Spoilers for Better Call Saul below.

Originally, one of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul have rogue galleries rivaling any comic book hero's, and some of the best characters in Vince Gilligan's two shows have been the many villains who've appeared. As Better Call Saul is set in a slightly more legal and professional world, the spinoff series features villains from wider walks of life. Sure, there are still the terrifying drug kingpins, but there are also the more mundane villains.

One of the first antagonists in Better Call Saul is Jimmy McGill's (Bob Odenkirk) brother, Chuck McGill (Michael McKean). Chuck never breaks the law to attack his brother, and yet, there's no bigger obstacle for Jimmy to overcome in those first three seasons. Jimmy operates on both sides of the law, which means he has enemies on both sides, and while the villains on the illegal side are more imposing, it's the ones on the legal side who cut him to his core. There could have been another legal villain in Better Call Saul had an original plan been followed.

Howard Hamlin Was Supposed To Be Better Call Saul's Villain – Until He Wasn't

Vince Gilligan Thought Howard Would Be A Villain And Chuck Would Jimmy

While Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian) is definitively not a villain in Better Call Saul, he is the victim of Jimmy and Kim Wexler's (Rhea Seehorn) misdirected anger and frustration, making him an opposing force at the very least. However, Vince Gilligan originally intended for him to be even more than that. According to Gilligan, Howard was supposed to be a straight villain, set up against Jimmy, with Chuck largely being a ive figure (via TheNewYorker). Gilligan said,

"When I look back at the first two episodes of 'Better Call Saul,' I realize we didn't know that much about Jimmy McGill. And we knew even less about his brother Charles McGill and his boss Howard Hamlin. Peter and I and the writers were convinced that Howard Hamlin was going to be the bad guy. And we were convinced that Chuck was going to be this Mycroft Holmes [Sherlock Holmes's older brother] kind of character who was emotionally damaged but very ive. That was the original plan."

It makes sense by the way Howard and Chuck are introduced in the pilot. Howard appears to be trying to cheat Chuck out of a law firm partnership and Chuck appears to be an annoying, but caring, older brother who wants what's best for Jimmy. However, as the show goes on, it becomes obvious that Howard actually likes Jimmy and it's Chuck who loathes him. As Gilligan says,

"Then it began to morph, because we had the benefit of all that time in the writers' room and, even more important, the benefit of watching these actors play these roles. So we came to realize, Wouldn't it be more interesting if Howard—who looks like the bad guy because he’s so polished and handsome and seems to be the king of the world—is not as bad as he appears? And what if Chuck isn't as ive of Jimmy as we first think he is? How might he really feel about his younger brother, a correspondence-school lawyer? He's neither the good guy nor the bad guy in the final estimation, but he's definitely not in his brother's corner. When we realized that, the show got so much more interesting."

It was a great decision by Gilligan and his writers to flip the script on the characters, and Chuck and Howard are much richer for being different from how they initially appear.

Howard's Death In "Plan And Execution" Is One Of The Franchise's Most Cruel Scenes

Howard Did Nothing To Deserve His Death

Howard Hamlin is one of the most tragic figures in Better Call Saul and his death is one of the cruelest moments in the show. After he's been brought to his lowest point by Kim and Jimmy, after doing nothing but trying to keep his firm afloat and even help the pair of conspirators, he confronts them in their apartment. Drunk, Howard finally drops his polite and professional demeanor and tells Jimmy and Kim what he really thinks of them. The entire time, he's never unfair or wrong. They have been needlessly and ruthlessly cruel towards him.

He doesn't even plan to get revenge. Howard just wants to let them know that they won't break him, and he will get back on his feet. It's actually quite inspiring and honorable for a guy who no longer had any reason to be so toward Jim and Kimmy. Just as he wraps up his speech, Lalo (Tony Dalton) steps out of the shadows. Howard has one sober moment to realize he's in a bad situation before Lalo kills him. Howard is buried in an unmarked grave, with everyone he knew assuming he died of a drug overdose. It's brutal.

Better Call Saul's Best Episode Wouldn't Have Worked If Howard Had Been The Villain

"Plan And Execution" Is The Result Of Every Bad Thing Jimmy And Kim Did

As brutal as season 6, episode 7, "Plan and Execution" is, it's one of the best episodes of Better Call Saul, not unexpected as it's also the mid-season finale for season 6. If Gilligan had decided to make Howard a villain all along, this would be a much less meaningful moment. Jimmy and Kim did not want Howard to die. They were not that evil. However, they were so blinded by getting revenge and enjoying the thrills of conning, they did not care what happened to Howard either.

Jimmy may not be evil, but he can't help but hurt everyone around him.

Jimmy may not be evil, but he can't help but hurt everyone around him. Kim has to face this reality and be a part of it for her to finally realize she needs to extricate herself from Jimmy. This is really the defining moment in one another's lives, and it's this terrible sin, that their pranks resulted in an innocent man getting killed, that haunts them forever, even through Breaking Bad. If Gilligan had gone with Howard as the villain in Better Call Saul, he could have made it work, but we would have lost out on important heartbreak.