Better Call Saul: 10 Ways Breaking Bad Foreshadowed The Events Of The Spin-Off Show
Better Call Saul is not only a worthy prequel to Breaking Bad, but Walter White's show drops a ton of references that foreshadow Better Call Saul.
Better Call Saul takes place several years before Breaking Bad, but with season 6 approaching, the two timelines are slowly, but surely edging closer together. Jimmy has already fully assumed his Saul Goodman persona and involuntarily became “a friend of the cartel”.
Breaking Bad hints at certain events that took place in the past, in Better Call Saul‘s timeline. Some of them inspire the audience’s imagination, leading to theories about the upcoming final season and what will happen to characters that don’t have a story in Breaking Bad, such as Nacho, Kim and Lalo.
The Lawyer-Client Privilege Established With $1
In “Better Call Saul”, one of the most important Breaking Bad episodes of season 2, Saul encourages Walter and Jesse to each put a dollar in his pocket, making the lawyer-client privilege official. It isn’t obvious at the time, but this request foreshadows an event in Better Call Saul.
When Jimmy commits fraud to take down Chuck and tarnish his reputation, Kim demands that he gives her a dollar, so he officially becomes her client. Jimmy might be an excellent conman, but he definitely learned a thing or two from Kim’s mastermind.
Managing A Cinnabon In Omaha
During their last conversation in Breaking Bad, Saul tells Walter that in best case scenario, he will be “managing a Cinnabon in Omaha”. Better Call Saul opens up with a black-and-white flash-forward: Jimmy/Saul is now Gene and he is indeed keeping a low profile as a manager of a Cinnabon in Omaha.
In season 5, he even makes a call to the infamous vacuuming store, requesting a new life. He changes his mind in the last second, implying that Jimmy is sick and tired of living in fear.
Saul Didn’t Want To Take Walter White’s Bribe
When Saul meets Walter in his tacky law office for the first time, Walter offers him a $10 000 bribe and insinuates that he is indeed the mysterious Heisenberg. Saul declines, saying he is morally outraged.
While it didn’t make much sense why a crook like Saul wouldn’t take the hefty bribe in Breaking Bad, it all becomes clear when in Better Call Saul, we see the lengths he went through for Lalo, dragging $7 million across the desert. He is already in the game and knows that he can go much higher than $10 000.
“It Wasn’t Me, It Was Ignacio!”
In the already-mentioned Breaking Bad episode “Better Call Saul”, Walter and Jesse kidnap Saul, take him to the desert and threaten to kill him. Afraid for his life and not sure what is going on, Saul exclaims “It wasn’t me, it was Ignacio!”, referencing Better Call Saul‘s character Ignacio Varga AKA Nacho.
It was merely a throw-away line, but it foreshadowed that Saul will be involved in some dirty cartel business with Nacho. The lawyer got him out of trouble in season 1 of Better Call Saul, but Breaking Bad‘s line heavily implies that the two don’t simply go their separate ways after season 1’s Kettleman fiasco.
Ice Station Zebra Associates
In Breaking Bad‘s season 3 episode “Abiquiú”, Skyler confronts Saul and Walter about the Ice Station Zebra Associates, Saul’s money-laundering company. In Better Call Saul‘s episode “Bali Ha’i”, we learn about the origin of this name. When Kim and Jimmy con a stockbroker at a bar, the gullible man writes them a check for $10 000, addressing it to their made-up start-up, Ice Station Zebra Associates – which also happens to be Kim’s father’s favorite TV channel.
Would Saul use a name with such a sentimental value if Kim wasn’t a part of it? Perhaps Breaking Bad‘s money laundering firm foreshadows that Kim is indeed still in the game during the Breaking Bad‘s timeline.
Jimmy Tricked A Woman Into Believing He Was Kevin Costner
During one of their conversation, Saul tells Walter that he once made a woman believe that he was Kevin Costner in order to drive home the following point: if you believe your own lies, so will others.
In Better Call Saul, we get to know the pre-Albuquerque Jimmy, also known as Slippin’ Jimmy. What he told Walter turns out to be true. He actually got a woman to go to his friend’s basement with him, pretending he is Kevin Costner.
BCS Won’t Give Jimmy A Closure About Lalo
The desert scene in Breaking Bad’s episode “Better Call Saul” gives yet another hint at where Better Call Saul is going. When Walter and Jesse have Saul down on his knees, scared for his life, he first blames Nacho and then asks right away: “Lalo didn’t send you?”
This line carries significant information about where Better Call Saul is headed, or better yet, not headed. If it wasn’t for the Breaking Bad reference, the audience could hope that Jimmy finds out what happens to Lalo, but it seems like he has no idea and that the memories of the formidable Salamanca still haunt him.
Jimmy Never Divorces Kim
In Breaking Bad‘s episode “Green Light”, Saul tells Walter he has two ex-wives. When he marries Kim in Better Call Saul’s episode “JMM”, he presents documents pertaining to the past two divorces, making Kim his third wife.
The foreshadowing of Breaking Bad‘s line is threefold: either Kim is still alive and well in the Breaking Bad timeline, she dies or their marriage never held water in the first place. When they got married, the judge comments on Kim’s lack of middle name. It could very well be she didn’t include it on purpose to keep her options open.
Mesa Verde Was Always Going To Rebrand Itself
In Breaking Bad‘s pilot, Walter goes to Mesa Credit Union to withdraw money. The new Mesa logo doesn’t feature a cowboy: it’s green (verde in Spanish) and simplistic. Given the fact their new logo is green (verde in Spanish), it’s safe to assume that it’s the same institution.
This Easter egg as well as glorious shots of the cowboy silhouette foreshadowed Mesa Verde’s copyright infringement issues, which were technically started by Kim. After all, it was she who noticed that the bank’s CEO Kevin Wachtell copied his logo from a photograph.
Krazy-8 Was A Dead Man All Along
Domingo Molina aka Krazy-8 is Walter’s first victim. He dies in the third episode of season 1, “…and the Bag’s in the River”. In Better Call Saul, we learn where he got his nickname: from Lalo. Ever since he first appeared on screen as a rather shy dealer in Better Call Saul, the fans of Breaking Bad knew that he would end up working for the DEA and die an untimely death.
