Two of the TV’s most beloved series: Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, have finally ended. From the journey of Albuquerque chemistry teacher turned meth dealer Walter White to shifting the focus on how Jimmy McGill became Saul Goodman, the viewers have gotten the answers to their most frequently asked questions of whom, why, how, where, and when.
Both series perfectly focused on two deeply flawed people who were both driven by greed and power and had to pay for the wrongdoings they had caused to the people around them. For Better Call Saul to Breaking Bad, we have highlighted the pivotal points of the characters and summarized the drastic timeline of how things went progressively sour for them.
The following article contains spoilers for all seasons of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.
Hector Salamanca Kills Max, Fring’s Partner
Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) and the Cartel have known each other for a long time. Fring introduces his partner (and potential lover) Max Arciniega (James Martinez) to Don Eladio (Steven Bauer) and informs him about the benefits of distributing meth instead of cocaine. Fring tells Don Eladio that he has been giving free samples of Max’s meth without Don’s consent. Enraged by Fring’s actions, Don Eladio instructs Hector Salamanca (Mark Margolis) to kill Max on the patio of his mansion to teach Gus a lesson—forcing him to watch his partner bleed out into a swimming pool.
Since then, Fring has held a grudge against the Cartel and only joins them so he can get revenge later. Later, Fring finds a perfect opportunity to take revenge on the Cartel for the murder of his partner by gifting a bottle of the finest (but poisoned) tequila to Don Eladio, which successfully kills him and the rest of the Cartel.
Lalo Salamanca Hires Jimmy McGill As His Lawyer
After learning that Jimmy McGill talked Tuco Salamanca (Raymond Cruz) out of killing the skateboarders a few years prior, Lalo decides to meet Jimmy. Upon meeting Jimmy, Lalo (Tony Dalton) tells him how impressed he was that Jimmy had managed to convince Tuco to deviate from his violent outbursts and tendencies by simply talking to him. Following this, Lalo offers to pay Jimmy a lot of money to be his lawyer, an offer Jimmy knows he had to accept.
Jimmy McGill Becomes Saul Goodman
After Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) gets arrested for inflicting a "Chicago Sunroof" on the guy his wife was seeing, his brother Chuck McGill (Michael McKean) bails him under one condition: he has to get a job at Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill. Jimmy begins working in the mail room for Chuck, but Chuck’s lack of belief in Jimmy's capability as a lawyer leads him to leave his brother's firm and pursue a career of his own.
While pursuing a career as a lawyer, Jimmy finds it difficult to leave his conning days behind and ironically finds ways to incorporate and justify his illegal ways in his supposed legal line of work. As his motivation is money and not abiding by the law, Jimmy goes by the name of Saul Goodman and becomes involved with the wrong kind of people, i.e., working as the lawyer for the Cartel and later for Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) in Breaking Bad. Things are only getting worse for Saul Goodman as he is forced to flee to Nebraska to live a quiet life and avoid arrest at all costs.
Kim Wexler Forms a Romantic Relationship With Saul Goodman
Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) started as a straight-laced lawyer at Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill. Kim forms a friendship with Jimmy after spending a lot of time together in the mail room, but eventually, a romance begins to blossom between the two. As Kim and Jimmy are opposites, Kim initially struggled to justify and accept Jimmy’s actions. As she starts falling in love with him, she changes and takes on a rebellious streak, as seen in her leaving her high-profile clients behind and moving to pro-bono work full-time.
Kim takes it a step further by planning out schemes for her and Jimmy, and although she enjoys it for a short time, she realizes that she has to end their relationship and that they are not good for each other. It became a huge turning point for both Kim and what the future would hold out for Jimmy.
Saul Goodman Introduces Walter and Jesse To Gus Fring
When Walter seeks a potential distributor for his meth, his lawyer Saul Goodman sets up a meeting with an anonymous but powerful distributor. Walt and Jesse wait at the fried-chicken restaurant chain Los Pollos Hermanos but are unaware that their buyer is Gus Fring, the restaurant manager and chain owner who has been watching them all along. Walter deduces this and confronts him alone. Gus tells them that upon observing that Jesse was late and high for the meeting, he is not interested in doing business with him.
Walt, however, convinces Gus that Jesse will not make the same mistake again and that Gus will not have to meet or deal with Jesse again. Gus eventually agreed to Walt’s proposal and purchased 38 pounds (worth $1.2 million) of meth from Walt and Jesse but only if they delivered their products to a disclosed remote location in time.
Walter Wants More Than Just Money
From the beginning of the series, we witness Walter’s gradual shift in his morals and behavior. His initial thought of transitioning to the meth business was to leave enough fortune for his family once he’s gone. However, what started as a means of earning enough money for his family turned into a hunger for power.
Walt already resented his job as a chemistry teacher and life in suburbia: his lung cancer diagnosis was just an excuse for him to jump into the role of his alter ego, Heisenberg. He loves the character he invented for himself, as he's the only meth cook who can produce the purest meth in Albuquerque and possibly the whole of the United States. As Walt's intentions and motivations begin to change, he becomes increasingly selfish and shows no empathy towards others who are hurt by him and his actions.
Skyler Helps Cover Walter’s Tracks
Family is family. Despite Skyler’s (Anna Gunn) strong disapproval of Walter’s actions and secrecy from her and the rest of the family, she eventually chooses to keep his secrets safe. However, keeping Walt’s secrets is not as simple as that because it makes Skyler an accomplice to her husband's illegal doings and activities. She takes it a step further in helping launder his dirty money by taking over the car wash business (which she suggested buying in the first place).
Not only has Skyler strayed away from her moral compass, but she has also betrayed the trust of her sister Marie (Betsy Brandt) and DEA brother-in-law Hank Schrader (Dean Norris), letting them think that she and Walt are innocent and the last people who would be involved in such crimes. The Whites' actions have also led Hank to several life-endangering situations (and ultimately died) because of his mission to capture the mysterious meth cook, Heisenberg, who had been his brother-in-law all along.
The End
The Better Call Saul series has been a rollercoaster ride for the characters of the Breaking Bad universe and for the loyal audiences who have watched and followed their journeys since the beginning. With the end to the series of Breaking Bad, we were left with a bittersweet but well-deserved ending for Walt.
Although its prequel series Better Call Saul told the origin story of Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman, the black-and-white sequences at the beginning of each season gave a taste of what the future looked like for the sleazy lawyer. A once-extravagant, loud, and money-making lawyer is hiding out in Omaha, Nebraska as a Cinnabon manager as the mild-mannered Gene Takovic. After years and years of talking his way out of crimes, however, the series finale gave Saul the ending he (and us) needed; finally, owning up and serving time for all the wrongs he had done in the world, he wasn’t going to run and hide anymore.