Better Call Saul began as a prequel to Breaking Bad, the story of how Walter White’s lawyer transformed from Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) into Saul Goodman. Now, however, Jimmy’s saga is a compelling story in its own right. Although there are still plenty of Breaking Bad connections — including Mike Ehrmentraut (Jonathan Banks) and the return of Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) in the upcoming third season — the series has introduced new faces of its own, such as Jimmy’s brother, Chuck (Michael McKean), his colleague and on-again-off-again-love, Kim (Rhea Seehorn), and their boss, the duplicitous Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian).
Before season 3 of Better Call Saul begins, refresh your memory with the biggest moments from the AMC series so far.
It’s one thing to know Saul has a double identity, considering he once told Walter White Saul wasn’t his real name. But before Better Call Saul even introduced Jimmy McGill, it showed an in-hiding, post-Breaking Bad Saul working at a Cinnabon under the name Gene.
2. Mike’s Other Job
(“Uno,” season 1, episode 1)
The man who would become Saul’s go-to cleaner had humble beginnings. Mike, a retired cop, was working as a parking attendant when he first met Jimmy.
3. Meet Jimmy’s Brother
(“Uno,” season 1, episode 1)
We first met Chuck, a great lawyer, huddled under foil blankets and hiding out in his own home away from any and all electronics due to what he considered an electromagnetic hypersensitivity.
4. Introducing Nacho
(“Mijo,” season 1, episode 2)
The first Breaking Bad cameo came in the pilot when Jimmy hired two skateboarders to rob a potential client, but they hit the wrong car. Tuco took Jimmy hostage too, where Jimmy met Tuco’s partner, Nacho (Michael Mando).
5. Jimmy Fakes a Rescue
(“Hero,” season 1, episode 4)
Jimmy’s rival, Howard Hamlin, doesn’t like the competition and files a cease and desist order against Jimmy’s billboard. In retaliation, while filming a local news interview about the dispute Jimmy has a billboard worker fake a fall so he can be the hero who rescues him.
6. Mike’s Sad Past
(“Five-O,” season 1, episode 6)
Matty was killed by corrupt cops for refusing to go on the take, so Mike killed them. Mike reconnected with his daughter-in-law (Kerry Condon) and granddaughter Kaylee (Abigail Zoe Lewis).
7. Chuck Leaves the House
(“Pimento,” season 1, episode 9)
Just leaving the house was a big deal for Chuck, who nearly collapsed going next door to read a neighbor’s newspaper. The partners knew what a big deal it was for Chuck, and they even disposed of all electronics to make him comfortable when he came in to discuss the Sandpiper Crossing retirement community case. Chuck actually told Howard to kick Jimmy off the Sandpiper case, and then told Jimmy what he really thought of him: He wasn’t a real lawyer and hasn’t changed since being a petty con artist.
8.Marco’s Death
(“Marco,” season 1, episode 10)
One of Jimmy’s old scams was giving suckers a fake Rolex for real cash. But the last time he ran it with Marco (Mel Rodriguez), his partner had a heart attack. Jimmy still wears his ring.
9. Jimmy and Kim Con Ken Wins
(“Switch,” season 2, episode 1)
Once upon a time, Jimmy and Kim took d-bag Ken (Kyle Bornheimer) for a fancy dinner and top shelf tequila by pretending to be potential investors. The smarmy suit with a bluetooth headset and personalized license plate eventually got his comeuppance when Walter White set his car on fire in Breaking Bad.
10. Pryce’s Baseball Card
(“Switch” and “Cobbler,” season 2, episodes 1 and 2)
Mike had a recurring job as the muscle in a pharmaceutical smuggling deal. When Mr. Big Shot thought he didn’t need Mike anymore, he immediately got taken by Nacho, who stole both the money and Pryce’s baseball card collection. When idiot Pryce called the cops to report the baseball cards stolen, the police were immediately on to him.
