Up next in 10
The Undeniable Tragedy Of Better Call Saul's Kim Wexler
70 views
Mar 31, 2025
When Better Call Saul first aired in a Post Breaking Bad world, everyone knew it was going to be a tough challenge maintaining the level of quality in a new show. But Better Call Saul immediately proved Vince Gilligan had struck gold twice. Though the entire cast was magnificent, Rhea Seehorn's Kim Wexler was one of the most complex new additions to Better Call Saul and the Breaking Bad Universe.
View Video Transcript
0:00
We're talking about a career setback for one lawyer
0:06
This is Kim Wexler, arguably the most complex character in Better Call Saul
0:11
and inarguably one of the greatest television characters to ever exist. Ray Sehorne plays the role with a level of perfection audiences haven't seen since
0:19
Bryan Cranston's Walter White in Breaking Bad. Kim's intensely tragic character development and ultimate downfall were fairly inevitable
0:27
But that doesn't make her story of growth, loss, and metamorphosis into Slip and Kimmy
0:32
any less worthy of discussion. I'm at the bar at Fork, and I've got a live one on the hook
0:40
I'm on my way. Writer and co-creator Vince Gilligan has openly stated that when writing Better Call Saul
0:46
they saw the character of Kim Wexler as an unimportant love interest that would ultimately
0:50
fall by the wayside to make room for Jimmy McGill's development. Similarly to Aaron Paul's Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad
0:57
Kim's rise to prominence in the show is thanks to the talent of the actress
1:01
which the writers quickly realized could not be wasted. But while this beefed-up part allowed Ray Sehorne to soar to new heights of esteem and popularity
1:09
the character she played would sink deeper and deeper into despair. Now, more often than not, Kim's interest in Jimmy and desire to help him leads her astray
1:19
Jesus, what? Tim, what? Across the span of the series, she nudges Jimmy into the direction of practicing elder law
1:30
and recommends him for a job at a prestigious law firm at the expense of her own reputation
1:35
She berates him for falsifying evidence, but she helps construct a case against Jimmy's own brother, Chuck
1:40
when Jimmy's career is on the line. And she also advises him on how to be reinstated after he was suspended from practicing law
1:47
But what started as a mostly innocent presence swiftly takes on a life of its own
1:52
She gets sucked deeper into Jimmy's world. She's forced to stand up to a crime lord
1:57
sabotages the career of a former boss, Howard Hamlin, ruins her chances at the opportunity
2:01
of a lifetime and at one point was even willing to resort to murder She does all this because of her commitment to Jimmy Or at least that how it starts because she eventually succumbs to the con artist lifestyle and she actually thrives on it
2:15
I don't want to. All that effort. You're just going to toss it away? As early as the season two
2:20
premiere, audiences were given hints that Kim wouldn't be a purely positive force in Jimmy's
2:25
life. The second kiss the pair ever shares on screen is during this episode, directly after
2:30
the two of them con a stockbroker into buying them an expensive bottle of tequila. In the moment
2:35
This is framed as Jimmy sort of showing the honest and virtuous Kim the ropes of a basic
2:40
scheme, and she finds it thrilling enough to go home with him that night. It's a moment of corruption of Kim's character that would steadily grow and mutate in the
2:48
seasons to come. And at the time, it seemed pretty cut and dry that Jimmy was purely to blame for bringing
2:53
a good-hearted person down to his level. We later learn that things are a little more complicated than that
2:59
Kim is surprisingly comfortable in the role of a scammer, schemer, and con artist
3:03
In season 5, episode 10, when Jimmy raises concerns that Kim might not be okay with ruining Howard's career in the cold light of day
3:11
Kim gives us one of her most iconic lines. Just two simple words
3:16
Wouldn't I? The way Ray Sehorne delivers this line feels almost like she's daring Jimmy to underestimate her abilities
3:23
Like she has a secret she has yet to tell him about who she really is under that good-natured exterior
3:28
And to his credit, Bob Odenkirk plays off of Sehorne perfectly in this scene
3:33
Looking at the truth of this woman, he thought he understood with new curiosity and awe
3:38
The end of season five and beginning of season six also gives the audience glimpses into Kim's
3:43
childhood, which we knew very little about beforehand. These flashbacks provide more
3:47
incredibly important information on her background that inform her character moving forward
3:52
Particularly, the audience gets to see Kim's negligent mother. Not only does her mother think
3:57
it's appropriate to pick her daughter up in a car after a night of heavy drinking, but also has no
4:02
qualms about using her daughter to steal jewelry from a local mall
4:06
Hey, relax. You got away with it. Considering all this, Kim's actions
4:13
