Resentment and ressentiment as motivating forces in Better Call Saul

Abstract

This article argues that the philosophical and psychological concepts of resentment and ressentiment serve as compelling motivational forces in the lives and actions of the central characters that comprise the American TV series Better Call Saul (2015–22). For Nietzsche and Scheler, ressentiment involves the internalization of hostile affects that tend to reinforce a sense of powerlessness and feelings of inferiority. Unlike ressentiment, which can linger for a long time, resentment is an active and immediate mode of resistance that supports its stance against the conformist tendencies of passive or reactive forces. Resentment, if properly directed externally, can serve as an empowering and a creative, active force in a character’s life. For Jimmy McGill, resentment functions as a primary catalyst for his eventual transformation into the unethical, yet prosperous, criminal attorney Saul Goodman. Resentment, if directed inwards, can produce debilitating effects such as Jimmy’s older brother Chuck’s incapability to move past his hatred and envy over his younger brother’s past actions and successes as a lawyer. This article illuminates the role and character of resentment and ressentiment as affective forces for characters in television melodramas.