WARNING: This contains SPOILERS for Better Call Saul season 6, episode 9.
Jimmy McGill is no more now than Saul Goodman has arrived in Better Call Saul, and the tragic and sudden change is perfectly symbolized by Saul’s “World’s Best Lawyer” mug. After six seasons of buildup, Better Call Saul finally revealed how the Saul Goodman audiences knew from Breaking Bad came to be. In addition to Jimmy’s change in looks and behavior, the character’s transformation into Saul Goodman was depicted in Better Call Saul’s season 6, episode 9 through subtle moments and small details, such as the appearance of Saul's World’s Best Lawyer mug from Breaking Bad.
While Jimmy’s transformation into Saul Goodman was something that viewers had been excited to see since Better Call Saul started, Better Call Saul season 6 flipped expectations as to how and when that exactly happened. Instead of playing the usual prequel trope of checking a list of elements that would mark Jimmy’s switch into Breaking Bad’s Saul, such as getting a new car and redecorating Saul Goodman’s office, Better Call Saul went for a much more abrupt transition. Better Call Saul season 6, episode 9 had a significant time jump towards its ending, right after Kim left Jimmy. From that moment, there were no more signs of Jimmy McGill in Bob Odenkirk’s character, only Saul Goodman.
One heartbreaking detail at the end of Better Call Saul season 6, episode 9, “Fun and Games”, is the presence of Saul’s World’s Best Lawyer mug at his table. While that same mug had already appeared in Breaking Bad, the object received a whole new meaning after the events of Better Call Saul. Early in the show, when Jimmy is hired by Davis & Main, Kim gifts him with a personalized yellow "World’s 2nd Best Lawyer" mug. That gift became incredibly important to Jimmy, and he tried his best not to let go of it. Even in his worst moments, such as the journey across the desert with Mike in Better Call Saul season 5, Jimmy made sure to have the mug by his side. However, after the Better Call Saul time jump, Jimmy has now a brand new mug. It is clear from how different Saul Goodman is from Jimmy that Kim’s departure changed him in an almost traumatic way, and it makes sense for the character to try to replace anything that reminds him of his old life by making new acquisitions and acquiring new habits.
How Saul's World's Best Lawyer Mug Sets Up Breaking Bad
The Saul Goodman audiences see in Breaking Bad is looking more and more to be a sort of coping mechanism by Jimmy – and the World’s Best Lawyer mug shows it. Jimmy has lost everything and everyone he cared about, including Kim, leaving Saul Goodman with nothing but the Sandpiper money and the role of a showman lawyer to play. The Breaking Bad timeline Saul seems to be plugged into work 24/7, as he takes calls even during showering. This work obsession is symbolized by the World’s Best Lawyer mug, something that Saul most likely bought for himself. If that's really the case, then Saul’s mug is also a reference, intentional or not, to a role that Bob Odenkirk almost played – The Office’s Michael Scott.
What seemed like a fun little prop in Breaking Bad proved to be a heartbreaking souvenir of Jimmy’s transformation into Saul Goodman in Better Call Saul season 6. That is the case for the World’s Best Lawyer mug, but it can also be said about the entire Saul Goodman persona. Whether Jimmy is aware that he is putting on a show to himself and others is difficult to say, but the fact is Saul is not the uplifting character he appeared to be during his interactions with Walt and Jesse in Breaking Bad.
Better Call Saul continues Monday on AMC.