The Breaking Bad universe — now championed by Better Call Saul — has always been about unlikely people in unlikely situations. It’s an element that provides dramatic effect in the way of surprises (Hitchcock used the same device for almost all of his work). There’s no surprise, then, when you hear Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould explaining that fans of Saul should expect the unexpected as Season 1 of the hit series comes to a close.
In a new interview with HitFix, Peter Gould, the showrunner of the Breaking Bad spin-off, said that the character development in the series brought some developments that even they didn’t see coming in the first episodes:
I will say what happens in the rest of the show surprised us. These characters went in directions we weren’t expecting. The cast added such layers to these folks. This is the glory of television. We watched what the actors were doing as we shot the first few, and realized that some of our ideas of who these people were could be developed more. What happens in the last few episodes is there’s some twists and turns, but it all grew out of our observations of who these characters are and what they’re feeling. That’s the best thing I could say. But I would say the last two episodes especially surprised us completely.
What was so great about Breaking Bad also seems to apply to Better Call Saul: organically evolving characters. What Saul has working for it — besides the acting, writing, and everything else — is that we already know the fate of some of these players, so to see how they grow into those positions makes for fascinating television. What makes the show even more amazing is Mike Ehrmantraut, played by Jonathan Banks. Every show could use more Mike. Vince Gilligan said that we can expect to see a lot more of him.
…Mike Ehrmantraut is an important part of the show and will continue to be an important part of the show, and may become more central and integral than he is in season 1. But having said that, that (episode 6) was a different kind of an episode, for sure, and it’s one we are enormously proud of. I predict right now: Jonathan Banks is going to win the Emmy for that one, I’m willing to bet. And if he doesn’t, it will be a crime.
Check out the rest of the interview at HitFix.
