According to ScreenRant, headliner for Better Call Saul, Bob Odenkirk (Nobody, Seinfeld, The Incredibles 2) refused to do a controversial scene, pivoting the entire storyline for the final season. Odenkirk talks about his decision in a comedic manner and his side of the story, explaining why he didn’t want to perform the edgy clip.
Better Call Saul is a spinoff series from the Emmy Award winning franchise, Breaking Bad, following the life of Walter White, Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle, Your Honor, Why Him?), and Jesse Pinkmans’, Aaron Paul (BoJack Horseman, Need for Speed, Central Intelligence), lawyer Saul Goodman who played an integral part in their blue sky meth business.
The continuation of Odenkirk’s character has gone under several pseudo names such as Saul Goodman, Jimmy McGill, and Gene Takovic, trying to keep one step ahead of the law. Gene, laying low as an employee at Cinnabon, meets a close companion Marion, played by Carol Burnett (The Carol Burnett Show, Amie, The 4 Seasons). However, “Gene’s” past lives start to catch up with him, affecting him and his relationship with Marion.
During the NBC celebration special Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love, Odenkirk reveals that Burnett’s character, Marion, was scripted to die in Better Call Saul. In a more in depth interview with Entertainment Weekly, Oderkirk takes a lighthearted tone towards a very serious subject matter. He reveals that he threatened to walk off set if executive producer Vince Gilligan (Community, The Lone Gunmen, Hancock) killed off Burnett’s character. Full quote below:
“Vince wanted my character to kill you in that scene. Look at him, he’s shaking his head. His exact words to me were, ‘Saul ends up killing Carol Burnett.’ And if I remember correctly, he didn’t say, ‘Kill Carol’s character,’ he said, ‘Kill Carol Burnett.’ But I refused, and I told him I’d walk.”
“Carol, I was willing to risk my career and never work in this town again. Because I didn’t want little children who watched our show — and I hope many of them did — to see me on the street and say, ‘Mommy, that’s the man who killed Carol Burnett.’ That’s all I wanted to say. That I’m your real friend and Vince is not. And one more thing, Vince and I, and everybody on our show, we think you’re the greatest.”
Although Odenkirk had a playful attitude during the interview, he had stern beliefs that if Burnett’s character was axed the show would’ve gotten too dark, even by Breaking Bad standards. Gilligan confirms Odenkirk’s story and adds that the story was written by himself and Peter Gould (To Big to Fail, American Greed, Double Dragon) to showcase how the protagonist has fallen from beloved lead role to abusive criminal.