The Real Hero In Better Call Saul According To Fans

There's an old saying about how everybody thinks they're the hero in their own story, and if there's a television series past or present that's more fully embraced that concept than "Better Call Saul," we probably haven't seen it. Perhaps more than any show in the history of television — save for maybe "Breaking Bad," which it spun off from — "Better Call Saul" seems to delight in delivering a mostly heroless narrative landscape. Yes, that includes Bob Odenkirk's Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman, whose dodgy ways (as noble-minded as they sometimes are) have already set him on the path to becoming the often less than honorable lawyer we came to know, love, and sometimes loathe on "Breaking Bad."

As for many of Saul's current on-screen associates, we already know where the criminal life takes the likes of Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks), Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito), and Don Hector Salamanca (Mark Margolis). Sadly, the jury is still very much out as to which side of the moral coin Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) will ultimately land on as well. There is, however, one character in the world of "Better Call Saul" some fans think has earned the title of "hero," and it's really not who you think.  

So who's the lone hero of "Better Call Saul? According to Reddit user FelipeConChorizo, it's actually Patrick Fabian's smarm-slinging attorney Howard Hamlin. They delivered that hot take via a lengthy post that boldly declares, "Howard Hamlin, that slick, black Jaguar-driving, hamlindigo-sporting super-lawyer, is Better Call Saul's only hero," before proceeding makes a compelling case for Howard's "hero" status. User S_Borealis was one of many users who agreed, noting the show's clever use of Howard's deeply-unlikeable persona is what makes the character work. "One of the great things about the show is that none of the super-successful, wealthy corporate lawyers are the bad guys (well, Chuck may be an exception)," they wrote. "Rich, Cliff and Howard in any other show would be evil, but here they're shown to be pretty likable."

In case there was any doubt, quite a few "Better Call Saul" fans felt that "Howard is a hero" take was a little too hot, with WishOnSuckaWood posting, "Look, I love Howard as much as anyone else, maybe slightly more, but he's no hero." They then proceeded to lay out a lengthy list of is Howard's misdeeds before offering a brutally honest take on the character that read, "A hero? No. A mostly good guy with a petty, vindictive streak a foot wide? Yes." 

In the end, Redditor hostelox wisely reminded the whole of "Better Call Saul" fandom that, even if Howard is a hero, being a hero in this story is hardly a notable feat, stating, "Not much of a stretch in the wicked, wretched universe of Better Call Saul." Truer words have rarely been spoken on Reddit.