Better Call Saul’s Version Of Walter White Is Not The Character You Would Expect

Breaking Bad‘s Walter White is one of the most villainous characters in television history, but Better Call Saul‘s version of the character was equally nefarious and despicable as the infamous Heisenberg. One of Better Call Saul‘s greatest claims to fame is its well-written and engaging characters, who were just as complex as many of the characters introduced in its sequel series, Breaking Bad. Moreover, the show excelled at exposing audiences to completely different sides of characters who either made appearances in or were featured heavily in Breaking Bad. Perhaps the strongest example of this is Better Call Saul‘s protagonist, Saul Goodman.

In Breaking Bad, Saul is a callous schemer who values money over everything. However, in Better Call Saul, he’s depicted with a little more humanity as audiences are shown his days as the con man Slippin’ Jimmy, from his humble attempts at becoming a lawyer to finally opening his own law practice. While he gradually falls down a slippery slope into depravity, Better Call Saul highlights the many negative influences on Jimmy in the form of many of the people he regularly interacts with. While Better Call Saul shows Saul can be just as bad as Walter White, it also shows who helped make him that way.

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Chuck McGill & Walter White Are More Similar Than You Think

Michael McKean plays Chuck McGill

Although Jimmy’s older brother, Chuck McGill originally wasn’t supposed to be a villain, the decision to make him one as the show progressed worked incredibly well, as it highlighted someone who could be a formidable foe for Jimmy on a psychological level. Chuck and Walter were both arrogant, egocentric, and narcissistic to a point that prevented either of them from seeing how damaging their manipulative and controlling ways were. In Chuck’s case, it might have been somewhat understandable initially to see why he was against Jimmy’s legal aspirations given his younger brother’s scheming ways, but his constant belittling and interference with Jimmy’s career progress only made matters worse.

Chuck’s downfall in Better Call Saul, resulted from him realizing he couldn’t control Jimmy no matter how hard he tried. As a result, he chooses to end his own life since he refuses to live in a world in which Jimmy is the “winner” and he’s the “loser,” but this philosophy provides greater context to Chuck’s psychology. Jimmy viewed himself as an underdog who could win despite the odds, whereas Chuck saw him as a threat to society, famously referring to him as a “chimp with a machine gun.” As a result, Jimmy’s unscrupulous ways worsened over time and led to many lives being ruined.

Better Call Saul’s Subtle Breaking Bad Parallels Were Its Best

Better Call Saul reinforces Breaking Bad’s themes in unique ways

A prominent theme of Breaking Bad is pride, and how many lives Walter is willing to ruin because of it. Walter’s downfall was at the show’s core, and the impact of his actions on other people worked to enhance this theme. In Better Call Saul, more time was devoted to showing the downfall of multiple lives because of Jimmy’s pride, as seen with characters like Kim, Chuck, Mike, Hamlin, and Nacho. Furthermore, Walter White’s Heisenberg persona was an excuse for him to commit his crimes in order to satisfy his pride, the same way Jimmy created Saul Goodman to shamelessly act out his impulses.

Although Walter has gone down as one of the best villains on television, Chuck McGill’s negative influence on Jimmy contributed to the creation of Saul Goodman. The resulting damage that Saul caused to virtually everyone around him perfectly mirrored the damage that Heisenberg’s Blue Sky had on countless citizens of New Mexico. Whereas Walter was motivated completely by his own pride and ego, Jimmy’s need to prove himself to everyone, chiefly Chuck, contributed to him losing sense of himself and his morals. Walter White was an amoral person, but thanks to Chuck, an even worse villain was created in Better Call Saul.