Better Call Saul is a rare spinoff indeed, having arguably produced more moments of TV mastery than its parent show, Breaking Bad. Both series belong in the pantheon of all-time greats on the small screen, but the depth of characterization and breadth of storytelling in Better Call Saul surpasses the crime drama that spawned it.

What’s more, the show keeps getting better and better as it goes on. Most of Better Call Saul’s masterpiece episodes are in the second half of its six-season run, during which it somehow manages to combine the making of Saul Goodman with the context around Walter White’s future meth empire in Breaking Bad.

However, some of the greatest scenes in Better Call Saul in its most celebrated episodes. The attention to detail given to every aspect of the series by its writers and producers means that one-off moments, supporting character introductions, and standalone set-pieces make their mark regardless of which episode they’re in.

At the same time, several scenes which are considered to be masterpieces help set some of Better Call Saul’s best episodes apart from the rest. It’s often at key turning points in the series that the likes of Bob Odenkirk, Rhea Seehorn, Giancarlo Esposito, Tony Dalton, and Michael McKean give their best performances in the show.

Saul Meets Gus Fring

“Witness” – Season 3, Episode 2

Gustavo Fring’s past in Chile remains relatively unknown in the Breaking Bad universe, and this scene in season 3 of Better Call Saul is actually his first appearance chronologically in the timeline of the narrative. The hilarious moment in which Saul Goodman sticks his head into the trash can of Gus’ chicken restaurant is beautifully shot for maximum comic effect.

It’s in this way that Saul is unceremoniously introduced to Gus, whose offer of help is as ominous as it is gentle. Saul’s ingenious cover of dropping his watch into the trash, and the silent menace with which Gus whips it from his grasp and politely insists on cleaning it, tells us more about both characters than words ever could.

Jimmy And Chuck Sing Karaoke Together

“Winner” – Season 4, Episode 10

A superior lawyer to his duplicitous brother but wracked with jealousy and mental instability, Chuck McGill is unquestionably Better Call Saul’s most tragic character. Jimmy’s role in precipitating Chuck’s downward spiral towards an untimely death is arguably his greatest crime.

That’s why this darkly nostalgic flashback scene in which Jimmy invites Chuck on stage with him to sing the ABBA song “The Winner Takes It All” at a karaoke bar, a season after Chuck died, is so profoundly moving. The message hidden within the song is offset by Jimmy’s generous encouragement of his brother, who reluctantly begins to enjoy himself.

Gus Meets Lalo Salamanca

“Wiedersehen” – Season 4, Episode 9

The moment when the two best villains in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul meet is a scene it’s impossible to take your eyes off. Gus Fring and Lalo Salamanca are very different characters, but they both share a vicious killer instinct, and a remarkable capacity for well-mannered pleasantries.

For most of their first meeting, Lalo maintains his outwardly sunny disposition, and Gus keeps his trademark calm. Even while they’re discussing a murder in their mutual interests, the tone is rarely less than pleasant. Just the merest hint of malice from Lalo’s side implies the rival they’ll soon share, raising the tension for the season and half to come.

Mike Disarms Sobchak

“Pimento” – Season 1, Episode 9

If it’s at all possible, Better Call Saul actually manages to improve Mike Ehrmantraut as a character from his time as Walter White’s criminal associate in Breaking Bad. This scene in the spinoff’s first season demonstrates just what an integral part of show Mike will be, and is underscored by the dramatic irony viewers of Breaking Bad are party to.

We know full well what Mike is capable of, but poor Sobchak, an arrogant hitman who’s meeting him for the first time, has no idea what’s about to happen, as he invites Mike to disarm him. The speed with which he’s subdued is spellbinding, via a blow to the throat that’s as poetic as it is brutal.

Gus And Lalo’s Showdown

“Plan And Execution” – Season 6, Episode 8

Lalo Salamanca staying alive throughout Better Call Saul would have fundamentally changed Breaking Bad, leaving a gaping hole in the original show’s plot. Lalo has to die, and who better to do the job than Gus Fring, his ultimate nemesis. This scene is suitably suspenseful, and the odds seem stacked against Gus for much of it.

