"Got into public defending": Vince Gilligan reveals where his Breaking Bad universe characters might be today

The creator of the Breaking Bad universe, Vince Gilligan, recently spoke about where he thinks many well-known characters from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul would be today.

The conversation happened during The Rich Eisen Show, where the host read out a list of names and asked Gilligan to imagine where each one might have ended up. Gilligan answered calmly and thoughtfully, and at times he even joked, which made the whole moment feel warm and light.

The talk began with the host, Rich Eisen, saying he wanted to "have some fun" with Gilligan:

"I have a list of characters from your previous universe, sir that I want to have some fun with right now because you're always up for having fun."

He explained that fans on the show "fanboy out on you here about Breaking Bad." Then he asked Gilligan what he thinks these characters are doing in the present day. Vince Gilligan listened and then agreed to play along.

What followed became a long set of answers, some funny and some emotional, as he shared his personal hopes for each character’s life after the events of their stories.

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Vince Gilligan's take on Kim Wexler and others from the Saul Goodman Side of Breaking Bad

The first character Rich Eisen mentioned was Kim Wexler. He reminded Vince Gilligan that Kim was "living in Florida working at a sprinkler company" when viewers last saw her. The host asked if she was still there. Gilligan said, "Exactly. Right." But when pushed further, he explained what he personally wished for her life:

"I think after she reunited with Jimmy, such as she did at the end the show. In my mind's eye, she got back into public defending down in Florida. And she probably doesn't make a lot of money."

He imagined Kim left her old job because she didn't make a lot of money, and she also found meaning in helping others. He also joked:

"She probably dumped the good-natured doofus that we see her dating. And you know, so she's not going to Outback Steakhouse quite as often, but she's probably doing a lot of public defender work."

Even though the host asked if Kim might miss the excitement of her old life, Vince Gilligan disagreed. Adding that doing good work is "more appealing to her now," he explained:

"I’m hoping she had enough action."

Next came Hule Babino. Gilligan could not resist joking:

"Hule Babino is still sitting on the couch waiting for someone to come."

He joked that only food delivery drivers stop by, saying:

"Occasionally, you know, GrubHub or Uber Eats comes by the DEA. But yeah, I think he's still kind of, you know, looking at his watch."

Vince Gilligan admitted he could not remember if he had ever dropped a line in Better Call Saul about Hule going back to New Orleans. He said:

"This is embarrassing. I’m not sure."

Gilligan finally added that Hule was "a bit of a rogue… a bit of a criminal," but he hopes Hule is simply "out living his life" now.

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What does Vince Gilligan think about Saul Goodman, the White Family, Jesse Pinkman, and Walter White?

The host then moved on to Jimmy McGill, also known as Saul Goodman. He said Jimmy had taken an 86-year sentence, but he asked Vince Gilligan what he thought might happen to the character now. Gilligan answered with humor:

"I think Trump pardoned him… I think he’s out."

He even imagined Saul Goodman now doing infomercials, saying:

"He’s selling stuff on TV."

After that came questions about Skyler and Walt Jr. Gilligan said:

"I hope they’re not where we last saw them, as they were living in a pretty kind of sad looking dire, trying to untangle Walt's mess, right?"

He explained that he hopes they rebuild their lives. He believed Skyler may have:

"Found somebody healthier, better, emotionally healthy for her than Walt was"

Walt Jr., he imagined, might be:

"Writing a book about his infamous dad, or maybe he has a podcast."

Vince Gilligan then spoke at length about Skyler's character and the way some fans treated her. He explained:

"She wasn't completely innocent, but her soul was. I think Skyler gets a bad rap from, you know, fans"

He says that she was simply trying to "protect this family from the man who protects this family." He felt she had been stuck in a painful situation and was "trying to survive and advance every day."

When the host asked about Jesse Pinkman, Vince Gilligan said:

"I hope he's happy. I hope he’s living in Alaska. I wonder what he'd be doing. I think he's got some, I'd like to think he had a little bit of money squirreled away so he doesn't have to, you know, take, whatever, you know, any any job that he could get."

He imagined Jesse having "a little bit of money" so he does not need to take any rough job. He hoped Jesse met someone good and was building a new life. Gilligan then remembered how Jesse once talked about being a bush pilot. He said maybe Jesse "got his pilot’s license" and now flies people to hunting camps in a small plane. Gilligan added, "I hope wherever he is, he’s happy," because Jesse "had a good heart" even if he made mistakes.

Finally, the host asked about Walter White. He brought up a fan theory that Walter might have died earlier in the episode and that everything afterwards was a dream. Vince Gilligan shut that down quickly:

"That'd be kind of a bummer, wouldn't it?"

He explained that twist endings like that "only worked once" and often make the audience feel cheated. Gilligan made it clear that Walter really died in the final scene:

"He died on the floor of that Nazi super lab, having said goodbye to his precious, left his bloody handprint on the cook tank."

He added:

"What you saw is what you got."

He finished by saying that once a story goes into the world:

"Once they are out in the world, it belongs to the world. It doesn’t belong to me anymore."

The conversation ended with a soft and thoughtful feeling. Vince Gilligan did not try to make any big statements. He simply shared his hopes for each character and let those hopes stand on their own. It felt like he was saying goodbye once again to the world he created, but in a gentle way.