[rating=10.00] “Wexler v Goodman”
It’s always been only a matter of time before Kim admitted to herself who Jimmy really was, and it was always going to be devastating when she did. Rhea Seehorn has done an amazing job this season building off the emotions we’ve seen Kim repress over the last few seasons of Better Call Saul. We’ve watched Kim get pushed towards a breaking point, helpless to stop her from making bad decision after bad decision.
If anything was going to show her Jimmy’s true colors it was going to be his involvement in the Mesa Verde case. The subplot involving Mr. Acker, first introduced back in the third episode this season, has turned into the most consequential elements of the series since Chuck’s death at the end of season three. Despite all of her hopes for Jimmy and despite all the potential she sees in him, his representation of Acker has laid bare all the truths everyone ever told her about Jimmy McGill.
Not that this was unexpected, of course. Kim’s absence in Breaking Bad was always a portent of tragedy to come and this season has seen her fall closer and closer to that tragedy with every moment she’s unable to extricate herself from Jimmy’s vortex. What’s worse is that we haven’t even seen the worst. Bad as it’s gotten, Kim hasn’t even approached rock bottom yet. It’s just looming there, in the distance, waiting patiently for her.
Even while there was something admittedly satisfying about seeing Jimmy stick it to Kevin Wachtell and Mesa Verde from the perspective of the audience, the moment Jimmy brought out his DVD in the middle of negotiations you could see it on Kim’s face. The disappointment, the terror, the sheer force of the realization all hit her at once.
It was, of course, just Jimmy being Jimmy. Under the guise of Saul Goodman, Jimmy’s natural audacity is turned up to maximum, and it was more than apparent that Kim wasn’t prepared for what she saw. In her attorney mode, she is used to things like propriety and decorum—things that Saul Goodman has no need for. While the scene itself—everything from Jimmy demanding $4 million to the fake ads Jimmy threatened to air—was objectively funny, the undercurrent of horror for Kim was all too apparent.
That’s not something for which Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould get enough credit, truth be told. This episode of was a remarkable showcase of the balancing act in which they engage in every episode of every season. Better Call Saul is quite often bitterly hilarious, even when it’s displaying the most intense human drama on television right now. This most hilarious moments are tinged by the sadness we know to be coming, and vice versa. It’s truly a remarkable path they’ve struck and more than makes the case for the series as the best show on TV today.
Seehorn’s performance was top notch, her eyes aswirl with shame and anger and sadness. The fact that Jimmy was naïve enough to think his scheme would fly with her shows how disparate their priorities in life are, even as Kim has been inching closer and closer to demise throughout this season. Their final confrontation at their home gave us some hope for Kim. This was an eye-opening moment for her and it looked like she was finally starting to see clearly. “Fuck you, Jimmy,” was a cheer-worthy line.
You could hear the heartbreak in her voice as she inched closer to breaking up with the man she, yes, despite it all, loves very dearly. And then she did, telling him it would be better to just walk away from each other with good memories. It was devastating and sad and kind of great because no one likes to see someone stay with someone who is absolutely wrong for them. But then she added an addendum, suggesting they get married.
Excuse me, what?!
In her lawyer’s brain this probably makes sense. Any criminal trial that might arise from Jimmy’s malfeasance would mean that neither of them could be compelled to testify against each other at trial, which would, in this case, give Kim some pretty rock solid immunity from any fall out that might occur. But this season has been nothing if not a conflict between her brain and her feelings, and now it has come to a head.
While it lacks the gravitas of cliff hangers where someone might die, the weight of Kim’s suggestion is left hanging while we wait another week for the conclusion. Gilligan and Gould are masters at this kind of bait and switch, further setting up the eventual exit of Kim Wexler in one way or another. This naturally adds to the tension of waiting to find out just what happened to Kim prior to the events of Breaking Bad, and setting a new level of fear that’s already baked into the series.
It makes what’s happening with the cartels feel kind of unimportant, even with so much going on. With Mike back in Fring’s sway, the silent war against Lalo is heating up. Mike, using all his skills and knowledge as a former cop, is able to nudge the APD in the direction of Lalo, who’s now been arrested on suspicion of the murder at the TravelWire.
Given that the Salamanca family has already used Saul Goodman to get themselves out of a jam this season, we’re also one step closer to figuring out the beef between Saul, Lalo, and Nacho that Saul referenced all the way back in Breaking Bad. The devil, of course, is in the details, and as those details come to light we’ll come even closer to seeing the grand designs of Gilligan and Gould, who have thus far exceeded every and all expectation for this series.
Better Call Saul airs Monday nights at 9/8c on AMC.
