Saul Goodman’s post-Breaking Badcareer as a manager at Cinnabon was just ridiculous enough to work inBetter Call Saul, but the original plan would’ve been a bit too silly. InBreaking Bad’s incredible penultimate episode— season 5, episode 15, “Granite State” — Walter White had to reluctantly stay in a basement with his slimy lawyer for a couple of days while they waited for “disappearer” Ed Galbraith to sort them out with new identities. Saul told Walt that the “best-case scenario” for his new life would be “managing a Cinnabon in Omaha.”
When Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould teamed up to create the Saul-centric spin-off series,Better Call Saul, they paid off this throwaway line by having Saul actually manage a Cinnabon in a mall in Nebraska under the alias Gene Takavic. But that wasn’t always a plan.Gould recently shared an earlyBreaking Baddraftwith a slightly different line: “Best-case scenario, I’m managing a Hot Topic in Omaha.”If they hadn’t changed the line, Jimmy McGill would’ve been working at a Hot Topic inBetter Call Saul, and it might’ve been slightly too absurd.
The Thought Of Jimmy McGill Working At Hot Topic Sounds Hilarious
Hot Topic Would’ve Made Better Call Saul More Comedic
The notion of an aging, grizzled Jimmy waiting out the clock at Hot Topic sounds like a hilarious juxtaposition. In his post-Breaking Badlife, Jimmy is essentially just laying low and marching to his grave.To have him selling fast fashion in goth garb would’ve made for too funny a contrastto create the necessary dramatic effect.Better Call Saulwas originally conceived as a half-hour sitcombefore being retooled as a grounded hour-long drama more in line withBreaking Bad. The Hot Topic setting would’ve been more appropriate for that initial sitcom format.
Why Better Call Saul Was Right To Switch From Hot Topic To Cinnabon
Cinnabon Was Funny, Too, But It Didn’t Undermine The Tragedy
While it would’ve been hysterical to see Jimmy working at Hot Topic in his twilight years,Better Call Saul’s switch to Cinnabonwas ultimately the right call. Hot Topic would’ve perhaps been more funny than tragic. Cinnabon is still pretty funny, too — Jimmy has gone from laundering money for drug lords to icing cinnamon rolls for mall walkers — but it’s not so absurd that it undermines the tragedy;Cinnabon encapsulates the mundanity that makes Jimmy’s new life so depressing and unfulfilling.
Better Call Saul Season 6’s Cinnabon Mall Scam Fully Explained
Better Call Saul season 6, episode 10 brings Gene into the business of con artistry. Here’s a full breakdown of his Cinnabon mall scam.
And on top of that,the Cinnabon setting maintained the recurring theme of food that persisted throughoutBreaking Bad. Gus Fring manageda Los Pollos Hermanos chicken franchise, the Salamancas operated a restaurant as a front, Walt furiously threw a pizza onto the roof of his house, Walt, Jr. was obsessed with breakfast, and the series is bookended by Walt’s age being spelled out in bacon.Better Call Saul’s Cinnabon storyline kept the food motif going.
Better Call Saul
Cast
Better Call Saul follows small-time lawyer Jimmy McGill as he navigates the legal world to make ends meet. The series, set six years before his encounter with Walter White, chronicles Jimmy’s evolution into Saul Goodman, with notable interactions alongside fixer Mike Ehrmantraut.
