Mike breaking bad vs better call saul

While Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul both feature some of TV's most well-written characters, Mike Ehrmantraut has had plenty of scene-stealing moments in both shows that have solidified his spot as one of the best characters of all time. Played by veteran character actor Jonathan Banks, Mike is best known for his morally gray sensibilities, mike breaking bad vs better call saul facial expressions and vocal delivery, and the surrogate father relationship he has with the likes of Jesse Pinkman and Ignacio "Nacho" Varga. Mike's headstrong personality makes him one of Walter White, Saul Goodman, and even Gus Fring's greatest foils, as seen on multiple occasions. Furthermore, Mike's status as a Commonplace crossword Corps veteran and former career as a Philadelphia police officer makes him an incredibly intelligent and formidable presence throughout the show, as he boasts an impressive sense of bravery and duty.

Before Better Call Saul even began, Mike Ehrmantraut was considered a fan favorite by Breaking Bad viewers, but the prequel series would eventually change for the better. Beforehand, he was a new take on the action hero trope. The modern action hero archetype is young, buff, and, more than anything, invincible. That last adjective describes Mike well, but because of his old age, Mike was initially underestimated by viewers and his enemies. However, his ability to thwart his adversaries through his sharpshooting and criminal smarts always helped him prevail.

Mike breaking bad vs better call saul

Michael "Mike" Ehrmantraut is an American career criminal, Marine Corps veteran, and former Philadelphia police officer. Calm and calculating, Mike later became a private investigator, hitman, assassin, and violent fixer for drug traffickers to financially support his family his daughter-in-law Stacey and granddaughter Kaylee. He worked for both Gustavo Fring and Saul Goodman as a private investigator, head of security, cleaner, fixer, and hitman. Mike has extensive knowledge of how to operate on both sides of the law without detection. As a former beat cop and true professional, Mike maintains an extensive, up-to-date knowledge of forensic evidence, surveillance equipment, and police procedure. Mike is also well-trained and calm in all types of combat situations, once using science and long strategy to take down a large number of hostiles with ease. Born between , Mike served in the Marines during the Vietnam War. While in Philadelphia, he married and had a son, Matt , who later had his own family, wife Stacey and daughter Kaylee. Mike got caught up in crooked activities within the Philadelphia police, and after Matt joined the force, he hesitated when two crooked cops approached him, so they killed him. After Matt's funeral, Mike murdered the two cops, then fled to Albuquerque to be near Stacey and Kaylee. He took a job as a parking lot attendant at the Bernalillo County Courthouse and also performed for-hire criminal jobs on the side. Mike becomes Saul then known as Jimmy McGill 's associate after Jimmy helps cover for him when Philadelphia officers investigating the deaths of the two cops Mike killed learn of Mike's whereabouts. Through one of his side-jobs, Mike also becomes involved with Nacho Varga , who asks Mike to help eliminate an increasingly-unstable Tuco Salamanca from the Salamanca organization, but Mike instead engineers Tuco's long-term arrest by faking a confrontation in front of police. Tuco's uncle Hector suspects Mike, so Mike attempts to bring police attention to the Salamanca drug trade. When this effort fails, Mike plans to assassinate Hector but is stopped by Gus, who wants to be the one to decide when Hector dies, and offers Mike a position within his drug organization , which Mike accepts, later becoming the head of security at Los Pollos Hermanos , and one of Gus' closest enforcers alongside Victor and Tyrus Kitt.

However, the truly significant moment about Mike's time with Werner is the sincere respect the two men develop for one another over the time spent working on Gus's compound. Nacho offers to give himself up as long as Manuel is protected.

Things don't always go according to plan, but sometimes, that's for the best. Case in point: Jonathan Banks would never have played the iconic role of Mike Ehrmantraut in Breaking Bad if things had worked out the way the show's writers originally intended. In fact, the Mike character did not exist at all in the original plans for season 2 of Breaking Bad. That season also introduces Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman, and while Odenkirk was available for most of the season otherwise, there was one particularly episode he couldn't take part in due to a previous commitment She spoke about how the Breaking Bad writers had planned for Saul Goodman to help Jesse Aaron Paul clean up the apartment and prepare his story for the police when his girlfriend Jane Krysten Ritter dies from an overdose. Because Odenkirk was busy when that episode was scheduled to film, however, the writers improvised by writing in the character of a fixer working on behalf of Saul.

