Breaking Bad & Better Call Saul: 10 Characters Killed At The Perfect Time

10. Better Call Saul - Werner Ziegler

Ignorance was decidedly not bliss for Rainer Bock's Werner Ziegler.

The kind-hearted engineer was hired by Gustavo Fring to carry out the construction of his methamphetamine super lab in complete secrecy. Unfortunately for Ziegler, he soon revealed he was not cut out for the criminal life.

The German demonstrated this in the first instance by drunkenly revealing details of the lab's construction to fellow revellers on a night out - leading Mike to hand him what is clearly a final warning. However, Ziegler misses his home and wife so terribly that he breaks out of the facility to meet her, sealing his fate. Against the backdrop of the desert at night, Mike puts a bullet in Werner's head, despite being terribly conflicted at having to dispose of a man that he considers a friend.

Ziegler’s death was perfectly timed as it highlighted the moral decay of Mike’s character - the precise moment at which the majority of what remained of his humanity disintegrated. The former cop hadn't just become Gus' hitman, he had murdered a man who simply did not deserve to die. With that being said, Ziegler’s transgressions were too egregious for him to be allowed to continue living - anything other than his execution at that point in the story could have damaged the show's authenticity.

Gustavo Fring did not attain his lofty underworld standing by allowing threats to his organization.