Should Jimmy give up on Chuck? Brotherhood in ‘Better Call Saul’

Emma Henderson
Apr 20, 2016
3 min read

Should Jimmy give up on Chuck?

Brotherhood in ‘Better Call Saul’

‘Better Call Saul’ is a stunning series in its own right but the original draw was the fact it was a spinoff from the acclaimed ‘Breaking Bad.’ Much of the production team has returned so the close attention to soundtrack and unusual camera angle is back too. If you enjoy the behind the scenes side of things, there’s even an accompanying insider podcast aired after each episode with cast and crew. It points out the “Breaking Bad” cameos and references you may miss on the first viewing.

The show is set a few years before the events of ‘Breaking Bad’ and charts the evolution of Jimmy McGill into the notorious Saul Goodman. After serving time in jail himself, Jimmy

has worked his way up from the mailroom at a major law firm while qualifying as a lawyer via distance learning in secret. Why in secret you ask? Because the law firm has his sanctimonious brother’s name above the door.

Chuck is older than Jimmy and is a respected, experienced man of the law. He prides himself on being rational, organised and balanced.

However, this also results in him being a stickler for the rules and prone to nitpicking. As the episodes progress, it is not entirely clear whether his priority is the ideal of justice itself or something more egotistical as his own self-worth derives from his professional position.

Before the events of season one, Chuck has developed an aversion to electricity – part of the success of the show is the fact that the audience is never 100% sure whether this is a physical or psychological ailment but it is obviously traumatic for him.

Jimmy is well meaning and caring. We see him tenderly catering to his brother’s needs including those that seem irrational to a casual outsider like using iceboxes to store the groceries and using space blankets to insulate Chuck from electromagnetic waves.

Jimmy chooses to devote himself to elder-law rather than a more glamorous branch of law.

Not sounding like the Saul you remember from ‘Breaking Bad’? Jimmy also has the gift of the gab and finds himself being exhilarated in situations where he can use charm and quick thinking to talk himself out of trouble or into profit, harking back to his days as a grifter. Even when doing things out of the best intentions, Jimmy often uses loopholes to achieve what he sees as the greater good. For example, Jimmy tries to bribe an official with a Ty Beanie Baby, takes up irritating hobbies and the wearing of outlandish, garish colours in the workplace to get fired in such a way he won’t have to pay back his golden handshake and knocks up a hasty legal document on toilet roll. Not to mention the “squat cobbler” incident...

Jimmy’s sometimes co-worker and sometimes lover Kim often ends up as a pawn in the power battle between the brothers. The dedicated career woman is held back by Chuck in an effort to punish Jimmy. Jimmy in return pulls off a massive stunt to defend Kim that has far bigger repercussions on Chuck than he intends.

Chuck takes everything Jimmy does as a purposeful slight to himself.

After medical emergencies when Jimmy has had to drop everything to look after Chuck or make difficult ethical and medical decisions Chuck’s first response is to insult or accuse Jimmy. It's not without cause however – Chuck has always been right about Jimmy’s dodgy dealings. Perhaps if he doesn't want his brother to be so disapproving Jimmy should stop testing moral and legal boundaries to breaking point? Then again, when Jimmy tries to impress his brother (and Kim) by doing the “right thing” the praise is still not forthcoming and Chuck seems to go out of his way to intentionally quash Jimmy’s career.

A number of times, series two left me wondering whether Jimmy should give up on Chuck, and none more so than the finale which revealed the most contrived betrayal yet.