ā | Hi. I'm Saul Goodman. Did you know that you have rights? The Constitution says you do, and so do I. I believe that, until proven guilty, every man, woman, and child in this country is innocent. And that's why I fight for you, Albuquerque!
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ā Jimmy's famous television commercial as Saul Goodman. |
James Morgan "Jimmy" McGill, better known by his professional alias and business moniker Saul Goodman and later Gene Takavic, is an American criminal defense lawyer, scam artist, and convicted criminal who is serving an 86-year sentence at ADX Montrose. Originally from Cicero, Illinois during his career as a scam artist, Jimmy moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico where he worked as a lawyer, and later resided as a fugitive in Omaha, Nebraska before being caught and apprehended in a federal prison at Montrose, Colorado. During his law career, Jimmy embraced his tendencies as a former scam artist and, after becoming a dedicated and effective criminal lawyer, he began to represent criminals while he himself became increasingly involved in the city's criminal underworld, all the while slowly losing his morality along the way. Despite his flamboyant appearance and mannerisms, Saul was a highly competent lawyer who was able to solve problems and find loopholes in order to protect his clients. His business name, "Saul Goodman," is a play on the phrase "it's all good, man."
Dressing in flashy suits, Jimmy is the younger brother of fellow lawyer Chuck McGill and the ex-husband of former attorney Kim Wexler, the latter of whom helped inspire Jimmy to pursue his own law career alongside Chuck, and had dated for several years before their six-month marriage. Jimmy began his law career as an earnest lawyer, starting out practicing public defense and elder law before becoming a criminal defense lawyer. Before this, Jimmy was a low-level reprobate in his home-town of Cicero with no serious ambitions or direction in life, wasting away his days with debauchery, bar tricks and small-time scams with his buddy Marco. Jimmy hit rock bottom when a particularly sordid incident led to his arrest, but a dismayed Chuck was able to get him off the hook for all the charges. Faced with serious consequences for once, this was to be a major turning point for Jimmy, after which he decided to clean up his act and move to Albuquerque to take up honest work at his brother's firm. He originally worked as a mailroom clerk at Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill (HHM) alongside Kim. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the partners, Jimmy studied via correspondence courses, gained a law degree from a diploma mill and eventually qualified as a lawyer. Jimmy then immediately applied for but was denied a position as an Associate attorney at the firm by Chuck and his partner Howard Hamlin. As a result, Jimmy quit HHM to set out on his own as a solo practitioner, working from a tiny makeshift office in the back room of a nail salon. After toiling for a long time on thankless public defender work, dead end cases and will-writing, Jimmy got his first big break with a class-action lawsuit against a retirement home chain. Jimmy worked together to build the increasingly complex Sandpiper case with Chuck, who persuaded him to refer the case out to HHM. For a second time Jimmy pushed for the chance to work for HHM and was again blocked by Chuck. Incensed, Jimmy resolved to burn the case to the ground rather than give it to HHM, and considered quitting the law altogether and returning to his old ways. However, after the sudden death of Marco, Jimmy was brought back to the fold by Kim, who persuaded Howard to recommend Jimmy for a job as an associate attorney at Davis & Main, HHM's co-counsel on the Sandpiper case, which Jimmy reluctantly accepts. Jimmy stubbornly rebelled against the corporate culture at the firm, clashing with the partners and was eventually fired by Clifford Main. Jimmy then established his own law firms; first with Kim at Wexler McGill and later establishing Saul Goodman & Associates. Jimmy was devastated by Chuck's revelation that he greatly resented his brother and believed him to be completely unfit to be a lawyer, which led to Chuck preventing Jimmy from being hired by HHM, later proceeding to create a majority of the obstacles Jimmy faces early on in his career, beginning Jimmy's rivalry with Howard, and causing Chuck to become unintentionally largely responsible for turning Jimmy into the criminally-inclined lawyer that he later becomes.
Jimmy is successful at exposing Chuck's resentment of him in court along with suggesting that he might have a mental illness, though is suspended from practice law for a year after Jimmy fabricated Mesa Verde Bank and Trust documents. During his suspension from practicing law, Jimmy worked as a cell phone salesman at CC Mobile, where he began to use the nickname "Saul Goodman" again. Jimmy initially used it as an alias while performing scams alongside his close friend Marco Pasternak, and later makes use of it as the alternate identity for the high-energy pitchman in television ads he produced with his film crew at Saul Goodman Productions, and when he began a business reselling prepaid cell phones on the street. Jimmy then decided to practice law under this name, believing the McGill name was buried and not wanting to be seen as "Chuck's loser brother". During the period of his law license suspension, Jimmy's side business caused him to inadvertently become involved in the Albuquerque drug business as an associate of Mike Ehrmantraut and a legal representative for Lalo Salamanca, with Jimmy subsequently receiving a lot more criminals seeking his services as a result of him being Lalo's lawyer.
Jimmy and Kim got married in 2004, with Kim also becoming Jimmy's confidant to gain spousal privilege. Despite Jimmy and Kim's unconditional love for each other, Kim left him and Albuquerque after one of their schemes goes horribly wrong, stating that they are bad for everyone around them, with the couple divorcing later that year. Following Kim's departure, Jimmy began to fully embrace his criminal Saul Goodman persona as a coping mechanism, fully immersing himself in his work and criminal activity. Saul became a local celebrity in Albuquerque through his flamboyant advertisements for his services on television through commercials, and began to maintain extensive connections within the criminal underworld, serving as a go-between connecting drug distributors and other criminals-for-hire. He was also reluctant to be associated with violence or murder unless absolutely necessary. In 2010, after his association with Walter White's drug empire was revealed to the public, Saul was forced to retire from his law career, going into hiding in Omaha for several months, living as a fugitive under the alias of "Gene Takavic", a manager of a Cinnabon in Omaha. He was eventually caught by the authorities and imprisoned for 86 years in a federal prison after finally accepting himself as Jimmy McGill, and began enjoying notoriety among his fellow inmates for his past life as Saul.
Born in Cicero, Illinois, Jimmy is the younger brother of Chuck. While his older brother became a successful lawyer as one of the name partners at HHM, Jimmy stayed in Cicero and made his living as a con artist alongside Marco, with Jimmy earning the nickname "Slippin' Jimmy" for staging "slip and fall" accidents to make quick cash. He also used the "Saul Goodman" alias for the first time during his scams with Marco. After defecting through a guy's sunroof, Jimmy eventually ran into trouble with the police and Chuck returned to help, but only on the condition that Jimmy move to Albuquerque and work a legitimate job in HHM's mailroom. There, Jimmy befriended and later began dating Kim Wexler, an HHM employee who is attending law school. Inspired by her success, Jimmy completed his own college degree and attended a correspondence law school. He passed the bar exam and hoped to be hired at HHM, but at Chuck's secret instigation, he was denied the opportunity by senior partner Howard, who would become Jimmy's nemesis. Jimmy then launched a solo practice in the utility room of a Vietnamese nail salon, often taking low-paying work as a public defender. In 2003, Jimmy was suspended from practicing law for one year due to his older brother Chuck, who frequently thought that Jimmy was completely unfit to be a lawyer, secretly recording a conversation on a tape in which Jimmy admitted to fabricating Mesa Verde documents. Chuck would later commit suicide by setting fire to his house after he was forced to retire from HHM early, and after his bitter resentment towards Jimmy was exposed in court during Jimmy's bar hearing.
In 2004, following Chuck's death, Jimmy decides to not practice under his own name anymore, believing Jimmy to always be seen as "Chuck's loser brother". He begins to use the alias "Saul Goodman", a play on the phrase "(It)'s all good, man". He initially uses it as the alternate identity for the high-energy pitchman in TV ads, and later when he begins a business reselling prepaid cell phones on the street. Through Nacho Varga and Lalo Salamanca, Jimmy became a "friend of the Cartel', becoming increasingly involved in the criminal underworld. Jimmy and Kim also begin plotting against Howard, after Kim proposes to Jimmy that they do so so that they obtain Jimmy's share of the multi-million dollar settlement from the Sandpiper Crossing lawsuit sooner by gaslighting Howard at a mediation hearing to force an early settlement. Jimmy and Kim's elaborate sabotage plan succeeds, Howard is humiliated in front of his clients and peers, and the Sandpiper case is settled at a price lower than originally hoped for by the plaintiff's legal counsel. Howard, facing personal ruin as a result of the embarrassing fiasco, pieces together the whole plot and arrives seemingly inebriated at Kim's apartment to confront her and Jimmy. Lalo arrives soon afterwards, intending to interrogate Jimmy and Kim. Howard disregards Jimmy and Kim's panicked entreaties to leave immediately, and Lalo casually kills Howard with a gunshot to the head, to the utter horror of Kim and Jimmy. Lalo gives Jimmy the description of a man and instructs him to drive to his house and shoot him; Jimmy convinces Lalo to send Kim instead, as a ploy to get her away from Lalo. Jimmy is restrained and gagged by Lalo, who leaves the house in Jimmy's car and is later killed by Gustavo Fring during a gunfight with him. Mike and his men arrive at the apartment and free Jimmy. Kim is reunited with him the following morning, and Howard's death is staged as a suicide by Mike and his men.
Despite Jimmyās want to move past the experience, Kim eventually decides to quit being a lawyer, divorce Jimmy and leave town, believing that as long as they stay together, more and more despair will happen. Because of this, Jimmy decides to fully embrace his āSaul Goodmanā identity, believing that he now has nothing left to lose. In 2008, Saul becomes the lawyer and personal advisor for meth cooks Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, getting them out of several difficult situations. He arranges for Walt to launder drug money through Walter Jr.'s website and dispatches Mike to coach Jesse and dispose of any incriminating evidence in his apartment after his girlfriend, Jane Margolis, dies of an overdose. Saul becomes a trusted consigliere in Walt's meth operation, helping launder drug money for Walt and, later, his wife Skyler. Saul expands Walt's profits by arranging for the latter to supply crystal meth in bulk to Albuquerque drug dealers via Mike, who was himself a consigliere to local kingpin Gus. Saul was an indispensable part of Walt's empire, keeping Walt out of jail, helping Walt to launder his money, lying and conspiring with him, and making millions of dollars. However, Walt's secrets are eventually discovered by his brother-in-law, DEA agent Hank Schrader, and despite attempts to protect him from arrest and Jesse's wrath after he discovered Walt's poisoning of Brock Cantillo, Saul is forced to abandon his life as a criminal lawyer.
With the help of the criminal extractor Ed Galbraith, Saul flees to Omaha, Nebraska, and begins a new life as "Gene Takavic", the manager of a Cinnabon restaurant. He spent years afterward living in constant fear of exposure and arrest, as well as regret over losing his past life, while being paranoid that someone from his past might identify him. When Jeff identified Gene as Saul, Gene fixed this problem by getting Jeff to commit a crime in return for Jeff not bothering him again. Energized by the con's success, Gene begins to enjoy his life more than he did before. However, this enjoyment is quickly ruined by the revelation that all of his hidden assets have been seized by the DEA who continue to hunt for him, causing Gene to return to a life of crime in order to make more money with the help of Jeff and Buddy. However, Gene's new life would eventually be exposed when Jeff was arrested while Gene was robbing a mark's house. Jeff's mother Marion ended up deducing Gene's true identity from old Saul Goodman commercials online, and reporting him to the police, forcing Jimmy to abandon his life as Gene and attempt to go on the run once again. Jimmy was quickly caught and charged with numerous felonies. After initally negotiating a plea deal for only seven and a half years in prison, he comes clean about his role in Walt's drug empire and his role in the deaths of his brother and Howard. He was imprisoned for 86 years in a federal prison, but after finally accepting himself as Jimmy McGill and atoning for his role in the deaths of Chuck, Howard, and others.Quick Answers
What is Jimmy McGill's professional alias?
Where is Jimmy McGill serving his sentence?
Where is Jimmy McGill originally from?
Where did Jimmy McGill work as a lawyer?
Where did Jimmy McGill reside as a fugitive?
History
Background and early life
James Morgan McGill was born on November 12, 1960, to Ruth and Charles McGill Sr in Cicero, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. He had one older brother, Charles "Chuck" McGill Jr. Charles Senior owned a small Corner Store in the town, but was also naive. As a young boy Jimmy worked in the store and watched as scam artists repeatedly exploited his father's good nature and fleeced him for money.
Jimmy was working at the counter one day when a scammer entered the store under pretences that his car had broken down, and asked for money by playing on Charles Senior's sympathies. However, Jimmy realised instantly that the man was a con-artist and called him out. Impressed by Jimmy's vigilance, the scammer offered him a few words of advice: "there are wolves and sheep in this world kid, wolves and sheep. Figure out which one you're going to be" ("Inflatable",Ā "Slip"). Immediately after, Jimmy began to embezzle money from the store's cash machine. In addition to stealing bank notes, Jimmy also took rare coins from the register, which he stashed in a box hidden within a ceiling panel. He would eventually use said coins for scams of his own.
Teenage and early adult life in Cicero
Years later, Chuck was working as a legal clerk when his father requested help with the store's accounts. Upon reviewing the books, Chuck discovered that over $14,000 was missing, having been embezzled by Jimmy ("Rebecca",Ā "Chicanery"). Soon after, the store closed, and six months later Charles Senior was dead. Jimmy blamed the store's failure on his father's excessive generosity and trusting nature ("Slip"), but Chuck pinned responsibility on his younger brother. For years, Chuck would secretly loathe Jimmy, seeing him as the cause of their father's death.
In his teenage years, Jimmy began to run his own scams to earn quick money. At high school, he manufactured and sold fake ID cards to his classmates ("Nailed"). His most famous scam was the so-called 'slip-and-fall'. This involved intentionally slipping on patches of ice during Cicero's cold winters and faking injury, thus prompting concerned bystanders to give money. In later years, Jimmy even claimed a single slip and fall had once earned him $8,000 ("Uno"). In 1982, Jimmy staged a fall outside the Marshall Field's department store, but broke his knees after hitting the ground too hard ("Saul Gone"). He soon became renowned in Cicero for such exploits, earning him the nickname "Slippin' Jimmy".
In adult life, Jimmy teamed up with his close friend Marco Pasternak, and together they performed many elaborate scams. One of the duo's most successful schemes involved convincing others to pay large sums of money for fake Rolex watches. In other scams, they also tricked people into buying regular coins which they claimed to be rare and valuable. Jimmy thus spent much of his early adult in Cicero's bars, drinking and scamming unsuspecting people.
In the early 1990s, Jimmy divorced his first wife after she had an affair with a man named Chet, who also happened to owe him money. In 1992, a drunken Jimmy encountered Chet at a local Dairy Queen and decided to perform a "Chicago Sunroof" (the act of defecating through the sunroof of a person's car) as revenge. Unbeknownst to him, however, Chet's children were in the back seat. Even worse, Chet had ties to local prosecutors. Jimmy was quickly brought in by the police on charges of property damage, assault, and a possible sex offense. He was booked and placed in pre-trial detention ("Marco").
By this time, Chuck had become a successful lawyer in Albuquerque, co-founding the prestigious law firm Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill. At the request of his mother, Chuck flew out to Cicero to visit his younger brother in jail. Jimmy begged Chuck to use his legal acuity to make the charges disappear. Chuck, however, was not entirely amenable to the idea. The two brothers had not seen each other for five years, and being abundantly aware of Jimmy's disreputable life as a con-artist, and the potential damage his brother's antics could cause to his reputation, Chuck was initially reluctant to assist him. He eventually agreed on the condition that Jimmy move to Albuquerque and take up a legitimate job in the mailroom of his law firm. Jimmy agreed to this, realising that without Chuck's intervention, his life would be over. With the charges now quashed, Jimmy wished farewell to Marco and moved to Albuqurque ("Nacho"), ("Marco").
Early life in Albuquerque
Jimmy and Chuck returned to Cicero seven years later, when their mother Ruth was in failing health ("Marco"). When she was hospitalized, the brothers sat for three days at her bedside. Eventually, Jimmy decided to step out for some hoagies, only to be devastated when, upon returning to the hospital, Chuck told him Ruth had died. When Jimmy asked if she had said anything before passing, Chuck lied and said she hadn't; in reality, she had briefly awoken and called for Jimmy, and Jimmy would never know the truth ("Klick").
In Albuquerque, Jimmy befriended many people, including Chuck's then-wife Rebecca Bois and Chuck's law partner, Howard Hamlin. Most importantly, he met and began a semi-romantic relationship with Kim Wexler, a co-worker in the HHM mailroom who was attending law school. In 1993, Jimmy is delivering mail at HHM and talks to his co-workers about a betting pool for the Academy Awards he has organized. He crosses paths with Kim, who is also doing mail rounds. Chuck enters the office to a big round of applause, having just won a big inheritance lawsuit using his knowledge of obscure case law. When Chuck approaches the pair, he answers Kim's questions on case law, but is annoyed by Jimmy. After Howard collects Chuck, Kim continues her rounds, and Jimmy walks past HHM's law library. He turns around and steps inside, deciding to become a lawyer like Chuck and Kim. ("PiƱata") To do so, he took a correspondence course from the University of American Samoa. After two failed attempts, Jimmy passed the bar exam himself in 1998.
Early legal career
While Jimmy's friends were delighted by his achievement, Chuck was secretly shocked and disgusted at the thought of his ne'er-do-well brother practicing law. Refusing to view Jimmy as a real lawyer and frustrated that he earned a law degree so easily while Chuck himself had to work hard his entire life to build his own career, Chuck pressured Howard to block his brother from working at HHM. When Howard was forced to deliver the news, Jimmy mistakenly blamed him for the decision ("RICO",Ā "Pimento"). Shortly thereafter, Jimmy quit HHM to become a solo practitioner.
At some point in 2001, Chuck and Rebecca separated, after which Chuck began developing apparent electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS), essentially an adverse physical reaction to electrical devices, which began to make it challenging for Chuck to lead a normal life. To accommodate this, Chuck had all his electronics removed from his house, with Jimmy often helping his brother by doing tasks such as delivering newspapers to him. When Chuck later invited Rebecca over for dinner in an attempt to reconcile with her, he created an elaborate lie with Jimmy's help to explain the lack of power and hide his condition from her. Though the dinner was initially a success, Chuck's behavior betrayed him when Rebecca answered a call on her cell phone, eventually driving him to smack it out her hand. He compounded his mistake by refusing to be honest about his condition and chastising an irate Rebecca over "cell phone etiquette," prompting her to immediately leave in a cab. Shortly after this, the two officially divorced. ("Chicanery") Sometime in Chuck's extended leave, Jimmy delivers groceries to Chuck's house. Chuck expresses interest in hearing about Jimmy's fledgling solo practice; Jimmy clearly finds his clients distasteful, but Chuck tells him that even they deserve a good legal defense. Chuck seemingly wants a genuine conversation with Jimmy, saying that it is not too late for him to change his path, but Jimmy assumes that his brother is criticizing him and rebuffs the attempt. After Jimmy leaves, Chuck, taking his gas lantern and a copy of H.G. Wells' The Time Machine, retreats into his study. ("Saul Gone")
Better Call Saul
Season 1
In 2002, Jimmy works hard at his own law practice but enjoys little success. He mostly works for the court as a public defender for $700 a case, struggles with debt, is forced to sleep in a cramped office located in the back of a Vietnamese nail salon. He also takes care of Chuck. While arriving at and departing from court, Jimmy frequently butts heads with Mike Ehrmantraut, a former Philadelphia police officer who was working as the courthouse parking lot attendant at the time. When Jimmy loses potential clients Craig and Betsy Kettleman - who have been accused of embezzling money from the county treasury - to HHM and fends off an attempted injury scam from Cal and Lars Lindholm, Jimmy decides to return to his shady techniques to level the playing field. He enlists the Lindholm brothers in an attempt to win back Craig and Betsy Kettleman.
The plan backfires, however, when the twins mistakenly target Abuelita, the grandmother of Cartel drug dealer Tuco Salamanca ("Uno"), who kidnaps them along with Jimmy, taking them to the desert. Using his powers of persuasion, Jimmy talks Tuco out of killing the twins, but has to convince him to go for the more "fair" punishment of breaking one leg from each of the twins, since the Lindholms had falsely claimed Tuco's grandmother had broken one of their legs while driving. After Tuco lets the trio go, Jimmy drives the twins to the hospital, where he takes pride from the fact that he got the twins off from a "death sentence" to "six months probation", claiming to be the "best lawyer ever". ("Mijo")
Shortly thereafter, Jimmy receives a visit from Ignacio "Nacho" Varga, one of Tuco's lieutenants. Nacho, who overheard Jimmy's plan to strongarm Craig and Betsy Kettleman into business, wants to steal the money they embezzled and offers Jimmy a "finder's fee" of ten percent in exchange of his help. Jimmy rejects Nacho's offer, claiming he made a mistake and was going to remain straight after his encounter with Tuco. Realizing Nacho is very likely intending violence against Craig and Betsy Kettleman, Jimmy attempts to warn the family. When they disappear, he is brought in by the policeāfirst as a suspect, then as the appointed attorney for Nacho himself, who has been marked as the prime suspect. A furious Nacho threatens Jimmy to correct the situation. Stressed by the encounter, Jimmy inadvertently escalates the matter by getting into a confrontation with Mike over a parking validation dispute, but in the process figures out Craig and Betsy Kettleman staged their own abduction to evade further scrutiny. ("Nacho")
Jimmy tracks down Craig and Betsy Kettleman and persuades them to return home, but accepts a $30,000 payment from them as both a "retainer" and a bribe for keeping quiet about their stolen money. Using this payoff, he stages a publicity stunt by creating a deliberately plagiarized version of HHM's billboard featuring himself made up to resemble Howard. When Howard files an injunction for copyright infringement, Jimmy allows himself to lose, using the incident to garner public support through the media as the "little guy" being pushed around by the corporate HHM. While filming a video about his billboard being forcibly taken down, a worker falls off the platform and dangles by a rope. While cameras are rolling, Jimmy climbs up to the platform and "rescues" the worker, who is revealed to be in on Jimmy's stunt. Jimmy appears heroic and gets the media exposure that he was aiming for. ("Hero").
After several abortive consultations, Jimmy enjoys some small successes with some elderly clients, leading Kim to suggest he consider practicing elder law. However, Jimmy receives an urgent call from Howard, informing him that Chuck had an altercation with the police and has been hospitalized. Rushing to the hospital, Jimmy fends off doctors, security, and Howard himself in order to bring his brother home. At Chuck's house, Jimmy sees a copy of the Albuquerque Journal he had hid from Chuck, which included an article about the billboard stunt on the front page. Realizing his culpability in Chuck's mental collapse, Jimmy explains his actions as a "little bit of razzmatazz" and reassures Chuck that as he now has clients, the incident will not be repeated. ("Alpine Shepherd Boy").
Deciding to go into elder law, Jimmy redesigns his image and dons a suit similar to Andy Griffith's on Matlock. He begins volunteering at retirement homes, where he helps pass out meals (which are stamped with his contact information and ads), hosts bingo games, and slowly builds a growing client base ("Bingo"). When he visits the Sandpiper Crossing retirement home, he learns that the workers are grossly overcharging the residents. He searches Sandpiper's dumpsters and collects shredded documents as evidence, which he painstakingly puts back together with the help of Chuck, who was at first reluctant to help Jimmy after the latter's underhanded tactics. Chuck soon becomes more invested in the case, staying up all night reconstructing the documents and finding evidence against Sandpiper. After waking up and seeing his brother hard at work Jimmy asks if they are officially working together on the case as lawyers which Chuck offers to do. The joyful Jimmy hugs Chuck, feeling professionally respected by him. While researching old cases for relevant information, Chuck even lets Jimmy use his old code to authorize Kim to print the cases. ("RICO"). Chuck agrees that Jimmy has built a strong case against Sandpiper but tells him to take the case to HHM, since they have more resources; Jimmy reluctantly agrees. On the night before the brothers are to head to deliver the case to HHM, Chuck secretly goes outside and uses Jimmy's phone to call Howard.
During the meeting, Howard agrees to take the case and pay Jimmy 20% of the common fund share of the final settlement, plus twenty thousand dollars as a "consulting fee" for the work he has already spent building the case against Sandpiper, which Jimmy happily agrees too. However, when Jimmy suggests working for HMM on the case Howard flatly refuses to hire Jimmy. Not even given a reason as too why he was not hired for a multi-million dollar case he brought to HHM in a silver plater, Jimmy angrily turns down the deal and leaves. After seeing Kim, who urges him to take the deal, Jimmy confronts Chuck after realizing that his cell phone's battery had been drained when his brother used it to call Howard. Chuck confesses that it was he, not Howard, who blocked his career at HHM, telling Jimmy that he never considered him a real lawyer. Heartbroken, Jimmy storms out of the house, telling Chuck that he will not provide for him anymore. ("Pimento") Jimmy accepts HHM's previous deal and hands over the Sandpiper case, apologizing to Howard and giving him the responsibility for caring for Chuck.
While hosting a bingo game at a nursing home, Jimmy suffers an emotional breakdown and recollects the "Chicago Sunroof" incident before walking away in disgust. He travels back to Cicero and reconnects with Marco. Together, they start doing scams again. After a whole week, Jimmy says that he has to return to his clients, but Marco insists that they do one last scam together. Sadly, Marco dies of a heart attack in Jimmy's arms. At his funeral, Jimmy is given Marco's old ring by his mother.
