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Spoilers follow for Better Call Saul through Season 6 Episode 12, “Waterworks.”
Whether it’s the tone of the black and white “future” in which Saul Goodman’s Gene Takovic alter ego lives or the fact that he’s a shadow of the conspicuous former self, Better call Saul‘s Cinnabon Gene timeline is a pretty grim place. Ever since the Breaking Bad prequel picked up what happened to Saul (Bob Odenkirk) after Ed “The Disappearer” Galbraith (Robert Forster) sent him to Omaha, fans have wondered if that boring existence is ending for the charismatic Jimmy McGill becomes. Disturbingly, the penultimate episode confirms that our lead isn’t the only one facing a grim fate.
Over the past six seasons of lawsuits and cons, we’ve seen Rhea Seehorn’s Kim Wexler emerge as more than just Jimmy’s love interest â he’s become his equal in many ways. Given that Kim was mysteriously absent from the Gene timeline until last week’s Breaking Bad, some rightly feared she’d gone the way of Nacho (Michael Varga) and Lalo (Tony Dalton). It’s true that Kim eluded having her throat slit with a box cutter and put in an acid barrel, but working at Palm Coast Sprinklers in Florida while her past haunts her seems terrifying in itself.
Kim Wexler gets the Gene Takovic treatment
“Waterworks” finds this out after she files and broadcasts her divorce from Jimmy Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) finds his way to legal counsel, Kim has set up shop in Florida. Kim divorced Jimmy before things got really bad in Albuquerque, which means she apparently won’t pay for her crimes. Nevertheless, everything has changed for Kim, and since her life has changed beyond repair, she is essentially no different from Gene. The only difference is that she’s not on the run.
Kim’s day involves tough decisions about whether Miracle Whip can be used as a mayonnaise substitute and solving puzzles while her boring, average Joe husband sits in the other room. Kim’s work life isn’t much better – she writes lyrics about the FLO-Chief 1.2″ PEX crimp brass and asks about flange diameters.
At least there is some sense of justice, because after her call to Gene, Kim calls Harold Hamlin’s (Patrick Fabian) widow to try to right past wrongs. There’s a glimmer of old Kim here as she boldly claims that a lack of evidence or witnesses means she’ll likely be spared time behind bars. Even if Florida Kim is a far cry from her former self, she’s there somewhere…buried under a heavy fringe and box color. When Kim heads to Albuquerque to sign an affidavit, she finally lets her emotions run free and collapses on a bus after revealing the truth about what happened the night Harold was about six years earlier has died.
Better Call Saul deals a rough hand
Kim’s depressing fate is a well-known motif for Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould’s shows aren’t just about punishing the bad guys. Innocent bystanders like Wayfarer 515 passengers and Drew Sharp (Samuel Webb) are caught in the crossfire. You don’t even have to die to have a shitty hand in this world, because we can’t imagine that post-Heisenberg life wouldn’t be much fun for widowed Marie Schrader (Betsy Brandt) or Skyler White (Anna Gunn), either has made.
Closer to Better Call Saul, bad luck continues to hand down supporting characters like Marco Pasternak (Mel Rodriguez), who dies of a heart attack, or Fred Walen (James Austin Johnson), who accidentally stands in the way of Lalo Salamanca. Jimmy’s brother, Chuck McGill (Michael McKean), is one of the most controversial TV characters of all time, but it’s still tough to see him burn to death in the Season 3 finale. Recently came the shocking realization that Harold wasn’t the villain we thought he was when Lalo brutally blew his brains out.
In this world, not even death gives you a way out. In typical Badverse fashion, “Waterworks” includes a tongue-in-cheek revelation that the ticket booth job was automated by Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks). Cheryl Hamlin (Sandrine Holt) also assumed for years that her husband took his own life until Kim tells her the truth. Kim isn’t dead, but in every way she might as well be. Forced to partake in potluck dinners with other humble housewives, it’s a fate old Kim would never have chosen. But does she deserve it?
Kim isn’t as morally corrupt as Jimmy, but after committing the same scams he did and admitting she kept Lalo’s survival a secret because she was “having too much fun,” she’s no Walt Jr. either. (RJ Center) .
Will Better Call Saul have a happy ending?
Most poignantly, Kim chose this boring existence for herself. With so much death and destruction at the hands of Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jimmy, choosing your own destiny is a luxury few can afford. It’s ironic that this new Kim can’t make an easy choice between vanilla or strawberry ice cream. Better Call Saul might do a U-turn in the finale to bring back the Bonnie and Clyde-esque Kim we used to know, but by the looks of it, she’s already been consumed by this worldly purgatory.
It’s possible that Jimmy and Kim will put their differences aside and reunite as the unlucky lovers they are. On the other hand, Kim warned Jesse about Jimmy in 2004 was a good lawyer “when I knew him”, implying that he was more than just a good lawyer, he was a good man once. After passing through his Saul persona and entering the Gene years, little is left of Jimmy McGill. One could also argue that Kim is already on her perfect ending as she makes a statement against Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito), Jimmy and Lalo to finally give her some peace of mind. It’s easy to imagine the writers leaving Kim Wexler’s story here.
For now, all we can do is hope that Kim returns to Florida and realizes she can do better, leaves her husband, and tries to get back to law. Well, it’s better to be buried under Gus’ meth lab.
