Created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould
Starring Bob Odenkirk, Rhea Seehorn, Michael Mando, Tony Dalton, Jonathan Banks
Network: Stan
The finale of this spin-off show is upon us, concluding after six and a half seasons, seven years, and a whole lot of drama (inside and outside the courtrooms). With this last half season, the thrills have been put at the start, with the rest of the show carefully, but satisfyingly bringing an end to such a complicated array of messed up characters in messed up situations. With the title character at the centre of everything revolving around him, this series can now be taken as a whole (along with Saul’s involvement in Breaking Bad, of course) as a wholly engrossing character study that’ll make you squirm, confused as to how to feel about him.
After a hell of a shocking cliffhanger that concluded the first half of the season, we pick up right where it left off in Point and Shoot, a fast-moving and intense episode that’s always on the move and always keeping its viewers clenched up with tension. It frankly rivals the best of Breaking Bad, where it puts the characters in such ridiculously confined and stressful situations, that their absolute base-level urges and true ambitions are revealed.
But this is the most thrilling episode, with the remaining five episodes bringing this series to an end in a leisurely fashion. Unlike Breaking Bad’s last season that elevated the tension until its very final moments, Better Call Saul instead takes a slower approach to concluding these characters’ arcs, with maybe even a hint more sympathy than in Breaking Bad.
Although the show has acted as a prequel to Breaking Bad, these six final episodes feature quite a bit more of the black-and-white flash-forwards, switching between sequel and prequel to emphasise the disastrous fates of not only Saul and Kim, but Walter White and Jesse Pinkman with the special appearances they make. Under the guise of being a silly time travel question, Jimmy discusses regret amongst both Mike and Walter is separate flashbacks (both during their lowest moments).
This series started strongly, had some minor pit-falls along the way, but regained itself and then finished as strongly as ever before – Game of Thrones fans should be totally jealous. The last episode, and even the last shot, firmly put a cap on top of this whole saga, really lasting across two whole shows. It’s a monumental feat, and one that the whole cast and crew have astonishingly achieved, not stunning their audience with a crazy conclusion, but given the fitting one for a man whose consequences are always catching up to him.
DAVID MORGAN-BROWN
