I love how, at first, all we wanted to see when the show started was for Jimmy to become Saul Goodman. But by the end of it all, we wished he would’ve stayed Jimmy

Just realised Chuck was always saying how he's going to beat his illness and that everyone needs to be patient with him but never gave that same luxury to Jimmy

“He really did change, by accepting that he never would.” What a profound way of putting it.

I want to point out something about the, "Jimmy leaving his dying mother's bedside to go get a sandwich" thing: he and Chuck had been there for a while, and he left to go get them both some food after failing to perk up Chuck by recalling a memory with their mother that he recounted with rose tinted goggles, causing things to get a little tense. It's a tiny thing, but crucial. Jimmy wasn't being flippant about his mother's state, he was doing something quite thoughtful which wound up blowing up in his face. A pretty common theme for him.

You’re telling me a man just happens to evolve like that? No! He orchestrated it. Jimmy!

Howard’s job offer was not insincere or condescending. Howard and Jimmy bore similar pain: weight of personal responsibility for Chuck’s suicide. Unlike Jimmy, Howard did the personal work to overcome his grief and be a better person. Howard was genuinely trying to make amends. Jimmy can’t tolerate seeing Howard achieve growth while he’s getting cartel kingpins off of murder charges, which is why he broke down and shot lightning bolts at him

To me, Jimmy truly started his downward spiral when he drank the cucumber water that was for customer only.

The funniest thing about both Jesse and Jimmy is how all these tragedies could literally be avoided if Walt/Chuck patted them on the back and said "good job sport!" but those two just had such colossal egos that they couldnt💀

I like the parallel that Breaking Bad was about Walt becoming someone who deep down, he truly always was whereas Better Call Saul was about jimmy slowly losing who he truly was, an actual good guy with a few bad habits.

I feel like the saddest part is that no matter how hard Jimmy tried, Chuck never gave him the benefit of the doubt. I genuinely believe that Jimmy would have been able to take a righteous path if Chuck didn't keep standing in his way

After watching this show's finale I felt that the message was: "it's never too late to change". Even if your whole life you were someone, you can always try to be somebody else. Even in the last minutes of the last episode of the last season.

Jimmy McGill is one of the best written characters in television history. He's actually my favorite of all time.

Chuck damned his brother. No one digs their way out of hell alone. Chuck put his foot in Jimmy's face and pushed him right back down.

Regarding the McGill family store, $14K in late 1970's money would be about $65K today. I firmly believe the writers made the amount that high to indicate that Jimmy couldn't have stolen all of it and Chuck was assuming the very worst of his brother. Short of a bad drug or gambling problem, what would a teenage Jimmy have spent that money on that wouldn't have been immediately obvious to everyone around him even if he stole it over a 6 year span?

I love the part where Chuck saying "Have some more chicken, have some more pie it doesn't matter if it's boiled or fried"

Kim's arc is just as fascinating. Because unlike Jimmy, her true nature is the prim and proper, cross every T and dot every I, bright attorney. One of the most promising Howard's ever known, in his own words. But she slowly loses herself in Jimmy's world of shortcuts and cutting corners. Eventually she's the one taking the reigns in the Howard plot and the results are devastating. So both Jimmy and Kim are constantly fighting their own natural urges out of love for each other. It's a twisted but beautiful love story at its core. What a great show.

The wild thing is, Chuck didn't kill himself right after being pushed out of the company, but after he burnt his bridge with Jimmy, who genuinely wants to get closer to Chuck again after Kim is injured in a car accident (which reminds him of what's important). Chuck was even using electricity again, to Jimmy's astonishment. I'm not saying being pushed out of the company wasn't a major reason for his end, but pushing away Jimmy for good left him all alone, even more alone than when he was at home for 2 years straight.

Your character analysis are not only accurate and insightful, but also well-paced, sharply written and unexpectedly poetic in some ways. Some of the best analysis on KZfaq in my opinion. Great job again!!

