s filming for the long awaited final season 6 of the masterpiece, 'Better Call Saul', is gearing up to wrap up the series, and when you include the original series, 'Breaking Bad', fans have waited patiently for a conclusion to a franchise that has been the greatest display in television history in regards to cinematography, production quality, story telling, and direction. It's incredible when considering the fact that 'Better Call Saul' was originally supposed to be a half hour comedy per episode, but once the creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould started generating ideas, they concluded that Jimmy McGill's story has just as much potential when compared to that of Walter White.
'Better Call Saul' is the perfect example of how to effectively implement a sequel or a prequel, with well written characters, plot twists, and the incredible cinematography at the start of each episode. While this prequel is also a drama, it is a slower simmer when compared to the constant action that 'Breaking Bad' provided. If you have seen the original series, 'Breaking Bad', you know what happens to a few popular characters, such as Mike and Gus, but their characters are fleshed out so well in the prequel that the audience knows their motives, and they understand why they are who they are by the time the 'Breaking Bad' timeline begins.
Here are the main questions leading up to the final season. (Spoiler Alert).
The Fate of a Few Characters
Despite the fact that this prequel revolves around the transformation of Jimmy McGill, aka Saul Goodman, and why he became such corrupt lawyer by the time 'Breaking Bad' occurs, the series also features characters such as Howard, Kim, Lalo, and Nacho that have become beloved to fans, but they have not appeared in the original series, despite the fact that the timeline of when Walter White and Jesse Pinkman begin their meth journey is inching ever so closer. Hence the number one question remains: What happened to these characters that caused them to not appear in the 'Breaking Bad' story?
Howard Hamlin isn't mentioned at all in Breaking Bad, and the squeaky clean head of the law firm he helped establish might be in some serious trouble in the final season. This is mainly due to the fact that the world of lawyers that Jimmy comes from and that of the cartel is beginning to intermingle, with a likely massive collision course to occur in the final season. Another thing to consider is that Howard's life revolves around the HHM law firm and its success, and its failure will lead to Howard's downfall in every way imaginable.
For Nacho Varga, his current predicament is a more dangerous one, with Lalo Salamanca realizing that he is involved in Lalo's failed assassination attempt, things could end up badly for Nacho. Lalo has proven to be the most dangerous Salamanca, with his charm, wit, and unpredictable nature. Season 5's cliffhanger ended up in Lalo's demeanor completely changing to that of revenge in a frightening way, and Nacho better call the vacuum repairman who can make people disappear with completely new identities; and while he's at it, he should do the same for his Papa Varga.
Perhaps the biggest mystery of all is the fate of the lawyer Kim Wexler, Jimmy's wife who loves him unconditionally through her actions. Kim is starting to dive more to the dark side, with her in the know of Jimmy's nefarious activities, which was evident in the finale of season 5 with her suggestions to take down Howard's law firm in an immoral way. At the start of the series, it was Jimmy who needed to have a voice of reason when he engaged in nefarious activities as a lawyer, but in the season 5 finale, the roles have been somewhat reversed. Will Kim be killed by the cartel, lead by Lalo? Will her increasing activities of darkness lead to her being in prison? Will she reunite with Jimmy post Breaking Bad when he becomes Gene Takavic in Omaha?
When Will Season 6 Air?
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, things have been delayed in the industry. With that said, the shooting of the final season will resume this month in March 2021, with the hint of a mind blowing ending, according to Bob Odenkirk, who plays the main character, Jimmy McGill:
"The show will resume shooting in March. I can't wait for the fireworks. Our show is a bit of a slow burn over the past few years, and build up. There's certainly exciting moments throughout, but towards the end, it becomes supremely intense".
Season 5 concluded it's airing in April of 2020, and with a confirmation of an upcoming 13 episodes in the 6th season, our questions won't be answered until at least the first quarter of 2022.
AMC has not announced a premiere date yet, but stay tuned, because that might change in the coming months.
What will Season 6 Revolve Around?
Predictably, season 6 will revolve around the season 5 cliffhanger of Lalo Salamanca getting revenge, and the point of emphasis to watch out for is who out of the main cast will be a casualty of Lalo's rampage?
The flash forward scenes of Jimmy McGill post the events of Breaking Bad as Gene in Omaha will have to conclude as well, as their could be a couple episodes predicated around it. Expect to see the conclusion of the Sandpiper case and how that effects Howard Hamlin as well.
According to one of the show creators Peter Gould, season 6 will resemble its predecessor more than any of 'Better Call Saul's' first 5 seasons:
"I think by the time you finish watching Better Call Saul, you're going to see Breaking Bad in a different light. I think we are going to learn about the characters in Breaking Bad that we didn't know. We're going to learn things about the events of Breaking Bad that we didn't know. And we're going to learn things about the fates of a lot of these characters that might surprise people or throw them in a different light. I think we started this in 2007, so that is 13 years of work that is distilled, that has to all fit together. Hopefully like a perfect jigsaw puzzle".
Regardless of the speculation, one thing is for certain: The writing crew of this series are nothing short of phenomenal, they know when to end a series and how to end things, as evidenced with success of 'Breaking Bad'. Expect 'Better Call Saul' to be similar, if not better. It is very rare for fans of a franchise to state that the sequel/prequel is just as good if not better than the original series, but don't be surprised when more people have this opinion once this series finally comes to a satisfying conclusion.
