The Most Ruthless Jimmy McGill Moments From Better Call Saul

Few television spin-offs manage to stand alongside their original series. Often spin-offs can feel like a cash grab, and isolating just one element from the original doesn't always work for an extended series. Expectations were at the sky's limit for Vince Gilligan's "Breaking Bad" follow-up, given that that series became a dominant cultural landmark, drew in a massive audience, and was so critically acclaimed. Even now, "Breaking Bad" is cited among the greatest television shows of all time.

Concerns that a spin-off would never live up to that show's grand legacy were entirely justified, and meant that "Better Call Saul" would have to answer a critical question: could Bob Odenkirk's shady lawyer, Saul Goodman, lead a series of his own? The answer, resoundingly, was yes. "Better Call Saul" serves as a prequel story that explores a younger Jimmy McGill, the seemingly promising lawyer who transforms into the utterly ruthless Saul Goodman. It dives into the many types of challenging situations, deadly cons, and dangerous villains that Jimmy was able to power his way through before ending up in that iconic strip mall in Albuquerque.

Over the course of its first five seasons, "Better Call Saul" reached dramatic heights that perhaps even surpassed "Breaking Bad." Jimmy's story is tragic: He often shows he has good in him, but he's done more than a few things that cross the line. Here are the most ruthless Jimmy McGill moments on "Better Call Saul."

When Saul Goodman appears on "Breaking Bad," he's already a full-on showman who uses elaborate television commercials to broadcast his name. Jimmy shows early signs of his interest in television throughout "Better Call Saul," as early as season one, in fact, where he hires a crew of film students to help him create his advertisements. Seeing the inexperienced young crew put together cheeky commercials adds a lot of humor to the series.

Jimmy decides to enlist his old friends again in the fifth season when he wants to publicly shame Mesa Verde and plant seeds of doubt in their clients. Jimmy and his team develop a series of retro-style '60s ads that imply that the banking chain's founder takes advantage of his clients, teasing "What is Mesa Verde hiding?" Jimmy even goes so far as to track down old family footage of founder Kevin Wachtell and his father to incorporate into the ad.

Jimmy always seems to flirt with the idea of going legitimate and taking an honorable approach to legal practice, but when given the right opportunities, he often can't handle the pressure of sticking to a set of rules. Jimmy had joined the legal firm David & Main in the hopes that it would boost his chances of joining Hamlin Hamlin McGill somewhere down the line, but he quickly discovers that he's not suited for strict guidelines — and doesn't like his fellow employees. He decides that his only option is to remove himself from the firm and set up his own independent practice where he can take on idiosyncratic clients and take a more flexible approach. However, Jimmy is also incredibly cheap, and realizes that if he outright quits David & Main, he will have to repay the signing bonus.

Jimmy is short on cash but doesn't know if he can stick it out much longer, so he discovers a loophole in his contract: If he's able to get David & Main to fire him, he won't be responsible for repaying the initial fee. He decides the best way to do this is to be as irritating as he possibly can. In a hilarious montage, Jimmy begins playing bagpipes loudly in the work office, dressing in flamboyant suits, buys a loud smoothie mixer that he uses in the lounge, and even refuses to flush the toilet after going to the bathroom. His employer Cliff admits, "You win."

The relationship between Jimmy and Chuck has been sour from the beginning; their arguments tend to center on Jimmy's irresponsibility and his aptitude for lying. Chuck is proud of the progress his brother has made in getting his own law practice, but continuously snubs his chances to join his own firm. Jimmy sees this as an act of selfishness on Chuck's part, arguing that he's more obsessed with protecting his public reputation than he is a close family relationship, whereas Chuck sees that Jimmy is deceitful and not willing to do the hard work to improve himself.