Jimmy receives a phone call from Kim telling him that Davis & Main, a law firm in Santa Fe, wants to hire him as a representative in the Sandpiper case. Back in Albuquerque, he goes to the meeting but declines the position. He then talks to Mike at his booth, wondering why they gave back Craig and Betsy Kettleman' money. As Mike states that he was hired to do a job and simply did it, Jimmy declares that he knows what stopped him and swears that "it's never stopping me again." He drives off while humming "Smoke on the Water," as Marco did during their scam sprees together. ("Marco",Ā "Switch")
Season 2
Jimmy openly agitates his landlady, Mrs. Nguyen, and tears down his door sign. He rents a room at a luxury hotel and begins running scams on the other guests. When confronted by Kim over his new lifestyle, Jimmy persuades her to try it out. Stunned at first, she is amused when Jimmy successfully puts the move on Ken, a loudmouthed broker. One thing leads to another, and the two spend the night together. The morning after, however, Kim admonishes Jimmy to return to reality, refusing to participate in further scams. Eventually, Jimmy decides to follow her advice, and returns to Davis & Main to accept their job offer. ("Switch")
Jimmy adjusts quickly to his new status and perks at D&M, including a private office (with a cocobolo desk), company car, and personal assistant named Omar. He also hits it off well with his new boss, Clifford Main, and considers establishing a live-in relationship with Kim. However, Chuck, having returned to work at HHM, attends the Sandpiper briefingsā officially in his capacity as senior partner, but in reality to intimidate Jimmy. A further complication arises when Mike enlists Jimmy to represent his employer Daniel Wormald, who has implicated himself in a drug deal. Jimmy successfully gets Daniel off, but is forced to fabricate evidence of a pie fetish video to do so. When he lets the story slip to Kim, she furiously chastises him. ("Cobbler")
Jimmy embarks on a dubious recruitment campaign for the Sandpiper suit, convinced that the company is blocking traditional methods of contact with his prospects. His plan to engage a busload of Sandpiper residents is largely successful, but attracts undue attention from Chuck, Kim, and the other partners. Jimmy then proposes a TV commercial; specially timed to reach prospects during daytime hoursāa point of access Sandpiper cannot block. While Cliff is open to the idea, seeing a previous ad run by D&M convinces Jimmy that the firm will never agree to the style or time of broadcast he needs.
Taking what he feels is the initiative, Jimmy compiles a video crew comprised of UNM students to film and air his own commercial advertising the Sandpiper suit. While a major windfall for the firm, the act immediately draws the ire of Cliff and his partners. ("Amarillo") Jimmy tries to soothe the waters with them, but is reprimanded for his actions. To his shock and disgust, he learns that Kim has also come under fire at HHM for allegedly approving of the tape, but in truth, for her association with him. She becomes furious with Jimmy, and refuses any offers of help in restoring her good graces with HHM. Jimmy confronts Chuck over Kim's demerit, only for Chuck to rebuff him, refusing even his offer of full responsibility for the incident. ("Gloves Off")
Jimmy's frustrations continue to mount at D&M after he is "paired" with legal assistant Erin Brill for help in the Sandpiper caseā in truth, she has been assigned to monitor Jimmy and force him to adhere to D&M policy. Immediately chafing under Erin's constant prodding and corrections, Jimmy dodges her as soon as he can so that he can present Kim his latest offer: a letter of legal action against HHM for mistreatment. Kim steadfastly refuses, resolving to save herself. Jimmy begins to question his decision to take his position at D&M, as Erin continues to hamper his progress in court and at the clerk's office. Seeing his old colleagues talking about the recent changes only serve to fuel the dilemma. ("Rebecca")
D&M replaces Jimmy's original ad for a more sanitized one to be played during ineffective air times. Beginning to become fed up with D&M's enslavement to policy over productivity, he begins preparations for departure and begins sleeping in his old office at the nail salon, which he still has kept under lease. Jimmy mends fences with Kim after she is tempted into another con game at the hotel. ("Bali Ha'i")
At the courthouse, Jimmy accompanies Mike as the latter gives an amended statement to the D.A. regarding his scuffle with Tuco Salamanca. Later, as Jimmy prepares his letter of resignation for D&M, Omar informs him that resigning or being fired for cause will result in a forfeit of his bonus. Thus, Jimmy decides to go for the outlandish track by dressing in gaudy suits, making horrible messes in the office, and becoming such a general nuisance to his co-workers that Cliff proceeds to fire him without cause, thus allowing Jimmy to keep his bonus. ("Inflatable")
Now that he's no longer with D&M, Jimmy proposes Wexler McGill - a joint partnership with Kim, sharing all expenses and costs, as well as profits. Kim is intrigued, but initially disagreesā she is not prepared to risk her career with Jimmy being the kind of lawyer he is. She does, however, offer a counter proposal: she will start a solo practice for herself and share an office with him. Jimmy is intrigued, but advises Kim to hang on to her new client, Mesa Verde Bank and Trust, knowing that HHM will attempt to keep them as soon as they realize Kim is resigning. Kim is hesitant at first, but upon overhearing Howard contacting Mesa Verde after delivering her resignation letter, quickly takes steps to retain Mesa Verde's services for herself. Meanwhile, Jimmy procures an old dentist's office for renovation into the joint venture. He begins producing his own personal ad, enlisting the aid of his former college video crew and some of his elder clients.
When Chuck and Howard outmaneuver Kim to retain Mesa Verde for themselves, an outraged Jimmy springs into action. Sneaking into Chuck's house under the cover of family ties, Jimmy carefully removes documents containing the address of Mesa Verde's proposed site for a new branch: 1261 Rosella Drive, Scottsdale, Arizona. He takes the records to a nearby copy shop, where he creates doctored copies with the street number transposed into 1216. He then substitutes the altered papers into in the Mesa Verde case work. Patiently waiting for Chuck to wake up, Jimmy confronts and chastises him over stealing Kim's laurels. Chuck brushes Jimmy off, not wanting to fight again, but in so doing, fails to truly question Jimmy's presence in his home. ("Fifi")
After waiting for Chuck to complete his legal preparation prior to the Mesa Verde hearing, Jimmy quietly restores the original documents after his brother departs to present the permit request. Jimmy's plan works perfectlyāChuck and HHM are caught in a massive clerical fiasco at the hearing, and Mesa Verde returns to Kim. However, Chuck deduces exactly what Jimmy has done and openly accuses him when Jimmy and Kim come to pick up the files. Kim defends Jimmy, criticizing Chuck for his cold and judgmental treatment of his brother. Once out of the house, however, Kim makes it clear that she knows Chuck was telling the truth. Later that evening, Kim strongly hints to Jimmy that he had best thoroughly cover his tracks. Quickly proceeding to the copy shop, Jimmy cuts a deal with the clerk to eliminate all evidence of his presence there from the other nightā but not before Ernesto has questioned the clerk on Chuck's behalf. Hoping the clerk is capable of carrying out the cover-up, Jimmy watches as Chuck himself arrives and begins grilling the clerk about Jimmy's activities at the copy shop. Jimmy watches with pride as the clerk lives up to his word and adamantly denies having seen Jimmy, even in the face of Ernesto's statements. To his horror, however, Jimmy watches as Chuck has another spell, passing out and cracking his skull on the counter in the process. ("Nailed")
Choosing his brother's safety over his deniability, Jimmy rushes Chuck back to the hospital, where he anxiously sits in the waiting room, awaiting word. Once he hears that Chuck has stabilized, Jimmy goes to see his brother, who immediately calls Jimmy out on his proximity to the shop during his accident. However, Ernesto comes to Jimmy's aid, claiming that he called Jimmy before Chuck left the house to question the store clerk. A furious Chuck tells them both to get out. In the hall, Jimmy asks Ernesto why he lied on his behalf. Ernesto replies that Jimmy is his friend, and Chuck's vendetta against him is upsetting. Jimmy thanks his friend, who only will say that he simply misses being back in the mail room, before walking away.
Convinced against his better judgement to submit Chuck to a temporary emergency guardianship order, followed by a CAT scan and workup, Jimmy sits with Kim, worried about the obvious chilling effect the Mesa Verde incident is having on their relationship. When Jimmy's new ad airs on the television, he barely notices. Kim, however, is amazed that he was able to film such a professional-looking ad on a shoestring budget. With some of his confidence back, Jimmy turns to face the newly arrived results: Chuck is not permanently injured but is in a state of self-induced catatonia from the perceived "trauma" of the CAT scan. In frustration, Jimmy sits down by Chuck's bedside and angrily pronounces he is not moving until Chuck wakes up. When Chuck eventually does so, and mockingly asks Jimmy if his next move is to the asylum, Jimmy simply tells Chuck he is taking him back home. After doing just that, Jimmy is assured by Chuck that he will be fine.
Later on, Jimmy begins his first consultations at the new Wexler McGill office, now finished and ready for business. Without warning, he is called by an irate Howard, who tells him Chuck has quit HHM and demands an explanation. Returning to Chuck's house, Jimmy is shocked to see his brother covering the walls in "space blanket" linings and insulation, and when he questions Chuck about it, Chuck calmly explains that he believes his "sensitivity" has become unmanageable and he cannot even remain indoors without protection. When Chuck breaks down and begins crying over his "failure" with Mesa Verde, Jimmy has a crisis of conscience, and he confesses his complicity in the incident. Chuck is stunned and tells Jimmy he has just admitted to a felony. Jimmy retorts that it was to make Chuck feel better, and it would be merely one's word against the other. Jimmy leaves to phone Howard and reassure him that Chuck will not be quitting HHM, not seeing the tape recorder Chuck has concealed under a stack of foil. ("Klick")
Season 3
Confident that he has restored his brother's confidence, Jimmy begins helping Chuck to take down the space blanket wallpaper. He reminisces upon finding an old book he and his brother used to read, and Chuck seems to respond jokingly enough, but eventually, he stops Jimmy in mid-sentence and delivers an ominous warning: he will not forget what Jimmy has done, and he will see that Jimmy pays a price. Further hints of trouble await Jimmy at his office upon his return: Captain Bauer from the airbase has learned of Jimmy's ad and is furious. Trying to defuse a heated argument, Jimmy attempts to reason with Bauer, until his own anger builds, and he coldly advises the captain to let the matter go, resulting in Bauer storming out while making a violent public scene. ("Mabel")
While Jimmy and Kim work on hiring a new paralegal, Mike calls Jimmy and has him watch the man Mike tailed as he has breakfast in the restaurant. Jimmy notices nothing unusual and reports back to Mike as Gus Fring watches the two from a distance. Ernesto approaches Wexler-McGill but decides against entering and speaks to Kim in the parking lot about the tape. Kim relays this information to Jimmy, and she takes Jimmy on as her legal client, advising him that the tape is no legal threat to him. Jimmy suppresses his feelings of anger and betrayal in front of Kim, but later drives to Chuck's house, breaks in, berates him, and destroys the tape. However, this more or less happens all according to Chuck's plan, as he only used the tape as bait, and Howard and the private investigator are present to witness Jimmy's break-in. ("Witness")
Jimmy is arrested and jailed following a few harsh but hesitant words with Chuck and chooses to represent himself in court (against Kim's wishes), pleads not guilty and posts bail. Jimmy later explains what happened during his break-in and tells Kim to focus on Mesa Verde while he works his own legal battle, to which she flatly agrees. The prosecutor in Jimmy's case, Assistant District Attorney Hay, meets with Chuck and tells him that she doesn't plan to let Jimmy off easy. Chuck wishes to seek a "better solution for everyone." Jimmy talks with Kim outside of Wexler-McGill and informs her that he can avoid jail time but will have to confess to his felony break-in and submit his confession to the New Mexico Bar Association, which will likely result in disbarment. Kim convinces Jimmy to let her help him fight Chuck's plot. ("Sunk Costs")
Jimmy hires Mike to pose as a handyman, and Mike uses the repair of Chuck's door as cover to photograph the interior of Chuck's house in order to document the bizarre living conditions. Jimmy, Kim, Hamlin, Chuck, and ADA Hay meet in order to finalize Jimmy's confession, with Jimmy agreeing to have his confession reviewed by the New Mexico Bar Association. After the meeting, Kim confronts Chuck, telling him that she suspects he has a copy of the tape. Chuck confirms her suspicions and states that he plans to submit the tape as evidence in Jimmy's disciplinary hearing. Kim then relays the information to Jimmy, revealing that having Chuck admit the existence of the second tape was all according to their plan. ("Sabrosito")
Both sides gear up for Jimmyās hearing in front of the New Mexico Bar Association after Jimmy meets with veterinarian Caldera to acquire the services of "someone with a light touch." At the hearing, things do not seem to go well for Jimmy as the tape is played before the committee. Rebecca enters the courtroom, much to Chuckās surprise, though he believes it's some ploy by Jimmy to throw him off balance. Later, Jimmy cross-examines Chuck about the circumstances of the recording, Rebeccaās presence, and his illness. Though Chuck remains calm throughout most of it, Jimmy reveals that Chuck had been carrying a fully charged cell phone battery planted by Huell for the entire hearing, contradicting the EHS symptoms Chuck claimed to have and suggesting he has a mental illness. This triggers a sudden and acidic tirade from Chuck as he vents all of his frustrations about Jimmy and how he never should have tried to help him. Chuck realizes, too late, that his outburst has shocked the entire courtroom, including the committee. ("Chicanery")
Jimmy is given only a year's suspension in the aftermath of his legal battle with Chuck. Afterwards, while he and Kim celebrate, Rebecca asks Jimmy to help with Chuck, who has shuttered himself in his home, but Jimmy refuses, no longer calling Chuck his brother. Jimmy must figure out how to recoup money spent on his remaining television commercial slots. With the help of his college film crew, he uses a loophole in his contract to sell the slots via a new series of commercials, in which Jimmy poses as a character named Saul Goodman. ("Off Brand")
Jimmy tries to fulfill his court-mandated community service while also trying to sell his commercials, but can't convince anybody to sign on for more than one or two spots, and more often, none at all. Cash in hand from the few spots Jimmy does secure rapidly nets deeper and deeper losses, but Jimmy papers over this careening towards poverty by bravely giving his film crew and Kim Wexler the very last of his money and insisting he is not maxing out his credit cards or emptying out his personal bank account. Finally, in a parking lot after yet another net-loss, Jimmy collapses on the ground and stays there, clearly exhausted, nearly penniless, and extremely depressed. While Kim was having a dinner with Jimmy, she wonders whether they did the right thing, and Jimmy replies what happened to Chuck was his own fault and that she should forget about him. Jimmy meets with an insurance agent to try and get a refund on his malpractice insurance policy. However, the agent is unable to grant the refund and mentions that due to his suspension, Jimmy's future premiums will rise by 150%. Jimmy is visibly shaken by this news and starts to cry. When the agent reacts sympathetically to his emotional breakdown, Jimmy seizes the opportunity to "accidentally" mention Chuck's mental illness before leaving, knowing that the insurance company will be forced to act on the information. ("Expenses")
Jimmy's guitar store clients become suspicious of his motives and refuse to pay him for their commercial spot. Jimmy stages a "slip and fall" con, intentionally slipping on a drumstick and injuring himself in the process. Kim returns to the office to find Jimmy lying on the floor, with his half of the rent, indicating he used the "slip and fall" to coerce the guitar shop into paying him off. Despite Jimmy's assurances, Kim still expresses doubts about Jimmy's ability to pay and considers taking on another client. Jimmy later is able to make $700 during his community service, helping a drug dealer "see his sick child" by threatening the supervisor with legal action. ("Slip")
Jimmy talks with the Sandpiper class action representative Irene to get an update on the Sandpiper case and realizes that Sandpiper has already offered a settlement deal which if D&M and HHM accept, would give Jimmy over $1 million as his share of the settlement. Jimmy tries to convince Howard to accept the settlement, but Howard sees through Jimmy's motivations and refuses. In order to secure the Sandpiper settlement, Jimmy pulls a series of cons and social manipulations to trick Irene into thinking that holding out on the Sandpiper settlement is against the interests of her fellow elderly clients and she moves to accept it, giving Jimmy his much-needed fee. He returns to the office to give the good news to Kim. ("Fall")
Jimmy, feeling partly responsible for Kim's exhaustion and resulting car accident, finally agrees to break their office lease and have Kim work out of her own home to save costs. Jimmy meanwhile tries to make amends with Chuck, but Chuck coldly cuts ties. Jimmy then tries to mend relations between Irene and her friends but is unable to since Irene's friends remain suspicious of her. He finally outs himself as crooked in front of his elderly clients, which both vindicates Irene and cancels the Sandpiper settlement. After insulting Jimmy and forcing him away, Chuck commits suicide by pushing a gas lantern off a table and onto a pile of newspapers, leaving Jimmy as the sole living member of his family. ("Lantern")
Season 4
Jimmy learns about Chuck's death, racing to the house with Kim in time to see the coroners removing his brother's body from the fire-gutted house. Chuck's death sends Jimmy into a depressive mood, unable to even approve the obituary written by Howard. At the funeral, Jimmy is given condolences by Chuck's partners and co-workers. Arriving home with Kim, they find Howard outside who reveals that he believed Chuck committed suicide. Howard blames himself for trying to force Chuck out of Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill. Even though he is responsible for revealing his brother's mental illness to the insurance company and igniting the feud between Chuck and Howard, Jimmy is satisfied that no one knows of his role and with someone else to take the blame, he happily tells Howard that it is his "cross to bear," stunning Howard and Kim. ("Smoke")
Jimmy approaches Mike with an offer to break into Neff Copiers to replace Mr. Neff's valuable Hummel figurine with a copy and then split the proceeds. Mike turns him down and offers condolences over Chuck's death. Jimmy then goes to see Caldera and is told that their contact is also not interested in the job. Angrily, Jimmy takes the phone and breaks protocol but manages to set up a meeting. His contact, Ira, breaks into Neff Copiers to steal the figure, but finds Mr. Neff living in the office. Hiding under the desk, Jimmy creates a distraction outside the store in order for Ira to complete the theft. At home the next morning, Kim gives Jimmy documents from a meeting with Howard, including a release stating that he will not contest the $5,000 inheritance, and a letter from Chuck. Jimmy reads the letter, in which Chuck expresses his approval about Jimmy turning his life around. Jimmy is apparently unaffected by the contents of the letter. ("Something Beautiful")
Jimmy is offered a job as a shift supervisor at CC Mobile, but he turns it down. After Kim gives him the contact information of a therapist, Jimmy lies that he took the job. When she leaves, Jimmy calls CC Mobile back to accept the position. Jimmy's new job is boring because of a lack of customers and is told that he can't transfer to another store because of a lack of positions. Jimmy goes to meet Ira to collect his proceeds from the Hummel figurine sale and is surprised that it is more than he expected. Ira tells him to contact him again using a new phone if he has another job. Jimmy becomes inspired and returns to CC Mobile where he starts an advertising campaign by painting "IS THE MAN LISTENING? PRIVACY SOLD HERE" on the store windows. ("Talk")
Despite his new business idea, Jimmy struggles to increase trade at CC Mobile until the owner of a contracting business arrives. Asking if what Jimmy is offering will protect him from the IRS, the customer buys a large amount of drop phones to communicate without being eavesdropped on or even tracked. After trying to spend time with Kim that evening, Jimmy goes back to CC Mobile and takes a stack of phones with him. After trying to sell to three youths who call him a "narc," Jimmy then manages to sell the stack of phones to unsavory characters at the Dog House. Heading home, he is mugged and beaten by the three youths who steal all the money he made. Kim helps him tend to his wounds at home, and Jimmy finally agrees to see a therapist. The next day, Jimmy removes the advertising sign from the front of CC Mobile. At the courthouse during his PPD check-in, Jimmy lies about associating with criminals and then decides that he will get his law license back and be a damn good lawyer. ("Quite a Ride")
Jimmy begins dreaming about reviving Wexler McGill, and admits to Kim that he is not going to see a therapist because he wants to move forward. Kim reluctantly accepts the decision. Jimmy heads to the Forque Kitchen and Bar for dinner with Kim, where she tells him that she has been hired at the head of Schweikart & Cokely's banking division. Jimmy wants to practice criminal law and reform Wexler McGill, but Kim's plans do not coincide with Jimmy's. Although Jimmy realizes his dreams have been dashed, he wishes Kim well with her career. Jimmy goes to HHM to collect the $5,000 inheritance. Jimmy learns HHM is going through a bad spell and admonishes Howard for wallowing and not fighting. Howard retorts with a "fuck you," and Jimmy tells him to use that rage to his advantage. Later, Jimmy takes deliver of a new set of phones at Day Spa and Nail, and has to bribe Mrs. Nguyen with one so he can keep them in the back room. At night, Jimmy finds the three youths who mugged him and offers to cut them in on his business in return for leaving him alone. Instead, they threaten him with a switchblade, causing Jimmy to run. The youths give chase but find themselves in a trap where they are captured and hung up in a piƱata store. Two masked men, one of whom is Huell Babineaux, bust the piƱatas while Jimmy warns them about ripping him off again. Suitably terrified, Jimmy tells them they have had their warning and leaves them hanging. ("PiƱata")
Over the course of several months, Jimmy continues to use his "Saul Goodman" alias to sell burner phones to Albuquerque's criminals while at the same time continuing his PPD. Jimmy tours a potential office site with Huell, laying out how each room would be used when his law license is reinstated. Jimmy is invited to a party with Kim at S&C where he takes over and becomes the life of the party. Kim and Richard appear to be uncomfortable, and it causes tension between Jimmy and Kim on the drive home. While selling phones, Jimmy is approached by a plainclothes cop, Platt. Platt has a Saul Goodman card he took from a drug dealer he busted and tells Jimmy to sell is phones to a different clientele elsewhere. Jimmy refuses, and the argument is broken up by Huell who knocks Platt over with a shopping bag. Huell is arrested and Jimmy tries to bargain his freedom for moving his business elsewhere. Platt refuses and arrests Huell. Charged with assault, Huell is facing two and half years in prison and threatens to skip bail. Jimmy talks him out of it and finds out that Platt is an alcoholic. He asks Jimmy to engineer Platt's drunken breakdown in court in order to get the case dismissed. Kim is disturbed that Jimmy has been selling phones to criminals and agrees to look into Huell's case although he refuses to ruin Platt. ("Something Stupid")
Jimmy heads to Huell's hometown of Coushatta by bus, writing postcards in different handwriting and pens and even getting other other passengers to write messages. In Coushatta, Jimmy posts the messages and then gets on the bus back home. The letters are part of a plan to help Huell, since they all demand his release. Judge Munsinger demands the case be settled without a circus. When the prosecutor starts calling the letter writers, Jimmy sets up an elaborate con where he and members of a film crew pose as people Huell knew which convinces her that the letter-writing campaign is genuine. She begins negotiating with Kim. Jimmy and Kim reconcile and the next morning Kim compliments him on his genius idea with the phones, while Jimmy tells her that it was her idea in the first place. Their plan ends with Huell serving only four months' probation. Jimmy is surprised when Kim tells him that she wants to undertake similar schemes. ("Coushatta")
In Lubbock, Texas, Jimmy and Kim work a scam on the Department of Building Safety that results in them tricking the state into giving Mesa Verde a larger branch. Jimmy is planning for the future reinstatement of his law license, and intends to use the customers from his burner phone business as his new clients. The committee ultimately decides not to reinstate his license due to a lack of sincerity, causing Jimmy to fly into a rage. Talking with Kim, she realizes that the reason the committee ruled against him was because he did not mention Chuck ā the victim of the crime that led to his suspension ā once during the hearing. Jimmy is angry that he is expected to be sympathetic. Jimmy and Kim argue, with Jimmy later apologizing and admitting he messed up. Kim asks him if he still wants to be a lawyer. When Jimmy answers yes, she says they will start with that. ("Wiedersehen")
As part of a scheme to seem sincere about Chuck's death, Jimmy makes a point of openly grieving at Chuck's grave on the one-year anniversary of his death. Howard dedicates a new law library at HHM in Chuck's name; the film crew hired by Jimmy and Kim spreads the rumor that Jimmy anonymously donated the money for the library. Jimmy is given an appeal hearing to reinstate his law license, and at Kim's suggestion reads the letter that Chuck left him. However, Jimmy senses that it will not work and tells a story about how Chuck influenced him to become a lawyer. Jimmy's speech moves Kim and some of the committee members to tears. Jimmy's law license is returned, but Kim is shocked to learn that Jimmy did not mean one word from the speech and meant it to sway the members of the committee into reinstating his license. Jimmy also reveals that he has no intention to practice law under his own name, and requests legal accreditation for a new identity to the clerk who asks him to sign some paperwork. When Kim asks what he is trying to do, Jimmy replies, "S'all good, man!" ("Winner")
Season 5
Jimmy officially changes his name to Saul Goodman and holds an event to advertise his new business. However, Kim is less than pleased when Jimmy offers her advice to scam one of her clients into accepting a deal, though she eventually goes through with it. ("Magic Man")
Nacho and Blingy drive Jimmy to a garage where Lalo is repairing his car. Lalo warmly greets a fearful Jimmy and states that he is impressed with how Jimmy used his communication skills to talk Tuco out of killing the skateboarders a few years previously. Lalo tells Jimmy that he wants him to carry a message to Domigo "Krazy-8" Molina inside the Metropolitan Detention Center, which would be protected under attorney-client privilege. Jimmy tries to talk himself out of the imposed job by mentioning increased rates, but Lalo hands him over the demanded fee in cash on the spot.
