The Boss of Better Call Saul Explains the Midseason Premiere Shocker
If you watched the midseason premiere of Better Call Saul last week, you were probably pretty shocked by that big revelation in the final minutes. Co-creator Peter Gould spoke with Entertainment Weekly about why they decided to kill off Chuck McGill so early in the series, and how they’re going to deal with the absence of Michael McKean when season three starts up again in the spring.
How long were you planning Mike's death?
We knew from the beginning that we wanted to kill off Mike. It was always part of the plan. We just didn't know when it would happen. The midseason premiere seemed like the perfect time to do it.
We wanted to show that even though Mike is a badass, he's not invincible. He's human and he can be killed. Plus, we wanted to raise the stakes for Jimmy/Saul and show that things are getting serious now that Gus Fring is in the picture.
It was a tough decision to make, but we're happy with how it turned out. Mike's death was a shock to everyone, but it served a purpose in the story. We hope fans will continue to watch and see what happens next. I think viewers are invested in these characters and want to see where their lives go next. They want to see if they'll come back or if there's another life waiting for them.
Mike died as a hero, but there's still so much more story left to tell. He lived his life with honor and dignity; it was only fitting that he died on his own terms too. With each episode, you get more and more insight into who this man really is. When you hear about him during Breaking Bad, he sounds ruthless and all about business - but you start to learn that there's so much more to him than that. One thing that I found interesting is how much he cares about his granddaughter Kaylee. That little girl has given him so much joy, which reminds me of my dad after my son was born.
Mike also had an emotional journey throughout Better Call Saul, which made it hard to say goodbye when the time came. After seeing everything that Mike has been through and done, it's going to be hard to find someone else who fills those shoes and becomes our beloved sidekick. His death leaves a huge hole, but fortunately, I have no doubt that Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould will take care of us with some amazing plot twists.
Were you surprised by how much people cared about Mike?
I was surprised by how much people cared about Mike. I didn't think he was that important to the show. But, after the midseason premiere, it's clear that he is. People were really upset when he died. And, I think it says a lot about the show that people care so much about a character who isn't even the main character. It just shows how complex and layered these characters are. For example, look at Jimmy: He can be selfish and kind at the same time. It's because we know him better as a good guy than we know him as a bad guy - so we want him to succeed more than we want him to fail. We want to see him do well, which means that we're invested in his life in a way that we don't have any investment in what happens with other secondary characters on other TV shows.
This is why you need to start watching Better Call Saul if you haven't already! There are a lot of great reasons to watch this show, but one reason stands out among all others: there aren't many TV shows that feel this personal. It feels like we get to watch someone else's story play out before our eyes.
How did Giancarlo react when he learned his character was being killed off?
Giancarlo was very surprised when he found out his character was being killed off. He didn't see it coming at all. He's sad to be leaving the show, but he understands that it's just a part of TV and story-telling. He's grateful for the time he had on the show and is proud of the work he did. When asked if he thinks the fans will be angry with him for killing such an iconic character, Giancarlo said I don't know. I hope not. Fans are really passionate about this show. They're really invested in these characters. The only reason we have something like Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul is because people are so passionate about it. So I would say no, the fans should understand that we're telling a good story here and we're trying to do our best work. We don't want to disappoint anyone. If you look back over the past five seasons, there's been a lot of surprises for the audience and there always needs to be some sort of stakes involved.
Do you see any parallels between Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul?
There are definitely parallels between the two shows, especially when it comes to the characters. In Breaking Bad, we saw Walter White transform from a meek high school teacher into a ruthless drug kingpin. In Better Call Saul, we see Jimmy McGill gradually turn into the slimy lawyer we all know and love. However, there is one major difference: on Breaking Bad, everything that happened in the show made sense because Walt was making decisions based on his own self-interests. Jimmy’s decisions on Better Call Saul are based off his desire to do good for others or help them out as much as he cancan . He's not doing anything just for himself. For example, in this last episode of season 3, he takes a new case against Kim despite knowing it will hurt her chances at getting reinstated to the bar. It might not seem like such a big deal at first glance but if she doesn't get reinstated then she can't work as an attorney and has no way of supporting herself financially. We find out that Kim wants to be an attorney so she can make more money than what she makes now and take care of her son on her own. The reason why Jimmy does this is because even though he still loves Kim deeply, he knows what it's like to live without being able to provide for your family. That's why he helps Kim by taking the job against her wishes
Jimmy understands how important it is for people to have security and a steady income so they can provide for their loved ones.
Can we expect another cold open like this one in Season 4?
In an interview with EW, executive producer Peter Gould explained that the Season 4 premiere was always meant to be a cold open. He said, We just felt like it was time to do something completely different and unexpected — not just for the audience, but for Jimmy McGill. He went on to say that the show will continue to experiment with format in order to keep things fresh. So, it seems likely that we can expect more cold opens in Season 4. As much as they might surprise us, though, they’ll never top what happened in Episode 1 of this season. The last few seconds revealed who's been watching Jimmy since he went off to law school: none other than his brother Chuck (Michael McKean). After being pushed out of his law firm by Kim (Rhea Seehorn) and Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian), Chuck has been lying low in Albuquerque, where he sees the chance to turn over a new leaf. But what's next? What does this mean for the future?
Will there be flashbacks to show us what Mike was up to between Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul?
We can't say for sure if there will be flashbacks, but we can speculate based on what we know. Mike was obviously up to something between Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, and it would make sense for the show to explore that. However, it's also possible that the show will choose to focus on the present day and leave Mike's past a mystery. Only time will tell!
For those who have been following all things related to Better Call Saul, you already know about its ties to Breaking Bad. The prequel/spinoff focuses on Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) when he used his real name - before he changed it - and before he became Saul Goodman. It seems likely that McGill changed his name to escape from someone or something from his past, so I wouldn't be surprised if some of these events come into play during Season 4. Still, I think we'll have our hands full just with Jimmy McGill! While we're not really focusing on the future yet, if and when Jimmy becomes Saul Goodman in future seasons, I hope we get to see more of him being super shady like he is in Breaking Bad. But until then, it looks like Season 4 is going to be pretty intense as well-we don't even know what's going on with Kim yet!
Can we expect more Breaking Bad cameos next season?
We can expect more Breaking Bad cameos next season, but there are no plans for any major ones. The midseason premiere shocked fans with its inclusion of a familiar face, but according to the boss, it was all about setting up the show's final season.
While we don't know exactly what to expect from the final season of Better Call Saul, we can be sure that it will be full of surprises. So far, the show has done a great job of living up to its predecessor, and we can't wait to see what else they have in store for us. It's exciting to think that these characters might meet their demise at some point during the finale, or that they might continue on in different ways after Walter White disappears from the scene. There is so much potential for this series, and it is always fun to spspeculateeculate about what could happen next! I'm looking forward to seeing how things develope over the rest of the show's first two seasons, especially since I already know how things end up in Breaking Bad. If you're also a fan of that show, make sure to tune into Better Call Saul every Sunday night at 10pm EST on AMC. If you haven't seen it yet, go ahead and watch season one before tuning in.
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