Saul Goodman's Most Controversial Line In Breaking Bad Explained

"Better Call Saul" is now in the midst of its sixth and final season — and inching closer and closer to the timeline of its predecessor show, "Breaking Bad." So far, the spin-off series — which was co-created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould — has given viewers an in-depth look into what Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) is like before he fully transforms into his legal alter ego, Saul Goodman, who "Breaking Bad" viewers know as a sleazy, shady criminal defense lawyer who proves essential in Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman's (Aaron Paul) meth business. In other words, Saul Goodman is a far cry away from the well-meaning and earnest lawyer we meet at the start of "Better Call Saul."

There are only a few characters in "Better Call Saul" who don't show up in "Breaking Bad," leaving their fates a mystery. One of the most notable examples is Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn), a fellow lawyer and Jimmy's love interest. Given that we don't see Kim at all throughout "Breaking Bad," fans are wondering what happens to the beloved character — does she die? Does she somehow end up in jail? There's also the distinct possibility that she and Jimmy are still together in the "Breaking Bad" timeline, but that, because we don't see Saul Goodman's home life, we just never get to see Kim.

For fans of the couple, that last theory sure sounds appealing — however, there is one line in "Breaking Bad" that has been brought up by fans now and again that seems to negate the idea that Kim and Jimmy could still be together down the line — and a "Better Call Saul" writer has just addressed it.

Thomas Schnauz, a writer and director of "Better Call Saul," recently took to Twitter to tell fans that he would answer some questions about the series while the show is on a hiatus. One fan, @luukki, pointed out that, by the end of Season 6, Episode 7 ("Plan and Execution"), Jimmy is still a very different character than Saul Goodman and implied that there are only six episodes left of the series for viewers to see Jimmy fully transform. 

This user then added an example, writing, "I imagine it must've been difficult to make this scene from BB's S02E08 (where Saul fantasizes about Francesca) ring true. Was it?" This question references one of Saul's first-ever on-screen appearances in "Breaking Bad" Season 2, Episode 8 ("Better Call Saul"). In this episode, Saul watches his secretary Francesca (Tina Parker) walk to her car and says, "God, you are killing me with that booty." 

It's a notable line because it feels completely out of character for the Jimmy we see in "Better Call Saul" (who has only ever interacted with Francesca in a professional way). It also gets in the way of the idea that Jimmy and Kim could somehow still be together by that point in the timeline — would a happily married man make that sort of comment?

Schnauz responded to the question about the Francesca line by pointing out that fans have not seen Jimmy being "Saul" for that long yet. The writer-director wrote, "It's 4 years later of being 'Saul Goodman,' and as we like to say, 'The mask becomes the man.'" Knowing how sleazy Saul Goodman is in "Breaking Bad," it makes sense that after years of playing that persona, some of it would sink into Jimmy's own character — even when he is alone.

There is more to the story of that line, however. Another fan, @WearyDJ, responded to the tweet, acknowledging that it must be hard for writers to have to keep up with continuity for even the type of small, throwaway line like the Francesca remark. They wrote, "Give other filmmakers a break for the tiniest of cracks in the universe they've created. It doesn't [weigh] up against all the brilliance."

Schnauz was quick to agree with the second fan, acknowledging that it's no easy feat connecting all of the dots perfectly between the two shows. Schnauz replied, "Thank you, Terence. People are looking at a line from a show when it wasn't even known if the Saul Goodman character would return in THAT series, let alone get a show all his own. We're doing our best to link all the puzzle pieces."

Writing a high-quality prequel series, such as "Better Call Saul," is no easy feat. Not only do the writers have to find a satisfying conclusion to a story whose ending is already widely known, but they also have to make sure all of the pieces add up — including that throwaway line that Saul makes about Francesca. However, the Francesca line is not the only detail that the writers regret from "Breaking Bad."

Speaking to ScreenRant in 2018, co-creator Vince Gilligan explained one tricky situation they found themselves in. He said, "There was some casual reference Saul Goodman made way back in 'Breaking Bad' about being married twice or three times or something like that. That one has bedeviled us for sure. It was just a goofy throwaway line in an episode of 'Breaking Bad' where Saul Goodman talked about his second wife or some such and that has bedeviled us. We're trying to figure that one out. When did he [have] a wife? And who was the second wife? Who was his first wife?" In the end, Jimmy's previous marriages are addressed in "Better Call Saul" when Jimmy and Kim decide to marry and Jimmy must provide proof of his divorces. Other than that, however, we don't find out any information about Jimmy's first wives.

On the general challenges of a prequel, Gilligan also told ScreenRant, "Prequels are actually harder because the sky is not the limit. You can't do anything and everything with the storytelling because there's so much set in stone later and you have to reverse engineer and you have to steer the supertanker very carefully otherwise it goes smashing into the dock and messing everything up."