How does one conclude one of the greatest TV shows of all time? It's a daunting task and while I was left unsatisfied by last night's series finale of Better Call Saul I'm not so arrogant as to say I know how co-creator Peter Gould could have done it better.
There's just so much it feels like the penultimate episode left on the table that the final episode doesn't even seem to be aware of. The season had spent a lot of its thematic energy making it clear that Saul and Kim were compulsive mischief makers. Are we meant to believe that's just gone--"Saul Gone"/"S'all Gone"--by the end of the episode?
My favourite part of the episode was the busload of convicts, upon recognising Saul, chanting "Better Call Saul" despite his insistence that he's going by Jimmy McGill again. It was like Johnny Cash in Folsom Prison. It made me wish that more time had been spent on the relationships between Saul and his clients. He was a "criminal lawyer" and while that meant he was helping some criminals get away with their crimes, he must also have been the only light in the dark for some desperate people. So I don't see the dichotomy of Good and Evil in Jimmy and Saul.
I would have liked another season. I would have liked Saul to get away with the seven year sentence and then come back into the world, back up to his old tricks. I like Kim a lot and Rhea Seehorn was great and, if they were real people, I'd be overjoyed for Kim and Saul to get back together. But as a story point, I don't think their reunion was quite as interesting as a more permanent break might have been. Maybe that's a sign of my lack of faith in the redemptive power of love, I don't know.
I liked the first two flashbacks and the use of the time machine idea. The flashback with Chuck might as well have been taken from one of the actual episodes for all the new ground it didn't cover. I did like Walter White throwing a tantrum about the impossibility of time travel. His bringing up the company he'd been hoodwinked out of was nice. I like contemplating the alternate reality in which Saul or Jimmy actually managed to sue Walt's former friends out of everything they had, everything legal and above board.
Anyway, I would have liked to have seen a more straight-forward courtroom drama series about Saul and Kim following this episode. Something like The Practice or Boston Legal. But I guess this was a pretty good run.
On another note, Wolfgang Peterson died a few days ago, his death was announced to-day. I haven't seen all of Peterson's movies but Das Boot is a masterpiece. There's a good example of not letting morality get in the way of telling a good story. The NeverEnding Story and Enemy Mine are both admirable achievements, too.
Twitter Sonnet #1612
The ended wait arrived a second soon.
A restless dance invoked a vinyl mind.
Suspended weights decreed a record doom.
The fighting angel turned the Devil blind.
Machines awoke in beds of lace and stone.
Computer swords could never cut the meat.
A laser longs to slice a mammal bone.
The endless rain upends your busy feet.
A broken jelly mirrors cake and cream.
A super pie contained the town of grapes.
The dawn arose above the tennis team.
Their tails forsook the many reckless apes.
A rainy clock announced the naked chump.
A lush parade concludes with Goodman's slump.
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