Saul Gone

Saul’s world is turned on its head when he learns that Kim was willing to risk everything by coming clean. In the end, she’s the only one who could break through his calcified moral bankruptcy.

Saul’s courtroom confession is complicated for me. There’s genuine self-reflection that’s gone into it, but it’s also calculated to be exactly the kind of performance that will win Kim overWe know Jimmy can deliver a convincing monologue. I’m a bit disappointed that we never got to see him reckon with his misdoings in a quieter, more nuanced way.. He demonstrates his honesty by professing, to his own detriment, his pride for his triumphs with Walter White. His admission to raising the rates on Chuck’s malpractice insurance came off to me as slightly disingenuous for claiming absolute remorse while glossing over the turbulent reality of their brotherhood. A major reason he trades off his “Saul Goodman” identity is that he knows it’s “James McGill” who Kim wants to see. Jimmy’s rediscovery of his humanity is less Jimmy working out his own moral compass, and more him remembering that it might be worthwhile to live for someone other than himself.

It’s chilling to watch Saul flaunt his showmanship in front of a grief-stricken Marie.

The finale falters a bit for its desire to wrap things up neatly. Scenes are deliberate, weighty, and dramatic. The flashbacks are welcome time capsules, but I found myself hoping they’d shed light on facets of Jimmy we weren’t already familiar with. The series morphs into a character study in its final four episodes and strays from its strengths: its tight plotting and the relationships between its characters.

It’s comforting to see that, in spite of the rift between them, Jimmy and Kim’s final meeting is as conspiratorial as in their golden days. Kim, not all straight-and-narrow, poses as Jimmy’s attorney with an expired ID card. They share a cigarette as though they’re back in the HHM parking garage. Kim, in spite of everything, is impressed that Jimmy is still figuratively getting away with murder, having negotiated his sentence down to seven years. Jimmy’s finger guns are a fitting send-off for Albuquerque’s greatest duo of con artists, now reformed.