Better Call Saul: Every Theory About What Happens To Gene

These are the best theories for how Better Call Saul‘s Gene story might end. Starring Bob Odenkirk as the titular crooked lawyer, Better Call Saul is generally perceived as a prequel to Breaking Bad and, for the most part, that’s true. The spin-off focuses on Jimmy McGill’s life before Walter White, detailing his long journey into criminality and fleshing out the landscape of the New Mexico meth business through returning characters such as Mike Ehrmantraut, Gus Fring and Hank Schrader. When the picture switches to black and white, however, Better Call Saul swiftly jumps into the future.

Saul’s Breaking Bad story ends with the lawyer skipping town to evade the DEA as they close in on Walt. Hiring the services of Ed Galbraith, Saul runs off, never to be seen again. Or almost never, as Better Call Saul‘s black and white scenes depict his life after Breaking Bad, posing as Gene Takavic in a Omaha Cinnabon.

Sitting on his ill-gained wealth, Jimmy is jumpy, constantly living in fear of being found out. That fear is not without foundation either, as a local “taxi driver” with links to Albuquerque recognizes Saul from his old TV commercials. With the driver acting suspiciously and his fake ID compromised, Jimmy considers another Galbraith escape job, but decides to deal with the matter himself. Better Call Saul season 6 will reveal whether that decision was the right one.

Jimmy Reunites With Kim (& Lives Happily Ever After)

One major question Better Call Saul‘s final season must address is the status of Kim Wexler, who isn’t mentioned whatsoever in Breaking Bad. Most viewers suspect Kim will either die or break up with Jimmy before the prequel timeline ends, but others believe the husband and wife are still somehow in cahoots. Thanks to her “ruin Howard Hamlin” plan, Better Call Saul season 6 will take Kim even deeper into illegality, meaning she could be jailed or in hiding during Breaking Bad. Since Saul Goodman’s holding company (Ice Station Zebra Associates) is named after a film he and Kim watched together, Rhea Seehorn’s character could’ve been pulling Jimmy’s strings all along in Breaking Bad, secretly handling the business end of his legal affairs. This would mean Kim is both alive, and still with Jimmy, but can’t see him for fear of getting caught by the authorities.

Jimmy’s miserable experience in the Gene timeline might convince him that life is too short not to be with the woman he loves. Or maybe Kim could simply be released from jail. In either scenario, Better Call Saul season 6 could end with Jimmy and Kim coming face to face again in Omaha after years of separation, bringing meaning back into each other’s lives. From there, Jimmy and Kim could settle in Omaha, run away together, or return home to face whatever comes. Anything, so long as they’re together.

Jimmy Is Arrested & Atones For His Crimes

If reuniting with Kim and driving into the sunset feels a little too similar to Jesse’s ending in El Camino, Jimmy might actually get his just desserts in Better Call Saul season 6. Within the Breaking Bad universe, characters usually either escape or die (mostly the latter), with very few main players winding up behind bars. But for Jimmy, being arrested and tried for his role in the Walter White meth operation might be the most logical ending. With Better Call Saul more of a legal drama than Breaking Bad, the theme of justice is woven throughout all five seasons. Jimmy might feel that managing a Cinnabon and wearing a mustache is punishment enough, but he really should be in jail.

Better Call Saul‘s final Gene sequence could see Jimmy lose a courtroom battle (he’d probably represent himself) and then fade out with his cell door slamming shut. Finally, a legal conundrum Saul Goodman can’t wriggle out of with charm and ingenuity. Every time he visits a client or evades the law, Better Call Saul teases the possibility of Jimmy McGill being imprisoned, and watching the criminal lawyer get screwed over by the legal system would be a bitterly ironic end to his story. Furthermore, viewers have theorized that the cab driver who recognizes Jimmy is actually an undercover cop, meaning the authorities might be closing in.

Jimmy Gives Himself Up (Because He Sold Out Kim)

If Better Call Saul‘s Gene timeline proves anything, it’s that being a criminal on the run isn’t much fun. Not only has the constant anxiety caused Jimmy to be hospitalized with health problems, but he lives alone with no enjoyment, possessions, luxuries or friends. Until Jimmy faces his past and atones for his crimes, he can never enjoy life the way he used to as an exuberant showman. This sense of disillusionment could compel Jimmy to hand himself over to the police, but after so long on he run, he needs a bigger motivation to come clean.

This theory could tie into Better Call Saul season 6’s Kim storyline. Jimmy and Kim’s scheme against Howard Hamlin will inevitably go awry, leaving the married co-conspirators in serious trouble. Ever the survivor, Jimmy could show his true colors (and complete his transformation into “Saul Goodman”) by selling out Kim to save himself. By handing himself over in Better Call Saul‘s Gene narrative, he can simultaneously set Kim free and begin facing his own demons, allowing the woman he loved to walk free while he takes her place in jail. This redemptive sacrifice would feel less downbeat than Jimmy simply being caught against his will, and echo how Walter White gave his life to rescue Jesse from capture in the final episode of Breaking Bad.

