Which characters in the Breaking Bad world have the prestigious honor of featuring in both Better Call Saul and El Camino? Since Breaking Bad is generally considered one of the greatest television shows to ever grace the small screen, there was an element of understandable skepticism when the Better Call Saul spinoff was announced. With such a huge reputation to follow and a storied history of unsuccessful spinoffs looming over it, Better Call Saul had a mountain to climb, but the series quickly became every bit as gripping and intricately detailed as its predecessor.
Despite Better Call Saul’s success, the Breaking Bad faithful were still desperately hungry for a follow-up, and their prayers were eventually answered in the form of El Camino, a Netflix movie starring Aaron Paul’s Jesse Pinkman, set in the direct aftermath of Breaking Bad’s final episode.
Predictably, El Camino maintained the same high quality the franchise has become renowned for and, despite predominantly being a prequel, the movie kept fans satisfied with flashbacks that reintroduced several familiar faces. But while a good few characters from Breaking Bad turned up in El Camino, only a lucky few were taken from Better Call Saul.
Mike Ehrmantraut
The only character to feature in Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul and El Camino is the indomitable Mike Ehrmantraut. Introduced in Breaking Bad season 2, this associate of Saul Goodman and Gus Fring soon became a key supporting character in the ensemble and a firm fan favorite. Mike was an easy choice to include in the Better Call Saul prequel due to his unexplored backstory and close relationship with Saul himself, and the former police officer was bumped up to main character status for the spinoff.
Better Call Saul has developed Mike’s character exponentially and, across the two shows, Jonathan Banks has racked up more appearances in the world of Breaking Bad than any other actor. Mike went from a starring role in Better Call Saul to a cameo appearance in El Camino. In the opening scene of the movie, Jesse and Mike are seen having a conversation at a latter point in Breaking Bad season 5, and the aging enforcer gives Jesse the idea of escaping to Alaska.
Suzanne Ericsen
Julie Pearl debuted as an assistant district attorney in season 2 of Better Call Saul, meeting with Mike and Jimmy when they tried to change their story after a run-in with the Salamanca family. Clearly a legal mind not to be messed with, Ericsen returned in Better Call Saul season 4, and is subjected to a hilarious scam run by Jimmy and Kim, as they attempt to get Huell off the legal hook by faking widespread outrage in the town of Coushatta over his prosecution.
In El Camino, Ericsen can be seen on a TV news report at Badger and Skinny Pete’s house, and is clearly involved with the investigation into the Nazi compound murder scene. The implications of this are intriguing, and it could be inferred that the attorney’s initial run-ins with Jimmy in Better Call Saul led her to investigating the case of Walter White in El Camino.
Clarence
Otherwise known as “Man Mountain,” Clarence features in several Better Call Saul episodes as a goon for hire, first turning up for a job with Mike, and later being paid by Jimmy to act as an enforcer for his mobile phone side business. Clarence makes another appearance in El Camino, driving a group of prostitutes to Kandy Welding Co., pimping them out, and then waiting outside until they’re finished. It’s reassuring that Clarence has managed to go through the entirety of Breaking Bad apparently without the law catching up to him.
Simon Drobik
When Chuck has Jimmy arrested in Better Call Saul season 3’s “Sunk Costs,” one of the officers coming for the eponymous lawyer is played by real-life Albuquerque cop, Simon Drobik. Following this brief cameo, Simon was invited back for El Camino, firstly in the capacity of an on-set police adviser, and secondly to make a further cameo as a senior member of the police.
More: How El Camino’s Ending Perfectly Mirrors Breaking Bad’s
