The Advantage of Better Call Saul's Ending Over Breaking Bad

The Realism Factor

Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad both have relatively well-received endings, but the prequel series' finale avoids one problem Breaking Bad's couldn't. Shows as popular as Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul often struggle to stick the landing, resulting in some of the most-hated series finales of all time. One only needs to look at Game of Thrones' or The Sopranos' endings to realize how difficult it is to craft a satisfying conclusion to a long-running, well-loved story. Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul both manage to do so, but the latter avoids an issue the original series doesn't.

Breaking Bad's final episode, 'Felina,' famously concludes with a showdown between Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jack Welker's (Michael Bowen) gang. During the show's final moments, Walter gets revenge for what Jack and his men did to Hank (Dean Norris) one episode earlier. He also gets the opportunity to redeem himself by saving Jesse Pinkman's (Aaron Paul) life at the cost of his own. It's a compelling ending for Breaking Bad, and it fits well with the story's characters and themes. However, it is lacking one thing that Better Call Saul's ending isn't.

Bryan Cranston as Walter White in Breaking Bad and an image of his machine gun from the series finale

A More Believable Conclusion

Although Breaking Bad's ending offers a near-perfect conclusion to the story, it lacks realism, forcing viewers to extend believability far more than the rest of the show. Breaking Bad generally takes a realistic approach to the events that unfold, capturing the minor details that accompany the drama and refusing to look away from the bleaker aspects of Walter's transformation into Heisenberg. However, Breaking Bad writes itself into a corner with its ending, making the only plausible conclusion difficult to reach without ridiculous elements like Walt's hidden machine gun. The show gets away with it because everything else works. However, viewers can easily poke holes in these parts of the finale.

By contrast, Better Call Saul's ending offers a far less outlandish, over-the-top showdown, making it more believable. As the drug cartel storyline is mostly over in Better Call Saul's finale, all that's left is to hold Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) accountable for his actions throughout the prequel and Breaking Bad. The final scenes find Jimmy confessing to his crimes — even after getting a generous plea deal — and being sentenced to life in prison. Although he and Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) reunite, it's likely for the last time. And their reunion isn't over the top. Instead, it offers a quiet and sad ending that probably wouldn't have worked for Breaking Bad.

A black and white image of Rhea Seehorn as an older Kim Wexler in Better Call Saul and a shot of her speaking with Bob Odenkirk's Jimmy McGill in prison

Comparing Endings

It's hard to compare Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul's endings, as both are so different in terms of plot. However, they also have striking similarities. Saul Goodman's journey throughout Better Call Saul mirrors Walter White's in Breaking Bad, and both series conclude with their leads facing the consequences of their actions. For Jimmy, this is somewhat less dramatic, but it follows the same path of defeat and redemption.

Better Call Saul's series finale might be slightly better, partly because of the realism factor and partly because it ties up loose ends that Breaking Bad fails to. With Vince Gilligan's revelation that another Breaking Bad spinoff probably won't happen, Better Call Saul's ending is even more important, too. It serves as the definitive ending to both shows, and it does a great job of honoring Walter's story and Jimmy's. As such, Better Call Saul has a slight advantage over Breaking Bad.