Howard Hamlin in Better Call Saul starts out looking like a slick, shallow villain, but he’s actually one of the show’s most tragic, decent, and misunderstood characters.

Quick Scoop: Who Is Howard Hamlin?

Howard Hamlin is a senior partner at the law firm Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill (HHM) in Better Call Saul , played by Patrick Fabian. He’s introduced as Jimmy McGill’s smug boss‑antagonist, but the series slowly reveals him as a fundamentally professional, often kind man trapped in a harsh law‑firm culture and overshadowed by Chuck McGill.

How Howard Treats Jimmy and Kim

Early on, Howard seems like the guy blocking Jimmy’s career, but it’s Chuck who secretly orders him to keep Jimmy down. When Kim confronts him, he eventually admits the truth and even shows respect for both Jimmy’s grind (like the Sandpiper case) and Kim’s talent.

Later, after Chuck’s death, Howard feels guilty and confesses that forcing Chuck to retire might have pushed him over the edge, while Jimmy lets him carry the emotional burden. Howard also tries to make peace by offering Jimmy a job at HHM, genuinely hoping to repair their relationship, but Jimmy rejects and then viciously humiliates him—bowling balls on Howard’s car, prostitutes sent to sabotage a lunch, and a brutal public tirade.

Why Many Fans Now See Him as “One of the Best Written”

Fans increasingly argue that Howard is one of the best written characters in the Breaking Bad universe because:

  • He appears like a cliché corporate villain but turns out to be one of the few consistently ethical lawyers in the show’s world.
  • His arc shows real emotional fallout: guilt over Chuck, depression, HHM’s financial trouble, then a determined rebuild of the firm.
  • He shows emotional intelligence and restraint; even when Jimmy attacks him, Howard typically keeps his composure and refuses to sink to Jimmy’s level.
  • By Season 6 he’s not clueless; he correctly senses Jimmy is sabotaging him and actively tries to expose Jimmy’s schemes.

A common fan take is that Howard is “a surprisingly good dude” who gets caught in the blast radius of Jimmy and Kim’s moral descent, rather than deserving what happens to him.

One popular forum sentiment in recent years: Howard starts as the guy you love to hate and ends as the guy you realize never deserved any of it.

What Happens to Howard (Major Spoilers)

In the final stretch, Jimmy and Kim execute an elaborate plan to destroy Howard’s reputation so they can force an early, favorable settlement of the Sandpiper case and cash out quickly. They frame him as unstable and drug‑using, undercutting his credibility and humiliating him professionally until he’s forced to concede.

Howard, realizing how thoroughly his life has been wrecked, confronts Jimmy and Kim at their apartment, calling them “soulless” and asking what possible justification they have for ruining him for fun. In a shocking turn, Lalo Salamanca suddenly arrives, and despite Kim begging him to leave, Howard stays—and Lalo casually shoots him in the head, later burying him under the future superlab and making his death look like a suicide.

That fake “suicide” permanently stains his legacy; he ends up remembered mostly for the lies Jimmy and Kim spread, not for the competent, often decent lawyer he actually was. Howard’s death is the moral breaking point that pushes Kim to leave Jimmy, terrified of the damage they’ve caused and could continue to cause.

Why “Howard Better Call Saul” Keeps Trending

“Howard Better Call Saul” keeps coming up in discussions and retrospectives because:

  • Viewers revisiting the show, especially after its full run and later video essays, re‑evaluate him as one of the saga’s most tragic figures.
  • Clips of his speeches, humiliations, and death scene circulate online as examples of the show’s craftsmanship in character writing and moral complexity.
  • He has become a symbol of how Better Call Saul subverts expectations: the flashy “villain” turns out more morally grounded than the scrappy underdog hero.

In short, if you’re diving into the “Howard Better Call Saul” rabbit hole now, you’re joining a late but very loud wave of fans who see him as a brilliantly constructed, quietly heartbreaking character.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.