After the abysmal Spiral, I sincerely hoped this franchise was finished. While the first film is above average, the deluge of sequels rightfully earned this franchise a reputation for gratuitous torture porn, forgettable characters and increasingly ridiculous scripts. So imagine my surprise watching Saw X, being treated to an actual quality film. Serving as a semi-prequel, sandwiched between Saw I & II, this movie allows Tobin Bell to finally showcase his acting skills and deliver a film with a surprising amount of emotion and depth. While all the grotesque death traps, moments of body mutilation and torture devices are still font-and-center, the movie does an admirable job of providing reason and rationale behind Jigsaw’s elaborate machinations. This is one of those rare occasions where seeing more of the monster doesn’t diminish, undermine or justify the monstrosities, but strengthens the narrative as a whole. In addition, not only does this film answer some of the franchise's more egregious stretches in plausibility, it manages to provide numerous twists and turns despite knowing the inevitable outcome. That being said, this should be the rightful swan-song to the entire series. Its hand has been played, the last cards turned, and this is a winner. This is the best the series has ever offered, and with this entry the series should finally be laid to rest.