Better Call Saul Season 6 Episode 13 Review: Saul Gone

There’s a reason we root for Saul Goodman to get away with all of his crimes up until the very last moment. 

On Better Call Saul Season 6 Episode 13, “Saul Gone,” Saul Goodman tries to talk his way out of trouble one last time. But then he makes a choice that changes everything on what is a perfect, satisfying series finale.

At first, as he’s running from the cops with Marion hopeful they’ll catch him, it seems like he must be able to find a way to evade them. But as Gene, he’s been making mistakes that perhaps, subconsciously mean he wants to get caught.

The first clue of that happens when Jeff first confronts him in the mall in Season 5, and he decides not to go through with changing his identity again. He decides to fix the problem himself, and thus begins his downfall.

It’s just a little funny that Saul jumps into a dumpster to try to evade the cops, a desperate final attempt. They find him there, and it feels fitting in a tragic sort of way.

The tone of Better Call Saul decidedly took a turn earlier in the season, focusing largely on the black-and-white present, where everything is more mundane and sad, especially knowing that this is all post-Breaking Bad. 

We do get the fun of seeing Saul work his magic one last time, though. He calls up Bill Oakley and convinces him to serve as his advisory council. Then during plea negotiation, where Marie Schrader makes an appearance, he tells the convincing story — which is partially true — of how Walt and Jesse forced him to do all the things he did. 

Knowing that he’d only need one juror, and saying as much to everyone in the room, he’s able to talk his way down to seven years in a facility of his choosing. It’s quite a feat considering all he’d done, and it’s perhaps one of his most successful attempts at such a thing. 

But then when he thinks he has a little more leverage with the truth about Howard Hamlin, he finds out that Kim has confessed to everything.

Not only has she confessed her crimes, which probably won’t mean much considering the lack of evidence, but she’s also opened herself up to a civil suit by going directly to Howard’s widow. 

Learning that, Saul says he has more information to offer, even knowing that such information could hurt Kim.

Knowing all we know now about their past, though, it’s clear he has something else in mind. And he does. Kim shows up to court, only to see Saul own up to everything, including his greed.

In all of the flashbacks on this episode, which are all from different stages of his life, there’s talk of time machines and regrets. Those discussions all reveal a little more about how Jimmy McGill evolved into Saul Goodman, even back to his relationship with his brother.

It’s a really poignant way to bring us up to these final moments on the episode, where instead of accepting that incredible plea deal, he lays it all out in the open.

As much as he can, it’s a shot at redemption. He has made sure Kim is there to hear it all, and he goes beyond confessing his motives and saying all he did for Walter White. He talks about his brother too, which isn’t relevant to the case, but it is most certainly relevant to his need to own up to his actions.

And so, rather than getting seven years in a facility that isn’t so bad, he’s given the worst of the worst, for life and then some. There’s imagery of him baking, which is a call back to the Cinnabon, only now he’s baking in prison. 

It’s obvious he’ll be okay there, even from the ride over when everyone recognizes him and starts chanting “Better Call Saul.” Even those moments are beautifully shot, as is the entire episode. 

The moment that really bookends the series, though, is the most beautiful one of all. It’s when Kim finds a way to visit Saul — Jimmy. Her bar card is still good, and she shows up as his lawyer, but only to see him and share a cigarette.

It’s a callback to the first episode of the series, and even as the scene remains black-and-white, the ember of the cigarette is shown in color, harkening back to the days of Jimmy McGill and to the love these two had, and still seem to have, for one another.

It’s ultimately a perfect series finale, and it’s the right ending for Saul Goodman.

While Better Call Saul has mostly been a prequel series, it simply wouldn’t have been good enough to end with his evolution toward truly becoming Saul Goodman. Better Call Saul did give us that, but being able to see what came after Breaking Bad rounds out his story more fully.

And while yes, we root for him as I said, because we’ve seen his backstory and how he did become that person, it’s only right that he does end up in prison. But what makes it even more satisfying, aside from having seen him act as a lawyer one last time, is that he’s accepting of those consequences.  

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