# Saul Goodman (Jimmy McGill) -- Character Analysis **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 5, 2015, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saul-goodman-jimmy-mcgill-character-analysis/708998 "2015-01-05T02:05:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saul-goodman-jimmy-mcgill-character-analysis/708998/1 "2015-01-05T02:05:36Z")
When my parents finally finished ‘Breaking Bad’ last year, my mother loved it. My father, on the other hand, was upset that there were “no likable characters”, (with the exception of Walter Jr.) He’s right. Though, as unlikable as the characters were, I always felt a _little_ sympathetic towards Jesse. He was a dangerous criminal, yes. He was an idiot most of the time, yes. He \*did \*, however, seem to have his own moral standards though, which he stuck to. I think it just goes to show how well the character was played and written. I also felt a _little_ sympathetic towards Saul Goodman as well. With **‘Better Call Saul’** premiering soon, I thought it would be interesting to go back to his character, and perhaps even speculate how his spin-off series will go down. Saul was, without question, a dirt-bag. He got himself into a mess that he couldn’t detach himself from. I’m really interested in his origin story because throughout the series, I couldn’t help but wonder what made him tick. I can’t help but think that he’s got his own moral guidelines too. Bob Odenkirk was a great casting choice. Anyone familiar with \*\*‘The Larry Sanders Show’ \*\*knows that he’s had some practice playing a sleazy character. Saul was always ‘capable’, but it seemed, (to me), like he had more than a few reservations about Walter and Jesse’s actions. It would be wild to see him before he ‘broke bad’, if there was ever a time. I have a feeling that will see a weaker, less confident Jimmy McGill in the spin-off. Perhaps we’ll see someone with a less blackened heart, trying hard to be a decent lawyer in an environment that doesn’t reward good intentions. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saul-goodman-jimmy-mcgill-character-analysis/708998/2 "2015-01-05T02:09:51Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > When my parents finally finished ‘Breaking Bad’ last year, my mother loved it. My father, on the other hand, was upset that there were “no likable characters”, (with the exception of Walter Jr.) > > He’s right. Though, as unlikable as the characters were, I always felt a _little_ sympathetic towards Jesse. He was a dangerous criminal, yes. He was an idiot most of the time, yes. He \*did \*, however, seem to have his own moral standards though, which he stuck to. I think it just goes to show how well the character was played and written. > > I also felt a _little_ sympathetic towards Saul Goodman as well. With **‘Better Call Saul’** premiering soon, I thought it would be interesting to go back to his character, and perhaps even speculate how his spin-off series will go down. Saul was, without question, a dirt-bag. He got himself into a mess that he couldn’t detach himself from. I’m really interested in his origin story because throughout the series, I couldn’t help but wonder what made him tick. I can’t help but think that he’s got his own moral guidelines too. > > Bob Odenkirk was a great casting choice. Anyone familiar with \*\*‘The Larry Sanders Show’ \*\*knows that he’s had some practice playing a sleazy character. Saul was always ‘capable’, but it seemed, (to me), like he had more than a few reservations about Walter and Jesse’s actions. It would be wild to see him before he ‘broke bad’, if there was ever a time. > > I have a feeling that will see a weaker, less confident Jimmy McGill in the spin-off. Perhaps we’ll see someone with a less blackened heart, trying hard to be a decent lawyer in an environment that doesn’t reward good intentions. I disagree with your father. Walter Jr. wasn’t likable either. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saul-goodman-jimmy-mcgill-character-analysis/708998/3 "2015-01-05T02:13:19Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > I disagree with your father. Walter Jr. wasn’t likable either. I loled for real. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saul-goodman-jimmy-mcgill-character-analysis/708998/4 "2015-01-05T02:20:55Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > I disagree with your father. Walter Jr. wasn’t likable either. If you don’t like Walt Jr, then you don’t like breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saul-goodman-jimmy-mcgill-character-analysis/708998/5 "2015-01-05T02:26:22Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > I also felt a _little_ sympathetic towards Saul Goodman as well. With **‘Better Call Saul’** premiering soon, I thought it would be interesting to go back to his character, and perhaps even speculate how his spin-off series will go down. Saul was, without question, a dirt-bag. He got himself into a mess that he couldn’t detach himself from. I’m really interested in his origin story because throughout the series, I couldn’t help but wonder what made him tick. I can’t help but think that he’s got his own moral guidelines too. I’m not sure I’d go that far. Saul Goodman never seems to hesitate to get involved in morally questionable enterprises. Where his lines are drawn are with levels of risk. Any good lawyer - and he’s a pretty good one - is concerned with risk. What’s the risk to my client from course X? What’s my risk? What’s the risk to the overall litigation? Such and so forth. What Saul has isn’t really worthy of being called morals. Instead he’s got a keener sense of his own self-preservation that even Gus Fring…and Gus is a very careful man. Were Saul more of a risk-taker he would be very much further into crime instead of defining himself as a consigliere. He monitors activities and risk for other people…he tries not to take them himself. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saul-goodman-jimmy-mcgill-character-analysis/708998/6 "2015-01-05T02:35:13Z")
Interesting. Though when he found out Walter drugged a child, he seemed uncomfortable. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saul-goodman-jimmy-mcgill-character-analysis/708998/7 "2015-01-05T03:07:09Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > When my parents finally finished ‘Breaking Bad’ last year, my mother loved it. My father, on the other hand, was upset that there were “no likable characters”, (with the exception of Walter Jr.) How can anybody not like Huell? ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saul-goodman-jimmy-mcgill-character-analysis/708998/8 "2015-01-05T05:16:22Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > How can anybody not like Huell? Or Badger? _Did you actually just use the word “ethically” in a sentence?_ Saul was amoral. He even suggested solving the Hank problem by “sending him to Belize.” Saul only cares about risk and reward. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saul-goodman-jimmy-mcgill-character-analysis/708998/9 "2015-01-05T05:27:13Z")
Saul was a bit cartoonish actually, I forgot how much Walt actually ended up paying him but was it enough to abandon everything he had and live the rest of his life in a damn remote cabin like Walt was? Woo hoo I’m rich…with no way to spend it cuz unless I want to buy some nuts from a squirrel there is no one else around. Saul had no family, no friends, no favorite hooker even he would miss? ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saul-goodman-jimmy-mcgill-character-analysis/708998/10 "2015-01-05T05:34:08Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Saul was amoral. He even suggested solving the Hank problem by “sending him to Belize.” And suggested having Badger killed when he was arrested. Jesse: “no shanking!” ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saul-goodman-jimmy-mcgill-character-analysis/708998/11 "2015-01-05T07:39:52Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Saul was a bit cartoonish actually, I forgot how much Walt actually ended up paying him but was it enough to abandon everything he had and live the rest of his life in a damn remote cabin like Walt was? Woo hoo I’m rich…with no way to spend it cuz unless I want to buy some nuts from a squirrel there is no one else around. Didn’t he end up managing a Cinnabun? ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saul-goodman-jimmy-mcgill-character-analysis/708998/12 "2015-01-05T08:19:13Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Didn’t he end up managing a Cinnabun? Hah oh yea I forgot about that throwaway line, still you’d think someone would take notice when a Cinnabun manager starts buying luxury cars and such. Why the hell didn’t Saul buy some fake documents and send HIMSELF to Belize 😛 ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saul-goodman-jimmy-mcgill-character-analysis/708998/13 "2015-01-06T00:08:42Z")
There were plenty of likable characters, just they weren’t likable all the time. Hank, Jesse, Walter (sr), Mike, hell, even Gus all had moments where they were likable as a kitten video, which is more than you can say for Walt Breakfast Jr.