At the MDC, Jimmy is in an interview room when a shackled Krazy-8 is brought before him. Krazy-8 is initially perplexed as he never hired Jimmy, though his demeanor changes when Jimmy reveals that Lalo hired him. Krazy-8 insists he hasn't said anything incriminating to the police about the origin of the drugs. Jimmy asks if he's good at memorizing information and hands him a notepad with a written script. As Jimmy sits across the street from the MDC, an unmarked police car arrives carrying DEA agents Hank Schrader and Steven Gomez. As they enter the jail and leave their weapons in a holding room, Hank and Gomez engage in conversation about expired food. They walk into the interview room and meet with Krazy-8, who has expressed a willingness to talk. Following Jimmy and Lalo's script, Krazy-8 gives the agents details about drug dealing procedures and where hidden drug money can be found. Playing his part in the charade, Jimmy loudly enters the room and pretends to have a disagreement with his client about sharing information with the police. Hank immediately sees through Jimmy's "Saul Goodman" persona, and he and Gomez are suspicious of the overblown performance. When the agents attempt to leave the room, Jimmy tells them that Krazy-8's information will lead to results; Hank insists that it has to lead to further arrests. Jimmy demands protection for his client as a confidential informant. Agreeing on that, Krazy-8 continues by sharing the exact locations of three dead drops. ("The Guy For This")
Jimmy and Kim get married in a small civil ceremony with Huell as a witness. At the same time, after Lalo gets arrested for the murder of Fred Whalen, Jimmy is called in to represent him. Jimmy is eventually given information by Mike allows him to get Lalo bail at seven million dollars. Lalo promises that he can come up with the money, but will need Jimmy to collect it. However, Jimmy becomes visibly conflicted at seeing how upset Fred's parents are and has an explosive confrontation with Howard over his behavior in the courthouse. ("JMM")
Lalo gives Jimmy instructions on where to collect the money, but Jimmy refuses until Lalo agrees to pay him $100,000 in exchange. Jimmy informs Kim who is less than pleased by the danger Jimmy will put himself in, but reluctantly agrees. In the desert, Jimmy meets with the Cousins who silently hand over the money in two large duffle bags before taking off. However, on his way home, Jimmy is ambushed by a gang who are after the money. As they prepare to execute him, Jimmy is rescued by Mike who was tracking Jimmy and kills five of the six gangsters. However, one escapes and in the process, destroys Mike's truck and damages Jimmy's car, forcing the two men to strip it and push the car over a cliff.
Due to the danger of TiburĆ³n returning, Jimmy and Mike are forced to trek through the desert with Jimmy carrying the heavy bags of money. Jimmy has a hard time adapting to the situation, only reluctantly filling his old Davis & Main water bottle with his own urine in lieu of water and resorting to dragging the bags when he gets tired, resulting in one ripping slightly and Jimmy injuring his foot on a cactus when he retrieves the lost money. Hunted relentlessly, exhausted and sunburned, Jimmy decides to give up, but Mike gives him a speech about how he is driven by protecting those he loves and ensuring they have a better life. With the TiburĆ³n searching nearby, Jimmy is filled with renewed purpose, dons one of Mike's space blankets and begins walking down the road to draw the man out for Mike. Jimmy succeeds in drawing TiburĆ³n's attention, allowing Mike to kill him with a sniper rifle. However, TiburĆ³n's truck crashes and is wrecked in the process, leaving Jimmy and Mike without a car again and without water as TiburĆ³n's water supply was also destroyed. Jimmy finally drinks his own urine as Mike had earlier attempted to get him to do and begins walking down the road with Mike back to civilization, the threat to them now gone. ("Bagman")
Continuing their arduous journey through the desert, Jimmy eventually gets a signal and calls a worried Kim. The two eventually make their way to a truck stop where Victor and Tyrus Kitt pick up Jimmy and Mike. The two reveal that Gus' men have recovered all of the bodies except for TiburĆ³n who died out in the middle of nowhere and can't be found. Mike is satisfied and tells Jimmy that he must prepare his story for what took him so long. Arriving at the jail, Jimmy hands over the bags of money, drawing the suspicions of the DA and authorities that Lalo would have so much cash on hand for his bail. As he waits, Jimmy discovers that the Cousins included an extra $100,000 in the bags at Lalo's request to pay Jimmy for his services. Lalo is released and makes it clear that he intends to jump bail and flee to Mexico while Jimmy lies that it took him so long as his car broke down six or seven miles from the pickup spot and he had to walk back. Before departing with Nacho, Lalo reveals Kim's visit to a concerned Jimmy and compliments him on his wife.
Returning home, Jimmy's sunburn is treated by Kim and he continually refuses to go to the hospital. Jimmy lies to Kim about his experiences and directs her to the money, but she discovers the truth after finding his coffee mug in the bag with a bullet hole through it. Jimmy chastises Kim for talking to Lalo and they both take the next day off with Jimmy displaying signs of PTSD from his experience. Jimmy is eventually called in on an easy case, but his trauma causes him to botch the case. Jimmy subsequently seeks Mike's advice and is told that he will eventually get through it, but he has started down a road with his choices. Jimmy expresses anger at the idea that Lalo will get away with Fred's senseless murder, but Mike implies that there is a plan in play to deal with Lalo.
That night, Jimmy is shocked to learn that Kim has quit Schweikart & Cokely to focus solely on her public defender work and chastises her for her actions, ignoring multiple phone calls. As Kim answers a knock on the door, Jimmy finally answers his phone, only to have a frantic Mike order him to leave the line open and hide the phone so Mike can listen in. The visitor proves to be Lalo who refuses to let Kim leave and demands to know again what happened in the desert while Mike covers Jimmy and Kim with his sniper rifle from across the street. Jimmy continues telling variations of the same story before Lalo reveals that he found Jimmy's wrecked and shot-up car. Kim finally intervenes, claiming that a passerby must've found the broken-down car and wrecked it for fun. Kim berates Lalo for his lack of trust, in both Jimmy and his own people and Lalo leaves, apparently satisfied. ("Bad Choice Road")
After the confrontation, Lalo leaves Kim's apartment and drives away in Nacho's car. Jimmy picks up the phone and asks Mike what happens next. Mike just replies, "We'll see" and remarks that Kim saved his life. When he ends the call and Kim asks him who he was talking to, Jimmy tells her the truth about his desert trek with Mike. Jimmy and Kim feel the apartment isn't safe and immediately go to a hotel to wait out the situation for a few days. Kim later ignores Jimmy's request to remain at the hotel and visits the courthouse. She meets with a public defender named Grant and accepts twenty pending felony cases pro bono. While in an elevator, she unexpectedly encounters Howard and his associates from HHM. On her way out, Kim tells Howard she quit Schweikart and Cokely.
This intrigues Howard, and he attempts to find out what exactly happened. Kim tries to leave but Howard beckons her into an empty courtroom for privacy. Howard warns her about Jimmy's recent harassment and suggests Kim should stop following his lead. Kim laughs at Howard and says she is insulted by the notion that she cannot decide for herself. As she leaves, Howard tells her that Chuck best understood Jimmy.
Jimmy goes to Mike's house to question him about who he works for and about the situation with Lalo. Mike tells him he's not allowed to know this information, but still reveals that Lalo will be assassinated that night. Jimmy goes back to the hotel, packs their possessions, and informs Kim when he gets back. Kim, still angered by Howard's comments, proposes a forced resolution of the Sandpiper case by sabotaging Howard, which would enable Jimmy to receive his seven-figure share of the settlement. Jimmy counsels against it, but Kim makes use of a similar finger-pointing gesture Jimmy previously used after he was reinstated, indicating she is serious about undermining Howard, which stuns Jimmy. ("Something Unforgivable")
Season 6
Jimmy and Kim begin plotting against Howard. Prosecutor Suzanne Ericsen informs Jimmy that his client Jorge de Guzman used an alias and asks if he knows his client's real identity. Jimmy denies it but accidentally uses Lalo's real name.
Kim surveils Cliff Main and Howard Hamlin at the golf course while Jimmy sneaks into the locker room to plant a bag resembling cocaine in Howard's locker. Howard and Cliff find it, but Howard dismisses it as an employee's mistake or a prank.
At Kim's instigation, Jimmy cons Craig and Betsy Kettleman into believing they have grounds for a lawsuit against Howard. They attempt to hire Cliff to represent them, claiming Howard provided ineffective counsel because he used cocaine during his representation of Craig Kettleman. Cliff declines, as do several other lawyers, but Jimmy and Kim succeed in spreading the rumor that Howard uses drugs. Jimmy later attempts to bribe Craig and Betsy Kettleman into remaining silent about their role in smearing Howard. When they refuse the cash, Kim coerces them by threatening to reveal their shady tax return scam to the IRS. Jimmy disappoints Kim by giving Craig and Betsy Kettleman the cash before he leaves.
Suzanne approaches Kim to say she has identified de Guzman as Lalo Salamanca, and that Lalo is dead. Suzanne has also connected Jimmy to the Salamanca drug family and asks Kim to approach him about becoming an informant. Kim informs Jimmy about the conversation and asks if he intends to be a "friend of the cartel" or a "rat".
Jimmy and Kim work with Huell and Huell's associate to copy Howard's car key and remote unlock button. Huell asks Jimmy why legitimate lawyers would commit crimes and Jimmy makes an unconvincing argument about committing a wrong to accomplish a greater good.
Jimmy discovers his representation of Lalo Salamanca has made him a pariah with courthouse staff, but a highly sought after defense attorney among Albuquerque's criminals. The influx of new clients causes Mrs. Nguyen to evict him from the nail salon, so he begins searching for an office. He identifies a vacancy in a strip mall, which he decides to rent because of its proximity to the courthouse, the county jail, and the city's bail bonds offices. His business starts to grow, and Jimmy succeeds at persuading Francesca Liddy to work as his administrative assistant.
As Kim meets with Cliff Main at an outdoor cafƩ, Jimmy disguises himself as Howard and takes Howard's car while Howard is visiting his therapist. Jimmy pushes Wendy out of the car in front of Cliff and Kim, further suggesting to Cliff that Howard is using cocaine and has prostitutes.
Cliff confronts Howard about his supposed cocaine use. When Howard hears Cliff mention that he was in a meeting with Kim at the time, Howard puts the pieces together and recognizes that Jimmy is continuing to harass him, so he tricks Jimmy into meeting him at a boxing gym. Howard challenges Jimmy to a bout, and Jimmy declines, but then changes his mind and enters the ring. Howard defeats him and says he hopes this ends Jimmy's harassment, but afterwards Howard directs his private investigator to begin surveilling Jimmy.
During a meeting with Viola Goto, her former paralegal, Kim obtains the name of the retired judge who will mediate an upcoming settlement conference for the Sandpiper case. Jimmy and his film crew fabricate photos that include an actor made up to resemble the mediator. Jimmy later sees the mediator at a store and tells Kim he has a broken arm in a cast, which is not depicted in the photos. Kim abandons her plan to meet in Santa Fe with Cliff Main and representatives of a foundation interested in funding her pro bono criminal defense work and returns to Albuquerque to help Jimmy hastily re-shoot the photos.
Howard's investigator delivers the photos to Howard shortly before the mediation session begins. They depict the mediator accepting money from Jimmy and are coated in a drug that causes Howard's pupils to dilate. He angrily accuses the mediator of accepting a bribe, and when he attempts to retrieve the photos as proof, he discovers they have been switched for innocuous pictures of Jimmy giving a passerby (his sound guy from his film crew in disguise) a frisbee. As Jimmy and Kim listen in on the conference call, Howard is humiliated in front of his clients and peers, and HHM and Davis & Main agree to settle the Sandpiper case. Cliff announces through the conference call that a settlement agreement has been reached as Jimmy and Kim have sex on Jimmy's office couch.
After the mediation concludes, Howard pieces together the whole plot, including Jimmy and Kim's success at causing him to rely on a fake private investigator. That night, he arrives at Kim's apartment to confront her and Jimmy. Lalo Salamanca arrives soon afterwards, intending to interrogate Jimmy and Kim about the assassination attempt on Lalo's life, and get Jimmy to kill Gus. Jimmy and Kim are absolutely horrified by Lalo's appearance while Kim tries to get Howard to leave. When Howard asks Lalo who he is, Lalo states nonchalantly he is nobody and that he merely wishes to āspeak to my lawyersā (much to Jimmy and Kim's alarm). They both nervously implore Howard to leave immediately, but Howard remains oblivious to his danger, sarcastically telling Lalo to find himself better lawyers. Lalo affixes a silencer to a pistol and, once Howard finally realizes his peril, suddenly shoots Howard in the head, instantly killing him. Jimmy and Kim both scream in horror at what has just occurred before them, as Lalo shushes them to calm down, saying, "Okay...Let's talk."
Lalo orders a terrified Jimmy and Kim to calm down and sit on the couch. Handing them a written address and a map, he tells the couple that he wants Jimmy to take Lalo's station wagon to the address, use a revolver in the car's glove compartment to shoot the occupant when he answers the door, and take a photo of the body. Eager to prevent her from becoming Lalo's hostage, Jimmy suggests that Kim be sent to perform the task, over her horrified objections. Lalo agrees. Left with no choice, Kim leaves the apartment and drives away in Lalo's car. With Kim gone, Lalo binds Jimmy's hands and ties him to a chair, telling him of the assassination attempt at his compound which left his staff dead. Because he was introduced Jimmy through Ignacio "Nacho" Varga, Jimmy's former client, he suspects that he may have been in on the plan. Jimmy denies betraying Lalo and insists he had nothing to do with Nacho's actions. Lalo leaves the apartment, telling Jimmy that he expects to be told "the whole story" when he gets back. In his absence, Jimmy struggles to escape his restraints and falls over on the floor next to Howard's body.
Kim drives to the address, agonizing over what she is about to do. At a stoplight, a police car pulls up next to her; she rolls down the window and considers alerting the officers inside, but is unable to do so. Kim finally drives into a residential neighborhood and finds the house -- Gus's residenceāand reluctantly walks up to the front door, ringing the bell. Just as she raises the revolver and is about the shoot the person answering the door, Mike appears from behind and disarms her, forcing her into the house. Gus watches through the surveillance monitors at the Ryman residence while Mike questions Kim. Mike is shocked to learn that Lalo is at her apartment and has taken Jimmy hostage, and sends an order for Tyrus to get there immediately. He takes the underground passage to the Ryman residence, tells Gus to stay there with two of Mike's men, then enlists two others to come with him. Watching Kim through the surveillance monitors, Gus calls Victor, who is standing in the room with Kim, and asks to speak with her directly. Kim tells Gus that Lalo had originally wanted to send Jimmy to kill him, but that Jimmy had talked Lalo out of it by sending her on the mission instead. Gus is perturbed by the fact that Jimmy had talked Lalo out of his original plan, and tells the two men guarding him to follow him somewhere.
After Lalo is killed by Gus during a gunfight, Jimmy watches Mike's henchman, Arthur, emptying the refrigerator. Kim returns home with Mike; the couple tearfully embrace. Mike sits them down and tells them what is going to happen next: Howard's car is going to be driven several states away and abandoned next to the ocean, staged as a suicide; since the car was likely seen at the apartment before his disappearance, Jimmy and Kim are to tell the police that he showed up in a drug-addled stupor and left uneventfully. Mike stresses to them that they are to act casually for the rest of the day and pretend the events of the previous night did not happen. Jimmy sees Howard's body being stuffed in the old refrigerator while Mike's men wheel a new one into the apartment.
Shortly after, Jimmy began making renovations at his business, completely changing it from a nail salon to a full on law firm and he and Kim work the day while Mike and his team do damage control from their apartment and erase all traces of Howardās murder. When Jimmy and Kim return to the cleaned up apartment one night, they are too uncomfortable to stay there and spend the night at a motel where Jimmy tells Kim that they will go on with their lives as if nothing happened, but Kim stays silent.
Jimmy and Kim visit HHM where a memorial service for Howard is taking place. They talk with Richard, who tells them that due to Howardās death, the law firm is downsizing, switching locations and is changing the name. Jimmy and Kim go to meet Howardās widow, Cheryl. As they pay their respects, Cheryl firmly asks them if what Howard has been saying before he died is the truth, that Jimmy and Kim have been harassing him and making him look foolish. Jimmy, not wanting to tell her of their hand in Howardās fate, tries to say that Howard came to their house all drugged up and Kim helps him by fabricating a story of how she witnessed Howard snorting cocaine. After Cheryl leaves in tears, Jimmy and Kim excuse themselves from the law firm and go to the parking garage where Jimmy tries to tell Kim that their troubles are over and they can put this mess behind them. An unresponsive Kim just kisses Jimmy and drives away, leaving Jimmy confused.
Jimmy soon finds out that Kim has resigned from her career as an attorney and comes to her in their apartment late at tonight to desperately make her change her mind and throughout this ordeal, he finds out that Kim is leaving him. Kim tearfully tells Jimmy that she just canāt be with him anymore due to the amount of turmoil that has happened. Jimmy at first writes off Howardās death as Laloās doing, but Kim confesses that she was aware that he was alive for a while now and she chose to keep it secret because she knew Jimmy would make them hide and abandon their campaign against Howard if he knew the truth, and also tells him that they are bad for each other due to how much misery they cause for everyone else around them. Kim resumes packing her bags while Jimmy is left sadly standing in place. With Kim's departure, Jimmy had lost everything that kept him grounded; his family, his elder practice, the McGill name, and now Kim. All that was left is Saul Goodman. ("Fun and Games")
Immediately following Kim's departure, Jimmy began to fully embrace his criminal Saul Goodman persona as a coping mechanism, fully immersing himself in his work and eventual criminal activity. From the time he wakes up to the time he sleeps, Saul is working an angle or case. In late 2004, months after Kim's departure, Saul treats Kim dismissively as she briefly returns to Albuquerque to sign the divorce papers in his office. She is disturbed at how callous her ex-husband has become, and by the hardened criminals that he is now taking on as his regular clientele. Saul tells Kim that he thinks she'll come to regret not taking her share of the Sandpiper money, telling her it would buy "a shitload of swampland". When both Saul and Kim sign the divorce papers, Saul nonchalantly tells Kim to "have a nice life" as she leaves, and she later notices that one of Saul's criminal clients, Emilio Koyama, is his next appointment. Outside Saul's office, when asked by Emilio's friend Jesse Pinkman if Saul is a good lawyer, Kim tells him that "he was when I knew him" before leaving. ("Waterworks")
By the next year, in 2005, Saul has become very wealthy after he received his share of the Sandpiper money in addition to Kim's share too, as she had chosen not to take her share of the money. He used the money from the Sandpiper settlement to purchase a huge mansion and filled it with extravagant luxuries, and stored several keepsakes of his old life within. Continuing to embrace his alter ego of Saul completely, he is first seen waking up with a prostitute in his bed, which he promptly dismisses, and spends a majority of the morning debating with a contact regarding a potential client who is accused of public masturbation, before going to his law firm. ("Fun and Games")
Breaking Bad
By 2005, Saul eventually coined āBetter Call Saul!ā as his famous catchphrase and begins an aggressive marketing strategy, filming several low-budget, late night TV ads, recording radio ads, and putting ads featuring his likeness on benches and billboards all over Albuquerque. This caused Saul to become a local celebrity, recognized by a wide range of Albuquerque citizens, including criminal civilians (some of which would become his clients), as well as regular civilians (e.g. Walter White Jr.). Saul regularly sleeps with sex workers and begins sexually harassing his secretary Francesca, whom he has made complicit in his crimes. ("Wine and Roses",Ā "Fun and Games")
Saul eventually acquires Calderaās black book, giving him access to a vast criminal network and introducing him to later associates such as Patrick Kuby. He becomes heavily involved with money laundering, purchasing several nail salons to hide his criminal revenue, as well as working with Daniel āDannyā Wormald, a former client and former associate of Mike and Nacho who runs Lazer Base, a local laser tag business that works as a money laundering front. He establishes a loan-out corporation, Ice Station Zebra Associates (a formerly fictional company he and Kim had created for several bar scams they pulled), in addition to an offshore business called Tigerfish Corporation.
Mike continues working as a private investigator for Saul, who has become a useful source of information on the criminal landscape of Albuquerque for Gustavo Fring, albeit one kept at an arms length. Saul remains unaware of Gus' true identity, only knowing him as a major drug kingpin and distributor who is extremely competent and careful, only meeting Gus once previously though being unaware that he was a drug kingpin.
By 2008, Saul has developed a widely known reputation as a criminal lawyer, who successfully helped Emilio avoid criminal charges on two different occasions, causing Jesse to think Kim was right about him being an effective lawyer. ("Waterworks")
Season 2
When Brandon "Badger" Mayhew is arrested for selling Walt and Jesse's "Blue Sky" meth, Saul decides to represent him. As the undercover cop Getz tries to convince Badger to give up his supplier, Saul enters the interview room and dismisses Getz before looking over Badger's case and discussing his retainer fee. When he spots Hank and Gomez, Saul becomes convinced that the DEA must be interested in Badger only if they think he can lead them to bigger fish.
Jesse takes Walt to Saul's law office at a strip mall. At Jesse's request, having previously been convinced by Kim to trust Saul as a lawyer, Walt and Jesse decide to hire him as their lawyer, with Jesse explaining to a hesitant Walt that they do not need a criminal lawyer (a lawyer who defends criminals), but a criminal lawyer (a lawyer who is also a criminal). Walt loses a coin toss to determine who will go into Saul's office and pay his retainer fee. Upon entering the office, Walt introduces himself as Badger's uncle "Mr. Mayhew". Saul reports that the DEA wants Badger to lead them to a mystery man named Heisenberg. Saul initially insists on making Badger give up Heisenberg, but seems to reconsider when Walt offers him $10,000. Walt has another coughing fit. Upon returning to Jesse's car, Walt reports that Saul kicked him out of the office for trying to bribe him.
Later that night, Jesse and Walt don their ski masks, kidnap Saul, and haul him to a freshly dug shallow grave in a desert wasteland. A terrified Saul presumes that the situation has to do with Lalo's promise that he will be back for answers about what Jimmy knows of Nacho's actions, Saul desperately shouts at the two men that "it wasn't me it was Ignacio, he's the one!" and asks if Lalo sent them. However, when Jesse demands that he speak English, a relieved Saul realizes that they have nothing to do with Lalo, with Jesse being confused as to who Saul is talking about. Jesse tells him he should've taken Badger's offer. Saul informs them that he doesn't take bribes from strangers. Jesse, gun aimed at Saul, instructs him to give Badger "the best legal representation ever," but says that Saul is dead if anyone snitches to the DEA. Saul suggests killing Badger, but Jesse insists that's not an option.
After recognizing Walt as the "Mr. Mayhew" from his office, Saul instructs Walt and Jesse to remove their masks and for each of them to put a dollar in his pocket. Now protected by attorney-client privilege, they hear Saul's assessment of their situation: "Somebody's going to prison. It's just a matter of who." ("Better Call Saul") After they pay him for his services, Saul steps back into the RV with Walt and Jesse. Saul takes note of the duo's chemistry equipment, realizing that they make the "blue stuff" and that Walt is the man known as "Heisenberg". Walt doesn't want to divulge too many details about their operation to Saul, but Jesse doesn't see the point as he is already inside their meth lab. Walt tries to turn the RV's ignition, but it won't start; to avoid overheating the engine, they switch the vehicle off. After an uneasy moment of silence, Jesse asks who the "Lalo" that Saul mentioned was; he brushes off the question by saying he's "nobody". Walt successfully restarts the RV and the trio drive off into the night. ("Breaking Bad") Under questioning from Hank, Badger describes Heisenberg as a middle-aged bald man. Meanwhile, Saul hands Walt the dossier for James Kilkelly, a bald ex-convict known as "Jimmy In-'N-Out," who will willingly allow himself to be put in jail as Heisenberg for a fee. Saul outlines the cost: $80,000 plus a pound of Walt and Jesse's meth. The next day, the DEA and APD stake out the bus stop. Walt and Jesse watch from a distance in Walt's Aztek. Badger arrives on time, but Jimmy is late. Eventually a different bald man sits next to Badger, who doesn't know this isn't Jimmy. When the real Jimmy sits down on a nearby bench, Badger is busy soliciting the wrong man, trying to make the deal. Walt speeds around the block to the bench and makes Jesse intervene. After Jesse exits the car, Walt zips over to the stakeout vehicle to talk to Hank, thereby blocking their view and buy time for Jesse to redirect Badger. Jesse directs Badger to the correct bench and Jimmy's arrest goes down as planned. ("Better Call Saul")
Saul lies on his office floor with the Swing Master and takes a call from Francesca about his upcoming schedule. Mike, now Saul's private investigator, steps into the office to update him on several ongoing cases the two are handling. Upon Saul's query, Mike divulges the full names and occupations of Walt and Jesse, and the fact that Walt has terminal lung cancer. Knowing about the chemical purity of Walt's product, Saul is eager to go into business with him. Mike advises against it, telling him that Walt is an amateur who will get himself either caught or killed if the cancer doesn't get him first. Mike continues talking about an unrelated matter, but Saul zones out of the conversation. ("Breaking Bad") Saul walks into Walt's classroom at J. P. Wynne High School, chiding him for being easy for Mike to locate. Walt asks if Saul is blackmailing him, but Saul says that he isn't. Saul offers to act as Walt's consigliere in his meth operation, providing him with the right connections and strategy to succeed in the drug trade, ending the conversation with "If you want to make more money, and keep the money that you make, Better Call Saul!" ("Better Call Saul")
Later on, Saul gives Walt a tutorial on money laundering. After all the costs associated with Badgerās arrest, he only has $16,000 left. Walt lets on that he might not have much longer to live, but he intends to cook a lot more. ("4 Days Out"). After one of Walt and Jesse's dealers, Jesse's friend Christian "Combo" Ortega, is murdered by an eleven-year old boy under orders from rival dealers from a rival gang, Saul proposes new distribution method for Walt and Jesse's product. Under stress, Jesse tells Jane that he is a drug dealer, though she had already deduced as much. Saul puts Walt in touch with a meth distributor named Gus, a cautious yet successful businessman who is skeptical of Jesse's dependability but agrees to purchase Walt's product. However, Gus expresses concern about Jesse's drug problem, which has escalated into heroin use due to Jane's relapse. Walt receives a large offer for the short-notice delivery of the remainder of their inventory, but at the same time receives a call from Skyler, notifying him of her imminent labor. ("Mandala")
After successfully selling the thirty-eight pounds to Saul's contact, Walt complains that he cannot make use of the money. Luckily, Saul knows of a hacker in Belarus who could launder Walt's money through his son's "SaveWalterWhite.com" website. ("Phoenix"). When Jesse's girlfriend, Jane Margolis, dies, Saul sends Mike to clean up her apartment from any evidence linking her and Jesse with the use of drugs. Saul also informs Walt about Jesse living in a crack house nicknamed "The Shooting Gallery," and sends Mike to give Walt a lift to visit Jesse. ("ABQ")
Season 3
In the wake of the Wayfarer Flight 515 aerial disaster, Saul began organizing a class-action lawsuit for victims of the crash. At one point, Saul says, "Victims' families would be great, but I'll take anyone on the ground who suffered emotionally." Saul also began wearing the Wayfarer 515 blue ribbon to show his support for the air crash victims.
