Better Call Saul triumphantly ends with perhaps its best season. I think this is easily the best season on purely a technical level. There were so many shots that I audibly reacted to just because of how beautiful they were -- the cinematography is on another level. The direction was spectacular as well. I'm writing this after the Emmy nominations were released and the fact that this didn't get one directing nomination is beyond me. Technical aspects aside, where this season goes with its characters and how they ultimately concluded the series is some of the best narrative work in a show you'll probably ever see. Each character had a conclusion that I found so satisfying and full of depth and nuance. Nacho blossomed into one of my favorite characters in this universe and thus you'd think that ending his arc in the third episode would bother me, but the way he goes out is so bittersweet and hauntingly satisfying that I think they earned that early exit. The show also managed to make me actually root for Howard, and the parallels between his story and Chuck's story were so good. His exit is less bittersweet and more straight up devastating. Using what happens to him as a vehicle that ultimately influences Kim's arc and the arc of Jimmy and Kim's relationship was a really smart move that made a lot of sense. Lalo's end was less gripping for me, but the shot of his and Howard's bodies being buried together was an INSANE visual metaphor for the convergence of Jimmy's character and that image will stick with me for a long time.
Episode 9 catches us up to where we essentially find Jimmy in BB, bringing that seasons long arc to a beautiful close. And then we pick back up post-BB to get the true conclusion for the character, and I thought this arc was beautifully done as well. The flashbacks to the BB days with Walt and Jesse were a lot of fun, but they also always conveyed important moments in Saul's life and cemented the themes of the show. Everything leads to one of the best series finales I've ever seen. BCS cements itself as having one of the all time great character arcs with Jimmy's ultimate decision at the end of the show. The entire series we have watched him continue to make bad decisions, continue to blame everyone else, continue to fall further and further into the muck, and continue to be dishonest with himself and others about who he really is. Yet in his final moments as a free man, he finally accepts himself for who he is and the person he has become. That he's not a victim, but a willing participant who enjoyed the crimes he committed. And this is is not who Saul Goodman is, it's who Jimmy McGill is. He reclaims his name for himself and accepts who he is, while simultaneously ending his life as a free man. Our main character technically loses in the end, but also has this breakthrough triumphant character arc. BCS essentially transforms Jimmy's arc from tragedy to victory in the end. Not in a superficial way, but in a deeper and more meaningful way. That final episode absolutely blew me away, just incredible.
Review by Justin NumerickBlockedParent2023-07-15T20:05:03Z
Season 6 Score: 9.6/10
Better Call Saul triumphantly ends with perhaps its best season. I think this is easily the best season on purely a technical level. There were so many shots that I audibly reacted to just because of how beautiful they were -- the cinematography is on another level. The direction was spectacular as well. I'm writing this after the Emmy nominations were released and the fact that this didn't get one directing nomination is beyond me. Technical aspects aside, where this season goes with its characters and how they ultimately concluded the series is some of the best narrative work in a show you'll probably ever see. Each character had a conclusion that I found so satisfying and full of depth and nuance. Nacho blossomed into one of my favorite characters in this universe and thus you'd think that ending his arc in the third episode would bother me, but the way he goes out is so bittersweet and hauntingly satisfying that I think they earned that early exit. The show also managed to make me actually root for Howard, and the parallels between his story and Chuck's story were so good. His exit is less bittersweet and more straight up devastating. Using what happens to him as a vehicle that ultimately influences Kim's arc and the arc of Jimmy and Kim's relationship was a really smart move that made a lot of sense. Lalo's end was less gripping for me, but the shot of his and Howard's bodies being buried together was an INSANE visual metaphor for the convergence of Jimmy's character and that image will stick with me for a long time.
Episode 9 catches us up to where we essentially find Jimmy in BB, bringing that seasons long arc to a beautiful close. And then we pick back up post-BB to get the true conclusion for the character, and I thought this arc was beautifully done as well. The flashbacks to the BB days with Walt and Jesse were a lot of fun, but they also always conveyed important moments in Saul's life and cemented the themes of the show. Everything leads to one of the best series finales I've ever seen. BCS cements itself as having one of the all time great character arcs with Jimmy's ultimate decision at the end of the show. The entire series we have watched him continue to make bad decisions, continue to blame everyone else, continue to fall further and further into the muck, and continue to be dishonest with himself and others about who he really is. Yet in his final moments as a free man, he finally accepts himself for who he is and the person he has become. That he's not a victim, but a willing participant who enjoyed the crimes he committed. And this is is not who Saul Goodman is, it's who Jimmy McGill is. He reclaims his name for himself and accepts who he is, while simultaneously ending his life as a free man. Our main character technically loses in the end, but also has this breakthrough triumphant character arc. BCS essentially transforms Jimmy's arc from tragedy to victory in the end. Not in a superficial way, but in a deeper and more meaningful way. That final episode absolutely blew me away, just incredible.
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