Chuck's dynamic with Jimmy is such an interesting one because he's always right, but never fully. Yes, Slipping Jimmy was always there, but he himself helped that side of his brother to stay prevalent. Yes, Jimmy fooled him to lose his client but what really tipped them over the edge wasn't his perceived incompetence, it was his own dismissive and arrogant attitude when he talked down to them. Yes, Jimmy publicly humiliated him in court, but only after he himself dragged him there after betraying his trust in more disgusting way he ever did. Yes, Jimmy did steal from their father, but so did everyone else and he even tried to initially stop that but was talked down from doing it. And while Chuck resented Jimmy for captivating everyone's attention, he himself refused to learn better people skills to compete with him and instead dismissed them as worthless or at least much less important and not something that should be rewarded. He always saw the problems, but never his role in them.

I love the contrast between Jimmy and Walt. While Walt did own up to his actions to some extent, Jimmy had the courage to face the consequences of his actions. Death for Walt was always an escape. What mattered most to Walt was his ego and his pride which he could never let go off. I love that Jimmy takes that away from Walt in his testimony by saying that without him there would be no Heisenberg.

21:03 I never thought that Howard only offered Jimmy the job out of guilt, Howard always respected Jimmy and knows from experience that Jimmy is scrappy and creative he's the kind of guy to bring in the big bucks to get things done fast and to find good opportunities also he's colourful to say the least. Howard was at a point where the company was on the verge of falling over, and Jimmy was the only one who told him what he actually needed to hear. At that point, Howard was determined to keep the company, and he needed someone like Jimmy. That's why he offered him the job. At least, that's how I saw it

This is the single most worthwhile analysis of this character I've ever seen. Thank you for doing what you've done here.

i feel like jimmy 3:25 didnt steal all of the money, he defienetely took part but i think it was quite a jump for chuck to immedately accuse jimmy of bankrupting the store when they had the whole town stealing from it.

I am so happy to see that saul goodman/ jimmy mcgill can take the title of one of the most complex characters on television along with walter white and tony soprano among many others

I also thought Jimmy could change for the better. And the finale proved that. I have believed since season 1 that Jimmy could change for the better. If he was given the proper rewards system, respect, and encouragement from Chuck specifically but everyone around him in general that he cared about, I truly believed we would’ve never seen Saul Goodman. I think Jimmy still would’ve bent the rules here and there but as long as he had the positive reinforcement from those whenever he’d stay straight and do things by the book, I am very confident he wouldn’t have ended up as the tragic character that he is.

“Because he really did change, by finally accepting that he never would”. That is a damn strong line right there

His story really went full circle

Without a doubt one of if not the most(imo) complex character in TV history. What the writers achieved with this character and show is just incredible Edit: This video just proves that the finale was perfect and completely true to the characters. These characters are really complex and demand the viewer to be invested in them , this is why some people think that the ending didn't make any sense, which is just not true and is simply the result of them not putting the needed time in thinking about the complexity of the characters especially Jimmy's character and his complicated psyche

Chuck is a very interesting character. He knows that Jimmy has that tendency to take shortcuts, but his personal resentment towards Jimmy is what drove Chuck against him and that made people lose trust in Chuck's words. Chuck hated Jimmy more than he hated his actions and if he were less personal about this, then Jimmy could have been an upstanding lawyer.

You couldve also mentioned that Kim dared him to spill the truth, he told her "you first". So she confessed and now its his turn and he finally lived up to it, keeping his word. He owed it to her.

7:00 Chuck didn't just suggest Howard not hire Jimmy at HHM, Chuck was the *only* person who said no. Howard and the other partners all voted yes, but Chuck was the sole person who voted no.

