Season 5 of the ‘Breaking Bad’ spin-off, ‘Bette Call Saul’, premiered earlier this year. There’s one question, however, that still confuses people. How long before ‘Breaking Bad’s’ event timeline is ‘Better Call Saul’ set? Read on to find out!
‘Better Call Saul’ is the perfect spin-off prequel for ‘Breaking Bad’ not only because it branches out the story of, perhaps one of the greatest shows ever made, but also because the series creators have made such minute details fit into the spin-off that it’s almost unthinkable. The approach to time in both the spin-off and the original has been handled with utmost impeccability to render it realistically flawless. Here we break down for you the complete timeline of ‘Better Call Saul’ and how ‘Breaking Bad’ fits in it.
How many years after better call Saul, do the event of breaking bad take place?
Highlights —
- The ‘Better Call Saul’ era
- How many years before ‘Breaking Bad’ is ‘Better Call Saul’ set?
- Can ‘Better Call Saul’ Season 6 connect the finale to ‘Breaking Bad’?
The ‘Better Call Saul’ era
The ‘Breaking Bad’ prequel ‘Better Call Saul’ develops the story of Jimmy McGill who later becomes Saul Goodman, the sleazy criminal defence lawyer of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman from the original series. The spin-off story begins with the struggling financial situation of Jimmy working as a public defence attorney. His living and occupational space is a small room at the back of a nail salon. Jimmy’s sole objective, as seen in the initial episodes of ‘Better Call Saul’, is to turn his past life around from being a con-man to a respectable lawyer.
Soon, Jimmy’s honest attempts at living an honest life goes down the hill when he is dragged into the drug business which is where ‘Breaking Bad’, the parent series of ‘Better Call Saul’, comes into play. Characters from ‘Breaking Bad’ start making appearances in the spin-off giving away the brilliance of the creators. As known with most shows and their prequels or sequels, spin-offs often lose the basis on which they are built, which is derived from the original series. ‘Better Call Saul’ ties itself in one chord with ‘Breaking Bad’ as we see episodes, events, and character that immediately relate with the original series.
The edgy truce between the Gus Fring and the Salamanca family serving the “Juarez cartel” echoes of ‘Breaking Bad’. ‘Better Call Saul’ premiers each season with flash-forwards post the ‘Breaking Bad’ events that show Saul Goodman living as a fugitive under the name Gene Takavic, managing a Cinnabon outlet in Omaha.
How many years before ‘Breaking Bad’ is ‘Better Call Saul’ set?
The ‘Better Call Saul’ events that lead up to the ‘Breaking Bad’ events take place over six years.
‘Better Call Saul’ begins the story of Jimmy McGill aka Saul Goodman in May 2002, i.e. six years before the story of Walter White begins in September 2008 on ‘Breaking Bad’. The first three seasons of the spin-off outlines the process of Jimmy’s transformation into his greedy version – Saul. By the end of season 4, Saul Goodman has emerged as a corrupted, defence criminal lawyer, and we find the show gradually entering the ‘Breaking Bad’ universe.
However, even though it seems like the spin-off is getting closer to the original show’s timeline, it’s still a few years away. After a time jump of 9 months, season 4 of ‘Better Call Saul’ has fallen upon the events of 2004. Season 5 of the spin-off, that released this year in February, picks up the story a little after where season 4 ended. That means, ‘Better Call Saul’ is still operating in the earlier months of 2004. ‘Better Call Saul’, therefore, still has a long way to cover before it can reach ‘Breaking Bad’ in 2008.
Can ‘Better Call Saul’ Season 6 connect the finale to ‘Breaking Bad’?
In a recent interview with “The Hollywood Reporter”, show-runner Peter Gould talked about the mind-puzzling effort that it’s taking to connect the final season of ‘Better Call Saul’ with the beginning of ‘Breaking Bad’. He said,
“It’s the devil’s own Rubik’s cube because we know where these characters are and we know kind of where some of them end up … In some ways, the fun of it is trying to make it all fit together and to make ‘Better Call Saul’its own coherent story, and yet also kind of create a frame around ‘Breaking Bad’”.
Gould has also mentioned that the ending of ‘Better Call Saul’ would change the light in which people view ‘Breaking Bad’. He said,
“I think by the time you finish watching ‘Better Call Saul’, you’re going to see ‘Breaking Bad’ in a very different light … We’re going to learn things about the events of ‘Breaking Bad’that we didn’t know.”
How much of ‘Breaking Bad’ do you hope to see in ‘Better Call Saul’ Season 6? Let us know in the comments below!
