The Better Call Saul Scene That Had Fans In Tears
Vince Gilligan's shows have a knack for eliciting emotion from even the coolest customer. The five-season downfall of teacher-turned-drug kingpin Walter White (Bryan Cranston) in "Breaking Bad" can make you laugh out loud, gasp in despair, and pump your fist in delighted awe — often within the span of a single episode, all while sitting on the very edge of your seat.
That, in itself, is a commendable achievement, but after "Breaking Bad" was over, Gilligan commenced on another journey. He took the closest thing the show had to straightforward comic relief, gave him a spin-off prequel, and turned it into an even more emotional experience than the parent show is. "Better Call Saul" is a story of Jimmy "Saul Goodman" McGill's (Bob Odenkirk) fall from grace in much the same way "Breaking Bad" charts Walt's, well, breaking bad. However, despite the similar setting and multiple shared characters, "Better Call Saul" is a very different show from "Breaking Bad" — and Jimmy's long road to hell is simultaneously much funnier and crueler.
"Better Call Saul" is so packed with tension and emotional beats that it can be easy to miss some of the dark moments that the show almost nonchalantly dishes out from a seemingly neverending supply. One of these sneaky moments, in particular, has proved so touching that viewers have actually been moved to tears.
Irene losing her friends is too much for some viewers
In search of clients, Jimmy sweet-talks his way into elderly Irene Landry's (Jean Effton) good graces in "Better Call Saul" Season 1. However, his greed gets the better of him in the Sandpiper Crossing retirement home case in the Season 3 finale, "Lantern." So, he manipulates Irene to settle the case behind her friends' back. As a result, Irene — who has precious little idea she's doing anything wrong — is entirely rejected by her friends, and the old woman is left alone.
According to "Better Call Saul" fans on Reddit, the scene where we find out that Irene has unwittingly become a pariah is an absolute tearjerker. "I don't cry to tv shows or movies but... In the end of season 3, Jimmy turns Irene's friends against her so that Irene will settle the Sandpiper case. I'm not sure why, but something about a happy old woman losing all of her friends is just so f***** sad to me," one redditor wrote. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way. Whenever I rewatch it I have to skip those parts because it makes me so sad," another agreed. One fan said they would have abandoned the show entirely, had Irene's predicament been irreversible.
Fortunately for fans and Irene, the heartbreak is temporary. Feeling guilty, Jimmy unleashes another plot to get her back to the other Sandpiper residents' good graces, and in the process, he loses the trust and respect of virtually everyone involved. Of course, at that point his machinations have already subjected the viewer to the crushing scene of Irene's friends walking past her like she didn't exist, so it's hard to feel too sorry for everyone's favorite sleazy lawyer.