Lawyers (Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman, Kim Wexler, Chuck McGill), Law Enforcement, Juarez Cartel, Los Pollos Hermanos, Omaha, Petty Criminals, Other Characters
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Recurring
The Kettlemans
Betsy & Craig Kettleman
"What money?"
Portrayed By: Julie Ann Emery & Jeremy Shamos
Appearances: Better Call Saul | American Greed: James McGill
A husband and wife with rumors of them embezzling money from the county treasury buzzing around them.
- Affably Evil: Contrasting his wife, Craig does seem genuinely friendly despite being an embezzling crook. He's even happy to see Jimmy again when he comes to see the Kettlemans in Season 6, in contrast to Betsy who vocally despises him.
- Ambition Is Evil: In the Bingo Insider Podcast, the actress for Betsy talked about how she's pushing Craig for mayor, and the only image she knows how to project for that is having money and a boat.
- Beware the Silly Ones: Betsy looks and talks the game so well, that she is outright identified by Jimmy as a certified denizen of Cloudcuckooland. But, the moment the situation calls for blackmail, that absent gaze and bubbly voice of hers turn into steel and you see something else entirely. One flavor of silly fluff hiding a deeper, more worrying bonkers, there: probably played straight. She doesn't actually seem to be a deliberate faker, as such.
- Blatant Lies: They absolutely refuse to admit they embezzled 1.6 million dollars from the treasury despite the mountains of evidence against them, even to Jimmy, who saw them hiding in the forest with the money with his own eyes.
- Break the Haughty: Betsy is a constant victim of this when Jimmy or Kim is in the picture. In Season 1, Betsy breaks down crying when she realizes that Jimmy has the Kettlemans dead to rights in the embezzlement case. The same thing happens in Season 6, when Betsy's threat to blackmail Jimmy backfires and Kim threatens to turn the Kettlemans into the IRS for tax preparer fraud.
- The Bus Came Back: The Kettlemans appeared in a minisode during Season 2, and again in this parody episode
of the true crime documentary series American Greed. They return yet again in Season 6, being used by Jimmy and Kim as pawns against Howard. - Chronic Villainy: Even after Craig has served time in jail for embezzling from the county, Kim correctly deduces that the Kettlemans simply couldn't help themselves from ripping off the customers of their tax servicing business, and successfully uses this to her advantage.
- Consummate Liar: The Kettlemans always insist that they are innocent, even to their lawyers, and seem to have convinced themselves of the fact. Apparently, the belief that "It's not a lie if YOU believe it" is ingrained in their heads.
- Didn't Think This Through: After discovering that Jimmy has had their stash of stolen money removed from their house and handed over to the District Attorney, Betsy threatens to have him arrested for theft. Jimmy quickly points out that she's threatening to report him for stealing money that was itself stolen. She then threatens to report Jimmy for taking the bribe, only for him to point out that giving a bribe is just as much of a crime as taking one, and that she'd be incriminating herself. Craig at least has the presence of mind to try Taking the Heat for the bribe, but Jimmy makes it clear that he won't let this fly.
- Entitled Bastard: The Kettlemans have rationalized their theft on the premise that they're normal people and Craig works hard, so he's entitled to the money.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: They do care for each other and their children. Betsy could have easily made Craig do the jail time while she enjoyed the money (or freedom, rather, since she couldn't possibly spend it) as a free woman, but she sticks by him. Craig himself is very meek and says little, but the only time he stands up to Betsy is when their children are at risk of losing both parents.
- Family-Values Villain: The "Bingo" commentary has Betsy with a violent hatred of smoking, junk food and tattoos, thinking it makes you "an alternative person to the world". She also thinks the implication of being gay is "naughty".
- Finishing Each Other's Sentences: When Craig is speaking, Betsy will often say the last few words of a sentence alongside her husband, demonstrating how much control she has in their relationship.
- Greed: This seems to be the primary motivator for Betsy. She wants the money and she is not going to give it up no matter what the consequences to her family.
- Hate Sink: Betsy. While Craig is at least a pretty friendly guy, Betsy is a condescending and entitled Jerkass who refuses to accept that anything that happened to them was their fault, continues to hold a grudge against Jimmy, and is implied to be the one who goaded Craig into becoming a criminal in the first place.
- Henpecked Husband: It's pretty clear that Betsy is the one calling the shots in the family, and that she was the one who actually masterminded Craig's embezzlement of county funds. This carries over into their interview for the American Greed special about Jimmy, where Betsy quickly moves to correct Craig when he is about to say something incriminating. It's also hinted that Craig sympathizes with Jimmy living in the shadow of his controlling older brother Chuck, relating it to his own situation with his wife.
- How the Mighty Have Fallen: The Kettlemans were living fancy when Craig was working as the county treasurer. However, since his stint in jail, the couple have been forced to operate a bottom-of-the-ladder tax service business out of a mobile home on the outskirts of the city; Betsy mentions that their kids now attend public school as if that were a crime.
- Implausible Deniability: Betsy really doesn't want to admit to stealing the money, even when talking with people who know full well about it. Jimmy eventually begs her to just admit it for the sake of his own sanity.
- Irrational Hatred: After Jimmy bamboozles them out of their money, Betsy develops an intense loathing towards him. When he shows up again years later at their new place of business, she hisses and shrieks at him to get out and goes on a tirade about how he ruined her and her family's lives. Yet she is quite misguided to feel and behave this way towards him, considering that all of these consequences are pretty much her fault and what he did is actually better than what they were getting if he hadn't intervened. Not to mention that she calls him a thief even though she is no better.
- Jerkass: Oh yes, but especially Betsy. Unlike Craig, who is quite polite if not cowardly at times, she is a ruthless and stubborn person who is incredibly hard to reason with.
- Lady Macbeth: It is pretty clear that it's Betsy who calls the shots in the family, and that Craig is not the type of person who would steal money unless Betsy talked him into it.
- Mirror Character:
- To Jimmy and Kim. While the Kettlemans are far slimier, Craig less happy about being a Henpecked Husband than Jimmy is and Kim having a stronger moral compass than Betsy, the Goodmans manage to ruin their lives not long after “Carrot and Stick”, get told off for indirectly causing a man’s murder, and really do lose everything. At least the Kettlemans' marriage lasted for longer than a month.
- Also to Jimmy and Chuck. In the "American Greed" segment, Craig is the only one to understand that their dynamic was Jimmy trying so hard to please his brother and never able to escape his shadow (instead of "Chuck is a brilliant lawyer and man, and Saul was his embarrassing little brother"), because he feels that way with Betsy.
- Only Bad Guys Call Their Lawyers: Seem to believe this, not wanting to retain Jimmy because it would "make them look guilty".
- Pet the Dog: In a bonus scene released online, Betsy leads the kids to a picnic beneath a busy overpass so that Craig, now in prison, can see them while he is on work-release detail.
- Saved by Canon: Their appearance in the American Greed episode, set after the fall of Heisenberg, indirectly reveals that they survive the events of Better Call Saul.
- Smug Snake: Holy shit are they ever. It really is that hard to wipe the smile off their faces.
- The Sociopath: The more we see of Betsy, the more questions you have to ask yourself about where on the scale she could lie... "Lie" being the operative word.
