‘Better Call Saul’: Can Saul and Kim Pull Off Their Next Hoax?
Better Call Saul‘s Jimmy McGill and Kim Wexler are no strangers to conning others. In earlier seasons of the AMC series, Jimmy opened Kim’s eyes to what they could accomplish together when they conned Ken Wins into buying them expensive tequila.
This season, we’ve already seen Kim solicit Jimmy’s help in convincing a client to take a deal rather than go to trial. Kim is increasingly drawn to Jimmy’s ability to bend the rules to fight for justice, but has she finally gone too far in asking Saul Goodman to represent Mr. Acker?
Jimmy and Kim’s greatest scheme
Throughout season five of Better Call Saul, we’ve seen Kim struggle to find justice for Mr. Acker, the man who owns the property Mesa Verde wants to build a call center upon.
Despite her many attempts to do right by Mr. Acker, Kim ultimately asked Jimmy — er, Saul Goodman — to pursue Mr. Acker as a client. Knowing the lengths Jimmy has gone to in the past to “bend the rules,” Kim entrusted that he would do whatever it took as Saul Goodman to protect the land Mr. Acker lives on.
First, Saul Goodman revealed the construction crew had the wrong address — with fake mail to prove it. Then, he buried shattered pots, calling in a group of historians to uncover the “artifacts.”
He and Mr. Acker spent an evening grinding up smoke detector batteries to spike radiation levels. In a last ditch effort, Saul spray painted the likeness of Jesus on Mr. Acker’s home to bring in tourists from far and wide, creating a media frenzy.
Much to the chagrin of Mesa Verde, Saul’s efforts delayed construction indefinitely.
What Kim Wexler is willing to risk
Kim Wexler has always sought to do the right thing by following the rules. Though she tried helping Mr. Acker directly, he too closely associated her with Mesa Verde and consistently denied her assistance.
While she has pulled off several cons with Jimmy in the past, asking him to become Mr. Acker’s lawyer is a con that comes with the most significant risk to Kim — her career as a lawyer.
Kim’s boss, Richard Schweikart, made it clear that he knows who Jimmy McGillis. What’s more, he knows that Jimmy and Kim are in a relationship and heavily implied that he knows what they’re doing. Having witnessed Kim’s failed attempts to help Mr. Acker, Schweikart quickly put together that Kim turned to Jimmy for help.
While Kevin and Paige of Mesa Verde don’t necessarily know who Jimmy is, they shared interactions with his brother Chuck McGill in the past. If Mesa Verde decides to take Mr. Acker’s case to trial, it’s possible they could realize what Kim has been up to. That conflict of interest could be Kim’s downfall in trying to do right my Mr. Acker.
How this will all pan out
The allure of Saul Goodman’s off-book strategy have influenced Kim in the past. Now, it seems as though she is in over her head, fighting for Mr. Acker’s well being.
Ultimately, Kim’s desire to seek justice for Mr. Acker while balancing her professional relationship with Mesa Verde could blow up in her face.
The next episode of Better Call Saul is titled “Wexler vs. Goodman,” which alludes to the fact that Mr. Acker’s case will go to trial. This scheme could be the beginning of the end for Jimmy and Kim.
