Rewatching Breaking Bad after having seen the entirety of Better Call Saul there are just so many scenes that hit completely different. In the original run of Breaking Bad, viewers’ attention was firmly placed on the story of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman and their journey from small-time drug manufacturers to the creation of a multi-million-dollar meth empire. However, after Better Call Saul it was hard not to focus on Bob Odenkirk’s excellent portrayal of criminal lawyer Saul Goodman and view many moments from the show in an entirely new light.
In Breaking Bad, Saul Goodman was an enjoyable character but also one that lacked depth. Saul’s backstory had not been developed and audiences could only imagine what his life was lifelike when was not scheming for Walter and Jesse. Watching Breaking Bad after Better Call Saul there were so many interesting moments for Saul, Mike Ehrmantraut, Gus Fring, and many more that hit completely differently with the power of hindsight. Scenes such as these were just another excellent reason to rewatch Breaking Bad and continue to enjoy the incredibly rich universe created by Vince Gilligan.
10 Tuco Salamanca’s Introduction
Season 1, Episode 6 “Crazy Handful Of Nothing”
Tuco Salamanca was introduced in Breaking Bad as a drug kingpin and head of his family’s crime organization. An unpredictable maniac, his first scene was when Skinny Pete introduced him to Jesse Pinkman to ask to bulk buy his and Walters’s freshly cooked meth, however, things ended badly for Jesse, and Tuco ended up beating him with a bag full of cash. While this scene powerfully introduced Tuco’s character, with the hindsight of Better Call Saul it also acted as the series universe’s first look at the Salamanca family and the complex backstories of Tuco, Lalo, the cousins Marco and Leonel, which would be fleshed out throughout Better Call Saul.
9 Meeting Saul For The First Time
Season 2, Episode 8, “Better Call Saul”
Saul Goodman’s very first appearance in Breaking Bad was through his cheesy infomercials where it was made clear he valued sneaky underhanded tactics over the genuine rule of law. This scene told everything audiences needed to know about Saul throughout Breaking Bad, however, once viewers had seen Better Call Saul Saul’s introduction was steeped in so much more heartache and character development. Watching Saul on screen in Breaking Bad for the first time, viewers no longer saw the criminal lawyer Saul Goodman but instead the troubled and tragic Jimmy McGill.
8 Walter White and Jesse Pinkman Abduct Saul Goodman
Season 2, Episode 8, “Better Call Saul”
When Walter and Jesse abducted Saul at gunpoint in an empty grave in Breaking Bad, the perspective was firmly focused on Walt and Jesse. However, after having watched Better Call Saul audiences know the meth-making duo was the last thing on Saul’s mind as he begged for his life. Saul believed it was the cartel who abducted him and stated, “It was Ignacio” and “Lalo didn’t send you?” which in one short scene managed to lay the groundwork for the entirety of Better Call Saul. The amount of backstory that came out of this short interaction was a testament to the storytelling skills of Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould.
7 Meeting Gus Fring
Season 2, Episode 11, “Mandela”
As the scene that introduced Gus Fring, watching Walter nervously wait to meet a potential meth buyer in Los Pollos Hermanos was a tense and unnerving scene the first time around. However, after Jesse arrived at the meeting high, Gus decided he no longer wanted to do business and did not introduce himself except as a restaurant manager. This introduction would seem inconsequential the first time around but having gotten to know Gus’ backstory throughout Better Call Saul, audiences understood Gus was incredibly cautious due to his dealings with the Salamancas and why he felt it would be best to avoid letting his identity become known to Walter and Jesse.
6 An Allusion Kim Wexler
Season 3, Episode 4, “Green Light”
One Breaking Bad scene that kept audiences scratching their heads throughout Better Call Saul was when Saul told Walter “I caught my second wife screwing my stepdad. OK? It’s a cruel world”, which led to the question of who Saul, or Jimmy McGill’s, second wife was, and if it could have been Kim Wexler. The most obvious answer was Saul was joking until Better Call Saul confirmed that Kim was Jimmy’s third wife as documentation in Jimmy’s marriage paperwork confirmed two previous dissolutions. After watching Better Call Saul, this off-the-cuff remark became a sad reminder of Kim Wexler and just how far Jimmy’s morality had strayed since becoming Saul.