- Stupid Crooks: After embezzling money from the county treasury and making apparently zero efforts to hide their tracks (like writing checks to themselves, as Kim notes), they stage their own kidnapping which involves them dragging their kids out to a camping site half a day's walk from their own home. Plus, Betsy tries to blackmail Jimmy with the bribe she gave him. Jimmy takes some pleasure in telling her this would just send her to jail along with her husband.
- Suicidal Overconfidence: Saying the deck is stacked against them when Craig faces trial would be far too generous. Craig stealing the money by writing checks to himself left him completely without a paddle, as the DA not only has the checks, but also eyewitness testimony and video evidence that he cashed them. However, they seem to be under the impression that not only can Craig avoid jail, but they can also keep the money. They fire Kim and hire Jimmy to represent them when she tries to give them a deal where Craig will only spend a few years in jail if they give back the money. When Kim hands the case files over to Jimmy and explains the situation, Jimmy makes a face that clearly shows that he recognizes that they don't have a case. Happens again in season 6. As part of his and Kim's scam against Howard, Jimmy tricks them into thinking that Howard was a coke fiend when HHM represented them and that it could help get Craig's name cleared and their lives back to how they were before. Naturally, even if that was true, Craig's case was as open and shut as it gets, so it wouldn't help.
- Sympathy for the Devil: In the "American Greed" episode on Saul Goodman, Craig is the only one who catches onto one of Jimmy's motivations as wanting to be seen as equal to Chuck, though he quickly agrees with Betsy that Jimmy got what he deserved.
- Threat Backfire:
- Betsy threatens to report Jimmy to the cops for having Mike break in and extract money from their secret hiding place. Jimmy isn't threatened and counters that while he could get in trouble with the cops, Betsy would face much worse legal consequences since she will be admitting to being an accomplice in the embezzlement, and if she goes to jail too, their children are left without parents.
- Betsy later threatens to rat out Jimmy to Howard over the false cocaine allegations. Kim intervenes and places a call to the criminal investigation division of the IRS, having correctly deduced that the Kettlemans are ripping off the elderly customers of their tax servicing business, and obliquely threatens to turn them in.
- Trashy Trailer Home: Though they don't actually live there. After Craig's imprisonment, he and Betsy work at a backwater accounting "practice" out of a tiny trailer, which they're still using to rip off their customers.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Kim manages to work out a plea deal with the DA that would get Craig eighteen months in prison (versus a potential thirty years if he were found guilty in court). The Kettlemans refuse to take the deal and fire Kim, believing that a good enough lawyer could get him off completely.
- Villainous Breakdown: Betsy breaks down crying when Jimmy foils their plan and forces the two of them to crawl back to Kim. She does it again when Kim strongarms the Kettlemans into taking Jimmy's money in relation to the Howard scheme.
- Villainous Crush: In their in-character commentary, Betsy can't stand Jimmy, but suggests he'd be far more appealing if he wore a colourful suit, and Craig thinks Kim's Brutal Honesty is hot.
- Villain Has a Point: Betsy is not wrong that Jimmy looks like an Amoral Attorney, she is not aware that Jimmy indeed is an ex conman who will skirt or break laws to win cases but the way he behaves do come off as unprofessional for a lawyer.
- Wardrobe Flaw Of Characterisation: Betsy thinks she should dress like Clinton and have a pantsuit, but anything she chooses would be lime green and a size too big.
- Where Are They Now: A short bonus video on AMC.com called "No Picnic" shows that Craig was convicted of the crime, and is currently pulling community service duty on trash pickup as part of his sentence. Betsy brings their kids to the cleanup sites for picnics and engages all of them in a chorus of the children's song "BINGO" to lift Craig's spirits. It's as cringeworthy as it sounds. The April Fools' Day American Greed episode, which takes place after Saul's downfall in 2010, shows Craig having left prison and living with Betsy.
Dr. Caldera
Dr. Caldera
"You want next-level pay? You’ve got to do next-level work."
Portrayed By: Joe De Rosa
Appearances: Better Call Saul
"Now understand this: After I walk out here, I never wanna see you again. Never. This cartel shit is too hot for me. You got it?"
A veterinarian with connections to Albuquerque's criminal underground, into which he starts opening doors for Mike.
- Affably Evil: He's a relaxed, plainspoken, and professional guy, plus he's kind to animals. If it weren't for the fact that he aids and abets criminal behavior, he would be among the most decent people in the Breaking Bad universe.
- Back-Alley Doctor: He has no compunctions about offering Mike under-the-table medication on the cheap — even animal meds, at a discount. This is after he manages to patch up a bullet wound to the shoulder, despite his training as a veterinarian.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Expresses cartel business is too much for him, and after saving Nacho's life, whispers for him to Get Out! and never return. Also, being an honorable veterinarian, cruelty or negligence to animals really pushes his buttons too.
- Friend in the Black Market: To Mike, and later Jimmy. He trafficks both materials and connections to other useful people, which ends up bringing Huell Babineaux into the show's universe for the first time.
- Friend to All Living Things: He's kindly to all his clients and he takes the well-being of animals very seriously. He thoroughly takes Jimmy to task for not properly caring for a goldfish that Jimmy had bought solely as an excuse to meet with him. He's also not a huge fan of puppy mills.
- Knows a Guy Who Knows a Guy: He talks with all the connections he gets as a Back-Alley Doctor and points them in each other's direction for a finder's fee. Before he leaves the crime business, he gives Jimmy his book of references, paving the way for Saul Goodman to use them to create his own criminal empire.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Decides to leave the crime business in favor of being a full-time veterinarian in Season 6 when he finds the heat and stress to be too much for him.
- Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: Downplayed in that he's a Punch-Clock Villain, but he's a vet that uses his business and medical experience to get far in the criminal underworld.
- No Name Given: He's only identified by name in the credits for "Five-O", never yet within the show.
- Open Heart Dentistry: Able to perform gun wound surgery on Mike, and later, Nacho. He jokes to the former that he can't provide a sling but can at least wrap a cone around his head.
- Pet the Dog: Obviously and literally, being a caring veterinarian. Mike's cover story for getting in touch with him is through a dog he adopted for Kaylee, and Caldera checks the health of the goldfish Jimmy brings in. He takes both animals' health very seriously.
- Properly Paranoid: Has an address book filled with information of people in the criminal underworld written in cipher.
- Punch-Clock Villain: He treats his shady business seriously, but not much different than his main practice as a vet. If anything, looking out for animals seems to matter more to him, considering the way he harangues Jimmy over the care of his goldfish and asks Mike how his dog is doing. After deciding that the cartel business is too hot for him to be a part of, he makes it clear to Jimmy that he plans to tie up his business in Albuquerque and punch out of villainy for good.
Huell Babineaux
Daniel Wormald
Daniel "Pryce" Wormald
"I'm glad you like my car, but I think we're looking through the wrong end of the telescope here! The priority is my baseball cards."
Portrayed By: Mark Proksch
Appearances: Breaking Badnote | Better Call Saul
"I'm not here as a criminal. I'm here as a crime victim."
An IT at a pharmaceutical company and a drug dealer on the side who smuggles pills to Nacho. Eventually would come to run a laser tag store as part of Saul Goodman's money laundering schemes.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He is usually meek yet polite towards others, but he ends up growing insolent towards Mike in private when he's trying to explain clearly the dangers of his suspicious spending and buying the "blinking neon sign of a car that screams 'drug dealer'".