Following the success of the large sale to Gus ā which leads to Saul buying better suits ā Saul pushes Walt to take Gusās lucrative offer to continue cooking. He also accepts a job from Jesse, using Jesseās half of the earnings to purchase his auntās house at a dramatically lowered price ā strong-arming Jesseās parents and attorney with a potential lawsuit over the undisclosed meth lab Jesse was running out of the basement.
After Walt reveals Skyler White has threatened to expose him, Saul hires Mike to bug the White house as insurance. Forced to leave early when Walt comes home, Mike witnesses the Cousins entering with an axe, and quickly places a call to Gus to call them off. Per Gusās direction, Saul is not informed of this threat to Walt. ("Caballo Sin Nombre")
Saul visits Jesse's house later on, asking Jesse to try to convince Walt into going back to cooking meth. ("I.F.T.")
Mike later brings Walt to Saul after Walt creates a disturbance at Skylerās office and attempts to talk Walt into cooking meth again. Admitting that he bugged Waltās house and making an off-color comment about Skyler, Saul is attacked and subsequently fired by Walt. Furious, Saul shuts down the laundering of Waltās drug money.
Jesse then approaches Saul with two bags of meth he has cooked himself using Waltās procedure and asks to set up a deal. He meets Victor under a bridge to make the exchange, only to see he has been given half of the money ā the other half went to Walt. ("Green Light")
Saul sets up an intervention between Walt and Jesse, offering to give Walt a percentage of Jesseās future deals. Walt returns Jesseās half of the deal's money, coldly informing both of them that he has now accepted Gusās offer and will be cutting Jesse out of the business. Quickly dumping Jesse in favor of the much higher profits Walt can produce, Saul is once again hired to launder money for Walt ā this time for a dramatically-reduced fee of five percent. ("MĆ”s")
When Hank successfully deduces the existence of the RV, Walt calls Saul in a panic. Saul is at a loss, and scolds him for not having a "self-destruct" mechanism like the Starship Enterprise. After Hank locates the RV with Walt and Jesse trapped inside, Walt calls Saul for assistance. Saul has his secretary Francesca masquerade as a law enforcement official to make Hank believe his wife has been severely injured in a car accident. Saul appears regretful of his part in the cruel ruse and discards the phone used to make the call, while Francesca tells him she should be paid more for this sort of work. ("Sunset")
Saul visits Jesse at the hospital after the latter is brutally attacked by Hank in retaliation of their ruse to lure Hank away from the junkyard. Saul takes pictures of Jesse's injured face and jokes that Walt is now the "cute one of the group." Jesse plans to ruin Hank's life and maybe even give up Heisenberg's identity if he gets caught cooking again. Out of the hospital room, Walt tells Saul that Jesse will eventually calm down, to which Saul replies, "If he doesn't, there may come a time to talk options". ("One Minute")
Saul later tries to convince Jesse into buying a property to launder his money earned selling drugs, but Jesse declines the offer. ("Kafkaesque")
Walt later introduces Skyler to Saul as they have a meeting in Saul's office trying to think in a scheme to launder their money. Saul suggests that they buy a laser tag franchise, but Skyler comments that Walt buying a laser tag arcade wouldn't make any sense. They later drive to a car wash where Walt worked for four years. Skyler comments that since Walt has history with this car wash, it would make even more sense for him to buy it. Saul thinks otherwise, since they don't have an inside man, and it will be difficult to use the car wash for money laundering ("AbiquiĆŗ"). Later, Walter comes to Saul to inform him that Jesse found out that the men who killed his dealer and friend some weeks earlier are actually working for Gus, and Jesse is intent on killing them. They plan to get Jesse arrested, but Mike finds out about the plan and intervenes on Gus' orders. ("Half Measures")
Jesse eventually attacks the dealers against Gus' orders, and Walt saves Jesse's life by killing both dealers. Mike starts a manhunt for Jesse, but Saul helps Walt by hiding Jesse in the laser tag arcade. Mike forces Saul to give him information on Jesse's whereabouts, even threatening to severely injure Saul in case he doesn't collaborate. Saul gives Mike a fake address to keep him away for some hours and then drives Walt to meet Jesse at the arcade. He warns them that it's just a matter of time before Mike realizes that the address is fake, but he is dismissed by Walt. ("Full Measure")
Season 4
Following Gale Boetticher's murder, Walt and Jesse are taken to the superlab and held there by Mike and Victor until Gus Fring arrives to deal with the situation. Meanwhile, Saul searches his office for bugs, believing that Walt and Jesse were murdered by Gus and he would be next. He receives a call from Skyler asking where Walt is. Returning her call by payphone, Saul lies and assures her Walt is fine. He then tells Huell that they might need to leave town. ("Box Cutter")
Later, after Skyler's unsuccessful attempt to buy the car wash from Bogdan for money laundering purposes, Saul touts a nail salon as the best way to launder money as he meets with Walt and Skyler at the condo.
While watching the draining soap suds from washing Holly's baby bottles, Skyler is struck by an idea and calls Saul. Outside the car wash, a man wearing a Bluetooth headset who appears to be some kind of environmental inspector, who is actually a conman, Saul's associate Patrick Kuby, shows water samples to Bogdan and declares they're full of contaminants. He tells Bogdan that he must replace his entire wastewater treatment system, and the state requires he cease operations until it's back up to code. Skyler, feeding lines to Kuby, is eventually successful and purchases the car wash ("Open House"). Meanwhile, Walt tells Saul he fears that Hank will connect Jesse to Gale's murder. Saul says there's nothing to worry about, but Walt catalogs his woes: Gus wants to kill him, Jesse is out of control, and Gus will eventually perceive Jesse as too big a risk. There's also the car wash he's buying with Skyler, who naively thinks Walt can walk away after his contract with Gus expires. Saul mentions that as a last resort, Walt can pay to have a "disappearer" vanish his family off the grid and set them up with new identities. Walt rejects the idea, and they're stuck at an impasse. ("Bullet Points")
Later, when Walter learns Jesse is off somewhere with Mike, Walt races through Albuquerque, dodging traffic while shouting instructions to Saul on his cell phone. If Walt doesn't return within 24 hours, Saul is to deliver all of Walt's money to Skyler ("Shotgun"). On a later date, Walt slumps in a chair at Saul's office while Saul handles the fallout from his client's "little joy ride" (racing around recklessly, doing doughnuts with, and ultimately setting on fire the Dodge Challenger Skyler made him return). Walt admits that the pressure of knowing Gus wants to kill him is getting to him, and then inquires about hit men. "Wrong answer!" blurts Saul, pointing out that any for hire assailant would likely know Mike, and have to outmaneuver him. Walt tells Saul that he tried to kill Gus himself but couldn't get near him ("Problem Dog"). Saul visits Andrea Cantillo at a house she's just rented in a nice neighborhood and delivers cash from Jesse. Afterward, in Saul's car, a concerned Jesse asks about the house and Andrea's son, Brock Cantillo. Saul then prods Jesse to check on them himself. ("Hermanos")
Ted enters Saul's office, and Saul informs him that his long-lost "Great Aunt Birgit" from Luxembourg has left him $621,552.33āalmost precisely the amount of his debt to the I.R.S., ostensibly a coincidence that Ted seemingly doesn't realize. Saul visits the car wash and shows Skyler a credit report indicating that Ted leased a Mercedes three hours after receiving Walt's money. He won't be able to pay the income tax bill in fullāand clearly wasn't going to do so anyway. ("Salud")
At his home, Ted returns Skyler's money to her because paying off the IRS with Walt's gambling winnings "feels wrong" and in any case won't solve Ted's other money woes. Skyler accuses Ted of blackmailing her for more cash. Stung by the charge, Ted emphatically denies it but still refuses to pay the IRS. After leaving Ted's house, Skyler calls Saul.
By phone, Saul informs Skyler that Ted doesn't own a gun or have a panic button on his alarm system. Skyler replies that she doesn't want anyone hurt, just for Ted to write the IRS a check. Saul tells Skyler that he'll assign his "A-team" to deal with Ted and sends Kuby and Huell. The two visit Ted at home, order him to write the check, and tell him they'll be staying until it clears. After signing the check, Ted tries to make a run for it but ends up tripping on a throw rug and knocking himself out on the island in his kitchen. ("Crawl Space")
In Saul's office, Huell is describing the mishap with Ted when Walt storms in, saying that he needs to contact Saul's connection who can "disappear" the White family and give them new identities. It'll cost at least half a million dollars, says Saul, and everyone must be packed and ready before Walt makes the call ("Crawl Space"). Walt asks Saul to inform the DEA that Gus has a hit out on Hank. Saul reluctantly agrees to alert the DEA about the hit but refuses to finger Gus. Walt tells Saul to make the call in an hour. ("Crawl Space")
After finishing a cook, a laundry truck drops off Jesse at his car, which he now parks in the desert to avoid arousing DEA suspicion. Jesse calls Walt, who doesn't answer, then listens to increasingly frantic messages on his own voicemail from Saul. One of which urges Jesse to come to the law office, pronto. When Jesse arrives, he is aggressively patted down by Saul's bodyguard, Huell, until Saul interrupts. He stuffs Jesse's meth money in a duffel bag for him. Confused, Jesse asks what's going on and learns that Gus threatened to kill Walt and his family. ("End Times")
At the hospital where Brock is being treated, two Albuquerque Police Department detectives then approach Jesse and summon him to police headquarters to question him about his theory that Brock might have ricin poisoning, which the boy's doctors think might actually be the case. Jesse says that he must have seen it on TV. When the detectives press him further, Jesse stops talking and demands his attorney, Saul Goodman. At the law office, Saul's secretary, Francesca, busy shredding documents, doesn't respond to Walt banging on the office door. He then shatters the glass door with a piece of cement and enters. Francesca, furious about the mess, refuses to provide Saul's whereabouts unless Walt pays her $25,000, well more than he has on him.
At police headquarters, Jesse stonewalls the detectives until Saul arrives. Privately, Saul tells Jesse that he'll have to remain in police custody pending a toxicology report on Brock, but that it might be just as well because someone tried to kill Walt in his own home. Following their meeting, Walt rendezvous with Saul, who relays information from Jesse about Gus' visits to Hector Salamanca. Walt doesn't recognize their significance until Saul says that Gus gloated about Hector's family line ending and later told Jesse that Hector killed someone close to him. This information supplied by Jesse through Saul later becomes vital in Walt's plan on getting rid of Gustavo Fring. ("Face Off")
Season 5
Saul visits Skyler at the car wash and cryptically and solemnly warns her the police may call her about Ted. "Ted's dead?" she asks, tearing up. "No, he just woke up," Saul says. Later, at Saul's office, Walt scolds Saul for giving Skyler $622,000 to pay off Ted's tax debt. Saul reminds Walt that he put himself on the line by participating in Brock's poisoning (Saul had Huell lift the ricin cigarette from Jesse). Thrusting the ricin cigarette at him, Saul tells Walt that their business relationship is done. Walt bridles at that, backing Saul into a corner of the office. ("Live Free or Die")
After deciding that they will continue to cook, Walt and Jesse visit Saul to discuss finding a new venue for the lab, preferably nearby and not in an RV. Saul says an in-town venue will be difficult, but Walt snaps. Jesse reports that he was able to find all the precursor chemicals except for methylamine. Walt encourages Jesse to keep looking for methylamine, but Jesse doubts he'll be able to scare any up. When Saul advises they pull out of the meth business, Walt snaps back that he's broke. ("Madrigal")
Mike waits outside Saul's office while Huell guards the door. Inside, Walt and Jesse assuage Saul's doubts about working with Mike again, who threatened to break Saul's legs. They let Mike in and he lays down ground rules: He runs the business, Walt and Jesse cover production. Saul privately asks Walt if he's okay with the arrangement, but Walt's unfazed. Saul takes the team on a tour of potential new lab venues, but Walt, Jesse, and Mike nix them all, spotting logistical problems with each. Jesse and Mike are ready to dismiss the final venue, Vamanos Pests, but Walt demurs, declaring it's perfect. The next day, the four watch the pest-control team as it tents an infested home. Walt explains his plan: If they cook inside houses undergoing fumigation, no one will bother them or question strange smells. They can hide in plain sight. Saul says the pest crew, run by a man named Ira, runs a burglary operation on the side and knows how to keep secrets. Mike suggests a vote. "Why?" asks Walt: he's already convinced, and so is Jesse. ("Hazard Pay")
Later, tending to his errand, Mike visits the DEA offices with Saul. Saul tells Hank and Gomez that their ongoing surveillance of Mike is tantamount to stalking, and that he's filed for a Temporary Restraining Order with a sympathetic judge. Afterward, Saul tells Mike that the TRO won't hold up long, and Hank will be back on his tail with a vengeance within twenty-four hours. Mike says this is enough. ("Buyout")
Even after Saul's efforts, Mike is eventually caught by the DEA and is on the run. In his office, Saul worries that Mike will flip if captured. Jesse insists he won't flip, but Walt worries that one of his nine men will. Mike then calls, asking Saul to fetch his go-bag. With the police watching Saul's movements, and Jesse out of the business, Walt volunteers to retrieve it. ("Say My Name")
Later, Jesse admits that Saul told him that Walt "took care" of Mike's men in prison. ("Gliding Over All")
Months later, Jesse visits Saul's office with the two bags of $5 million in cash - his pay for selling his share of the methylamine - given to him by Walt. Jesse, horrified by the "blood money," wants Saul to give the half the money to Kaylee Ehrmantraut (he fears the worst about Mike and wants his granddaughter to be looked after) and the other half to the parents of Drew Sharp, the young boy who was killed as a result of their methylamine train heist. Saul is quick to point out the flaws of this plan - how it will merely raise more questions - and Jesse leaves his office. Saul then calls Walt to inform him of the situation, and after a conversation with Walt, Jesse is saddened and guilt-ridden but nonetheless comes to terms with Saul's reasoning. Desperate to get rid of the money, he resorts to throwing stacks of money into peoples' yards as he drives by. ("Blood Money")
When Hank discovers that Walt was Heisenberg the entire time, Walt goes to Saul's office so they can discuss what to do with this problem. Saul later suggests that Walt send Hank on "a trip to Belize" like he did with Mike. Walt refuses and angrily rebukes Saul for even thinking of that. Saul has Huell and Kuby collect Walt's money from the storage bin, and Walt gives Saul a cut of the earnings, and a little extra that's meant for Walt as "insurance" in case Walt needs Saul later on. ("Buried")
Saul later bails Jesse out after he gets arrested for throwing money out of his car window, and chides him for not calling him sooner. He phones Walt, which leads to the three of them meeting in the desert, where Walt convinces Jesse to leave New Mexico, using the disappearer Saul mentioned to Walt earlier. While making the final preparations for Jesse's leave, Saul scolds him for smoking cannabis, and instructs him to give him the rest of the drugs. When Jesse refuses, Saul has Huell pickpocket it from Jesse. Later, when Jesse notices that it's gone, he assumes that Huell must have lifted it from him and that Huell also took the ricin cigarette. As it turns out, Walt was the one behind Brock being poisoned, and Saul unknowingly assisted him with the poisoning. Jesse returns to Saul's office in a fit of rage, and brutally assaults him. Saul tries to grab a gun from his desk drawer while yelling for Huell, but Jesse grabs it first and points it at him, accusing him of having had Huell steal the ricin cigarette from him, and helped poison Brock. Saul admits that he helped, but tells Jesse that Walt didn't tell him of his motives, and that he wouldn't have done it if he knew what Walt was going to do. Jesse leaves, and Saul calls Walt to warn him ("Confessions")
That evening, Saul and Kuby meet Walt in the parking lot of the hotel the White family are staying at to discuss their next move. Kuby says that he's doing everything he can to find Jesse. Saul suggests Walt 'put Jesse out to pasture' but Walt rules this out immediately, telling Saul to never hand out this idea again ("Rabid Dog")
The next day, Saul meets Walt at the car wash. He's concerned that Huell has gone missing and is wearing a bullet-proof vest. Walt assures him that Jesse is not on a killing spree and everything is going to be fine. ("To'hajiilee")
Several days later, after Heisenberg's real identity is finally exposed and Walt is on the run as one of the most wanted criminals in the country, Saul prepares to leave town and his life behind. Disposing of all the evidence he can find at Saul Goodman & Associates, he also retrieves a satchel full of cash from the ceiling while Francesca shreds documents. Saul tears open the "We the People" wallpaper behind his desk and takes out his shoe box, which he places inside his luggage. He instructs Francesca on how to dispose of the shredded documents, hands over two wads of cash and an unidentified business card to Francesca. Saul offers Francesca a hug before she leaves to dispose of the shredded documents, but she scoffs and walks out. He then takes out a disposable cell phone from his desk drawer and calls Ed, the disappearer. ("Quite a Ride")
After picking Saul up, Ed starts the process of setting him up with a new identity in Nebraska, to Saul's obvious displeasure. Until he can be safely moved, he has to hole-up in the basement of the extractor's shop. To Saul's surprise, he shares the basement with Walt, who is also waiting to be extracted out of New Mexico. ("Granite State") During their time in the bunker, Saul lies on his cot as Walt tries to repair a faulty water heater. Pointing to Walt's former occupation as a scientist, Saul asks what he would do if he had a time machine. Walt is angrily dismissive of the question and recognizes that what Saul is actually talking about is past regrets. He says that his biggest regret is allowing his former business partners to take over the company he co-founded and profit off his discoveries. Saul replies that his biggest regret is an experience from his youth in which he hurt his leg in a slip-and-fall. Walt, incredulous, states that "you were always like this" and returns to fixing the water heater, leaving Saul sitting on his cot. ("Saul Gone")
Walt later tells Saul of his plan to exact revenge against Jack Welker and his gang for them murdering Hank and stealing all of his money, but Saul refuses, trying to explain that he is no longer a lawyer, only another civilian trying to make a living. Saul tells Walt that "best case scenario, I'm managing a Cinnabon in Omaha". However, Saul does offer Walt one last bit of legal advice, to turn himself in in order to save Skyler from prosecution. Ed then calls for Saul, telling him that he is good to go for Nebraska. Walt interrupts and tells Ed that there has been a change of plans and that Saul will come with him, to which Saul refuses. Walt attempts to intimidate Saul the same way he did before but is interrupted mid-sentence to excessive coughing. Saul, no longer intimidated, tells Walt that "it's over" and leaves the basement, setting off to Omaha to start his new life. ("Granite State").
After Breaking Bad
Life as Gene Takavic
Not long after Saul and Walt disappeared, the police and several DEA agents entered Saul's office only to find it empty with the hole on his wall. Around this time there was also a documentary released about Saul, which discussed his connections to Walter White and the Cartel. ("American Greed: James McGill"). All of his assets were also impounded shortly after his disappearance. ("Wine and Roses") After being rescued by Walt from Jack Welker's Compound following the gang massacre and moments before Walt's death, Jesse seeks out the services of Saul's "disappearer" Ed again. Without Saul around to help him, Jesse is forced to figure out how to find Ed on his own using the scant information he learned when Saul called Ed for him. Ed tells Jesse that he thinks Jesse, Walt and Saul all made their own luck after Jesse tries to get Ed to help him by telling Ed about his captivity. ("El Camino")
Following his disappearance by Ed and arrival in Omaha, Saul takes up the new identity of Gene Takavic, working behind the counter at a shopping-mall Cinnabon located in Omaha, as he had previously predicted in a conversation with Walt. He becomes tense when a customer seems to be staring at him but is instantly relieved when the man passes by him to greet a friend. Later, inside a modest apartment, Gene pours himself a glass of liquor and watches TV, flipping through channels. He then rummages around for a VHS tape inside a shoebox, which plays his TV ads from back in the days when he was still a lawyer. Gene weeps, heartbroken at the reminder of the man he used to be and can never be again. ("Uno")
At the end of another workday, Gene sees off his co-workers before he takes out the garbage. In the garbage room, the door (only being able to open from the outside) shuts, locking Gene inside while he throws the garbage in the dumpster. Gene calls out for anyone for several minutes until he considers using the emergency exit. However, opening the door would trigger an alarm and alert the police, who could potentially recognize him. Still paranoid, Gene resumes kicking and yelling for someone to open the regular door. After several attempts, Gene sits against the wall and finds a rusty nail. A couple hours later, the custodian (who is also taking out garbage) finally opens the door and Gene walks out right past him. On the wall, Gene has carved the message "S.G. was here." ("Switch")
During another workday, Gene takes a lunch break on the second floor of the mall, he sees a young man ducking into a photo booth. Gene notices a couple of DVD cases falling from the boy's coat and immediately realizes that the kid has been shoplifting. When a security guard and police officer arrive pursuing the kid, they ask Gene if he has seen him. Gene nods wordlessly in the direction of the photo booth. Watching helplessly as the kid is pulled out and arrested, Gene's old instincts flare up and he suddenly shouts at the boy to say nothing and hire a lawyer. Realizing he has just acted out of character, Gene returns to the Cinnabon and begins prepping more food before the shock overwhelms him and he passes out. ("Mabel")
After passing out, Gene is taken to the hospital where he undergoes tests to determine the cause of his collapse and if it was a heart attack. While at the hospital, Gene grows nervous at the sight of police officers nearby and his heart rate increases but is visited by a doctor who confirms that it wasn't a heart attack and aside from a slightly elevated blood pressure, everything came back as normal. On Gene's way out, the nurse at the desk asks for another look at his driver's license, further worrying Gene. Due to the computer repeatedly kicking the driver's license back, she requests Gene's social security number and Gene grows more and more fearful of being discovered as time goes on. Fortunately, the nurse determines that she keeps making a simple typo and Gene is able to leave. Breathing heavily, Gene has a taxi take him back to the mall and spots an air freshener marked Albuquerque Isotopes in the rear-view mirror and the taxi driver appears to be staring at him as if he recognizes him. When the driver takes too long at a green light, a paranoid Gene decides to get out of the taxi early and heads towards a church, noticing that the taxi has not moved since he left it. ("Smoke")
Gene returns to his car in the now-closed mall parking lot and goes home. Panicked, Gene empties a container of diamonds, reads out and memorizes Ed The Disappearer's phone number, makes a call, changes his license plates to Missouri plates and drives off listening to a police scanner. At a truck stop diner, Gene refuses a waitress' offers of food and calls Molly to let her know that he's fine and won't be back until Thursday. Gene questions if anyone has been looking for him or hanging around and brushes off Molly's concerns. Gene is relieved to find out that no one was looking for him and spends the next few days hiding in his house listening to the police scanner and keeping watch while drinking. Convinced no one is looking for him, Gene returns to work.
While on break, he is approached by a cab driver named Jeff, who excitedly recognizes him as Saul Goodman. Gene insists that Jeff, who has another man with him, has gotten him mixed up with someone else, but Jeff insists that they both know who Gene really is and pressures Gene to admit who he really is. Nervously looking at some nearby cops, Gene does his "Better Call Saul" catchphrase and Jeff introduces himself and states that if Gene ever needs a ride, to call the cab company and ask for him. After Jeff and his friend leave, Gene calls Ed from a payphone for another extraction. Ed recognizes Gene and warns him that it will be difficult and is double the price. Gene admits that he got made though there is no official involvement and promises that he has the money. Ed states that the pickup will be in the same place he got dropped off on Thursday at 7:00am and Gene remembers the location. However, after a moment of consideration, Gene changes his mind and decides to "fix it myself" before hanging up and walking away. ("Magic Man")
An elderly woman named Marion rides her mobility scooter around a supermarket, shopping for groceries. On her way home, her scooter becomes stuck in the snow. She attracts the attention of Gene, who helps her out of the snow, snipping a wire off from her scooter to ensure he has to manually wheel her home. Jeff, the cab driver, arrives home and finds his mother, Marion, chatting it up with Gene. Jeff confronts Gene outside his house, knowing he did this to get to him. Acknowledging that Jeff didn't blackmail him due to his Saul Goodman persona being found out by him, Gene persuades Jeff to join "the game".
The following night in the mall, at Cinnabon, Gene collects a Cinnabon bag after closing and walks up to the security office, knocking on the door. A guard opens, Nick Evans. Gene thanks Nick for calling the EMT's when he fainted, and says he brought a gift. Nick let's him in the office. Gene meets Frank Danielsen, a guard who eagerly accepts Gene's giftāCinnabons. Grabbing some coffee, Gene sits with Frank eating his Cinnabon, with Franks back turned to the security monitors behind him. While talking about football, unknowingly to Frank, Gene times how long it takes for him to finish his Cinnabon, and for Frank to turn around and glance back at the security screens. This goes on for around two weeks, with Gene bringing Cinnabons after closing to the security office, and him timing how long it takes for Frank to finish his Cinnabon and glance back at the security monitors. Meanwhile, Gene maps out the malls high end department store, and makes a grid outside similar to what the store looked like. With Jeff in the game, Gene trains him to go around the store, stealing multiple items in under a few minutes before Frank turns his back at the security monitors.
