AMC’s hit drama Breaking Bad is referenced as being one of the best and more purposeful TV shows of all time. As seasons went on, we found ourselves becoming more and more addicted to the story, akin to how Walter White was causing addiction with his growing crystal meth empire. So, when spinoff series Better Call Saul was announced, fans longed to see past versions of their favorite characters making an appearance. Unfortunately, with the exception of Tuco Salamanca, the majority of Breaking Bad reprisals have been extremely obscure characters. Because of this, fans have been asking for the appearance of Walter and Jesse non-stop.
Bob Odenkirk recently opened up in an interview with the Huffington Post regarding the question of Walter White appearing on Better Call Saul.
Nil. Stop hoping. Stop referencing Breaking Bad ... it hasn't happened yet ... this show is THIS show, and it's full and complex and the stakes are different and it's a helluva unique and rich experience.
Well, that seems pretty cut and dry. And disappointing.
While Better Call Saul is indeed a spinoff, it is rather different series than Breaking Bad. Tonally, there is much more comedy in Better Call Saul than the original series. Since the character Saul Goodman provided most of the comedy in Breaking Bad, obviously a show where he is the protagonist will feature comedy heavily.
Additionally, the stakes also feel much lower in Better Call Saul. Jimmy is slowly but surely giving himself over to corruption, and entering the world of the morally grey. While Breaking Bad did the same with Walter White’s growing drug empire, there was the added pressure of Walt’s cancer diagnosis. This made the show literally life and death from the very start. Of course, Walt’s role as Heisenberg would end up taking over as the main conflict as Breaking Bad continued.
While I’d love to see Walter White making an appearance in Better Call Saul, it doesn’t necessarily make sense for him to appear. At the time which Saul is set, Walter is presumably living a rather stoic life in Albuquerque. Before meth and cancer, Walter was simply teaching chemistry and living a calm life with Walter Jr. and Skyler.
So what could a Walter White appearance entail? The only logical explanation I can see is that Walter could possibly go to Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill in order to attempt a lawsuit against Gray Matter. Years before Breaking Bad, Walter sold his shares to Gray Matter, which would later become a multi-billion dollar company. This unfortunate timing caused a ton of resentment to his former colleagues, and became the reason that Walter became so greedy in his drug business.
While we won’t be seeing Walter White on Better Call Saul anytime soon, hopefully we’ll get an appearance from other characters like Jesse Pinkman soon.
Better Call Saul airs Mondays on AMC.
