S’all good, man! Why? Because a new Better Call Saul companion book packed with invaluable analysis, interviews, and insights into AMC’s mighty Breaking Bad prequel is here — just in time for the show’s 10th anniversary on February 8, 2025.
From bestselling author and Rolling Stone‘s chief TV critic Alan Sepinwall, Saul Goodman v. Jimmy McGill: The Complete Critical Companion To Better Call Saul, features a collection of essays, reported features, and conversations with the cast and creatives of Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould’s beloved series.
In addition to learning more about Better Call Saul and its iconic attorney Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk), his partner in crime Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn), and other core characters including Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks), Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian), Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito), Chuck McGill (Michael McKean), and Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton), the book includes an in-depth discussion with Gould, who shares loads of compelling behind-the-scenes info.
In Saul Goodman v. Jimmy McGill, Gould revealed that an AMC exec wanted to scrap Saul Goodman’s character before he was even introduced in Breaking Bad. He admitted that McKean, who played Jimmy’s brother Chuck, was initially considered for the role of Saul. He opened up about how Odenkirk’s heart attack impacted the show. And he even shared some inspiring thoughts on where Jimmy and Kim stand after Better Call Saul Season 6, Episode 13, “Saul Gone,” which aired on August 15, 2022.
After revealing that the fan-favorite shot of Jimmy and Kim smoking against the wall of the prison’s visiting room was the last things they filmed, Gould noted how “exhausted, but sad and happy” everyone on set was about everything they’d accomplished on the show.
When asked if he thought the scene where Kim and Jimmy look at each other as Kim is walking out of the prison was the last they ever saw of each other, Gould stressed, “What excited me about that was the sadness of it and the ambiguity of it. My hope and desire would be that the characters live on in the heads of the audience. So, a little ambiguity is good.”
That said, Gould thankfully doesn’t think the scene marked the end of the dynamic duo…
“In my mind, I could go back and forth, depends on what day you ask me. I find it hard to believe that she’s done with him,” the co-creator said. “He’s in one of the most awful situations a human being can be in. Now having shot in a real prison, it’s a dire, dire place. It’s just awful, and it’s terrible that we have to have them. She knows he’s there. I find it hard to believe that she’s not going to call him, send him a letter, send him some cash to buy cigarettes, whatever.”
While Gould struggles to believe that Kim “would just walk away forever and never have any contact with [Jimmy],” he also added, “On the other hand, it would be a big leap that they could get involved romantically again. Maybe, but my mother used to say this, ‘Where’s there’s life, there’s hope.’”
Though Better Call Saul reached its emotional end in 2022, in Sepinwall’s book we learn that Gould and Gilligan haven’t fully closed the door on a possible return to the Breaking Bad universe. So where there’s life, there’s hope, right?!
Craving more Better Call Saul? Better check out Saul Goodman v. Jimmy McGill: The Complete Critical Companion To Better Call Saul, now available for purchase.
