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Bob Odenkirk recently revealed that Carol Burnett’s character of Marion in his critically acclaimed show Better Call Saul was supposed to be killed off by the titular character. However, he refused and made the team rewrite the scene. The star actor was a part of Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love, which aired on NBC on Wednesday, as a celebration of Burnett's birthday, which falls on April 26.
Marion was the mother of Jeff, the cab driver who saw through Jimmy McGill aka Saul Goodman’s disguise of Gene Takavic.
In the original script, the makers apparently wanted Goodman to kill Marion (after she learned about his real identity) in their final sequence together, but Odenkirk protested against it. He said on the special:
“They rewrote this scene exactly how I wanted it, but not how your so-called good friend Better Call Saul executive producer Vince Gilligan had written it.”
Carol Burnett as Marion appeared in two more episodes, titled Breaking Bad and Waterworks. The latter aired on August 8, 2022, while the season and show finale, Saul Gone, arrived on August 15, 2022.
Disclaimer: Spoilers for Better Call Saul ahead.
Carol Burnett's character joined Better Call Saul in season 6, episode 10
Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love was attended by the veteran actress’ many co-stars, including Bob Odenkirk.
When it was time for him to speak, the Nobody actor said in jest:
“Carol, there's something that you should know…Vince wanted my character to kill you in that scene. Look at him, he's shaking his head. His exact words to me were, 'Saul ends up killing Carol Burnett.' And if I remember correctly, he didn't say, 'Kill Carol's character,' he said, 'Kill Carol Burnett.' But I refused, and I told him I'd walk.”
Burnett joined Better Call Saul in its sixth and final season. Her character, Marion, was introduced in Nippy, the tenth episode of that installment, which was set in Omaha in 2010. The launch scene showed Goodman as Takavic helping the elderly woman pull out of the snow after her motorized car got stuck. Grateful, she invited him home, where he told her stories of his dog, supposedly missing.
It was later revealed that Marion is Jeff’s mother. Jeff, who knew Takavic’s real identity, questioned his motive and Goodman convinced him for a burglary, which they executed successfully.
In Waterworks, Goodman and Jeff failed to pull off a robbery connected to the lead man's identity theft scheme, resulting in the latter’s arrest. He asked Marion for help and made her understand the legalities extensively. She grew suspicious of his legal knowledge and started searching for him on a computer, eventually realizing that Takavic was Goodman.
Goodman, now nervous, tried to intimidate Marion, but she pressed the Life Alert Emergency Response button to call the cops, compelling him to flee.
As per Odenkirk, he was to murder Marion in this particular scene, keeping in tandem with the tone Breaking Bad (the parent show) and Better Call Saul are known for. But after he declined, the script was penned again, allowing the old woman to live.
Burnett, who turned 90 this Wednesday, will next be featured in a miniseries titled Mrs. American Pie. Meanwhile, Odenkirk, currently seen in AMC’s Lucky Hank, has The Room remake and The Bear season 2 in his kitty.
Better Call Saul is currently streaming on Netflix.
