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BCS 2.08: A Few More Thing about Kim
Mar. 6th, 2025 10:18 amAfter writing about Better Call Saul supporting character Kim Wexler in my previous blog I watched a few more episodes and have a few more thoughts to share about her character arc.
First is the awareness that Kim is likely doomed. No, it's not anything in the story that shows her on a path to oblivion; it's meta-story logic. This is a prequel to Breaking Bad, and the character Kim is nowhere in that series. Do the math. Either the writers intend to introduce a continuity gap— unlikely— or Kim meets some end that writes her out of the story of Jimmy/Saul's character arc completely. It's like when watching the Star Wars franchise movie Rogue One, empathizing with the interesting characters introduced there... and realizing since none of them appear in Episode 4, they've all got to die by the end of the film.
Second, I have some concern that Kim is spinning out of control, losing her identity as the hard-working, by-the-books lawyer. It's because after Jimmy introduces her to one of his cons in episode 2.01 and she tells him "I can't ever do this again", she starts a con of her own in episode 2.06. Inspired by how Jimmy bilked a stock broker for $1,000 of booze at a bar, she starts hooking a mark on a phony tech company startup and calls in Jimmy to help her. They get the mark to write them a check for $10,000 to "invest" in their startup. Kim later tells Jimmy she doesn't want to cash the check but instead keep it as a souvenir; but still, it shows that Kim is on a downward path to being a fraudster like Jimmy. Possibly this sort of chicanery is her undoing that lets the writers write her out so she's a non-factor in the original series.
Third, in terms of the question I posed last blog, "Who/What's holding Kim back?" it seems more likely that douchebag Howard is not the villain. When Kim quits HHM to start her own practice in episode 2.08, Howard is understanding and congratulates her on making smart choices. Yeah, he's still douchey, but he seems sincere in wishing her well. And he forgives her remaining law school student debt owned by the company— a fairly significant move, as that debt was a major thing in Kim's mind holding her back from switching jobs when she was being mistreated. Of course, Howard rushes to curry favor with Mesa Bank, the new client she just landed, to prevent her from taking the account with her. It's Chuck, though, who goes full tilt to wrest Mesa out of her hands. That strengthens my belief that it's been Chuck all along who's thwarting her career to "show" her that Jimmy's bad.
First is the awareness that Kim is likely doomed. No, it's not anything in the story that shows her on a path to oblivion; it's meta-story logic. This is a prequel to Breaking Bad, and the character Kim is nowhere in that series. Do the math. Either the writers intend to introduce a continuity gap— unlikely— or Kim meets some end that writes her out of the story of Jimmy/Saul's character arc completely. It's like when watching the Star Wars franchise movie Rogue One, empathizing with the interesting characters introduced there... and realizing since none of them appear in Episode 4, they've all got to die by the end of the film.
Second, I have some concern that Kim is spinning out of control, losing her identity as the hard-working, by-the-books lawyer. It's because after Jimmy introduces her to one of his cons in episode 2.01 and she tells him "I can't ever do this again", she starts a con of her own in episode 2.06. Inspired by how Jimmy bilked a stock broker for $1,000 of booze at a bar, she starts hooking a mark on a phony tech company startup and calls in Jimmy to help her. They get the mark to write them a check for $10,000 to "invest" in their startup. Kim later tells Jimmy she doesn't want to cash the check but instead keep it as a souvenir; but still, it shows that Kim is on a downward path to being a fraudster like Jimmy. Possibly this sort of chicanery is her undoing that lets the writers write her out so she's a non-factor in the original series.
Third, in terms of the question I posed last blog, "Who/What's holding Kim back?" it seems more likely that douchebag Howard is not the villain. When Kim quits HHM to start her own practice in episode 2.08, Howard is understanding and congratulates her on making smart choices. Yeah, he's still douchey, but he seems sincere in wishing her well. And he forgives her remaining law school student debt owned by the company— a fairly significant move, as that debt was a major thing in Kim's mind holding her back from switching jobs when she was being mistreated. Of course, Howard rushes to curry favor with Mesa Bank, the new client she just landed, to prevent her from taking the account with her. It's Chuck, though, who goes full tilt to wrest Mesa out of her hands. That strengthens my belief that it's been Chuck all along who's thwarting her career to "show" her that Jimmy's bad.
