‘Better Call Saul': Giancarlo Esposito Says ‘Things Will Be Strained’ Between Mike and Gus in Season 5
Gus Fring actor tells TheWrap following Season 4, there need to be “some conversations between Mike and Gus that either repair, or don’t repair, the relationship”
Tim Baysinger | June 18, 2019 @ 2:49 PM
Last Updated: June 18, 2019 @ 2:51 PM
Nicole Wilder/AMC/Sony Pictures Television
Gus and Mike have some making up to do when “Better Call Saul” returns for its fifth season next year.
While the finale of the “Breaking Bad” prequel’s fourth season will be remembered for showing Jimmy McGill’s (Bob Odenkirk) final descent into Saul Goodman, it also left Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) and Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) in a bad spot.
“They ended on a hard note,” Esposito told TheWrap. “Certainly, things will be strained, and Mike hasn’t given his allegiance over to Gus completely.” By the time “Breaking Bad” rolls around, Mike is Gus’s right-hand man and arguably his most-trusted employee, so it’s clear that next season the two will have to iron some things out between each other.
“Better Call Saul” showed that, at least at one point, Mike had a bit of softer side, especially when it came to Werner (Rainer Bock), whose German-based construction crew was hired to build the infamous “Superlab” where Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) do most of their meth cooking. But multiple setbacks and Werner’s transgressions — which included drunkenly talking about the project at a bar and escaping so he could spend a weekend with his wife — forced Mike’s hand. He had to execute Werner, but not before viewers saw just how displeased Gus was with Mike’s handling of the whole operation.
“There’s going to be some moves that have to be made, some conversations between Mike and Gus that either repair, or don’t repair, the relationship. That comes down to some moral questions that may come up between both of them about how can Mike ever work for Gus,” Esposito continued. “If you asked me, from my experience on ‘Breaking Bad’ and going into ‘Better Call Saul,’ I feel like they’re similar men. But Gus is smart, and he knows he needs someone smart, and who is not only smart, but not afraid to take action. I love the moments that you have seen thus far up to now, where we’re left at a place where ‘Oh, these guys are prickly with each other.’ Look to see how that gets ironed out in Season 5.”
“Better Call Saul” is not expected to return for its fifth season until next year. Co-showrunner Peter Gould previously told TheWrap he thinks the show is coming very close to the end of the line — after all, it finally paid off on its premise: How Jimmy McGill ends up practicing law under the name “Saul Goodman.”
“I couldn’t tell you exactly how many episodes there are [left], but I think we’re closer to the end than we are to the beginning,” said Gould back in October, admiting that he and co-showrunner (and “Breaking Bad” creator) Vince Gilligan are working on the “Saul” endgame.
“I don’t know that I can claim to have a nailed-down plan, or that Vince and I have a nailed-down plan for how it ends, but I can tell you we’ve talked about it an awful lot,” says Gould. “This is a story that has a beginning, middle and an end.”
From 'The Good Place' to 'Better Call Saul': 12 of TV's Best Con Artists (Photos)
Fool us once, shame on you; fool us twice, congratulations, you're probably a con artist. In honor of Bravo's con-man story "Dirty John," debuting Sunday, we've compiled a list of TV's 12 all-time greatest scammers. Trust us: It's great. (Also, look out for spoilers.)
"Better Call Saul": Jimmy McGill, aka Saul Goodman
Before he followed in his brother's footsteps as a lawyer, Slippin' Jimmy McGill scammed drivers by slipping in front of their cars and suing them. McGill (Bob Odenkirk) embraced his scamming ways as a lawyer, eventually adopting the fake name Saul Goodman, because it's all good, man.
"The Good Place": Michael
Michael (Ted Danson) is not really the architect of the good place, where moral people go when they die. As we learned at the end of season 1, he's actually a demon who preys on the misery of those that think they're in the good place, conning Eleanor (Kristen Bell) and friends on the way. He's still open to trickery when it suits him.
"Ozark": Darlene Snell
This backwoods crime wife is all kinds of evil -- if it serves her family and its opium operation. What fans never saw coming was her (huge spoiler) shift in allegiance when she killed her husband.
"The Americans:" Philip and Elizabeth Jennings
They're more than just spies -- they're professional con artists intent on using anything from elaborate wigs to their own children to score intel for Mother Russia. Remember that time they started a secret life in Kansas on top of their secret life in Washington?
"Lost": Ben Linus
It came as a shock when Ben Linus, played by Michael Emerson, was revealed to be the leader of an island group called the Others. The lies were only getting started.
"Game of Thrones": Littlefinger
Known as a master of manipulation, Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen) made a name for himself by using a network of spies to maintain a flow of information about his rivals to the Iron Throne. For Littlefinger, murder is just one way to get the power and wealth he desires.
"Game of Thrones": Ellaria
When Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma) didn't get her way after proposing a war between the House Martell and the House Lannister, she poisoned Cersi's daughter Myrcella with a sinister kiss of death. But she was sentenced to die by the same poison.
"Game of Thrones": Olenna Tyrell
The lady matriarch of the House Tyrell, played by Diana Rigg, is no stranger to poison, either. Olenna poisoned Cerci's son Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) at the Purple Wedding, then sat by as all hell broke lose. We love her.
"The Night Manager": Jonathan Pine
Played by Tom Hiddleston, Pine is an ex-British solider who is recruited to take down billionaire criminal Richard Roper. Pine gets close to Roper by using a false identity and getting in on his illegal arms deals.
"The Simpsons": Sideshow Bob
Sideshow Bob is introduced as Krusty the Clown's sidekick, but soon frames Krusty for robbery and begins a tear of villainous destruction all his own.
This failing restaurant owner has one goal: steal his competitor's secret formula. Plankton is so desperate that, with the help of his computer Karen, he enters the mind of one of Krusty Krab's employees, tried to befriend the same employee, and even takes rival restaurant owner Mr. Krabs to trial.
Looney Tunes: Wile E. Coyote
Wile E. Coyote must not only be an expert con artist but also good with money. He couples deception with an arsenal that includes dynamite, anvils and free-falling pianos.
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Before Bravo’s “Dirty John” debuts, TheWrap looks back at some of TV’s least trustworthy characters
Fool us once, shame on you; fool us twice, congratulations, you're probably a con artist. In honor of Bravo's con-man story "Dirty John," debuting Sunday, we've compiled a list of TV's 12 all-time greatest scammers. Trust us: It's great. (Also, look out for spoilers.)
