Yep. No need for Hank and I'm not just saying that because he's a bullying a-hole--Better Call Saul has made a name for itself for using "Bad" cameos and reprisals that make sense within the context of the story. The odds of them bumping into Hank are low but Merkert is entirely possible because he's the ASAC.
Some people might bring up: "But what about Ken Wins" and "But what about that real estate lady or that cop who showed up when Skyler called the police on Walt?" but I have this to say about those characters: those were more bit-role characters and are easier to use for a little wink-nod appearance.
As for Walt and Jesse, I would actually have to disagree with you hear. We KNOW for a FACT that this show WILL start getting into the Breaking Bad timeline (as early as this season, in fact, from what the crew said). Gilligan and Gould have repeatedly stated that they wanted BCS to be able to stand on its own and not force audiences to rely on Breaking Bad in order to understand it. So, within that context, in order for the "Gene" scenes to make sense, they will eventually have to show how Jimmy got in trouble and had to run. Since Walt and Jesse--mainly Walt--were the direct causes of that, it would actually be very important to one day see Walt and Jesse show up--just as important as it was for Gus, Hector, etc to show up.
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rootvegetables (1466)
6 years ago
So you're saying that once the timelines overlap, we should see the BB timeline from Saul's POV, as opposed from Jesse's or Walt's? I can live with that. Say, after they leave the office, we can follow him instead of them and see what he went through. That might work.
As far as Hank (or has I call him "Honk") goes... I never saw him as a bullying asshole (even when he was a bullying asshole). I genuinely see him as a "True Detective". The man was a relentless avenger. This was both the source of his success and the ultimate cause of his doom.
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dteam6 (5073)
6 years ago
Sort of, yes. There are definite hints to it:
-Gilligan described the latest season as "Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad on a venn diagram with Breaking Bad's overlap growing bigger and bigger" and Odenkirk recently stated that Breaking Bad will eventually "swallow" Better Call Saul.
As for what I'm stating--we only need a season or two set DURING Breaking Bad. Hell, even a few episodes would do it. Show us Walt, Jesse and Saul on "one of those days we didn't see them together" and then show Saul after they leave the office as you said.
In order for BCS to truly stand on its own like Gilligan and Gould said they MUST do a little bit of a "redo" of that area as it's so important to Jimmy's life. The Breaking Bad years are Jimmy's doom. They have to retread at least SOME of that old ground--just from a different POV.
They have to-otherwise new viewers who never watched Breaking Bad (there are more than you may think--I've spoken with many) won't have a clue what happened to Jimmy. Half a season set during Breaking Bad would do it, I think.
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rootvegetables (1466)
6 years ago
If that is the approach, I'd be okay with it.
That said, I don't understand people who watch this show without having seen BB.
They are depriving themselves of one of the great cinematic stories that takes place within the same universe.
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dteam6 (5073)
6 years ago
Some people have said they're waiting for Better Call Saul to end before watching Breaking Bad. They want to avoid spoilers, I guess. Some still don't know about fates of certain characters and want to be left in suspense.
That takes dedication. I've seen people do this with prequels before.
I understand Gilligan and Gould's angle here because I was a "late" fan to Breaking Bad. I jumped in when Ozymandias first aired live on TV because Breaking Bad was started to be noticed in the media more and everyone kept saying "Ozymandias" this and "Ozymandias" that and I was confused. I watched Ozymandias, Granite State and Felina as they aired, bought all the seasons on DVD and the rest is history.
Someone jumping in on Saul will be confused and Saul really is a show designed to be viewed without needing to rely on Breaking Bad. I think that's a good thing. It makes BCS more its own show and less of an appendage of Breaking Bad. It allows both shows to be their own thing.
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