27:04 "...and no longer seeing the GOOD MAN in Saul Goodman." That line really sticked with my head🙈

I do think it's important to note that Howard's job offer wasn't motivated by guilt at Chuck's death, or at least, not entirely. His own justification for it cites Jimmy's speech about Kristy and his own repentance for not standing up to Chuck. He is, in fact, being the authority figure who forgives a rule-breaker, but by this time Jimmy is so arrogant he won't accept the very grace he's been demanding all this time. Howard's changes put the lie to Jimmy's narrative that no one will ever give you a second chance. But Jimmy's too far gone to take advantage of it now.

One thing I think gets overlooked about the missing $14k. It wasn’t just jimmy taking the money out of the till. The dad was too. I think that’s the tragedy of Chuck v. Jimmy. Chuck thought he could see everything but he had blind spots. Sometimes I think the Bb/BCS shows are about blind spots. One thing about Walt was he was always trying to see around corners and get ahead of people but it was the blind spots that get him. (Hank, and leaving the Walt Whitman book from Gayle on the toilet for just one of many examples).

Holy shit I didn’t even notice the parallel until now to when chuck bailed Jimmy out of jail, to when Jimmy was caught by the end and almost getting a 7 year sentence. With Chuck Jimmy was screwed and totally begged to be saved, by the end of the show Saul played them like a damn fiddle.

Jimmy is the personification of "if i cant be the hero, then let me be he villain"

29:01 I thought that too. Robbing the cancer patient was basically Jimmy projecting his anger at the dead Walt for destroying the meth empire that made both of them so much money.

18:27 Jmmy basically blaming Howard for Chuck's death because Jimmy couldn't deal with his own grief and guilt about it was a dick move.

I’ve said this before but season one of Better Call Saul is vastly underrated. It’s not my favorite season but it’s every bit as important as the others. We are led to believe that Howard is the villain but in reality it was Chuck. And Chuck, while justified in his reasons for keeping Jimmy out of his firm, accidentally started Jimmy’s transformation into Saul Goodman when they had that argument in the second to last episode

The best part is, the law is broken, the system is broken, so there’s always an actually moral place for a Saul Goodman… so that’s what he gets to do in the end. Be the Saul Goodman his fellow prisoners need, while the Jimmy in his soul is free.

I think Jimmy really terrified himself when he contemplated bashing in the cancer patients skull and then threatened the old lady. He was betraying the few shreds on goodness he had left, his lack of being violent and his love for old ladies (even if he’d scam them he still felt guilty about it) I think in those two moments he realized Chuck was right about who he is. Slips and falls and never catches himself, and seeing how Kim did catch herself and accepted responsibility made him see the other path

My friend once told me "Love can change a man as well as not getting love can change a man too". Truly felt while watching this show.

I like to think that the implication throughout the episode is that the moment Jimmy would go back to is the scene where gets Chuck's malpractice insurance cancelled. It was a crime, in his opinion. We will never know for certain - but watching that scene back now is scary. Something so simple & so venomous ended up destroying any chance of reconciliation with his brother. As the winner - he took it all & it was more than he could handle.

I'd love to see you do a vid on Mike Ehrmantrauts evolution over the course of the series. I only recently began to realize how well written his transformation is, and how he slowly surrenders his agency to Gus. The killing of Werner makes him just as bad as the cops who killed his son. Something about Kims evolution would be interesting too. Oh heck, what can I say? ALL the characters are brilliantly written in this series!

Another masterpiece of analysis, this series is full of subtleties and sometimes some information goes unnoticed, your analysis further evidenced the depth of the character, keep up the good work.

It just occurred to me how his charismatic nature covered up how far he’s gone over the edge not just within the show, but to the audience as well

Agree with everything you said minus the last stage (imo): it wasn't that Kim left him, it was that he left Kim, leading to the same outcome. You can tell he lost all trust in her when she confessed that she knew all along that Lalo was alive, meaning the one person that Jimmy believed cared for him betrayed his trust.

