Better Call Saul Proves Kim Could’ve Stopped Breaking Bad
In a pivotal Better Call Saul season 6 scene, Kim Wexler makes a choice that determines the course of Breaking Bad. Throughout Better Call Saul's 5 seasons and counting, Jimmy McGill has found himself at many crossroads, where making a different choice would completely shift the future landscape of Breaking Bad. The conman-turned-lawyer has turned down multiple golden opportunities to go straight, and formed chance friendships that will eventually define his downfall. You could even argue Jimmy's "50% off legal services" sale in Better Call Saul season 5 began a chain reaction that causes Walter White's initial encounter with Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad.
While Jimmy's refusal to go straight and transformation into "Saul Goodman" fall entirely upon his own shoulders, misfortune and circumstance are also to blame for his criminal career path. Jimmy never exactly intended to become the cartel's favorite lawyer, but after first representing Krazy-8, then catching the eye of Lalo Salamanca, he wasn't exactly left much choice. And once you're in with the mob, resignations are typically accepted in blood only.
Better Call Saul season 6's "Rock & Hard Place" sees Jimmy thrown a lifeline. Suzanne Ericsen (Better Call Saul's assistant district attorney) knows Jimmy represented Lalo Salamanca under a falsified name, and offers something resembling a plea bargain. If Jimmy provides evidence against Lalo and his associates, he won't face any kind of punishment for fraudulently defending known a murderer and drug trafficker using the alias "Jorge de Guzman." When Kim tells Jimmy about Suzanne's offer, he's clearly tempted. Having felt constantly out of his depth since becoming a friendly with the cartel, Jimmy finally sees an exit door. As he deliberates, Jimmy turns to Kim for advice. She responds with, "Depends... do you wanna be a friend of the cartel, or do you wanna be a rat?"
Outwardly, Kim encourages Jimmy to make his own decision... but her pointed use of the term "rat" is plainly designed to deter Jimmy from accepting Suzanne's deal. Without saying so explicitly, Kim dissuades her husband from coming clean, and subtly infers she too would consider Jimmy a rat if he took the offer. Jimmy McGill is madly in love with Kim by this point in Better Call Saul's timeline, and values her opinion above anyone else's. When Kim brings up her meeting with Suzanne, Jimmy asks twice "what do you think I should do?" - a clear sign he's relying on her moral guidance. Rather than provide it earnestly, she tells him not to become a rat.
Kim's answer in this moment has huge ramifications for Breaking Bad. Giving Better Call Saul a dose of Marvel's "What If...?" treatment, how does Jimmy's future change if Kim encourages him to take Suzanne's bargain? Given how much he respects her, Jimmy would undoubtedly heed Kim's advice. He visits the DA's office, spills everything he knows about Lalo, Gus Fring and the cartel, and reverts to being the regular, semi-sketchy lawyer known as Saul Goodman. Jimmy's intel may not bring down the entire meth operation, but it'd certainly deal a heavy blow. He'd go from "friend of the cartel" to their enemy numero uno. Having sold out his criminal pals, there's no way Saul Goodman could then launder Walter White's cash in Breaking Bad. That white Cadillac wouldn't be allowed within a mile of the drug business - and that's assuming Jimmy manages to survive the cartel's inevitable assassination attempts long enough. Without Saul, Breaking Bad suddenly takes on a starkly different hue.
Despite being deterred by Kim's "rat" line, Jimmy could still strike a deal with Suzanne in Better Call Saul season 6... sort of. Because Jimmy's head isn't attached to a tortoise shell in Breaking Bad, it's safe to assume he doesn't tell the DA everything about the cartel. Jimmy may, however, give them just enough to arrest Lalo Salamanca. He might even receive a helping hand from Gustavo Fring, since both want Lalo removed from the board in Better Call Saul's final season. By manipulating Suzanne and the DA's office into convincing Lalo, but not ratting out the entire operation, Jimmy can maybe hold onto his last remaining dregs of legal reputation, whilst retaining his status as a friend of the cartel... but has Kim's persuasive influence already taken hold?
Better Call Saul continues Monday on AMC.
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