History Characters / BetterCallSaulChuckMcGill

** In a broader sense, season 3 reveals Chuck was the real power at HHM, with Chuck personally building the firm into the powerhouse it comes to be at the show's beginning. It's even implied Howard was brought in by his father specifically to make the Hamlins look better in the deal.

* GoodIsNotNice: Condescending, arrogant, borderline a KnightTemplar when it comes to stop his brother from joining big law firms and all around unpleasant toward anyone he still isn't the one breaking the law. While he is right that Jimmy shouldn't be practicing the law and his extreme methods are responses to Jimmy's ''illegal'' ones he is ruining both his health and relationships over it.

* AntiVillain: At first, his motivations seem somewhat sound and it appears that he truly believes in the law, making him an admittedly hypocritical WellIntentionedExtremist contrasted against our UnscrupulousHero Jimmy. As his feud with Jimmy escalates, however, it becomes clearer that it's his own bitter jealousy and overwhelming pride that leads him to battle his own brother.

* {{Envy}}: This and his {{Pride}} are the sins that ultimately fuel Chuck's villainy.

** A character once [[TheAce once respected in his field]] who has [[BrokenAce fallen on hard times]]. Who [[BelievingTheirOwnLies insists that his actions are for some great or noble purpose]] when they're really [[ItsAllAboutMe selfish and done out of pride]]. Who values their ego above all else, even [[FatalFlaw Their sense of self-preservation]]. Who looks down on others and refuses to see himself as similar. Who [[BitchInSheepsClothing pretends to be nice and kind]] but becomes [[TookALevelInJerkass increasingly bitter and unpleasant to everyone]] over the course of the show and [[NeverMyFault has a pathological inability to take responsibility for their actions]]. Does that [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/BreakingBadWalterWhite remind you of anyone in particular?]]

->'''Portrayed By:''' Michael [=McKean=]

** The hearing before trial on the breaking and entering shows how petty he can be. After everything is settled (including his brother has been just forced into a public apology right then and there) Jimmy asks to pay for the damages right there. The prosecution agrees, asking for the $326 that he owes. Chuck's response?
-->'''Chuck:''' Actually, that would be $326.98.
*** That was more a bit of legal craftiness than pettiness. He wanted the tape specifically mentioned in the documentation so he could later present it as evidence in the disbarment hearing.

* BatmanGambit: Pulls an absolutely savage one on Jimmy after recovering from the copy shop incident, using Jimmy's concern for his well-being to make him feel guilty and confess to forging the Mesa Verde files, which he has recorded and will seemingly try to use to land his brother in prison. What. An. Asshole. [[spoiler:He then takes it even further in Season 3 when he uses poor, mistreated Ernesto as a pawn to lure Jimmy into a felony assault, since Chuck knew that the tape alone had no use.]]

* BullyingADragon: As per the Season 2 Finale. Seriously Chuck, [[SarcasmMode keep mistreating a lethally experienced con-man looking after you]] [[WhatAnIdiot even though you're at their mercy]], WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong [[spoiler:Temporarily subverted when Jimmy breaking into his house in front of witnesses showed that Chuck was playing a much deeper game. [[DoubleSubverted However]], that all changed in the episode "Chicanery".]]
* BigBrotherInstinct: {{Implied}} in his younger years. While by the end, they're no longer in good terms and Chuck might be telling the truth when he denies caring about him altogether, a {{Flashback}} shows that while it may no longer be the case, there was a time where Chuck cared enough about Jimmy to assure him the protagonist of ''The Adventures Of Mabel" "will be okay".

* BrokenAce: He's highly intelligent, successful and respected by his colleagues but lacks his brother's charming personality and charisma. Even their parents liked Jimmy better (despite Jimmy being the screw-up son) and Chuck has clearly developed a complex about this. It's also indicated that Chuck's electromagnetic hypersensitivity is, in fact, a mental illness, not an actual allergy. He ends up being destroyed by his own pride and ego and eventually [[spoiler: DrivenToSuicide.]]

* CainAndAbel: Jimmy and Chuck's relationship and rivalry is an underlying the theme for the entire series. It's up to you to figure out which brother is which.

* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Towards his ''[[HolyShitQuotient own brother]].'' It doesn't matter how well Jimmy treats him or the depth of Jimmy's love, Chuck will always seize an opportunity to worsen his brother's life "for Jimmy's own good". Worse, it seems so endemic a pattern, you find yourself asking exactly how far back this actually goes. Childhood?

* AntiVillain: At first, his motivations seem somewhat sound and it appears that he truly believes in the law, making him an admittedly hypocritical WellIntentionedExtremist contrasted against our UnscrupulousHero Jimmy. As his feud with Jimmy escalates, however, it becomes clearer that it's his own bitter jealousy and overwhelming pride that leads him to battle his own brother. [[spoiler:Said anti-villainy may be finally subverted as he's willing to sue HHM over Howard asking him to retire.]]

** Through all of his pride and ego, deep down in his spiteful heart, he still actually does love his little brother. He just can't stomach the idea of him being a lawyer.

** Through all of his pride and ego, deep down in his spiteful heart, [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes he still actually does love his little brother.]] He just can't stomach the idea of him being a lawyer.

* SiblingYinYang: With Jimmy for much of Their lives. Chuck is intelligent, hard-working, admired by his colleagues but lacks in social skills and charisma. Jimmy is a hustler who has no interest in finding find steady work and operates well below his capabilities but is liked by people all the same for his charm and friendly, laid-back nature. Chuck is very attached to such a narrative and insists on holding on to it to protect his all-important pride. In the series, the contrast still stands. Jimmy knows exactly what kind of person he is while Chuck is heavily in denial and still sees himself as the noble, virtuous son.

* StupidEvil: Or stupid anti-villainy depending on how you view him. Although Chuck is a clever man regarding law, his plan to take Jimmy down does qualify for this trope. Jimmy, accurately, argues that [[BullyingADragon Chuck's vendetta against him]] is this as he will deprive himself of a career and eventually die of electromagnetic seizures, alone.

* StupidEvil: Or stupid anti-villainy depending on how you view him. Although Chuck is a clever man regarding law, his plan to take Jimmy down does qualify for this trope. Jimmy, accurately, argues that [[BullyingADragon Chuck's vendetta against him]] is this as he will deprive himself of a carer and eventually die of electromagnetic seizures, alone.

** For Season one and half of season 2 he made his peace that Jimmy is a lawyer as long as it is small cases or elderly law outside his firm (he even refused Jimmy's deal to have him stop practicing law if he brought back Kim out of the archive room because it would be blackmailing), when he believed Jimmy is working with Kim he goes out of his way to take back Mesa Verde from her even though she did all the work to get them for HHM and scared the hell out of Howard and Ernesto when his condition kicked in. Then when he is rightfully convinced his brother forged his documents he tries every gray area he can find to make sure Jimmy is disbarred and takes pleasure from it.

* ThisIsUnforgivable: "Don't think I'll ever forget what happened here today. You ''will'' pay.

* BrokenAce: He's highly intelligent, successful and respected by his colleagues but lacks his brother's charming parsonality and charisma. Even their parents liked Jimmy better (despite Jimmy being the screw-up son) and Chuck has clearly developed a complex about this. It's also indicated that Chuck's electromagnetic hypersensitivity is, in fact, a mental illness, not an actual allergy. He ends up being destroyed by his own pride and ego and eventually [[spoiler: DrivenToSuicide.]]

* {{Hypochondria}}: Chuck suffers from [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_hypersensitivity Electromagnetic hypersensitivity]], a psychosomatic illness where being near any electromagnetic fields causes someone pain. In season 1, a doctor turns on an electric medical device without Chuck's knowledge to determine that the illness is just in his head. In season 3, [[spoiler: Jimmy proves it again in his disbarment hearing by slipping a battery into Chuck's pocket without Chuck suffering any ill effects. After this, Chuck begins to consider whether he's ruined his life for nothing. He finally admits he's mentally ill and begins treatment for it]].

** [[spoiler:Chuck's endgame all along with the Mesa Verde confession was to boot Jimmy from the legal profession. He thinks he's about to succeed by forcing Jimmy to take a deal where he avoids jail time in exchange for letting himself be disbarred. But during the hearing, Jimmy manages to turn the tables on Chuck through an elaborate BatmanGambit which eventually sends Chuck into an enraged MotiveRant that completely undermines his version of events and ruins his reputation with his ex-wife, his law partner, and his colleagues.]]

