Patrick Fabian Dishes On Howard Hamlin's Fate in 'Better Call Saul'

Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan has never been afraid to shock fans with an unexpected death, and his and co-creator Peter Gould's prequel series Better Call Saul is no different.

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for 'Better Call Saul' Season 6

The spin-off show's final season already delivered one surprising character loss with Ignacio "Nacho" Varga (Michael Mando), but the last episode of Season 6 Part 1 resulted in an even more shocking moment: Howard Hamlin's death.

Of all the characters to die in Better Call Saul, Howard (Patrick Fabian) was probably at the bottom of our list.

He's a lawyer with no connections to the criminal underworld, he's safe from harm surely? Well, not in the world of Saul Goodman.

Howard went to confront Jimmy McGill, aka Saul (Bob Odenkirk), and his wife Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) about their scheme to smear his name and ruin his reputation as a lawyer, a plot that resulted in him messing up the mediation for the Sandpiper Crossing class-action lawsuit.

His decision to talk to Jimmy and Kim directly proved to be a bad one, though, because it resulted in his death at the hands of Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton) who snuck into the couple's home for a "talk" and shot Howard simply because he was in the way.

What Has Patrick Fabian Said About Howard Hamlin's Fate in 'Better Call Saul'?

Fabian has since spoken about his character's demise, describing the moment Howard was dispatched as a "real gut punch."

When speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Fabian shared: "By the time Lalo comes in during that final scene, I had a sense of dread when I was reading it. It was so abrupt and such a turn.

"But it also feels like Howard is done in that office scene with Cliff [Main, Howard's boss, played by Ed Begley Jr.]. He tries to explain it, but Cliff is like, 'It's over. Even if you're right, it's over.'

"Jimmy and Kim have undressed him in his own office and exposed him. It's a humiliation of untold proportions, and then the final scene is just a real gut punch."

He explained to the publication that he learned of his character's fate before they'd even started shooting the sixth season, and he kept the plot a secret from everyone including his wife Mandy.

When speaking to Vanity Fair, Fabian joked that his mother was "going to be so mad" about his character being killed off.

Describing what it was like to film the moment, the actor shared: "Honestly, after it happened, I physically put my hands on my knees and bent over. The wind was sort of taken out of me.

"I think I've been shot before, or I've been killed before onscreen. But there's a finality to it, character-wise and job-wise and life-wise. I know my mother's going to be so mad at these guys."

Fabian also spoke to Variety, and said that he found filming "very emotional" as he added: "It was that sense of leaving high school after graduation. But I had a wonderful ride, and they took me out in a beautiful fashion.

"I couldn't ask for more. If you gotta get shot by somebody, you might as well get shot by the handsome Tony Dalton with all that charisma. What a way to go."

Adding how much he appreciated Howard finally being able to confront Jimmy and Kim, he went on: "I was a little nervous ... all of a sudden it's like a Howard episode. The good news is I'm surrounded by such great artists, and I got to stand next to Rhea and Bob for that final scene, who are some of my best friends and favorite people to ever work with."

Better Call Saul Season 6 Part 2 premieres Monday, July 11 on AMC.