Despite having to wrap up Jimmy’s story, Better Call Saul’s series finale had time for one last Walter White cameo set in the Breaking Bad timeline. A conclusion to Jimmy McGill's journey but also to the story Breaking Bad started in 2008, “Saul Gone” felt both like a Better Call Saul finale and a Breaking Bad epilogue. With Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould not sure if they will ever go back to the Breaking Bad universe with another spinoff show, “Saul Gone” had the difficult mission of being audiences’ farewell to iconic characters like Bob Odenkirk’s Saul Goodman and Bryan Cranston’s Walter White, but the Better Call Saul finale delivered.
Throughout Better Call Saul’s six-season run, viewers could not help but wonder if Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, Breaking Bad’s main characters and the reason Saul’s life took such a dramatic turn, would ever appear in the Saul Goodman spinoff show. With Better Call Saul tackling different periods in Jimmy’s life, with flashes from before, during, and after the events of Breaking Bad, a Jesse Pinkman or Walter White cameo could never be ruled out. However, outside of an “Ozymandias” flashforward in season 4, it was only in Better Call Saul season 6 that the show caught up with the Breaking Bad timeline, and thus the long-awaited Walter and Jesse cameos became a reality.
Bryan Cranston had confirmed prior to the start of the final season that he would have two scenes in Better Call Saul season 6, one with Aaron Paul and the other just with Bob Odenkirk, although the context of those Walter White cameos was kept in secret until the respective episodes. Better Call Saul season 6, episode 11, “Breaking Bad,” revisited Saul’s infamous first interaction with Jesse and Walt in the desert, meaning that there was still one Walter White cameo to happen before the Better Call Saul ending. In the Better Call Saul finale, “Saul Gone,” after Saul is arrested and is waiting for his trial, the episode flashbacks to Saul and White’s final days together – which happened in Breaking Bad season 5, episode 15, “Granite State.”
Why Walt & Saul's BCS Scene Takes Place During Breaking Bad's "Granite State"
“Granite State” was Breaking Bad’s penultimate episode, marking Saul Goodman’s final appearance on the show. After Hank’s death and with Walter White exposed as Heisenberg following the events of “Ozymandias,” Walter and all of his associates became America’s most wanted criminals – and that included Saul Goodman. Both Saul and Walter then hired Ed’s cleaner vacuum service, that is, a ticket to a new life far away from Albuquerque with a new identity. However, before Saul could go to Nebraska and Walt could go to New Hampshire, the former partners had to spend a few days hiding in Ed’s secret bunker, a significant time period that Breaking Bad never really explored except for one small scene.
Therefore, there were still hours of potential Saul and Walt interactions in “Granite State,” which is why it made sense for the Better Call Saul series finale to revisit that particular Breaking Bad episode with a brand new scene. Not only that, but “Granite State” is when Walt and Saul had a few days to reflect on what their life had become after those intense two years, an interesting parallel to Saul’s current situation after being arrested.
Given how Better Call Saul’s finale central theme was regret and “what could have been,” revisiting “Granite State” worked perfectly. Up until Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad’s “Granite State” had been viewers’ farewell to Saul Goodman. Therefore, it is most fitting that the Better Call Saul finale revisited that Breaking Bad episode before concluding Saul’s story — this time for good.