Jimmy McGill (Pinkman's Rampage)
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James Morgan "Jimmy" McGill, more famously known by his professional aliases Saul Goodman and later Gene Takavic, was an American criminal defense lawyer and con artist. Originally from Cicero, Illinois, Jimmy began his career as a scam artist before relocating to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he practiced law. Later, he became a fugitive in Omaha, Nebraska, before being discovered and confronted by Jesse Pinkman and his inner circles.
During his legal career, Jimmy embraced his past as a con artist and evolved into a highly skilled criminal defense lawyer. Although he started as an earnest attorney, his increasing involvement in Albuquerque’s criminal underworld gradually eroded his moral compass. Despite his flamboyant persona and elaborate suits, Saul Goodman was a shrewd and effective lawyer known for exploiting legal loopholes to protect his clients. His professional name, "Saul Goodman," was a clever play on the phrase "it’s all good, man."
Jimmy’s journey into the legal world was deeply intertwined with his personal relationships. He was the younger brother of fellow lawyer Chuck McGill and the ex-husband of former attorney Kim Wexler. Kim, who had been a major influence in Jimmy’s decision to pursue law, was a significant part of his early career and their six-month marriage. Before his legal career, Jimmy was a low-level hustler in Cicero, indulging in petty scams and bar tricks with his friend Marco Pasternak. After hitting rock bottom, Jimmy was saved from serious legal consequences by Chuck, which became a pivotal moment in his life. Determined to turn his life around, Jimmy moved to Albuquerque, where he initially worked as a mailroom clerk at Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill (HHM), while secretly studying law through a diploma mill. Despite his efforts, Chuck and Howard Hamlin denied him a position as an associate at HHM, leading Jimmy to leave and start his own practice from a makeshift office in a nail salon.
Jimmy's break came with a class-action lawsuit against a retirement home chain, which he built alongside Chuck. However, after Chuck blocked him from working with HHM again, Jimmy sought to destroy the case rather than hand it over. Following Marco’s sudden death, Kim persuaded Howard to offer Jimmy a position at Davis & Main, HHM’s co-counsel on the Sandpiper case. Despite his success at Davis & Main, Jimmy's rebellious nature led to his dismissal by Clifford Main.
Undeterred, Jimmy established his own law firms, first with Kim at Wexler McGill and later as Saul Goodman & Associates. Chuck’s disdain for Jimmy, which included sabotaging his career and creating obstacles, was a significant factor in Jimmy’s transformation into a morally compromised lawyer. The revelation of Chuck's resentment further fueled Jimmy’s descent into his Saul Goodman persona.
During a suspension from practicing law due to fabricating documents, Jimmy reinvented himself as "Saul Goodman," working as a cell phone salesman and a flamboyant TV pitchman. His side business inadvertently drew him into the Albuquerque drug trade, where he became involved with criminal figures like Mike Ehrmantraut and Lalo Salamanca.
In 2004, Jimmy and Kim married, though their relationship ultimately fell apart due to the destructive nature of their schemes. After Kim left and their marriage ended, Jimmy fully embraced his Saul Goodman identity, becoming a well-known figure in Albuquerque's criminal underworld. His flashy advertisements and connections within the criminal world established him as a key intermediary for drug distributors and other criminals.
By 2010, after his association with Walter White's former drug empire was exposed, Saul went into hiding as Gene Takavic, managing a Cinnabon in Omaha. His past caught up with him when Jesse Pinkman confronted him in a violent confrontation. Despite Jimmy's attempts to escape, Jesse and his team cornered him in the mall parking garage. The confrontation ended in tragedy as Jesse’s rage culminated in the execution of Jimmy McGill and the subsequent arson of the Cottonwood Mall by the Phoenix Collective.