‘Better Call Saul’: Bob Odenkirk Says Kim’s Marriage Proposal Had an Ulterior Motive
Better Call Saul has introduced Breaking Bad fans to another side of Saul Goodman — a side that includes romantic interest Kim Wexler. After Kim’s groundbreaking marriage proposal in the episode “Wexler vs. McGill,” fans starting questioning her motives.
Initially, it seemed like Kim was trying to protect Jimmy from having to ever testify her, but was there something more? Bob Odenkirk confirmed what Better Call Saul fans were thinking: Kim’s proposal meant more than merely protecting Jimmy in a court of law.
Kim Wexler proposed to Jimmy McGill
Throughout the first five seasons of Better Call Saul, we’ve seen the ups and downs of Jimmy’s relationship with Kim, both personally and in their professional law careers.
In season five, after a trying time with Mesa Verde and Tucumcari homeowner Everett Acker, Kim seemed to be at her wits end with Jimmy — until she proposed that they get married.
“I cannot keep living like this. If you don’t see it, I don’t know what to say because we are at a breaking point,” Kim explained in the episode. She finished with: “Either we end this now, and enjoy the time we had and go our separate ways, or maybe…or maybe we get married.”
The ulterior motive in Kim’s proposal
In an interview with Variety, Odenkirk explained Kim’s outlandish marriage proposal and how he and Rhea Seehorn needed to “make it feel legitimate.” He confirmed that fans who suspect the motivation for the Wexler-Goodman marriage to be “spousal privilege” aren’t wrong. By marrying Jimmy, Kim is protecting him from having to testify against her in a court of law and vice versa.
Odenkirk also added Kim’s marriage proposal was about more than just protection. Up until their wedding, it was clear Kim and Jimmy’s relationship was deteriorating at a rapid pace. In legally getting married, Kim is not only trying to protect Jimmy but reignite the spark in their relationship. Odenkirk explained: “[The marriage is] a legal thing primarily, but at the same time, you can’t discount there’s a closeness between the characters that grows because of it.”
What will happen to Kim?
By the time we meet Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad, he’s missing any kind of intimate relationship in his life. Knowing what we do about Kim and Jimmy’s relationship in Better Call Saul makes us feel for the version of Saul Goodman we meet in the original series.
Super-fans have noticed in the Breaking Bad episode titled “Green Light,” Saul commented on his past marriages when he confided in Walter that he “caught [his] second wife screwing [his] step-dad.” There’s never any mention of Kim Wexler in the parent series, though.
With only a few episodes left in this season of Better Call Saul and a sixth and final season confirmed, Kim’s storyline is going to have to wrap up somehow. Will Kim finally leave Jimmy for good once the persona of Saul consumes him, or will her end be more tragic than that? Now that Jimmy’s in bed with the cartel, Kim’s fate could go either way.
