It's the Walter White question all over again as Breaking Bad progresses, Walt becomes more and more despicable until those same viewers suddenly realize they're cheering a murderer who targets innocent children, works with Neo-Nazis, and blackmails "loved" ones. Despite all of the above, it's weirdly impossible not to root for Cranston's character in Breaking Bad's final episode...
Better Call Saul has thus far avoided that conundrum. Sure, Jimmy McGill commits shady acts during his solo story, but he usually either makes amends (the Irene Sandpiper scam), is getting revenge (the Chuck courtroom scam), or clearly doesn't feel comfortable (the Howard drug scam). Anyway, the really dark stuff doesn't come until Breaking Bad. Even during Better Call Saul's black-and-white timeline set post-Breaking Bad, "Gene" seems like a reformed character you can without feeling sharp pangs of ethical confusion during the final credits.
That all changes when Gene Takavic rapidly slides back into old habits in Better Call Saul season 6, episode 11 ("Breaking Bad"). First he starts scamming a rich and obnoxious banker played by Buzz from Home Alone (you're probably not supposed to feel too bad about this bit), but by the final credits, Gene is robbing a sick cancer patient. Gene fires Buddy, patronizes Jeff, and takes advantage of Marion's kindness by using her garage to plan crimes. At this point, it's very difficult to view Gene as Better Call Saul's protagonist, recreating the exact same conundrum viewers faced when watching Walter White in Breaking Bad season 5. With only two episodes left, should we still be cheering the guy we've cheered since 2015?
Should You Be Rooting For Gene In Better Call Saul Now?
It feels like Better Call Saul season 6's "Breaking Bad" episode wants viewers to like Gene a little less with every 15 minutes that . He begins the episode cutting a very (sym)pathetic figure on the phone to sca, but becomes less endearing thanks to the phone booth outburst, dragging Jeff back into criminality after previously insisting they were done, and the new fraud operation he's pulling on rich single men. By the time Gene breaks into a cancer patient's house, viewers aren't supposed to be cheering him on, but cheering for him to have a change of heart.
Gene isn't yet irredeemable (and still not as evil as Walter White in Breaking Bad) but everything hinges on his next steps. If Gene goes ahead scamming the sick man, he simply cannot be the hero of Better Call Saul's final episodes. If Gene has a sudden change of heart and aborts the operation, viewers can breathe a sigh of relief and resume their usual dynamic with Bob Odenkirk's character. By contrast, Walter White's moral problem was far more clear cut, as Heisenberg had already committed his worst acts long before Breaking Bad's penultimate episode.
One Better Call Saul season 6 theory might prove Gene's downward spiral isn't really a downward spiral at all. His recklessness toward the end of "Breaking Bad" is so startling, Gene might be trying to get caught as part of some larger, hidden scam, meaning he doesn't really intend to rinse a cancer patient of their hard-earned cash. Or is this theory making the same mistake many fans did during Breaking Bad, and trying to see virtue in a protagonist that has long since transformed into a villain?
Better Call Saul continues Monday on AMC.