- Blatant Lies: Yes, the burglar who robbed his house was after his baseball cards, and definitely not after either drugs or his illegal stash of money. Oh, and he was definitely stashing videos of himself rubbing his ass on a pie while crying. Honest. Becomes even more pathetic when "Cobbler" reveals that while he was lying about the drugs and illegal stash of money to avoid trouble with the police, he was very genuine and clearly upset about losing his baseball cards (even if the police weren't convinced) and was fully willing to risk all parties involved (Mike, Nacho and, unwittingly by extension,Tuco and the cartel) by dragging the police in to get them back, whatever the cost. Too Dumb To Rip Off.
- Bullying a Dragon: Daniel decides confronting the hardened south-of-the-border criminal that just walked into his house about his stolen baseball cards is the best course of action. Luckily Nacho prefers using carrot over stick and doesn't beat him up for what he wants.
- The Bus Came Back: Returns late in Season 3 when Nacho needs to obtain some doctored medication.
- Butt-Monkey: Though most of his torment ends up being his own fault.
- Without Mike to help him the next time, Nacho breaks into his house and takes off with his money, drugs, and sentimental baseball cards. To get them back, Mike makes him send his precious Hummer away to a chop shop. All while not realizing he's directed the authorities' attention to the shadier parts of his background by deliberately calling for their help.
- He gets kicked out of his own police interrogation by his lawyer, who proceeds to give the detectives the most humiliating "explanation" for a private stash. That's not all, because of Jimmy, Daniel was forced to do an embarrassing video of him sitting on pies babbling on incoherently, and crying.
- Even after adding extra security to his house, Nacho once again manages to break into it through the unsecured back door, scaring the crap out of him.
- Call-Forward: The moment he gets his hand on some money, he buys an outlandish car and broadcasts his illegal money to the world, just like Ted Beneke and Walter White will later on.
- Chekhov's Gunman: He's a small time dealer of pharmaceuticals that he lifts from his pharmacy job, and he's seemingly only there for us to see the start of Mike's path to becoming Gus Fring's top enforcer. There is the plot of his baseball card collection, which creates a problem that both Mike and Gus have to solve. But his role in the story seems to have ended for good after he's Put on a Bus. It's when Nacho devises a plan to exploit Hector's health problems that he realizes that Wormald is actually the perfect resource to put that plan into motion. He needs Wormald to obtain empty samples of the same pill capsules used for Hector's medication.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Zig-zagged. Outside of Saul namedropping him a few times, there's no indication of Daniel's presence in Breaking Bad, even when they're in his Laser Tag building. Better Call Saul shows him in the flesh for the first time as a Stupid Crook that Mike works with before seemingly disappearing for the rest of the show. During a phone call with Francesca though, Gene Takavic learns that Danny went missing after Saul Goodman's crimes went public, alongside many of his other conspirators and employees.
- Conspicuous Consumption: After closing out his first drug deal with Nacho, he immediately goes out and uses the profits to buy a massive luxury vehicle with chrome spinning rims. He has no idea why this is a problem.
- Ditzy Genius: More so than Walter White. Daniel is smart enough to work in the IT Department of a pharmaceutical company but is painfully naive to the dangers of the drug trade.
- Dumbass No More: Implied. Despite his less-than-genius decisions in Better Call Saul's early seasons, it's implied that Daniel became a lot better at being a criminal with the help of the titular lawyer and his connections. Notably, he was able to run a Laser Tag building as a legitimate business front and even make himself disappear when everything blows to hell after Heisenberg becomes public - a far cry from the man who bought himself a large, expensive truck with his illegally obtained money, and then called the cops to try to trace it after getting robbed.
- Establishing Character Moment: He introduces himself to his protection with extreme nervousness and elects to tell them that his nickname of "Pryce" is the name of his nephew.
- Foil: Seems to be a stupider, dweebier and more reckless version of pre-Heisenberg Walter White. But whilst Walter White has unparalleled chemistry skills that make himself invaluable to the drug world, Pryce does not have such Bunny-Ears Lawyer attributes that make him irreplaceable and quickly finds himself out of his depth without Mike.
- The Fool: Gets himself eyeball-deep in crime; somehow doesn't wind up toast mainly due to the sheer, unmitigated naïvety and otherwise lethal stupidity he pulls. Yup.
- The Ghost: In Breaking Bad. He's never seen once during the show, but his business front shows up several times, and Saul alludes to him when they're in his building. After Heisenberg's crimes become public, Daniel seemingly got the hell out of dodge, as Francesca notes that she has no idea where he is.
- Go-to Alias: Goes by "Pryce" during his criminal dealings, which is the same name as his nephew.
- Hidden Depths: The crown jewel of his baseball card collection is a Mint 60/40 90/10 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie card, which has historically been considered the second most valuable baseball card in existence, behind only the T206 Honus Wagner. Yes, there's no doubt that the collection has sentimental value to him, but it's also probably worth millions of dollars (the Mantle alone was probably worth around $250,000 in 2002) and is likely one of the most valuable baseball card collections in the world. Which makes it slightly more understandable that he'd be so deadset on getting it back.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Fires Mike for criticizing him and deems him a waste of money for just "standing around", lets
Nacho get inside his hummer, and believes the police are "very dedicated" to catching the guy that stole his baseball cards. - Humiliation Conga: As a result of not listening to Mike, Daniel has his house broken into. He's robbed of his money, his drugs, and his prized baseball card collection. All he has left is his new Hummer, which he loves, and he has to trade that to Nacho in order to get his baseball cards back. To add insult to injury, Nacho mentions his plans to break up the Hummer for parts, because "it looks like a school bus for six-year-old pimps". Then, to avoid trouble with the cops, he has to make a fetish video of himself sitting in pie while crying.
- Hummer Dinger: The moment he gets his hands on some money, he buys a gigantic canary-yellow Hummer with a flaming-red paint job. Everyone to remark on it finds the thing to be unbelievably tacky, not to mention how it makes it blatantly obvious that Daniel just got a suspicious windfall.
- Manchild: He's ridiculously naive and foolish as a criminal, and immediately spends his ill-gotten money on a stupidly gaudy car with flame decals, along with a matching wristwatch and pair of sneakers, and doesn't think for a second this might be suspicious to anyone. When his house is robbed, he calls the police and is dumb enough to think they wouldn't immediately get suspicious about his car, that the police calling him into the station for a few additional questions is just them being "very dedicated" to catching the crooks, and loudly whines about it when Mike tells him not to fall for the bait, even screaming "No, no no!" at one point.
- Meaningful Name: Wormald is almost-spinelessly passive and easily stepped on. Furthermore, like a parasitic worm, he ends up slowly latching himself onto several other characters and causes problems to come their way.
- Mid-Life Crisis Car: His bright and pimped-out hummer is even referred to with such a name by Mike.
- The Millstone: His stupidity almost gets Mike in trouble, so Mike passes the headache along by making it Nacho's problem, too... and then they have to call Jimmy, who risks putting himself in trouble. All so that this idiot doesn't get caught by the police and wind up ratting them all out. Daniel is very lucky that his untimely death would just cause even more trouble for all concerned.
- Moose and Maple Syrup: Has a Canadian accent. Especially noticeable when he pronounces the word "sorry."
- Nervous Wreck: Is freaked out over Nacho sneaking into his house through the backdoor as he thought leaving the back door open was a good idea.
- Noodle Incident:
- The "squat cobbler" video Pryce and Jimmy create, which is (un)fortunately never seen.note
- In general, what caused Daniel to switch from working IT at a pharmaceutical company to running one of Saul Goodman's money laundering businesses is never really explained.
