Most of us can agree that we do not like Chuck. Many times he is downright despicable. But I realized something when watching Chuck's breakdown. It is not simply that Chuck hates his little brother, although that has a lot to do with it. But by becoming a lawyer, Jimmy questioned and derailed Chuck's own personal identity. Follow me here.
2 Why Fans Hated Him: He Turned Jimmy Into Saul. Jimmy McGill was never, by any means, a straight arrow. But after Chuck bailed him out of jail and got him a job in the H.H.M. mail room, Jimmy was committed to doing things the right way. He put himself through law school and clawed his way to a law degree.
Think it has to do with Chuck feeling like he is living in Jimmy's shadow. Even though he is hardworking, smart, and honest, he will never be as liked as Jimmy. His parents loved Jimmy more even though Jimmy dragged his father's business into the ground and wasn't even present when his mother passed. It only got worse when Rebecca left Chuck.
Chuck went out of his way to block Jimmy from getting a position at HHM, fearful of what "Slippin' Jimmy with a law degree" would be capable of. He wasn't willing to give Jimmy the benefit of the doubt, and ended up unknowingly launching the career of Albuquerque's shadiest criminal defense attorney.
Although in the first season it seemed that he was initially supportive of Jimmy, Chuck harbored resentful feelings toward him, concerned with the questionable ethics of "Slippin' Jimmy" as a lawyer. From the second season onward, Chuck transforms into Jimmy's nemesis.
Chuck was totally jealous of Jimmy when he really shouldn't have been. He was more successful than Jimmy in almost every way. However, the thing that irked Chuck the most was that their late mother loved the stubborn Jimmy more than him. When their mother was on her death bed, she called out Jimmy's name.May 28, 2020
Chuck and Jimmy betrayed each other in an endless circle. Indeed, Chuck couldn't let Jimmy get away with betraying him again. He devised a plan to set up Jimmy to get him disbarred. Chuck didn't only want revenge on Jimmy, he also wanted to end his law career.Mar 31, 2021
To quickly recap, Jimmy/Saul has had his license suspended due to criminal charges he faced for breaking into his older (now deceased) more successful brother Chuck's home to destroy audio recordings of Jimmy confessing to manufacturing evidence.
“She wanted him to show and feel this massive gulf of sorrow and loss, but he just wasn't there yet,” Odenkirk explained. “He had so much resentment towards his brother — and justifiably in many ways. So Jimmy just wasn't there to grieve like that, at least not for a while.”Apr 18, 2021
UPDATE, 3/3: On Monday night's episode of Better Call Saul, "Alpine Shepherd Boy," Chuck confirms that he indeed does suffer from electromagnetic hypersensitivity. He lands in the hospital after police break down his door, thinking he's a crystal meth user, and his symptoms incapacitate him.Mar 3, 2015
In their celebration afterwards, Kim feels some it was truthful, but Jimmy's reaction makes it painfully apparent it was all a show for the committee so he could get his law license back. As he prepares to sign the necessary documents, Jimmy states he'll no longer be practicing under his legal name.
Chuck might've been proud of his brother then, but his final words to Jimmy were "you've never mattered all that much to me." This stinging farewell supersedes whatever niceties might've been written in Chuck's posthumous letter.Apr 7, 2021
That means that in Better Call Saul season 1, Jimmy McGill is 41-years-old, with the events of those episodes covering May-July 2002. Jimmy is still 41 in season 2, while season 3 spans him turning 42.Jul 18, 2020
Jimmy's law license is suspended for a year, but he is not disbarred. To both pay his share of the rent on the office and make use of TV ad time for which he has already prepaid, Jimmy begins producing commercials for other businesses while using the on air alias Saul Goodman.
Jimmy is arrested for breaking into Chuck's house. Following a few harsh but hesitant words with Chuck, Jimmy goes against Kim's advice and represents himself, pleads not guilty, and posts bail.
