Kim Wexler was essentiallyBetter Call Saul’s answer to Jesse Pinkman fromBreaking Bad— the sidekick with a conscience — but unlike Jesse, she was a true partner. In many ways,Better Call Saulwas a completely different show thanBreaking Bad. It took place in the same universe and borrowed most of its characters, but whereBreaking Badwas an action-packed neo-western set in the illicit drug trade,Better Call Saulwas a quirky legal procedural about an unscrupulous lawyer who will bend over backwards and exploit every loophole in the system to stay out of a court of law.
But structurally,Better Call Saulemulated a lot of what madeBreaking Badwork so well. Much likeBreaking Bad, it chronicles the moral downfall of a complex antihero. Where Walter White transformed from a mild-mannered chemistry teacher into a ruthless drug lord with a formidable body count,Jimmy McGill transformedfrom a wayward young underdog attorney into an ambulance-chasing criminal lawyer. Andwhere Walt was flanked by the good-hearted Jesse, Jimmy was flanked by the good-hearted Kim.
Kim Wexler Was Better Call Saul’s Version Of Jesse Pinkman
Kim Was The Sidekick With A Conscience
Kim was basicallyBetter Call Saul’s answer to Jesse. InBreaking Bad, Jesse was Walt’s partner-in-crime who had much more of a conscience than him.When Walt went too far, Jesse was the angel on his shoulder, encouraging him to do the right thing. Kim served the same dramatic purpose in Jimmy’s arc throughoutBetter Call Saul. The scene between Kim and Jesse toward the end ofBetter Call Saul’s run proved that this was the case, as the two surprisingly related to each other.
Kim Was Truly A Partner To Jimmy, Whereas Jesse Was Walt’s Victim
While Kim is undoubtedlyBetter Call Saul’s version of Jesse, there is one key difference between the two characters. Kim was a true partner in Jimmy’s criminal schemes, whereas Jesse was more of a victim to Walt’s actions. That’s not to say that Jesse was a flawless person who didn’t actively do bad things. Buthe was ultimately a tool that Walt used for five seasons. Walt did whatever he had to do to manipulate Jesse into doing what he wanted.
Kim herself admitted that she and Jimmy couldn’t be together because they enabled each other. Howard Hamlin made the perfect comparison when he said that Kim and Jimmy were like Leopold and Loeb.
Jimmy knowingly deceived Kim a couple of times inBetter Call Saul, like when he showed the smear ads at Mesa Verde after she’d told him to call it off. But he never manipulated her into doing his bidding. She was always his equal and always had a say in how their schemes were pulled off. Kim herself admitted that she and Jimmy couldn’t be together because they enabled each other. Howard Hamlin made the perfect comparison when he said that Kim and Jimmy were like Leopold and Loeb.
Better Call Saul
Cast
Better Call Saul follows small-time lawyer Jimmy McGill as he navigates the legal world to make ends meet. The series, set six years before his encounter with Walter White, chronicles Jimmy’s evolution into Saul Goodman, with notable interactions alongside fixer Mike Ehrmantraut.
