Better Call Saul cleverly skipped the moment Jimmy McGill became Saul Goodman, further confirming just how bold the Breaking Bad prequel was. While Better Call Saul’s Gene timeline was set after Breaking Bad, the majority of the series took place before Walter White met Saul Goodman. As such, Better Call Saul was essentially Saul Goodman’s origin story, yet it avoided several prequel tropes.

Better Call Saul avoided the mistake of replicating what Breaking Bad had done with Walter White. Although there were many similarities between Jimmy McGill and Walter White, Better Call Saul’s main character arc was very different from Breaking Bad. For example, Jimmy’s “Saul Goodman” business name had always existed.

Better Call Saul Skipped Over Jimmy’s Transformation Into Saul Goodman

Despite what audiences may have expected from the Breaking Bad prequel, Better Call Saul never showed Jimmy’s transformation into Saul Goodman. Instead, Better Call Saul skipped over the transition from Jimmy McGill to full-time Saul through the time skip in season 6, episode 9, “Fun and Games.” After Kim broke up with Jimmy, Better Call Saul went for a flashforward to reveal the “Breaking Bad Saul Goodman,” a character that was different from Jimmy in almost every way. However, while this strategy risked being anticlimactic, it absolutely paid off. Better Call Saul made the moment audiences were waiting for the most into a tragic one.

Skipping over Jimmy’s transition into Breaking Bad’s “criminal lawyer” does not mean that Better Call Saul failed to explain how Jimmy McGill became Saul Goodman. However, instead of having a big moment in which Jimmy becomes Saul or detailing every aspect of that change, Better Call Saul slowly set up the character’s fate. By removing something from Jimmy at each season – a chance at working at HHM, a more regular career, Chuck, and Kim – Better Call Saul cleverly told audiences that Saul Goodman was everything the character had left. As soon as Kim left Jimmy, there were no more prequel stories left to be told, and thus Saul Goodman finally appeared.

How Jimmy Becomes Saul Was Never The Point Of Better Call Saul

Better Call Saul was marketed as Saul Goodman’s origin story, yet actually showing how Jimmy becomes Saul was never the point of the show. While Better Call Saul eventually catches up with the Breaking Bad timeline, the show was about the construction – and deconstruction – of Jimmy McGill. Bob Odenkirk played three different versions of Jimmy, each of whom was placed in a very unique context. Whereas Breaking Bad was about how Walter White’s changes affected those around him, Better Call Saul was about how the ever-changing world around Jimmy could change him. Saul Goodman was just a part of a much bigger story about Jimmy McGill.

By not focusing on showing the details of how Jimmy became Saul, Better Call Saul avoided several prequel tropes. Showing how Saul got the inflatable Statue of Liberty from the Kettlemans or how Saul Goodman’s office became the Cathedral of Justice, for example, was never necessary. By the time Better Call Saul caught up with the Breaking Bad timeline, Jimmy McGill’s character arc had become more important than any Breaking Bad connections. Better Call Saul was an unusual prequel from the start, which only made it better.