Jimmy McGill AKA Saul Goodman has become one of the best protagonists a crime-drama has ever seen, and quite surprisingly his series Better Call Saul has managed to live up to the legacy set by its predecessor Breaking Bad.
Peter Gould and Vince Gilligan quite recently released the fifth season of the critically acclaimed series, and it's fair to say it was the best season yet. It showcased Saul Goodman for the first time as he stepped into the Albuquerque drug scene. Across the different seasons, Jimmy has made some very bad decisions that have shaped the future of his character as well as others, and here is a brief collection of some of the most important bad decisions he's made.
The Whole Davis & Main Fiasco
It's difficult to believe that Jimmy was once in a position of having a stable job and a decent personal life before he decided to wreck everything because he thought he should go solo. He had a well-paid job at Davis & Main, where he was highly respected.
However, Jimmy thought that he needed some personal space and authority. In short, he wanted to continue with his scamming schemes and he didn't want to act like a grown-up. Imagine what would have happened if Jimmy stuck with his job? Saul Goodman would have never been born.
A Taste Of The Game
The very first time Jimmy got a taste of the kind of people who were running the New Mexico drug game was in the first couple of episodes of season one when he tried one his conning tricks with the help of a couple of youngsters.
Eventually, he landed in the crosshairs of Tuco Salamanca, who pretty much wanted to kill him. This is how his name got connected to the drug smuggling criminals, and is one of the many reasons for his Saul Goodman persona.
Tormenting Howard Hamlin
One can understand why Kima absolutely despises Howard, but it's Jimmy's unwarranted hatred towards him that spins some heads.
Howard is someone who has always believed in Jimmy, and yet the protagonist of the story always wants to give him hell. It's as if Jimmy channels all his anger for Chuck towards Howard, and that's simply not fair. This buried anger problem has driven Jimmy into doing some insane things to Howard.
Slippin' Jimmy Again
Jimmy wanted to make an honest living, and so he left everything behind to come to New Mexico in order to obtain a lawyer's license.
But soon enough he went back to his home, and there he met Marco, his best friend who helped him in conning people and stealing from them. He became Slippin' Jimmy again, and although that didn't last long (because of Marco's untimely death), it gave Jimmy the last bit of push required to think about becoming Saul Goodman.
Playing The Old People
When he started out as a lawyer, Jimmy tried his hand into Elder Law, because he was absolutely wonderful at dealing with old people.
And he got his hands on the Sandpiper Case which could earn him millions, and in order to quicken that process he tried to manipulate Irene, the woman who had the power to decide on the settlement money of the case. He made her and her friends feel awful, and eventually he was caught red-handed. No wonder why Jimmy never went into Elder law again.
Humiliating Chuck
Jimmy would like everyone to know that he didn't have a choice in this particular matter, but that's not entirely true, because what he did was very cruel and somewhat evil.
When Chuck wanted to prove that his brother fabricated some Mesa Verde documents, Jimmy tried to rebuff his claims by proving to the court that he is delusional. Not only that, but he also brought Chuck's ex-girlfriend Rebecca to watch the show. Unfortunately, this was the start of events that drove Chuck towards suicide.
A Day In The Desert
There's a reason why Lalo Salamanca is now said to be one of the best villains in the Breaking Bad Universe. With his usual charm and intimidating face, Lalo was able to convince Jimmy to get some money for his bail from the Mexico border, and by doing the deed he officially entered the Albuquerque drug game.
The trip itself wasn't that great, as Jimmy found himself in a crossfire and came very close to losing his life. He even spent a day in the desert with Mike Ehrmentraut.
Using Chuck's Memory
Jimmy is a lot of things, but he is not that bad of a person, although Jimmy's testimony might have changed some opinions. This is the moment when Jimmy decided to become Saul Goodman, as he used his brother's death to play the Albuquerque State Bar.
He regained his license but lost his humanity, for a bit Even Kim was bamboozled because, for once, she thought Jimmy wasn't conning people with his emotions. Alas, he was.
Kim's Transformation
Kim Wexler started out as a supporting character to Jimmy McGill but as the show went on, she became, arguably, the most addictive character of the show, thanks to the momentous changes she went through in such a short while.
That's thanks to Jimmy, of course, who did everything to bring out the worst in Kim. Jimmy told Kim to try scamming people as he does, and when she got a taste, she absolutely converted into her worst possible form. She even pitched an idea to destroy Howard.
Stealing As A Kid
There is a small scene in the series when a flashback gives an idea of the kind of childhood Jimmy had. Better Call Saul has this uncanny nature of revealing the biggest things in the smallest of scenes. Here, Jimmy's father is shown to run a store and he is highly gullible.
So, people come to the store and scam him, and Jimmy knows that these people are just trying to take advantage of his father. But instead of confronting his father about it, he starts stealing from the store as well. This was the origin of Slippin' Jimmy.