Better Call Saul Finally Debuts An Unseen Character (Why It’s So Important)

Better Call Saul season 6 finally introduces a character that has loitered in the background for some time. Here's why her debut is so important.

Better Call Saul Finally Debuts An Unseen Character (Why It’s So Important)

Better Call Saul‘s surprise character debut carries more significance than you might think. Played by Patrick Fabian, Howard Hamlin is the insufferable boss of Better Call Saul‘s HHM law firm, and has played a key role in the Breaking Bad prequel since episode 1. Though he faded into the background slightly when Jimmy McGill’s cartel dealings took center stage, Howard now represents a vital component of Better Call Saul‘s final season – the unfortunate target of Jimmy and Kim’s big Sandpiper scam.

For Better Call Saul‘s purposes, Howard Hamlin is first and foremost a lawyer, occupying the lofty position all attorneys aspire toward. Patrick Fabian’s character is also a family man, but despite small hints of personal life (the presence of a wedding ring, for example) audiences have never actually met Howard’s phantom spouse… until now. During Better Call Saul season 6, episode 4’s therapy session, Howard mentioned his wife by name – Cheryl. Two episodes later during “Axe & Grind,” Cheryl Hamlin finally appears in person, played by Sandrine Holt. Better Call Saul only now introducing a character who has probably been involved in Howard’s life since episode 1 might seem strange, but Cheryl actually plays a crucial part in Better Call Saul‘s closing act.

With his personalized “NAMAST3” license plates and salesman-esque grin, Howard Hamlin is – by design – a difficult man to like. The tense morning greeting between Howard and Cheryl in Better Call Saul season 6, episode 6, however, is perhaps the most sympathetic Patrick Fabian’s character has ever been. While we don’t know the particulars of their failing marriage, Cheryl is a cold, hard ice queen to Howard, who desperately offers olive branches by making her coffee (complete with peace symbol artwork) and gently offering his company at dinner. It’s textbook marriage repair Howard’s therapist would be proud of, but Cheryl remains brutal, sloppily pouring his coffee into a travel mug then casually rebuffing dinner. Cheryl Hamlin’s dead-behind-the-eyes philosophy to marriage pulls Better Call Saul‘s audience firmly over to Howard’s side, so when Kim and Jimmy eventually execute their plan’s final phase at the Sandpiper mediation session, viewers won’t necessarily be cheering them on. Whatever ill fate befalls Howard – be it professional ruin or straight-up death – feels even crueler now we know about Cheryl.

Cheryl Hamlin’s Better Call Saul debut might even represent a necessary stepping stone toward Howard’s eventual death. Sandrine Holt’s single scene opposite Patrick Fabian reveals just how hopeless Howard’s home life has become. Being a lawyer is, quite literally, all Howard has left in Better Call Saul season 6. If Jimmy and Kim steal away that one good thing from Howard’s life, could history repeat itself? Might another HHM leader tragically take his own life in despair? Jimmy and Kim may not be aware Howard’s marriage is so toxic, but his blood would be on their hands regardless.

More than just potentially signposting the future, Cheryl Hamlin’s Better Call Saul debut also explains Howard’s past and present. The lawyer’s sheer awfulness owes in part to his constant, unrelenting positive attitude and that cheesy false grin. Better Call Saul has presented Howard as a robotic caricature, and only briefly in the aftermath of Chuck McGill’s death did that facade slip. Howard comes across so annoying because he gives the outward veneer of being textbook perfect.. but his dysfunctional relationship with Cheryl might help explain why.

Years of making kind gestures only to be treated worse than Saul Goodman treats TV advertising standards all but confirms Howard’s cheery exterior is a defense mechanism built upon a constant lack of appreciation and recognition. “Howard Hamlin” the lawyer is compensating for what “Howard the husband” lacks, and that inability to be genuine probably pushed Cheryl even further away. Cheryl Hamlin might’ve waited a long time for her Better Call Saul debut, but by provoking viewer sympathy for Howard, her appearance couldn’t be better timed.