Better Call Saul - A Journey into Morality, Love and Regrets

It's been four days since I have watched the series finale of Better Call Saul. And I am still processing my thoughts. Not very often do you come accross a series that takes you on a journey with characters whose fates you somewhat know already, yet they leave you at a loss of words. The fact that this is a spinoff/prequel to Breaking Bad, another timeless masterpiece is a testament to the genius of Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould.

I had heard great things about Breaking Bad since I was a teen, studying in school. The name would pop up in discussions about films and series, whenever they would take place- with people citing its 9.5 rating on IMDb as a marker of how great that show is. The funny thing was that none of us had seen Breaking Bad back then. Infact I had not seen a single series in my life, when I came to know about Breaking Bad. Cut to 2020, COVID-19 was raging, all of us were locked down into our houses, when I decided to give Breaking Bad a go. Until then, I had already watched many shows and films- from The Godfather to Chernobyl. But Breaking Bad took me by storm. And I realized why and how it had achieved its greatness. As the tale of Cancer patient High school chemistry teacher turned Morally corrupt Drug Kingpin Walter Hartwell White, unfolded before me - I was taken aback by the quality of storytelling, the character beats, the cinematography and the art of 'show, not tell'. In the final episode "Felina" as the camera slowly zoomed away from the fallen idol of Heisenberg with 'Baby Blue' running in the background, I could not help but wonder- How can someone ever top this? Since then I have seen masterpieces like Dark, Crowdpleasers like Stranger Things, and Commercial Mass Entertainers like Money Heist- I have enjoyed all of them but none of them have ever come near the brilliance that was Breaking Bad. I did get recommendations from my roomie Soujatya (the one who got me into watching BB in the first place- he is a Superfan) to give BCS a try, but I hadn't managed to give it a go.

Cut to 2022, just after my 3rd Professional Part-1 was over, I decided watching Better Call Saul. I will not go into how brilliant this show is technically. The fact is that any random frame you take a screenshot, you will see an work of art. The cinematography and their play with lights is top notch. I had thought this would be another BB like adrenaline rush- with drug mafias running amok. But the very first episode, pulled me right in and proved me absolutely wrong. How good can a first episode be? but there was "Uno"- showing Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) struggling with his law practice. Yeah, it was Jimmy, not Saul. A person who you would root for, someone you would care for, someone you would want to win- an Underdog, failing everywhere in his life. The transformation of Jimmy McGill into Saul Goodman does not happen till S6 E9- "Fun and Games", but you stay stuck in the world of Albuquerque, waiting with halted breath, and hoping that this transformation never happens. 

The first three seasons have a distinctive flavour of legal drama, with the cartel story running in the background. In the Cartel side of the story, we see another man Mike Ehrmantraut, as he inevitably joins the game and slowly sink into the pit - his soul slowly dying in the process. There is a scene in Fun and Games, where Mike meets Mr. Varga, Nacho Varga's dad (One of the most tragic characters ever written)- to break the news of his son's death and that man's morality rattles us. And in that very scene- the camera shows Mike behind a net as Mr. Varga and they interact, metaphorically implying that both men lost their sons, but one is free where another is caught in the web of revenge. This is amplified by Mr Varga's dialogue - "You gangsters are all the same. It's all revenge for you." There is also the magnificent Giancarlo Esposito back as the Chicken Man - Gus Fring, the Gangster with a soul- Nacho Varga, played brilliantly by Michael Mando (The fact that he didn't even get an Emmy nomination for his brilliant act in S6 E3 shocked me the most), and the absolute evil Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton). The cartel side of the story very rarely cuts into the legal drama storyline - and not until the 2nd half of Season 5 do these worlds collide on a very big scale.

Now coming to the most important aspect of the series- The Legal Drama. And that is magnificent in all forms. Better Call Saul is a story of two brothers. Jimmy McGill always wanted respect and validation from his elder brother- Chuck, one of the most brilliant legal minds. But all he gets is getting belittled for cutting corners, taking shortcuts and being "Slipping Jimmy", the conman version of his past self. And you wonder what would you have done if you were in Jimmy's place. The relationship between Jimmy and Chuck forms the crux of the first three seasons- a man so egoistic, so self consumed by his pride, yet so vulnerable and mentally unstable. Played by Michael McKean, Chuck as a character will be studied for a long time.

But the soul of the series is a Love Story- perhaps the greatest on screen love story I have ever witnessed. Better Call Saul is a love story between Kim Wexler (my favourite character in the Gilliverse, played by the wonderful Rhea Seehorn) and Jimmy McGill. Their relationship gives the story a heart, and brings hope into the land of drugs and cartels. Kim Wexler is one of the finest written female characters ever brought to screen, and her duality of kindness and crooked morality, is a wonder to watch unfold. Jimmy and Kim's relationship- is something for the ages. Romantic, Beautiful, yet as Kim says- "together, they are poison". As we see them carry out cons after cons- starting with few harmless free drinks at a bar at the expense of conning some bigmouth corporate biggie, to a career destroying and life destroying feat- we first enjoy, but slowly start begging in the back of our minds- for them to stop. Jimmy and Kim get married, and we want them to stay happy together forever. They never say "I love you" to each other for the first 58 episodes, and when bang it comes- we are left destroyed, shattered. That moment, thatt monologue alone deserves an Emmy for Rhea Seehorn. And if that does not seal the deal, there is always her breakdown in the bus in "Waterworks".

BCS is also a story of coping with loss and coming to terms with one's regrets. Jimmy McGill starts transforming into Saul Goodman, the morally corrupt Comic relief lawyer from Breaking Bad, first after Chuck's suicide. He hides his pain deep inside- and starts putting on a show. But his total transformation occurs when Kim leaves him. When I first started the show, I was eager to see when Saul turns up. When he finally did, in his full form- I broke down. That Scene with Jesse and Kim in the rain- where Kim tells him that he does not know the man anymore is something that resonates with all of us.

Now coming to the ending. Well the tricky part has always been to stick the landing. And most have failed over the years- Game of Thrones is a shining example. The final episode asks you a question - "Where would you go if you had a time machine?". That's a question Jimmy has in mind, but could never answer in his life- 'cause he never wanted to come terms with his regrets. We all have regrets, don't we. And when he comes to terms with his regrets- Jimmy finally takes over Saul. Jimmy wanted validation from the world- from Chuck, from Mike, from Walt. He finally gets his validation- from the one who matters to him the most- Kim. With his confession- 'Kim had the guts to start over, but I was the one who ran way'; he finally comes to term with himself. As Chuck says in the flashback- 'If you don't like where you are heading, there is no shame in turning back and starting over'. In the end, Saul Goodman is imprisoned, but Jimmy McGill is free. The final scene with Jimmy and Kim smoking, with the only colour being the flame of the cigarette, is an art in itself. As Kim walks aways, into her new life, into freedom, into peace, we get a last look at Jimmy behind the prison gates. His face, full of peace. He has come to terms on his own- he has finally got his validation that he so much yearned for.

Better Call Saul created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, all episodes now streaming on Netflix.

Picture Courtesy- Netflix/AMC