In the end, Chuck tried to help Jimmy turn his life around, but due to him believing Jimmy could never change and trying to show the world that he’s the better brother, he ended up being the catalyst of Jimmy’s descend to a darker and destructive path. Jimmy’s story really shows how paramount it is to maintain a healthy relationship with your family…😢

He finally did change by accepting that he never would. I’m still trying to figure that out. My brain hurts a little. Great video. Miss this show so much.

Out of all the better call saul analysis videos and breakdowns, this is one of the absolute best I've seen. Clearly establishing what made Jimmy turn into Saul in just 30 minutes out of a series that is hours long is incredible. This made me appreciate the series as a whole and especially the finally far more. Good job man!

Can we please just appreciate for a moment how both Bryan Cranston and Bob Odenkirk absolutely MURDERED their respective roles in this universe when so many people doubted their abilities in playing a serious role beforehand?

great video, i think mike's monologue about "good criminals, bad cops" and how you can be on either side of the law regardless of your morality is relevant to jimmy's arc

One of the few guys who doesn't mindlessly analyze random "details" that were never intended like a maniac and just actually observes and talks about the story of the show. Great video

Thank you for explaining it like this. I hate when people say “Chuck was right all along” cause he wasnt. Jimmy had changed but Chuck convienced him that this wasnt possible and that he would never change, thus creating Saul

You covered parts of the show that I didn't even pick up on. Kudos on another amazing video essay. It's so sad that Jimmy went in with the Cartel which ended up in getting Howard killed and forced Kim to leave him.

This was the best analysis of this show I've seen yet. Just wow. Summed up all my loose thoughts perfectly.

I think my favourite part about Waterworks is the fact that Gene almost does murder 2 people in cold blood, one a cancer patient after robbing him, the other being a frightened elderly woman he manipulated. All of this ties back to Walt and Jimmy's earlier work in elder law and shows more than anything just how far he's fallen and I love it for that. For just a minute or 2 in this episode, Bob Odenkirk got to show how genuinely terrifying he would be.

Seriously left me to tears by the end. Brilliant Analysis.

I like how, at first, the roadblocks in his path are not his fault but, as the show goes on, he is the main one standing in his own way of going straight...

This is THE BEST analysis of Jimmy McGill in BCS!! PERIOD! AMAZING MAN!

This is the best breakdown of the show I have ever seen. Bravo. Perfectly said, perfectly executed.

I was waiting for this one after I finished watching Walter’s transformation! THANK YOU JUST AN OBSERVATION FOR THIS!! Truly an amazing analysis of one of the best characters ever written for TV!

This is such a beautiful and well written analysis, by far the best I’ve seen of Jimmy McGill before. I agree with every point you’ve given, metaphorically, Jimmy was a man trapped on a rollercoaster. He could switch a lever to stop the ride and get off at any time, but he chooses not to. I can say for a fact that Jimmy's arc is fully complete and his ending is far from a driven happy one. Bittersweet maybe, but it is a necessary nobility for a man who's done wrong. For every sin that he admits to, he has to be willing to own it and, eventually, be forgiven in his own ways. Jimmy, once a man who drowned out his guilty conscience behind a facade known as "Saul Goodman" is now surrounded by one and not only does that severely limit his ability to escape from his past, which he formally insinuates by admitting his role in several past crimes; but it also perpetuates his mind's death sentence. Not only has he come to terms with his past but he's also looked inward, to understand who he is fully, and to embrace the full breadth of his character's complexity. He admits his role in Walter White's drug empire, but also remembers one last malfeasance that caused the life of his own brother Chuck. This cements Jimmy's character we've seen from day 1 into the place where Saul used to sit, and no longer is he referring to himself as Saul - but rather his old self. He knows his true self is still Saul, and to protect Kim from prosecution he throws himself in front of a bullet for her and does 86 years in prison - a considerable addition to the 7 years he would have served had he just taken the deal and left Kim for the chopping block. Since he doesn't do this, and not only to be honest with his inner demons and release his opprobrium within himself, he surrenders to a life of lying and running away to being rightly punished as everyone wanted him to be. This, Jimmy McGill, is his ending. He can't quite escape his true persona, the inmates recognize him as Saul Goodman and that's okay to him. He tries to persuade his peers to recognize him as the feeble, straight and narrow but morally challenged milquetoast kind of guy that he used to be - but he knows deep inside they won't accept him that way. He realizes that's the price to pay for not getting off the bad choice road.

