Lawyers (Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman, Kim Wexler, Chuck McGill), Law Enforcement, Juarez Cartel, Los Pollos Hermanos, Omaha, Petty Criminals, Other Characters
Omaha is where Jimmy McGill, now known as Gene Takavic (and later Viktor St. Claire) resides in exile after the events of Breaking Bad. Be warned that as the story in Omaha encapsulates the final stretches of Better Call Saul, everything on this page is a massive spoiler.
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Cottonwood Mall
Krista, Raquel & Sam
Krista, Raquel, and Sam
Portrayed By: Krista Kendall, Raquel Pino & Samantha Benavides
Employees at the Cinnabon where Gene works after fleeing New Mexico.
-
The Danza: All three actresses share first names with their respective characters. - One Phone Call: Krista is the recipient of Gene's following his arrest, asking her to both sort out a new schedule and to let Cinnabon know they're going to need a new manager.
Frank
Frank
Portrayed By: Jim O'Heir
A security guard at the mall where Gene works.
- Big Eater: Happily gobbles down every cinnamon roll Gene brings him.
- Donut Mess with a Cop: Well, a mall cop anyway. Gene manipulates his love of sweets to distract him in order to pull off a heist.
- Fat Idiot: Frank could've easily eaten the Cinnabon roll while facing the security cameras yet he chose to eat in the chair behind the cameras while Gene gets to see the cameras himself.
- Food as Bribe: Gene brings him and Nick regular Cinnabon deliveries. He times Frank every time he eats to see how long he ignores the security cameras as part of his heist planning and it averages out to 3 minutes with little variations.
- Henpecked Husband: Hinted at when he says his wife won't allow him to indulge in sweets.
- Nice Guy: He's quite friendly to Gene after he starts visiting the security office with Cinnabons for the guards, always offering him coffee and allowing him to hang out as long as he wants. Gene manipulates his kindness (and his love of both sweets and college football) to plan the heist. Frank even lends a sympathetic ear after Gene has a semi-true mental breakdown in front of him which alludes to both Chuck and Kim's absence from his life, as well as his loneliness as a fugitive. Granted, Gene's just doing it to keep Frank from looking at the security cameras while Jeff steals from the department store.
- Obsessive Sports Fan: Frank is a huge fan of American football, which Gene takes advantage of when planning his heist.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Take a guess.
Nick
Nick
Portrayed By: Nathaniel Auguston
Another security guard.
- Befriending the Enemy: He doesn't like Gene at first because Gene warned a shoplifter to lawyer up, but Gene eventually becomes friends with him by persistently offering him sweets.
Kathy Deutsch
Kathy Deutsch
Portrayed By: Kelsey Scott
The manager of a department store at the mall where Gene works.
- Black Boss Lady: She is a black woman who runs a department store.
- Comically Small Bribe: She realizes something is fishy when a truck pulls up to her department store claiming to have a delivery of items the store doesn't sell. She softens on the truck driver after calling Gene, who says he will be back in the morning to pick up the box and deliver Kathy a bouquet of flowers.
- Neat Freak: Kathy runs a tight ship at the department store. She is seen telling an employee to clean a spot on the floor, which Jeff slips on later that night while robbing the store.
Gene's new crew and their associates
Jeff
Jeff
Left (portrayed by Don Harvey), right (Pat Healy)
Portrayed By: Don Harvey (Seasons 4 and 5), Pat Healy (Season 6)
"I dunno what this is about... But all I have to do is pick up the phone and it's bye-bye, Saul Goodman."
A taxi driver who picks up Gene from the hospital. He has an Albuquerque Isotopes air freshener dangling from his rearview mirror.
- Actor/Role Confusion: Inverted and Invoked by Gene when they meet in Cinnabon, claiming that Jeff just has him confused for someone else. Unfortunately for him, Jeff doesn't buy it.
- Blackmail: According to the script
for Magic Man, this is what Gene fears he'll be doing and that's what he attempts to prevent by getting Jeff in the "game". - Characterization Marches On: In earlier flashforwards, Jeff is somewhat of a loud and creepy fellow, but after Gene strongarms his way into his life, he becomes a meek man simply looking out for his mother. This is justified by Jeff being a spineless wannabe who didn't understand the depth or scope of Gene's criminal misdeeds at first. It makes sense that he'd be intimidated after Gene shows up at his mother's house to confront him.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Tad downplayed in that he caves (albeit with reluctance), but he is very visibly uncomfortable about Viktor's plot to scam a man suffering from cancer.
- Hero-Worshipper: He enjoys seeing celebrities, both big and local, use his cab. He's absolutely giddy to realize that he actually had Saul Goodman in his backseat. Then he starts really bothering "Gene"...
- Jerkass: He is pretty irritable and doesn't seem to have a sense of space. He aggressively hounds Gene to say his catchphrase, over and over upon finding him at the mall.
