Who Is Emilio in 'Breaking Bad'?

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Emilio Koyama appears in 'Better Call Saul' Season 6 Episode 12, but fans may not remember the role he had in 'Breaking Bad.'

Published on August 20, 2022

Better Call Saul Season 6 Episode 12 returned to the Breaking Bad timeline for a brief scene that featured Emilio Koyama. Kim Wexler visited Saul’s office to have him sign their divorce papers. While there, she ran into Jesse Pinkman and Emilio. Here’s who Emilio was in Breaking Bad and why his appearance in Better Call Saul is significant.

[SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers ahead regarding the Better Call Saul Season 6 Episode 12 “Waterworks.”]

Kim runs into Emilio Koyama in ‘Better Call Saul’

The scene in Better Call Saul Season 6 Episode 12 where Kim runs into Emilio occurs sometime after Kim leaves Jimmy, but before the events of Breaking Bad. Kim shows up at Saul’s office so that he will sign their divorce papers. Saul is purposefully rude and cavalier to her. As she leaves, Francesca calls Emilio Koyama into Saul’s office. Emilio informs Francesca that he doesn’t do paperwork.

Outside, Kim stops to smoke and loans a cigarette to Jesse Pinkman. While the pair chat, Jesse reveals that his friend Emilio is facing serious prison time. Emilio saw Saul’s commercials and went to him for help, which worked out in his favor.

Who is Emilio in ‘Breaking Bad?’

In Breaking Bad, Jesse tells Walt that Saul got Emilio off twice, adding “both times they had him dead to rights.” Emilio is, therefore, somewhat responsible for Walt and Jesse meeting Saul.

At the start of Breaking Bad, Jesse and Emilio are partners in the drug-dealing world. Jesse later mentions that the pair have known each other since elementary school. Emilio gets arrested during a DEA raid and is later released on bail. Suspecting that Jesse ratted on him, he forces him to lead him and Krazy 8 to his new partner, Walt.

In the desert, Walt pretends to show Emilio and Krazy 8 his meth formula so they won’t kill him and Jesse. Instead, he poisons them with phosphine gas and locks them in the RV, killing Emilio. Jesse later dissolves Emilio’s corpse in the bathtub with hydrofluoric acid, ending in a disastrous mess.

Kim defended Combo before ‘Breaking Bad’

During Kim and Jesse’s conversation in Better Call Saul, Jesse also reveals that he knows Kim. She defended his friend Combo in a criminal case and got him off Scot-Free. Combo is a friend of Jesse’s from Breaking Bad who briefly distributed meth for him and was killed by a rival gang in season 2.

Jesse states that Kim defended Combo after he stole a baby Jesus from a Nativity scene. He also mentions that the case occurred in “juvi court” so Combo must have still been a teenager. Kim likely helped him during her time taking on pro-bono cases in Better Call Saul.

The series finale of Better Call Saul airs on August 15, 2022, at 9 p.m. ET on AMC and will be available for streaming on AMC+.

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