The night of the heist arrives. The manager of the department store is notified of an unannounced delivery in the loading dock. Here she finds Buddy, disguised as a delivery driver, with a large wooden crate apparently containing an industrial sprayer. Having not asked for such a delivery, she asks to talk to his supervisor. Getting the "supervisors number", she calls Gene. Gene persuades the manager to keep the crate overnight, and she leaves. Continuing with his routine, Gene grabs the Cinnabons and goes up to the security office. With Franks back turned to the security monitors, Gene notifies Jeff, who is in the wooden crate, to begin the heist. Jeff goes around the department store, grabbing multitudes of clothes before accidentally falling and crashing on the floor, knocking himself out. Frank begins to look back at the screen, before Gene distracts him and begins to say a sob story. This saves enough time for Jeff to get back up, put all the stolen goods in the crate, and hide in the bathroom before morning. The next morning the crate is retrieved and the heist is a success. In Jeff's garage, the men celebrate, but it's cut short when it's revealed that Gene only did this for blackmail. He threatens that if any of them speak about his Saul Goodman persona, he would turn them in. The next day, Gene browses the department store, and finds a snazzy suit and poses with it, before putting it back and walking away. ("Nippy")
In Alburquerque, Francesca confronts her two stoner tenants over a clogged sink. Remembering her prior arrangement with Saul, and eager to duck out of her argument with the tenants, she gets into her car and drives downtown. Along the way, she diverts her route to shake off what she suspects to be a police tail. Francesca soon finds herself at an abandoned convenience store in the middle of the desert, idling near some payphones. Just as she is about to leave, one of the phones begins to ring. On the other end of the line is Gene, calling from a diner in Nebraska. He gives Francesca instructions on how to find a hidden pouch containing several thousand dollars in cash. Afterward, she updates Gene on what has happened since he left Albuquerque: the feds seized all of Saul's assets and shell companies, Skyler White took a plea deal, Huell returned to New Orleans after being released from DEA custody, and Bill Oakley has become a defense attorney. Finally, she divulges that Kim called to check on her after everything went down, and that she asked about Gene as well. Gene is affected by this last bit of news. He tries to bid Francesca goodbye, but she unceremoniously hangs up on him.
Driving back to Omaha, Gene reaches an intersection. Emotionally torn after hearing about Kim, he finds another phone booth and makes a collect call to a business called Palm Coast Sprinklers in Titusville, Florida, where Kim works using the alias "Viktor St. Clair." Kim answers, but after being mostly silent through Gene's attempts to engage her in conversation, Kim tells him that Gene should turn himself in, stating that she doesn't know what kind of life he's been living, but it can't be much. Gene explodes at Kim, telling her that she has no idea what he did or didn't do and challenging Kim to turn herself in since Kim's the one who's conscience has been bothering her and Gus, Mike and Lalo are all dead and can't take revenge for her revealing the truth about the scam against Howard and his murder. Calming down, Gene wonders why they're talking about this as they are both too smart to throw their lives away for no reason, but Kim simply tells Gene that she's happy that he's alive and hangs up the phone. The call ends with Gene slamming the phone down on the receiver and kicking in one of the glass panels of the phone booth. ("Breaking Bad",Ā "Waterworks")
Gene returns to Omaha and works a shift at the Cinnabon, contemplating his next move. The following morning, he visits Jeff's house and is greeted by Marion, who shows him a new laptop computer that Jeff has given her using his proceeds from the mall heist. Jeff returns home to find them together in the kitchen. Gene excuses Jeff and himself from the kitchen, perturbing Marion. In the garage, he asks Jeff to take the night shift at the cab company and to acquire barbiturates. Jeff is confused, as Gene had previously warned him against trying to contact him again. Gene nonverbally tells him that they are "back in business". The two men share a toast.
That night, Gene ā using the pseudonym Viktor ā performs at a karaoke bar. The mark in his latest scam is Alfred Hawthorne Hill, an obnoxious patron who coaxes Gene into a series of bets. At one point, Alfred orders a drink on Gene's tab, which Gene dispenses with using a tube hidden in his sleeve. Outside, Jeff picks up Alfred in his cab, leaving Gene behind. Gene disposes of the drink from a hot water bottle hidden under his shirt. Meanwhile, Jeff gives Alfred a bottled water spiked with barbiturates and sends a signal to Buddy to begin the next phase of the scam. Jeff drives Alfred to his home, a large house in an affluent neighborhood. As Alfred opens his front door, Jeff covers his lock with a strip of duct tape. When he drives away, Buddy and his dog enter the house. Leaving the dog at the foyer, Buddy finds Alfred asleep on the living room sofa. He removes Alfred's wallet from his jacket and takes out all of his state, credit, and banking cards, snapping photos of their front and back. He then goes into Alfred's office and snaps photos of his checkbook, his bank and tax forms, and his passwords. Buddy quietly leaves the house with the dog, almost forgetting to remove the duct tape from the lock.
Gene hears a knock at his front door. He goes downstairs in his apartment and collects a package, which contains a Swing Master machine. With the aid of Jeff and Buddy, Gene starts a new routine: he accosts well-off bar patrons, sends them home in Jeff's cab, and has Buddy enter their homes to steal their financial information. Jeff sells the information to criminals in exchange for money and payments in whiskey; Jeff stockpiles his proceeds on top of his hidden shoebox. Gene indulges in some of his other old habits as Saul, going to strip clubs with Jeff and Buddy and having one-night stands with the strippers. One night, Gene targets another mark, a bespectacled bar patron named Mr. Lingk. After they engage in conversation about the moral consequences of white-collar criminals, Lingk's beeper goes off and he begins taking pills; he admits to Gene that he has cancer. Gene initially seems hesitant to go through with the scam and asks Lingk if he should still be drinking in his condition; Lingk responds, "You only go around once." Gene takes Lingk outside and lets him be driven away in Jeff's cab.
After settling in to watch TV, Gene receives a call on his old earphone from a frantic Jeff. He, Jeff and Buddy reconvene in Jeff's garage, which is seen by Marion from her bedroom. Inside, Buddy tells Gene that he can't go through with the scam on the cancer-stricken mark, explaining that his own father had cancer. When Buddy says that he removed the duct tape from Lingk's lock, Gene angrily fires him and warns him to not talk about what they've been doing. He quickly enlists Jeff to drive him to Lingk's house so that he can commit the break-in himself, dismissing Jeff's own misgivings. Gene exits the cab, and breaks through a glass panel to unlock Lingk's front door. ("Breaking Bad")
After gaining access to Lingk's house, who is revealed to be sound asleep on the living room floor, Gene begins haphazardly pilfering his identity documents from his desk. As the job is finished, Jeff pulls up to the house, but Gene goes upstairs to steal more property, a low to which Buddy did not stoop. As Gene looks over the railing of the loft, he notices Lingk has disappeared. He eventually emerges from a bathroom on the main floor at the base of the staircase, and sits on the stairs on his phone. Gene picks up an urn containing ashes of Lingk's former dog, intending to use it to knock Lingk out cold at the bottom of the stairs, but he passes out before Gene is able to do this. He tries to escape, but parked behind Jeff is a police car on patrol. Jeff suddenly takes off in the cab and rams into a parked car, creating a diversion which allows Gene to make his escape.
Gene catches a bus back to his apartment and waits for a call to come from Jeff, which eventually comes the next morning: with Gene posing as Jeff's father, Jeff tells him he is in jail in connection to the car accident and a suspected robbery, revealing Lingk came outside to flag down the cops after having noticed his property missing and the glass panel smashed. Gene vows to get criminal defense for Jeff and that he would talk to Marion about bailing him out. Gene then calls Marion to apprise her of Jeff's situation, but lets slip that Omaha's bond declaration rules are less stringent than those in Albuquerque, raising Marion's alarm.
Later, when Gene arrives at Marion's house to pick her up, he catches her in the midst of watching old Saul Goodman TV commercials on her laptop; she performed a search on Ask Jeeves for "con man albuquerque" to reveal Gene's true identity. Faced with a threat by Marion to call the police, he rips the phone cord out of her wall and backs her into a corner as she threatens to summon the police with her LifeAlert pendant. He attempts to prevent her from following through, but after she utters "I trusted you," Gene falls silent for long enough for her to press the button. As she blows Gene's cover and true identity as Saul to the authorities on the other end of the line, Jimmy, faced with impending doom, flees out Marion's back door. ("Waterworks")
Arrested
Gene takes off from Jeff's house in his car while Marion remains in contact with her LifeAlert operator. Returning to his residence, he retrieves his shoebox and overhears information about his car being broadcast on the police radio frequency. Spotting two cops outside, he escapes through a rear window with the shoebox and a burner phone. As police swarm Omaha, Gene climbs into a dumpster and removes Ed Galbraith's business card from his shoebox. As he struggles to open the packaging to the phone, however, he spills the contents of the shoebox. He is discovered by the cops and surrenders.
As he is being booked, Gene overhears some cops in a nearby room watching one of his Saul Goodman commercials on YouTube. He makes a phone call to the Cinnabon, telling one of his employees that they will need a new manager. Later, as he paces around his holding cell, Gene hurts his hand by punching at the door. Collapsing to the floor, he notices a graffiti message etched into the wall -- "MY LAWYER WILL REAM UR ASS"āand bursts into laughter. He quickly gets up and demands another phone call.
In Albuquerque, Bill Oakley receives a call on his cell phone from the man he knows as Saul Goodman, who wants to take Oakley on as his "advisory counsel" as he represents himself in his legal proceedings. Oakley doubts he can mount a successful defense against the evidence that the district attorney and the government have gathered against Saul. When Oakley asks how he images this scenario ending, Saul confidently replies: "With me on top, like always."
Saul is extradited back to Albuquerque and held at the Metropolitan Detention Center. As he is being led through a corridor, he sees Hank's widow Marie Schrader in an adjoining room. Saul and Oakley negotiate a plea with a team of prosecutors, who are offering a reduced sentence of 30 years in prison. Knowing that Marie is watching the negotiation, Saul asks that she be allowed into the room. Marie sits across from Saul and eulogizes her late husband, Hank, and his partner, Steven Gomez, blaming their murders on Walt. Saul portrays himself as a victim of Walt, recounting how he and Jesse kidnapped him; his actions as their accomplice, he insists, were borne out of fear that he would be killed. Saul coolly reminds the lead prosecutor, George Castellano, that he only needs one juror to avoid conviction; Marie warns against making a deal.
The plea negotiation drags on into the middle of the night, with Castellano's team being forced to agree to a reduced sentence of seven-and-a-half years. Saul successfully pressures the prosecutors to have him serve his sentence in a low-security prison in North Carolina, as opposed to the maximum-security ADX Montrose. Feeling smug, Saul attempts to dangle one last piece of information in a bid to get his sentence reduced even further: the murder of Howard Hamlin. However, he is stunned to learn that Kim has already disclosed the truth of Howard's murder, meaning that he has no more leverage in the negotiations. Oakley is forced to finalize the plea deal while Saul sits in stunned silence.
Saul is sent on a passenger flight to New Mexico, accompanied by Oakley and a U.S. Marshal. Saul asks Oakley what Kim's situation is now that she has disclosed the details of Howard's murder to the authorities. Oakley says that while it remains unlikely that she will be prosecuted, Howard's widow Cheryl is planning to sue her in civil court and take her for everything she has. A thought occurs to Saul; he tells Oakley and the Marshal that he has more information about the murder to trade once they land in North Carolina.
Saul, wearing a flashy suit, enters a courtroom for his sentencing hearing; Oakley, Marie, and Kim, sitting in the back row, are also in attendance. While Castellano is making a statement to the judge defending the plea agreement, Saul rises and asks to address the court. Saul's initially repeats his speech from the MDC, recounting his kidnapping by Walt and Jesse. However, contrary to the established facts in his plea agreement, Saul throws the proceeding into disarray by confessing that, far from being a victim, he was a willing and indispensable part of Walt's drug empire. He admits to falsifying his statements about Kim, admits to the role he played in triggering his brother Chuck's suicide, credits Kim with walking away from the criminal life, and addresses himself as "James McGill" for the first time in years. Jimmy sits back at the defendant's table and looks for acknowledgement from Kim while Oakley and Castellano's team argue about the plea agreement. ("Saul Gone")
Life in Prison
As a result of Jimmy's confession, the plea agreement is quashed and he is eventually sentenced to eighty-six years in prison for all of his crimes, effectively giving Jimmy a de facto life sentence.
Jimmy is transported by bus to ADX Montrose. One of the prisoners on the bus, sitting in front of Jimmy, initially threatens him but quickly recognizes him as Saul Goodman; despite Jimmy insisting that his name is "McGill", the other prisoners recognize him one by one. Eventually the prisoners use the "Better Call Saul" slogan as the basis of a chant. Jimmy smiles, amused. He later becomes a local celebrity within the prison for his past life as Saul, befriending several inmates.
Later, while he is fixing food in the prison kitchen, Jimmy is told that a lawyer has come to see him. Taken to a visitation room, he finds that the lawyer is Kim; as her membership card with the New Mexico Bar Association doesn't have an expiration date, she is allowed to visit him as an attorney. Evoking their talks together in the HHM parking garage, the two share a cigarette and lean against a wall. The two discuss Jimmy's sentence and how he had almost gotten seven years instead before his confession. As she walks out of the prison, Kim sees Jimmy watching her from the exercise yard. The two look longingly at each other through the barbed-wire fences; he gives her a pointed-gun gesture. Kim steals one last glimpse of Jimmy as she turns a corner of the prison. ("Saul Gone")
Personality and traits
- "Saul Goodman is like a cockroach - even after the apocalypse hits, he's going to find a way to survive."
- āVince Gilligan
As both himself and in his Saul Goodman persona, Jimmy McGill is a highly intelligent, cunning, manipulative person who is a dedicated criminal lawyer and also a complete conman at heart. He is overall a person who will resort to whatever measures to achieve his own goals or protect his client's interests.
Law career as Jimmy McGill
- "Look, Iām a lawyer, not a criminal."
- āJimmy McGill to Nacho Varga
Better Call Saul overall charts Jimmy's transformation from a struggling defence attorney into a dedicated and effective criminal lawyer.
Jimmy is introduced as a struggling attorney, often forced to defend clients in loser cases and overall barely makes ends meets, and to make matters worse, his highly successful lawyer brother Chuck, is mentally ill and Jimmy takes it upon himself to care for his brother. Along with Kim and Chuck, he has good relations with most of the people he knows, with the exception of Howard Hamlin; whom he despises.
In spite of this, it is gradually revealed that Jimmy is truly more conman than a lawyer, and throughout the series, it is shown that Jimmy has been a crook from an early age, in which he stole from his kind father's corner store, eventually resulting in its bankruptcy and his father's death, as well as engaging in multiple con games in order to steal money from unsuspecting victims. It was only after being arrested for defecating through a sunroof and facing serious charges that Jimmy gave up his life as the master conman "Slippin Jimmy" and moved with his brother to Albuquerque. Jimmy has never expressed any signs of remorse for his con artist past, nor the damage he inflicted on others, notably his father; and overall enjoys the thrill of tricking people and furthering his own interests.
Jimmy's relationship with his older brother Chuck was one of the primary catalysts for his transformation into a criminal lawyer. Chuck was shown to despise his brother for his manipulative and delinquent ways, and took every opportunity to sabotage him in order to prevent him from becoming a successful lawyer, as he knew that Jimmy would always be a conman and resort to unethical measures to get his way. However, Chuck's attempts would only fuel the fire and would push Jimmy closer and closer to his true criminal nature.
Throughout Better Call Saul, Jimmy eventually transforms from a struggling attorney focused on doing the "right" things into a master manipulator and reverts back to his conman persona. He is shown to be willing to resort to whatever measures necessary in order to gain clients and to ensure that his clients, who are complete criminals, avoid arrest such as manipulating police, fabricating evidence and even stealing from his clients for blackmail purposes. Despite this, Jimmy still uses his manipulation skills for good, as seen when he saved two of his comrades from being murdered by Tuco Salamanca; talking him down to breaking their legs instead. He also notably sabotaged his brother Chuck's files in order for Kim to get her clients back. Regardless however, Jimmy is vain, arrogant and selfish. He is completely focused on his own interests and is willing to ruin people's lives in the pursuit of his interests. For example, he turned an old woman's friends against her just in order for her to settle on a large case and receive his cut. Mostly, he proves his brother's mental illness in court in order to get off easy following being arrested and charged as a result of Chuck's actions, even through he was truly guilty in the manner. Jimmy is also spiteful as well as seen when he deliberately revealed his brother's mental illness to an insurance company for revenge for his actions, and this would eventually be the one of the primary catalysts leading to his brother's tragic suicide. Following Chuck's suicide, Jimmy seemed unmotivated, being borderline annoyed by all the people expressing their condolences at Chuck's funeral, and was completely dismissive of Howard's theory (which unbeknownst to him is the truth) that Chuck committed suicide once he was forced out of HHM.
Despite this, Jimmy felt enough remorse to repair his mistake with his client by purposefully exposing his actions in a way that repaired the woman's friendships and presumably destroyed all of his own credibility with his clients in the process. However by the fourth season of Better Call Saul, Jimmy is shown to be even more cruel and non-caring as he shows barely any remorse for his older brother's tragic suicide, despite the fact that he is partly responsible and happily allows Howard to feel all the guilt over the situation; in a way following his brother's advice to no longer feel remorse for his actions and embrace who he is. Jimmy is shown to be willing to resort to even more extreme measures to get his way such as threatening three teenage thieves with death if they interfere with his drop phone service and feigning remorse for his brother's death simply to get reinstated as a lawyer and gleefully mocking the panel afterwards to Kim.
After being caught following his months on the run and faced with the harm that he's caused, Jimmy embraces being James McGill once again, shedding forever both his Saul Goodman and Gene Takavic personas. As Jimmy McGill, he owns up to his crimes, even though it turns a seven year prison sentence into an eighty-six year one, effectively condemning Jimmy to spend the rest of his life in prison. Jimmy also finally shows remorse for what he did to Chuck and for causing his suicide, the guilt of which Jimmy had previously ignored and buried.
Law career as Saul Goodman
- "I canāt go back to being Jimmy McGill. Jimmy McGill the lawyer is always gonna be Chuck McGillās loser brother. Iām done with that. That name is burned."
- āJimmy telling Kim why he wants to practice law under the name Saul Goodman.
By Season 5 of Better Call Saul, Jimmy begins to fully embrace his new identity as "Saul Goodman", an alias he initially used while performing scams alongside Marco Pasternak, and later makes use of as the alternate identity for the high-energy pitchman in television ads he produced with his film crew, and when he began a business reselling prepaid cell phones on the street. Jimmy finally decides to practice law under this name, not wanting to be seen as Chuck's "loser brother" and believing the name McGill was burned to him.
As Saul, Jimmy begins performing illicit schemes to get his way without a second thought and scamming others along the way, notably by his defense of Everett Acker against Mesa Verde. He is also shown to have grown somewhat cruel and sadistic, as seen by him gleefully harassing Howard for offering him a job at HHM by destroying his car and humiliating him by sending prostitutes to his lunch. He has shown to have also become more arrogant, as seen by his outburst at Howard after he confronts him for his harassment, claiming a job at HHM is too small and meaningless for him, since he is a god as Saul Goodman. Conversely, Jimmy's involvement with Lalo Salamanca shows that he is still capable of fear for his own life and the lives of those he cares about (namely Kim), and even helps to kill a gang member while stranded in the desert with Mike in order to ensure he makes it back to Kim and to deliver Lalo's bail money to protect her.
Despite his newfound shady nature as Saul Goodman, glimpses of Jimmy McGill can still be seen, exemplified by his genuine disgust for having to defend Lalo Salamanca for his brutal murder of the innocent Fred Whalen and his remorse for Fred's loved ones present in the courtroom. Overall, this is evidence of an internal struggle within him. Even though he refuses to admit it, it is also readily apparent that Jimmy is internally torn up over his brother's suicide, which Howard is able to recognize, and is thus the primary reason for which Jimmy chooses to harass Howard, who has finally moved on from Chuck's death while Jimmy hasn't. Regardless, Jimmy openly blames solely Howard for Chuck's death despite his own involvement, showing that he is unwilling to confront his own guilt.
Jimmy has repeatedly shown worry for Kim, as seen by his reaction to some of her decisions that have likely been influenced by his own behavior, such as quitting her job at Schweikart and Cokely and her confidently conspiring to embark on a warpath against Howard for insulting them both by destroying his legal career to obtain their share of the Sandpiper Crossing settlement. Despite his hatred of Howard and the likelihood they can pull such as scam off, Jimmy advocates against it out of concern for both Howard and Kim, and is shown to be visibly shocked that Kim is dead serious about doing it, a similar occurrence to his own behavior at the end of Season 4.
In Season 6, although he is an active participant in the plot to ruin Howard's reputation, Jimmy is shown to be the more hesitant of the two despite the fact that his criminal connections provide most of their props to carry the plan out. Nevertheless, Jimmy goes through with it and succeeds in forcing a settlement of the Sandpiper case, utterly humiliating Howard in the process. Although Howard figured out early that Jimmy and Kim were behind the elaborate plot, other people who know Jimmy, such as Clifford Main and Richard Schweikart (who are both aware of Jimmy's less-than-honest lifestyle and cons), can't believe that he would do such thing and truly believe that Howard simply is a drug addict or, at the very least, delusional. When Howard confronted Jimmy and Kim over their plot, Jimmy, despite having no remorse for the scam, claimed that Howard would still "land on his feet", and was angry when Howard called the pair sociopaths, exemplifying his ignorance over his true nature. Jimmy and Kim were nevertheless horrified when Howard was murdered by Lalo shortly afterwards, and after Jimmy collapses sideways on the ground (after being tied up in his chair by Lalo), he begins crying in shock and grief upon facing Howardās corpse.
Despite the traumatic events following Lalo's return and Howard's death, Jimmy kept practicing as Saul Goodman and was confident both him and Kim could move on from that unfortunate event. However, Jimmy's hopes would not come into fruition, as Kim decided to resign from her career as an attorney and leave Jimmy for good, saying that they were both bad for each other and hurt people around them. While arguing that Howard's death wasn't their fault and that it was Lalo who killed him, Jimmy found out that Kim knew Lalo was alive after being told so by Mike, and deliberately didn't tell him. After Kim left, Jimmy kept practicing as Saul for the next four years, eventually getting lost in the character, practicing as a criminal lawyer from dawn to dusk.
By Breaking Bad, Jimmy McGill has been completely overtaken by the Saul Goodman persona. He is shown to be a complete criminal lawyer who maintains extensive connections within the criminal underworld, and serves as a go-between connecting drug distributors, evidence removers, impersonators, and other criminals-for-hire. Despite his flamboyant appearance and mannerisms ā punctuated by his outrageous low-budget TV commercials ā Saul is a highly competent lawyer who is able to solve problems and find loopholes in order to protect his clients.
He is also not without integrity as he is shown to honor the ethical concerns of his profession, particularly the attorneyāclient privilege, and is reluctant to be associated with violence or murder unless absolutely necessary. He has served as an adviser for Walter, Jesse, Mike, and even for Skyler, whom he also helped acquire a car wash in order to launder Walter's drug money. With a sleazy manner that is sometimes bordering on comical, he might seem disreputable to police and certain other lawyers. Despite his fantastically shady appearance, Saul is indeed a highly competent extra-legal operator, adept at sniffing out legal loopholes and able to negotiate cherry deals on the behalf of his clients.
Saul is shown to have an extremely poor moral compass and is more than willing to destroy lives in order to help his clients, as seen when he blackmailed Jesse's parents Diane and Adam to sell their property to Jesse at half price by threatening to disclose the meth lab that had been in the basement, and even murder does not faze him as he suggested numerous times to Walt to permanently remove a threat, notably Jesse and his brother-in-law Hank Schrader.
However, Saul's ethical limits are glimpsed when he tried to cut ties with Walt after learning that Walt had been using him to send a young boy to the hospital. Saul is somewhat of a coward as well as he was intimidated numerous times by his primary client, Walt, and likely feared death if he did not follow Walt's orders. Ultimately, allowing Walt to control him and helping him with his criminal activities would lead to Saul having to abandon his beloved life as a criminal lawyer and flee to Nebraska to live in hiding.
After being caught, Jimmy slips from "Gene Takavic" back into his old Saul Goodman persona to escape serious jail time, wearing a flashy suit once again and deftly negotiating a potential life plus 190 years sentence down to just seven years. However, when faced with Marie Schrader and the impact that his crimes have had on others, particularly Kim, he throws away both Saul Goodman and Gene forever to become Jimmy McGill again and to own up to his crimes, even though it essentially means spending the rest of his life in prison.
Fugitive life as Gene Takavic
- "You're kidding me! Absolutely kidding me! (...) Do you know how much time, how much effort I put into finding the perfect mark?! I have to weed through all these saps who have wives and families at home! Find somebody who's alone, with money! And whatāSo you can just wimp out?! (...) So a guy with cancer can't be an asshole? Believe me! I speak from experience! (...) Do you know how many of the suckers we've ripped off had sob stories?! Every single one of them! Besides, it'll be months before they even realize they've been taken! This guy will already be dead! So please get back in your truck, go back to the house, and finish the job!"
- āGene's rant to Buddy over not going through with scamming a mark due to their illness, showing Gene's transformation from a scared Cinnabon manager to a dirty, unapologetic criminal.
After abandoning his life in New Mexico and becoming a cinnabon manager in Omaha, Nebraska under the alias Gene Takavic, he is initially shown to be a shell of the man he once was, living in complete fear of being exposed and arrested for his many crimes. He is also initially shown to be highly paranoid, once becoming so frightened by anything that could expose him that he suffers a panic attack that sends Gene to the hospital.
Despite the necessity of keeping a low profile, there's still a lot inside of Gene that craves some of his old life back, as shown when he marked "S.G. was here" on a wall or when he shouted to a shoplifter to get a lawyer. He is also shown to be devastated over the loss of his former life as a criminal lawyer, often watching old videos of his Saul Goodman commercials and weeping throughout them. After being recognized by Jeff, Gene panicked to the point that he called Ed Galbraith to give him a new identity again, but decided at the last minute to fix it himself rather than going through with the extraction, indicating that he has retained some of his old self and has finally had enough of running and living in fear.
In order to deal with the danger of Jeff, Gene reverts back into his old "Slippin' Jimmy" persona once again, conning Jeff's mother Marion and helping Jeff get into the criminal lifestyle which he recognizes is what Jeff truly desires. Gene is shown to greatly enjoy the chance to employ his old talents as a con artist again while setting it up so that Jeff can't expose him without causing "mutually assured destruction" due to the number of crimes that he had committed. After this event and being energized by the con's success, Gene seems to be reinvigorated in his day to day life again, working at the Cinnabon with greater enthusiasm. Gene briefly checks out the sort of flamboyant outfit that he would've worn as Saul before putting it back, suggesting that Gene has decided to hang up his past for good and move on from being Saul Goodman and truly embrace his new life as Gene Takavic, though still holding on to memories of his past life as a con man.