So, Saul Good man was rather foolish when he decided to flee. There was no one who wanted him dead, he'd made plenty of money from Walt that he could have stashed away and his was largely immune from prosecution thanks to attorney-client privilege.Aug 11, 2016
He was never given a redemption arc, which was a smart decision by the writers because it simply wasn’t necessary. Even in death, Chuck came off as a condescending jerk in his letter to Jimmy, and in the consequences of the selfish decisions he made when he was alive.
When Chuck announced that he was allergic to electricity, the only person who genuinely believed him and didn’t think it was entirely psychological was Jimmy. And Jimmy bent over backwards to accommodate the changes to Chuck’s lifestyle.
Season 3’s “Chicanery” is widely regarded to be the finest episode of Better Call Saul . With six planned seasons, "Chicanery" is close to the midpoint of the entire series, and it revolves around Chuck taking Jimmy to court over his tampering with Mesa Verde’s address.
Chuck McGill was undeniably a genius, but he didn’t have to rub it in people’s faces . He looked down his nose at everybody, blindly assuming himself to be better than them.
Jack Gleeson’s portrayal of Joffrey Baratheon in Game of Thrones is a prime example. Another is Michael McKean ’s performance as Chuck McGill.
To say that Chuck McGill is the most hated character on Better Call Saul would be an understatement. In a show filled with lovable characters that fans can root for, from Kim Wexler to Nacho Varga, Chuck stands proudly as a reprehensible jerk. The audience’s indifference to the smarmy, self-obsessed Howard Hamlin doesn’t even scrape their level ...
Although Jimmy has faced off against such terrifying villains as Gus Fring and Tuco Salamanca, Chuck was the perfect antagonist for his character specifically. Chuck was the only one who could ever see through Jimmy’s schemes, which removed Jimmy of his power.
When Jimmy decided to become a lawyer, it was too much for Chuck. He saw the law as a sacred trust with hard and fast rules, and that Jimmy would always cut corners. He was okay with helping Jimmy get a mail room job so he would stay out of trouble, but accepting him as a professional equal was out of the question.
Jim's various shades of gray. Chuck also resented jimmy because of his likeability. Jimmy's big mistake was trying to win his brother's respect. People with big egos and great intellect, often look down on others they deem unworthy.
Additionally, he went to sleep in the nail salon one night when he couldn't relax in the corporate apartment. And he found pleasure in deceiving people at the expensive restaurant and bar for drinks and food. It's humorous because it's crazy. As crazy humorous as Jimmy is, Chuck is at least as crazy mean.
As long as Jimmy was in a controlled and subordinate position, Chuck felt all right, everything was okay with the world, but if he tried to rise up to be Chuck’s equal, that felt too much like the world reversing itself, and Jimmy becoming successful despite who he was.
Continue Reading. Jimmy and Chuck’s relationship is one of the emotional pillars of the series, and of Jimmy’s character development. It’s complex, fractured, and rich with implications. To start with, Chuck doesn’t hate Jimmy. He loves his brother, and he cares about him, in his own way.
Jimmy would receive somewhere from 4 to 5 million dollars in a few years. Even in his condition Chuck was still trying to help Jimmy.
But that is not Jimmy. Jimmy breaks the law because he wants to, because he finds it fun.
In 1992, after having not seen Jimmy for almost 5 years, Chuck helped him avoid serious charges including property damage, assault, and a possible sex offense. Chuck traveled to Cicero to visit Jimmy at his request through their mother.
Jimmy accuses Chuck of telling Howard not to let him work on the case, and to not hire him after he passed the bar years prior. Jimmy demands to know why Chuck has been working against him. Chuck angrily replies that Jimmy is not a real lawyer, having taken shortcuts like online courses and diploma mills.
Jimmy mentions his brother when Howard confronts him for harassing him after offering Jimmy a job at HHM. Howard acknowledges he knows Jimmy is in pain and an infuriated Jimmy openly blames Howard for killing Chuck and shouts he has grown too big for the constraints of an HHM job ("JMM") .
