Better Call Saul Season 2 spoilers are below.
In the captivating Season 2 finale of Better Call Saul, viewers watched the cracks in Jimmy and Chuck’s relationship turn into a chasm, leaving many wondering how Chuck’s sabotage will affect his brother’s transition into the Saul Goodman of Breaking Bad infamy. Speaking of that flagship drama, creator Vince Gilligan also envisioned the finale with a cameo from Betsy Brandt’s Marie Schrader during Chuck’s traumatizing hospital visit, but it was shot down by the rest of the writers. Here’s what Brandt had to say about the decision to leave Marie out.
Oh no, she couldn’t be there. What are they going to do, stick me in the background? That would be weird. In that moment, you know she’d be wearing purple and probably bitching at somebody … Would Marie ground herself before she touched him? Would they both be wearing the silver blankets?. . . It’s not her time. I hope she has her time. Vince always makes the right call.
Well, it wasn’t the right call in this exact case, but we’ll agree with her on just about every other decision Gilligan has made over the years. Having worked with him for so long on Breaking Bad, Betsy Brandt knows how he crafts his stories, so she was clearly aware of how awkward Marie’s entrance would be during a CAT scan scene that would put Chuck out of commission in a story that saw Michael McKean giving as uncomfortably helpless a performance as any in his career. Brandt is nobody’s fool.
Still, this almost has to mean that we’ll get to see Marie on Better Call Saul one day, whether in Season 3 or beyond. Apparently Brandt wasn’t even aware of Vince Gilligan’s intentions for Marie before EW talked to her about it, but she doesn’t seem to be against the idea of reprising the role in the slightest.
I would come and do craft services if that’s what they asked me to do. There really is nothing that I wouldn’t do. I mean, I’ve never had a scene with Bob and Jonathan, and I love both of those guys as actors and as humans, so I would happily run into them in a pizza parlor. I really don’t even care what it is. But, of course, I would love some huge meaty scene to chew on.
How about a meaty scene inside of a pizza parlor? 2017 needs to see Bob Odenkirk’s performance as Jimmy eats something with a lot of melty, stringy cheese. Maybe it’s just me. We all have our things.
Hopefully Marie will get some things on Better Call Saul later, and maybe she’ll namedrop The One Who Knocks, setting the scene for that eventual appearance. Considering how well the acclaimed AMC drama has handled Breaking Bad characters both in the long-term and in the short-term, Marie will likely get an unforgettable moment for her Better Call Saul cameo. Fingers crossed for Jimmy to be wearing a purple suit when it happens.
While you wait for Better Call Saul to arrive back on your televisions, check out everything that’s premiering soon in our summer TV schedule.
