[Better SQUAWK Saul: E11] Season 6, Episodes 12 & 13 of Better Call Saul, "Waterworks" & "Saul Gone"

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Originally Recorded: 2022/08/18 Our FULL Breakdown of #BetterCallSaul's final two episodes (12 & lucky 13) of it's 6th and final season titled, "Waterworks" & "Saul Gone". 🙏THANK YOU for joining us on this incredible journey/experiment in #podcasting and we sincerely hope we always give you more than what you originally walked away with on your first watch!

We've had this episode in the can for a few weeks now, but our supporters have had access to the RAW and unfiltered recording since then, complete with gaffes, yucks, and plenty of HILARIOUS (yet comedically timely) technical difficulties! Early access to our episodes doesn't really interest you, but you still want to jump into the real-time chat as we record so that YOU can lend your insights to our episode breakdowns? It costs nothing to create a FREE account at Ko-fi.com and just follow us on Ko-fi.com/SQUAWKINGDEAD - like Mitchell did for this particular episode - to stay on top of when we record. It doesn't cost a thing! The takeaway? Be more like Mitchell! Start here:

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David Cameo:
Rachael Burt:
Sherrandy Swift:
Bridget Mason-Gray:

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• Before we jump into our coverage of the final two episodes of Better Call Saul, we mention our interview with Anthony Collins discussing his upcoming viewing party which we will be attending and helping with!
  
• We are ecstatic to announce the transition of Bridget from 🎖SURVIVORS Tier Member to permanent SQUAWKING DEAD host, moving forward!
  
  
• Now that Better Call Saul has come to an end, are there any other shows you would like to hear us take a crack at (outside of the The Walking Dead Universe)? SQUAWKING Westworld, perhaps?
  
• We decided to cover these two episodes together due to Dave being away on vacation and everyone else having an impossibly busy week after the airing of the penultimate episode of the series!
  
• Sherrandy suggests doing a SQUAWKING Lasso (a deep dive into the wonderful world of Ted Lasso). Thank you for coming to our Ted SQUAWK.
  
• Are the pillars in Saul Goodman's office a metaphor for his life: Strong and stable-looking on the outside, empty and hollow on the inside?
  
• Does Jimmy McGill lean into his Saul Goodman persona as a way to deal with his separation from Kim Wexler, post Howard Hamlin's demise?
• The writers spend a gratuitous amount of time trying to make you uncomfortably aware of Kim's malaise.
  
• Bridget had to look up articles on how to cope with the end of a television show, did you feel the same way?
  
• How did you watch Better Call Saul? Did you end up bingeing it on Netflix, between seasons, or have you been a fan since day one, watching it as it aired on AMC? We found that these episodes hit differently when doing one over the other.
  
• Since it was the highlight of Kim's day (her riskiest behavior throughout Waterworks using Miracle Whip over Duke's), we have to ask: Duke's or Hellmann's/Best Food's (nobody likes Miracle Whip... absolutely nobody)?
  
  
• Sherrandy felt happy to see some Winn Dixie representation, since they are based out of her hometown of Jacksonville, Florida.
  
• Who has a sadder story in Better Call Saul: Kim Wexler or Mike Ehrmantraut?
  
• Out of the many undoubtedly colorful windshield sun shades present in everyone else's cars, in the Palm Coast Sprinkler parking lot, Kim is the only one to use a plain, silver one, demonstrating the bland, color-free lifestyle she chooses to live.
  
  
• Sherrandy: Kim is Miracle Whip, pretending to be mayonnaise. Call her "Kimberly M. Wexler" (the 'M' stands for Mayonnaise).
  
• Though much of what we love about Kim is lost, she is still as detail oriented as she was during her lawyer days, but she cranks the volume down on it like everything else in her life.
  
• Would Kim have kept living her boring life in limbo had Gene Takovic not egged her on to confess, all the while informing her that Gustavo Fring, Mike Ehrmantraut, and Eduardo "Lalo" Salamanca were all "in the ground"?
  
• Gus Fring's might've made national headlines, but is it possible that Kim hadn't even known about the deaths of the rest of these people prior to his phone call?
  
• What result was Jimmy McGill hoping to achieve via his phone call with Kim?
  
• Is her Slippin' Kimmy persona dead, now that she is away from Jimmy and Albuquerque?
  
• Right after her gut-wrenching call with Saul, Kim immediately proceeds to sing Happy Birthday to one of her coworkers (fully aware that it's also Jimmy's birthday, as well).
  
