“Better Call Saul”
The end of the beginning has come – and Walter White
Jimmy McGill aka Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) is back.
© Michele K. Short
The first batch of the final episodes of Better Call Saul is coming to Netflix on April 19th. What will the end of the beginning have to offer?
When a “Breaking Bad” spin-off about sleazy lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk, 59) was announced, hardly anyone could have imagined that it would run longer than the original series. But while the groundbreaking drama series about the chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston, 66), who had fallen off the right path, only lasted five seasons, “Better Call Saul” is now on its final sixth.
Coming to Netflix on April 19th, it’s the beginning of the end – or rather, the end of the beginning! Here’s a recap of where Better Call Saul season five left us and what to expect as we transition into Breaking Bad.
An enraged Salamanca seeks revenge – here’s how season five left us
To describe the previous season as eventful would be an understatement. For one thing, Jimmy McGill, aka Saul Goodman, and Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn, 49) got married. In addition, Jimmy’s sweetheart increasingly became his accomplice – “Breaking Bad” says hello. She then resigns from the law firm Schweikart and Cokely and works on disappearing with Jimmy.
And that is also badly needed, because the events surrounding the monster Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton, 47) have more than escalated. After he got wind of the construction of Gus Fring’s (Giancarlo Esposito, 63) secret drug lab, Gus wants to get rid of him as soon as possible. But Lalo – at Jimmy’s involuntary risk of his life – was able to free himself from a US prison and deport himself to Mexico.
Gus then sends a group of assassins in the direction of Lalo, who, with the help of the mole Nacho Varga (Michael Mando, 40), are initially able to gain access to Lalo’s villa unnoticed.
But the attackers reckoned without the well-fortified Lalo. He takes out the entire team and forces the last survivor to radio in that the job was successfully completed. The last shot shows a seething Lalo walking away from the scene of the carnage and going in search of the culprits. Above all Gus, Mike (Jonathan Banks, 75), Nacho… and Jimmy?
Two returnees – and more?
This conflict alone would provide enough material for the 13 final episodes, the first half of which will come in April and the conclusion on July 12th. But season six offers so much more than recently was revealed via the series’ official Twitter account. It has been clear since April 10: Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul, 42) and Walter White (Bryan Cranston) are returning. And that’s not all – leading actor Odenkirk promised in an interview after this revelation that “Breaking Bad” fans can look forward to even more reunions.
Since the main story of “Better Call Saul” takes place before the events of “Breaking Bad”, we may once again enjoy a naïve Jesse and a blameless Walter (with hair) who only know each other sporadically. Either way, Odenkirk, who suffered a heart attack on set while filming the final season, said it will make everyone want to watch Breaking Bad again.