Peter Gould Had One Major Worry About Better Call Saul's Season 5 Finale
It's been a long, dreary, and mildly nerve-wracking wait for "Better Call Saul" to return ever since the dramatic season 5 finale came to a close two long years ago. Even going back to their days on "Breaking Bad," co-creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould have always excelled at ending each season (or midseason) on the most pulse-pounding note they could possibly dream up, succinctly wrapping up the main story of the overall season — and the various journeys each character embarked on — while leaving the door open for the story to continue in thrilling ways. Sure, that's essentially the goal on any successful series ... but "Better Call Saul" is simply on another level all its own. Season 5 certainly went above and beyond in proving that, pushing Slippin' Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk), Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks), Nacho Varga (Michael Mando), and even the unfailingly honorable Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) to their breaking points.
But as it turns out, the final moments between Jimmy and Kim, holed up in their bedroom and fantasizing ways to get some payback on the villains in their lives, ended up being the one that most reverberated throughout the show's lengthy hiatus. Namely, insufferable fellow attorney Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian) found himself in Kim's crosshairs — not as the target of the (relatively) harmless cons and schemes that she and Jimmy would cook up in seasons past, but the focal point of a genuinely reputation-harming plot that may have marked a point of no return for Kim. And to hear the co-creator of the series tell it, that far more quiet scene between our two main characters actually became a source of worry on his part.
'It's so scary to end the season that way.'
Longsuffering fans have been ready and waiting for the grand return of season 6, but it's worth looking back at how season 5 concluded — especially now that it's finally available to stream on Netflix. After such an ambitious season, viewers no doubt anticipated an explosive conclusion. That's exactly what we received, to be sure, as drug kingpin Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) blackmailed Nacho into becoming their man on the inside, press-ganged into delivering Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton) into the hands of mercenary killers. But in terms of turning the screws on our favorite characters even more, a much more low-key event in the finale ended up packing just as much of a punch as the (more literal) fireworks involved in the attempt on Lalo's life.
In a video interview with Collider, co-creator Peter Gould addressed just how worrisome the creative team felt in using the season's penultimate scene for a subdued character moment. When told just how well the interaction between Kim and Jimmy works, when Jimmy (of all people) has to act as her voice of reason and attempt to pull her back from going too far, Gould responds:
"You know, that was — it's so scary to end the season that way. Because in some ways, it's a very subtle moment. It's a more subtle moment than some of the season-enders we've done. And I was always a little worried that people wouldn't understand how momentous that was. And so when you say that it makes me feel great."
It's easy to see where Gould is coming from, as this would certainly seem to rank rather low among the season-enders of either "Breaking Bad" or "Better Call Saul" — at first blush, at least. But observant viewers couldn't miss the shocked expression on Jimmy's face at this apparent abrupt change of heart from Kim, who normally serves as the angel on Jimmy's shoulder. Season 6 will undoubtedly pick up on this thread and run with it, giving viewers even more cause for concern and, maybe, a little anxiety over Kim's well-being, too.