Mike Ehrmantraut has to be the crowning jewel of Vince Gilligan’s franchise of chemistry teachers turned kingpins and “criminal” lawyers. Born out of a literal scheduling conflict, the stoic, stoney-eyed enforcer of Gus Fring has helped re-vitalize the stellar career of Jonathon Banks, and every moment we spend with Lalo’s favourite bald gringo is a true pleasure. But Mike from Breaking Bad and Mike from Better Call Saul are two different people, and while the latter tells the story of how Jimmy McGill became Saul Goodman, we’d argue that Mike serves as the deuteragonist of the whole show and that it tells his story just as much as it does Jimmy’s. But who exactly was Mike before he became a part of Gus Fring’s inner circle and Saul Goodman’s “guy who knows a guy”? Why did he end up joining these crooked personalities in the first place? And is his integrity as unshakeable as he says it is? We’ll answer all those questions and more; this is Mike Ehrmantraut’s Origins – Explored.