Jimmy blows his cover by barging into the shop to come to Chuck's aid. At the hospital, Chuck asks Jimmy why he was there, but Ernesto, an HHM employee who is working as Chuck's personal assistant, covers for him. When Jimmy later asks why, Ernesto remarks that Chuck is obsessed with taking Jimmy down.
Chuck is mentioned by Jimmy during the celebration of his reinstatement. Jimmy contemplates throwing a promotional event selling his remaining drop phones and considers offering a 50% discount for non-violent offenders. Kim is concerned that what Jimmy is planning will encourage his clients to continue their criminal behavior and will reflect badly on Jimmy himself. He tells her that he can't go back to being regarded as "Chuck McGill's loser brother" and insists that his new identity as Saul will give him a fresh start, implying he has changed his name in order to escape from his late brother completely ("Magic Man") .
Chuck believes that his brother hasn't changed from his "Slippin' Jimmy" ways, and that Jimmy poses a danger if he practices law. Jimmy realizes what his brother really thinks of him. He explains that he's brought over enough supplies to last Chuck a few days - after that, Chuck will have to fend for himself.
Realizing that his brother has seen the hospital bill, Jimmy promises that he isn't returning any customs from the past (referring to Slippin' Jimmy ). Jimmy then asks for Chuck to take off the "space blanket". Chuck reluctantly takes it off, only to put it back on when Jimmy leaves the room ("Mijo") .
At Chuck's residence, Jimmy sees a copy of the newspaper he hid from Chuck, with a story about his billboard stunt on the front page.
Even worse, Chet had ties to the local prosecutors, and Jimmy was quickly brought in by the police on charges of property damage, assault, and sex offenses. Jimmy was booked and put in pre-trial detention. Jimmy in his younger years. Chuck traveled from Albuquerque to visit Jimmy at the request of their mother.
Deaths connected to Jimmy 1 Charles McGill Sr: Jimmy's embezzlement of nearly $14,000 from his father's small corner store over the years contributed to its bankruptcy and closure and also his father's untimely death six months later as a result of his loss of the store. ("Rebecca") 2 Charles McGill Jr: After Jimmy deliberately revealed his brother's mental illness to an insurance company out of spite, a conflict between Chuck and Howard erupted which ended with Howard forcing Chuck out of HHM when he threatened to sue the firm's insurer for raising their rates over his mental illness and Howard himself for trying to get him to retire for the good of the firm. Losing his position at HHM would be a vital contributing factor to Chuck's mental relapse and eventual tragic suicide. ("Expenses", "Lantern")
When he visits the Sandpiper Crossing retirement home, Jimmy learns that the workers are grossly overcharging the residents. He searches Sandpiper's dumpsters and collects shredded documents as evidence ("RICO"). Chuck convinces a reluctant Jimmy to take the case to HHM, since they have more resources.
Deaths connected to Jimmy. Charles McGill Sr: Jimmy's embezzlement of nearly $14,000 from his father's small corner store over the years contributed to its bankruptcy and closure and also his father's untimely death six months later as a result of his loss of the store.
Despite Jimmy's assurances, Kim still expresses doubts about Jimmy's ability to pay and considers taking on another client. Jimmy later is able to make $700 during his community service, helping a drug dealer "see his sick child" by threatening the supervisor with legal action.
In one of his most famous scams, Jimmy would find the most slippery patches of ice every winter, stage a fall, and earn himself a fair amount of money, which earned him the nickname "Slippin' Jimmy" ("Uno").
Howard protected Jimmy from the truth because if he had found out it would have obliterated him. Jimmy’s constant effort to earn his brother’s approval was in vain. Turning his life around and earning his law degree was not enough, he’ll always just be Slippin’ Jimmy to Chuck.
The ninth episode of Better Call Saul was dominated by one huge revelation involving Howard Hamlin. Jimmy McGill was never able to break into the law game at Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill. He thought the clean-cut partner, Howard Hamlin, was always the culprit that kept him down.