As Better Call Saul is inching closer and closer to its end, it only makes sense that actors who have helped make the show as popular as it has become would reflect on their time portraying their iconic characters. Given that he plays the titular character, Odenkirk did just that.

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In an interview with the Los Angeles Times published before the shocking Better Call Saul mid-season finale aired, Odenkirk reflected on the straight-and-narrow former conman Jimmy McGill turning into the sleazy and slippery criminal lawyer Saul Goodman. Odenkirk, who played exclusively comedic roles before taking on the role of Goodman, talked about his character as a whole and also gave his own take on Goodman’s fate. While Odenkirk acknowledges the fanfare for his character, he called Saul “not a good guy” and “very selfish.”

He then talked about his fate as Goodman. “This is not a spoiler, what I’m saying here,” Odenkirk said. “It’s weird, because it sounds like maybe I’m pitching that Saul becomes this goodhearted, generous, caring person. I can’t tell you where he ends up, but it’s not like he has some revelation of humanity. I think he gets to… I think I’ve said all I can say. But I like where his journey ends. And I think you’ll like it too.”

As long as the show sticks the landing and sets everything in the past to fit with the Breaking Bad timeline, Odenkirk’s portrayal of Goodman should go down among the greatest TV/movie lawyers of all time. Television and movies have featured sleazy lawyers in the past, but rarely ever have viewers seen them as more than supporting characters on TV dramas, and never before had we seen that same character get a show that detailed his backstory. Odenkirk’s portrayal of Saul Goodman deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Sam Waterson’s Jack McCoy in Law and Order and Gregory Peck’s Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Many were skeptical that a show like Better Call Saul would work coming in because Saul Goodman was the designated comic relief of Breaking Bad. It was hard to envision how the showrunners would depict his downturn into being the sleazy lawyer he would become, but, seven years after its pilot premiered, Better Call Saul has not only pulled it off flawlessly, but now fans have started the debate about which is better between it and the show’s predecessor. That would not have been possible without Odenkirk’s efforts.

Better Call Saul will resume its final season on AMC on July 11, 2022.

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Source: Los Angeles Times