Better Call Saul is approaching its sixth and final season, and showrunner Peter Gould says tying up the series will shed new light on some well-known characters. The show, which is a prequel to Breaking Bad, follows lawyer Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) as he slowly becomes entangled with the Juarez cartel in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Over the course of the series, McGill adopts the moniker Saul Goodman, transforming into the criminal lawyer we got to know on Breaking Bad.
In addition to introducing a host of new characters, Better Call Saul also provides more insight into several fan favorites from Breaking Bad, including Mike Ehrmantrout (Jonathan Banks), Nacho Varga (Michael Mando), and Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito). The series, which debuted in 2015, has been critically acclaimed for its depth and storytelling.
Of course, knowing how many of the main characters’ story arcs continue on Breaking Bad poses a challenge for Better Call Saul. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Gould said trying to make the two series cohere is like trying to solve “the devil’s own Rubik’s Cube.” He added:
“I think by the time you finish watching Better Call Saul, you’re going to see Breaking Bad in a very different light. I think we’re going to learn things about the characters in Breaking Bad that we didn’t know. We’re going to learn things about the events of Breaking Bad that we didn’t know. And we’re going to learn things about the fates of a lot of these characters that may surprise people or certainly throw them into a different light.”
Gould also revealed that Breaking Bad creator and Better Call Saul co-creator Vince Gilligan is returning to the writers’ room for season 6. Gilligan has not been directly involved in the writing of the show since early in season three. Since Gilligan oversaw the entirety of Breaking Bad, he’ll no doubt have important insight into how to tie the two series together.
Gould’s statement about viewing characters and events in a different light may seem ambitious, but Better Call Saul has already succeeded in drastically altering how viewers perceive the main character. On Breaking Bad, we know him only as Saul Goodman, the shady and seemingly amoral lawyer. But in the prequel series, we get to know Jimmy McGill, who tries—and frequently fails—to do the right thing. Everything that goes wrong in Jimmy’s life chips away at his identity until there’s nothing left. That’s how he becomes Saul; when Jimmy no longer recognizes himself, he creates a new persona.
Breaking Bad presents Saul as an opportunistic and crafty criminal but, with the context from Better Call Saul, his character becomes much more nuanced; he’s still opportunistic, but it’s not cynical. He’s a fighter who’s clawed his way to his own version of success. If Better Call Saul can make us see the humanity in Saul Goodman, it’s not such a stretch to believe that the show can do the same for other characters we thought we got to know on Breaking Bad. Better Call Saul season 6 is still being written and has no scheduled release date.
