The Real Reason You Don't See Gene In Better Call Saul Season 6 Episode 1

The Season 6 premiere of "Better Call Saul" broke series tradition in a couple of ways. First, AMC aired the season's first two episodes, "Wine and Roses" and "Carrot and Stick," back-to-back. And then there was the fact that the first episode opens with a montage sequence that brings viewers to the end of the "Breaking Bad" timeline where we see Saul Goodman's (Bob Odenkirk) home being raided by police. This bucks the trend of opening the season with one of the black-and-white flash-forwards to Saul's reinvented life as Gene Takovic in Omaha, Nebraska. 

Gene's life in Omaha has proved largely inconspicuous throughout the first five seasons of "Better Call Saul." It's even not until the Season 4' premiere that Gene starts genuinely worrying that he's been recognized as Saul Goodman by a taxi driver who later confronts him on his lunch break from Cinnabon in Season 5's "Magic Man." Where Gene's story is leading remains unknown for now, a mystery that is only deepened by the fact that he does not appear whatsoever during Season 6's first two episodes. 

"Better Call Saul" co-creators Peter Gould and Vince Gilligan have now shined a light on Gene's absence from the Season 6 premiere, and their comments should only have fans even more eager to see exactly how this aspect of the series will play out in the final season of "Better Call Saul."

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Peter Gould said the reason that "Better Call Saul" Season 6 doesn't open with a Gene sequence is because the entire season takes a different structure than the rest of the show. Gould said that Season 6 takes the spin-off series into waters it hasn't waded into yet, which was hinted at by the flash-forward we did get in the season premiere, as well as the revelation that Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) will make an appearance at some point in Season 6.

"It seemed like starting it in a different way was the right thing to do, waiting to see Gene Takovic might make sense at this point," Gould said. "So I think it's a pretty good bet that we're gonna see Gene, but maybe waiting to see him is the right move."

The Gene sequences of "Better Call Saul" have been some of the series' most intriguing, and Gould also hinted that there may be a resolution of sorts waiting for Gene in Omaha. He specifically referenced Gene's decision to not go on the run again after being recognized by the taxi driver in the Season 5 episode "Magic Man" and said, " And that tells you that there's more to that story, and it's a story that I'd be interested in seeing."