“The big question of this show is how does a decent guy become dead inside, at least morally?” [music] “When I started ‘Breaking Bad,’ I was always worried about giving the characters a problem that I didn’t see a way out of.” “So what now?” “My philosophy has changed over the years. And in the writers’ room, if we can’t figure out how this character is going to deal with this problem, maybe the audience can’t either. In episode seven, Jimmy’s sidekick is arrested.” “He’s a cop.” “We’ve written ourselves into a corner. Then we’re like, all right, great. Now, we have to get him out of it. What do we do? What comes next? The cop was assaulted. How do you get away with that in any way, shape or form?” “You know, we came up with so many different ideas, but I think the thing that got me excited was just the idea of an ocean of letters.” “A ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ kind of scene.” “Are you prosecuting Santa Claus?” “Your honor?” “Because it looks like ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ in here.” “We came up with the idea of this letter writing campaign and the idea of Jimmy having to travel all the way to Louisiana to get the right postmark on these letters.” “How does he write these letters? He’s switching hands, and switching pencils, and using different grips, and so forth. Those handwritings are still going to start to converge. So he needs to get some people to help him with this.” “Ah, Jeanetta. Very nice. I like the hearts over the I’s. It’s a real nice touch. Would you like to do some postcards? It’s $0.50 per.” “Yeah.” “Different pens, please.” “O.K.” “He’s a kind man and a good friend to everyone. Jesus, they do make him sound like Santa Claus.” “This one has a phone number.” “Let me see this.” “In the best scam, the mark feels smart. And that was where the whole idea of doing the telephone gag came in. We want the ADA to be able to make a call to anybody and find out that this is true.” [organ music] [ringing] “Hello, there. Free Will Baptist — Pastor Hansford speaking. Who this?” “His lines of what he would and wouldn’t do, and who’s an appropriate target and who is not — they’re fading very quickly.” “But here’s a moment when Jimmy comes alive. And it’s because he’s risking a lot and he’s getting to play a role. He’s using this Louisiana accent.” “I’m going to step into the vestibule.” “Which, to be honest with you, is something that I saw him do on ‘Mr. Show.’” “Now, this all reminds me of a humorous story of the traveling salesman.” “Oh, there we go. Have you set a date yet for Huell’s trial?” “No, not yet.” “Well, would you do me a kindness and ring me up when you do because we got a couple of charter buses. We’re going to bring the whole congregation up to y’all in Albuquerque.” “As writers, you’re always fascinated with someone who’s creating their own reality. We’re hoping to have the audience suspend their disbelief. And the con artist is hoping to suspend the disbelief of his or her mark.” “We are con artists. We are trying to con the audience into believing that these are plausible fictions.” “Bless you and I look forward to meeting you.”