• The pickup area at the airport says Alaska. Having watched El Camino (chronicling the events that immediately follow the conclusion of Breaking Bad), did you briefly think (even for a second) she might run into Jesse Pinkman?
  
• How did you feel seeing the empty booth where Mike used to validate parking on behalf of the courthouse (now taken up by a machine)?
  
• Immediately entering the courthouse, could the lawyer Kim sees coaching her client be Christy Esposito, the girl Jimmy tries to encourage to pursue her dream of becoming a lawyer in episode 4x10 Winner?
  
• Would Kim's colleagues have even recognized this version of Kim Wexler on first glance?
  
• Does Cheryl Hamlin feel responsible for Howard's "suicide"? She, too, looks somewhat worse for wear after all these years.
  
• Given that Cheryl still has a photo of Howard on her mantle, might she and Howard have mended their relationship had he not been killed?
  
• During plea negotiations, right before Jimmy commits his final master-stroke meant to shed light on Howard's funky demise (which might've further reduced his already remarkably reduced sentence of 7 years to basically nothing), he finds out that Kim did what he had bullied her into doing over the phone and already submitted her written affidavit to the court detailing the events of Howards murder. The real question is whether Jimmy - in that moment of shock - was also visibly proud of her?
  
• Upon hearing that Kim confessed, knowing Cheryl could file a civil suit against her at any time, does Jimmy feel like she opened herself up to throwing her entire life away for nothing?
  
  
• Rhea Seehorn deserves an Emmy for her performance on the airport tram, in which she divulges how this was the first time Kim finally allowed herself to break down after everything that's happened.
  
• The hand of the woman who reaches out to comfort Kim in this scene is Vince Gilligan's long-time girlfriend, Holly.
  
• Could you have been satisfied had Kim Wexler's last episode of Better Call Saul been Waterworks? It certainly could've ended there.
  
• When Gene is photographing the paperwork and passwords of his final identity theft mark (played by Kevin Sussman), there appears to be $737,000 in his bank account, which is the exact amount Walter White said he needed to leave behind for his family (credit to Pete Peppers).
  
  
• Do you think Jimmy would have taken Cancer Scam Victim's life had he not passed out?
  
• Similarly, were you terrified that Saul was about to kill Marion?
  
• Is it possible that Jimmy wanted to get caught (eventually)?
  
• Is it possible that Jimmy's phone call with Kim threw him for such a loop, that all the scamming in the world could no longer ease his suffering and his poor decision-making would continue to escalate?
  
• Consider, for a moment, that Jimmy expected to be caught eventually: Was he hoping that they would get him on something far more grandiose?
  
• On the Better Call Saul Insider podcast, Executive Producer Peter Gould reveals, during the scene where Gene starts laughing in his holding cell, that this is the moment he remembers he is currently held inside the very system with which he is all too familiar.
  
• Jumping back to the day Kim serves her divorce papers to Saul, the man that enters Saul's office as Kim leaves is Krazy-8's cousin, Emilio Koyama, who dies in the first episode of Breaking Bad.
  
  
• Sherrandy: Since they first met, every choice that Jimmy has made, ultimately, has been in service for his love for Kim.
  
• Is this the best-case scenario of a series finale we could've ever received from Better Call Saul? Would you have changed anything else (and it still make sense, narratively-speaking)?
  
• How would you sum up the premise of this series, now that it's Saul Gone?
  
• How did you feel as Jimmy performed one final persona/name change - by way of explaining to the judge, after finishing his statement, "I'm James McGill"?
  
• When Jesse talks to Kim, he references Chris "Combo" Ortega who was also in Breaking Bad.
  
• Could Kim have effectively halted the events of Breaking Bad before they started by telling Jesse Pinkman to avoid Saul at all costs (when he asks her if he's "the real deal")?
  
• There have been only three occasions where color has been shown during the Gene timeline. Two of those times, the color was a reflection of a TV's/Monitor's screen in Gene's glasses, showing one of his Saul Goodman television commercials (both the very first and very last episodes). The third is the cherry of the cigarette James & Kim share during the very last scene.
  
• Will this truly be the last time Jimmy and Kim see each other? What do you think happens between these two, if anything at all, after their last moments together?
  
• Gun to your head, what do you imagine would be the perfect ending for James & Kim?
  
• How will James spend his days in prison? Will he be teaching law courses or will he completely suppress his past?
  
