Breaking Bad. The end of Walter White's story marked the birth of a surprisingly expansive Breaking Bad universe. El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie and Better Call Saul added satisfying context to multiple Breaking Bad characters from Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman and Jesse Pinkman to Mike Ehrmantraut and Gus Fring.
Jimmy and Jesse's stories also came to an end in their respective spinoffs, but the genius difference between their endings and Walter White's confirmed death in Breaking Bad is that their stories technically remain open-ended. Walt may have been the “one who knocks,” but ironically, it’s his door that remains forever closed. It's indicative of how irredeemable and villainous Walt truly was, and it's also the main reason why Better Call Saul had a better ending than Breaking Bad.
Why Jesse Pinkman & Saul Goodman Had Such Different Endings To Walter White
Walt, Jesse, and Jimmy were all literal criminals who deserved every bit of legal punishment possible. All three of them destroyed countless lives, and even before his shtick as Saul Goodman, Jimmy had his own history of despicable tomfoolery. However, Walt was the only one who was truly irredeemable. Originally, the justification for Walt came down to two factors: Walt leaving Gray Matter Technologies and his cancer diagnosis. However, it became increasingly clear during Breaking Bad’s acclaimed run that Walt was actually a remorseless egomaniac who most likely would have broken bad no matter what happened in his life.
Jimmy and Jesse at least had the basic human decency to express remorse for their actions instead of doubling down on their crimes as Walt did, especially in Breaking Bad’s final season. Jesse’s redemption in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie came not just from tremendous guilt, but also from his captivity at the hands of torturous Neo-Nazis. Jimmy achieved atonement through enlightenment thanks in part to his powerful love for Kim Wexler, and Better Call Saul’s finale promptly became the new gold standard for the antihero crime genre on television.
Better Call Saul Had An Even Better Ending Than Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad’s ending was tremendous, but both Better Call Saul and El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie pulled off the much more difficult task of closing a character’s story arc perfectly without resorting to lethal measures. While Breaking Bad’s finale wasn’t as divisive as some TV series' concluding episodes, it’s telling that Better Call Saul’s ending is the one that’s been almost universally praised and beloved. Given the circumstances, Jimmy McGill got the literal perfect ending: appropriately bittersweet and both Jimmy and Kim survived despite fans’ increasingly dire concerns.