You probably hated Erin Brill. Most people did. When she first showed up in season 2 of Better Call Saul, she felt like that one coworker who reminds the teacher they forgot to assign homework. She was the personification of a corporate policy handbook, and honestly, she made Jimmy McGill's life a living hell.
But if we’re being real, Better Call Saul Erin represents something most of us don't want to admit: the only functional person in a room full of lunatics.
While Jimmy was busy bribing retirement home employees with beanie babies, Erin was just trying to make sure the recycling went in the right bin. She’s the second-year associate at Davis & Main who got stuck with the world’s worst "babysitting" gig. Think about it from her perspective. You’ve worked your tail off to get into a prestige firm like Davis & Main, and then Clifford Main tells you to shadow a guy who refuses to follow a basic font style and airs unauthorized commercials during Mid-Day Madness.
The Babysitter from Hell (Or Just a Good Employee?)
The dynamic between Jimmy and Erin in episodes like "Rebecca" is pure secondhand embarrassment. Cliff Main wasn’t being subtle when he assigned her to Jimmy. He wanted her to be his conscience because Jimmy clearly didn't have one that worked in a corporate setting.
Erin was a stickler. She was Type A. She was, as some fans called her, a "finger-wagging scold." She famously corrected Jimmy’s brief because he didn't follow the firm’s house style. Most viewers saw this as her being a "narc" or a "brown-noser."
But let’s look at the facts. In the legal world, house style actually matters. Following the rules keeps the firm from looking like a circus. Jimmy saw her as a hurdle to his "creative" genius. In reality, she was the guardrail keeping him from getting sued for malpractice every five minutes.
It’s easy to root for the guy who breaks the rules when he’s as charming as Bob Odenkirk. It’s a lot harder to like the person who points out that those rules exist for a reason. Better Call Saul Erin wasn't there to ruin Jimmy's fun; she was there to protect the Sandpiper case—a multi-million dollar class-action lawsuit involving thousands of vulnerable seniors.
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Why the Sandpiper Case Needed an Erin Brill
One of the biggest turning points for Erin's character comes in Season 3. Jimmy had done something truly despicable: he manipulated Irene Landry, a sweet old lady, into settling the Sandpiper case early just so he could get his $1.1 million payout. He turned her friends against her. It was arguably one of the cruelest things Jimmy ever did before he went full Saul Goodman.
When Jimmy eventually has a crisis of conscience, who does he turn to? Erin.
He recruits her to help him "stage" a confession. In the season 3 finale, "Lantern," Erin confronts Jimmy in front of the Sandpiper residents. She reads him the riot act. She calls him out for being a manipulator who only cares about money.
What’s fascinating is that while she was technically playing a role in Jimmy's "show" to help Irene, she explicitly says she meant every word. She truly despised his methods. She saw through the charm. While the rest of the world was falling for the "Slippin' Jimmy" routine, Erin Brill was the only one consistently unimpressed.
The Jessie Ennis Effect
The actress, Jessie Ennis, deserves a lot of credit for how she played this. She didn't make Erin a villain. She made her a person who is just very good at a job that requires zero personality.
Ennis has since gone on to play Jo in Mythic Quest, where she plays a much more extreme version of a power-hungry assistant. But in Better Call Saul, she played it grounded. She was the anchor of reality. If you were paying Davis & Main thousands of dollars to represent you, you’d want an Erin Brill on your files. You wouldn’t want a guy who uses the office trash can as a basketball hoop.
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The Moral High Ground Debate
There’s a common argument among the fanbase that Erin and the other lawyers at Davis & Main were just as bad as Jimmy because they were dragging out the Sandpiper case to collect more fees.
Is there truth to that? Maybe.
Law is a business. But there is a massive moral gap between "litigating a case to maximize value for the class" and "psychologically torturing an elderly woman so you can buy a Cadillac."
Erin might have been annoying, but she was ethical. She believed in the system. In a show that is essentially a slow-motion car crash of morality, having a character who actually respects the law is jarring. We’re so used to Kim Wexler’s moral gymnastics and Howard Hamlin’s polished corporate mask that Erin’s blunt, rule-following nature feels like an attack on the protagonist.
What happened to Erin Brill?
After the fallout of the Sandpiper settlement drama in Season 3, we didn't see much of her until the later seasons. She pops up again in Season 6 during the "D-Day" scam where Jimmy and Kim are trying to ruin Howard.
She's still there. Still working. Still being the competent professional in the background. While the world around her is literally burning down—with Howard getting murdered and Jimmy disappearing into a Cinnabon in Omaha—Erin is likely still at her desk, making sure the discovery documents are filed in alphabetical order.
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There's something comforting about that.
How to watch Better Call Saul like an expert
If you're doing a rewatch, try to stop looking at the show through Jimmy’s eyes for a second. Look at Better Call Saul Erin as the hero of her own story. She’s a young woman in a high-pressure industry, surrounded by ego-driven men who think they're above the rules.
- Pay attention to her facial expressions during the Sandpiper meetings. She’s often the only one who looks concerned when things go off the rails.
- Notice the small details, like her insistence on the Davis & Main recycling policy. It’s played for laughs, but it shows she actually cares about the environment her firm operates in.
- Analyze the final interaction she has with Jimmy. It’s one of the few times someone tells Jimmy exactly what he is to his face without any ulterior motive.
Actionable Takeaway: The "Erin Brill" Rule for Career Success
You don't have to be a "scold," but there are three things we can actually learn from Erin's character for our own lives:
- Competence is your best defense. Jimmy couldn't get her fired because she was too good at her job. If you’re the person who knows the rules better than anyone else, you’re indispensable.
- Don't be afraid to be the "annoying" one. If something is unethical or against the rules, speaking up might make you unpopular, but it keeps your integrity intact.
- Consistency beats charisma. Jimmy’s life ended in a prison cell. Erin likely has a partnership track and a pension.
The next time you’re annoyed by a coworker who insists on doing things "by the book," just remember: they might be the only thing standing between your company and a massive lawsuit. Or a cartel execution. In the world of Better Call Saul, you're much safer being an Erin than a Saul.
To get the most out of your next binge-watch, track the Sandpiper timeline alongside Erin's appearances to see how the legal "house style" reflects the crumbling ethics of the main cast.