Warning! SPOILERS for Better Call Saul season 6, episode 4.
Better Call Saul exposes the worst hypocrisy of Breaking Bad audiences by highlighting the similarities between Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) and a controversial Breaking Bad character. In Better Call Saul, season 6, episode 4, "Hit and Run," Kim (Rhea Seehorn) learns from Mike (Jonathan Banks) that she and Jimmy may still be at risk from the cartel and Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton) following the failed attempt on his life. When challenged as to why he told her instead of Jimmy, Mike tells Better Call Saul's Kim he thinks she's "made of sterner stuff." Kim chose not to inform Jimmy of this concerning development, suggesting that she agrees with Mike's assessment of her husband.
It's a decision that calls to mind those of Walter White (Bryan Cranston) in Breaking Bad. He, too, is informed of the risks to his life by Mike, and often tries and fails to keep this information from his wife Skyler (Anna Gunn). With Kim now keeping similar secrets from Jimmy, Better Call Saul suggests a similarity between Saul Goodman and Walter White's wife, exposing the hypocrisy of those Breaking Bad viewers who hated Skyler.
Jimmy Crosses A Major Breaking Bad Line In Better Call Saul Season 6, Ep 4
In repositioning Jimmy as Skyler to Kim's Walter, Better Call Saul is challenging those people to confront why exactly they hated Skyler White. While Jimmy is unquestionably more amoral than Walter White's law-abiding suburban wife, Kim clearly sees him as someone she needs to protect. When Skyler got wind of Walter's lies and confronted him about exactly how much danger the family was in, this vocal minority criticized her for being a scold. Often believing that Walter had the situation under control - which suggests a fundamental misunderstanding of Breaking Bad's chaotic universe - these critics suggested that Skyler was being ungrateful. It's a criticism that both creator Vince Gilligan and actor Anna Gunn believed was rooted in misogyny. With Jimmy now in a similar situation to Gunn's Breaking Bad character, co-creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould are confronting these sexist critics.
The fact that Kim is now withholding information from Jimmy is a neat subversion of the dynamic between Walter and Skyler. When Better Call Saul started, it appeared entirely possible that Kim would become, like Skyler was to Walter, an unwitting accomplice to Jimmy's illegal actions. In reality, she's proven herself to be far more capable and much more calculating than him, which marks her out as a far more obvious Walter White successor. Of course, Skyler was no mere unwitting accomplice to the Heisenberg empire. It's Skyler who convinces Walt and Saul Goodman to launder the money through the A1 car wash, and it's Skyler who concocts the gambling addiction alibi to account for Walter's newfound wealth. As much as Jimmy's being kept in the dark mirrors Walter protecting Skyler, Kim's own influence on Jimmy's transition into Saul Goodman reaffirms what Breaking Bad viewers often forget about Skyler.
Ignoring the recurring theory that she'll be murdered by the cartel, Kim Wexler has had a much easier time of it from viewers than Skyler White ever had. Similarly, as she's emerged as the true brains of the Goodman and Wexler operation, this hasn't changed anyone's adoration for lovable rogue Jimmy McGill. Skyler's actions are no different, and her story is no less compelling than that of Kim and Jimmy's current plans. The final season of Better Call Saul continues to emphasize this and confronts certain corners of the Breaking Bad fandom with the reductive hypocrisy of their criticisms.
Better Call Saul releases new episodes Mondays on AMC.