- Pimped-Out Car: He decides to replace his minivan with a 2003 Hummer H2 decked out in shiny spinning rims, custom internals, and a red fiery paint job.
- Pretty Fly for a White Guy: Downplayed. His first big purchase with his drug money is a bright and flashy hummer with spinning rims and a license plate that says "PLAYUH". He also decided to get sneakers with matching colors.
- Remember the New Guy?:
Word of God reveals that he's Danny, the unseen proprietor of the laser tag business who was introduced many years ago in Breaking Bad. - Retcon: Daniel Wormald seems to be a completely new character that's divorced from anything related to Saul Goodman. It's later established by Word of God that he's actually the owner of the Laser Tag business that Saul wanted to use as a front for Walter White's money laundering and meth cooking in Breaking Bad.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Implied. Alongside Ira and Patrick Kuby, Francesca notes that Daniel completely vanished after Heisenberg and Saul Goodman's crimes became exposed to the public, indicating that he gave up the Laser Tag building and went underground to avoid getting arrested as a known associate.
- Shadow Archetype: He's essentially what Walter White would have been without his Heisenberg identity, nor the skills that would've created it: A dork from a cushy white-collar suburban life trying to enter the drug trade by bending the resources at his disposal, eventually growing an ego when the successes get to his head, which causes trouble for Mike, The Cartel and Jimmy.
- Skewed Priorities: His worry over baseball cards. Mind you, only the ones his father left him. He does care about the others, sure, but he could stand to lose them. Just not his dad's (and, possibly, his grandfather's). Hence, more plot ensues.
- Stealing from the Till: He steals pharmaceuticals from the company he interns at and sells them on the street.
- Stupid Crooks: He's almost up there in the Kettlemans' league.
- He calls for several bodyguards for a protection job, not realizing how overkill it might be. Before the actual drug deal, he makes it clear he has no idea how it should work, tossing around different ideas for how the handoff should happen, and when the exchange happens, he's willing to let Nacho short him on the agreed amount, opening himself to getting stepped on for future deals. Fortunately for him, Mike's there to guide him through everything.
- He doesn't bother finding a way to launder his money, lacking a cover story for why he'd have a rather large budget for someone working in IT. Nor does he have any restraint when it comes to spending it.
- Against Mike's advice, he takes his gaudy and flashy vehicle to the drug deal and lets Nacho, who has made his lack of respect for Wormald known, take a seat inside to find where his address was being kept.
- Nacho likes ripping off thieves because they have no means of recourse and can't report the theft to the police. However, Nacho underestimated the depths of Wormald's stupidity and luck when the guy makes the blind, rookie mistake of calling the police for the theft. No, it's not for the stolen money nor the drugs (sure, the theft of them still sucks, but he's not "stupid" to announce that to the cops), but for the baseball cards — the idiot genuinely didn't see how one could possibly lead to the rest until it was pointed out and confirmed.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Thanks to the success of his trades, Daniel finds no issue with splurging his ill-gotten gains on a fancy Hummer with a vanity license plate, and admonishes the more-experienced Mike for criticizing him over his decision. He then decides he'd rather go to the deal alone, considering Mike a waste of money.
- Small Role, Big Impact:
- His business dealings allow for Mike and Nacho to meet, setting certain events into motion. Additionally, he's the one providing Nacho the doctored medication that eventually leads to Hector's stroke.
- Though the man himself doesn't appear in Breaking Bad, his Laser Tag building proves to be exponentially useful during the third and fourth seasons. Notably, it's the place Walter hides Jesse after Mike is sent to dispatch of the latter.
- Suspicious Spending: He uses his drug money to buy a flashy yellow Hummer with a flaming red paint job. Mike refuses to offer protection services while Daniel's driving such a suspicious vehicle, and later, a couple cops see it and immediately realize he's probably a criminal. Eventually Wormald is forced to give the ridiculous thing to Nacho, who is smart enough not to ride around in it and instead strips it for parts.
- Tempting Fate: To cap off his lesson about what it means to be a criminal, Mike tells Daniel he needs to accept his status as one and should eventually decide to either be good or bad at what he does. The next time we see him, he's driving a tacky Hummer with a custom license plate calling himself a "PLAYUH", which he intends to take to the meet. Mike got his answer and then some.
- Too Dumb to Live: He has a good thing going with skimming off the drugs at his workplace, but then lets his initial success go completely to his head, flashing around that he's newly rich by driving a Hummer H2, firing Mike for warning him off about showing off his car to Nacho, calling the police when this leads to him getting ripped off, and doing nothing about an obvious clean spot in his trashed living room caused by pulling the couch out, leading the cops to discover where he had his cash stashed. He's then adamant about "working" with the police to get his baseball cards back and voices aloud that if he has to drag Mike and Nacho's names into the mix, then so be it. He's lucky that they didn't choose to shoot him in the head when they had the chance, thanks to that being a one-way ticket to even more questions asked. He inadvertently was Too Dumb to Fool (With).
- Took a Level in Badass: Implied. When we see him at the beginning of Better Call Saul, Daniel is utterly clueless on how to be a good criminal, and is so stupid that he calls the police to investigate money that he himself stole. By the end of the series, Francesca notes that Daniel has disappeared off the face of the earth after Saul Goodman's crimes became public, indicating that he got much better at being a criminal with Saul's help. The fact that he was running a Laser Tag building as a business front during the events of Breaking Bad without arousing suspicion definitely helps supports this.
- Unseen No More: It's confirmed by Word of God that Daniel is the "Danny" Saul refers to in Breaking Bad as the owner of the Laser Tag Arena. Although mentioned several times over the course of the series, he's not seen even once, but eventually makes his onscreen debut in the prequel series Better Call Saul (although with no relation to Laser Tag).
- Vanity License Plate: His Hummer has one that says "PLAYUH".
- Verbal Backspace: Accidentally lets it slip to the cops he had an entire stash of money hidden away that got stolen. He realizes his mistake when one of them asks how much, at which point he shifts focus back to his baseball cards.
Marco Pasternak
Marco Pasternak
"I don't need the money, Jimmy. I need this."
Portrayed By: Mel Rodriguez
Appearances: Better Call Saul
"All due respect, you're a lawyer and you're not making bank. You're doing it wrong."
Jimmy's old friend and partner in crime when they were running scams in Cicero.- Ambiguously Bi: In the post-con scene that starts "Hero", he looks at Jimmy with the same heart eyes that Kim often gives, and the Insider Podcast for "Breaking Bad" called both Jimmy/Marco and Jimmy/Kim a love story. He also makes it clear that he never got married when Jimmy asks, though he does sleep with one of the girls he and Jimmy pick up while doing cons.
- Basement-Dweller: Con jobs and a plumbing career don't exactly add up to much money, and Marco never moved out of the basement apartment he and Jimmy had.
- Big Fun: Jimmy's Fat Best Friend and fellow eager conman.
- Cassandra Truth: Like Kim, he suspects Chuck isn't as nice as he says he is long before Jimmy acknowledges it, telling him that going to work for Chuck is basically like being in jail again.
- Cerebus Retcon: Saul's appearance included a (fake) Rolex watch and pinky ring to help portray him as a scam artist with a law degree. Here, both originally belonged to Marco and became worn by Jimmy in remembrance of his best friend. Fake Rolexes were their favorite schemes, and his mom gave his ring to Jimmy after the funeral.
