Better Call Saul
Series, 2015, Albuquerque, Set in 2002 onward
Better Call Saul is #2 of 3 in release order and #1 of 3 in chronological order in the Breaking Bad.
The story
Six years before Saul Goodman meets Walter White. We meet him when the man who will become Saul Goodman is known as Jimmy McGill, a small-time lawyer searching for his destiny, and, more immediately, hustling to make ends meet. Working alongside, and, often, against Jimmy, is “fixer” Mike Ehrmantraut. The series tracks Jimmy’s transformation into Saul Goodman, the man who puts “criminal” in “criminal lawyer".
Better Call Saul recap
In 2002, six years before Breaking Bad, Jimmy McGill is a struggling lawyer in Albuquerque and a former conman, living in the shadow of his brilliant older brother Chuck, who believes he is allergic to electricity. In season 1, Jimmy takes on elder law and uncovers a fraud by the Sandpiper retirement homes, and Mike Ehrmantraut, a former Philadelphia cop, works as a parking attendant. In season 2, Jimmy joins a big firm through his partner Kim Wexler, then quits, and tampers with Chuck's files to help Kim; Mike crosses the Salamanca cartel family. In season 3, Chuck tapes Jimmy's confession and tries to have him disbarred, Jimmy is suspended for a year, and Chuck dies in a fire he sets himself. Mike goes to work for Gus Fring. In season 4, Gus builds a superlab, and Mike kills the engineer Werner when he escapes. Jimmy returns to the law as Saul Goodman. In season 5, Saul works for the cartel lieutenant Lalo Salamanca, and Kim and Jimmy marry and turn on Howard Hamlin, Chuck's partner. In season 6, Kim and Jimmy's scheme ruins Howard, and Lalo kills him in their apartment. Gus kills Lalo, and Kim leaves Jimmy. Black and white flash-forwards show Jimmy after Breaking Bad, hiding in Omaha as Gene Takavic, a mall Cinnabon manager.
Better Call Saul ending explained
As Gene, Jimmy is recognised and slips back into running scams, then is caught. He nearly negotiates a seven-and-a-half-year sentence, but in court he confesses everything, including his role in Walt's empire and his guilt over Chuck, and is sentenced to 86 years. Kim, now working in Florida, visits him in prison and they share a cigarette.
Where to watch Better Call Saul
Better Call Saul is streaming on Netflix in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 9.0/10, Rotten Tomatoes 98%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Breaking Bad, before El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.
- Chronological order: first, before Breaking Bad.
What to watch before Better Call Saul
Breaking Bad (2008), which Better Call Saul (2015) continues.
Cast
- Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy McGill
- Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut
- Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler
- Patrick Fabian as Howard Hamlin
- Michael Mando as Nacho Varga
- Giancarlo Esposito as Gus Fring
- Michael McKean as Chuck McGill
- Tony Dalton as Lalo Salamanca
- Mark Margolis as Hector Salamanca
- Kerry Condon as Stacey Ehrmantraut
- Jeremiah Bitsui as Victor
- Ray Campbell as Tyrus Kitt
Created by Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould.