'Better Call Saul' recap: Kim gets in the game (2024)

Let's talk about the game, and whether or not Kim Wexler is in it. Jimmy insisted last week that she's not — "She's not even game-adjacent!" — and granted, he might really believe that. Especially under the present circumstances: whatever else Kim may be doing, she is evidently not schlepping $7 million through the desert with nothing but a bottle of her own pee for sustenance.

And yet, as a clever split-screen motif suggests in the opening moments of Better Call Saul this week, she is very much adjacent to the trouble Jimmy is in. She's bound to it because she's bound to him, legally and emotionally. He walks and walks; she waits and smokes. She takes a pill; he swigs from his pee-bottle. And finally, the cell phone in Jimmy's hand chirps back to life, and in their shared apartment, the phone rings.

"I'm okay," he says, and Kim — at last, as though she's given herself permission to do it — starts to cry.

Roll credits, and then we find ourselves at a gas station, where Jimmy and Mike are freshly showered and dressed in gift-shop clothes. (The spectacle of Mike wearing actual colors — bright blue board shorts and a sherbert-hued "Land of Enchantment" t-shirt — is both delightful and downright shocking.) From there, it's off to the bondsman's office, where the DA shows up to gawk at the sight of $7 million being run through the cash-counting machines. Jimmy takes back the extra, his cut, and Lalo strides out, free to flee to Mexico. But don't worry, he tells Jimmy: they'll still do all kinds of business together! He's a friend of the cartel now! How reassuring! And in the meantime, he should make sure to "get something nice for the wife" — who, Lalo adds, is quite the looker. Of course, coming from Lalo Salamanca, this compliment is roughly the equivalent of a winking Hannibal Lecter telling you that he'd love to have you and your wife for dinner.

'Better Call Saul' recap: Kim gets in the game (1)

Things have turned a hard corner from Jimmy's early days as a small-time conman, back when crime was about making a little bit of money and having a whole lot of fun. It's all upside down now: Kim eases him into an oatmeal bath and sponges tentatively at his wounds, babying him. She asks if it was worth it. He tells her to go look in the bag, where she finds his $100,000 commission (and his bullet-riddled travel mug, the surest evidence that he's been lying to her) — but he doesn't actually say "yes." Victor and Cyrus told him that the mess in the desert would be all cleaned up "like it never happened," but there's no erasing the psychic wound of what Jimmy experienced. He can't relax at home. He can't escape into work. His snazzy Saul Goodman suit hangs off him, too tight around his sunburned neck and too loose everywhere else, as he walks out of court having lost a case that should've been a slam dunk. He asks Mike how long it'll take for him to feel normal again, but he also feels like maybe he doesn't deserve to feel normal, after he helped Lalo to literally get away with murder and flee the country. Mike tells Jimmy that our choices put us on a road. Jimmy finds this, all of this, completely dissatisfying.

"I can't believe there's like a billion people on this planet," he says, "and the only person I have to talk about this to is you."

Oh, and it gets worse. Lalo has said his goodbyes (most notably to Hector, who we last see looking wistful in a paper party hat) and is on his way to the border when he realizes that something is strange about Jimmy's story: if (as Jimmy claimed) he was lost in the desert because his car broke down, then where is it? Cue Lalo finding Jimmy's Suzuki at the bottom of a ravine with bullet holes in the door. Cue him telling Nacho to turn around and take him back to Albuquerque. Cue Jimmy and Kim being interrupted in the middle of an argument about her quitting Mesa Verde and corporate law to focus on her pro bono clients by a sudden knock on the door. As Kim goes to look through the peephole, Jimmy's phone rings: Mike tells him to keep the line open and put the phone down somewhere so that he can listen in. Because heeeeeeere's Lalo!

We've seen enough of Lalo to know that he's a really, truly bad guy —and that the more cheerful he is, the more likely that he's about to do something deeply and horrifyingly evil. Now, he strides into Jimmy and Kim's apartment, all smiles. He wants to sit. He wants to talk. He wants to hear Jimmy's story about how his car broke down and he walked through the desert all night, over and over again. The more Jimmy repeats himself, the more Lalo grins. He is pure, radiant, gleeful malevolence.

"I saw your car," he says.

It seems impossible that this scene will end without someone getting shot. You know it won't be Jimmy. You hope it might be Lalo (Jimmy has kept the conversation going long enough for Mike to set up on a nearby rooftop and line up Lalo in his crosshairs.) You're prepared (or at least, I was prepared) to throw a beer through the television screen if it's Kim. And then, Kim steps up. (Actually, she steps literally into the crosshairs of Mike's gunsight, because the only thing Better Call Saul loves more this season than a subtle visual metaphor is to clobber you over the head with one. KIM MIGHT DIE! GET IT? GET IT?!!)

"Bullet holes?" she says. "That's what you're on about?"

And oh my God, Jimmy was so wrong. Kim Wexler isn't just in the game. She's the better player. She's the ding-dang champion. And where Jimmy is too freaked out and traumatized to lie effectively in this moment, Kim has the nerve to do what he can't— just like she did with Mesa Verde, turning the tables, gaining the upper hand. She can do this even though she knows Jimmy lied to her, and even though she's scared out of her mind. She calls Lalo Salamanca out. He used Jimmy as a bagman, she says, because he had nobody else he could rely on. This mess, this entire disastrous spectacle, is entirely the result of Lalo's own poor decision-making, his lack of faith in his own people.

"What kind of operation are you running here, anyway?" she snaps. "Next time you have a bunch of money and no one you can trust, leave him out of it. Get your s--- together. Stop torturing the one man who went through hell to save your ass."

And what a relief: Lalo isn't smiling anymore. He stares at Kim. He stares at Jimmy. And then, finally, he leaves.

It still remains to be seen whether Lalo ever makes it home to Mexico. For now, he's back in the car with Nacho, with a long road ahead… but perhaps not very long to travel it. (Per his earlier comments, Tuco gets out of prison 11 months from now, which means that the cartel hierarchy of Breaking Bad will soon be falling into place — a cast of characters from which Lalo is notably absent.) Is this the end of the Bad Choice Road for the show's charmingest homicidal maniac? For the McGill-Wexler marriage? We'll find out next week, on the season finale.

Related content:

  • Go behind the scenes of Better Call Saul's iconic Albuquerque locations
  • Better Call Saul star Rhea Seehorn says that season 5 is the show's 'most tragic' yet
  • Better Call Saul creator on that game-changing Gene scene, return of Breaking Bad character
'Better Call Saul' recap: Kim gets in the game (2024)

FAQs

What happened to Kim in Better Call Saul Season 3 episode 9? ›

She decides to accept, meaning Jimmy will receive his much-needed share. He returns to his office to give Kim the good news, but she is too busy preparing for an important meeting with Gatwood Oil to listen and leaves in a rush. Due to fatigue from overwork, Kim falls asleep at the wheel and crashes into a boulder.

What becomes of Kim in Better Call Saul? ›

After a few episodes where Kim doesn't appear, she returns, and it is revealed that she is now living in Florida, working for a sprinkler sales company, and in a new monotonous relationship.

What happens to Kim in Better Call Saul finale? ›

Jimmy descends fully into his Saul Goodman persona. After signing their divorce papers, Kim departs Saul's office and meets Jesse Pinkman. Kim rejects her share of the Sandpiper settlement and moves to Titusville, Florida, where she lives a mundane life with a new boyfriend and works a boring desk job.

Is Kim Wexler mentioned in Breaking Bad? ›

Rhea Seehorn's Kim Wexler. Kim becomes as close to Bob Odenkirk's Jimmy McGill as can be during Better Call Saul's latter seasons, but doesn't receive so much as a glancing mention during Breaking Bad - an oddity the spinoff needed to address before the end.

Does Saul really love Kim? ›

's answer and say that Saul doesn't really love Kim, but Jimmy McGill absolutely does. And this is a theme throughout the show.

Why did Kim cry when Jimmy read Chuck's letter? ›

Unlike Jimmy, Kim didn't see between the lines of the letter. She took the words at face value – a heartfelt tribute from brother to brother. She didn't know how badly their last conversation went and didn't register the condescending tone beneath the surface of Chuck's prose.

Why did Kim dump Saul? ›

As Jimmy fully embraces his Saul Goodman persona and Kim becomes more involved in criminal activities, their paths diverge, leading to their eventual separation and divorce, with Kim realizing that their toxic relationship prevents her from fulfilling her ideals.

Did Saul confess to save Kim? ›

Abandoning his previous lies, Saul confesses to the court about his pivotal role in building Walt's drug empire in Breaking Bad, even stating for the record that he wants to be recognized as James McGill. Jimmy also clarifies his intentions to the judge: to confess in front of Kim and own up to his misdeeds.

Why did Better Call Saul end so abruptly? ›

Gould and the writing staff knew by the time the fifth season finale aired two years prior that this was the right ending for the series. They realized that Saul spent his career making a mockery of the justice system, so it was fitting to them that he ended the series as a part of it, only this time as a prisoner.

In what episode does Kim leave Jimmy? ›

In “Wexler Watch,” we assess the state of Kim Wexler following each of the remaining episodes of Better Call Saul. It finally happened. In this week's episode of Better Call Saul, “Fun and Games,” Kim Wexler broke things off with Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman.

Why did Lalo laugh in his death? ›

Yeah, could be also a response to shock since he was brutally injured and defenceless around Gus or just to mock him before dying… he laughed because he knew that gus feared him, gus keeps pulling the trigger even after finishing his mag, to make sure he died.

Why did Saul get 86 years? ›

Even though Jimmy tries to be optimistic in his talk with Kim, the reality is that he received an 86-year sentence for his crimes in Breaking Bad. This was designed to give Jimmy no way out since he fully confessed to everything in Better Call Saul's finale, which means any future deals are off the table.

Why did Kim quit Schweikart? ›

Way back in Season 2, Kim told Rich Schweikart (Dennis Boutsikaris), her former boss at Schweikart & Cokely, that she grew up in a small town along the border of Kansas and Nebraska, and that she left because she couldn't stomach the idea of who she would become if she stayed.

Why does Kim Wexler always wear blue? ›

A potential indicator of Kim Wexler's future is the color blue, which she wears repeatedly throughout Better Call Saul. Though the meaning behind color in Breaking Bad is wide open to interpretation, one possible reading of blue tones is purity and innocence - but always with tragic consequences.

Which episode does Kim leave Saul? ›

Season 6 - Jimmy and Kim Separate

'Fun And Games' (Season 6, Episode 9) - Kim splits from Jimmy. 'Waterworks' (Season 6, Episode 12) - Kim tells Jimmy, now known as Gene, to turn himself in. 'Saul Gone' (Season 6, Episode 13) - Jimmy throws his case to spare Kim from being prosecuted.

What happened at the end of Better Call Saul season 3? ›

This episode marks the final regular appearance of Chuck McGill. In the final scene, Chuck appears to die via suicide by kicking the lantern off his table and burning his house down.

Why did Kim cry in Better Call Saul? ›

The confrontation contributes to Kim's breakdown, but it isn't the sole reason she hysterically cries on the bus. More than that, it is the culmination of guilt, grief, and the realization that whatever life she built in Albuquerque really is gone.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Duane Harber

Last Updated:

Views: 5367

Rating: 4 / 5 (71 voted)

Reviews: 86% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Duane Harber

Birthday: 1999-10-17

Address: Apt. 404 9899 Magnolia Roads, Port Royceville, ID 78186

Phone: +186911129794335

Job: Human Hospitality Planner

Hobby: Listening to music, Orienteering, Knapping, Dance, Mountain biking, Fishing, Pottery

Introduction: My name is Duane Harber, I am a modern, clever, handsome, fair, agreeable, inexpensive, beautiful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.