What's really tragic, is if it weren't for Jimmy and Kim's direct interference, Howard was really on the right track and growing as a person. He had the firm slowly growing to its former glory, he was doing what he could to salvage his relationship with his wife, and he had made peace with Chuck's death as much as one could. He even extended not just an olive branch, but a handshake to Jimmy. But Jimmy seemed morally incapable of accepting that. Its as if making peace with Howard is offensive to him.

it's been said before but i'll say it again, never has a prequel add more to the original story, making it more interesting than it already was. Not to mention finishing it off great.

What’s crazy is that this video helped me understand the feelings behind restorative justice an empathize with those labeled criminals than any other podcast or piece of media ever has.

Jimmy's commercials weren't a hustle. He genuinely tried and showed he should have been in advertising. This show and breaking bad show what-if's perfectly.

Admitting his guilt in court at the end WAS him changing. At the same time he proved he was a great lawyer before changing his story.

I think that there is one little detail you missed about his last time in court, at first he didn't go there with the intention to make amends, I think that's clear considering how he dressed and even smiled all the way to the court room, and how he also specified to be referred to as Saul, he went there to brag about his involvement with Walt, and as always he only did it cause he mistakingly thought it would have granted him the respect of someone, in this case Kim, wich is why he specifies Walt could have never done what he did without him, and gets back to his seat looking satisfied, until he looks back at Kim, who looks at him with a sad and almost pitying look, to wich he responds with a surprised look, being that he thought that would have made her proud in some way, so he gets up once again and actually puts his heart on his sleeve one last time, something he hasn't done since Kim packed her bags, and to that, Kim responds with a warm, although still very sad look, and a subtle nod, as to say "yes, I see you, I understand, it's okay", incredibly beautiful scene I'd say

What I found impressive in BCS is that the Jimmy McGill we see in the first four seasons is still in Saul later on. While there is certainly change and evolution, the roots are still there. Flickers come up.

Been waiting for this one for a long time! I'm so glad it's finally here. The tragedy of Jimmy McGill and Chuck McGill's brotherhood left a wake of destruction on the world as a whole, and it's crazy to think about.

Jimmy was always good at heart but always being rejected turned him into a “ fuck the system “ kind of guy and since he was more creative, smart and charismatic than most ( I’m 100% sure he’s on the adhd spectrum and i know this because I am too ) and he developed into Saul which at the end he regrets it , he’s not evil or cold as he pretended to be , people can change if you only believe which chuck unfortunately didn’t , what a brilliant show

This is such a complex and well-written show, I was expecting many analysis videos once it was over. Thanks for such an in-depth chronological analysis video

By far, THE best analysis of Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman I’ve ever seen. Bravo - you’ve done an AMAZING job. This video should have millions of views!

The ending line to this video gave me goosebumps, thank you for your work on this! You did a great job.

As always , you've done a great job at highlighting the unspoken intentions of characters and tying together the collected impact of events on the timeline. Thanks for the additional insights

You never miss with your thoughtful video essays Keep up the good work 🎂🐁

Completely spot on 🔥🔥 Keep up the amazing work

That aspect of how Chuck keeps attacking and sabotaging Jimmy until he eventually defeats him in court and leading him to suicide always felt to me like some traumatic action of self defence. Like someone you care about is coming at you with a knife, and you desperately yell at him to stop, but he keeps coming at you, until you eventually have no other choice than to shoot him. I think that at least since that “You’re not a real lawyer” scene Jimmy knew in his heart, that it is him or Chuck, that Chuck won’t ever stop attacking him as long as both of them are breathing. But it took some time for him to accept who and what his brother really is, and what he has to do.

