Jimmy McGill will be behind bars for a very long time.
But he may have just saved his soul from eternal damnation.
Or make that Saul Goodman.
Bob Odenkirk as Gene and Rhea Seehorn as Kim on ‘Better Call Saul.Greg Lewis/AMC (2)
He impressively negotiated the feds down to a 7-year sentence for a long list of crimes.
How low would he go?
The answer is… no.
And it only cost him 79 more years of his life.
(But with good behavior…)
How did Jimmy pull off his biggest move?
Where does that leave Kim and Jimmy?
Is this truly the end of the serpentine road?
How did you arrive at the idea that Jimmy McGill would follow Arthur Jensen’s orders andatone?
What drew you to the idea that Mr. PETER GOULD:I love the way you put that.
And that just felt right.
But he does have agency and he makes this choice when he hears about what Kim has done.
I don’t think it’s a choice from the head.
I think it’s a choice from the heart.
“I’m going be honest for once, even though it’s gonna cost me dearly.”
[Laughs] And he makes a big change in this episode.
It costs him everything but his soul and Kim.
But then he sees something in her face and continues.
And he could show her that he could still be someone worthy?
you’re free to see when he makes his entrance to the courtroom, he’s almost cocky.
He comes into that courtroom as Saul Goodman and he leaves as Jimmy McGill.
And that’s why he’s dressed in the Saul suit.
And when he looks at Kim, I think it awakens a more human instinct.
And that’s why he goes there.
And all through the episode with Mike and with Walt, that’s exactly where he wouldn’t go.
When he talks about his regrets, he picks out something that’s kind of superficial.
I love the way Bob and Rhea play it.
I think she’s back on the path.
So I have high hopes for Kim Wexler.
How much does Jimmy see that his relationship with Walt is similar to the one he had with Chuck?
There’s some of that there.
And that’s the question of the episode: Is that true?
What felt right about this?
We would’ve loved to have, RJ Mitte and Anna Gunn back.
First of all, I think we wanted one person to be the voice of this.
So it didn’t feel logical for either one of them to be there in court.
Because you wouldn’t normally have a victim actually coming to a sentencing negotiation.
And to her family.
The dialogue is sparse, but there’s so much there.
It’s bittersweet and intimate.
It seems that they now truly understand each other and recognize who they each are, warts and all.
What emotions did you want to conjure?
I think there’s an honesty between them.
I find it very sad because the question of the show is: What might have been?
What might have been if they’d both had more belief in themselves than in their relationship?
But they both come out of this.
It’s a very grown-up moment.
There’s so much regret and so much connection in that scene that it really touches me.
I don’t know if he’s redeemed himself; that’s a big word.
I don’t know how you redeem yourself after the things he’s been part of.
But he has won his humanity back and he is truly Jimmy.
And she’s the only person there who’s calling him Jimmy.
Everyone else in the prison is calling him Saul.
She truly sees him.
And I think he sees her, too.
But she looks back one final time.
What options did you consider, and what did you love about this one?
And it felt incomplete to me to leave them against the wall.
But whether she’ll be back or not is for the audience to decide.
[Kim] originally shot the guns back, but we decided to use the version without.
There’s still love between Jimmy and Kim.
In your mind, do you know when they see each other next?
[Laughs] You know what?
I have a thought, but I’d rather not close everything up for the audience.
Bob described the series finale shoot as “f—ing grueling.”
What was unique to this challenge?
We were worried that we’re going to have to build it, which was an undertaking.
And I don’t think it would’ve had the reality that we were hoping for.
They allowed us to use a gorgeous courtroom on the top floor of their building.
It’s a very unique courtroom.
So we had to switch the whole crew to working Wednesday through Sunday.
We had a giant snowstorm that actually stuck a good portion of the crew at a location.
Last season we shot in the desert and it was way too hot.
He’s playing Saul Goodman, negotiating like a boss.
And so his appearance changes, his demeanor changes, his core changes.
And then you reveal who this man really is.
It was a very complicated episode.
There were a lot of tears.
The whole crew is standing there in masks, incredibly moved, having finished an extremely difficult season.
Bob and Rhea both gave very moving speeches to the crew.
And then we unveiled the gifts for both of them.
Rhea got her apartment balcony.
How cracked open is the door?
And do you have some ideas kicking around for one day down the road?
I think we’re going to put it aside for a bit.
