Too many real-life scumbags getting consistent media coverage affected the writing ofBetter Call Saul. Before the series debuted on AMC in 2015, Bob Odenkirk first appeared as Saul Goodman in the show’s parent seriesBreaking Bad. In the original show, Odenkirk’s Saul Goodman was depicted as sleazy and conniving, though he was exceptionally good at his job as an attorney.
Better Call Saulshowed viewers another side of Saul Goodman, however, by going into the backstory of the flashy lawyer. Before adopting the Saul Goodman alter-ego, Jimmy McGill had hoped to become a lawyer the right way by joining his brother’s law firm. Over the course of six seasons, fans fell in love with Jimmy as he encountered one struggle after another, all of which contributed to him falling down the rabbit hole that led to him transforming into the criminal sleazeball fans know fromBreaking Bad.
In the final season ofBetter Call Saul, fans were able to see Jimmy take that final step into becoming the Saul Goodman that Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) meet inBreaking Bad. While we do see some scenes of Odenkirk in full-on Saul Goodman mode, they were limited in favor of spending more time with Jimmy McGill. As Odenkirk tells Empire Magazine (viaSlash Film) in the newest issue, he feels that fans spent just the right amount of time with the character.
“Oh, that was a perfect amount for me. There’s not a lot to Saul. Saul is actually one of the easiest iterations of the character to play. Life is kind of simple for him.”
Related:Better Call Saul Star Reacts to Theory About Jimmy’s Future: ‘I Think That’s What Goes On’
No More Saul Goodman Was Necessary
Breaking BadcreatorVince Gilligan, who createdBetter Call Saulwith Peter Gould, also weighed in on the situation. He said that viewers “fell in love with Jimmy,” making it unnecessary to “spend any more time with Saul Goodman” than what was absolutely necessary for the show. Gilligan also agrees with the theory presented to him that there are enough “despicable” people in the real world that people are talking about that he didn’t feel it’s a good time to put someone like Saul Goodman back at the forefront, while Jimmy McGill is another story.
“I think your psychoanalysis is right on the money. There are so many despicable people, real-life people in the world now, on a news feed every day. So five, six, seven years ago I could have stood Saul Goodman more. We could maybe have had a season of just Saul Goodman. But there are so many sh*theels in the world right now, succeeding and excelling and taking up all our attention. My capacity to stomach yet another one, fictional though he may be, probably lessened.”
Perhaps this also means that Rhea Seehorn won’t be playing a more devious character when she reunites with Gilligan. As has been reported, Gilligan recruited the Kim Wexler actress to be his star for his next series. In the works at Apple TV+, the untitled sci-fi series has already been given a 2-season order. Meanwhile, Odenkirk will stick around at AMC as the star of the upcoming seriesStraight Man.