However, Gene's plans for a new life free of crime are interrupted by the revelation that all of his assets have been seized by the government, leaving him with only what he brought with him to Nebraska. As a result, Gene falls back into being "Slippin' Jimmy" full time to make money with the help of Jeff and Buddy, successfully orchestrating a scam against multiple people over a long period of time, with Gene becoming a dirty, unapologetic criminal who has nothing to lose. Although Gene is shown to be sympathetic to Mr. Lingk, one of his victims who is dying of cancer, he insists upon proceeding with the scam even when Buddy and Jeff hesitate, and goes so far as to fire Buddy from the scam and personally break into the man's house to rob him. When Lingk later wakes up, Gene goes so far as to even contemplate bludgeoning Lingk with an urn containing his dog's ashes to knock him out, before the man passes out again.
Gene is later shown to panic when he realizes Marion has figured out his true identity as Saul, menacingly approaching her in a panicked rage with a cord and threatening her. When she did not give in to Gene's threatening attitude and informed the authorities of Gene's true identity as Saul moments afterwards, a scared Jimmy abandoned his life as Gene and trying to go on the run once again. Ultimately, Jimmy's attempt to "fix it himself" would lead to Marion discovering his true identity, causing Jimmy having to abandon his life as Gene and face justice for his actions. In addition, Gene's threatening actions towards Marion show just how much he has changed since his time as Jimmy McGill who, despite being a crook, cared deeply about the elderly and even destroyed his own reputation with his clients to make what he did to Irene Landry right. However, the fact that Marion's fear and, more specifically, her stating that she had trusted him caused Gene to hesitate suggests that he may have been reminded of the man he once was by Marion's reaction and saw he had gone too far.
Brief return to the Saul persona and becoming Jimmy again
- "I wasn't there when the meth was cooked. I wasn't there when it was sold. I didn't witness any of the murders, but I damn well knew it was happening. I was more than a willing participant, I was indispensable. I kept Walter White out of jail, I laundered his money, I lied for him, I conspired with him and I made millions! If he hadn't walked into my office that day, Walter White would've been dead or behind bars within a month. And Agent Schrader and Agent Gomez and a whole lot of other people would still be alive. Fact is, Walter White couldn't have done it without me."
- āSaul's confession about his criminal activities.
After being caught, Jimmy sheds his Gene persona to become Saul Goodman once again as he faces the authorities over his various crimes before then shedding both Saul and Gene for good to become Jimmy McGill permanently. He is finally shown to be remorseful about the deaths of Chuck and Howard, referring to Chuck's death as a crime. Referring to Kim, Jimmy said that she had more guts than him in the wake of Howard's death as she moved away from Albuquerque to start anew, but said it was him who ran away.
In jail, he calls Bill Oakley and asks him to serve as his advisory counsel. The Government then offers Saul a "take-it-or-leave-it" deal of 30 years in jail, but Saul then narrates a version of events that places him as a victim and unwilling associate of Walter White's meth empire ever since he was kidnapped by Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, intimidating the prosecution by declaring that he needs to convince only a single juror to avoid a Guilty verdict. He's able to improve his deal to just 7 years in a prison of his choice in North Carolina, which he tries to reduce even more by trading information about the death of Howard, upon which he is informed that Kim had already confessed to what actually happened to Howard a month prior.
While being extradited to Albuquerque, Saul asks Oakley to tell the Government that he has even more information about Howard's death. While in court, Saul starts his testimony by narrating the same kidnapping story, but then admits to doing business with Heisenberg of his own free will and for his gain, confessing in front of everybody to all his crimes and his indispensable role in Walter White's drug empire as well as his role in Chuck's ousting from HHM and ultimate suicide, all the while accepting that he doesn't really have any more information on Howard and had lied so Kim could come and see him admit to everything. Saul then declares that he is James McGill, finally leaving behind his alternate persona.
Jimmy is sent to prison in Colorado, his sentence now at 86 years. However, he is well respected and revered by his fellow inmates because of his history as Saul.
Deaths
Murders connected to Jimmy
- Matador, Jefe, and 3 other Colombian Gang members: Shot down with a sniper rifle by Mike Ehrmantraut to rescue Jimmy and Lalo Salamanca's bail money. ("Bagman")
- TiburĆ³n: Drawn out by Jimmy and lured into a trap so that Mike could shoot him with a sniper rifle. ("Bagman")
- Howard Hamlin: Confronted Jimmy over his scam, indirectly leading to Howard's murder by Lalo. ("Plan and Execution")
- Eduardo "Lalo" Salamanca: Jimmy's decision to get Lalo to send Kim instead of himself led to Kim informing Mike and Gustavo Fring that Lalo went to her apartment and is holding Jimmy hostage, which in turn leads to Lalo's gunfight with Gus that resulted in his death. ("Point and Shoot")
Deaths connected to Jimmy
- Charles McGill Sr: Jimmy's embezzlement of nearly $14,000 from his father's small corner store over the years contributed to its bankruptcy and closure and also his father's untimely death six months later as a result of his loss of the store. ("Rebecca",Ā "Inflatable")
- Charles "Chuck" McGill Jr: After Jimmy deliberately revealed his brother's mental illness to an insurance company out of spite, a conflict between Chuck and Howard erupted which ended with Howard forcing Chuck out of HHM when he threatened to sue the firm's insurer for raising their rates over his mental illness and Howard himself for trying to get him to retire for the good of the firm. Losing his position at HHM would be a vital contributing factor to Chuck's mental relapse and eventual tragic suicide. Jimmy would later express regret for this and said it was a crime during his trial. ("Expenses",Ā "Lantern",Ā "Saul Gone")
Known Clients
Criminal and civilian contacts
Civilian |
Criminal |
Appearances
Breaking Bad
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Better Call Saul
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Quotes
Better Call Saul
"It's showtime, folks." āJimmy talking to himself while looking at a mirror
- "Oh, to be nineteen again! You with me, ladies and gentlemen? Do you remember nineteen? Let me tell you, the juices are flowing. The red corpuscles are corpuscling, the grass is green, and it's soft, and summer's gonna last forever. Now, do you remember? Yeah, you do. But if you're being honest...I mean, well, really honest, you'll recall that you also had an underdeveloped nineteen-year-old brain. Me, personally, I...it...If I were held accountable for some of the stupid decisions I made when I was nineteen... Oh, boy, wow. And I bet if we were in church right now, I'd get a big "amen!" Which brings us to these three...Now, these three knuckleheads. And I'm sorry, boys, but that's what you are. They did a dumb thing. We're not denying that. However, I would like you to remember two salient facts. Fact one: nobody got hurt, not a soul. Very important to keep that in mind. Fact two: Now, the prosecution keeps bandying this term "criminal trespass." Mr. Spinowzo, the property owner, admitted to us that he keeps most portions of his business open to the public both day and night. So, trespassing? That's a bit of a reach, don't you think, Dave? Here's what I know: These three young men, near honors students all, were feeling their oats one Saturday night, and they just went a little bananas. [chuckles] I don't know. Call me crazy, but I don't think they deserve to have their bright futures ruined by a momentary, minute, never-to-be-repeated lapse of judgment. Ladies and gentlemen, you're bigger than that."
- āJimmy defending three teenagers in court.
- Jimmy: "Let me tell you about a young guy--actually, he's about your age. He lived a long way from here, in a town called Cicero, Illinois. And in Cicero, he was the man. I mean, when he strolled down the street, all the corner boys would give him the high five. All the finest babes would smile at him, and hope that he would smile back. They called him Slippin' Jimmy, and everybody wanted to be his friend."
- Lars: "Slippin' Jimmy? What the hell kinda name is that?"
- Jimmy: "Well, I'll tell you now. Winters in Cicero are murder. You guys growing up here in the Golden West, you don't know. Okay? I'm talking cold that'll freeze the snot right in your nose. I'm talking wind that'll cut through your jacket and carve you up like a Ginsu knife. In fact, most folks in Cicero were scared of winter, but not Jimmy. Jimmy'd wait around all summer, and when September finally rolled around and he'd feel that first cold wind come sweeping off lake Michigan, he knew it was coming. Was it Christmas? Was it Kwanzaa? Better! It was slip-and-fall season. Soon as it was cold enough, he'd find a nice, smooth patch of ice. Saint Street was good, Michigan Avenue was better. He'd pick a spot, wait for it to get busy, then walk out on the ice and--BOOM! He would biff it so hard people would come running from five blocs away!"
- Cal: "Yeah, but did he collect?"
- Jimmy: "Did he collect... Slippin' Jimmy had it dialed in, alright? One good fall, he'd clear six--eight grand. That'd keep him in Old Milwaukee and Maui Wowie right through Labor Day."
- Lars: "Eight grand?"
- Jimmy: "Eight grand."
- āJimmy recounting his past to the Lindholm twins.[src]
- "Actually, it's getting arrested that makes people look guilty, even the innocent ones, and innocent people get arrested every day. And they find themselves in a little room with a detective who acts like he's their best friend. 'Talk to me,' he says. Uh, 'help me clear this thing up. You don't need a lawyer, only guilty people need lawyers.' And boom! Hey, that's when it all goes south. That's when you want someone in your corner, someone who will fight tooth and nail. Lawyers, you know, we're like health insurance. You hope you never need it. But, man, oh, man, not having it, no."
- āJimmy during his pitch to the Kettlemans.
- Tuco: "Talk."
- Jimmy: "I'm gonna make an educated guess what happened here. My two clients, Frick and Frack, the mopheads, were in a simple traffic accident. A minor fender-bender, but maybe they were on the wrong side of the street or they didn't look both ways. It could happen to anyone. My clients, exhibiting extremely poor judgement, followed your grandmother to this delightful, well-tended home. Now, at this juncture, I am deducing that they said or did something that... crossed a line, and youāwith some justificationāyou put them in their place. Based on the "salsa" stain there, could've gone a couple ways. The bottom line, not to be morbid, but if they're dead, uh, I'm guessing that I'm... I'm gonnaāYeah, I'm gonna go with glass half-full here and say they're not. My point is, if they're alive, why kill us? Why, because of a misunderstanding? Our own stupidity? Why mess up your lovely abuelita's place? Why jump to the nuclear option? See, I'm saying "keep it simple." I will collect my moronic clients, and poof, we are gone. Neither you nor your lovely abuelita will ever lay eyes on us ever again, guaranteed! Signed, sealed and delivered... assuming, you know, that they're still breathing."
- Tuco: "Wow. You got a mouth on you."
- Jimmy: "Thank you."
- āJimmy's conversation with Tuco Salamanca.[src]
- Jimmy: "Think about their mother."
- Tuco: "I SPIT ON THEIR MAMA!"
- Jimmy: "When I was at your abuelitaās place, you were gonna let them go. Way I see it, thatās because youāre tough, but youāre fair. Youāre all about justice."
- Tuco: "Thatās what I am saying. Justice."
- Jimmy: "Theseāthese two shit-for-brains? These two big-mouths? Youāyou already beat the living hell out of them. Do you think theyāre ever gonna forget today? Never! Ten years from now, theyāre still gonna be crapping their jockeys."
- Tuco: "Itās not enough."
- Jimmy: "Okay, okay. Then letās talk proportionality. Theyāre guiltyāOh, agreed. Now you have to decide whatās the right sentence?"
- Tuco: "Like a judge."
- Jimmy: "Like a judge. Ever heard of the Code of Hammurabi? Let the punishment fit the crime, eye for an eye?"
- Tuco: "Eye for an eye. You want me to blind them."
- Jimmy: "No, no. All they did was trash-talk."
- Tuco: "So, I cut their tongues out!"
- Jimmy: "Wait. See, Iām advising that you make the punishment fit the crime."
- Tuco: "Punishment fit the crime. Columbian neckties. I cut their throats, and then I PULL THEIR LYING TONGUES THROUGH THE SLITS! BIZNATCH!!"
- āTuco ranting about the twins to Jimmy[src]
- "No, not on your abuelita. Not on you! There's a woman named Betsy Kettleman. I mentioned her. She's married to Craig Kettleman ā he's the treasurer of Bernalillo County. He stole $1.5 million from the county; he's going to be indicted any day now. This is a good case for me, a lot of publicity. I'll get my name out. Anyway, I thought if I had these two run their skateboard hustle on Mrs. Kettleman, I could rescue her, come in and throw some oil on troubled waters, and I'd get their business. That was the plan, but it turns out your lovely abuelita, she drives a car that's a whole lot like the Kettlemobile. So these two geniuses ran their little stunt on the wrong one. So joke's on meā¦ ha! Simple as that."
- āJimmy attempting to reason with Tuco.
- Skateboarder: "You ā you are ā you are the worst lawyer ā the worst lawyer ever!"
- Jimmy: "Hey, I just talked you down from a death sentence to six months probation. I'm the best lawyer ever."
- āJimmy driving the two brothers to the hospital.[src]
- "I'm not starting over! I'm busting my nut here every day for $700 a throw, inhaling your BM, which is straight from Satan's bunghole, and you can't tell one defendant from another? 90 days with good behavior, we're doing this! Yeah, okay?"
- āJimmy arguing with Bill Oakley
- "Hey, if somebody warned the Kettlemans, it was probably somebody who was worried about those kids. You know how much trouble you caused me? You didn't need any help getting caught, okay? The neighbor IDed you. You were sloppy. Any trouble you might have: that's on you. Not to mention the blood in your van. Here's a thought: Ajax! Formula 409! You have no idea the tap-dance I had to give those cops to get you out of here. You gave them probable cause out the wazoo. Now, and whoever the somebody is who may have warned the Kettlemans, got them out of there before you did anything even more stupid. You should be thanking this good Samaritan. Because whoever he is, he did you a favor."
- āJimmy chastising Nacho over his attempt to abduct the Kettlemans.
- "Hey, you know what? I hope you do make a fortune, 'cause Chandler's gonna need it to help pay for his therapy!"
- āJimmy to Roland Jaycocks over "Tony the Toilet Buddy".
- "You want a good turn? Here's your good turn, okay? I'm gonna behave like an honest-to-God, law-abiding, licensed attorney, 'cause, clearly, you need one with whatever the hell is going on here. Now, those two jokers out in the hallway? I'm gonna make sure they dot their i's and cross their t's - everything square and above board. That's what I'm gonna do, and you're gonna be happy as hell that I'm here. But this little Juan Valdez bump-and-dump? No. Not gonna happen."
- āJimmy to Mike about his plan to acquire Detective Abbasi's police notes.
- "I - I can see how upset you are, and, even on a good day, you and logic are: [whistles]. But think about what you just said. Criminals have no recourse. And you two: you're criminals, big-time."
- āJimmy to the Kettlemans over their threat to have him arrested for theft.
- "This is a demand letter informing Sandpiper Crossing of pending litigation for defrauding my clients through systematic overcharging. You're shredding in there! I'm not deaf! I can hear you! Stop right now! This here, this makes it official, right? If you don't stop shredding right now, that's destruction of evidence - spoliation! That's what it's called, and it's a felony! So call your lawyers right now and tell them I said that! Me! James McGill, Esquire!"
- āJimmy serving Sandpiper Crossing with a summons written on toilet paper.
- "If that's what you want, y'know? Us working together? Well, you can make it happen, easily. I mean, hey, that reception you got yesterday at HHMāhow 'bout that, right? The whole lobby of HHM applauding for you. They love you! Now, if you threaten to pull out, Hamlin would be insane to screw with you. You've got the nuclear option, launch the doomsday device. Game over! If working with me is what you really want, right, Chuck? [beat] You called him. You called Hamlin. I always turn my phone off before I put it in your mailbox. Two nights ago, it was left on. Battery drained. I was so damn sure that I turned it off, you know, 'cause I always do. It's a habit, right? So, it was nagging me, it was nagging me. So, I called the phone company. Turns out there was a deleted call at 2 A.M., when I was asleep right there. And you know whose number? Hamlin's. The only person who could have made that call and deleted it... is you, Chuck. Boy, that phone, huh? Phone must've felt like a blowtorch in your ear; all that electricity, all those radio waves right up against the side of your head, my God! What was so important that you had to call Howard before our meeting? The only thing I can thinkāthe only thing that makes sense is... you told him not to hire me. It was always you, right? Right back to when I passed the bar and tried to join the firm. You didn't want me. Speak up. Tell me why! It's the least you can do for me now!"
- āJimmy confronting Chuck.
- Jimmy: "I'm your brother! We're supposed to look out for each other! Why were you working against me, Chuck?!"
- Chuck: "You're not a real lawyer."
- Jimmy: "I'm what?"
- Chuck: "You're not a real lawyer! University of American Samoa, for Christ's sake? An online course?! What a joke! I worked my ass off to get where I am, and you take these shortcuts and you think suddenly you're my peer?! You do what I do because you're funny and you can make people laugh?! I committed my life to this! You don't slide into it like a cheap pair of slippers and then reap all the rewards!"
- Jimmy: "I thought you were proud of me."
- Chuck: "I was! When you straightened out and got a job in the mailroom, I was very proud."
- Jimmy: "So that's it then, right? Keep old Jimmy down in the mailroom, 'cause he's not good enough to be a lawyer."
- Chuck: "I know you. I know what you were, what you are. People don't change. You're Slippin' Jimmy! And Slippin' Jimmy I can handle just fine, but Slippin' Jimmy with a law degree is like a chimp with a machine gun! The law is sacred! If you abuse that power, people get hurt! This is not a game. You have to know on some level, I know you know I'm right. You know I'm right!"
- Jimmy: "I...I got ya a 20-pound bag of ice, and some bacon and some eggs and a couple of those steaks that you like. Some fuel canisters, it's enough for three or four days. After that... you're on your own. I am done."
- āJimmy brutally discovering what Chuck actually thinks of him as a lawyer.[src]
- "Now, Chet was connected, see? Like, uh, Cicero connected. So, usually, I'd be looking at malicious mischief, public intoxication, disorderly conduct, maybe, but he's got the D.A. saying indecent exposure, calling me a sex offender. What? One little Chicago sunroof, and suddenly I'm Charles Manson?!? And that's where it all went off the rails. I've been paying for it ever since. That's why I'm here! I don't You know what? Any of this stuff you want, come get it. Kitty-cat notebooks for everybody!"
- āJimmy ranting at the bingo game.
- Woman: "Hey!"
- Jimmy: "Hey."
- Woman: "You are NOT Kevin Costner!"
- Jimmy: "I was last night. [A flurry ensues as the woman grabs her clothes, chases another woman out of the other room, and heads to the door.] Can I interest you ladies in some mimosas? At least stick around long enough to get dressed."
- Woman: "Screw you!"
- Jimmy: "If you build it, I will come."
- āthe morning after Jimmy's infamous Kevin Costner stunt.[src]
- "I've been doing the "right" thing for all these years now, and where has it gotten me? Nowhere."
- āJimmy to Kim regarding his "quitting the law".
- Chuck: "You have to admit that shows a lack of judgment on her [Kim's] part. She knows you. She should have known better."
- Jimmy: "You are such an asshole."
- Chuck: "Why? For pointing out that her one mistake was believing in you?"
- Jimmy: "For Christ's sake, could we get some perspective here? It was a simple little commercial, it aired once, that's all. And can I remind you it worked ā it worked like a dream?"
- Chuck: "See, that's your problem, Jimmy. Thinking that the ends justify the means. And you're forever shocked when it all blows up in your face."
- Jimmy: "What did I do that was so wrong?"
- Chuck: "You broke the rules. [Jimmy scoffs] You turned Kim into your accessory. You embarrassed Howard who, God help him, inexplicably vouched for you with Cliff Main. You made Cliff and his partners look like schmucks. Shall I go on? How he hasn't fired you for this positively mystifies me. "Perspective." You want perspective? I'll give you mine. You're my brother, and I love you, but you're like an alcoholic who refuses to admit he's got a problem. Now someone's given you the keys to the school bus and I am not going to let you drive it off a cliff."
- āChuck trying to make Jimmy aware of the consequences of his actions, especially on his personal and professional environment.[src]
" Look, um, I'm a lawyer, and this is what I do all day, every day, so h-how about this? I-I won't fly jet planes; you, uh, stay out of court. Does that sound good?" āJimmy, confronted by Air Force Captain Bauer over his TV commercial.
- "You taped me?! You asshole! (...) You pulled that heartstrings con job on me?! You piece of shit! "Oh, my brain used to work, I'm sick, I don't know what to do!" Asshole! No wonder Rebecca left you! What took her so long?! There it is! Here we go! Here we go! Here we go! Oh, is this it? Is this it? Is this it? Huh? For this, you destroyed our family? Are you happy now?! For what?! For nothing! Is that all there is, Chuck? Is that all thereāall there is, or did you make copies? Huh, Chuck? Huh?! You tell me or I'll burn this whole goddamn house to the ground!"
- āJimmy confronting Chuck over the cassette tape.
- "Here's what's gonna happen. One day, you're gonna get sick again. One of your employees is gonna find you curled up in that space blanket, take you to the hospital, hook you up to those machines that beep and whir and hurt. And this time, it'll be too much. And you will die there. Alone."
- āJimmy condemning his brother.
- "I fucked up. Chuck bamboozled me again. That tape? He made sure that Ernie heard it, right? Because he knew Ernie, bless him, would tell me about it and I would come over to try to destroy it or steal it or whatever. Howard was there, and a P.I., if you can believe that, just waiting for me to lose my shit and bust in. Chuck played me like a fiddle! And schmuck that I am, I fell for it! Moron. [Breathes sharply] I'm sorry. And then, I didn't call you, which is stupid, and I'm sorry about that, too. But I didn't call you for a reason, okay? 'Cause this is my screw-up. I own it, okay? It's my responsibility to fix it. And I know you want to help. Of course you do, 'cause you're wonderful. But y-you're up to your ears in Mesa Verde. And I can't, I won't load this onto you, too. We have worked too hard to let Chuck's bullshit vendetta threaten everything that we're building! I won't allow him to endanger our business! No! I will fix this. Myself. Me. Jimmy McGill. Okay? You have gotta let me do this on my own."
- āJimmy to Kim about the cassette tape incident.
- "It comes down to this In order to understand what I was thinking, you need to see Chuck through my eyes. You need to know if I believed that tape was evidence. And I say it was evidence of only one thing: My brother hates me. Now, he claims that he lied to me to get me to tell the truth. And I'm telling you: I lied to my brother to make him feel better. Which of us you believe depends on how we all understand the mind of Charles McGill."
- āJimmy at his bar hearing examining Chuck's testimony.
- Chuck: "God, Jimmy! Don't you know by now this is real? I feel this: it's a physical response to stimuli, it's not a quirk. What do I have to do to prove it to you?"
- Jimmy: "I don't know, Chuck. Could you reach into your breast pocket and tell me what's there?"
- Chuck: "What now?"
- Jimmy: "Can you tell the court what that was?"
- Chuck: "A battery."
- āJimmy demonstrating to the court that Chuck's disease is probably not physical.[src]
- "What's that I see? Albuquerque's next TV star? It's you, small business owner! Struggling to make it in today's fast-paced economy? Thought television advertising was too expensive for you? Well you better think again! You can't afford not to be on TV! Look at you, you're a triple threat: great services, great products, and most of all, that face! You're a star! Wrap it all up in your natural charisma, and bam ā you belong on TV! Better watch out for autograph hounds and paparazzi! And it gets better! I can have you on the air tomorrow! Yeah, you heard me right ā tomorrow! Better get ready to be famous, Albuquerque! I can make you a TV star for a price you can afford! Call me, Saul Goodman! The world needs to know about you and your business! Call me now!"
- āJimmy's first transformation into Saul Goodman in a TV ad.
- Jimmy: "You see that? Fender Stratocaster signed by Ritchie Blackmore. You know who that is, right?"
- Joey Dixon: "Someone nobody's ever heard of?"
- Jimmy: "That's real good. I hope your parents enjoy supporting you for the rest of their lives. C'mon, Ritchie Blackmore, Deep Purple."
- Sound Guy: "Oh, Another Brick in the Wall."
- Jimmy: "I weep for the future."
- āJimmy, Joey Dixon and the Sound Guy.[src]
- Jimmy: "'Cause I wanted to tell you..."
- Chuck: "That you have regrets. And I'm telling you: don't bother. What's the point? You're just gonna keep hurting people."
- Jimmy: "That's not true."
- Chuck: "Jimmy, this is what you do. You hurt people, over and over and over. And then there's this show of remorse."
- Jimmy: "It's not a "show"."
- Chuck: "I know you don't think it's a show. I don't doubt your emotions are real. But what's the point of all the sad faces and the gnashing of teeth? If you're not going to change your behavior, and you won't..."
- Jimmy: "I can change."
- Chuck: "Why don't you skip the whole exercise? In the end, you're going to hurt everyone around you. You can't help it. So stop apologizing and accept it. Embrace it. Frankly, I'd have more respect for you if you did."
- āPart of Chuck's and Jimmy's final conversation[src]
- "Did you see the backyard? His microwave, his stereo, his lights... dishwasher, all the kitchen stuff... everything electric is back there. The firemen didn't do that. He did that. I saw him five days ago. He was listening to jazz. All the lights worked. He was himself. Something must've happened. Something made him relapse."
- āJimmy to Kim about Chuck's death.
- Jimmy: "Insincere! INSINCERE! (...) A goddamn year?! What am I supposed to do for a whole year?! (...) I guarantee I'm not selling cell phones for a fucking year, I'll tell you that! (...) A hard pass! And don't tell me I can appeal because once the board hears the word, "insincere", I'm screwed! (...) How do you just prove insincere?!"
- Kim: "Jimmy, please! Jimmy, just take a breath, and start from the beginning. Please."
- Jimmy: "I was good, Kim. IāI mean, I wasn't stuck up, but I knew my shit! Right?! "What have you been doing during your suspension?", and, "Have you been keeping up with the law?", yadda-yadda. All fine! And then one of them, out of nowhere, comes up with this weird-ass question: "What does the law mean to you?""
