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(Note: major spoilers forSomething Unforgivablelie ahead.)
Slowly it dawns on Jimmy that shes not kidding.
Kim, doing this, its not you, Jimmy says.
You would not be okay with it, not in the cold light of day.
This moment, near the end of the terrific fifth-season finale, is Kims version of the same thing.
Shes announcing who she is.
Its jarring, even for Jimmy, who cant believe the finger gunshot sounds hes hearing.
But it shouldnt be.
This is who Kim Wexler has really been all along.
We already know hes going to make wrong choices.
Its the how and why of it thats fascinating.
In that sense,Better Call Saulisnt just a show about a con artist.
The series itself is a con artist that has conned us into thinking that Kim is someone she isnt.
Were not just viewers or fans.
WereBetter Call Sauls marks.
Throughout this season, youve probably found yourself flummoxed by many of Kims choices.
I know I have.
Kim Wexler wouldnt do this, I said to myself.
But Kim Wexler would, and she did.
Thats the whole point.
She doesnt seem like an antihero so much as a flawed but ultimately heroic supporting player.
There are good reasons to make these assumptions about her.
Shes also admonished him when hes done things that are self-destructive.
But I also thinkBetter Call Saulhas been pretty good at conditioning us to see Kim in a certain light.
Over the seasons, we have gotten some information about her background.
But we dont see that on the surface throughoutBetter Call Saul, especially in season one.
We see someone who conducts herself professionally and is well respected by her clients.
We see someone capable of guilt, who empathizes with Jimmy and even with a man like Everett Acker.
She has a particular affinity for anyone who seems to be getting screwed over by the establishment.
Kim has sometimes served that role for Jimmy.
after Howard finishes reporting this breaking news.
Then she bursts out laughing.
On first viewing, this plays like a pure moment of comic relief and dramatic irony.
We get why Kim may find Howards self-righteousness so amusing, even if Howard doesnt.
Do you know how insulting that is?
Kim says, genuinely angry.
I make my own decisions, for my own reasons.
This, too, is Kim Wexler telling us who she is.
For a whole host of reasons, it was hard for us to see it clearly before.
