‘Better Call Saul’: How Does Jimmy McGill Become Saul Goodman?

Saul Goodman, played by Bob Odenkirk, appeared in Breaking Bad as the beloved criminal lawyer that kept Walt and Jesse out of prison — though he was only known as Saul Goodman until his prequel series, Better Call Saul, was released, revealing his birth name: Jimmy McGill. The entirety of Better Call Saul focuses on his transition from Jimmy McGill to the morally gray Saul Goodman. While there are many factors that contributed to his transition, his brother acted as the catalyst for this transformation.

Related: Why Saul Goodman is More Redeemable Than Walter White

Jimmy McGill’s Complicated Relationship With His Brother

Charles “Chuck” McGill, played by Michael McKean, was an early role model for Jimmy. As a successful lawyer, Chuck earned his name on the successful firm HHM (Hamlin, Hamlin, McGill). This influenced Jimmy on his career path to also pursue a law degree, to his brother’s dismay. Even though Jimmy was not Saul Goodman yet, he had already lived with flexible morals, earning himself the nickname “Slippin’ Jimmy.” Because of this, Chuck does not think that Jimmy deserves to be a lawyer at all.

Although Chuck’s concerns about Jimmy are valid, he has left fans with a bad taste in their mouths. He actively sabotages Jimmy’s livelihood, though Jimmy shows him nothing but love while Chuck is completely dependent on him. Chuck believes that he had a condition that causes intense pain when he wis near electricity, therefore leaving Jimmy to run all of his errands. He lives with his power off and relies on candlelight and ice packs to preserve his food. Meanwhile, Chuck talks down to Jimmy constantly, resenting him for being charming and blaming him for anything remotely suspicious. Still, Jimmy tries his best to create a lucrative law career in legitimate ways in pursuit of his brother’s approval. He even puts together a class-action lawsuit at Sandpiper Crossing, an assisted living facility, and brings it to HHM. Instead of being proud of his brother, though, Chuck braves his condition and calls Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian) to convince him not to hire Jimmy.

As if ruining his success was not enough, Chuck also seeks to disbar his brother by using Jimmy’s love against him. Chuck returns to work again for a while despite his condition, and he makes a pretty distinct error on necessary documents. Instead of admitting his mistake, he insists that Jimmy falsified documents to sabotage him. He then proceeds to fake a nervous breakdown so that Jimmy will lie and confess to his allegations to protect his brother’s self-confidence. Little does Jimmy know that Chuck is taping this confession to use in a lawsuit against him.

Saul Goodman Stands Before the Court

This lawsuit is imperative to Jimmy’s transition from Jimmy McGill into Saul Goodman after Chuck severely betrays him and successfully gets his law license suspended. During the trial, though, Jimmy pulls out some Saul Goodman-esque moves, like utilizing Huell’s (Lavell Crawford) sticky fingers, to prove that Chuck’s condition was mental and not physical. While devastated at first, Chuck does vastly improve, only to relapse after telling Jimmy that he never mattered to him. These are his last words to Jimmy before taking his own life, and the fallout from Chuck’s death really stuck with Jimmy afterward.

After Chuck’s death in the Season 3 finale, Jimmy leans into his criminal nature by selling burner phones and performing various scams. Then, when his law license is reinstated, he requests to practice law officially under the “Saul Goodman” name. As Saul Goodman, he not only runs his usual cons, but he also gets in the middle of the cartel’s feud with Gustavo Fring (Giancarlo Esposito). The overall nature of Saul Goodman also has a negative effect on Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) when she realizes the fun in his antics and becomes his partner in crime. Despite Kim’s departure from his life, though, more and more people became collateral damage in Jimmy’s endeavors when the prequel catches up to the events in Breaking Bad, and the ending of Better Call Saul reveals what happens to Jimmy after the Breaking Bad finale.

Surprise surprise, he again finds himself on trial, but this time he admits to all of his crimes in order to save Kim from going down with him. It’s the noblest act that Jimmy has ever committed as he faces the sentence of life in prison. But, in this trial, he also renounces his Saul Goodman persona and returns to Jimmy McGill in honor of his great, successful brother. His transformation from Jimmy McGill to Saul Goodman and back again comes full circle with his initial quest for legitimacy, then his life of crime, and then his self-sacrifice.

Better Call Saul is now available to stream on Netflix.