Better Call Saul almost concluded with a very different scene, and this alternate ending would have been worse for the show and left a bad taste in viewers' mouths. Series creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould originally planned to end the series finale on a down note, emphasizing the punishment that Jimmy McGill faced. By offering one last tender moment of connection between Jimmy and Kim, the Better Call Saul finale that actually made it to air better served the series' themes and also satisfied long-time fans.
The final episode of Better Call Saul, concludes with Jimmy in prison after confessing to all his crimes as Saul Goodman. He is able to meet with his ex-wife, Kim, and the two share a cigarette and gaze at each other as she leaves the prison. Gould has revealed that Better Call Saul originally had a different ending, with the first draft of the finale concluding with Jimmy contemplating prison and being afraid of the future. This version may have ended with the surreal scene on the prison bus where the inmates chant "Better Call Saul!" — a symbol of how Jimmy is unable to escape his past crimes or the identity he fashioned for himself.
Gilligan and Gould were right to decide that this ending would be too downbeat even for Better Call Saul. The crux of the final episode is whether there is still something worth redeeming in Saul Goodman, exemplified by the possibility that he would provide evidence against Kim for trivial jail privileges. Instead, in Better Call Saul's climatic courtroom testimony scene, he decides to tear up his plea agreement and confess to his full involvement in Walter White's crimes. In doing so, he gives up a cushy sentence and accepts life imprisonment at a maximum-security institution. But focusing only on his prison sentence would give the impression that Jimmy's confession was pointless and only hurt himself. By focusing on how his actions have begun to mend his relationship with Kim, the ultimate Better Call Saul ending shows how confessing his sins has made Jimmy more human and able to connect with people.
Why Better Call Saul's Ending Needed Its Final Jimmy & Kim Scene
The relationship between Jimmy and Kim has always been the heart of Better Call Saul, and closing on a moment between the two of them is the perfect bittersweet note for the series finale. While the two enabled each other's worst tendencies, they also led lives that were hollow and miserable without each other. The final finger guns between Kim and Jimmy suggest that the two can once again have a meaningful relationship, whether it is a romantic one or not, now that they are no longer deceiving themselves and others. Focusing the ending purely on Jimmy, on the other hand, would have denied the importance of one of Better Call Saul's best characters and its most essential relationship.
A purely downbeat ending would have also been too similar to the conclusion of Breaking Bad. At the end of that show, Walter White is finally able to turn his violence toward a good cause, yet he still dies alone in a neo-Nazi bunker, having driven away everyone close to him. Having Jimmy isolated in prison would echo that finale too much. The show's Breaking Bad flashback scenes involving Walter and Saul help to draw a contrast between the two men. Whereas Breaking Bad gradually reveals that the seemingly sympathetic Walter White always had the potential for evil, Better Call Saul finds the warm heart at the core of a seemingly selfish character and shows how it was snuffed out. Showing Jimmy regaining some of his humanity is just as appropriate an ending as Walter's downward spiral.
Every TV script goes through a multitude of changes, especially on a series as finely crafted as Better Call Saul, so it isn't surprising that there were multiple versions of the ending. Ultimately, the one we got is the one that best serves the characters of Jimmy and Kim and provides a moment of muted hope even in Jimmy's bleak future.