‘Better Call Saul’ Star Rhea Seehorn and Producer Peter Gould Discuss the Road to ‘Breaking Bad’ — Turn It On Podcast
“Better Call Saul” quickly became more than just the “Breaking Bad” prequel that fans of the landmark series desired. A look at how sweet hustler Jimmy McGill lost a bit of his soul and became sleazy Saul Goodman, lawyer to Albuquerque’s best drug kingpins, is more nuanced and more tragic than you’d ever expect.
As Season 3 comes to a close, “Better Call Saul” fans got to see more familiar faces from the “Breaking Bad” universe, including the arrival of Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito). But the focus continues to be on both Bob Odenkirk and Jonathan Banks, as viewers watch the descent of Jimmy/Saul and Mike Ehrmantraut into that dark world. This year has seen the origins of the Saul Goodman character, the origins of Mike and Gus’ unholy alliance, and Kim Wexler’s struggle with her own fall from grace.
Rhea Seehorn plays Kim – who, of course, is Jimmy’s one true friend on the show. She and executive producer Peter Gould visited IndieWire recently to analyze what this season as meant for Kim, in addition to the evolution of Jimmy into Saul. Listen below!
“People are worried that she’s going to die, but just as worried that if she’s there, how corrupt is she?” Seehorn said of fan theories about Kim’s fate.
The character of Kim, in addition to Jimmy’s brother Chuck, became key parts of making Jimmy human, Gould said. “Saul Goodman was fun, but he’s not a fully three-dimensional character. The thing we struggled was, what makes him human is who he cares about.”
The wide-ranging interview with Seehorn and Gould includes discussing the show’s adherence to its early 2000s period, plus whether or not we’ll see more of “Gene,” Jimmy’s new identity in Omaha (seen through flash-forwards).
“I find the whole Omaha world fascinating and the way Bob plays Gene, that frightened little mouse is fascinating with me,” Gould said.
As for what happens to Jimmy, Gould believes that there’s still a flicker of that guy inside Saul (now Gene). “Bob played Saul goodman with a weird kind of earnestness. Saul Goodman cares so much about pleasing the person across from him. I think that’s a little bit of Jimmy. But Jimmy has a decency to him that Saul doesn’t have.”
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