'Better Call Saul' Season 5 Finale: Will [spoiler] die when the legal world collides with the cartels again?
After four long years of anticipation over what led to Jimmy McGill becoming the man we were first introduced to in 'Breaking Bad' as Saul Goodman, it is finally time. As we approach the epic finale of the penultimate season, we have seen the rise and ongoing fall of Jimmy essayed spectacularly by Bob Odenkirk. And as he evolves, or spirals if you will, from an idealistic attorney to a donut factory employee Gene, the journey of the titular character gets marked when his opposition in a case remarked he might have to change his name again. It's highly likely that Episode 10 of Season 5, titled 'Something Unforgivable' will surround whatever Jimmy does, which leads Saul to be without his wife and soulmate Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) to be by his side when we meet him in the parent show. And given the massive blow-up Kim has in the previous episode and a question Jimmy asks in the official promo of the upcoming episode, we might not be entirely wrong.
AMC has released two promo clips so far; one of them being the signature vague snippets clubbed together and another being a symbol of Jimmy's classic humor still intact after the traumatizing recent developments. In the first one, we see Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton) with his not-so-trusted sidekick, Nacho, discussing business - more of a predicament they have landed in, at the south of the border. The scene cuts to Kim and Jimmy sitting on the bed, riddled with panic, as she asks him "You're not going to do it again," - more of a statement than a question. This comes as Kim's answer to Jimmy's question "Am I bad for you?", as teased in an exclusive clip posted by Entertainment Weekly. She makes it very clear that he crossed a line and then follows her assertion of never repeating it. To that Jimmy responds with a "Yeah, well" and their clash of ideals couldn't be more evident.
There are fleeting seconds of Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) arriving at a storehouse location, and Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) telling someone off for demanding information they can't have. Even Howard Hamling makes an appearance teasing that his and Jimmy's story isn't quite over. But it is what Jimmy will do 'again' that holds our intrigue. Right after Kim asks that question, the clip cuts to a shot of bundles of money stacked up in a trunk. Will Lalo threaten Jimmy for Kim's brazen calling out?
Laudable as it was, there's no denying that Kim put herself in the way of dangers she has no clue about. Jimmy, quite a bit, because Kim just has an inkling that there were bullets involved, while Jimmy was stood in the middle of that shoot out between the cartel and Mike. So Jimmy is likely tasked with fetching millions, which he probably agrees in exchange for Kim's safety. Knowing that there's nobody worth seeking help from except Mike, he reaches out to the mercenary despite Jimmy's verbal middle finger to him in the previous episode.
This is made clear by the second clip released by AMC where Jimmy can be seen hounding Mike's house, pounding the panes, knocking the door close to a riot, asking him to open up and let him in and he's 'the one who knocks'. Of course, Jimmy is nowhere as menacing as Heisenberg, but there's a maniacal rage in his impatience, made clearer by him still rambling as Mike arrives in his car and has to practically knock Jimmy's head inside his house to shut him up. The comedy of it aside, Jimmy probably demands information about the cartel wars or the money laundering and Mike refuses to hand him that. The montage of clips also teases some inevitable bullet sounds which makes everything more disturbing as speculations over the victim arise.
With the imminent mingling of the legal world of Jimmy and Kim and that of Mike and Lalo, Gus turns out to be the reason why Kim can't be seen with Jimmy in years to come. Knowing the tropes of drama killing off a central character right after putting them on a pedestal, it's likely that's the fate Kim will be granted. If not, perhaps the clue lies in Jimmy's confrontation where he asks if she thinks he is bad for her. Would Kim leave Jimmy if she could at this point? While we didn't exactly mourn the loss of Heisenberg's marriage, this one shattering into pieces might break at least a few fans' hearts.
'Better Call Saul' Season 5 finale will air on Monday, April 20, at 9 pm only on AMC.