The leverage Jimmy holds over Chuck is personal, as Chuck claims to suffer from electromagnetic hypersensitivity, although many suspect it's an elaborate form of mental illness and the condition is not entirely legitimate. Jimmy is looking for any excuse he can to poke holes in Chuck's seemingly perfect reputation, and he's also looking to help out Kim Wexler, who hasn't been able to serve as the legal counsel on the Mesa Verde case. Jimmy decides to take out two birds with one stone: He breaks into the office and sabotages the Mesa Verde case, meticulously copying all the files over into replications in order to make Chuck look inept in front of his clients. It opens the window for Kim to once again be considered as the potential legal council. This act of legal malpractice sets two of Jimmy's relationships on a downward spiral.

Although "Better Call Saul" takes place many years before "Breaking Bad," the show further changes up the timeline by including sequences that take place significantly prior to the beginning of the spinoff (or after the "Breaking Bad" series finale, "Felina"). The flash-forwards provide an update on Saul's job in witness protection, but the flashbacks to his past are integral to the emotional core of the series, as they highlight moments between Jimmy and Chuck that indicate the rising tension. Chuck's constant dismissal of Jimmy's abilities and his refusal to take him seriously can grow tiresome in the early moments, but Chuck has every reason to mistrust his younger brother

Chuck, for instance, is at this point still reeling from an incident in their youth in which Jimmy steals money from their parents. Charles and Ruth own a shop that they rely on as their sole profession, and Jimmy's theft causes them to go out of business. According to Chuck's memory, Jimmy gradually stole over $15,000 and took advantage of his parents' constant belief that he was innocent. His parents' lives are destroyed and his father's health begins to deplete, and Jimmy and Chuck share a tense moment by his hospital bed where Jimmy refuses to admit any wrongdoing.

Much of "Better Call Saul" is about redemption and decline, and although Jimmy's nature grows darker over the course of the show, there have been signs from the beginning that he's always destined to let down his loved ones.

Jimmy quickly learns that he is going to have to do a lot to save his seemingly toxic reputation, as he can't get anyone to take him seriously. Chuck is no help in Jimmy's eyes, as his brother insists that it's only after years of service and self-examination that people will see the true changes in Jimmy's nature. However, Jimmy favors a faster approach, one that will allow him to immediately launch his career.

Jimmy's rivalry with his brother grows when he's barred from joining Hamlin Hamlin McGill, and he tries to stay in the business by launching a competing firm. In order to disgrace the firm, Jimmy creates an advertising campaign that lampoons his brother's practice and offers up a caricature picture of Howard Hamlin. At the center of the campaign is a massive billboard, but after a cease and desist order, the billboard is ordered to be removed.

As a construction worker takes it down, he begins to slip and fall. When Jimmy sees the worker clinging for his life on the side of the billboard, he leaps into action, climbs the sign, saves the man, and turns himself into a hero in the process (which is especially easy, given the cameras that are on-hand to capture the action). Jimmy set the whole thing up, of course, but it's a great early look at how far he's willing to go to make a point ... and make himself look honorable.

"Better Call Saul" truly honors "Breaking Bad" with its complex interpersonal character relationships, many of which are dramatically gripping and emotionally devastating. No central relationship in the series is more powerful than Jimmy's tormented dynamic with his brother Chuck. Chuck and Jimmy have clashed since childhood, and Jimmy always desired to live up to his brother's reputation by also becoming a lawyer.

However, their relationship is complicated by Chuck's devastating mental illness, which forces him to rely on his brother to help him out when health scares strike. Jimmy shows genuine empathy towards Chuck in these moments, but as their relationship grows more toxic, Jimmy makes the realization that Chuck no longer trusts himself entirely. It's a dilemma Jimmy can take advantage of.

The two face off in a court case in one of the best episodes of the series, "Chicanery." Jimmy is facing charges of being expunged from practicing law, and had given Chuck a confession admitting his guilt. In a shocking turn of events, Jimmy questions Chuck publicly regarding his EHS. He claims that Chuck's fear of electricity is a delusion, and proves it by taking out a phone battery in the middle of the courtroom. It ruins Chuck's reputation and mental health.