It’s been a long wait everyone but at last, the new season of Better Call Saul is upon us. After we heard last year that it wouldn’t be until 2020 before the season premiered, it seemed like an eternity before we would see it.
The show has managed to surprise in ways that we didn’t expect despite knowing who Jimmy ultimately becomes. Here are a few things we’re hoping to see this coming season and some we would rather don’t happen.
Want To See: Saul’s Law Office In The Strip Mall
There are several things that make Saul Goodman the iconic character he is. One of those is his office set in a strip mall in Albuquerque. For all of last season, Jimmy primarily worked out of a van, only occasionally going back into his office within the Korean Nail Spa.
It made sense given that he was stripped of his law license, but now that we’re on track to see him fully embrace the moniker of Saul, we’re hoping he gets to move into his new (or old) kicks before the end of the season.
Don’t Want To Happen: Interactions With Walt And/Or Jesse
Series co-creator Vince Gilligan has said on multiple occasions that he has never had any interest in putting Walt or Jesse on the show unless their appearance was truly meaningful. Despite the dearth of new Saul episodes, we were graced with the Netflix Breaking Bad movie El Camino. That movie proved, among other things, that Gilligan knows how to most effectively use his characters without fan-favorite cameos stealing the show.
It is also important to remember that we’re a good ways off from Saul actually meeting Walt and Jesse in the timeline. There really is no point in bringing these two into the picture now aside from satiating our desire to see them onscreen. That’s nothing a Netflix subscription can’t fix, though.
Want To See: Saul’s TV Ads
One of the more humorous parts of seasons past has been watching Jimmy with his college-kid production team going out and making commercials. This past season only saw them helping Jimmy with other affairs, though.
Now that Jimmy is adopting his Saul Goodman persona, we’d like to see his crew in action, even if just briefly, making some more commercials. In a new season of more intense drama, we’ll need something to make us laugh from time to time.
Don’t Want To Happen: Corruption Of Kim
Throughout the series, Kim has mostly remained a stalwart, respectable lawyer in the face of everything. Yes, she has helped Jimmy pull off a few dirty schemes here and there, but nothing too substantial beyond keeping Huell out of the slammer and trying to keep Jimmy from losing his law license.
One of the saddest things to watch on Breaking Bad was not just the fall of Walt, but his wife Skyler as well who constantly found herself between a rock and a hard place. It made sense storywise, but we don’t want a repeat here with Kim who is basically the last form of a moral conscience that Saul may have.
Want To See: Hank, Gomez, & Saul Confrontation
Hank’s death in Breaking Bad was one of the most, if not the most, tragic of all the deaths in the series. Of all the former protagonists from Breaking Bad that could logically fit in Saul’s timeline, Hank Schrader and Steve “Gomie” Gomez make the most sense to return.
We’re only getting them for two episodes, so during that time, we’d like to see their paths cross directly. We’ve waited so long to see them back, don’t make us wait until the final season for them to actually interact with each other!
Don’t Want To Happen: Lalo Hostile Takeover
One of the most intriguing additions to the past season of Better Call Saul was a character only mentioned in name in Breaking Bad: Lalo Salamanca. He only came in for the last few episodes, but if the trailers are any indication, it seems he will be more prominent in the coming season.
That being said, Gus Fring has already proven himself to be a formidable foe to the Salamancas. He doesn’t need competition for keeping our blood pressure raised. We’re hoping that Lalo doesn’t become the big bad this season.
Want To See: Courtroom Drama For Saul
With the loss of Jimmy’s law license this past season, there was virtually no courtroom drama to be seen. Not that Better Call Saul has ever been a Perry Mason kind of series, but one of the series’ high points is still from the third season in which we saw Chuck be interrogated on the stand by Jimmy.
Better Call Saul is definitely dramatic enough outside the courtroom and doesn’t need to be inside it to be compelling. But we’d really like to see him have a chance to be Saul in the courtroom at least once this season. (Might we even be lucky enough to see him go up against Kim?)
Don’t Want To Happen: Death Of Howard
One of the best aspects of Better Call Saul is that even the lawyers who seem to be the smarmiest are given more dimension than we would expect. Next to Saul and Kim, you might make a case that Howard Hamlin is the most interesting attorney to watch on the show. He began as the kind of extremely buttoned-up, always on point kind of guy until last season when he was more outwardly devastated by Chuck’s death than Jimmy.
As Jimmy/Saul moves farther and farther away from his past, we are hoping that doesn’t mean the end of Howard. This may seem unusual given that he’s not exactly on the Fring or Salamanca radars, but how many people saw the death of Chuck coming at the conclusion of the third season?
Want To See: Francesca Rehired
In the timeline of Better Call Saul (not the brief flash-forward in the last season), the last time we saw Francesca Liddy was in season three being let go by Jimmy and Kim. She was a pleasant sight to see after seeing her left hung out to dry in the fallout of the final season of Breaking Bad.
Now that Saul Goodman is officially on the rise, it’s high time he got Francesca back. Yes, her job at the MVD would definitely be the safer choice, but we miss her! Make it happen, Saul!
Don’t Want To Happen: Chuck Forgotten
Despite Chuck being dead, the past season found a way to bring him back with flashbacks from his days with Jimmy shortly before he became a lawyer. Chuck may not have been a good brother to Jimmy, but like all family, their relationship proved to be remarkably complicated.
As we see Jimmy fully transform into Saul this season, we hope that Chuck isn’t completely forgotten yet. As much as Jimmy may try, Chuck’s not someone that Jimmy will ever be able to entirely forget about. We hope there’s a flashback or two in store for us to keep him alive.
