It's no secret that Vince Gilligan and the Better Call Saul showrunners like to drop in a Breaking Bad reference from time to time. Here are a few you might not have spotted...
1. First up, remember in the Season 2 premiere when Jimmy and Kim (aka Viktor and Giselle) con their way through a bottle of $50-a-shot Zafiro Añejo tequila?
Well, turns out it's the same tequila Gus uses to poison Don Eladio and co. in the Breaking Bad Season 4 episode "Salud".
2. And if you thought the cop who turns up to investigate the case of the stolen baseball cards looked familiar, then you get 100 fan points.
Because he's the same actor (Stoney Westmoreland) who turns up at the White household in Season 3, Episode 3, when Skyler wants Walt to leave.
3. This season we heard Nacho tell Mike about a guy Tuco killed back in the '90s, resulting in a bit of his skull getting lodged in Nacho's shoulder.
And if we take a trip back to early Season 2 of Breaking Bad, we find that Hank is well aware of Tuco's past misdemeanors.
4. If you feel like you've seen this hot dog joint from the Season 2 episode "Fifi" before, that's because you have. Numerous times.
In Breaking Bad Season 1 Jesse sold meth there, in Season 2 he bought a gun there, and in Season 5 he gave a homeless man money there. In summary, Jesse loves a hot dog.
5. Thankfully some callbacks are a little less subtle.
But no less chilling.
6. And while we're on returning characters, we got to meet Albuquerque's friendliest illegal gun salesman – Lawson.
Who went on to sell his products to Walt on more than one occasion. Most memorably, Lawson sold Walt the weapon that he turned into a Nazi-killing robot that appeared out of the trunk of his car.
7. We also discovered that Mike's car has survived pretty well over the years.
8. This one was great. Did you recognise this nervous young man doing business with Tuco in "Gloves Off"?
You should have done. It was none other than Krazy-8, who Walt killed way back at the beginning of Breaking Bad.
Outside the diner you can see Krazy-8's van, with the Tampico logo. Back when he was a prisoner in Jesse's basement, he and Walt talked about Tampico – his family's furniture store.
9. In Episode 5 of this season, we met an old friend – moments before he walked in, a bell was rung. Who could it be?
Fucking Hector! Looking a lot more mobile than last we saw him.
🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔
10. In "Amarillo" we see Mike in full Pop Pop mode, giving granddaughter Kaylee a new toy.
11. The very same toy Mike uses years later to distract a hired assassin in Season 5 of Breaking Bad.
12. Going back to the VERY beginning now, in the Breaking Bad pilot Walt goes to his bank, Mesa, to withdraw money to buy the RV. The same bank that Kim brings in to HHM.
And in case anyone is questioning whether it's really the same company, this tweet from the official Breaking Bad account confirms it.
HHM welcomes a familiar business as a new client tomorrow on #BetterCallSaul.
13. Back to the Season 2 opener now. Turns out this wasn't the first time we'd encountered Ken.
We first saw "Ken Wins" being a huge dick inside Mesa Credit Union in the Breaking Bad pilot. Later Walt sees his car at a gas station and sets it on fire. Obviously.
14. Another reminder of the universe we're in comes in the season finale, where the Breaking Bad logo is clearly visible on the floor of the hospital.
15. In Episode 6, Kim and Jimmy run a con and convince their mark to write a cheque for $10,000. It's made out to "Ice Station Zebra Associates".
The reason this name was chosen seems to be that three episodes earlier Jimmy and Kim were sitting at home watching the 1968 Rock Hudson movie Ice Station Zebra.
So when you see that Saul is still using the name years later in Breaking Bad, it kind of breaks your heart a little.
Don't worry. Only 42 weeks until it's back for Season 3.