- The Con: Marco and Jimmy work as a team, with one of them playing the role of a victim and the other pretending to rope their real target into helping them grift from each other. The most notable instance they pull involves Jimmy befriending the mark and convincing them to steal from an unconscious Marco, tempting the target into paying for a cheap (but valuable-looking) watch.
- The Confidant: Marco is probably the closest thing to a therapist that Jimmy got back in Chicago. He knows full well that Chuck did a lot of damage, and also tries to not push the family/shop buttons too hard.
- The Corrupter: Tried to get Jimmy to bail on reforming before he went on to his job at HHM's mailroom. Later, he inspires Jimmy to go back to being a conman for a full week for old times' sake. Marco drills it into Jimmy's head that he's "Slippin' Jimmy" and that he shouldn't go for anything more.
- A Death in the Limelight: Played With. Although "Marco" has him in a much bigger role than when we last saw him, the episode isn't about him. The death part still applies, though.
- Desperately Craves Affection: Unlike every single Jimmy relationship where he's willing to debase himself for them, the shoe is on the other foot here, as Marco worships Jimmy and craves his approval, and Jimmy's the one with the power. While Jimmy does love him, Marco is disappointed that he'll always come second to an abusive brother.
- Dumbass Has a Point: He's not the most booksmart guy around, but he doesn't need to hear any stories about sabotage or betrayal to know that Chuck isn't looking out for his brother, and hasn't been from the start.
- Fat Best Friend: Is heavyset and is a truer friend to Jimmy than Chuck.
- Foil: To Chuck. Chuck is a man of high legal principles, someone who has worked hard all his life and used his position as a high-powered attorney to help people while refusing to take moral shortcuts. Marco is a low-life and a con man who has barely worked a day in his life and mostly spends his free days at the bar drinking himself into a stupor. Yet, when push comes to shove, it is Marco who proves the true and honest friend to Jimmy while Chuck always has and always will look down on his brother as 'Slippin' Jimmy', providing the final push for Jimmy to free himself from his brother's influence once and for all. And while Marco is genuinely happy that Jimmy was able to create a new career for himself as a lawyer, Chuck couldn't stand seeing his brother become legitimately successful. Most tragically, while Chuck's illness was mental in nature, Marco's illness was very much a physical one, and it eventually kills him.
- Good Is Boring: When Jimmy comes back to visit him, he's got a legitimate job, but the excitement of scamming people is the only thing that makes him happy.
- Incurable Cough of Death: We see him coughing as he and Jimmy make conversation during the latter's return to Cicero. He has trouble keeping it down before doing one last scam with Jimmy, indicating that he's likely very sick at this point. The episode first showing him face-down at a bar suggests he knows that his mortality was imminent.
- It Has Been an Honor: Jimmy returns for a week and starts pulling scams with Marco like old times. Marco dies at the end of the week and says it was the best week of his life.
- Karmic Trickster: Some of his cons rely on the mark themselves being convinced to do something illegal or at least unscrupulous, probably so they can't turn to the police for help. Marco and Jimmy's favorite con is based entirely on the mark joining Jimmy in robbing a seemingly drunk Marco, and having the mark take his wallet with a couple of hundred bucks inside while Jimmy "discovers" the nice Rolex watch Marco is wearing and takes it for himself while playing up how valuable it is. The idea is to trick the mark into handing over the wallet plus some of his own cash in exchange for the Rolex, which is actually a cheap fake.
- The Last Dance: On account of his fatal illness, he was hoping to ply his trade for a little while longer with his friend Jimmy, just like how they did in the old days.
- The Lost Lenore: His death is quickly suppressed, but it triggers just that little more Identity Breakdown and feeling of helplessness, and Jimmy wears both his ring and the last Rolex for two series on.
- Love Martyr: Jimmy really does love him and it is a romance, but he adores Jimmy, thinks of him as a god, and Jimmy is far more focused on thinking about and pining for his brother's approval. When Jimmy admits that he was in town for his mom's funeral, and couldn't/wouldn't call because Chuck, Marco is deeply hurt.
- Playing Drunk: Marco and Jimmy's favorite con involves Marco pretending to be hammered to the point of passing out on the street.
- Small Role, Big Impact: He only appears in a few episodes, and dies at the end of season one, but his spirit is invoked every time Jimmy anxiously grazes over his pinky ring, he and Kim never meet but she's very happy to be a replacement small-con partner, and the loss of him is one of the first traumas Jimmy shoves down, in a long line of them.
- Theme Music Power-Up: Has adopted "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple as a personal theme tune, and hums it to steady himself before a big scam."Butt butt hole, butt butt butt hole."
- Toxic Friend Influence: Marco inadvertently acts as a toxic influence to Jimmy. It's only when Jimmy spends some time running cons with Marco before his untimely death that Jimmy realizes he's happier being a conman than a lawyer.
- Tragic Keepsake: As it turns out, Saul's phony Rolex watch and his pinkie ring both originally belonged to Marco, the former being a part of their days as conmen and the latter having been a family heirloom. After Marco's death, Jimmy wears them in his honor, and he can be seen fiddling with and looking at the ring whenever he's troubled.
- Violin Scam: He and Jimmy specialize in these, using various MockGuffins to grift as a duo.
- Wisdom from the Gutter: He is the first to tell Jimmy that he won't be able to get Chuck's respect no matter what he does to please him.
Clarence
Clarence a.k.a. Man Mountain
Portrayed By: David Mattey
Appearances: Better Call Saul | El Camino
A thug for hire, nicknamed for his size.
- The Big Guy: He's so large that he even towers over Huell, and is generally hired for jobs that require him to be intimidating.
- The Bus Came Back: After running away from Mike in Season 1, he unexpectedly returns in Season 4 as a goon hired by Jimmy. He also makes an appearance in El Camino as a bouncer.
- Given Name Reveal: In El Camino his name is revealed as Clarence, whereas prior he was referred to as Man Mountain.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After Mike easily disarms Sobchak, Man Mountain runs away as fast as his immense bulk can carry him.
- Stout Strength: He doesn't get referred to as "Man Mountain" for nothing, often working as muscle through the vet's recommendation.
Sobchak
Sobchak / Mr. X
Depicted: Sobchak harassing Mike
Portrayed By: Steven Ogg
Appearances: Better Call Saul
One of the potential bodyguards hired by Daniel Wormald, as well as a private investigator for hire.
- Awesome, but Impractical: For a protection job, he brings up to four pistols, one of which is a Desert Eagle, the poster child for this in the gun world. Mike trashes him for this and later explains to Daniel that the job wouldn't need firearms because Nacho was hoping that everything would go smoothly and thus wouldn't want to escalate things that far.
- Beard of Evil: When he turns up in Season 5, he's sporting a beard and just as unpleasant as ever.
- The Bus Came Back: After getting clocked by Mike in Season 1, he returns in Season 5 when Jimmy hires him as a PI to dig some dirt on Kevin Wachtell.
- Expy: He's essentially Trevor Phillips if he were dropped into the Breaking Bad universe, right down to having the same actor play him.
- Gun Nut: He carries four pistols on his person for the protection job, resorting to ankle holsters. He has two hands.
- Hypocrite: For someone who accuses "ethnic types" of being hot-headed, he's not so calm or affable himself.
