Better Call Saul has returned and fans can't wait to find out what happens in Vince Gilligan's acclaimed prequel to Breaking Bad. Much like its legendary predecessor, Better Call Saul is infamous for seminal moments of foreshadowing, often rendered via easter eggs, screenplay dialogue asides, and the cold open cinematography Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad are well known for.
The fine craft of weaving past story elements into Saul Goodman's eventual role in Breaking Bad is a signature element of the hallmark AMC series. In telling the origins of Bob Odenkirk's lovable yet flawed Jimmy McGill, it was inevitable the prequel would foreshadow its progenitor in many ways.
Spiders
In "Five-O," the sixth episode of Better Call Saul's season 1, fan-favorite character Mike Ehrmantraut is told by a bartender to be mindful of tarantulas out in the southwest just before he departs Philadelphia to move to Albuquerque.
This foreshadows an infamously shocking and unexpected moment in Breaking Bad where a young boy chasing a tarantula comes across the paths of Walter White and Todd Alquist. Wanting to impress the drug lord Heisenberg, Todd shoots the boy to rid themselves of any witnesses. It's a haunting scene showing Todd's sociopathic tendencies, and one of the coldest moments in either series.
Slippin' Jimmy's Knees
When Jimmy is arrested by the police in season 1 of Better Call Saul, he mentions to the cops that they need to be careful as he has bad knees, which according to Jimmy comes from his time as 'Slippin' Jimmy' when he would side-hustle extra cash by staging falls.
In season 2 of Breaking Bad, Saul repeats this assertion to Walt and Jesse during their dealings. Jimmy's desperation in scrambling for funds as well as respect began early on and continues throughout his life even in his future as relocated fugitive Gene Takovic.
The LWYRUP Caddy
Up until the last season, Saul has been content to drive around a beat-up, yellow Suzuki Esteem (complete with a primer-painted red side door). In the pilot episode, fans very briefly see Jimmy park next to what will become his eventual ride, a white 1997 Cadillac Deville.
In the second episode of the recently launched season 6, Kim talks about how Jimmy needs a vehicle upgrade, something flashy and American-made, and of course, fans know he'll eventually end up driving that white Caddy with the custom vanity plates.
The El Camino Dining Room
Not only does the name of this fortuitous location hint at the events of Aaron Paul's sequel movie and a possible cameo from Jesse Pinkman, there's also an interesting cinematic scene here that may or may not foreshadow an eventual future for Kim Wexler. The restaurant has wrought iron security gates on its windows.
As Kim is talking to Jimmy inside, outside light cast a notable pattern of vertical stripes on the wall behind her, which is potentially a subtle foreshadowing in itself, but when Jimmy first arrives at the eatery and looks within at Kim, the window iron gate rests between them. This means at that very moment, Kim is literally behind bars. Coincidence? Fans will soon find out.
The Gale Connection
It's shown in Better Call Saul that Jimmy's office address lies at 160 Juan Tabo Boulevard. Hardcore Breaking Bad aficionados might recall that doomed chemist Gale Boetticher, whom Gus tried to set up as a replacement for Walt in Breaking Bad, also lives on Juan Tabo Boulevard on the 6553 block down the road a stretch.
Fans were overjoyed when actor David Costabile made a cameo appearance in season 4 of Better Call Saul and given their shared residential proximity, it's a safe bet to wager Boetticher may yet pop in again before the series finale.
Ignacio
One of the breakout stars of Better Call Saul has been Michael Mando's Nacho Varga, who doesn't show up at all in Breaking Bad and has left fans wondering whether he ultimately survives the events of Better Call Saul since he's often in perilous circumstances navigating the crime cartel war between the Salamanca Family and Gus Fring.
'Nacho' is often a shortened nickname abbreviation of Ignacio. In the eighth episode of season 2 of Breaking Bad, Jesse and Walt kidnap Saul for refusing to help Badger. In a fit of desperation, Saul pleads for mercy, tossing out a number of carrots-on-a-stick for Heisenberg, including the name 'Ignacio." Now that we know Nacho has met his untimely yet honorable end, fans may wonder what Saul might've been offering Walt with that name.
Pocket Change
In season 3 of Better Call Saul, Kim decides to protect Jimmy when he reveals he falsified evidence for a case by telling him to give her a dollar for services rendered, thus securing attorney-client privilege.
He clearly takes Kim's idea for his own when he first meets Walt and Jimmy later in Breaking Bad, telling them to put a dollar from each of them into his pocket, so they can go about business under the dubiously stretched letter of the law, once again showing how he honors his hustling roots and his shared past with Kim Wexler.
The Costner Callback
Better Call Saul's season 1 finale features the exact moment where Jimmy McGill impersonated Kevin Costner and got away with it. Much later on in a rather casual aside during Breaking Bad, Saul Goodman mentions to Walter White that he once convinced someone he was Kevin Costner, telling Walt if one's committed enough, they can make any story work.
It's a testament to Slippin' Jimmy's early conniving years, setting up his eventual transition to Saul Goodman's full-blown, crime-covering legal eagle.
Casa Tranquila
Fans know this retirement home well, as it's the primary residence of a post-stroke Hector Salamanca for most of his appearances throughout the Breaking Bad timeline. Yet in hindsight, it's Jimmy McGill who first technically introduces viewers to this infamous setting where Gus Fring makes his sensational final bow in one of the most famous scenes in television history.
Early in the Better Call Saul timeline, Jimmy visits a number of retirement homes to drum up business for his expanding elder law practice, including good old Casa Tranquila.
Ice Station Zebra
"Amarillo" shows Jimmy and Kim enjoying a rare movie night where they're watching her father's favorite film, a 1968 Rock Hudson vehicle called Ice Station Zebra. They end up running an on-the-fly con to a stranger about a dating site investment, wherein Kim proudly holds up the check payee signature as 'Ice Station Zebra Associates.'
Saul Goodman's shell holding company, which allows him to launder money for Walter White, has that exact same title. Some diehard fans have posed rather than just a fond reminder of his former love, it might be an indicator Kim has been working with Saul all along during the events of Breaking Bad.