Breaking Bad writer Thomas Schnauz explains one really sleazy Saul Goodman line in the show, enhancing Jimmy McGill's tragic arc in Better Call Saul.

Breaking Bad writer Thomas Schnauz explains a particularly sleazy line from criminal attorney Saul Goodman. First airing in 2008 on AMC, Breaking Bad would go on to earn a reputation as one of the best TV shows of all time. Created by Vince Gilligan, the show chronicled the terminally ill Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and his journey from mild-mannered high school chemistry teacher to New Mexico drug lord Heisenberg. Breaking Bad ran for 5 critically-acclaimed seasons before ultimately coming to a close in 2013.

Although first introduced as a relatively minor character, Bob Odenkirk's Saul Goodman would go on to play a more important role in the show moving forward before even getting his very own spinoff series, Better Call Saul. Breaking Bad introduces Saul as Walter's crooked attorney, a fast-talking, bribe-taking friend of the cartel. The character makes it through the series unscathed, setting off to an unknown fate after leaving White, his former client, behind. Better Call Saul explores the character's origin and chronicles Jimmy McGill's journey to becoming Saul Goodman, even hinting at what became of the man following the events of Breaking Bad.

In a new post on Twitter, Schnauz replies to a fan regarding one of Saul's lines in Breaking Bad that is particularly sleazy. The line comes in season 2 when, watching his assistant, Francesca, walk away, Saul says, "God, you're killing me with that booty." Although several fans point out how out-of-character the line seems for the Saul Goodman in Better Call Saul, Schnauz reveals that the events of Breaking Bad take place 4 years after the conclusion of the prequel and that, at a certain point, "the mask becomes the man." Check out Schnauz's tweet below:

It's 4 years later of being "Saul Goodman," and as we like to say, "The mask becomes the man."

— Thomas Schnauz (@TomSchnauz) June 1, 2022

Click here to see the original post.

While Odenkirk's character has fallen a long way since first being introduced in Better Call Saul, Schnauz's comment hints that the character continues his downward trajectory in the intervening years between the prequel and Breaking Bad, with his sleazy Saul alter-ego essentially becoming his true personality. Despite many of the bad things he does, Odenkirk's character in Better Call Saul is still redeemable. It's clear that, by the time of the events of Breaking Bad, however, the real Jimmy McGill is truly gone and that Saul is all that remains.

Both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul tell tragic stories but, in many ways, Saul's story is even more tragic than Walter's. With Better Call Saul spending so much time introducing audiences to Odenkirk's character and his humble beginnings, it becomes even sadder to see what he has become in Breaking Bad. While the prequel series has hinted at what becomes of Saul after the events of Breaking Bad, Schnauz's comments clarify that the character is essentially a shell of the former self that so many fans have come to love.

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Source: Thomas Schnauz