- I Have Many Names: His name was never stated in "Pimento", but the script gives him the name Sobchak. In "Dedicado a Max", he's introduced as "Mr. X", but also states that it's only his professional name.
- Jerkass: Sobchak is loud, arrogant, and needlessly aggressive.
- The Nicknamer: Refers to Mike as "Uncle Fester" and gives Man Mountain his name.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: He makes an unflattering reference to "ethnic types" and backs up this claim with some dubious race realism bullshit. Added to that is an obvious distaste for pensioners aimed in Mike's direction. When Mike takes him back to kindergarten, you will fight to stop smiling.
- Psycho for Hire: He's revealed to be this in Season 5, gleefully offering violent alternate methods for what should be a regular dirt-digging PI job.
- Sadist: He shows himself to be fairly bloodthirsty, offering to kidnap and torture on behalf of his client.
- Shout-Out:
- Possibly to another Ax-Crazy criminal that lives out in the desert. Played by Steven Ogg, his leaning towards violence in the times he's featured and the suggestion that he take Kevin Watchell out to the desert with two of his guys all bring these to mind. The ridiculous number of guns he had on his person could also be seen as a little nod to Trevor's Hyperspace Arsenal.
- His possible surname of "Sobchak" evokes one of the most infamous hot-headed, trigger-happy gun nuts in fiction, the difference being that Walter is at the very least more well-read, if not more intelligent.
- Sore Loser: His reaction to being out-classed by Mike's disarming skills is to get angry, double down, and get a strike to the windpipe for his trouble.
- Took a Level in Kindness: "Kindness" is hardly the right word for someone so intimidating and he's still a jerk when he reappears in Season 5, but when dealing with Saul and Kim he comes across as much more professional and even soft-spoken than before. He only lapses into being an asshole when Saul questions his work, and he (rightfully) takes offense. note
- Torture Technician: He suggests kidnapping and torturing Kevin, and it's clear he's done something similar before.
- Underestimating Badassery: After seeing that Mike has no gun on him, he first suggests kicking him out of the bodyguard group, and then dares Mike to try to take his gun while he has it aimed at him. This leads to a very quick disarm and a blow to the neck that leaves him on the ground coughing.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Since he plans on doing a protection job, he feels it's necessary to bring four guns on him, including the infamous Desert Eagle and urges Daniel to fire Mike since he didn't bring any. Mike later explains why it's excessive—after schooling Sobchak in combat.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Sobchak essentially vanishes after Jimmy uses his services to dig up details on Kevin Watchell. Though seeing as though Jimmy implied that he would never hire the guy again, it's no surprise that he wouldn't show up later in Jimmy's life.
Amber, Jo, and Nikki
Amber, Jo, & Nikki
Amber, Nikki, Jo
Portrayed By: Katerina Tannenbaum (Amber), Poppy Liu (Jo), & Erin Wilhelmi (Nikki)
Nacho's junkie girlfriends.
- Addled Addict: All of the girls are addicted, but Jo is particularly off.
- Anime Hair: Jo is never seen without some odd hairdo.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Nikki vanishes after her first appearance and is replaced by Jo.
- Functional Addict: Amber seems to be the most stable of Nacho's girlfriends. While Jo is panicking or having breakdowns, Amber helps to hold things together. This is probably why she is the only one Nacho feels comfortable introducing to his dad.
- Ms. Fanservice: They're all pretty women who appear in some revealing outfits.
- Put on a Bus: Amber and Jo are forced by Mike to leave Albuquerque once Nacho goes on the run from the Cartel.
One-Shot Characters
Season 1
The Lindholm Brothers
Cal & Lars Lindholm
Cal (left) & Lars
Portrayed By: Daniel Spenser Levine (Cal) and Steven Levine (Lars)
Two con-artist brothers that usually fake injuries to con people into giving them money for "medical bills".
- Alliterative Name: Lars Lindholm.
- Asshole Victim: They are a pair of idiot crooks, but what Tuco did to both of them was harsh.
- Beard of Evil: Both of them have prominent beards and are Staged Pedestrian Accident scam artists.
- Dirty Coward: They immediately sell Jimmy out to Tuco as soon as the latter takes the tape off their mouths. While it is justified to some extent (Jimmy did get them into that dangerously unfamiliar situation in the first place), it ultimtely backfires on them horribly as they have both their legs broken for real at the end of things.
- Jerkass: They go a little too far when antagonizing an old woman as part of their con, which backfires spectacularly since it's Tuco's grandma. Also, neither of them have any problems with selling out Jimmy, who was trying to help them.
- Laser-Guided Karma: They pay for their fake broken leg shenanigans by getting their legs ACTUALLY broken; without Jimmy's intervention, they would have been killed brutally.
- Mugging the Monster: They have poor luck when it comes to targets; first they end up with Jimmy, who's a reformed con artist turned lawyer with more intelligence and panache than they'll ever have between them. Things go even worse for them next time when they inadvertently target the beloved grandmother of one Tuco Salamanca.
- Put on a Bus: Both of them, after being hospitalized.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Their plotline allowed the introduction of Nacho to the plot.
- By Season 5's "Bad Choice Road," the show makes it known that the Staged Pedestrian Accident scheme that Jimmy engineered back in Season 1 was a catalyst for much of the show's events with a domino effect.
- Staged Pedestrian Accident: Their stock in trade. And, to give them their due, they'd make excellent stuntmen. Shame about the rest of their hustle.
- Stupid Crooks: Let's put it this way... they're in Badger's league when it comes to focusing and decision-making. None of their jobs have gone right. That we've seen.
- Too Dumb to Live: Jimmy was on the verge of convincing Tuco to let the brothers go when they open their big mouths to inform Tuco that Jimmy was in on the con as well. They were extremely lucky Jimmy was able to talk Tuco down to just breaking their legs.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Played with. While they completely fail to appreciate that Jimmy risks his hide to save them from Tuco even though they already tried to sell him out to do the same, he was also the one who spurred them into trouble in the first place when they were doing just fine on their own, making their anger very understandable.
- Villain Cred: They decide to listen to Jimmy recount his days as "Slippin' Jimmy" from Cicero, and are willing to follow his advice after so they can get better at their own craft.
Robert Williams
Robert Williams
Portrayed By: Eddie Fernandez
A criminal who was defended by Jimmy, and who was then hired by Jimmy to let himself fall off a billboard so Jimmy could 'rescue' him as part of an advertising stunt.
- Early-Bird Cameo: He appears briefly as one of Jimmy's many public defense cases, then has a larger role two episodes later when Jimmy hires him to fall off a billboard.
- Engineered Heroics: He agrees to stage an accident to make Jimmy look like a local hero to drum up business.
- Publicity Stunt: With onlookers and a camera recording, Jimmy makes everyone see him pulling Robert back onto the platform for a billboard advertising his practice.
Season 2
Lawson
The Grifter
The Grifter
"Usually, I take the train, but I was just in such a rush to get some medicine for my son, Freddie."
Portrayed By: Stephen Snedden
"There are wolves and sheep in this world, kid. Wolves and sheep. Figure out which one you're gonna be."
A grifter who cons money from Jimmy's father.- The Barnum: He puts little effort into begging Jimmy's father for money at the gas station, and with no regrets, he lives by the philosophy of either swindling or getting swindled.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He cruelly manipulates Charles Sr with a sob story about his sick child and drops the act as soon as he's gone, revealing himself for the scumbag he really is.
