'Better Call Saul's Driving Force Isn't Jimmy and Kim — It's These Two

The trademark of the Breaking Bad universe is beautifully portraying what could have or should have been if only one circumstance had been different. And in Vince Gilligan’s world, people squander their potential for motives you wouldn’t always expect. The average Better Call Saul audience member may not look at Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) in his flashy Cadillac and think that he had once been a decent sort of fellow — the type that cared for an ailing sibling — and that his proverbial fall from grace wasn’t due to just vanity or sheer greed. Saul’s alter ego, Jimmy McGill, wasn’t taken down because of his want of a Cocobolo desk (although he played that hand well). His fall from grace is because of familial repudiation. Jimmy and the complex dynamic between him and his brother, Chuck (Michael McKean) shapes the show more than any other. Chuck’s acceptance and non-acceptance drives the action of Jimmy’s life and decisions. Without Chuck’s rejection, there would be no Saul Goodman.