We’re less than two weeks away from the highly anticipated final season of Better Call Saul and co-creator Peter Gould just revealed some shocking and exciting news. In an interview with Variety, he spills the beans on the possibility of Jesse Pinkman or Walter White showing up in the Breaking Bad spin-off, “I don’t want to spoil things for the audience, but I will say the first question we had when we started the show was, ‘Are we gonna see Walt and Jesse on the show?’ Instead of evading, I’ll just say yeah.” Peter never reveals in what capacity the two infamous characters will play in the final season. It’s an interesting layer added to a season that’s already packed with so much complexity. However, Walter White was a boring teacher before he even talked to Saul Goodman. What exactly could he be doing in the final season? Jesse was always a drug dealer so there’s more opportunity to flesh out his character. However, was there ever a need to include Walter White and Jesse Pinkman for the final season of Better Call Saul?
Better Call Saul is in a weird position. The Vince Gilligan vehicle had high expectations coming in because it’s living off the Breaking Bad name. The Emmy-winning series is considered one of the best television shows of all time, so Better Call Saul had a huge shadow that was marred by its predecessor. Thankfully, Better Call Saul has been a tremendous source of television and it hasn’t been wrapped in a Breaking Bad bubble. We know that Walter White and Jesse Pinkman exist in his world because it’s the prequel. However, going back to my question, what exactly could Walter White be doing in the final season? Given the fact that there wasn’t a story set-up in the fifth season, it more than likely seems that it’ll be a cameo. It’s also possible that the creators could play with the history of Walter White. Maybe he got involved with some drug shenanigans at a younger age? Likely nothing too serious, but something that would have White interact with one of the secondary characters. It wouldn’t make sense if White got in contact with Saul before they met in Breaking Bad. White’s brother is a DEA agent, so it could likely involve a case with him, and somehow, he gets dragged into the whole mess. In truth, it should just be a minor cameo, nothing more.
There’s really no need to add more to Walter White’s story. It won’t add to the reasoning why he turns to a drug dealer in Breaking Bad. It all started because of his cancer, simple as that. Perhaps it’ll give more context to why White was more of a pushover in the beginning, but even then, does it matter? It’ll just feel like fan service if the creators try to incorporate a new storyline with White and considering the series leading up to the final season, that just doesn’t feel like Vince Gilligan’s style. Had Walter White not been dead, then it would’ve been possible to do a time jump to events that transpire after the Breaking Bad series finale. As far as Jesse Pinkman is concerned, it’s actually a bit surprising that he hasn’t been introduced yet. Pinkman was a low-level dealer before him and White linked up, so seeing him on the streets of Mexico wouldn’t be a surprise. In fact, him being in association with Gus Fring could’ve made sense. Gus is the big dog when it comes to selling, naturally news of dealers comes by his way. With Jesse’s special drug standing out, perhaps Gus tries to recruit him? There’s more to play with in terms of story when it comes to Pinkman because he’s more invested into this world than White is. It’ll still feel like fan service, but it also wouldn’t ruin the context of Jesse’s story or characterization.
There was never any need to bring in Walter White and Jesse Pinkman. These are two iconic characters, but their story has been told already. This is about Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman, and he’s been a fascinating character to watch since the beginning. Now, Better Call Saul is littered with Breaking Bad names, but they don’t feel forced into this story because they been given time to develop. If White and Pinkman never made an appearance in the series then Better Call Saul wouldn’t have been damaged in any shape or form. I’ll be cool to see these legacy characters once again; however, Better Call Saul will still be great with or without them.Better Call Saul
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