5 Mike Ehrmantraut Physically Threatens Saul Goodman
Season 3, Episode 12, “Full Measures”
When Mike Ehrmantraut was attempting to track down the location of Jesse Pinkman he went to Saul Goodman for information, however, Saul stated that attorney-client privilege prevented him from revealing where Jesse was. Mike retorted “don’t make me beat you til’ your legs don’t work” which forced Saul to give a fake address. Watching this interaction after Better Call Saul was a sad reminder of just how much the two’s relationship had deteriorated since the prequel series timeline, and this scene hit much differently knowing how quick Mike was to make threats after all they had been through in the dessert together in Better Call Saul.
4 The Superlab
Season 3, Episode 5, “Más”
When the Superlab, a large-scale underground meth-producing facility, was first revealed in Breaking Bad it acted as a signifier of Gus Fring’s incredible power and a moment where Walter and Jesse were entering the big time. Watching the scene with the hindsight of the events of Better Call Saul, however, this became a much darker and harrowing sight. Every time the Superlab appeared on screen from that point on, viewers were confronted with the knowledge that underneath the lab’s foundations lay the undiscovered corpses of Lalo Salamanca and Howard Hamlin. This was a cold reminder that there was much more to the Albuquerque crime scene than just Walter White’s operation.
3 Mike Ehrmantraut’s Death
Season 5, Episode 7, “Say My Name”
While Mike Ehrmantraut’s death in Breaking Bad was a heartbreaking moment, Better Call Saul season 5 made Mike’s death more tragic. In the Better Call Saul episode “Bagman” Mike delivered a speech that he was at peace with the concept of death as he knew he was improving the lives of his loved ones. After Walter shot Mike when he called him out on his mistakes and “pride and ego”, Mike does not fight for his life and calmly accepted his fate. After facing countless life-threatening situations in Better Call Saul, Mike was killed in a pointless moment of rage from Walter, which made it all the more tragic.
2 Jesse Pinkman Confronts Saul Goodman
Season 5, Episode 11, “Confessions”
When Jesse Pinkman held Saul hostage and confronted him about helping Walter poison the seven-year-old boy Brock in terms Saul pleaded for understanding and stated, “I didn’t want any of this.” Watching this scene for the first time it appeared like the sleazy morally bankrupt lawyer Saul was saying anything to avoid getting shot. But watching this after Better Call Saul his pleading had much more effectiveness, with an understanding of the kindness that Jimmy was capable of in that moment viewers can truly believe that Saul did not want any of this, that for him, things had gone too far.
1 Saul Goodman’s Final Scene
Season 5, Episode 15, “Granite State”
Saul Goodman’s final scene in Breaking Bad took place during the same period that Walter White appeared in Better Call Saul. With Walter and Saul hiding out while Ed Galbraith prepared them with a new life elsewhere Saul stated “If I’m lucky, a month from now, best case scenario, I’m managing a Cinnabon in Omaha” which was exactly what happened. This scene hit different as Saul was making peace with leaving his criminal life behind and cutting all ties with Walter White. As Saul’s story continued in Better Call Saul, he was granted something close to redemption and this phrase was his first small step back to being Jimmy.
Breaking Bad
- Release Date
- January 20, 2008
- Cast
- Dean Norris , Bob Odenkirk , Aaron Paul , RJ Mitte , Anna Gunn , Giancarlo Esposito , Betsy Brandt , Bryan Cranston , Jonathan Banks
- Genres
- Crime , Drama , Thriller
- Seasons
- 5
- Story By
- Vince Gilligan
- Writers
- Peter Gould , Gennifer Hutchison , Vince Gilligan , George Mastras , Moira Walley-Beckett , Sam Catlin , Thomas Schnauz
- Network
- AMC