The final shootout in the dark is the greatest of its kind ever filmed, and is precisely sequenced to ensure that we remain on the edge of our seats, uncertain who’s been shot, until the last moment. Lalo laughing maniacally as he dies also feels like the ideal sendoff for such a cheerfully abominable villain.

Howard’s Murder

“Plan And Execution” – Season 6, Episode 7

AMC / Courtesy Everett Collection

Before his death, Howard Hamlin was intended to be Better Call Saul’s main villain, but that scenario would have left us without the show’s most extraordinarily shocking scene. The terror with which Saul and Kim greet the arrival of Lalo Salamanca over Howard’s right shoulder says it all.

This scene confirms Lalo’s legacy as the ultimate killer in the Breaking Bad franchise, as he murders Howard in cold blood without even breaking a sweat, before gently shushing Saul and Kim as though he’s lulling two babies to sleep. It’s their reaction which reveals just how different Lalo’s world is from almost everyone else’s.

Kim Confronts Howard

“Breathe” – Season 4, Episode 2

Sony Pictures Television

If Howard Hamlin is the Hank of Better Call Saul, then Kim Wexler is far more than the spinoff’s equivalent to Breaking Bad’s Jesse Pinkman. This scene in which she lays into Howard for guilt-tripping Saul about his brother’s death illustrates just how strong a character Kim is, and how much she deeply cares for the show’s title character.

Few scenes, if any, in the entire Breaking Bad franchise come from the heart more than this one. Kim might not be good for Jimmy McGill a lot of the time, but she’s ready to fight for him when it matters.

Nacho’s Death

“Rock And Hard Place” – Season 6, Episode 3

Despite not always getting the attention it deserves, Nacho Varga’s death in Better Call Saul is just as good as other scenes in which key characters are killed off. In fact, this fateful desert faceoff ratchets up the tension more than any other death scene in the series.

Nacho’s attempt at turning tables is choreographed superbly, as is the cut to MIke’s sniper nest, immediately before Nacho turns the gun on himself. We genuinely feel for him as he vents his spleen against the Salamancas, before deciding to end it all. His last line, “You think of me,” is surely one of the Breaking Bad franchise’s most iconic.

Jimmy Betrays Chuck

“Chicanery” – Season 3, Episode 5

In one season 3 scene, Better Call Saul becomes even better than Breaking Bad as a work of TV drama. Jimmy McGill’s betrayal of his brother Chuck, in front of a full courtroom, is more horrifying than all the barbaric drug-gang killings in the series put together.

Michael McKean’s performance as Chuck in this scene should be in the conversation for the greatest single pieces of television acting of all time, and is a direct homage to Humphrey Bogart’s 1954 movie The Caine Mutiny. The way Jimmy pushes his brother over the edge with his cunning ploy is as thrilling as it is heart-rending.

Saul Admits The Truth

“Saul Gone” – Season 6, Episode 13

Better Call Saul’s ending is probably the show’s finest hour. It’s a conclusion that doesn’t just do the series justice, but elevates it to another plane. Saul Goodman’s admission of every wrong we’ve ever seen him commit is timed and pitched to perfection, and ends with a gut-wrenching acknowledgment of what happened to his brother.

Not many TV shows of this caliber manage to stick the landing, as the stakes for a series finale are incredibly high. Yet, what Better Call Saul achieves in its final episode is truly a work of TV greatness, and Saul’s last bow in court demonstrates its brilliance better than anything else.

Release Date

2015 – 2022-00-00

Showrunner

Peter Gould

Directors

Vince Gilligan, Thomas Schnauz, Peter Gould, Michael Morris, Adam Bernstein, Colin Bucksey, John Shiban, Michelle MacLaren, Melissa Bernstein, Larysa Kondracki, Terry McDonough, Gordon Smith, Minkie Spiro, Jim McKay, Daniel Sackheim, Andrew Stanton, Norberto Barba, Rhea Seehorn, Scott Winant, Michael Slovis, Keith Gordon, Deborah Chow, Giancarlo Esposito, Bronwen Hughes

Writers

Ann Cherkis, Marion Dayre, Ariel Levine, Jonathan Glatzer