Better Call Saul (Breaking Bad)

This article is about the episode of Breaking Bad. For the series, see Better Call Saul.

Not to be confused with Breaking Bad (Better Call Saul), the 2022 episode of Better Call Saul.

8th episode of the 2nd season of Breaking Bad

"Better Call Saul"

Breaking Bad episode
Episode no.| Season 2
Episode 8
Directed by| Terry McDonough
Written by| Peter Gould
Featured music|

* "Holla Hey" by Far East Movement
* "Thin Man Skank" by The Lions
* "Oh Beautiful" by Pat Boone
* "Banderilla" by Calexico

Cinematography by| Michael Slovis
Editing by| Skip Macdonald
Original air date| April 26, 2009 (2009-04-26)
Running time| 47 minutes
Guest appearances

* Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman
* DJ Qualls as Getz
* Krysten Ritter as Jane Margolis
* Matt Jones as Badger Mayhew
* Steven Michael Quezada as Steven Gomez
* Tina Parker as Francesca Liddy

Episode chronology
| ← Previous
"Negro y Azul"  | Next →
"4 Days Out"

|

Breaking Bad season 2
List of episodes

"Better Call Saul" is the eighth episode of the second season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad. It was written by Peter Gould and directed by Terry McDonough. The episode aired on AMC on April 26, 2009.

This episode marks Bob Odenkirk's first appearance as the fast-talking criminal lawyer Saul Goodman in the series. He was promoted to series regular in Season 3 and stayed with the series until the penultimate episode, later reprising the role in the prequel series Better Call Saul.

## Plot

[edit]

After Badger is arrested in a sting operation by the Albuquerque Police, Walter White and Jesse Pinkman look into hiring a shady, flamboyant lawyer named Saul Goodman. Saul has already offered to be Badger's legal counsel. Walt poses as Badger's uncle and goes to Saul's office. Walt offers Saul a bribe to keep Badger from confessing, but Saul refuses.

Walt and Jesse resort to kidnapping Saul, threatening to kill him if he does not keep Badger from informing on them. Initially, Saul pleads for mercy, believing they were sent by a man named "Lalo". He blames this apparent slight towards Lalo on a man named "Ignacio",[a] and referring to himself as an "amigo del cartel". However, upon realizing that they are not cartel enforcers but are instead associates of Badger, Saul asks for payment so he can legally represent them and keep their talks confidential. Saul tells the duo about a man, Jimmy "In-'N-Out" Kilkelly, who makes a living being paid by other criminals to go to jail, and offers to have him stand in for Heisenberg. The DEA busts Kilkelly when Badger gives them a fake deal, but Hank Schrader is not completely convinced. Later, Saul visits Walt at his school, telling him that he is too easy to find. Saul offers to be Walt's full-time legal counsel and adviser in covering his tracks.

Skyler White goes to work on a Saturday, and Walt notices that she is dressing especially well for her job with Ted. Seeing that Hank has holed himself in his house, Walt gives him a motivational speech, talking about how he has not had any fear in his life since he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. This helps Hank leave the house, but he still has panic attacks. Meanwhile, Jesse has slept with Jane Margolis and learns she is in recovery from addiction. Later, after Jesse orders a mattress for his apartment, he and Jane have sex once again.

## Production

[edit]

The episode was written by Peter Gould, and directed by Terry McDonough. It aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on April 26, 2009.

Events of this episode are referenced in the sixth season Better Call Saul episode, "Breaking Bad".[2] The episode marks the first appearance of Saul Goodman.[3] Saul's dialog and interactions in "Better Call Saul" became essential elements in setting up characters and plotlines for the spinoff prequel series of the same name. When Walter and Jesse wear masks and try to coerce Saul at gunpoint to accept their case, Saul, having mistaken the two for cartel enforcers, tries to lay blame on a man known as "Ignacio" and asks if "Lalo" sent them. Within Better Call Saul, this was revealed to be Nacho Varga, a member of the Salamanca cartel, and Lalo Salamanca, nephew of Hector Salamanca.[4] Saul further begs to know if they are "friends of the cartel", a phrase that is shown to be something he learned from Lalo while being forced to work to defend him in court.[5] In Better Call Saul's "Point and Shoot", the origins of Saul's fear towards Lalo and what he was blaming Nacho for are revealed.[6]

## Critical reception

[edit]

Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club gave the episode an A, and praised Jesse and Walt's evolving role in the drug world.[7]

