The Most Heartbreaking Moment In Better Call Saul
"Better Call Saul" has produced its fair share of heartbreaking moments over five nail-biting, tension-filled seasons. The "Breaking Bad" prequel-slash-spin-off follows Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) on his path toward working as criminal lawyer Saul Goodman in Albuquerque during "Breaking Bad," and has given fans plenty of hints as to what the character has been up to since he fled the area in the wake of the original series' final season. "Breaking Bad" fan favorite Mike Ehrmantraut (Johnathan Banks) returns in the series, too, tracking his path from parking lot attendant and small-time criminal toward Gus Fring's (Giancarlo Esposito) right-hand man in the meth business.
The series is almost certainly destined for a heartbreaking conclusion in its upcoming and final sixth season, as fans expect to learn the final fates of characters like Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) and Nacho Varga (Michael Mando), as well as discover what happens to Jimmy after "Breaking Bad." However, "Better Call Saul" has produced several heartbreaking moments in its five-season run already.
One particular Season 4 storyline culminates in an awfully depressing moment for Mike, that fans can assume sticks with him through the events of "Breaking Bad."
Fans agree that Werner Ziegler's death was tragic
Fans on the "Better Call Saul" subreddit recently focused on Mike's Season 4 arc, in which Gus Fring tasks him with overseeing the development of his grand-scale meth lab by a German engineer named Werner Ziegler (Rainer Bock) and his crew. The crew works in secret under Mike's supervision until Ziegler, who shows a propensity to potentially give up incriminating information about the project, deceives Mike and escapes to meet up with his wife. When Ziegler leaks information to Fring's enemies in the finale, the drug lord decides Ziegler must die. Mike ultimately decides to kill Ziegler himself to own up to his own mistake in underestimating the risks the engineer posed.
Original poster u/SpiritualGangstaGirl wondered whether Mike could have avoided killing Ziegler completely, given the brief friendship the two struck up while working together. Other users quickly struck that notion down, with u/TheBrothersClegane noting that Mike attempting to deceive Fring would have likely only ended in Mike's death as well. Redditor u/thicclunchghost called back to a "Breaking Bad" character's signature phrase: "No half measures."
It's clear to fans that this kill hurt Mike more than others. Redditor u/kstill93 wrote, "Yep, it's so true yet easy to tell Mike absolutely hated having to do it. But he had no choice. Each time I rewatch this show I feel worse for Werner. He definitely f***ed up and was a bit of a doofus but clearly had such a good heart, I hate seeing him go."