Fans were waiting to see if and when the worlds of Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad would collide. Now, series creator Vince Gilligan has shed light on the recent scene between Rhea Seehorn's Kim Wexler and Aaron Paul's Jesse Pinkman.
In the penultimate episode of Better Call Saul, Kim Wexler and Jesse Pinkman met in a flashback that took place after Better Call Saul's prequel portion but before Breaking Bad begins. Gilligan acknowledged that the conversation between the two may not have been truly necessary, but it was fun to pair up those two in one scene together, especially knowing how integral they are to each show and knowing what their fates would be in the end.
"I just love ’em both so much. It’s as simple as that," Gilligan said during an interview with Rolling Stone. "We try to tell these stories as organically as possible, and we do. But a scene like that is, I hate to admit it, just pleasurable to write, pleasurable to direct. It doesn’t really move the plot forward. In strict, organic storytelling terms, it’s not 'necessary.' But it just was fun. And yeah, I love those two." Gilligan later added that they primarily did it because, much like the fans, they wanted to see characters exclusive to each show meet up more than anything. "I think we all wanted — I can’t remember who came up with the idea — that we wanted to see those two worlds collide. We couldn’t help ourselves."
It may have only been for a couple of minutes, but Kim's brief conversation with Jesse felt like an unofficial passing of the torch timeline-wise. Both Jesse and Kim suffer the most because of their association and loyalty to the main character of the story. When it's all said and done, both may have gotten out from underneath their partners, but they've both caused and suffered irrevocable damage that they will never get past no matter how hard they try. Even if they have no association with each other in the slightest, Kim Wexler and Jesse Pinkman are kindred spirits in the Breaking Bad universe.
The difference between the two is that Kim knew full and well who Jimmy was and what he was capable of doing. Jesse, on the other hand, did not truly know who Walter White was until he understood the full extent of his ruthlessness. Walt's horrible ways ultimately showed that Jesse had limits in how willing he was to make it in the criminal enterprise, which was not what happened with Kim. Jimmy's horrible ways inspired Kim to see what she truly was capable of as a con artist herself. By the time she drew the line, the damage was already done.
Amazingly, both Paul and Seehorn didn't come into either show being thought of as integral characters. They got to where they were because their performances were so captivating that they inspired Gilligan and co. to explore more about them. Doing so gave viewers some of the more captivating criminal character arcs. Because Jesse was clearly a good person in a concerningly worsening situation, viewers were rooting for him to get out. Because Kim Wexler was a good person embracing more of her demons, viewers rooted for her to stop. Props to the writers for knowing how to write such a tragic story for two separate people in their own ways, and props to Paul and Seehorn for pulling off such iconic characters.
Better Call Saul airs its series finale on August 15, 2022, on AMC.
Source: Rolling Stone