throughout the whole of Better Call Saul are completely recontextualized Having never gotten the sort of infallible and unconditional love she needed Kim embodies those principles herself as an adult And Jimmy who spent most of his young life eagerly seeking the approval of first his
4:28
parents and then his disapproving brother, is the perfect recipient for such impulses
4:33
Of course, perfect is sort of a loose descriptor here, because as fans of the show know, apart
4:39
they're okay. But together, we're poison. It only makes sense for Kim to find and latch onto someone like Jimmy in adulthood
4:47
In a way, he's very much a stand-in for Kim's mother. Jimmy always getting himself into trouble and expecting Kim to react in a way he feels is appropriate
4:55
is not dissimilar to the way Kim is treated by her mother in the flashbacks
4:59
And of course, his scamming is no different than her mother stealing the necklace at the mall
5:03
And for Jimmy, who searches for approval and affection outside the cold mistreatment of his family
5:08
Kim is exactly the kind of person he thinks he needs. But all this really means is that their relationship is built on an unhealthy codependency
5:16
wherein they do nothing but bring out the worst in each other. And that really is what happens
5:21
While Jimmy provides Kim with an entrance into a world of crime, she dives into that life willingly, sometimes pulling Jimmy further in alongside her
5:29
It's almost insulting to Kim's character to assume that it was entirely Jimmy's influence
5:33
that made her do everything she does over the course of the show. Diluting this strong-willed, self-assured character down to a damsel being manipulated
5:41
into action by a bumbling con man was perhaps the greatest scam of all, and it was pulled over on us
5:47
the audience, for multiple seasons. But if there was ever any doubt those two words from Kim in
5:52
season five are all the confirmation we needed to confirm that Kim is perfectly capable of making
5:58
morally corrupt decisions all on her own, Jimmy was just the spark that lit the fire to allow
6:03
Slip and Kimmy to boil to the surface. I have had the time of my life with you
6:08
But we are bad for everyone around us. Other people suffer because of us
6:15
But she was never all bad. Kim's passion for pro bono work shone through
6:20
for a great deal of the show. The joy she felt from being offered a meeting
6:24
with an up and coming foundation that supported pro bono lawyers was certainly genuine And she does often sacrifice her own happiness and career for that of Jimmy because she does actually believe in him and wants him to succeed So seeing her give up her dreams for the sake of a con
6:39
and become a would-be murderer to keep Jimmy safe is heartbreaking on a whole new level
6:44
And she does, in the end, recognize all of this. Even if it's a little too late, she
6:48
breaks up with Jimmy and leaves New Mexico, quitting the bar and resolving to put the past behind her in Florida
6:54
Although she's away from the negative influences in her life, she has actually overcorrected and stopped making decisions for herself
7:01
even mundane ones. She voluntarily stripped herself of her personality because she's afraid she'll hurt someone again
7:07
For someone who once proclaimed she wanted more out of life than what her tiny hometown could give her
7:12
this is perhaps a worse fate than the jail time she may have faced back in Albuquerque
7:17
Still, she's willing to live out the rest of her days like that if it means keeping other people safe
7:22
But when she gets a call alerting her to the fact that Jimmy has been arrested in Nebraska
7:26
and is being extradited to New Mexico, Kim finds herself on her way back to Albuquerque to watch Jimmy's trial hearing
7:33
He takes the blame for absolutely everything while Kim watches on in silence
7:37
sitting statuesquely at the back of the courtroom. As an audience, we half expect her to jump up and come to Jimmy's defense
7:44
But this is a new version of Kim Wexler. Kim had the guts to start over
7:48
she left town, but I'm the one who ran away. The final scene of the show sees Kim absolved of her crimes
7:56
while Jimmy faces 86 years behind bars. In order to get herself into the prison
8:00
Kim uses her technically not expired bar card in one last bend of the rules for the sake of her and Jimmy
8:07
The two share a cigarette together the way we've seen them do before, and Jimmy gives Kim his signature finger guns
8:13
But Kim doesn't replicate the gesture the way she had done in the past after planning Howard's downfall
8:17
As an audience, we can see this as an indication that Kim at least is still committed to rebuilding
8:23
her life in a positive way, even if that means it's unbearably dull
8:27
Much like Walter White, Kim Wexler's moral degradation was sharp, spiraling, and came
8:31
at the cost of herself and those around her. But there's a tragedy to her character as well
8:36
She struggled against her desire to do good and the thrill of the con. And because of that, her fall was inevitable
#Celebrities & Entertainment News
#Film & TV Industry
#TV Shows & Programs