- Con Man: He's a con artist, and seemingly an experienced one.
- The Corrupter: He seems to be the start of Jimmy's Protagonist Journey to Villain.
- Hate Sink: He is a despicable man who has zero remorse for taking advantage of a naive man buying his sob story that his son is sick, conning him for $10, and using the "wolves and sheep" philosophy to justify his selfish crimes to his victim's young son.
- Hypocrite: He posits himself as a "wolf" and impressive alpha male when he's forced to get by scamming overly trusting people and his act was so transparent a kid could see through it.
- Jerkass: Preying on a trusting business owner with a manipulative sob story is bad enough on it's own and his smug, non-verbal gloating to Jimmy after is just the cherry on top.
- Never My Fault: Yes, in this world it's take or get taken. It can't just be that you're an asshole who preys on the goodwill of others.
- No Name Given: His name is never revealed.
- Pet the Dog: He respects Jimmy for seeing through his con and gives him advice to figure out whether he's going to be a "wolf or a sheep". Not a positive example of this trope as it plays a big role in Jimmy becoming "Slippin' Jimmy" and later Saul Goodman.
- Small Name, Big Ego: He likes to talk himself up as a "wolf" thinks he's a cunning predator rather than a small time grifter whose act a child easily saw through.
- Small Role, Big Impact: The Grifter's quote about how there are wolves and sheep in the world inspires Jimmy's criminal path.
- Smug Snake: When Charles Sr. leaves to fetch some tools to help the Grifter with his non-existent car trouble, this asshole just locks eyes with Jimmy, smirks, and buys two cartons of cigarettes with the money he claimed not to have. He clearly enjoys rubbing his little victory in Jimmy's face. At the same time though, he's genuinely impressed with young Jimmy for spotting his trick from a mile away.
- The Social Darwinist: Believes there are only "wolves" and "sheep" in the world, and has decided to live a life of preying on gullible "sheep".
- There Are Two Kinds of People in the World: He buys into this philosophy, saying as much to a young Jimmy. He identifies people as either wolves or sheep.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: There is no way this simple, small-time conman could have possibly known that the kid whose dad he ripped off and gave some less-than-savory advice to would help contribute to the rise of the ruthless crystal meth kingpin Walter "Heisenberg" White and all the deaths and suffering that would follow.
- Worthy Opponent: Implicitly impressed by Jimmy (who was a preteen at the time) spotting him being a con artist.
Fudge
Theodore "Fudge" Talbot
"Public masturbation. Total bullshit."
Portrayed By: Robert Grossman
One of Jimmy's clients from back when he was a public defender.
- Dirty Old Man: He's a previous client of Jimmy's who was arrested for public masturbation.
- Hidden Depths: Knows enough about history to point out the Fifi was used against the Japanese. However, he is not a pilot, but another client of Jimmy's named Mr. Yalowitz is.
- Phony Veteran: Jimmy has him pretend to be a war hero so they can talk their way onto an air force base. Turns out he is at least knowledgeable, and might even be a real bomber pilot.
Lance
Lance
"Mm. I dunno. Could be tricky... and expensive."
Portrayed By: Elisha Yaffe
A staffer working at an all-night copy shop. He takes bribes from Jimmy to erase some compromising security footage.
- Be as Unhelpful as Possible: He's paid off to cover for Jimmy's deception, leaving Chuck with no answers. He goes as far as to leave in the middle of questioning to help other customers.
- Every Man Has His Price: As Jimmy finds when bribing him to lie to Chuck and subsequently erase security footage.
- Soul-Sucking Retail Job: Downplayed, but he can't really be too enthused to be working at the copy shop if he's totally fine with meddling with security footage for some stranger, albeit after a substantial bribe.
Season 3
Freddy
Freddy
Portrayed By: Shahine Ezell
A drug dealer who winds up on the same community service crew as Jimmy.
- Bad Liar: Tries to convince the park supervisor that his daughter is sick, but Jimmy is able to see right through him and realizes that he really plans to go sell drugs.
- Cold Turkeys Are Everywhere: Essentially tempts Jimmy with a shot at an easy payday. After spending the previous episode trying to play things straight and avoid scamming people, Jimmy decides to help get a drug dealer to his spot.
- Villain Cred: He takes Jimmy up on his offer of getting him out of community service, and pays in full when his claims hold up.
Season 4
Ira
Scott Blakey
Scott "Scotty" Blakey
Portrayed By: Joey Folsom
A criminal who violated the terms of his probation.
- A Fool for a Client: He makes the mistake of representing himself in court. He doesn't know to announce himself when proceedings begin.
- Underdressed for the Occasion: He doesn't grasp that looking presentable would help bring the court in his favor, showing up in a blazer over casual clothes instead of more formal attire.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Despite getting a very generous plea deal, he doesn't bother to fulfill his community service requirement, and he's openly resentful when called on it in court.
David Estrada
David Estrada
Portrayed By: Johnathan Nives
One of Kim's first clients she takes on while doing public defender work.
- Ungrateful Bastard: He could have been sentenced to eighteen months in jail, but Kim managed to knock that down to four months probation when she noticed a procedural error in the arrest. Despite being spared all jail time, Estrada's first reaction was to whine about having to deal with a probation officer.
Denise
Denise
Portrayed By: Tabatha Shaun
Another of Kim's early clients during her time a public defender.
- Nervous Wreck: She is so worried about going to jail that she tries to just hide at home without even going to court. Kim has to talk her into actually going to the courthouse.
Rocco, Zane & Jed
Rocco, Zane & Jed
Jed, Zane, Rocco
Portrayed By: Tommy Nelson (Rocco), Carlin James (Zane), Cory Chapman (Jed)
A trio of young delinquents who hang around trashy slums. They mug Jimmy in the middle of his disposable phone scam.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: After Jimmy has them kidnapped at gunpoint by his muscle and hangs them upside down at the back of a piñata shop, they waste no time apologizing and promising to leave him alone from then on.
- Asshole Victim: When attempting to mug Jimmy a second time, they are set up by Jimmy and kidnapped by Huell and Man Mountain, who Jimmy threatens will beat them if they don't spread the word to not mess with him. You kinda wish they would still get beaten.
- Chekhov's Gunman: At first, they seem like random extras written for realism to show how Jimmy's scam isn't immediately going to be successful. However, they soon turn out to be Small Role, Big Impact and their arc stretches into multiple episodes.
- Delinquents: They're very young petty street criminals who only seem capable of insulting, extorting, and mugging innocent passersby.
- Dirty Coward: They're happy to bully Jimmy only to beg and beg like crazy when Jimmy, Huell, and Man Mountain threaten them in "Piñata".
- Eviler than Thou: A more Downplayed case between street thugs, but Jimmy gets his revenge on them for mugging him and intimidates them into spreading the word of his reputation.
- Hate Sink: Your blood just might boil every second they're on screen. They're deliberately written to be as annoying and unlikable as possible.
- Jerkass: They insult Jimmy, beat him up, mug him, and when he genuinely tries to make peace, they try ripping him off again.
- Just a Gangster: They can't focus on the bigger picture of extorting a steady flow of money from Jimmy, instead demanding everything he has on him every chance they get.
- Mugging the Monster: Messing with Saul Goodman ends very badly for them.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Jimmy can't bring himself to hate them because he was the same way when he was their age.
