AMC’s Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul is off to a hot start. Its first two episodes scored solid ratings and near-universal critical acclaim, and it’s already started to develop the kind of rabid, eagle-eyed fan base its predecessor had, with viewers picking apart episodes frame-by-frame to look for the little tiny crumbs of the foreshadowing and callbacks that Breaking Bad was famous for. We outlined a bunch of them yesterday, and there’s a rapidly growing community on Reddit adding to the list every day. Still, even with all of this taking place, there’s one thing everyone appears to have missed so far, and it’s something that I think is worth noting.
I … I think this “Jimmy McGill” might actually be Saul Goodman.
Now, I hear you. You’re saying, “Wait, Jimmy can’t be Saul. They have different names. If Jimmy was Saul, then his name would be Saul.” Well, yes, this is a fair point, and it’s one that troubled me for a while, too. But think about it. What if he changed his name? People do that all the time. And he works at the courthouse. It wouldn’t even be hard. He could just go downstairs and fill out the form. All he’d need is a check for the $132.00 filing fee, according to Sec. 40-8 of the New Mexico code. Bing bang boom. Name changed.
There’s more evidence, too. Here are just a few examples I’ve picked up in the first two episodes:
- Jimmy and Saul are both lawyers.
- They are both occasionally dishonest schemers.
- Jimmy is starting to pick up Saul-like ties to the criminal element, via Tuco’s associate Nacho.
Still not sold? Look at this:
The picture on the left is Saul standing with Walter White on Breaking Bad. The one on the right is Jimmy in the series premiere of Better Call Saul. I have drawn arrows highlighting the most glaring similarities: their foreheads and mouths. See the way the light catches both characters’ foreheads in the upper-right corner, just below the parts in their hair? And see the way both characters tighten their lips when they get concerned? The noses look a little different, sure, but that could just be the angle. Or maybe the transition from Jimmy to Saul included some very subtle plastic surgery. It’s close enough, is what I’m saying.
When you add up all of the evidence, it becomes almost undeniable. The profession, the personality, the physical similarities… Jimmy is Saul. Saul is Jimmy. It even helps the title make more sense: Better Call Saul. Why put a character’s name in the title if he’s not in the show? Yup, I really think we’re on to something here.
Vince Gilligan, you sly fox.
