Better Call Saul: Why did Jimmy McGill turn into Saul Goodman? Explained

The series Better Call Saul focuses on Jimmy McGill’s (Bob Odenkirk) transition from Jimmy McGill to the morally grey Saul Goodman. While many factors contributed to his transition, his brother acted as the catalyst for it. In the first season, Jimmy is a young attorney trying to expand his clientele despite his lack of style and financial means compared to larger firms such as HHM.

Early seasons of Better Call Saul showed the frail person he once was. He later completely changed into his flamboyant, multicolored suit-wearing, morally dubious alter ego.

Saul Goodman made an appearance in Breaking Bad as the adored criminal attorney who prevented Walt and Jesse from going to jail. However, before the premiere of his prequel series Better Call Saul, which revealed his true name to be Jimmy McGill, he was only known as Saul Goodman.

Under the alias Saul Goodman, Jimmy begins practicing law and takes on dubious clients from the underworld he navigated while working as a burner cell phone salesperson. Even yet, he hadn't completely given up on morals and transformed into the well-known "criminal" attorney from Breaking Bad.

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Better Call Saul: Understanding Jimmy’s transformation

Jimmy McGill needs to win the lawsuit against his brother in Better Call Saul to become Saul Goodman. However, Charles McGill “Chuck”(Michael McKen) betrays him and successfully suspends his law license. Following that, Jimmy uses some Saul Goodman-like tactics during the trial, such as using Huell's (Lavell Crawford) sticky fingertips, to demonstrate that Chuck's illness was psychological rather than physical.

Chuck, who is initially distraught, makes significant progress but then relapses after telling Jimmy that he doesn't matter. These are his final words to Jimmy before he takes his own life and Jimmy is deeply affected by Chuck's passing in the aftermath.

Jimmy gives in to his criminal side after Chuck's passing in the season finale of season three of Better Call Saul, selling burner phones and pulling off other heists. Upon the reinstatement of his legal license, he formally requests to practice law under the name "Saul Goodman."

Jimmy’s last and final straw to completely transform into Saul Goodman takes place in the show's fifth to last episode. That is when Kim decides to leave him after Jimmy and Kim's constant efforts to con and sabotage the career of Howard Hamlin go wrong. She can't stand the tendency of deceit, lying, and constant plotting and the damage the traits have caused.

The rest of Jimmy's path toward becoming Saul Goodman in his ultimate form is not revealed to emphasize how significant it is that one last encounter with Kim was all that was needed for him to complete his transition in the series of Better Call Saul.

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In his final trial in an attempt to keep Kim from falling for him, he confesses to all of his transgressions. Jimmy, who faces a life sentence in prison, feels that this is the most moral thing he has ever done. However, he also gives up his Saul Goodman character during this trial and goes back to Jimmy McGill in memory of his brilliant, prosperous brother.

His journey from Jimmy McGill to Saul Goodman and back again completes a circle, beginning with his initial pursuit of respectability, followed by a life of crime, and ending with selflessness.