Howard Hamlin often served as something of an antagonist in Better Call Saul, but was he a bad guy? The Breaking Bad prequel did a fantastic job of making us love and loathe the character in equal measure, but it's fair to say he never deserved a bullet to the head.
Unfortunately, that was the way Howard's story ended after Lalo Salamanca gunned him down in front of a shocked and horrified Saul Goodman and Kim Wexler. His body was buried beneath what would later become the meth lab run by Gus Fring, leaving Walter White and Jesse completely unaware of what they were standing on.
Following the events of Breaking Bad, Kim eventually confessed to her role in Howard's death and Jimmy/Saul, desperate to save his ex-wife and somewhat redeem himself, also took responsibility for his part in what happened.
Forgoing a cushy seven-year prison sentence for an eighty-six-year one, it felt like Jimmy finally did the right thing, but did his actions do right by Howard? Talking to us about his role in Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham, actor Patrick Fabian weighed in on his character's death and whether Jimmy's lengthy imprisonment was the justice Howard deserved.
"I’ll tell you what, those writers did Howard really well. Every season, there was a new window into Howard as a person. They yo-yo’d the audience when it came to what feeling they had about him and, by the time they finally exited Howard, the audience was shocked. It seemed unfair. I thought it was really powerful and really great, and it was such a treat to be able to portray that."
"In the end, when it comes to what Jimmy did, I feel like they handled the end of the series so well because I loved the notion he was willing to stay in jail and redeem himself as a human as opposed to getting out in seven years."
"I can’t say enough about the writers, the directors, the costumers, the lighters…it was a project where everybody in every department was firing on all cylinders at the height of their game and I was just fortunate to be able to put on a suit and stand around with them."
There's no denying that Howard's death was a crucial part of Saul ultimately taking responsibility for his actions. While he may not have been the driving force behind that, the character's reputation was salvaged by Jimmy's confession and his family got the peace they deserved.
As we're sure you'll agree, hearing from Fabian on this subject is fascinating and you can find our full interview with the actor by clicking here.
Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham will be available to own on Digital, 4K and Blu-ray on March 28, 2023!