WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Better Call Saul season 6
Better Call Saul just set up a much darker ending than Breaking Bad. The prequel spin-off series is halfway through its sixth and final season. Furthermore, it appears that the prequel timeline is expected to catch up to the events of its successor, with Walter White and Jesse Pinkman expected to return in some capacity in season 6, part two. By the end of Better Call Saul's first half, two major characters have lost their lives. Likewise, Jimmy and Kim are put in a situation that spells certain disasters coming their way. As a result, the show is set up to have a rather grim conclusion.
Better Call Saul season 6 has seen Jimmy McGill inch ever closer to fully embracing his persona as Saul Goodman. Likewise, his schemes with Kim are putting the two in further danger of getting fully embroiled in the criminal underworld. This comes to a head in Better Call Saul's midseason 6 finale, "Plan and Execution", where Lalo Salamanca kills Howard Hamlin following their successful smear campaign against him. This moment indicates that the worst is yet to come for Jimmy and those around him, much in the same vein as what becomes of Walt and his loved ones. That being said, there will likely be major differences as to how these stories will conclude.
Despite having a generally lighter tone compared to Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul appears to be gradually shifting gears in its final season. Season 6's big deaths, Howard and Nacho, are the perfect sign of that being the case. The latter's death happening so early in the season ominously served as a harbinger for the worst possible scenarios happening, with the former's death reinforcing that. Between this and Jimmy's inevitable transformation into Breaking Bad's Saul Goodman, Better Call Saul is almost guaranteed to have a downer ending—unless the "Gene" storyline proves otherwise. This would be in stark contrast to Breaking Bad, which had a largely bittersweet ending.
By the end of Breaking Bad, despite dying and not regretting getting into the meth business in the first place, Walt makes some amends for his horrible actions, and most of the other characters—Jesse in particular—end the series with some form of peace. In Better Call Saul, many of its original characters—namely Chuck and Howard—have had their stories end in disaster and death. Even Nacho, who had the positive outcome of protecting his father, couldn't save himself in the end. Though Better Call Saul's Kim and Mike scene indicates that she may survive the series, that doesn't mean her story is going to have a happy ending. Her marriage to Jimmy will certainly fall apart, and this could potentially extend to her career and reputation.
Overall, Better Call Saul season 6's midseason cliffhanger certainly leaves the impression that Jimmy and the others are going to be left much worse for wear once the series ends. Even with a happy ending being teased in the season 6 part 2 trailer, that can't be certain and, for the moment, seems impossible with the direction the story is taking. If Jimmy gains some sort of victory by the end of Better Call Saul's "Gene" storyline, it's still likely to have a somber feeling due to how much he has lost over the years. It appears that fans will just have to wait for Better Call Saul season 6 part 2 to determine if Saul's ending will be bleaker than Walt's in Breaking Bad.
Better Call Saul season 6 returns on Monday, July 11 at 9 p.m. on AMC and AMC+.