There wasn’t much to laugh about in the dark third season finale of Better Call Saul, but behind the scenes, there was on particular scene that inspired an incredibly funny observation from Bob Odenkirk in this week’s Better Call Saul Insider Podcast.
The scene comes near the end of the episode, and is not that memorable by itself. In it, Kim Wexler is deciding whether to watch To Kill a Mockingbird for the second time that day while sharing her Doritos with Jimmy, who she suggests should dip the Doritos into the nacho cheese sauce. “It’s cheese on cheese,” Kim says to a reluctant Jimmy.
What’s funny about that scene is that it’s the first time Bob Odenkirk had eaten a Dorito in 30 years. “They’re loaded with chemicals. That’s all they are — a few kernels of corn that are blasted with chemicals,” Odenkirk said. “So, I was like, ‘I don’t want to put this weird chemical in my mouth.”
That changed, however, the second those chemical-blasted kernels of corn hit his taste buds.
‘Oh my God!” he exclaimed, to the laughter of Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, and Co. “I couldn’t frigging believe it. And not just one. I had, like, 20 of them. Every single one of them blew my brain receptors out. Just completely. It’s insane what they’ve done.”
As anyone who has listened to them in interviews, the creative team behind Saul are always giving credit where credit is due.
“It’s a testament to the chemical efforts of the chemists who make Doritos,” Odenkirk said. “The people in the labs who make Doritos, they’re good at what they do. And they lit up parts of my brain!”
“This is why science matters,” the episode writer Gennifer Hutchison joked.
Odenkirk added that the flavor sensation didn’t end after the first chip, either. Even after multiple chips, the Doritos continued to excite parts of his “brain and tongue that have never been touched.”
As a favor to Odenkirk, showrunner Peter Gould finally suggested that Jimmy may be eating some more Doritos next season.
Because words don’t do the story justice, listen to it on the Insider Podcast (at the 1 hour, 18-minute mark).