- Loony Fan: Gives off the vibes of being a sociopath with no regard for his idol's feelings or privacy.
- Manchild: He's middle-aged, but he has the vocal intonations, body language, and general demeanor of a child, and is later revealed to still live with his elderly mother.
- Non-Action Guy: There is no indication he is a violent person and his role in cons involve him acting friendly or discreet.
- No Sense of Personal Space: It takes a while for him to actually let Gene out of the taxi when it’s asked of him, and gets right in his face while demanding he says the “better call Saul” Catchphrase.
- Recurring Camera Shot: Peeking at the camera through his car mirror.
- Red Herring: Season 5 sets up him as the main threat in the Omaha plotline. Despite seeming like a dangerous extortionist that might be connected to a more powerful criminal, Jeff is really just a wannabe, even lower than Jesse Pinkman at the beginning of Breaking Bad. Without Gene's direction he would just be a Harmless Villain at most. The true threat to Gene in Omaha was actually Jeff's mother, who was far more intelligent than Gene thought.
- Vague Age: In the case of both of his portrayers, his age is hard to pin down. Judging by their interactions he is at least younger than Gene who is 50 at that point.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: He is last seen in jail, charged with robbery. It is not revealed what happened to him afterwards.
- You Don't Look Like You: A striking example. Due to changing actors as a result of Don Harvey's conflicting schedules, the character Jeff looks nothing like he did before when played by Pat Healy.
Buddy
Buddy
Portrayed By: Max Bickelhaup
A friend of Jeff's whom Jeff claims is also interested in meeting the legendary Saul Goodman.
- Canine Companion: He brings his dog Zeke to his burglaries as an excuse to be walking out at night and to serve as an alarm bell if somebody shows up.
- Everyone Has Standards: As amoral as he is at his assistance with Gene’s heist, he draws the line at robbing a man with cancer.
- Expy: To Jesse. A younger companion to Jeff and Gene with a beanie hat and somewhat of a sense of morality.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Judging by appearances, he is at least a decade or two younger than Jeff.
- If You Won't, I Will: When Jeff balks at the theft, Jeff's friend volunteers to do it in his stead.
- Meaningful Name: He is unnamed at first and doesn't have much characterization besides being Jeff's friend, so it's fitting that his name is later revealed to be "Buddy".
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: He is "fired" by Gene for refusing to ransack a cancer-ridden man.
- No Name Given: In "Magic Man" and "Nippy", although in the latter he uses the alias Ricky while posing as a delivery driver.
Marion
Marion
"Don't worry, hon, he's not an ax murderer. If he was gonna chop me to bits he'd have done it already."
Portrayed By: Carol Burnett
Jeff's mother.
- Armor-Piercing Response: As Viktor finds himself at the tail end of his descent to villainy and is about to strangle Marion to preserve his identity, in a distraught voice she says "I trusted you". Hearing that from a defenseless old woman seems to have awakened the last bit of Jimmy McGill's integrity within him that was once a proud elder law specialist, as he loosens his grip, lets her inform the authorities and runs off.
- Beware the Silly Ones: She only appears in a few episodes as the mild comic relief, but is ultimately the one who catches onto Gene's real identity, pushing through his intimidation tactics & sending the police on Saul Goodman's trail once again.
- Celebrity Paradox: Carol Burnett is mentioned by Chuck briefly when recalling a movie to Rebecca.
- Cool Old Lady: Despite being reluctant to accept help, she is very nice to 'Gene' after the two get acquainted, even inviting him over for dinner. She further proves her merit by withstanding Viktor's Implied Death Threat long enough to alert the police that he's in Omaha.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: An elderly lady who uses a mobility scooter, she resents being offered help and even carries a litter-picker so she can reach items high up on supermarket shelves. She is very reluctant to let Gene help her get her scooter up an icy slope, and he has to covertly cut the power cable and charm her a bit before she'll finally allow him to push her home.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: In her first scene, she responds coldly to a man who offers her help reaching an item at the grocery store and spits out a cheese sample. She definitely hates people taking pity on her due to her age. However, she warms up to Gene fairly quickly and is shown to be a generous mother who truly loves and cares for Jeff.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: Spends multiple episodes as the comic relief character, falling for Gene's charms and being swayed by watching cat videos on the laptop he got for her. But after Jeff's arrest, Marion starts putting things together, using the laptop to search for Saul, and is ultimately the one to alert the authorities to Gene's presence in Omaha.
- Nerves of Steel: Doesn't flinch a bit when Viktor tries to intimidate her, even coming close to physically threatening her. She simply stands her ground and uses her medic alert device to call for help.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Despite her relatively late introduction to the series, she's ultimately the one who puts the police on Gene's trail.
- Spotting the Thread: Marion realizes that Gene isn't really who he says he is when he talks about the difference between Albuquerque and Omaha laws, which is something he would have known about only if he'd lived there.
Omaha scamming victims
Alfred Hawthorne Hill
Lingk
