“It’d be weird if he didn’t survive”: Breaking Bad Finale Planned to Kill a Fan-favorite Character Along With Walter White

With its gripping and crime-filled storyline, Breaking Bad took the entire genre by storm when it premiered in 2008. And now, almost five seasons later, the show continues to be on the top ten list of every crime drama enthusiast. The show focuses on Walter White and how his life takes a completely different turn after his lung cancer diagnosis.

In order to secure the future of his family, he takes a rather illegal direction. So, his death in the finale perfectly made sense to the public, given his downfall in the show. However, along with White, another fan-favorite character, Saul Goodman, was also supposed to die in the finale.

Saul Goodman’s Fate in Breaking Bad: The Unexpected Change That Saved His Life

The character Saul Goodman, played by Bob Odenkirk, was introduced for the first time in the second season of Breaking Bad. And almost immediately, with his cunning ways and witty charm, he became a fan favorite. So much so that a spin-off titled Better Call Saul was influenced by him. That explored his earlier life as Jimmy McGill. Further, it also detailed how he turned into the morally dubious lawyer in Breaking Bad.

Throughout the crime drama series, Goodman helped Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse (Aaron Paul) escape authorities. It was this strategic thinking of his that impressed White, who then brought him into his meth business to help with money laundering.

While things were perfectly going as planned, as the show approached its finale, Goodman became aware of the dangers surrounding him. So, in order to save his life, he disappeared and started a new life as Gene Takavic in Omaha, Nebraska. Further, it was after this that the makers had decided to kill off his character.

But they soon scrapped this plot, and showrunner Vince Gilligan revealed in an interview why they didn’t kill the character. He added:

Saul Goodman is kind of like a cockroach, in the sense that he’s probably going to survive all nuclear wars and he’ll still be out there somewhere after mankind has become extinct. He’s a survivor and therefore it’d be weird if he didn’t survive. Walter White, on the other hand, got a death sentence in the first act of the very first episode. It would be less than satisfying perhaps if he didn’t die at the end of the whole thing.

Not killing the character makes sense, given how much it would have affected his key timeline where Saul becomes Gene in Omaha. In both, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, the audience witnesses his character working at a Cinnabon.

Thus, living a quiet but depressing life, showcasing a major personal downfall. And if he had been killed in the show, this would have made watching the prequel much darker than necessary.

No More Breaking Bad Spin-Offs: Bryan Cranston Sets the Record Straight

Better Call Saul concluded its sixth season in 2022, nearly a decade after the original series Breaking Bad ended in 2013. Both shows have received a huge fan following, with viewers wanting more from the shows every now and then. However, after El Camino: A Breaking Bad movie released in 2019, there has been no news surrounding the crime drama show.

And much to the dismay of the audience, Breaking Bad‘s lead, Bryan Cranston, who played Walter White, has closed all doors on a possible sequel. In an interview, he added:

But everything should come to an end, you know? (He continued) Everything’s cyclical. Our lives are cyclical. The seasons, trees, everything. And, so, it’s OK to have a beginning, middle, and end, and then let it go. And I’m proud of what we did.

Regarding Better Call Saul and its wrap-up of the Breaking Bad narrative, Bryan Cranston’s views align closely with those of Vince Gilligan, the creator of both shows. Gilligan has previously stated that there are no solid plans to continue the story, making a return to the Breaking Bad universe uncertain.

While it’s enjoyable to imagine potential future scenarios, Gilligan noted that there isn’t a strong drive to push the plot further.

You can stream all the seasons of Breaking Bad on AMC+.