The fifth season picks up where the fourth left off, also taking place in 2004, four years before Jimmy McGill (Odenkirk) meets Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul).

The season shows the further evolution of Jimmy into the titular character, criminal defense lawyer "Saul Goodman", after regaining his law license, while fully rejecting the goodwill that Howard Hamlin (Fabian) extends to him in the wake of his brother Chuck's death.

Both Nacho Varga (Mando), fearing for his father's safety, and Mike Ehrmantraut (Banks), who is struggling to cope with his killing of Werner Ziegler, are caught between Gus and Lalo's conflict, eventually drawing Jimmy and Kim in.

[10] Main cast members Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, Rhea Seehorn, Patrick Fabian, Michael Mando, and Giancarlo Esposito return from previous seasons as Jimmy McGill / Saul Goodman, Mike Ehrmantraut, Kim Wexler,[10] Howard Hamlin,[11] Nacho Varga,[12] and Gus Fring, respectively.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Grounded by Bob Odenkirk's endlessly nuanced, lived-in performance, Better Call Saul's fifth season is a darkly funny, vividly realized master class in tragedy.

[41] Kelly Connolly of TV Guide gave it four and a half out of five, and wrote that Better Call Saul is better than other prequels, saying that the series "understands that the tragedy of fate is baked into the story".

[42] Writing for Collider, Adam Chitwood gave it a perfect five out of five review, stating that the series might have become even better than Breaking Bad, and describing its execution as "unparalleled by anything on television right now".

[43] Daniel D'Addario of Variety gave the first few episodes a positive review, saying "Better Call Saul, in the early going of its fifth and penultimate season, remains the picture of white-knuckled but real restraint.

"[44] Jen Chaney of Vulture said that Kim's development into a similar character as Jimmy made viewing the fifth season a more "nerve-wracking experience than usual, in the best, albeit still anxiety-provoking way.

Both from Rolling Stone, Alan Sepinwall described her as the "MVP of Better Call Saul",[51] and Brian Tallerico referred to Seehorn's work as "one of the best performances on any show in the last decade".

[52] Liz Shannon Miller of Collider wrote in regards to her Emmy snub, "Seehorn in particular hurts after turning in career-best work; Kim Wexler's journey in Season 5 was a heartbreaking, even chilling experience".