Even if the show has only six episodes remaining, it appears Better Call Saul will be introducing a new character before it concludes. It's been announced that famous comic actor Carol Burnett has been cast as a new character in the show, although details remain unclear regarding how the character will factor into everything.
Burnett, famous for her role in the comedic variety show, The Carol Burnett Show, will play a character named Marion in Better Call Saul. As of now, no details have been released regarding who she is or how she relates to any of the characters on the show. Of course, that should be revealed when she makes her first appearance.
"I'm thrilled to be a part of my favorite show," Burnett said in a statement. Burnett had professed to love the work of showrunner Vince Gilligan a few years earlier, saying, "I'm crazy about anything Vince Gilligan writes." Burnett had previously attended Bob Odenkirk's walk of fame ceremony earlier this year and was previously referenced by Chuck McGill in the show's second season. Given the show's propensity to hire comic actors to play dramatic roles, seeing Burnett take on that task should be quite the draw for anyone familiar with her work.
It's anyone's guess as to what role Burnett will play on the show. She has no Hispanic heritage whatsoever, so it would be hard to picture her being part of the cartel. Given her age, it's more likely than not she plays the mother or an associate of one of the character's mothers. Better Call Saul already showed Jimmy's mother in its second season and showed Kim's mother in its fifth and sixth seasons, both of which came in flashbacks. It's also very possible Marion is the mother of Patrick Fabian's Howard Hamlin. Given the shocking twist that just happened to Hamlin, it would fit if perhaps Marion made an appearance following what had just happened to her son.
It is difficult to see Burnett play a massively important character this late into the game. Marion may very well be yet another symbol of the consequences of Jimmy and Kim's actions since ruining Howard's life. The final season of Better Call Saul has been mostly about the consequences of each character's actions from Jimmy and Kim to Nacho and Howard, and according to showrunner Peter Gould, what happened in the first half is only the beginning of said consequences. Now that Lalo is back in Jimmy's and Kim's lives, things should only get worse from here.
Even though Better Call Saul has certainly stood out as a different show compared to Breaking Bad, it is following a similar trajectory in that, much like Walter White, the moral downfall of Jimmy and Kim has led to consequences that they didn't foresee and have terrible ramifications that could have been avoided had they not gone as far as they did. Perhaps Marion, who viewers had no idea existed until now, suffers the most from what they've done, and we haven't even met her yet.
Better Call Saul will resume its final season on AMC on July 11, 2022.
Source: AMC