Kim Wexler’s final Better Call Saul fate has been revealed, but did she really deserve it? Better Call Saul season 6, episode 12, “Waterworks,” focuses on the life of Kim (Rhea Seehorn) after she separates from Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) and quits the legal profession. Kim’s return was foreshadowed by the call Jimmy made to her as Gene in the previous episode, the details of which are finally revealed to audiences.
Better Call Saul season 6, episode 12 reveals that Jimmy gave the name Viktor St. Claire when he called Kim’s Florida office. This refers to his alter-ego from their early days scamming gullible bar customers. Kim is visibly rattled by the use of the name and closes her office door and shuts the blinds to take the call. This new perspective on Gene/Jimmy’s phone call to Kim makes it clear that six years since their divorce, Kim still feels guilt over their actions together.
Kim tells her ex-husband to turn himself in to the authorities, something which may have informed some of his questionable choices during the previous episode. The effect of hearing from Jimmy again is so pronounced that Kim travels back to Albuquerque to finally make a confession about the part she played in the death of Howard. The phone call comes after viewers have seen the unfulfilling suburban life that Kim is living in Florida, a life which almost suits the Gene timeline’s monochrome look more than Jimmy’s. Worse still, it’s clear that Kim believes she deserves this unsatisfying life as a punishment for her previous actions.
Was Kim's Better Call Saul Fate Really Deserved?
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The life Kim lives post-Breaking Bad is in stark contrast to her life with Jimmy in Albuquerque. Rather than participate in elaborate schemes such as the Huell letter writing campaign, or Howard’s cocaine scam, she writes copy for a sprinkler company. Writing “Our ASTM F876-compliant 'FLO-Chief' family of products heralds an exciting new chapter in PEX tubing” is a far cry from her zippy “Saul Goodman: I fight for you” response to Jimmy’s black eye.
Viewers may feel like this is too harsh a fall from the stellar heights of Kim’s legal career, and they’d be right if this new life was forced upon her. Instead, Better Call Saul season 6, episode 12, written and directed by series co-creator Vince Gilligan, makes it clear that Kim has chosen this life for herself. It’s immaterial if the audience doesn’t think Kim deserves her unfulfilling life of sprinklers and potato salad in Better Call Saul’s Gene timeline, as it’s what she believes she deserves.
When ending their relationship, Kim told Jimmy that she withheld information about Lalo Salamanca’s survival because she was “having too much fun” scamming Howard. The love of the grift and the elation of a successful con was clearly addictive for Kim and Jimmy, and it went too far. In moving to Florida to work for Palm Coast Sprinklers, Kim tackles this addiction by removing any triggers.
Why Kim Chooses Her Better Call Saul Fate
In reflecting on her relationship with Jimmy, Kim said that she’d had the time of her life with him. Jimmy is the exact opposite of Kim’s new partner, a safer, unflashy man who converses about mayonnaise alternatives and repeatedly says “Yep!” during sex. This safe, staid romantic relationship, and the formerly confident and determined Kim’s inability to choose between vanilla or strawberry ice cream is her way of repressing her true nature. Jimmy’s own inability to repress his true nature is leading to the downfall of “Gene” in Better Call Saul’s finale.
It's only in her call with “Gene” that Kim realizes just how bad Jimmy has become without her. He’s boastful and cocky, trying to get a rise out of her, and vindictively dares her to come clean, citing her guilty conscience. “Fring’s in the ground. Mike’s in the ground. Lalo’s in the ground. Apparently. You don’t have to hold back on my account.” And so she flies to Albuquerque to give a full statement about everything she knows about Saul Goodman, Gus Fring, Mike Ehrmantraut, and Lalo Salamanca.
Kim’s battle with addiction and her decision to come clean about her involvement with her criminal partner draw some interesting parallels with Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul.) This is further emphasized by a surprising Better Call Saul scene with Jesse in season 6, episode 12, which may be Rhea Seehorn’s final scene in the show. When asked by Jesse if Saul Goodman is any good, Kim simply replies, “He was when I knew him” and runs through the rain to her car. It’s a heartbreaking moment that sees Jimmy McGill’s staunchest supporter finally realize he’s beyond help as she abandons him to his fate.
Is Kim Redeemed In Better Call Saul Season 6, Episode 12?
Kim goes through the emotional wringer on her trip back to Albuquerque in Better Call Saul season 6, episode 12. She returns to the courthouse, where Mike has been replaced by an automated ticket booth, and sees a fellow lawyer smarten up a client for court, as she once had. However, it’s her visit to Howard’s wife Cheryl (Sandrine Holt) that is the toughest scene. Kim’s final lie about Howard had devastated Cheryl and convinced Kim to finally call time on her career as an attorney and her relationship with Jimmy.
In handing a full copy of her confession to Cheryl, and sitting patiently as she reads it, Kim redeems herself for this lie. She patiently explains how hard it will be to prosecute her for Howard’s death and concedes to the possibility of being sued in civil court for everything she’s got. However, the look that Kim gives Cheryl in response to this threat shows just how little Kim has left. As she gets back on the airport bus, the emotional weight of everything proves too much, and she bursts into tears. It’s a devastating end to her Better Call Saul story that, in redeeming Kim through the closure she gives Cheryl, lays bare how much she’s lost through her relationship with Jimmy McGill.
The Better Call Saul finale airs next Monday on AMC.