Why Did Gene Start Scamming People Again in Better Call Saul?

This week’s episode of Better Call Saul saw a pretty drastic shift in Gene’s character, which could have big implications for the final two episodes. And if you’re wondering why Gene’s decided to go back to scamming people once again, here’s what you need to know.

Why Is Gene Scamming People Again in Better Call Saul?

From all the scenes we’ve seen of him in the past five season, Gene has been presented as a very careful person who would rather spend nearly three hours in the garbage disposal room rather than take the emergency exit and risk attracting police attention. However, in the episode “Breaking Bad”, Gene quite literally breaks bad and goes back to his Slippin’ Jimmy ways.

To put it simply, Gene starts scamming people again because that’s his way of coping when things go awry in his life. In this case, he’d just gotten off a phone call with Kim which clearly went very badly. He’s finally reached a point where he’s lost the Saul Goodman persona, his money, his career as a lawyer, and he doesn’t have anything left. Add to the fact that one of his marks said to him, “You only go around once,” and it’s probably safe to assume that Gene thinks he has nothing left to lose, so why not do what he does best?

During his scams, Gene also introduces himself as Viktor, which is a callback to the scams he used to run with Kim as Viktor and Giselle. It then becomes clear that he’s running these scams again not just because they’re a coping mechanism, but because he misses Kim.

That’s all you need to know about why Gene has started scamming people again in Better Call Saul. Be sure to search for Twinfinite for more coverage on the show, including a quick explanation of what the black and white scenes mean.