Better Call Saul Star Reveals Great Moment Cut From Series Finale

Better Call Saul ended its run last year, but since then we’ve continued to learn some interesting behind-the-scenes facts about the Breaking Bad spinoff/prequel/sequel – with the latest revelation being that there was an especially exciting moment that was cut out of Better Call Saul’s series finale episode. 

Better Call Saul’s Ending Explained

The ending of Better Call Saul saw Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) give up his perpetual race to outrun Karma and consequence and sabotage his own trial. Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman/Gene Takavic ended up getting 85 years in prison; his turn toward the forces of good brings him back into the life of his estranged girlfriend Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn). In the final scene of the series, Kim comes to the prison to visit Jimmy; as Kim is leaving, Jimmy flashes his signature finger guns at her – an old signature of Jimmy’s Outlaw ways. 

The look that Kim gives back to Jimmy is one that is left ambiguous in its complicated mix of attraction, revulsion, sadness, comfort, and ultimately resolution with the fact that she is going to be drawn to/connected with this morally corrupt man for the rest of their lives. It was arguably the most brilliant culmination of any relationship in the entire Breaking Bad Universe – with far more depth and nuance than, say, Walter and Skylar White’s marriage. 

Better Call Saul’s Alternate Ending

Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn both received 2023 Emmy nominations for Better Call Saul’s Final Season, as did the series itself for “Outstanding Drama Series” and “Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series”. In the latest episode of Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast, Seehorn revealed just how different the original version of Better Call Saul’s ending was, by having Kim return the finger guns salute to Jimmy. While it felt good for the actors in the moment, producers thought it actually undercuts the true implication of the series finale: 

“At first I was like sad [that it was removed] because I’m a hopeless romantic,” Seehorn explained. “But [exec producer] Peter [Gould] said, ‘we watched it and it looked like Kim was back in the game, rather than Kim is saying I’m there for you forever.’ And I said oh yeah, I don’t want that. It was the right decision.”

Better Call Saul’s Final Season was split into two parts, with one hell of a cliffhanger in-between. Kim and Jimmy were enjoying life as a con artist couple – until they got their old lawyer boss Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian) brutally murdered by cartel psycho Lalo Salamanca. That immoral consequence broke Kim, who left Jimmy and spent the years during/after Breaking Bad hiding in Florida. She only resurfaced when Jimmy eventually turned himself in, but the moral stain of Howard’s death never stopped haunting her. Ending the show with Kim back in a playful bad romance with an incarcerated Jimmy? That would’ve really been a crime… 

Peter Gould previously revealed to IndieWire that uncertainty about how to end Better Call Saul ran a lot deeper than just the finger guns decision: 

“When we first broke this episode, the two of them were meeting in Albuquerque before he went to prison. The last scene was him in prison by himself, thinking. I liked that a lot, but it seemed a little cold. Ultimately, we all felt like ending with the two of them felt like the strongest way to go. In the original version, he was fearful about what was going to happen to him in prison and it was a lot about the fear. This is a very different scene. It’s mostly about connection, and a wistful connection.”

Better Call Saul is streaming on Netflix.