Bob Odenkirk has been nominated for his lead role in Severance.
While Bob Odenkirk has two Primetime Emmy Awards to his name, they are both for writing: one for Saturday Night Live and another for The Ben Stiller Show. He has yet to win one for acting and if there’s ever a role that should deliver one to him, it’s Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman. Although he's great in every scene, there are a few scenes standing out for particularly impressive performances.
"Hit And Run" (Season 6, Episode 4)
While Howard – one of the most intelligent lawyers on Better Call Saul - unassumingly goes about his day, Jimmy has other plans in mind. He is hilariously seen with a fake spray tan and blonde highlighted wig styled like Howard’s hair along with a suit like one Howard would wear. He proceeds to steal Howard’s car to drive it for a set-up, making it look like Howard was fraternizing with a sex worker.
The sheer dedication and determination in his eyes convince fans of the general disdain Jimmy has for Howard while also showcasing the joy he gets out of bringing such elaborate plans to life. When he returns, his plans are almost foiled by a car being in the same spot Howard was parked. Jimmy has a desperate fight with a sign marker he’s trying to move, and viewers can feel his frustration at having the plan potentially ruined at the last minute.
"Chicanery" (Season 3, Episode 5)
As a skilled con man, Jimmy sets up the perfect trap to both expose his brother Chuck as mentally ill and make Chuck aware that his purported illness is not real. He plants an active battery in the phone in Chuck’s pocket only to reveal the truth to Chuck while he’s on the stand and leave his brother to rant in a fit of fury.
While Michael McKean as Chuck steals this scene, Jimmy’s actions as he watches his brother both speak ill of him to a room full of people and embarrass himself is what equally makes the scene so gripping.
"Plan And Execution" (Season 6, Episode 7)
Both Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn, who plays Kim, deserve Emmys for their performances in the final moments of this midseason finale. At first annoyed by Howard coming to confront them in a drunken state, their jaws drop and they shiver together in fear. It’s in that moment that, based on their reactions alone, fans knew Lalo is standing behind Howard.
The sheer terror in their eyes is palpable, but what Odenkirk really sells is the fact that Jimmy thought Lalo was dead the whole time. So, while Kim was terrified that he made his way to them, Jimmy didn’t even know he was alive, and thus was both shocked and scared. Jimmy also knew what Lalo was capable of and quietly and calmly tried to explain to Howard that he needed to go, knowing that there really was only one possible outcome. It was one of the biggest set-ups for season 6 part 2 of Better Call Saul and they both pulled it off for a nail-biting cliffhanger ending.
All The Gene Flash Forward Scenes (Multiple Episodes)
The scenes don’t have much dialogue if any. Still, Odenkirk sets the scenes up beautifully, perfectly demonstrating a man who has virtually lost everything and is simply living like a shell of his former shelf.
The fact that in Breaking Bad, Saul jokingly described a dismal future life living somewhere in Omaha running a Cinnabon, and this is exactly what he’s doing, adds to the misery. He’s convincing in the role of a con man trying to play an average Joe who is also in constant fear that he’ll be recognized at every turn. In particular, the scene where Gene is visibly anxious as he suspects his cab driver might be someone sent to kill him is award-worthy.
"A Chimp With A Machine Gun" (Season 1, Episode 9)
For much of the first season up to this point, Howard was painted as someone who kept blocking Jimmy’s chances of success and working at the firm. It’s finally revealed in this episode that not only was it Chuck all along, but in a heartbreaking monologue, he reveals to Jimmy just how much he detests and resents his little brother.
As Jimmy was taking all this information in, including his brother insulting his achievements, even saying he isn’t “a real lawyer,” fans saw how much pain it brought to him. It was a departure from his usual scenes as the funniest character on Better Call Saul. Teary-eyed, Jimmy reveals that he thought his brother would actually be proud of him. To this, Chuck calls his brother his old nickname of “Slippin’ Jimmy” and says him having a law degree is like “a chimp with a machine gun.” Odenkirk perfectly captured how anyone in that position would feel their heart sink.
"It’s All Good, Man!" (Season 4, Episode 10)
In this scene, Saul is in court, begging the judge to give him his law license back. As is customary with Jimmy, he has the gift of gab and comes up with a seemingly impromptu speech about how he knows he will never be as good a lawyer as his brother but simply wants to be as good as he can be.
The speech is so touching that it actually brings tears to Kim’s eyes. What makes the scene more impactful, however, is when Jimmy reveals to Kim after he wins that it was all an act and there was nothing genuine about it. Both his ignorance of the fact that Kim thought better of him and her dejected look when she realizes the truth make the scene a winning one. But what really ties things up with a nice bow is when Jimmy immediately goes to apply for his law license under a new name and declares “it’s all (Saul) Good-man!” as the name he wants to use. It’s a pivotal moment in the story.
"The Winner Takes It All" (Season 4, Episode 10)
For the most part, any of Jimmy’s interactions with his brother were tense, with him constantly trying to get his brother to crack a smile or actually be happy with or proud of him. In only one scene does he get Chuck to let down his guard. It’s when the pair are celebrating Jimmy’s induction at a bar and Chuck reluctantly s him on stage to sing “The Winner Takes It All” by ABBA.
Jimmy is so happy to have his brother doing something nice with him, that even when Chuck begins to belt out the tune and try to overshadow Jimmy, he lets him do it. It’s clear from this scene and Odenkirk’s acting that it’s more important for Jimmy to have a bond with his brother than to be in the spotlight, a stark contrast from how he acts with others. Their single moment of happiness together showed a different side of both Chuck and Jimmy.
"Point And Shoot" (Season 6, Episode 8)
Seehorn’s quivering lip in this episode, the mid-season premiere of the final season, is so real, fans can feel the tension and fear. Where Odenkirk sells as well is in his quick thinking in refusing to go along with Lalo’s plan to go kill Gus. Instead, he convinces Lalo – one of the characters who pushed Jimmy to become Saul on Better Call Saul - to send Kim instead. While Kim sells the terror and pleads with Jimmy not to do this to her, he keeps up the ruse.
It’s clear when Kim arrives and speaks to Mike that she realized Jimmy was, once again, pulling off one of his best cons against a formidable foe and doing it to get Kim out of the house and to safety, away from Lalo. Yet Odenkirk was so good in the performance, even fans were convinced he had turned on his wife and was setting her up to fail.