Kim Wexler’s fate remains totally unknown in Better Call Saul, but season 6’s “Axe & Grind” supports the best theory about her future whereabouts.
Has Better Call Saul just confirmed the best theory explaining Kim Wexler’s absence during Breaking Bad? With Nacho Varga’s death, Jimmy hiring Francesca as his assistant, and cameos from familiar faces like Spooge and Wendy, Better Call Saul season 6 continues to add elements from the Breaking Bad era. Alas, the Kim Wexler issue remains unresolved. Kim is Jimmy’s wife and best friend in Better Call Saul‘s present day, but she gets nary a mention throughout the entirety of Breaking Bad. Her status and whereabouts remain Better Call Saul‘s most troubling question mark in season 6.
Death awaits around every corner in Vince Gilligan’s blood-soaked fictional universe, so Kim is far from guaranteed to reach Better Call Saul‘s finale alive. Another theory claims Kim spends Breaking Bad in a jail cell, taking the rap for her and Jimmy’s Howard Hamlin scam, while some believe she hides in the shadows and secretly masterminds Saul Goodman & Associates. According to one of the most popular Better Call Saul theories, however, Kim finds herself in such hot water she hires Ed Galbraith – the vacuum repair salesman who’ll make you disappear for a hefty fee.
The Kim-Disappearer theory takes a massive leap forward in Better Call Saul season 6’s “Axe & Grind.” In preparation for the final phase of their Howard scam, Jimmy and Kim visit Dr. Caldera – the vet with fingers in a multitude of criminal pies. Having come to know Jimmy quite well over the course of Better Call Saul, Caldera shows the lawyer his black book of underworld contacts – a hive of scum and villainy and the proverbial kings to the kingdom. Though every entry is coded, tucked inside the book is a business card for Ed’s Best Vacuum Repair shop, marking the first time these future associates have been directly connected by Better Call Saul‘s prequel timeline. More curious is how much interest Kim takes in this particular card. The way she immediately clocks Ed’s details and takes a closer examination before slotting the card back into place feels like heavy foreshadowing that Kim’s future is inextricably linked with the Disappearer.
Dr. Caldera doesn’t tell his two clients what kind of service Ed Galbraith provides (and it doesn’t say so on the business card, obviously), so Kim can’t be plotting her Better Call Saul escape already. We do, however, know the black book comes into Jimmy’s possession thanks to the season 6 premiere’s house clearance scene. Kim’s piqued interest in the vacuum shop combined with the foreknowledge that Jimmy obtains Caldera’s contacts adds a whole new dimension – and a whole load of fuel – to the theory that Kim will use the Disappearer to get out of town once the Howard Hamlin heat becomes too intense. Assuming the Sandpiper scam goes without a hitch, Kim would also have the money required to purchase Ed’s services.
Kim leaving Jimmy to start a new life under a false identity works as a Better Call Saul ending because it balances hope and despair in equal measure. Disappearing feels almost as tragic as a death, with husband and wife unable to see each other again, but without the unnecessary brutality an actual death would risk. Kim running away to parts unknown also leaves a glimmer of hope for Better Call Saul‘s Gene timeline. Last we saw of Jimmy McGill’s gray scale alter ego, his identity had been rumbled by an overly-intrusive cab driver, meaning Omaha is no longer safe. Maybe there’s still a chance Jimmy and Kim can reunite and live happily ever after in a post-Breaking Bad future.
Better Call Saul continues Monday on AMC.
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