3. A Trip Into The Desert
Based on what we had seen of him in his office and in those brilliant commercials, you could be forgiven for thinking that Saul’s exterior would crack at the first sign of any sort of pressure. That’s what Walt and Jesse expected when they kidnapped him and drove him into the desert, but he kept a cool head, and soon had them both eating out of the palm of his hand.
Picking holes in their plan (suggesting that they kill Badger showed that he wasn’t just a normal lawyer, that’s for sure), a cough from Walt allowed Saul to figure out who had taken him, and he went from hostage to having two new clients. As soon as Saul had a dollar bill from Walt and Jesse, their relationship began, and he had both them and the money firmly in his pocket..
2. “My Real Name’s McGill.”
What seemed like an off the cuff remark at the time may have been the spark on an idea which led to Vince Gilligan deciding to create Better Call Saul. When Walt introduced himself to the lawyer for the first time, it was as “Mr. Mayhew”, and the response from Saul was an early sign that there was more to him than meets the eye. “Faith and begorrah!” he responded in a fake Irish accent.
“A fellow potato eater! My real name’s McGill. The Jew thing I just do for the homeboys. They all want a pipe-hitting member of the tribe, so to speak.” We knew early on that Saul Goodman wasn’t his real name then, making him something of an enigma, but little did any of us realise that Saul would end up playing such a huge role in Breaking Bad.
1. Starting A New Life
As Breaking Bad progressed, Walt’s transformation from science teacher to drug kingpin made him steadily more terrifying. His relationship with Saul ultimately turned into one of fear, and Walt wouldn’t hesitate to try and intimidate his lawyer.
When things started falling apart and both men found themselves in hiding though, the status quo changed dramatically. The dying Walt tried one last time to force Saul to bend to his will, but he was having none of it! “Hey, I’m a civilian. I’m not your lawyer anymore. I’m nobody’s lawyer. The fun’s over.”
That’s what we all thought until Better Call Saul was announced, and as the series promises to also touch on where Saul ended up, we’ll finally see whether or not he’s, “managing a Cinnabon in Omaha.”
The first episode of Better Call Saul is up now on Netflix UK, with a new episode tomorrow and then every week after that until we’re done with Season One.
