No One Involved With Better Call Saul Knew Where The Show Would Eventually Go

When first developing "Better Call Saul," the prequel series to "Breaking Bad," series creators Peter Gould and Vince Gilligan had a lot of exciting ideas. Before settling on the hour-long drama format that made their original series a success, there were conversations about shorter forms of storytelling to accentuate the comedic aspects of Bob Odenkirk's star character, Saul Goodman. Gilligan's conversation with Rolling Stone in 2018 revealed one of the more famously known concepts:

"When we first started concocting the idea of doing a spinoff, we literally thought it'd be a half-hour show. It'd be something akin to 'Dr. Katz,' where it's Saul Goodman in his crazy office with the styrofoam columns, and he's visited every week by a different stand-up comic."

In the end, "Better Call Saul" eventually nailed down a winning structure, but didn't necessarily arrive at an overarching story until much later in the series. The early half of the series has key character moments that undoubtedly play into the "Breaking Bad" future, but there were certain characters whose futures in the show were up in the air that the writers figured out as they went along. Overall, the creators not having anything set in stone would make the character development throughout the series feel more organic. Although the series just came to an end this year, it stands tall as an achievement in television, being a prequel/sequel series that rivals the original work that came before it. 

The sixth and final season of "Better Call Saul" opens with a "Breaking Bad" flash forward, where viewers are treated to a rare look at the lavish house of Saul Goodman while federal officers seize it. As a piece of furniture is carried out of Saul's house, a Zafiro Añejo tequila bottle stopper falls onto the street. The Hollywood Reporter asked series co-creator (and creator of the Saul Goodman character) Peter Gould if the writing team always planned for the return of this object, which was first featured in the season 2 premiere of the show, and is essentially representative of Jimmy and Kim's relationship:

"No. I think any question that you ask me, 'Did you know ...,' I'm going to answer "No." For both shows, there's a process involved, a process of discovery. It's more looking deeper and deeper into the characters."

The "process of discovery" Gould speaks of seems to contradict the long-form planning and storytelling that accompanies most shows with stories as intricate and detailed as "Better Call Saul." Moreover, given the fact that the series is also a prequel and has to check off boxes for specific things that need to happen before it ends, it feels exceptionally courageous that Gould and the other writers went in blind. Kim Wexler is one great example of a character they figured out as they went along.

The development of Kim Wexler's character and her relationship with Jimmy McGill fascinated the writers. Peter Gould said it "amazed us that Jimmy had this person in his life. That relationship became very central to the show." Seehorn's performance in the series's first season was enthralling, getting audiences invested and wondering if there was anything between her and Jimmy. Gould and the writing team weren't entirely sure where the relationship was headed, taking it one episode at a time. Rather than have plans for more specific relationships such as these, the writers opted to stick just to what was onscreen:

"We didn't know for sure. We didn't know where that was going. We just knew that he [Jimmy] had a history with this woman, and they seemed to be simpatico. But to be honest, I don't know that we knew an awful lot more than what we showed onscreen."

The chemistry between Rhea Seehorn and Bob Odenkirk no doubt played into the growth of their relationship and how crucial a role Kim would play later in the series. When a dynamic between actors works, it seems unwise to waste the story potential. The situation is not too dissimilar to Jesse Pinkman nearly dying in season one of "Breaking Bad" before Vince Gilligan decided to change the story because of how impressed he was with Aaron Paul. While the writers of "Better Call Saul" may not have known where the series was headed, they were keen enough to further develop story points they deemed engaging based on what was onscreen, as Gould would tell THR:

"You've heard me say it and Vince [Gilligan] say it many times. We thought he'd be Saul Goodman in the crazy office by episode six. We had no idea of the journey that we were going to go on with this guy."