Why The MDC's Address On Better Call Saul Might Mean More Than You Think
AMC's "Better Call Saul" takes a different approach to the fictional Albuquerque that Vince Gilligan first established in "Breaking Bad" by drawing out Jimmy McGill's (Bob Odenkirk) descent into the criminal lawyer persona Saul Goodman. Walter White's (Bryan Cranston) simmering, just-under-the-surface arrogance helps quicken his descent into an outright villain through "Breaking Bad," but the spinoff series shows Jimmy's turn toward the criminal underworld even more slowly. He adopts the Saul Goodman name as a lawyer after a lifetime of discord between him and his older brother, Chuck (Michael McKean), who never really believed that Jimmy could turn a new leaf at all.
Of course, characters in these two shows often turn to crime when they seemingly have nowhere else to go, and when they can capitalize on specific skills they have. Walt originally ventures into making meth to help pay for his cancer treatments, combining necessity with his skillset as a chemist; and Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) works for Gustavo Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) to provide for his daughter-in-law and granddaughter using skills he obtained as a police officer. Though Jimmy tries to live on the up-and-up, he finds that the one thing he's best at — stretching the truth and pulling elaborate schemes — helps him best as a criminally-oriented lawyer.
The creative team behind "Better Call Saul" and "Breaking Bad" have always been known for their attention to detail – so much so that fans are still finding new insights from Season 5's "Bad Choice Road," which originally aired in 2020.
Fans on Reddit pointed out a biblical connection to the MDC
A sharp-eyed "Better Call Saul" fan took to the series' dedicated Reddit page to point out that in "Bad Choice Road," the address to Albuquerque's Metropolitan Detention Center matches an interesting Bible verse. The episode's first act features Jimmy delivering Lalo Salamanca's (Tony Dalton) $7 million bail at the MDC. When Lalo meets Jimmy outside the building, the scene's wide shots clearly establish that the MDC building is located at 415 Roma NW.
Redditor u/Takenmyusernamewas noted that 415 Roma NW can be interpreted as a reference to the Bible passage Romans 4:15, which reads as follows: "because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression," (via Bible Gateway).
While this does appear to be an intentional Easter egg, it's unclear exactly what the reference may point to within the episode. Bible Reference interprets the verse as saying that worshippers can only receive God's promises from the Old Testament through faith, not by adhering to man-made laws. Perhaps the Easter egg was included to highlight Saul's descent into directly ignoring the law; in this scene, Lalo certainly displays little worry for the amount of legal trouble he could be in if he is caught giving a fake identity.
While that specific address used in the show does not appear to house any particular building in real-life Albuquerque, the city's police department and sheriff's department headquarters can be found at 400 Roma Ave NW.