Summary: In a flashback Jimmy leaves his friend Marco in Cicero to go to Albuquerque. In the present, Jimmy takes a leave from his job and goes back to Cicero to do some cons with Marco once more. He eventually decides to head back after a final con with Marco, but Marco has a heart attack and dies. Kim calls him and tells him he has an opportunity to work at Davis and Main and Jimmy initially accepts. But once he's in the parking lot he remembers Marco and has second thoughts, choosing t pursue his own path instead.
The Good: This was a very quiet, but still very strong finale that delivered spectacularly. The most impressive thing about this episode for me was how it made everything we have seen so far really come full circle and it gave some satisfying follow-up to the season. I like how it gave more purpose and insight into things we didn't know yet. The Kettleman storyline paying off with Jimmy's final conversation with Mike about the bag of money is a good example of one of the many satisfying storytelling beats that occurred. While this finale wasn't action packed, it was a perfect closing episode when you look at the story being told this season. I'll be more specific about this later in the review. I feel like a lot of people will be upset with the sudden ending, but I'm happy wit it. As I said before, it gave a satisfying story moment to close out on rather than a big exciting scene. I respect the decision and I think it was smart and more satisfying in the end. Jimmy finally starting to transition into Saul is a major moment for the show and it does seem like a good moment to end off the season as it seems we will get some very different storytelling with Jimmy now choosing to sacrifice his morals. I thought the final scene was very strong and effectively used symbolism to show us Jimmy's mindset. I also liked the continuation of Jimmy's habit of rehearsing the liens he's going to say. While we didn't understand it before, it's clear to me now that he does this to turn his natural con-man speech into something more genuine. The final conversation with Mike was great too and I hope they can interact more next season. The standout scene was definitely the bingo scene. It gave us a lot of insight into Jimmy and helped us understand his current state of mind in brilliant fashion. The length of the scene and the use of repetitive b's was spectacular and it made a scene that felt like nothing turn into something must-see. It felt organic to see Jimmy letting everything out to these old people playing bingo and it was brilliant to get his backstory and to find out what the Chicago Sunroof was. It was set up well back in "Nacho" and the payoff was brilliant. It was a hilarious reveal to find out what it was, but also a great character moment to reveal Jimmy's morals and the way he did things back when he was Slippin' Jimmy. There was also a nice callback to Breaking Bad with the mention of Belize. The Marco story was also very strong. The flashbacks throughout the season paid off here as this wouldn't have had an impact if we hadn't known about Marco beforehand. There was a good story being told between them and Marco was extremely likeable and played very well, making his death surprisingly sad. I did like that it occurred during the one con we were introduced to earlier. It made it easier for us to realize that something was wrong because we knew how the con was supposed to go. There was also some good foreshadowing of his heart attack too with the coughing. I like that Marco was used to represent Jimmy's past as well. It gives Jimmy a proper motivation to hold onto the life he left behind in his new life. So it should be fair to say that we will see a lot of Slippin' Jimmy in Saul Goodman going forward. The cons were very fun to watch. I'm a real sucker for things like that and I really enjoyed the one scene where the tuxedo guy was conned into buying a coin for $110. The plan was well acted and it came off that Marco and Jimmy were real pros. The montage was also very well constructed and an absolute pleasure to watch. I also liked that they include a Breaking Bad reference when Jimmy conned the girl into thinking he is Kevin Costner. The one Chuck scene was solid too. We got more characterization when seeing Chuck demand perfection from Ernesto in the kindest way ever. Had this scene happened before last episode we would like Chuck, for it but now that we have seen his true colours it has made him extremely irritating. The writers did a good job of making a character who is decent but easy to hate because of his actions. The Bad: I didn't like Marco talking about Chuck. It felt unrealistic for him to say that about Chuck and it just felt like an attempt to make the writers seem smart which is annoying because they have already done more than enough to prove they are smart. Like how does Marco know that Chuck doesn't like him? It's been several years people change too. It just felt like a no to Chuck's true motives for no reason. The Unknown: What will be the repercussion of Jimmy refusing the deal with Davis and Main? How does he plan to succeed now? How soon until he officially adopts the name of Saul Goodman? Also why does he adopt the name? That's a question I feel I should have asked earlier. I don't have any more questions to ask. That really shows how well this episode rounded out the season. Best Moment: The bingo scene was one of the greatest moments in this season. Character of the Episode: This was the all Jimmy show so I have to give it to him. Honourable mention to Marco though, who was also great. Conclusion: This was a very strong episode to clos out the season. It brought everything together and provided a very enjoyable character piece as well. The season overall was a resounding success. The writing, acting and cinematography in particular were all highlights of the season and made it very enjoyable despite the slow pacing and lack of explosive moments. This show is a perfect example of how it is good writing and storytelling that makes a show work, not action and excitement. It's hard to say there were any flaws here. The early episodes weren't scored horribly high and I had some complaints, but they were rectified later on and the slow pace was worth it because it established the story being told and made the later episodes work really well. I've also been avoiding comparing this show to Breaking Bad too much and I must say it was easy to do that. This show established itself as different right away and I'm glad to say this succeeded at paying homage to the original series while also being it's own thing that isn't overshadowed. This show found a way to be special and I think it could very well be just a good as Breaking Bad if the later seasons deliver. Score: 72
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
February 2024
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