Better Call Saul: Main Characters Sorted By Their D&D Moral Alignment
Much like Breaking Bad, each character in Better Call Saul is not defined by how much good or evil they can do but rather by their motivations in what appears to be a tug-of-war between cynicism and idealism. That does make them more interesting since the whole fictional world is painted grey instead of just black and white.
Morality in a show like Better Call Saul is not as simple as a two-sided coin. It can be as complex as 20-sided dice from Dungeons and Dragons. That's why we'll be using that tabletop game's 9-point morality system to define the characteristics of each and every character in Better Call Saul come the 5th season. Here's how they fared:
10 SAUL GOODMAN/JAMES MCGILL - CHAOTIC NEUTRAL
It's his show, it's already a given that he'll be the most developed character throughout all five seasons. James McGill started out as a Chaotic Good character. Over time, his fractured relationship with his brother, Chuck as well as his tendency to con has eroded his moral compass.
Now, he has changed to a Chaotic Neutral-- a person who looks mostly after himself and his own freedom or personal satisfaction. His actions as soon as he became Saul Goodman proved this. Perhaps he'll finally go down a notch to become the evil lawyer once Season 6 hits.
9 KIMBERLY WEXLER - NEUTRAL GOOD
The show basically waves it in our faces that Kim Wexler is too good for someone like Saul and that she could do better. Despite staying with her polar opposite like Saul, she manages to maintain her integrity. Kim still cares for the law and all the proper things in society.
Still, some of Saul's corner-cutting has rubbed off on her a bit. Kim has demonstrated that she can bend the law if necessary to do what she thinks is right according to her morals or whatever will give her a good night's sleep. Hence, she's neutral good.
8 MIKE EHRMANTRAUT - LAWFUL NEUTRAL
Moving on to the most badass grandpa ever on TV, we have Mike Ehrmantraut. Mike has recently revealed in the Season 5 finale that he only does what he does for his daughter in law and granddaughter, his "people." Of course, this didn't prevent him from killing others for Gustavo Fring.
He's also killed innocents before, particularly Werner Ziegler but displayed deep sadness and regret about it, meaning he never enjoyed doing it. Mike does value honor and his own personal code as well as his agreements with Gus, making him a lawful neutral character.
7 GUSTAVO FRING - LAWFUL EVIL
Speaking of Gustavo Fring, he's the textbook (or handbook) definition of lawful evil. This is someone who wants to dominate everything but in the most subtle and craftiest way possible. He still has his own code of conduct and usually doesn't care who gets hurt or becomes collateral damage.
Gustavo's rise to power and strict adherence to logic and business makes him one of the most principled villains ever though an evil person nonetheless. His primary motivation is revenge-- not necessarily taking over everything-- that's just a bonus.
6 IGNACIO "NACHO" VARGA - CHAOTIC NEUTRAL
Much like Saul Goodman, Nacho Varga mostly looks after himself and a few select people he cares about by the time Season 5 hits. Nacho's loyalties are definitely to himself seeing as he is willing to betray his masters and superiors for his own sake.
He also switched sides and did well playing as a double agent to Gustavo Fring. Nacho cares about his father too much to continue pursuing a life of crime but this apparently was not enough to prevent him from being a cartel member in the first place. This inner conflict to balance out his love for his father and his selfishness as well as his changing allegiance makes him a chaotic neutral.
5 EDUARDO "LALO" SALAMANCA - NEUTRAL EVIL
Lalo Salamanca made quite a big splash despite being introduced a little late into the party. Late introduction aside, he still managed to captivate viewers with his wit and penchant to be a worthy thorn in Gustavo's side, much like Hector Salamanca.
There's no doubt that Lalo is evil and a true psychopath who doesn't care who he kills. This was evident enough when he casually murdered a civilian in pursuit of Mike Ehrmantraut. Still, Lalo respects the Juarez Cartel's rules-- enough to be kept in line by Juan Bolsa.
4 HECTOR SALAMANCA - CHAOTIC EVIL
Since Tuco didn't appear in enough seasons to be considered for this list, we turned to his uncle Hector Salamanca for the chaotic evil slot. Hector is the most evil among all the Salamancas; it's not hard to see how and why the rest of his clan members turned out the way they did.
Hector is someone who will torture and kill people just because he can and because he enjoys it. He loves nothing and has even hurt and tortured his own nephews back when they were children. Hector also respects no one, not even the Juarez Cartel head and certainly not Gustavo Fring.
3 "THE COUSINS" - NEUTRAL EVIL
The nephews that Hector tortured as children? That would be one of the Cousins, Leonel and Marco Salamanca. They are the most effective guns and hitmen of the Juarez and each one of them is easily worth more than a dozen armed men. They have no emotions and show little to no pleasure in killing.
Still, that doesn't stop them from murdering anyone who they think can foil their plans. They follow only the cartel's orders and will not hesitate to eliminate anyone in their way that can impede their goal. Like Lalo, they are neutral evil.
2 HOWARD HAMLIN - LAWFUL GOOD
Back in the earlier seasons of the show, we would have placed Howard Hamlin somewhere in the neutral category. It seems Chuck McGill was somewhat of a bad influence for him. Ever since Chuck died, however, Howard has become more sympathetic.
In Season 5, he never harbored any negative feelings for Saul Goodman even knowing that the latter tried to sabotage him with prostitutes and bowling balls. Howard, it seems, was genuinely concerned for Saul and even offered him a last chance to straighten up his life. This puts him in the lawful good alignment.
1 CHARLES "CHUCK" MCGILL - LAWFUL EVIL
While Chuck might have been right about his younger brother all along, it still did not excuse using all of his legal power just to maliciously bring down Saul Goodman. He showed who he was as the seasons went by, someone who just wants to one-up his brother all the time.
It even reached a point where he went crazy and manipulative trying to "defeat" his own brother. Ultimately, this made Chuck descend into the evil category, specifically lawful evil, by the time he died.
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