In 2019, The Ringer ranked "Better Call Saul" as the twelfth best of the 62 Breaking Bad episodes.[8] Vulture ranked it 25th overall. [9]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ This dialogue was the basis for the Better Call Saul characters Nacho Varga and Lalo Salamanca.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Saporito, Jeff. "How has Bob Odenkirk interpreted and evolved his "Better Call Saul" character after "Breaking Bad"?". screenprism.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
2. ^ Patten, Dominic (August 1, 2022). "'Better Call Saul' Flashes To 'Breaking Bad' As Series Finale Looms; (SPOILER) Lives, In Florida". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 2, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
3. ^ Gilad, Elon (October 2, 2013). "Top 12 Saul Goodman moments from 'Breaking Bad'". Haaretz. Archived from the original on December 17, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
4. ^ Herzog, Kenny (June 12, 2017). "Better Call Saul's Michael Mando on Nacho's Self-Sacrifice". Vulture. Archived from the original on August 3, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
5. ^ 'Saul's Marriages' Easter Eggs Ep. 507. AMC. March 30, 2020. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
6. ^ Agar, Chris (July 13, 2022). "Better Call Saul FINALLY Explains Breaking Bad's Lalo/Ignacio Line". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
7. ^ Bowman, Donna (April 26, 2009). "Breaking Bad: "Better Call Saul"". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on April 27, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
8. ^ Samman, Shaker (September 30, 2019). "The Ringer's Definitive 'Breaking Bad' Episodes Ranking". The Ringer. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
9. ^ Potts, Kimberly (October 10, 2019). "Every Episode of Breaking Bad, Ranked". Vulture. Retrieved March 27, 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* "Better Call Saul" at the official Breaking Bad site
* "Better Call Saul" at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Breaking Bad

Episodes|

| Season 1|

* "Pilot"
* "Cat's in the Bag..."
* "...And the Bag's in the River"
* "Cancer Man"
* "Gray Matter"
* "Crazy Handful of Nothin'"
* "A No-Rough-Stuff-Type Deal"

|

Season 2|

* "Seven Thirty-Seven"
* "Grilled"
* "Bit by a Dead Bee"
* "Down"
* "Breakage"
* "Peekaboo"
* "Negro y Azul"
* "Better Call Saul"
* "4 Days Out"
* "Over"
* "Mandala"
* "Phoenix"
* "ABQ"

Season 3|

* "No Más"
* "Caballo sin Nombre"
* "I.F.T."
* "Green Light"
* "Más"
* "Sunset"
* "One Minute"
* "I See You"
* "Kafkaesque"
* "Fly"
* "Abiquiu"
* "Half Measures"
* "Full Measure"

Season 4|

* "Box Cutter"
* "Thirty-Eight Snub"
* "Open House"
* "Bullet Points"
* "Shotgun"
* "Cornered"
* "Problem Dog"
* "Hermanos"
* "Bug"
* "Salud"
* "Crawl Space"
* "End Times"
* "Face Off"

Season 5|

| Part 1|

* "Live Free or Die"
* "Madrigal"
* "Hazard Pay"
* "Fifty-One"
* "Dead Freight"
* "Buyout"
* "Say My Name"
* "Gliding Over All"

|

Part 2|

* "Blood Money"
* "Buried"
* "Confessions"
* "Rabid Dog"
* "To'hajiilee"
* "Ozymandias"
* "Granite State"
* "Felina"

Characters|

* Walter White
* Jesse Pinkman
* Skyler White
* Hank Schrader
* Marie Schrader
* Walter White Jr.
* Saul Goodman
* Mike Ehrmantraut
* Gus Fring
* Todd Alquist

Related|

* Awards and nominations
* Better Call Saul
* "Breaking Bad"
* El Camino
* Metástasis
* Talking Bad
* Faking Bad
* "Baby Blue"
* "Celebrity Booze: The Ultimate Cash Grab"
* "Pickle Rick"
* "Emmy-Winning Episode"
* "(You Gotta) Strike for Your Right"

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Better Call Saul

Episodes|

| Season 1|

* "Uno"
* "Mijo"
* "Nacho"
* "Hero"
* "Alpine Shepherd Boy"
* "Five-O"
* "Bingo"
* "RICO"
* "Pimento"
* "Marco"

|

Season 2|

* "Switch"
* "Cobbler"
* "Amarillo"
* "Gloves Off"
* "Rebecca"
* "Bali Ha'i"
* "Inflatable"
* "Fifi"
* "Nailed"
* "Klick"

Season 3|

* "Mabel"
* "Witness"
* "Sunk Costs"
* "Sabrosito"
* "Chicanery"
* "Off Brand"
* "Expenses"
* "Slip"
* "Fall"
* "Lantern"

Season 4|

* "Smoke"
* "Breathe"
* "Something Beautiful"
* "Talk"
* "Quite a Ride"
* "Piñata"
* "Something Stupid"
* "Coushatta"
* "Wiedersehen"
* "Winner"

Season 5|

* "Magic Man"
* "50% Off"
* "The Guy for This"
* "Namaste"
* "Dedicado a Max"
* "Wexler v. Goodman"
* "JMM"
* "Bagman"
* "Bad Choice Road"
* "Something Unforgivable"

Season 6|

| Part 1|

* "Wine and Roses"
* "Carrot and Stick"
* "Rock and Hard Place"
* "Hit and Run"
* "Black and Blue"
* "Axe and Grind"
* "Plan and Execution"

|

Part 2|

* "Point and Shoot"
* "Fun and Games"
* "Nippy"
* "Breaking Bad"
* "Waterworks"
* "Saul Gone"

Characters|

* Jimmy McGill
* Kim Wexler
* Mike Ehrmantraut
* Chuck McGill
* Howard Hamlin
* Nacho Varga
* Gus Fring
* Lalo Salamanca

Related|

* Awards and nominations
* Breaking Bad
* "Better Call Saul"
* El Camino
* Talking Saul
* Slippin' Jimmy
* "Address Unknown"
* "Better Call Saul" (Homeland)

* Category

*[no.]: number
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*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template