YMMV / Better Call Saul S6 E13: "Saul Gone"

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Did Saul walk into that court room knowing he was going to confess to all of his crimes? Did Saul actually intend to enjoy the benefits of the plea deal, or did he do that just to mess with the prosecutors? In essence showing one last time that Saul was a far better lawyer then anyone gave him credit for, and actually getting a lighter sentence was irrelevant to him. Or did Jimmy change his mind last minute after being overcome with guilt? The fact that he doesn't seem to care what the judge or the lawyers are saying as they're determining his sentence would indicate that winning no longer mattered to Jimmy, and getting the guilt off his chest mattered far more.
  • Should the US government's prosecution of Saul seem like a just comeuppance for Saul Goodman, or is it an excessive overreaction on their part? Sure Saul was a criminal, but is anything he did really worth 190 years worth of punishment (their initial charge) or the 86 years they finally settle on? Probably not. The government can easily come off to the viewer as a partisan entity embarrassed that Heisenberg escaped justice, and that such a massive drug empire was under their nose that entire time. Punishing Saul feels like the government desperately wanting to save face—and repair the public image of the DEA—rather than anything approaching proper criminal justice. Adding to this, there's no way they can know Saul and Walt shacked up with each other following the murders of Hank and Gomez and yet one of Saul's charges is accessory after the fact to said murders. Marie Schrader's interest in the case and contempt for Saul clearly stems from her grief and anger over Hank's death more than anything else, making it seem less like she wants to see proper justice done and more that she just believes somebody should be made to pay for what happened to her husband.
  • Did Walter White truly place more value on his regrets with Grey Matter than he did more recent tragedies, like the death of Hank or the estrangement of his family? Is Walter locked in his Heisenberg persona, and he's too emotionally repressed to admit the deeper truths that are troubling him? Or does Walter simply not respect or trust Saul enough to admit the things that are troubling him. Notice that when he told the Grey Matter story to Jesse, he gave more specific details to Jesse than he gave to Saul. This would indicate some lack of respect for Saul, though it should be noted Walter's emotional issues with Eliot and Gretchen were details he left out to both of them. A more moderate take could be taken as a what if scenario in Walter's mind; if he had been a multi-millionaire with his Grey Matter stock, then he could have avoided every bad thing that happened in the franchise. Hank wouldn't be dead, Skyler and his children would be provided for, and Jesse's life wouldn't have been ruined. For Walter Grey Matter is where all of his problems stem from, so of course he regrets that most. Also, if Walt's regrets are regarding Jesse, what exactly does he regret? Selling him to the Neo-Nazis? Poisoning Brock? Or, does he regret the partnership as a whole? Is it a little of everything?
  • Similarly, did Walt show contempt for Saul possibly helping him gain Grey Matter back just because he didn't like him, or he had come to accept that he was the one behind his own decision, so targeting Gretchen and Elliot using Saul's underhanded tactics is too much?
• Designated Monkey: Bill Oakley returns as Jimmy’s lawyer. During the trial Bill does very little, with Saul doing most of the work, but it was implied Bill and Saul teamed up because of their former friendship, with Saul trying to help Bill by giving him an important role in an important case. Then Saul decides to admit everything, (possibly unintentionally) taking Bill down with him. Bill’s reputation is ruined when he was only trying to help out his old friend.
  • Although Jimmy did state that Bill is only his advisory counsel and he was representing himself, so although Bill might be in jeopardy, it won't be enough to ruin him as it will be treated as Saul Goodman "slipping" up in vanity.
• Diagnosed by the Audience: Walt, shortly after the events of "Ozymandias", displays clear signs of Sanity Slippage. He is incredibly erratic, obsesses over fixing the hot water when they're only going to be under the vacuum cleaner store for another day at most, shows borderline mania in his degree of overconfidence and grandiosity, and takes Saul's time travel question overly literal, even getting uncharacteristically upset about it. Just like in the previous series, it's unclear if this is because of a personality disorder, bipolar disorder, sociopathy, or a straight up psychotic break.
• Fanon: While everyone (both cast and fandom) agrees that the love is back on and Kim will visit as many times as she can, Rhea Seehorn enjoys the idea of Kim using her lawyer skills — or at least trying, while remaining on the good side — to get Jimmy out earlier (although Odenkirk says he doesn't believe the character will get out).
  • Another common one in the fandom is choosing to ignore the part where it's stated that Jimmy only lasted a few months in hiding, and believing that the 5 years real time at the start of the series, or 10 or so at the end are closer to the truth.
• Narm Charm: The prisoners chanting "Better call Saul!" on the bus has been regarded by many fans as the weakest part of the finale, on account of how cheesy it can come across as. On the other hand, it works not only as a sendup to the endless memes of the series (whether intentional or not), but also as a display of how the "Saul Goodman" persona has become immortalized in the criminal underworld, even after Jimmy's disowned that part of him, and it lets us know that even though he'll almost certainly die behind bars, he'll still be okay.
• Special Effects Failure: Much like in El Camino, Bryan Cranston is very obviously wearing a bald cap during the flashback to "Granite State". Since he wasn't able to hide his hair wearing the ski mask from before, this was unavoidable.
• Unexpected Character:
  • While Walt's return was announced ahead of time, and some fans probably figured Mike and Chuck would both appear again, who would've guessed Marie of all people would make a return in this final episode, nine years after she last appeared in "Felina"?
  • A minor but still surprising addition is Steven Gomez’s wife, Blanca, who shows up on-screen for the first time despite being mentioned way back in season 3 of Breaking Bad.
• Unintentionally Sympathetic: As mentioned under Designated Monkey, many viewers feel that Bill Oakley gets treated unfairly in the final episode. Bill taking Saul’s case was intended to be seen as Bill being a Glory Hound motivated by Greed, especially since Bill refused to help Jimmy at first. But later interactions indicate that Bill agrees to help out Jimmy as a friend. Bill is also a bit unsettled by Jimmy’s tactics, showing that he’s not as immoral and greedy as Saul was. Then Bill loses the case at the last second due to Jimmy sabotaging himself. Dragging Bill down with him even though he was nothing but supportive and helpful, even giving Jimmy some good advice.

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