Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Better Call Saul
The sixth and final season of Better Call Saul has been a rollercoaster so far, and the Better Call Saul season 6, episode 9 ending put the story in overdrive. When Better Call Saul first premiered on AMC, it felt like a decidedly different beast than its predecessor Breaking Bad. The spinoff had a bit of a lighter touch, and since it focused on lawyers, spent much more time on the legal side of New Mexico. As time has gone on though, Better Call Saul has become more and more like Breaking Bad, with the suspense and tension steadily ratcheting up.
This progression really took hold when Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman first became a "friend of the cartel," exemplified by his representation of volatile gangster Lalo Salamanca. Lalo roped Jimmy into criminal activity that just kept getting more dangerous, yet the monetary rewards involved served as a signpost for why Saul Goodman ends up the lawyer he does. When life is a struggle, someone like Jimmy will do whatever it takes to rise above, law or no law.
With Lalo offed by Gus in episode 8, it looked like Kim and Jimmy might be able to move on and rebuild, but Better Call Saul, season 6, episode 9 wasted no time in establishing that would not be the case. Their relationship is now over, and the path is fully cleared for the rise of Saul Goodman, "criminal lawyer." It remains to be seen where Better Call Saul's final four episodes will take the story, but the ending of season 6, episode 9 left a lot worth unpacking.
Why Kim Quits Being A Lawyer & Breaks Up With Jimmy
Over the course of Better Call Saul season 6, it was clear that Kim seemed to be breaking bad herself. She was compromising her morals and ethics with increasing regularity, including in how she represented her clients. It is likely she would have ended up fully down that road, had she not seen her former boss Howard Hamlin shot dead before her eyes, then nearly being forced to kill Gus Fring by Lalo Salamanca. Kim may have hated Howard and enjoyed tormenting him, but that up close and personal brush with death finally seemed to snap her out of the person she was becoming. Something inside Kim either broke or was fixed, leading her to conclude that her career as a lawyer has been rendered unsustainable. As much as she loves Jimmy, it is also clear to Kim that their relationship always seems to lead to bad places.
Jimmy McGill Fully Transforms Into Saul Goodman
A true stunner to come out of the Better Call Saul season 6, episode 9 ending was the time jump that took place after Kim broke up with Jimmy. Seemingly years, or at least many months later, Jimmy has now fully transformed into the Saul Goodman persona, becoming the slimy but skilled attorney audiences saw during Breaking Bad. This progression suggests that the only thing left to stop Jimmy from becoming Saul was Kim's presence in his life. With her gone, Jimmy appears to be entirely absorbed by his legal persona.
When The Saul Goodman Scene Is Set In The Breaking Bad Timeline
Going into Better Call Saul season 6, it was known that Walter White and Jesse Pinkman would make an appearance. Considering that, it would make no sense for the time jump to place Saul after he met the unlikely meth-making duo. However, a particular line Saul says before leaving his home for work suggests that the Better Call Saul season 6, episode 9 ending is set directly before Saul would first get mixed up with Walt and Jesse. In Saul's first scene on Breaking Bad, he arrives to help get Jesse's friend Badger out of jail, first mistakenly thinking he's there for a public masturbation case. Saul and Francesca have a phone exchange late in season 6, episode 9 that refers to a public masturbation case involving someone Saul had not represented before.
What Saul's Quote In Better Call Saul Season 6, Episode 9's Ending Means
To end Better Call Saul season 6, episode 9, Saul drops a line to Francesca seemingly to begin his day working for clients: "Let justice be done, though the heavens fall." This is actually an English translation of an old Latin legal phrase, "Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum". The original intent of the quote represents the idea that justice being done is more important than the potential consequences. Coming from a man like Saul Goodman though, its definition is likely being twisted into a pretzel, as Saul's idea of justice is getting his clients off no matter their level of guilt. Notably, this same line was said by Jimmy's brother Chuck during season 3 ahead of the court battle between the brothers, although his intent was not noble either, as Chuck badly wanted to crush Jimmy at all costs. Saul's quote also potentially calls back to Nacho Varga's father's dialogue from earlier in the episode about the futility of gangster justice.
How Better Call Saul Season 6, Episode 9's Ending Sets Up Walt & Jesse
The mention of the public masturbation case involving a new client seemingly drops a hint that Better Call Saul's timeline is now not far from his meeting of Walt and Jesse. Even if the case in question is not the same one, the stage is fully set for their arrival soon. Jimmy is now the Saul Goodman he was when he met Walt and Jesse, his office looks the same as it did then, even the suit he's wearing looks very similar to the suit he was wearing when Walt first came to his office under the name Mayhew. This suggests that the interactions Better Call Saul will present involving Saul, Walter, and Jesse will be previously unseen meetings from their time working together during Breaking Bad, perhaps informing how things will end up for Gene at Cinnabon in the final flashforward.
Will Kim Return In Better Call Saul's Ending? Is She In The Gene Timeline?
With Kim now seemingly out of Saul's life, there is no longer much reason to suspect she will die before the end of Better Call Saul. That said, Rhea Seehorn's Kim Wexler has become such an integral part of why Better Call Saul works that it is very hard to imagine her not appearing in the final episodes of season 6. That would mean she is at least still around Saul's vicinity during the Breaking Bad timeline, but the big question is whether she is during the Gene timeline. If so, when was the last time her and "Gene" have spoken? Did they ever reunite in either a personal or professional capacity, even briefly? These are big questions the final stretch of Better Call Saul season 6 needs to answer.
New episodes of Better Call Saul season 6 air Mondays on AMC