** Chuck's attempt to get Jimmy disbarred ultimately leads to his public humiliation and alienation from his own firm, leaving Chuck incapable of practicing law.

* {{Hikikomori}}: In season 1, when his condition was at its worst. He would get around to keeping himself busy by catching up with work or simply playing music. Worse, his intolerance for electricity would be crippling in every way: long enough and he would pass out. This causes some major issues: since he can't go outside, Jimmy has to bring him groceries ''and'' provide for the bills; he ''won't'' quit [=HHM=], so he keeps receiving a rather measly paycheck; and he won't tell anyone other than his brother of his condition, so he's left to his own devices. There's also the tasering incident when he went outside with the "space blanket" for the newspaper and [[spoiler: the "not telling [=HHM=]'s insurance of his condition".]]

* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: Much is made about Chuck's dedication and competence as one of the best attorneys in New Mexico, being the moving force behind HHM and turning it into a powerhouse law firm without peers. At the beginning of the series, Chuck has been benched due to an AmbiguousDisorder that made him act afraid of electricity and turned him into a {{Hikikomori}} with Jimmy as his carer. The condition worsens his ability to function and his pride makes it all but impossible to voice his needs to anyone, keeping the problem hidden from all. Then, as the relationship with Jimmy worsens, Chuck tries to get better after an altercation with a neighbor and tasering by the police, he's able to function outside his comfort zone and return to work temporarily...at least until his feud with Jimmy reaches a breaking point due to a mishap at court, after which he uses every method to destroy his brother. [[spoiler:He ends up being publicly humiliated at Jimmy's bar hearing, his mental condition being discovered, his insurance rates getting hiked, being forced into retirement, his counterattack burning all remaining bridges, his isolation from everyone, and a slide back into insanity. Finally, tired, self-deluded, broken, alone, and in constant pain, Chuck chooses to off himself by burning down the house while inside it. Wow.]]

* BrokenAce: He's highly successful and respected for his work, but also mentally ill and eventually [[spoiler:DrivenToSuicide.]]

* BunnyEarsLawyer: Played for drama. Chuck 's apparent sensitivity to electromagnetism forces him to live in a dark house without modern appliances and with a limited ability to venture outside without major anxiety attacks. However, a trip to the emergency room reveals that it's all the placebo effect's nastier twin, the nocebo.

** A Character once [[TheAce once respected in his field]] who has [[BrokenAce fallen on hard times]]. Who [[BelievingTheirOwnLies insists that his actions are for some great or noble purpose]] when They're really [[ItsAllAboutMe selfish and done out of pride]]. Who values Their ego above all else, even [[FatalFlaw Their sense of self-preservation]]. Who looks down on others and refuses to see himself as similar. Who [[BitchInSheepsClothing pretends to be nice and kind]] but becomes [[TookALevelInJerkass increasingly bitter and unpleasant to everyone]] over the course of the show and [[NeverMyFault has a pathological inability to take responsibility for Their actions]]. Does that [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/BreakingBadWalterWhite remind you of anyone in particular?]]

* PetTheDog: Takes a neighbor's newspaper and leaves five dollars, even making sure the wind doesn't blow it away by placing a stone on top of it.

* {{Pride}}: Chuck has been actively undermining Jimmy's attempt at being a respected lawyer, believing that Jimmy simply doesn't deserve to be one considering all the work he's put himself through. In fact, Chuck is so concerned with not looking foolish in public that he leaves his protective "space blanket" in the car when he goes to confront the clerk at the photo copy center where Jimmy did his forgeries.
** Taken UpToEleven in the Season 3 finale. [[spoiler:He committed suicide by burning to death, presumably to make it look like an accident. Since he had no reason to be concerned about life insurance payouts, his only reason would be concern for his legacy. He'd rather suffer an excruciating death by fire than have everyone know that the great Charles [=McGill=] took "the coward's way out."]]

* YourMindMakesItReal: His sensitivity to electromagnetic field has no direct physically grounding and appears to be an extreme form of the nocebo effect. A doctor even demonstrated to Jimmy and Kim that he is unaffected by machines that he doesn't know are turned on. Chuck however, treats it very seriously and refuses to have psychological tests run, as he believes it is a physical condition. Regardless of its origins, his condition has an extremely detrimental effect on his quality of life.