Such a superb analysis. Your scripts are just as good as the show itself. Thank you.

Wow, your video is a true masterpiece. You have a deep understanding of the character’s writing. Beautiful work! ❤

Great analysis!! I do think Howard genuinely admired Jimmy. Sure he offered him that job as a peace offering, but deep down I believe Howard truly respected him.

It's so nice to see a brilliant character being thoroughly analyzed by someone whom you can trust his well-thought opinions. I'll rise my next shot while telepathically making a toast for you and Jimmy :))))

Brilliant analysis! Thank you for contextualizing the series in this way and sharing it here

Wow. A hell of an analysis. Makes me appreciate the story on an even deeper level.

Oh yes. I've been waiting for this analysis 😃

Extraordinary character analysis. Great work man.

I don't like Jimmy as a kid stole 14k without either parent ever noticing. I mean where would a 10 year old keep all that money? I think young Jimmy stole a bit yes, but I think the majority of the missing money was from his father handouts

Wow this was a great video! Very well done. One of my favorite shows and you killed it with the commentary.

Excellent analysis, thank for putting in words some things I had seen, and many others I've missed. What a great series, the writing and acting is amazing.

It's amazing how complex and over whelming the detail is. This makes me love the show more. And answered alotta questions.

Simply commenting for the algorithm to push this because this is THE BEST analysis of Better Call Saul and Jimmy’s character I’ve seen. Highest of praises

I’ve decided to watch the show before seeing breaking bad. Watching that nice guy Jimmy turn into Saul goodman has been heartbreaking. I almost feel like Chuck, apprehensive, watching Jimmy become this nice lawyer, who takes care of the elderly, but yet knowing he’s still up to no good because he’s always been a little scam artist and the apprehension of knowing he’s just gonna revert back to his life of crime. But as a first time viewer, not knowing Jimmy before he became a lawyer, I really liked that character and who he was and his potential. But watching him become Saul is heartbreaking.

I think one of the big differences between them is that Jimmy genuinely loves his big brother but that Chuck, at least by this point in their lives, only puts up with Jimmy out of a sense of obligation. He's his brother so he'll sigh and go bail him out of court and get him a job and so on. But it's not because he loves Jimmy, it's because that's just what you're supposed to do. Even when we see him invite Jimmy over to dinner and go out drinking after Jimmy passes the bar, it's clear he doesn't really want to do this stuff, it's just another obligation. It's an unwritten law and Chuck follows the law. Even when Jimmy is taking care of him Chuck just views it as payment for all he's done for Jimmy and doesn't see the love in his service to Chuck.

Masterful. Thank you for recreating an incredible dram in the truest sense in such a concise way and poetic way, that it is almost a piece of art in itself. It not that easy to see the whole picture over with long waits between seasons in combination with the flashbacks with one watch. You made it entertaining all the while.

Perfect way to sum up how meticulously well written the show is, a truly spectacular analysis, congrats man!

This is a brilliantly crafted video mate. Since watching BCS for the 2nd/3rd time I’ve considered the Jimmy and Chuck’s relationship as the best I’ve ever seen on screen, but watching this elevated how well written even I thought it was. Vince Gilligan is the best in the business.

I have such a personal attachment to Saul/Jimmy and your videos make my love for Him and his show even greater. Thank you!

This is one of if not the best character analysis I’ve ever seen on yt

Hearing season 1 put into words, I've realized the purpose of the parking validation montage. The first time Jimmy's told he doesn't have enough stickers he's slightly annoyed but deals with it, but as it goes on he's yelling about it "SORRY! I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH STICKERS!". This mirrors how Jimmy feels about the straight path. He's annoyed by it sometimes, but deals with it. But as he gets screwed over so many times by the straight path, he finally starts getting fed up with it.