The Relationship between Kim Wexler and Jimmy McGill
Thoughts on the relationship between the leading characters of Better Call Saul
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I just finished binging the Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul. I just got to say, “Wow!” This show is television history. What a masterpiece by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. What is embarrassing to me is that I originally gave up on the show after just viewing 4–5 episodes when it first came out. My expectation had been something akin to Breaking Bad, but Better Call Saul is an entirely different kind of show. Break Bad throws you into action quite early on and get you hooked. Better Call Saul is a slow cooker, where you get rewarded for patience.
As someone who got interested in chemistry as a teenager, the whole thing about a chemistry teacher cooking crystal meth had a sort of immediate appeal. The appeal of Better Call Saul was less obvious. But as you watch the series, you realize that the hidden gem is one of the best in-depth character studies on the silver screen I have seen in many years. I want to discuss the show itself, but that will be in a later story. In this particular story, I really would like to elaborate on the relationship between the lawyers Kim Wexler and Jimmy McGill (Saul Goodman) because that is one of several relationships which really stand out to me.
The fundamental genius of Gilligan and Peter Gould is how brilliantly they tell stories about relationships. You got the relation between Walter White and Jesse Pinkman. Between Hank Schrader and Marie, Walt and Skyler, Walt and his son Flynn. There is the relation between Jimmy and Chuck. Actually, there are too many interesting relationships to list here.
The reason I wanted to talk about Kim Wexler and Jimmy McGill is because I have nearly always disliked Hollywood love stories. Maybe it is because I am a Nordic, I don’t know. But to me, Hollywood portrayal of relationships always appear unrealistic. The main characters are throwing themselves over each other and loudly professing their love and affection. With Kim and Jimmy, we saw something entirely different. For many episodes, I wasn’t really sure if they even were in a relation.
What was brilliant in my opinion is how us viewers did come to understand that they did…