- An Offer You Can't Refuse: Jimmy approaches them with a deal the next time they meet. If they let him sell his phones on their turf, he'll give them kickbacks from every night he sells. After they repeatedly refuse, he sets them up for an ambush and offers a new deal: stop messing with him and tell others he's off limits, or die.
- Small Role, Big Impact: They taught Jimmy that you Can't Get Away with Nuthin', which added fuel to the fire of the paranoiac, ruthless Saul Goodman.
- Smug Snake: They tell Jimmy he must be "the stupidest person [they've] ever met" after cornering him, whereupon they see his "friends" emerge from the shadows. They reveal themselves to be complete dirty cowards when Jimmy, Huell, and Mountain Man have them at their mercy.
- Stupid Evil: Jimmy literally spells it out for them: "Don't try and mug me again and I'll give you 100 bucks a night". Their immediate response is to try and mug him again. It doesn't go as well as the first time.
- Teens Are Monsters: They're either teenagers or very young adults.
- You Remind Me of X: The aggressive youths bring Jimmy's memories of his younger days to his mind, as mentioned above.
Christy Esposito
Christy Esposito
Portrayed By: Abby Quin
A student applying for a scholarship from HHM. She was previously convicted of shoplifting.
- Anti-Role Model: Jimmy assures her that she can move past not being approved by the scholarship committee and other similar people in the world. He couples this with the idea that she can cut corners and play dirty to get where she needs to be, just like he had.
- Can't Get Away with Nuthin': Her shoplifting a couple of years back is what defines her to the committee. While it was the reason why she got interested in the law, it's also the reason why she gets rejected.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: According to actress, while she only realized the middle aged man who randomly trauma-dumped on her was bugfuck a few months later, she took the good from it and is doing well.
- Reformed, but Rejected: She shoplifted two years before applying for the scholarship, and though she had since turned her life around, the scholarship committee refuses to consider that she may have reformed.
- You Remind Me of X: It's not said out loud, but it's clear that her being an upcoming, bright mind preparing to enter the world of the law with a criminal history reminds Jimmy of himself. It causes him to project in front of the scholarship committee and rush over to her as she's leaving to give her advice.
Season 5
Ed Galbraith
Bobby
Bobby
Portrayed By: Roland Buck III
A guy whom Kim defends after he tries to sell stolen refrigerators to an undercover police officer.
- Smug Snake: He is smugly confident of his ability to charm a jury and get acquitted, even though Kim tries to tell him he would have very poor odds of winning. He changes his mind after Kim scams him into thinking the prosecution uncovered new evidence.
Ron & Sticky
Ron & Sticky
Portrayed By: Morgan Krantz & Sasha Feldman
A pair of dimwitted junkie criminals.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: They act smug when they start considering getting a public defender, where they'll have free legal assistance instead of paying for Saul's rates. After Saul delivers their "The Reason You Suck" Speech explaining how bad of an idea it is, they start groveling to get his help back.
- Battle Cry: They shout, "50% OFF!", like a life mantra.
- Catch-Phrase Spouting Duo: They really like their discount for legal consultation, becoming the namesake for the second episode of Season 5.
- The Ditz: Of the duo, Ron is easily the dumber. He thinks 50% is almost half. When they meet again, Saul has to clarify that they can't pay him with the money they stole. Ron also thinks that holding in one's bladder causes kidney stones.
- Drugs Are Bad: They fuel their petty crime spree with a lot of cocaine, and they're physically deteriorating from use. They tend to get really aggressive if they can't sate their addiction, and at least one of them dreads rehabilitation programs.
- The Hedonist: The pair don't particularly care about anything else other than serving themselves. They steal, do drugs, and cause mayhem at their luxury, content that a lawyer will bail them out at lowered prices.
- Jerkass: They're pretty crass and unpleasant people who, in addition to their crime spree, have regularly fleeced their families and friends of money with such regularity it takes them a moment to name a potential target.
- Noodle Incident: At one point during their spree, they hijacked a car pimped out with neon lights before the next time they stopped by the crackhouse.
- The Pig-Pen: Hygiene and manners have much less priority to them, compared to getting their next fix of coke.
- Piss-Take Rap: While Krazy-8 and his crew try to get the product out from the drainpipe, Ron and Sticky decide to pass the time loudly rapping about their situation. Domingo's crew is immediately irritated by it.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Spotlighted in the cold open, they seem like just a random pair of hooligans meant to showcase the fallout of Jimmy's irresponsible new business practices but they later incite the events that bring Krazy-8 into police custody, in turn putting Jimmy back in contact with Nacho for the first time since Season 1, and into Lalo's orbit for the first time ever. These two bozos set up a major reunion of the show's often disparate halves, and as Jimmy makes Domingo Hank's informant and him later snitching on Emilio, they also unknowingly trigger the events of Breaking Bad.
- Stupid Crooks: They're fools who give no thought to the consequences, future or immediate, of their crime spree.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: They think that they can do whatever they want knowing that a lawyer will come to their defense with a very good discount, even if he can't get them completely off the hook. Then they see his fee, which has piled up thanks to their long crime binge, and it's still very expensive with 50% taken off.
Marissa
Marissa
Portrayed By: Teodora Marcella
A woman who is arrested over a 'family dispute.' She is assigned Kim Wexler as her public defender.
- The Woobie: Kim makes her seem like a person who was just trying to do a good thing when she got into a 'dispute' with a family member and then was unjustly arrested.
Toughs
Toughs
Portrayed By: La'Charles Trask (Crazy Tough), Josh Horton (Injured Tough), Michael Morford (Big Tough), Diego Ward (Tough 4), and Randy Gonzalez (Tough 5)
A group of thugs who target Mike when he walks past them on multiple nights.
- Groin Attack: One of them is on the receiving end of this via a swift kick to the jewels from Mike during their second beatdown.
- Mugging the Monster: The first time one of them attacks Mike, it goes very badly for the attacker. Even the second time, after they figure out they need to team up and fight as a team if they want to win, Mike still does some damage to them despite being outnumbered four to one.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: They manage to overpower and incapacitate Mike despite his status as a certified One-Man Army due to their strength in numbers.
- Would Harm a Senior: The unlucky thug who gets his arm broken initially punches Mike in the face after he refuses to give some money, and his friends later beat the hell out of Mike during their second confrontation.
Season 6
Wendy
Wendy
Portrayed By: Julia Minesci
A prostitute whom Jimmy uses as part of his scheme to drive a wedge between Howard and Cliff.
- Butt-Monkey: As before, she's repeatedly humiliated, including being thrown out of a car by Jimmy in order to frame Howard.
- Streetwalker: Her profession.
- Trademark Favorite Food: As in the original show, Wendy loves root beer.
Spooge
Spooge
Portrayed By: David Ury
A guy who wants Jimmy's services.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: Significantly healthier looking than he was on Breaking Bad. Justified, given that he spent the time in between the two shows as a meth addict.
- Call-Forward: He shows up as someone who wants to hire Jimmy in a scene that takes place years before his death in Breaking Bad.
Joshua Holcome
Joshua Holcome
Portrayed By: Christopher Kelly
A man with a criminal record who was caught with a felony amount of marijuana.
- Off on a Technicality: Kim's strategy isn't to argue that Joshua was innocent of having drugs, but that the arresting officer's reason for pulling him over and searching him was improper and thus the evidence should be excluded.
Emilio Koyama
See here.
The Meth Kingpin
Walter White
See his page. Emilio's Friend
