman as a one note comic relief character he saw something more something amazing something utterly unprecedented Better Call Saul taught me that aside from skill passion and courage above all it takes believing in your story to never doubt its potential to truly make something special a lesson I will not soon forget [Music] if there's any thought [Music] four little four [Music] eight it'll be enough [Music] [Applause] [Music] I can't see you're here kill communication stepping up the crib just to let me know [Music] too many got my time [Applause] [Music] [Music]

Channel: Macabre Storytelling

Views: 579,891

Keywords: better call saul, better call saul recap, better call saul ending, better call saul review, better call saul analysis, saul goodman, better call saul finale, better call saul video essay, better call saul breaking bad, better call saul retrospective, better call saul ending explained, macabre storytelling

Id: Sszeff6oCDY

Length: 122min 25sec (7345 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 08 2023