- Kim: "That's a big one."
- Jimmy: "Huge! And I nailed it! I talked about the meaning of the law, and I was down to earth, and I was humble, and I was sincere. And they loved it!"
- Kim: "SāSo..."
- Jimmy: "So, they turned me down!"
- Kim: "Well, there has to be more to it than that."
- Jimmy: "There's not!"
- Kim: "I don't...What did they say when you talked about Chuck?"
- Jimmy: "What does Chuck have to do with this? What..."
- Kim: "So, you didn't even..."
- Jimmy: "Why would I?"
- Kim: "Okay. Okay, um...Okay, listen, we will figure this out. And yes, you will appeal..."
- Jimmy: "They're just gonna rubber stamp..."
- Kim: "...we'll appeal this, we won't let them! We'll find a way to make you look sincere!"
- Jimmy: "Kim, I was sincere!"
- Kim: "I know that. I meant we will fix it."
- Jimmy: "I might have been a little corny, but I meant every word!"
- Kim: "I know that."
- āKim and Jimmy talking on the rooftop after Jimmy was called insincere
- Jimmy: "You don't believe me."
- Kim: "Of course I do."
- Jimmy: "Jesus, it's right there on your face! You think I'm some kind of low-life..."
- Kim: "What?!"
- Jimmy: "...some kind of asshole kind of lawyer guilty people hire, right?"
- Kim: "No, Jimmy, thatāthat's not what I..."
- Jimmy: "You look at me, and you see Slippin' Jimmy!"
- Kim: "I never said that!"
- Jimmy: "Yeah, but you thought it!"
- āKim and Jimmy's argument
- Kim: "You wanna know why the committee called you insincere? Because you didn't mention Chuck!"
- Jimmy: "What does that have to..."
- Kim: "They read the transcripts! They know what happened, Jimmy! They were waiting for you to say something about him!"
- Jimmy: "So I'm supposed to make a big, hairy deal about my dead brother at my reinstatement hearing? How is that sincere?! I don't think about Chuck, okay?! I don't miss Chuck! Chuck was alive, and now he's dead, and that's that! Finito! Life goes on, so sue me! Thāthere it is again! That's why we don't have an office!"
- Kim: "What?! No, do not start in on that office! I don't wanna hear another word about that stupid office!"
- Jimmy: ""Stupid office?" Okay, here we go! Here we go!"
- Kim: "Jimmy! I have been on your side since the day we met! Who comes...running when you call?! Who cleans up your messes?! I have a job, but I drop everything for you! Every single timeāyou confessed to a felony on tapeāI'm there! You have a bar hearing? I represent you over and over again! If you need me, I'm there! But somehow, in your mind, the only measure of my feelings for you isāis some office?!"
- Jimmy: "I'm good enough to live with, to sleep with, but God forbid you should have an office with me."
- Kim: "What are youāI just told you that..."
- Jimmy: "You get a little bored with your life, so you come down, and roll around in the dirt. Have some fun with Slippin' Jimmy then back up!"
- Kim: "Oh, is it fun?! Fun, like lying to the ADA to get your friend out of the shitter? Or fun like standing there with a smile plastered on my face while you play infantile mind games on my law partner?"
- Jimmy: "Oh, what a mistake it was to take me up to your office in the sky! You'll never do that again!"
- Kim: "Yeah, maybe I won't. And maybe next time you call, I won't come."
- Jimmy: "There you go! Kick a man when he's down!"
- Kim: "Jimmy, you are always down."
- āThe unspoken come to light between Kim and Jimmy.
- "Hi. You didn't get it. You were never gonna get it. They... They dangle these things in front of you, they tell you you got a chance but, I'm sorry, it's a lie. Because they had already made up their mind and they knew what they were gonna do before you walked in the door. You made a mistake, and they are never forgetting it. As far as they're concerned, your mistake is just... It's who you are. And it's all you are. And I'm not just talking about the scholarship, I'm talking about everything. I mean, they'll smile at you, they'll pat you on the head but they are never ever letting you in. But listen, listen. It doesn't matter, it doesn't. Because you don't need them. I mean, they're not gonna give it to you, so what? You're gonna take it. You're gonna do whatever it takes, do you hear me? You're not gonna play by the rules. You're gonna go your own way, you're gonna do what they won't do. You're gonna be smart, you are gonna cut corners and you are gonna win. They're on the 35th floor? You're gonna be on the 50th floor. You're gonna be looking down on them. And the higher you rise, the more they're gonna hate you. Good! Good! You rub their noses in it! You make them suffer! Because you don't matter all that much to them, so what? So what? Screw them! Remember, the winner takes it all."
- āJimmy explaining to Kristy Esposito what she will have to face if she wants to succeed based on his personal experience.
- "I was just gonnaāI was gonna try to move you all with my brother's eloquent words. You know, pull on your heartstrings. But it's not right. This letter is between me and him, and it should stay that way. Listen, my brother Chuck...youāyou knew him. He loved me in his own way. He loved me as a brother. He did not love me as a lawyer. Big reason I became a lawyer was Chuck. He was the most brilliant man I ever knew, and an incredible lawyer, you know? And he knew exactly who he was. Exactly. And all my life, I wanted to make him proud, and he was not an easy man to make proud. You know, like climbing Everest without supplies: if you were one of the lucky few who reached that peak, even for a moment, if you made him proud ā wow, what a feeling. And he let you know it, too. But if you weren't one of those people... Heāhe was polite enough, but he did not suffer fools, you know? And he could be judgmental and difficult, and he knew how to get under your skin. Hmm... could be a real son of a bitch. Chuck was the one who was always right, always. And usually he was, you know? So for a guy like me ā I did lousy in school, I lacked ambition, I always cut corners ā I mean, for me to live up to the standards of Charles McGill... I mean, look at me. I'll never be as moral as him, I'll never be as smart, I'll never be as respected. I'll never be as good as Chuck. [sniffs] But I can try. I can try. If you decide I get to be a lawyer, I'll do everything in my power to be worthy of the name McGill. And if you decide I'm not a lawyer...doesn't matter. I'll still try to be the best man that I can be. I'm lucky I got this letter. I never had a chance to write him a letter, and to tell him all the things that I should have. But I gotta believe that somehow... somehow he knows. Well, that's... that'll have to do it for me. Sorry... thank you."
- āJimmy talking about Chuck in court.
- Kim: "I knew you could do it! I knew you had it in you!"
- Jimmy: "That was so great!"
- Kim: "I mean, yes! Theyāthey have to reinstate you now! They just have to!"
- Jimmy: "Uh, yeah! Did you see those suckers? [Kim is stunned] That one asshole was crying, he had actual tears! Jesus, Kim! Listen, I started reading the letter, and I just knew it wasn't... I could tell by their faces it wasn't gonna be enough, right? So I just went off on this flow, you know? I had this energy going through me. It was like improv or jazz and then boom! Sunk the hook in! "I'm so lucky I have this letter." God! I could see the Matrix, you know! I was invincible! I could dodge bullets, baby! And you were right, you were right ā it was all about Chuck! The whole time!"
- Clerk: "Oh, Mr. McGill, you're still here. There's some good news."
- Jimmy: "Believe me, I already know."
- Clerk: "Oh good. Then if you want to come with me to the office, there's some paperwork for you to sign."
- Jimmy: "Absolutely! Let's do this thing! Oh, and sweetheart, I'm gonna need one more form: a DBA. Y'see, I'm not gonna be practicing under the name "McGill", so..."
- Clerk: "Shouldn't be a problem. Just down the hall. We have all the forms."
- Jimmy: "Great! Great!"
- Kim: "W-w-wait, Jimmy, Jimmyāwhat?!"
- Jimmy: "S'all good, man!"
- āJimmy and Kim after the bar committee.[src]
- Kim: "You're gonna call yourself, Saul Goodman?"
- Jimmy: "I'm already calling myself Saul Goodman! We've talked about this, that scammers would buy my phones. Sure as shooting, sooner or later, every last one of them is gonna find themselves in the back of a squad car. How do I get them to call Jimmy McGill? I don't! I stay Saul Goodman, they call the guy they already know. I thought I was wasting a year of my life! It wasn't a waste, it was for this! This is it!"
- Kim: "When did you decide..."
- Jimmy: "Just now! Just back there, just... BOOM! It just hit me! This is the way. Kim, it's gonna work!"
- Kim: "I..."
- Jimmy: "I know. All of a sudden, I got it all figured out, but IāI do! This is right! So, I'll get this done, and then we can talk about it, okay? [pause] I mean... unless... IsāIs there something that I'm not seeing here? If you want me to slow my roll, I can come back, and do this another day."
- Kim: "[pause] If this is how you're really feeling..."
- Jimmy: "It is."
- Kim: "I say, "Sure.""
- Jimmy: "Great! Five minutes max!"
- āJimmy explaining to Kim why he decided to practice under the name Saul Goodman[src]
- Jimmy: "This is Olivia Bitsui. She is a photographer; in fact, she took this self-portrait. It's really lovely. Here's another picture she took fifty-four years ago."
- Kim: "Kevin, say nothing."
- Kevin: "Kim, I got this."
- Kim: "Kevin, I am strongly advising you..."
- Kevin: "I know this picture..."
- Kim: "Kevin!"
- Kevin: "...my dad bought it fair and square! I have a copy of it hanging in my office at home!"
- Jimmy: "I think we all just heard Mr. Wachtell admit that he owns a copy of Olivia Bitsui's photo. A photo that looks remarkably like the official Mesa Verde logo!"
- Kevin: "That's right. We own it!"
- Jimmy: "You own a copy of the photo, you don't own the rights to it! That's copyright infringement!"
- Rich: "You'll never be able to prove that!"
- Jimmy: "Well, you know what? Wow. Looks like a mirror image there. So, I think I can convince a judge and probably a jury that Mesa Verde misappropriated Ms. Bitsui's intellectual property. It's not your fault, sins of the father. But... we filed an injunction, so you're gonna have to take down all your horsey logos or throw a big tarp over them til we can get this thing settled. Shouldn't take more than... I don't know, a couple of years? We'll be seeing a lot of each other. Til next time."
- āJimmy claiming Mesa Verde infringed copyright infringement[src]
- "Ha, you're sorry? You're sorry? You killed my brother, and you say you're sorry? Let me tell you something. The job offer, it didn't upset me. It amused me. Ooh... big job at the illustrious HHM. A chance to play at the palace! With little old me? (...) You have no idea what's going on! You're a teensy, tiny man in a teensy-weensy little bubble! (...) Oh, don't you fucking, "Oh, Jimmy," me! You look down on me, you pity me! Walk away. That's right, Howard! You know why I didn't take the job? 'Cause it's too small! I don't care about it! It's nothing to me! It's a bacterium! I travel in worlds you can't even imagine! You can't conceive of what I'm capable of! I'm so far beyond you! I'm like a god in human clothing! Lightning bolts shoot from my fingertips!"
- āJimmy taunting Howard.
- Jimmy: "You said this goes away, so what's the time frame on that?"
- Mike: "It's different for different people, I suppose."
- Jimmy: "For me. When will this be over for me?"
- Mike: "Well, here's what's gonna happen. One day, you're gonna wake up, eat your breakfast, brush your teeth, go about your business. Then, sooner or later, you're gonna realize you hadn't thought about it. None of it. And that's the moment you realize you can forget. When you know that's possible, it all gets easier."
- Jimmy: "But what about you? Like... what happened out there doesn't bother you?"
- Mike: "If they wanted to steal the seven million, it didn't work for me. Not to mention they wanted to shoot you in the head. It was them or it was us, cut and dried. They were in the game."
- Jimmy: "What about Fred? From TravelWire. Was he in the game?"
- Mike: "No. There was a lot wrong with what happened there."
- Jimmy: "Yeah. Lalo. Lalo killed that guy. And for what?! He killed that guy, and we're helping him. All the shit! Just... so he can get out of jail and just get away?"
- Mike: "It's not the end of the story."
- Jimmy: "Wait a minute. What does that mean? "Not the end of the story," whatāwhat are you saying? Are you saying what I think you're saying? Is something gonna happen to Lalo?"
- Mike: "I didn't say that."
- Jimmy: "Oh, Jesus! What have I gotten myself involved with here?! Look, just tell me what are you saying is gonnaā"
- Mike: "Look. We all make our choices. And those choices, they put us on a road. Sometimes those choices seem small, but they put you on the road. You think about getting off... but eventually, you're back on it. And the road we're on led us out to the desert, everything that happened there and straight back to where we are right now. And nothingānothingācan be done about that. Do you understand that?"
- Jimmy: "I can't believe... I can't believe there's like over a billion people on this planet, and the only person I have to talk about this to is you."
- āMike and Jimmy's conversation about the "bad choice road"[src]
- Jimmy: "Come on, Kim. We're not talking about a bar trick here. We're talking about scorched earth. We would have to hurt him. Hurt him bad. To get a bunch of lawyers to run for the exits, Howard would have to have done something... unforgivable. At the end of it, he might never be able to practice law again. He doesn't deserve that. And who knows if we can pull it off? (...) Okay, maybe we could pull it off, but we won't."
- Kim: "We're talking about a career setback. A career setback for one lawyer."
- Jimmy: "Yeah, and you can up a lot of people. I get it, but... Kim, doing this... it's not you. You would not be okay with it. Not in the cold light of day."
- Kim: "Wouldn't I? (...) I'm gonna go take a shower so I don't have to in the morning."
- Jimmy: "Kim. You're shitting me, right?"
- āKim and Jimmy on the scheme against Howard.[src]
- Jimmy: "There it is, folks! Anti-Semitism, alive and well right here in Albuquerque! (...) Oh good. Well, you met your quota then. Gold star for you."
- Kevin: "Hold on. That's gotta be the biggest load of horse crap I've ever heard in my life. Go crawl back in your hole, McGill or Goodman ā whatever you're calling yourself. What are you up to, anyway? Ginning up another one of your put-up job lawsuits? You two-faced, blackmailing, money-grubbing son of a bitchā"
- Jimmy: "Money-grubbing! You're saying the quiet part out loud, I think."
- Kevin: "You know damn well that's not what I meant!"
- Jimmy: "In this day and age, I'd hoped and prayed we'd be beyond this."
- Kevin: "You're about as Jewish as my Aunt Fannie!"
- Jimmy: "Five-thousand years and it never ends! [Kevin tries to take a swing at Jimmy, but is held back by his golf buddies.] Here it is! Violence! It always comes to this!"
- Kevin: "You go to hell, you lying sack of shit."
- āJimmy and Kevin's argument in the Albuquerque Country Club.[src]
- Huell: "Can I ask you sum'n?"
- Jimmy: "Sure, go ahead."
- Huell: "Personal, kind of."
- Jimmy: "Okay. What?"
- Huell: "You're a lawyer. You make good money, right?"
- Jimmy: "Good days and bad, but yeah."
- Huell: "Legit money, on the level."
- Jimmy: "Yeah, so?"
- Huell: "Your wife's a lawyer. A legit lawyer."
- Jimmy: "Yeah."
- Huell: "Why you do all this?"
- Jimmy: "Oh, I got you. IāI know from the outside that this looks like just another scam, but you're not seeing the bigger picture. Couple months from now, there are people whose lives are gonna be way better. Because of this. We're making a real difference. Trust me. We're doing the Lord's work here."
- Huell: "Hmph. If you say so."
- āJimmy and Huell's conversation as they sit in a car after duplicating the keys to Howard's Jaguar[src]
- "They moved a cone? What kind of asshole moves a cone?!"
- āJimmy angry at a cone being moved
- Lalo: "You know, after I saw you last, I went home. My home. Mi cielito lindo... And you know what happened? Men came. Armed men, in the middle of the night. To my home. Trying to get to me. And you know what they did? They killed people I care about. They killed my cook. My gardener. A seventeen-year-old kid I knew since he was knee high. Never hurt a fly. Butchered my housekeeper, Yolanda. Una viejita, cabrĆ³n. They shot her in the back."
- Jimmy: "...I'm sorry."
- Lalo: "Now, how did these men... get into my home? Do you know?"
- Jimmy: "I... I haveāI have no idea."
- Lalo: "Ignacio Varga. He let them in. And who did Ignacio introduce me to? You."
- Jimmy: "Ignacio? Nacho? Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I-I barely know Ignacio! Whatever he did, he did alone! Not with me! Listen, you've got to believe me. Hand to God, I had no part in this. It wasn't me. It was... Aah! Ignacio! It wasn't me! Listen. Listen."
- Lalo: "Save it. I'm gonna come back. And then you are gonna tell me the whole story."
- āJimmy and Lalo's final exchange.[src]
- Jimmy: "You did what?! Why? WHY?! All right, all right, I know why. But Kim, you can't justā"
- Kim: "Jimmy, Iā"
- Jimmy: "Shhh! Just let me say my piece, okay? Justā Let's take a breath here! Kim, after everything that happened... I mean, Jesus! I get it! You want to climb out of your own skin! That natural! But Kim, you don't just throw everything away! Th-th-this is your life! You're a lawyer! What about your clients, huh? What about, uh... that poor guy, Mr. Yarborough? What about the kid in foster care? Huh? You give them everything you got! Who are they going to find who is half as good as you? No one! They need you!"
- Kim: "It's already done."
- Jimmy: "Ugh! Okay, what's done can be undone. All I'm saying is justājust let's take a week or two to think it over. For now, we're gonna take some time off. God knows we need it. We're gonna to find a new place, we'reāwe're gonna leave here. We're never, ever gonna come back here again. Okay? We're gonnaāwe're gonna put it behind us! Things will look brighter! I guarantee it! But first we have to fix this. So we're gonna go back to the hotel room, and you're gonna write letters. You're gonna write a letter to the bar, you're gonna write letters to your clients. Youāyouāyou dictate, I will type. We're gonna roll this thing back. I'll order a pizza, we'll pull an all-nighter. Because we're in this together. Okay? So I'm gonna go get yourāyour printer, and then we're gonna get the hell out of here."
- Kim: "Waitā Jimmy. Jimmy! [Jimmy enters the bedroom to discover half-full boxes and luggage everywhere] You asked if you were bad for me. That's not it. We are bad for each other."
- Jimmy: "Kim. Don't do this. Kim, please."
- Kim: "Jimmy... I have had the time of my life with you. But we are bad for everyone around us. Other people suffer because of us. Apart we're okay, but together we're poison."
- Jimmy: "No, no. Just tell me what I need to do to change, okay? Just tell me what it is, and I'll do it."
- Kim: "Jimmy..."
- āThe first part of Jimmy and Kim's final conversation before breaking up.
- Jimmy: "No, Kim. You make me happy. We make each other happy. How can that be bad? Hey... I love you."
- Kim: "I love you, too. But so what?"
- Jimmy: "No. No. No, Kim, you're wrong! This is about Howard! Okay? What happened to him wasn't on us! It wasn't your fault! It wasn't my fault! It was that FUCKING LALO SALAMANCA! That psychopath came back from the dead and he walked through that door! He did this! Not us, him!"
- Kim: "I knew."
- Jimmy: "You knew wh-what?"
- Kim: "I knew he was alive."
- Jimmy: "No you didn't."
- Kim: "It was about a month ago. I saw that car following me again. And it turned out that Mike Ehrmantraut had guys watching both of us, watching for Lalo."
- Jimmy: "Mike... Mike told you that Lalo was alive? (...) And you didn't tell me?"
- Kim: "Jimmy... I thought... I thought it was a one-in-a-million chance that he'd come for us. I thought he would be caught if he did. And I told myself I was protecting you. But that's not the truth. The reason I didn't tell you was because I knew what you'd do."
- Jimmy: "Wh-what would I do?"
- Kim: "You'dāyou'd blame yourself. You'd fear for me. You'd want us to run and hide until you were sure I was safe. You would pull the plug on the scam, and then...and then, we'd break up. And I didn't want that. Because I was having too much fun."
- āThe last part of Jimmy and Kim's final conversation before breaking up.
- Jesse: "So. Who's Lalo?"
- Saul: "Who?"
- Jesse: "Lalo. Thought some dude named Lalo sent us. You seemed pretty freaked out. Never heard of no Lalo on the street."
- Saul: "It's nobody."
- āJesse Pinkman asks about Saul's freakout over Nacho and Lalo.[src]
- Mike: "Now listen, even if this guy was gonna live, I wouldn't go near him. He's a complete amateur."
- Saul: "Well, you see an amateur, I see a hundred and seventy pounds of clay ready to be molded."
- Mike: "Well if the cancer doesn't get him, it'll be the cops, or a bullet to the head."
- Saul: "Is that your appraisal or is that what "He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named" says about him?"
- Mike: "He doesn't say anything. The guy's small potatoes."
- Saul: "Yeah, okay. I hear you. I just... I got a feeling about this. This Heisenberg guy's got something. It's top of the line product, that's the buzz on the street, and I just think, with the right management..."
- Mike: "You know, years ago, I bought a Betamax. Good product. "Top of the line." Experts said it was better than a VHS. Turned out to be a complete waste of time and money."
- āMike warns Saul about doing business with Walter White and Jesse Pinkman.[src]
"Have a nice life, Kim." āSaul's last words to Kim after singing their divorce papers.
- Saul: "Hey, sweetcheeks, who do we got next? Let's make some money!"
- Francesca: "Emilio Koyama! (Emilio walks up) Where's your paperwork?"
- Emilio: "I don't do no paperwork."
- Francesca: "He doesn't do paperwork."
- Saul: "Who cares? Come on, come on."
- āSaul's next client arrives.[src]
Saul: "Look, it's just a thought experiment! There's gotta be something you'd go back and change, if you could." Walt: "You are not talking about a time machine, which is both a real and theoretical impossibility. You are talking about regrets, so if you want to ask about regrets, just ask about regrets, and leave all this time-traveling nonsense out of it!" Saul: "Okay, regrets, then!" Walt: "Regrets?" Saul: "Yeah." Walt: "My regrets, alright, well... My regrets. Well... When I was a graduate student, I started a company with some people. At the time, I thought they were my friends. Our goal was to commercialize... discoveries that I had made. And... At a certain point, I stepped away. I thought I was doing the gentlemanly thing. But little did I understand that they were artfully maneuvering me into leaving my own creation! And, had I stayed, oh... Well. I wouldn't be down here with you." Saul: "So, you started a company, is it still around?" Walt: "Oh, yes." Saul: "Is it successful?" Walt: "Very." Saul: "How could you never tell me about this? We could've done something with this! Wrongful termination. Intellectual property theft, uh, patent fraud. I mean, I could've sunk my teeth into this!" Walt: "You'd have been the last lawyer I'd have gone to." āSaul and Walt's conversation about regrets.[src]
Breaking Bad
- "Hi. I'm Saul Goodman. Did you know that you have rights? The Constitution says you do, and so do I. I believe that, until proven guilty, every man, woman, and child in this country is innocent. And that's why I fight for you, Albuquerque!"
- āSaul speaking in one of his TV commercials.
- Saul to Getz: "What are you doing, detective, talking to my client without me present? You sneaky Pete. Which is which? What, did the academy hire you right out of the womb? You guys get younger every--"
- Saul to Badger: "What'd you say to baby face? Did you say anything stupid? By "anything stupid," I mean anything at all. Look at you. Mouth open, vocal chords a-twitter. We'll talk about it later."
- Saul to Getz: "Right now, you out. Ten minutes ago. Go on. There are laws, detective. Have your kindergarten teacher read them to you. Go grab a juice box. Have a nap. Go on."
- āSaul making a breakthrough.[src]
- Saul: "Oh! No, no, no no, no! No, it wasn't me! It was Ignacio! He's the one! Oh, no! No, no, no, no! (in Spanish) I'm always a friend! Always! I'm always a friend of the cartel! Always!"
- Jesse: "Shut up, dude. Shut up, alright? Just speak English."
- Saul: "Lalo didn't send you? No Lalo?"
- Jesse: "Who?"
- Saul: "Oh, thank God! Oh, Christ! Oh, I thought..."
- āSaul panicking after mistaking to Walter and Jesse as Lalo's henchmen.[src]
- "My real name's McGill. The Jew thing I just do for the homeboys. They all want a pipe-hitting member of the tribe, so to speak."
- āSaul explaining his real name to Walt.
- "I caught my second wife screwing my stepdad. OK? It's a cruel world, Walt. Grow up."
- āSaul talking to Walt.
- Walter: "I don't understand. What exactly are you offering to do for me?"
- Saul: "What did Tom Hagen do for Vito Corleone?"
- Walter: "I'm no Vito Corleone."
- Saul: "No shit! Right now you're Fredo. But, y'know, with some sound advice and proper introductions, who knows? I'll tell you one thing: you've got the right product. Anything that gets the DEA's panties in this big a bunch, you're onto something special. And I would like to be a small and silent part of it. Food for thought, yeah? So if you want to make more money and keep the money that you make, better call Saul!"
- āThe beginning of Walter and Saul's partnership.[src]
- Saul: "Let's start with some tough love, all right? Ready for this? Here goes. You two suck at peddling meth. Period. So give up on trying to do it all yourselves. Hell, I'm amazed you got this far."
- Walt: "Look, we are not going to deal with another high-level distributor. No, thank you. We have been down that road."
- Saul: "What? Some tattooed speed-freak? What you two need is an honest-to-God businessman. Somebody who treats your product like the simple high-margin commodity that it is. Somebody who ships out of town, deals only in bulk. Someone who's been doing this for 20 years and never been caught."
- Walt: "You know someone like that?"
- Saul: "Let's just say I know a guy who knows a guy. Who knows another guy. Let me make some calls, see if I can get you a meeting."
- Walt: "Well, what's his name?"
- Saul: "I have no idea. He's very low profile. He's careful like that. From what I do hear about him, he sounds a little like you."
- āSaul introducing Walt and Jesse to Gustavo Fring.[src]
- Diane Pinkman: "You're not that lawyer from late night television, are you?"
- Saul: ""Better call Saul!" I get it all the time!"
- āDiane Pinkman on recognising Saul[src]
- Saul: "You don't write, you don't call."
