Walter White & Saul Goodman’s First Interaction In Breaking Bad Secretly Set Up Better Call Saul, 6 Years Before The Spinoff

Bob Odenkirk's Saul Goodman was a staple of Breaking Bad from the time of his striking introduction in season 2, wherein his eventual spinoff Better Call Saul was set up immediately. The "criminal" lawyer first meets Bryan Cranston's Walter White in Breaking Bad season 2, episode 8, "Better Call Saul," and quickly realizes the true nature of Walt's motivations and occupation when he and Jesse (Aaron Paul) go to extreme lengths to make sure an associate cannot expose them to the DEA. Soon after, Saul approaches Walt again to become his official attorney in his growing meth business.

After the end of Breaking Bad, Odenkirk returned to the role, but this time as Jimmy McGill, a struggling lawyer and natural con man trying to do right by his friends, family, and profession, but who is inevitably pulled into the criminal side of things. The spinoff largely portrays him as Jimmy before he starts using the name Saul Goodman professionally. Many will argue that Better Call Saul surpassed Breaking Bad, but both shows are an in-depth character study of the degradation of personal morals. Saul/Jimmy's story was perhaps always meant to be told given how it is alluded to in Breaking Bad.

Saul Told Walter That His Real Name Was "McGill" During Their First Conversation

Jimmy McGill Was Never A Retcon

Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman in his first appearance in Breaking Bad

Walt meets Saul under the guise of being Badger's (Matt Jones) uncle after Badger is arrested for dealing; Saul breaks the ice by commenting on their supposed shared Irish ancestry (Badger's last name is Mayhew), casually revealing that his "real name is McGill" and implying that a Jewish-sounding name is better suited to his profession. This episode aired in 2009, while Better Call Saul debuted in 2015, six years later. Jimmy McGill isn't really a character in Breaking Bad, making the spinoff's premiere the first time in years the franchise properly acknowledged this comment.

Breaking Bad Had A Lot Of Throwaway Lines That Became Important In Better Call Saul

Better Call Saul Turned Random Lines Into Fully-Fledged Characters & Stories

This is not the only time Breaking Bad set up Better Call Saul years before the fact — it's not even the only time in this episode. After Saul assures "Mr. Mayhew" that the best way forward for his nephew is to expose Heisenberg to the DEA, and certainly believes that Badger will talk under pressure, Walt and Jesse kidnap and threaten Saul. With their faces hidden, Saul assumes that they are working for the Salamanca family, whom Walt and Jesse have, ironically, crossed paths with themselves. Saul realizes his mistake due to Walt's recognizable coughing.

Bob Odenkirk as Gene in Better Call Saul and Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad

Gene & Francesca's Phone Call: Every Breaking Bad Reveal & Easter Egg

Better Call Saul season 6, episode 11 includes a phone call between Gene and Francesca, and it's packed with Breaking Bad reveals and Easter eggs.

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Before that, Saul says: "It wasn't me, it was Ignacio. He's the one! […] Lalo didn't send you?" He turns out to have been referencing Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton) and Ignacio "Nacho" Varga (Michael Mando), who became proper characters only with the debut of Better Call Saul. The spinoff also reveals that both Lalo and Nacho are dead years before this scene takes place. However, when Better Call Saul finally killed the Lalo and Nacho references, it was dependent on Saul not being entirely sure that Lalo was dead, and perhaps only throwing Nacho under the bus because he was already dead.

Saul also makes occasional tasteless quips about an ex-wife in Breaking Bad, including one who allegedly slept with his stepfather that he possibly entirely made up, as Better Call Saul only confirms Jimmy's two marriages. His love interest Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) is the only one who was made a major character. Of course, there is also his famous comment about going on to manage a Cinnabon if he is lucky, which was probably more intentionally written to segue into the flash-forwards of the spinoff. However, these throwaway moments that were turned into legitimate storylines all reinforce the connection between the two shows.

Saul Goodman Didn’t Need A Spinoff, But We Are All Thankful That It Happened

Saul's Character Study Lived Up To Walt's Villanous Arc

Many of these comments, which originally served to imply that Saul had already seen his fair share of criminality before Walt came along, were probably meant to be meaningless but were softly retconned into the basis of Better Call Saul. The same can be said of Saul/Jimmy's entire character, who is certainly suggested to have a full backstory of getting to where he is in Breaking Bad, but not one that needs to be shown for him to be a compelling character or for Breaking Bad to be one of the best TV shows of all time.

Blended image of Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy in Better Call Saul

Better Call Saul Season 6 Ending Explained (In Detail)

The Better Call Saul season 6 ending gives Jimmy McGill one last roll of the dice. What happens and what does it mean for the Breaking Bad spinoff?

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However, when Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould went ahead and created Better Call Saul anyway, everyone was thankful for it. The spinoff effectively flipped the Breaking Bad narrative on its head, exploring another morally depraved character whose psyche doesn't get as much attention in the flagship series, while blending the aesthetics and tone of the proceeding show with new elements. While Walt's story takes him to an admission rather than regret and then death, Jimmy achieves some kind of redemption, creating two perfect, complementary crime series that were made for each other from the beginning.