Jimmy Becomes A Legitimate Lawyer Again (Thanks To Walt)

From Chuck’s death to Howard’s number plate, Better Call Saul has featured its fair share of tragic moments. Perhaps the show’s biggest tragedy, however, is how Jimmy McGill was, once upon a time, a talented and honest lawyer with a promising career. Through a combination of self-sabotage, bad luck, and brotherly meddling, Jimmy was forced into becoming a hack operating out of a strip mall, when he could’ve been a partner in a major and respectable firm. In Better Call Saul‘s Gene future, the scene in which a frustrated Jimmy shouts legal advice to a young criminal highlights how desperately unhappy he is away from the courtroom.

Better Call Saul season 6’s happiest possible ending would be Jimmy finding a way to get back to what he loves, maybe returning to his previous elder law job in Albuquerque, serving the state’s geriatrics once again – something he was genuinely good at. Considering his current status as a wanted man, however, Jimmy’s return to law looks incredibly unlikely, but Walter White could change that.

It’s not clear exactly when Jimmy’s black and white flashforward scenes take place, so Walt may not be dead during the Gene timeline. Before bowing out in a hail of bullets, the man formerly known as Heisenberg tried to make amends with family and friends, and although it doesn’t happen on-screen, Jimmy might’ve been one of them. During Breaking Bad‘s time jump, did Walter White use his wealth and intelligence to get Jimmy McGill off the hook?

Jimmy Kills The Cab Driver & Settles In Omaha

While Better Call Saul‘s mysterious cab driver could be an undercover cop, he might also be a criminal looking to tie up loose ends – either an associate of Jack’s white supremacist gang, or a member of a rival cartel who stands to lose if Jimmy gets arrested and starts talking shop with the cops. Jimmy couldn’t rely on local law enforcement for protection, and after telling Ed he’d handle the situation alone, Jimmy’s only course of action might be to murder the one person who knows “Gene” is a bogus identity.

Despite operating within the murky world of narcotics, Jimmy has maintained a healthy distance from the rough stuff. The lawyer would be taking a huge step into darker territory if he were to actually “do a murder” with his own fair hands. Most fans assume Jimmy’s ending will bring him peace, either through justice, freedom, or death. But throughout Better Call Saul, Jimmy’s morality has decayed gradually, and even in the Gene future, he may not have reached the bottom of that ethical pit. An unexpected, but not necessarily unattractive, ending for Jimmy McGill could be transforming into a more hardened criminal who takes whatever steps necessary to ensure his liberty. Then fast-forward 5 years, and Nobody begins.

Jimmy Stays In Hiding Forever

Jimmy McGill has always been a figure of tragedy, and a miserable ending would suit the character well. Defying fan expectation, Jimmy might simply accept his current lot in life, stay at Cinnabon, continue to keep a low profile and quietly hate himself for falling so low, all without ever attempting to change his bleak situation. The cab driver could be telling the truth about his innocent intentions, and Walter White’s former lawyer would simply retreat back to his mundane black and white existence.

In the same vein, Jimmy might decide to pack up (without Ed’s help) and make another fresh start in a new part of the country, never settling long enough in one place to raise suspicion. Jimmy would never find fulfillment in his existence, merely surviving from one town to the next. Better Call Saul season 6 could end with a montage of all Saul’s future driver’s licenses, showcasing decades of false names, disguises and states, with Bob Odenkirk looking more miserable in each photo.

Jimmy Dies, Mirroring His Debut

Breaking Bad is no stranger to death, and perhaps there’s no other possible destination for Jimmy McGill than six feet under. In one of Saul Goodman’s first ever scenes, he’s taken to the edge of a shallow desert grave by a masked Walt and Jesse as part of an elaborate threat. How fitting it would be for Jimmy’s story to end in another shallow desert grave, actually dead this time. McGill has made plenty of enemies, and the Omaha cab driver may well be one of them. Without Kim, Chuck, or his legal career, Jimmy has precious little to live for in Better Call Saul, and as long as there’s a measure of redemption before his last breath, audiences won’t feel too deflated by a violent ending, just as they didn’t with Walter White’s.

About The Author

Craig Elvy
(3631 Articles Published)

Craig first began contributing to Screen Rant in 2016, several years after graduating college, and has been ranting ever since, mostly to himself in a darkened room. Having previously written for various sports and music outlets, Craig’s interest soon turned to TV and film, where a steady upbringing of science fiction and comic books finally came into its own.
Craig has previously been published on sites such as Den of Geek, and after many coffee-drenched hours hunched over a laptop, part-time evening work eventually turned into a full-time career covering everything from the zombie apocalypse to the Starship Enterprise via the TARDIS.

Since joining the Screen Rant fold, Craig has been involved in breaking news stories and mildly controversial ranking lists, but now works predominantly as a features writer.
Jim Carrey is Craig’s top acting pick and favorite topics include superheroes, anime and the unrecognized genius of the High School Musical trilogy.

More From Craig Elvy