Better Call Saul proves Mike Ehrmantraut judged Walter White totally, utterly, amazingly wrong in Breaking Bad. You don't become Gustavo Fring's right-hand man by accident, and it's testament to the skills and experience of Jonathan Banks' Mike Ehrmantraut that the Chicken Man trusts him so implicitly. Mike's particular set of skills are enough to make Liam Neeson think twice, and the criminal handyman is especially adept at judging character. Mike recognizes the goodness inside Nacho Varga and Jesse Pinkman, perceives Gus Fring as a worthy employer, and realizes Kim Wexler is stronger than Jimmy McGill the very first time they meet.
Better Call Saul season 6, episode 11 shows the desert kidnap sequence of Breaking Bad season 2 from a whole new perspective, revealing Saul Goodman had Mike investigate Walt and Jesse after the rough encounter. Reporting back, Mike reveals all about Walt's teaching career and cancer diagnosis, then advises "I wouldn't go near him" on account of Walter being a "complete amateur." Mike predicts, "If the cancer doesn't get him, it'll be the cops or a bullet to the head," then doubles-down by describing Walt as "small potatoes" not worth bothering Gus Fring with. For a final flourish, Mike compares Bryan Cranston's Heisenberg to a betamax - a withering insult for those of a certain generation.
Hindsight does not shine kindly on Mr. Ehrmantraut here. Warning Saul to avoid Walt is bang on the money - the chemistry teacher proves responsible for their downfalls, after all - but that's where Mike should've stopped. Walt may be an inexperienced criminal, but "complete amateur" is disingenuous considering the reputation Heisenberg had already gathered by Breaking Bad season 2. His professional-grade meth and tussle with Tuco Salamanca are not the stuff of amateurs. Mike's "small potatoes" comment has aged even worse, with Heisenberg dominating the American meth industry within a single year. Dismissing Walt as small potatoes is like the Boston Globe review that infamously decried early Beatles music as "god awful." Stranger still is how Mike didn't even deem Walt worthy of Gus Fring's attention, when Heisenberg actually made Gus lots of money before finally usurping him. And debunking Mike's prediction, Walter White's death wasn't cancer, cops, or a bullet to the head, but rather a sacrifice for someone he cared about.
Does Mike's Walter White Mistake Explain His Death?
Mike Ehrmantraut is deeply cautious, always prepared, and a born survivor, so it's strange how easily Walter White manages to kill him in Breaking Bad season 5. Does Mike woefully underestimating his murderer from the very beginning explain how Walt caught him off guard?
Probably not. Mike might've initially misjudged Walt harder than Ted Beneke misjudged his rug, but by the time Breaking Bad season 5 rolls around, Heisenberg's power is clear for all to see. He's the leading force behind methamphetamine in the United States, the undisputed kingpin, and a proven tactical genius. At this point, Mike would've been looking back on his first impression of Walter White with deep embarrassment, realizing just how horribly wrong he was. Mike's death cannot, therefore, be blamed on underestimating what Walt was capable of.
Instead, Mike Ehrmantraut's epic fail can be explained by Better Call Saul season 6's "Plan & Execution" episode. At the height of Gustavo Fring's war against Lalo, the slippery Salamanca used a fake phone call to trick Mike into drawing guards away from Jimmy and Kim's apartment. After getting inside and forcing Kim to take a gun to Gus' house, Mike then sent all his muscle back to the apartment, when the real fight was actually happening at the superlab. Lalo played Mike like a bald fiddle, proving even the famously grumpy ex-cop is prone to tactical errors every few years. Not spotting the potential (and the danger) of Walter White in Breaking Bad was another of Mike Ehrmantraut's rare off days.
Better Call Saul continues Monday on AMC.
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