Catching up with ‘Better Call Saul’

Is Jimmy McGill about to break bad?

All signs point that way as AMC’s slow-burning Better

Call Saul embarks on its third season, which promises more clues about how small-time lawyer Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) became the slimy Saul Goodman beloved by fans in Breaking Bad.

Jimmy has spent two seasons living in his ailing brother Chuck’s (Michael McKean) shadow, but is due to erupt after Chuck tricked him into confessing on tape that he falsified legal documents. Fraternal fracas and a stint behind bars appear to be in store for Jimmy.

Chuck’s betrayal could also signal setbacks for Jimmy and whip-smart girlfriend Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) as they aspire to start their law firm together.

Meanwhile, Jimmy’s occasional partner in crime Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) is entrenched in dubious dealings with Nacho (Michael Mando) and a plan to kill Mexican drug cartel member Hector “Tio” Salamanca (Mark Margolis). But the plot is foiled moments before he pulls the trigger by (we assume) Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito), a

Bad favorite. The reintroduction of the meth kingpin opens the door for more Bad characters to appear “as these two worlds begin to overlap,” teases co-creator Vince Gilligan. Gus’ Bad nemesis Walter White (Bryan Cranston) may not be one of them, though — at least not this season.

When Cranston “found out I was coming back, he said, ‘What about me?!’ ” Esposito laughs.

As for Jimmy, “you’re going to see his manipulation of people that you’d never think a man would manipulate,” Esposito says. By the end of Season 3, his shift to Saul “will be more clear, as opposed to a guy who’s still trying to figure out whether he’s good or evil.”