11. Squat Cobbler
(“Cobbler,” season 2, episode 2)
Jimmy saved the day by faking some videos of people sitting on pies, giving Pryce an alibi and inventing a new internet fetish. Mike also threatened to rat Nacho out to Tuco for making transactions on the side.
12. Jimmy’s Commercial
(“Amarillo,” season 2, episode 3)
Sandpiper Crossing was bilking its elderly residents with hidden charges. To solicit Sandpiper residents to hire him, Jimmy aired a commercial without consulting his new bosses at Davis & Main. It worked, but raised suspicions about his wild-card behavior. In retaliation, Howard stuck Kim on document review to punish her for letting Jimmy run the commercial.
13. Mike Takes a Beating
(“Gloves Off,” season 2, episode 4)
Nacho hired Mike to kill Tuco, but Mike had a better idea. He picked a fight with Tuco that resulted in a severe beating in order to get Tuco arrested.
14. Family Secret
(“Rebecca,” season 2, episode 5)
Chuck revealed a major source of his beef with Jimmy: Not only was Jimmy an untrustworthy con artist, but he embezzled from their own father.
15. Tio Returns
(“Rebecca,” season 2, episode 5)
An able-bodied Tio (Mark Margolis), who appeared in Breaking Bad confined to a wheelchair, visited Mike to strongly suggest he claim Tuco’s gun was his in order to reduce Tuco’s sentence. After threatening Stacey and Kaylee, Mike agreed but demanded $50,000 for his trouble.
16. Jimmy’s Dad Gets Conned
(“Inflatable,” season 2, episode 7)
This is where Jimmy first learned the grift. A con man came into his dad’s shop begging for help. Jimmy saw right through it, and while his dad went to help, the grifter confirmed Jimmy’s suspicions. Jimmy took a cut for himself, too — at his dad’s expense.
17. Jimmy Gets Fired
(“Inflatable,” season 2, episode 7)
Kim went out of her way to get Jimmy a legit job at Davis & Main, but Jimmy’ wasn’t at home in the corporate world. He still wanted his signing bonus, though, so he got himself fired by causing a commotion (playing bagpipes) and not bathing.
18. Kim and Jimmy Buy an Office
(“Fifi,” season 2, episode 8)
Jimmy convinced Kim to leave Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill and go into practice for herself. She wanted no part of Jimmy’s shady business, so they agreed to open separate firms, only sharing the physical space in a former dentist’s office.
19. Jimmy Tampers With Chuck’s Files
(“Fifi,” season 2, episode 8)
Mesa Verde was the big client Kim brought to HHM in the hopes of redemption, but Howard wouldn’t let her represent them. She tried to represent them when she left, but they stuck with Chuck. So Jimmy tampered with one of Chuck’s files in the house to sabotage the case.
20. Chuck Is On to Jimmy
(“Nailed,” season 2, episode 9)
When Chuck’s case was delayed due to Jimmy’s fake documents, Chuck was suspicious. He went to the copy store where he correctly believed Jimmy made the forgeries. There, he passed out from all the electricity and was taken to the hospital.
21. Jimmy’s Mom Died
(“Klick,” season 2, episode 10)
In a flashback, Jimmy excused himself from his mother’s deathbed and missed her final moments. She called out to Jimmy, but died before he returned. Chuck kept her last words from Jimmy.
22. Mike Spared Tio
(“Klick” season 2, episode 10)
Mike made plans to assassinate Tio and be done with the whole family, but he decided not to. (Duh, because Tio was alive, albeit incapacitated, in Breaking Bad.) It turns out that somebody else advised Mike against it with a cryptic note on his vandalized car simply reading, “Don’t.”
23. Chuck Traps Jimmy
(“Klick” season 2, episode 10)
Chuck wanted Jimmy to admit to forging documents, so he threatened to give up law entirely. Trying to reassure Chuck that he didn’t do anything wrong, Jimmy admitted his misdeeds to prove there was nothing wrong with Chuck’s brain. When he left, Chuck pulled out a tape recorder — he got Jimmy’s confession in whole.
