It turns out we might have been emphasizing the wrong word in that last sentence. “If Kim is such a big deal here,” we’d think, “and she’s not present or even mentioned in Breaking Bad, then what exactly happens between now and then to cause that change?” Or, to put it in a more panicky, accurate way: What happened to Kim? While Jimmy's tan was earned the old-fashioned way in the harsh New Mexico sun, Hamlin's spray tan is as contrived and artificial as the man himself.TRUTH - We’ve been emphasizing the wrong wordĪ few seasons back, once it became clear that Kim Wexler was going to be both an important ongoing character in this universe and an important ongoing part of Jimmy McGill’s life, a lot of us started doing some uncomfortable math. On the season 5 finale, Jimmy's extra-dark tan has rendered him the same shade as his nemesis Howard Hamlin. What better way to close the circle on this conflict than to bring it all back to Sandpiper? Gilligan is truly the master of long-form storytelling.Īdditionally, Gilligan and Gould made the battle for Kim's soul explicit by linking Jimmy and Hamlin with a subtle visual nod. Now, she's all in on Slippin' Jimmy McGill - for better or worse. When she quit Schweikart & Cokely, it was like Kim cut the last bond to that previous life. While Kim has been drifting toward Jimmy all along, before season 5, she always kept one cautious foot in Hamlin's world. They're like the metaphorical devil and angel on her shoulders, though reasonable minds can differ which is which. Since the very first season of Better Call Saul, Kim's journey has always been a tug-of-war between Jimmy and Hamlin. Five seasons ago, it certainly wasn't her - but maybe it is now. "This isn't you," he tells Kim, who responds with smoking finger guns before jumping in the shower. In the morning, Jimmy attempts to be the voice of reason for once.
Creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould managed to pack a lot of punch into season 5's final 90 minutes, so let's take some time to break down exactly what happened.Īs an added warning, major spoilers are ahead. In that regard, Jimmy and Kim's story on episode 10 - entitled "Something Unforgivable" - was overflowing with important developments. The gripping morality play that is Better Call Saul has always been more about subtle turns of character than frenetic scenes of unvarnished brutality. That's not to say that nothing transpired back in New Mexico, of course.
While Varga placed his life on the line to infiltrate the Salamancas, Jimmy and Kim enjoyed a tense but otherwise pleasant couple's weekend at a nice hotel three blocks down from the county courthouse. All the action was happening south of the border inside the Salamanca compound, where a reluctant Nacho Varga (Michael Mando) staged his attempted execution of newly liberated cartel capitán Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton). Compared to the events of the preceding episodes, the season-ender was a relatively quiet affair for Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) and his new wife Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn).
#Better call saul season 1 last episode series#
Over the course of the 90-minute season 5 finale of AMC's good-lawyer-gone-bad origin story series Better Call Saul, plenty happened, but little was resolved. Contains spoilers for the season 5 finale of Better Call Saul