• As Jimmy calls Bill Oakley for the first time in many years, we see Oakley exit what appears to be an AMC (American Motors Corp) Eagle (Dave) or Concord (Sherrandy... and the actor who plays Oakley, Peter Diseth). This reminds us of Jimmy's Suzuki Esteem and Bill even answers the phone with his own slogan, much in the way Jimmy used to. Here's a picture Dave made that probably means nothing now:
  
  
• This series finale features many many callbacks to episode 3x05 Chicanery. For example, both the (ex) wives were present and sitting at the back of the courthouse (Chuck's in Chicanery and Jimmy's in Saul Gone): Kim & Rebecca Bois.
  
  
• They also reuse the exit sign in the same manner in both episodes. This indicates that Saul Goodman is exiting, just as Chicanery saw the exit of Chuck McGill, only James reenters.
  
• During the flashback with Mike (which takes place sometime during the events of episode 5x08, Bagman), Saul tries to tell him that they should split the money and run, which is a callback to the Season 1 storyline with The Kettleman's, wherein Jimmy proposes Mike steal the money they embezzled.
  
• Mike originally says he would travel back in time to the day before his son was murdered, but changes it to the day he took his first bribe. How do you think Jimmy would have truthfully answered?
  
• Dave: Believes Jimmy would have gone back to prevent the death of Chuck McGill.
  
• Walter White's answer to the question actually ends up playing out during the final season of Breaking Bad, as he ends up confronting and shaking down the owners of Grey Matter: Gretchen and Elliot Schwartz. To think that Saul Goodman was responsible for both Walter White's rise and confronting one of his biggest regrets.
  
• A big understated theme of this show is how all of these characters actions have consequences (on other characters, whether intended or not). This is true of both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.
  
• Chuck's copy of H.G. Wells The Time Machine is on Saul's bedside table in the season 6 premiere.
  
• Was the cardboard cutout of Saul in the dumpster outside, during the season premiere, foreshadowing of Gene getting caught in the dumpster during the finale?
  
• Seeing Marie Schrader & Blanca Gomez was a nice touch, drilling further down into the understated theme of a character's actions having dire consequences.
  
• The most important question we have to ask is: Do you think Marie was wearing purple in this episode?
  
• Confronting the wives of their victims: Kim is compelled to confront Howard's wife, Cheryl, much in the way Jimmy is forced to confront Hank Schrader's wife, Marie.
  
• Even though it's not explicitly stated, do you believe Saul revealed to the lawyers (during plea negotiations) that Mike was murdered by Walter White, giving his family the closure they deserved? After all, Mike spent so much of his time in The Breaking Bad Universe giving closure to the families of victims, like he did with Manuel Varga after the death of Ignacio "Nacho" Varga.
  
• Mitchell (in the real-time chat) wants to know if Marie sold all of Hank's minerals?
  
• Is Kim's reaction at the end of Jimmy's confession an expression of how right it made her about (loving) Jimmy, all along?
  
• Was this ending S'all Good Man?
  
• Sherrandy thanks everyone involved in making the best show in television!
  
• Dave: Says that the writing staff doesn't have to ever write anything again, but he really hopes they do!
  

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

It has been an absolute honor to be able to author these podcasts for team SQUAWKING DEAD. To Dave, Bridget, Sherrandy, Rachael, and everyone else who participated in any way: thank you! I loved being able to guest host during our coverage of Episode 6x07, Plan and Execution. I caught up on the series during the airing of the first half of season 6 and jumped into authoring the blogs for SQUAWKING DEAD as soon as I finished. There are a lot of things I know I missed - due to having binged 5½ seasons in the span of about two months - and this team did such an outstanding job covering the show and its many complexities. I would also like to thank every single person involved in creating Better Call Saul, both in front of and behind the camera, as well as everyone responsible for conceiving Breaking Bad because, after all, we would not have received Better Call Saul without it. I believe the content within the Breaking Bad Universe is some of the best in entertainment and although I am sad at the prospect of having to say goodbye to Saul Goodman, Walter White, Mike Ehrmantraut, Kim Wexler, and the rest of the gang for good, I am so thankful for the memories we created as a result. I also want to thank anyone who took the time to listen to SQUAWKING DEAD's coverage of Better Call Saul and, additionally, anyone who took the time to read these blogs. A special shout-out to Dave for having my back, editing my work, and making sure everything looks correct and polished for all of you glorious readers to consume. My heart is immensely full as I write this. I wish you all the best. Since Sherrandy ended the show with "S'all Good Man!" I guess I only have one thing left to say: That's Saul Folks!

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