This week Better Call Saul came to an end , and with its series finale, closed the door on the Breaking Bad universe after two series and a standalone Netflix movie that spanned 15 years of TV. Until Vince Gilligan thinks up another spin-off, that is. But BCS improbably grew into a rich, multi-layered, visually dazzling and narratively engrossing drama as worthy of a spot in the TV Hall of Fame pantheon as its predecessor. Now that both shows are concluded, we can finally have the debate in earnest. GQ polled a few of our Albuquerque-proficient writers to weigh in. Spin-offs are always shaky, but prequels? They're inherently corny, full of cringey callbacks and origin stories to things that didn't need context and exposition, and usually inherently devoid of tension, because we know how the plot must play out. And yet, Peter Gould, Vince Gilligan and their crew ingeniously turned that knowledge into a cruel game of water torture.

Mike breaking bad vs better call saul

When characters are presented with problems, the show makes sure they go about solving them in as realistic and detailed a way as possible. Breaking Bad established a starting date in its very first episode and then the writers take great care to make sure that everything that happens after or before sticks to a realistic timeline. The end result of this attention to detail is a shockingly thorough and complete timeline for both shows and for the Breaking Bad movie, El Camino. One note before we begin: the Breaking Bad Fandom Wiki is a marvelous resource for delving into the full chronology of each show. Ad — content continues below. Hauptman and Jerome Karle. Walter White worked on their team. Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!

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Mike discovers that his location had been tipped off to the PPD by Stacey. Lalo kills all but one of Gus' hitmen, forces the survivor to call his contact and report Lalo's death, then walks away from his home. He further absolves Gus by admitting he tried to kill Hector, but that Gus saved him. It played like a long coda that elevated everything that had come before. He severely hated Walt for his ignorance as seen during their final confrontation in which he brutally ranted of how his actions are what lead to complete disaster following Gus' death after Walt accused him of screwing up and getting followed by the DEA, which in turn resulted in his unnecessary death at the hand of Walt. It's heavily implied that Mike is the middleman between Saul and Gus; as Saul says he "knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy " " Mandala ". As such, MIke supervises Werner and the other German engineers as they work tirelessly on constructing his meth compound. As great as Bob Odenkirk was on Breaking Bad , and as entertaining as Saul was as a character, it never felt like this was a show that had to happen. Mike places his rifle in its carrying case and walks back to the road so Gus, Tyrus, and Victor can pick him up. Saul points out to Walt that it is impossible to get his remaining money to his family and uses Mike as an example; pointing out that Mike was no dummy but every time he attempted to get his money to his granddaughter it was taken and ended up in "Uncle Sam's pockets" " Granite State ". Mike himself even states that when his time to die occurs, he will go satisfied knowing that he did all he could to provide for his family. Now, you ask me how I keep going? In this sense, Mike is the true polar opposite of Walter White due to the fact that Walt commits crime purely to fuel his own ego and attain power and he justifies it all as solely providing for and protecting his loved ones, which is in reality a thinly veiled excuse. I say this with the caveat that the shows are, for all their plot overlaps, polar opposites.

Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul : which is the better series? Breaking Bad followed the story of chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin, Walter White.

Once Mike learns that Nacho is involved in organized crime as a means of supporting his father, he does everything in his power to help him. Mike is mentioned for a final time by Saul whilst he and Walt are hiding in Ed Galbraith 's basement. They were comparing this show to The Wire in its heyday , for Chrissakes. Archived from the original on April 10, However, I do think Better Call Saul is a more impressive accomplishment in terms of overall storytelling. When Lalo Salamanca tracked him down and almost got him to spill the beans, Werner proved he was untrustworthy. Franchise s : Breaking Bad. Mike asks Victor if he was seen by witnesses and Victor admitts that he was seen. Mike administers a beating so it will appear Nacho was captured. Although Mike's decision to introduce Walt and Jesse to Gus results in both his and Gus's deaths, it adds another layer to the show's character dynamics while heightening the conflicts between warring drug lords.