Note: This is not my own writing, just saw it on a forum online and thought it might be relevant here.
This was all Jimmy McGill in last nights episode, not Saul Goodman. Gene found himself again last night, and what he found was that he’s still Slippin Jimmy. It was subtle but it was all there.
- Just listen to the soundtrack that was played throughout the first minutes of the episode when Gene is helping Marion through the snow and talking to Jeff in the backyard. This is the same innocent, sneaky type of soundtrack that was played all throughout the first season. There’s nothing ominous about it, it feels low stakes, just like how the early episodes were.
- Marco’s ring. The ring is the ultimate symbol of Slippin Jimmy. This ones pretty obvious.
- The way they filmed the montage of Jimmy becoming friends with the security guards was filmed the exact same way as the Inflatable montage in season 2 when Jimmy gets fired from Davis and Main. A clear callback to one of the classic Slippin Jimmy moments.
- Just as he did in the early seasons, Jimmy has his way with elders.
- Jeff quite literally, slipped. Maybe this one is a little far fetched but it’s still worth mentioning.
- The entire end sequence was jam packed with details. As he tops off a milkshake for a woman, he does it with a smile on his face, and he warmly interacts with the customers. He has to be reminded to take his lunch break by one of his coworkers. For the first time, Gene is enjoying himself at work. Then, he walks into the store that he robbed while having a look of satisfaction on his face that clearly says “Damn, I still got it.” Then he picks up the colorful shirt and tie, and then puts it down. I think this represents him putting down the Saul Goodman persona for good. At the end of the day, what good was Saul? It was the darkest time of his life. He was a shell of a man. Episode 609 proved to us that the Saul Goodman persona, the gaudy mansion, the colorful suits, the strippers, it was all an attempt at distracting himself from the trauma he’d been through, and his heart being broken by Kim leaving him. I believe that for the first time since he was with Kim, he was legitimately happy last night. He realizes who he is, and who makes him happy: Jimmy McGill.
- And don’t forget the Kansas City Royals lunchbox. For those who may have forgotten, Kim wore a KC Royals shirt in at least 4 different episodes I can remember. There’s definitely something to the fact that the final frame of the episode was him putting down the shirt and tie and walking away with that lunchbox. He has found himself again, and now he wants to find Kim. Kim fell in love with Slippin Jimmy, not Saul Goodman. Now that Jimmy has found who he is, he wants to go and show it to her. And the writers communicated to us via college football that were are somewhere around October 24th-25th, 2010. Only a few weeks away from the famed November 12th phone call. I think we know who that call will be with.
For everything that lives is holy, life delights in life. — William Blake