- Walter: "God. It's a disaster."
- Saul: "It is not a disaster."
- Walter: "Oh, okay."
- Saul: "It's not a disaster, all right? She's not going to the cops, she's not gonna tell a living soul. You wanna know why? One word: Blowback. If she blabs, it'll be a disaster, for her. That DEA brother-in-law? Screwed. He'll be lucky if they let him bust glue-sniffers at the hobby shop. The kids? Paging Dr. Phil! My daddy's a drug dealer and my mommy turned him in! And the house? Gone. Feds would RICO her and the kids out on the street. Good luck arguing with them on that. No. It's not gonna happen. She's bluffing and she knows it."
- Walter: "Her going to the police is not the point, Saul. She's out of my life. Do you understand? I've lost my family. Everything that I care about."
- Saul: "Hey, buddy. It's bad. It's a calamity."
- Walter: "(whispering) Oh, my God."
- Saul: "But we live to fight another day. And after a decent interval of time, well... There are other fish in the sea. You've been out of circulation for a while. You'll be just amazed at what's out there. Thailand, the Czech Republic. I mean, those women are so grateful to even be here. In the meantime, idle hands are the devil's plaything. So why don't you get back on the horse and do what you do best? First step: Talk to our friend and get cooking."
- Walter: "I can't be the bad guy."
- Saul: "What?"
- Walter: "I can't be the bad guy."
- Saul: "Okay. You know, we'll revisit. Just promise me, uh, you won't hang yourself in the closet."
- āSaul mocking Walter and trying to motivate him at the same time.[src]
- Jesse: "What in the hell just happened? You're MY lawyer, not his!"
- Saul: "It's the way of the world, kid. Go with the winner."
- āSaul explaining his worldview to Jesse.[src]
- Saul: "Well, gentlemen, we're here to discuss your illegal harassment of my client."
- Hank: "This should be good."
- Saul: "Mr. Ehrmantraut has become the subject of a vicious, relentless and unwarranted DEA persecution."
- Hank: "Gomey, does uh... does that sound right to you?"
- Gomez: "I have no idea what he's talking about."
- Saul: "Play it as cool as you like, Fonzie, but we all know you've been following my client day and night. The poor man can't even spend a few moments with his granddaughter without you guys quivering in the bushes, and peeping through your little binoculars. It's- well, it's disturbing! Heh. And it's taken a toll on his mental and physical well-being."
- Hank: "Your client looks fine to me."
- Saul: "Well, some hurts only show on the inside. Now, you guys don't even have warrants for these tails, do you?"
- Hank: "Theoretically, these "tails" you refer to would be completely within the boundaries of the law."
- Gomez: "You don't need a warrant to follow somebody through a public place, theoretically."
- Saul: "Now, that is, uh... theoretically correct. However, I would counter that an open-ended, unrestricted surveillance like this amounts to, uh... stalking. Which is illegal. Now, I don't know what it is you find so interesting about my client, and I'm not here to judge - different strokes and all - but sadly, he's just not that into you. So, I have filed a temporary restraining order against the DEA, on behalf of Mr. Ehrmantraut."
- Hank: "...Where'd you get your law degree, Goodman? The same clown college you got that suit?"
- Saul: "You know who likes this suit? Judge Papadoumian; she thinks I'm a snappy dresser. You know what Judge Papadoumian hates? Police harassment of a senior citizen. Sorry. Expect a visit from the sheriff, Agents. You should have your ex parte within the hour."
- āSaul confronting Hank Schrader and Steve Gomez over the DEA monitoring Mike Ehrmantraut.[src]
Saul: "He a no-show? Why didn't you call? Why didn't you... [Jesse punches Saul in the face] Stop! [Jesse keeps hitting him] Code Red! Huell! Get in here! [Saul tries to reach for a gun hidden in a drawer, but Jesse grabs it first. Huell and Francesca enter the room, Jesse points the gun at them]" Jesse: "Back off! You, stay where you are." Saul: "What? I don't know what happened here. What did I do?" Jesse: "You stole it off of me. You and himā you took it right out of my pocket, didn't you?" Saul: "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down. Yes. Okay. I had Huell lift your dope. I told you I couldn't risk the guy not taking you." Jesse: "No! Before! The cigarette! You stole the cigarette." Saul: "What?" Jesse: "The ricin cigarette! You had him steal it off of me! And all for that asshole Mr. White! He poisoned Brock! He poisoned Brock, and youā you helped him!" Saul: "Okay, Jesse. Calm down." Jesse: "Say it again! Tell me one more time to calm down! Come on!" Saul: "I'm sorry. Yes. Okay. I had Huell lift your cigarette, but Walt made me! He told me he was helping you, he was saving you. I never would've agreed to it if I'd known what he was gonna do. Jesse, you gotta believe me. I didn't want any of this!" āSaul being confronted by Jesse.[src]
Saul: "Hey, I'm a civilian. I'm not your lawyer anymore. I'm nobody's lawyer. The fun's over. From here on out, I'm Mr. Low Profile. Just another douche bag with a job and three pairs of Dockers. If I'm lucky, month from now, best-case scenario, I'm managing a cinnabon in Omaha." Walter: "You're still part of this. Whether you like it or not." Saul: "I'm sorry. I don't think so." Walter: "You remember what I told you? It's not over. Unti... [Walter erupts into a severe coughing fit and collapses onto the bed]" Saul: "It's over." āSaul's last conversation with Walt, while the two of them are in Ed's bunker waiting to be "disappeared".[src]
Post-Breaking Bad
- "Get a lawyer."
- āGene's advice to a shoplifter.
- "Better call Saul..."
- āGene quoting his old catchphrase to Jeff.
- Gene: "Yeah, I need an adapter for a Hoover Max ExtractĀ® Pressure Proā¢ Model 60."
- Ed: "Aha. We've delivered to you before, haven't we?"
- Gene: "Yeah, I'm in Omaha, Nebraska."
- Ed: "Mr. Takavic. That will be a very difficult part to obtain. And I wanna warn you it's gonna be more expensive than the original."
- Gene: "How expensive?"
- Ed: "Double the price. And we are still in a cash on delivery situation. Uh, will that be a problem?"
- Gene: "No, no, it's fine."
- Ed: "How hot are you?"
- Gene: "I got made."
- Ed: "You got made. Any official involvement?"
- Gene: "No. Not yet."
- Ed: "Pickup is going to be in the same place you were dropped off. Do you remember where that is?"
- Gene: "Yeah, I do."
- Ed: "Alright Mr. Takavic. Thursday. 7:00am. Same spot. You know the rest, am I right?"
- āGene and Ed Galbraith and make plans for Gene to disappear again[src]
- Ed: "Mr. Takavic? Still there?"
- Gene: "I've changed my mind."
- Ed: "Changed your mind?"
- Gene: "Yeah."
- Ed: "To be clear, you are not going forward with this?"
- Gene: "I'm gonna fix it myself."
- āGene decides to do things his own way[src]
- Jeff: "Dude, what the fuck?!"
- Gene: "I know it's awkward, right? But you don't have to call me "dad." Yet."
- Jeff: "I dunno what this is about... But all I have to do is pick up the phone and it's bye-bye, Saul Goodman."
- Gene: "Yeah, but you haven't picked up the phone yet, have you? Or tried to strong-arm me for cash. And guess what? I know why. Because reward money, blackmail... That's not gonna tickle your pickle. I know what you really want."
- Jeff: "Oh, yeah? What's that?"
- Gene: "You want in the game."
- Jeff: ""The game"? W-What... What game?"
- Gene: "The game. The one you've been watching your entire life. You got your nose pressed up against the glass, peerin' in while the big boys play."
- Jeff: "Man, speak English. What the hell are you talking about?"
- Gene: "The game. It's right there... You can see it, but you can't touch it. The cars, the clothes, the cash. The ladies. It's about knowing all the angles, you know, putting it all on the line and winning big. But here you are, Jeffie. Standing outside with the suckers. Tryin' to pay off that cab, sweatin' the bills, gettin' older. It's so close, but, damn it, you just can't get in. Until now. I can make it happen."
- Jeff: "You?"
- Gene: "Saul Goodman. So, here's the deal. I will show you the game. And then we're done."
- āJeff and Gene's confrontation[src]
- Jeff: "I don't know..."
- Gene: "What don't you know?"
- Jeff: "Just, this whole thing, it seems crazy!"
- Gene: "Is this too hot for you?! Juā You know what, just say so! You know what? Screw it. "Crazy." I'll tell you what's crazy! Fifty-year-old high school chemistry teacher comes into my office. The guy is so broke, he can't pay his own mortgage. One year later, he's got a pile of cash as big as a Volkswagen. That's crazy."
- āGene referencing Walt in a conversation with Jeff[src]
- "I'm sorry about the lawyer thing, it just slipped out."
- āGene to Nick and Frank about the events during the "Mabel" teaser.
- "You... You have a wife, right, Frank? (...) And she's waiting for you. Look at me. I got... I got no one. My parents are dead. Oh. My brother... My brother is dead. I, uh... I got no wife... No kids. No friends. If I died tonight... no one would care. What difference would it make? (...) If I died tonight, my landlord would pack up my stuff. It'd take him three hours. And Cinnabon would just hire a new manager. Gene who? Poof! I'd be gone. I'd be... a... a ghost. Less than a ghost. I'd be a... a sha... shadow. I'd just be... nothing. I mean, Frank... What's the point, Frank?"
- āGene distracting Frank by discussing his tragic backstory, partly based on real events.
- Gene: "Ok. Well. Tell me... how hot?"
- Francesca: "How hot?"
- Gene: "Yeah."
- Francesca: "Well, I still get followed. Not as often as when the shit first hit the fan, but I still see them. My mail gets opened. My phone at home clicks whenever I use it."
- Gene: "So the Mastro buying the farm didn't change anything?"
- Francesca: "No, if anything, it made it worse. Skyler White got her deal. So, the only ones left to go after are you and Pinkman. And I heard they found his car down by the border so, adios dopehead."
- Gene: "Oh, so they're still into me."
- āFrancesca Liddy updates Gene on the situation following Walt's death.[src]
- Francesca: "Remember Bill Oakley? He switched sides."
- Gene: "He came out, huh?"
- Francesca: "No, he's not gay. He's a defence attorney now."
- āFrancesca tells Gene about how Bill Oakley is doing.[src]
- "You're kidding me! Absolutely kidding me! (...) Do you know how much time, how much effort I put into finding the perfect mark?! I have to weed through all these saps who have wives and families at home! Find somebody who's alone, with money! And whatāSo you can just wimp out?! (...) So a guy with cancer can't be an asshole? Believe me! I speak from experience! (...) Do you know how many of the suckers we've ripped off had sob stories?! Every single one of them! Besides, it'll be months before they even realize they've been taken! This guy will already be dead! So please get back in your truck, go back to the house, and finish the job!"
- āGene's rant to Buddy over not going through with scamming a mark due to their illness, showing Gene's transformation from a scared Cinnabon manager to a dirty, unapologetic criminal.
- Gene: "Hey, Kim. You know who this is? (Kim remains silent) I'm gonna take that as a yes. Uh, that receptionist of yours, is she the type to listen in?"
- Kim: "No."
- Gene: "Good. Okay. So, how's Florida been treating you? I'm catching you between hurricanes I hope. Kim, are you there?"
- Kim: "What do you want?"
- Gene: "I don't... I don't want anything. I just... it's been awhile. You know, just thinking it's been awhile, and uh, might be nice to catch up."
- Kim: "Catch up?"
- Gene: "Yeah, my mind was wandering this morning, I was just not thinking of anything in particular, just random thoughts and bam, it suddenly occurred to me it's been six years. I mean, Jesus. I -- I couldn't believe it. I thought you might wanna know I'm still alive. Yep. Yeah, I'm still out here. Still getting away with it. Feds couldn't find their own ass with both hands and a proctologist."
- Kim: "You shouldn't be calling me."
- Gene: "Oh, hey, you're awake."
- Kim: "You shouldn't be calling."
- Gene: "Why not? What am I, tying up the line for important irrigation business? Come on, Kim, say something. Call me an asshole. Yell at me. Just let me know you still got a pulse. Say something!"
- Kim: "You want me to say something?"
- Gene: "Yeah."
- Kim: "You should turn yourself in."
- Gene: "Do what?"
- Kim: "You heard me. I don't know what kind of life you've been living, but it can't be much."
- Gene: "Says the pot to the kettle! What? That is... that is really rich. You... you preaching to me? See, you have no idea what I did or didn't do, okay? And, and why don't you turn yourself in? Seeing as how you're the one with the guilty conscience, huh? What, what is stopping you? Fring's in the ground. Mike's in the ground. Lalo's in the ground, apparently. You, you don't have to hold back on my account! They can only hang me once, so, so go ahead, spill your guts, put on your hair shirt, see what it gets you! Why... Kim, why are we even talking about this? We're both too smart to throw our lives away for no reason. Just... I just... I only wanted to... Kim? Kim? Kim?"
- Kim: "I'm glad you're alive."
- āGene and Kim's argument.[src]
- Gene: "What's that?"
- Marion: "You tell me."
- Gene: "Marion, do you think that's me? 'Cause it's not."
- Marion: "There never was a Nippy, was there?"
- Gene: "What did Jeff tell you?"
- Marion: "Oh, he didn't tell me anything. Ask Jeeves told me. I typed in "con man" and "Albuquerque," and up you popped, big as day."
- Gene: "What are you doing, Marion?"
- Marion: "What do you think I'm doing? I'm calling the police."
- Gene: "Here, lemme help you with that. Listen, I think we're losing sight of the bigger picture here, okay? Jeff is in trouble, and I wanna help him. He and I sure could use your support here."
- Marion: "What did you get my son into?"
- Gene: "Nothing that he didn't ask for. (...) Now, listen, I'm still the good friend you thought I was, okay? Jeff understands me, Buddy understands me. And you will, too. It's just, you have to, uh, you know, keep things on an even keel, all right? (...) What have you got there?"
- Marion: "Uh..."
- Gene: "Put that down."
- Marion: "Huh..."
- Gene: "Put that down, Marion. Put it down. Do not do it, Marion. Final warning."
- Marion: "I trusted you. (button clicks, pendant beeps)"
- Valerie: "Marion? This is Valerie with LifeAlert. Are you okay?"
- Marion: "No, Valerie, I'm not okay. There's a criminal standing in my kitchen, threatening me! He's a wanted man, and his name is Saul Goodman!"
- Valerie: "All right, Marion, I'm calling the police. I'm calling right now."
- āMarion identifies Gene as Saul Goodman and shatters his false identity, prompting Jimmy to flee Omaha in a hurry.[src]
- Marie: "They tell me they found you in a garbage dumpster. Well, that makes sense. My husband was the best man that I have ever known. He lived to help others. If somebody was in troubleāno matter the time, no matter the placeāHank Schrader would be there... with a smile and a joke. He was kind, he was decent. He was strong. His partner... Steve Gomez. Steve... and Blanca made a home that was warm and full of laughter. Three children. Three fatherless children. Hank and Steve, the good guys, they were shot dead... and left in a hole in the desert! And youāyouāhelped the two-faced poisonous bastard behind it all. For what? Money? You did it all... for money. No matter what they do with you now, no matter where they put you or for how long, it will never be enough."
- Saul: "Mrs... Mrs. Schrader. The loss that you've suffered, it's unspeakable. I met your husband. A few times. He was a man who stood by his word, and he was very good at his job. He was a straight-shooter. You and he are... victims. And so am I. Two years ago, a man came into my office. He said his name was Mayhew. He wanted one of my clients to lie under oath. He offered me money. I declined. Any lawyer would. That night, as I was leaving my office, I was attacked. Two men threw a sack over my head, hog-tied me, and they drove me out into the desert. And when they pulled the hood off, I was kneeling in front of an open grave. With a gun pointed at my head. That was my introduction to Walter White. From that moment on... there hasn't been a minute that I wasn't afraid. Yeah, I worked for him. I made a lot of money, but that's not why I did it. I did it because I knew what he would do to me if I refused. Over and over, I thought I would go over to the police. I even thought about talking to Agent Schrader, but I knew that Walter White would kill me wherever I was. And I was right. You look it up: October 4, 2009. They murdered ten men inside three prisons in the space of two minutes. Knifed. Throats slashed. A man was burned alive. They even killed one of my colleaguesāa lawyer. He was cooperating with the DEA: Daniel Wachsberger. The news said Dan... was stabbed forty-eight times. So, yeah. When it all blew up, I ran. But not from the police. From them. Walter White might be dead, but Jesse Pinkman and the others, they're still out there somewhere. Mrs. Schrader, you are looking at a man who has lost everything. My profession, my family, my freedom. I haveāI have nobody. I have nothing."
- Castellano: "...And you think jurors are gonna buy that?"
- Saul: "One. All I need is one. Oakley tells me that you've never lost a case. Is that so? Heh. That's a hell of a record. You should be proud of that. Still... juries, right? You never can tell. It's a roll of the dice. I justāI'm hoping there's some wiggle room."
- Marie: "You are not going to negotiate with this man. You're not."
- āSaul's conversation with Marie Schrader at his plea hearing.[src]
- "Two years ago, a man came into my office, he said his name was Mayhew. He wanted one of my clients to lie for him under oath. He offered me money. I refused. That night, as I was leaving my office, I was attacked. A bag was shoved over my head, I was hog-tied, I was driven out into the desert and when they pulled the hood off, I was kneeling in front of an open grave with a gun pointed at my head. That was my introduction to Walter White. I was terrified. But not for long. That night, I saw opportunity. A shot at big money. And I grabbed it, and I held it tight and for the next sixteen months, my every waking moment was spent building Walter White's drug empire."
- āSaul begins to reveal the truth about his actions before being stopped.
- "Oh, uh, I lied to the government about Kim Wexler. Uh, I fed them a load of BS about her involvement in Howard Hamlin's murder. I just... I just wanted her to come here today. I wanted her to hear this. So, yeah, I wasn't there when the meth was cooked. I wasn't there when it was sold. I didn't witness any of the murders, but I damn well knew it was happening. I was more than a willing participant, I was indispensable. I kept Walter White out of jail, I laundered his money, I lied for him, I conspired with him and I made millions! If he hadn't walked into my office that day, Walter White would've been dead or behind bars within a month. And Agent Schrader and Agent Gomez and a whole lot of other people would still be alive. Fact is, Walter White couldn't have done it without me."
- āSaul finishes his confession about his criminal activities.
- Saul: "What happened to Howard Hamlin, it was... it was... (Saul's voice breaks) I can't even... After that, Kim had the guts to start over, she left town. But... I'm the one who ran away. And my brother Chuck - Charles McGill. Y--You may have known him. He was, uh, an incredible lawyer. The most brilliant guy I ever met. But he was limited. I tried. I could've tried harder. I should've. Instead..."
- Bill Oakley: "Your Honor...."
- Saul: "Bill, please! Just let me get through this. (to the court) Instead, when I saw a chance to hurt him, I took it. I got his malpractice insurance cancelled. I took away the one thing he lived for, the law. After that, he killed himself. And I'll live with that. (sits down)"
- Bill Oakley: "What was all that? That thing with your brother, that wasn't even a crime."
- Saul: "Yeah, it was."
- āSaul finally takes accountability for what he did to Chuck.[src]
- Judge Samantha Small: "Mr. Goodman, sit down and stay seated."
- Jimmy: "The name's McGill. I'm James McGill."
- āJimmy reclaims his true identity, shedding Saul Goodman forever.[src]
- Kim: "You had them down to seven years."
- Jimmy: "Yeah, I did."
- Kim: "Eighty-six years."
- Jimmy: "Eighty-six years. But with good behavior... who knows?"
- āKim and Jimmy discuss his prison sentence.[src]
Trivia
- Jimmy's nickname Saul Goodman, as well as his role as a problem fixing lawyer, is a play on the phrase "It's all good, man", pronounced in the vernacular "S'all good, man". It is revealed in a flashback that he used the nickname initially as an alias while performing scams alongside Marco Pasternak when he lived in Cicero, Illinois ("Hero").
- For the first four seasons and season 6A of Better Call Saul, Odenkirk was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his role as Saul. Odenkirk also received nominations for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series for the first four seasons, winning the award twice.
- Jimmy is the only character who appears in every episode of Better Call Saul.
- Jimmy never learned about Nacho's death.
- Saul is one of 7 characters to have an episode named after him. The others are Marco Pasternak, Max Arciniega, Nacho Varga, Rebecca Bois, Kim Wexler, and Nippy.
- Saul is the only character to have multiple episodes named after him with those being Better Call Saul, Wexler v. Goodman, and Saul Gone.
- Jimmy has more appearances than any other character in the Breaking Bad Franchise, appearing in 36 episodes of Breaking Bad and all 63 episodes of Better Call Saul for a total of 99 episodes.
- He is followed by Mike, who has 85 appearances (including El Camino), Walter and Jesse have 65 each, Skyler has 61, Kim has 60 and Gus has 58.
- Jimmy is the only main character in Better Call Saul aside from Mike Ehrmantraut to meet all the other main characters. He is also the only one to side with characters on both sides of the law: law enforcement and criminals.
- Jimmy, Mike, Kim, and Chuck are the only main characters featured in the pilot episode "Uno" that also appear in the series finale "Saul Gone".
- Jimmy, along with Gustavo Fring and Mike Ehrmantraut, are the only three characters to be featured as main characters in both Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad.
- Jimmy is the only main character to survive Breaking Bad that wasn't in the first season.
- In Breaking Bad, Jimmy meets every main character except for Gustavo Fring and Lydia Rodarte-Quayle.
- Jimmy never learned about Nacho's demise.
- In 2014, as a publicity stunt for the launch of Better Call Saul, a billboard for "James M. McGill, Attorney at Law" was placed in Albuquerque, mimicking a billboard that appeared on the series, with a phone number connecting to a voicemail message recorded by Odenkirk.
- The thing to bring Jimmy down for good is the Saul Goodman commercial, the very first thing about him the viewer ever sees in the Breaking Bad universe.
- As revealed in "Saul Gone", Jimmy's charges are 27 RICO violations, federal conspiracy to manufacture and distribute a controlled substance, eight counts of money laundering and accessory after the fact to multiple murders, including federal officers Hank Schrader and Steven Gomez.
- No mention is ever made of him facing charges for his criminal actions in Omaha such as the shoplifting scheme, his identity theft scheme, the robbery that Jeff got arrested for and threatening Marion, suggesting that Jimmy wasn't charged for them and was possibly not even caught for most of them.
- Jimmy's vehicles include:
- 1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme (Pre-Better Call Saul)
- 1998 Suzuki Esteem ("Uno" ā "Cobbler" & "Inflatable" ā "Bagman")
- 2004 Mercedes-Benz C 240 ("Cobbler" ā "Inflatable")
- 1975 Ford Econoline ("Something Stupid")
- 2004 Ford Taurus ("Wine and Roses" ā "Fun and Games")
- 1998 Jaguar XJ8 (stolen from Howard Hamlin; "Hit and Run")
- 1997 Cadillac DeVille ("Waterworks" ā "To'hajiilee")
- 2007 Saturn Aura ("Magic Man" ā "Saul Gone")
- A real telephone number, 503-4455 (505) 503-4455 based in Albuquerque was created for Jimmy's law firm and when called it consists of Jimmy on an automated switchboard system with various options. It is made clear on the Better Call Saul website (www.bettercallsaul.com) and on the Breaking Bad Facebook page that this telephone number is a long distance telephone call and not toll-free.
- From 2014 to 2016, a website for Saul Goodman existed that advertised his services as if he was a real person. The website was created to promote the Better Call Saul series.[1]
- His alias, after being extracted, Gene Takavic was originally going to be known as "Keith" in the original script for "Uno".[2]
- He shares several similarities with Walter White:
- Both appear in every episode of their respective series.
- Both are (excluding Jesse Pinkman) the only main characters to appear in every episode of their series.
- Both start as middle-class man who struggle to make ends meet.
- Their first criminal and near-death experience ended up in a disaster (with Jimmy kidnapped and taken to the desert by Tuco Salamanca along with the twin brothers, and Walter having killed one of his potential business partner, Emilio Koyama, and the other, Krazy-8, held as a hostage in Jesse's place)
- Both chose to use an alias and moniker for their criminal activities (Jimmy as "Saul Goodman" and Walter as "Heisenberg") and eventually they fully embrace that identity.
- Both had a job at the begining that they left (Jimmy at the firm Davis & Main and Walter in A1A Car Wash).
- Both were given the opportunity to have a proper job but declined it (Jimmy rejecting Howard's offer to work as a partner in HHM and Walter rejecting Elliott's offer to work again at Gray Matter)
- both got involved with the Cartel working for a member in charge of being a local distribuidor (Lalo Salamanca in Jimmy's case, and Gus Fring in Walter's case).
- Both got involved in their respective deaths.
- Both have a relative with whom they have a close, yet complicated, relationship (Jimmy's older brother Chuck McGill and Walter's brother-in-law Hank Schrader) who have law-related jobs (Chuck being a defense attorney and senior partner in HHM, and Hank an agent of the DEA) that most part of their final arcs are doing everything they can to make them pay for their felanies. And those relatives end up dying (Chuck commits suicide at his home and Hanks is killed by Jack Welker).
- Both relatives had a colleague (Howard Hamlin and Steven Gomez who also are murdered by a third part (Howard is murdered by Lalo Salamanca and Steven by Jack Welker's Gang).
- Both end up taking credit for the death of their relative despite the fact that they were not directly responsible.
- Both had someone who became their partner in crime but eventually turned their backs on them (Kim Wexler in Jimmy's case, and Jesse Pinkman in Walter's case).
- Both by the end of the series leave Albuquerque with another identity.
- Both had a final phone call with someone they cared and loved (Kim in Jimmy's case, and Walter Jr. in Walt's case).
- Both eventually return to Albuquerque several months later to face the consequences of everything they did.
- Both have a final scene with the closest person they had (Kim and Jesse) in the series with no words and sharing a final glance between them.
- Both said the final words of their respective series.