TV - Movies
That Ants Scene
In Better Call
Saul Was
Crawling With
Hidden Meaning
By TOMMY MCARDLE
"Better Call Saul" frequently employs visual metaphors as it chronicles Saul Goodman's (Bob Odenkirk) journey to becoming the man audiences meet in "Breaking Bad." In one particular episode, the executive producers employed many ants to draw out a metaphor.
At the end of Season 5, Nacho Varga (Michael Mando) demands Saul get in his car, making Saul drop the ice cream cone he is eating on the sidewalk. The next episode turns a seemingly odd final shot into a full-on metaphor as it opens on a horde of ants devouring Saul's ice cream, signifying his oncoming corruption as he finally grows more involved with the cartel.
The rest of the episode cements Saul as a friend of the Salamanca cartel as Lalo (Tony Dalton) coerces Saul into representing Domingo "Krazy-8" Molina (Maximino Arciniega) after his arrest. When Saul returns, the lawyer sees that his ice cream has been devoured by ants, which could be viewed as a metaphor for the corrupting force that has now consumed him.