Better Call Saul’s Version Of Jesse Pinkman Was Different From Aaron Paul’s Character In 1 Big Way

Kim Wexler was essentially Better Call Saul’s answer to Jesse Pinkman from Breaking Bad — the sidekick with a conscience — but unlike Jesse, she was a true partner. In many ways, Better Call Saul was a completely different show than Breaking Bad. It took place in the same universe and borrowed most of its characters, but where Breaking Bad was an action-packed neo-western set in the illicit drug trade, Better Call Saul was a quirky legal procedural about an unscrupulous lawyer who will bend over backwards and exploit every loophole in the system to stay out of a court of law.

But structurally, Better Call Saul emulated a lot of what made Breaking Bad work so well. Much like Breaking Bad, it chronicles the moral downfall of a complex antihero. Where Walter White transformed from a mild-mannered chemistry teacher into a ruthless drug lord with a formidable body count, Jimmy McGill transformed from a wayward young underdog attorney into an ambulance-chasing *criminal* lawyer. And where Walt was flanked by the good-hearted Jesse, Jimmy was flanked by the good-hearted Kim.

Kim Wexler Was Better Call Saul’s Version Of Jesse Pinkman

Kim Was The Sidekick With A Conscience

Kim was basically Better Call Saul’s answer to Jesse. In Breaking Bad, Jesse was Walt’s partner-in-crime who had much more of a conscience than him. When Walt went too far, Jesse was the angel on his shoulder, encouraging him to do the right thing. Kim served the same dramatic purpose in Jimmy’s arc throughout Better Call Saul. The scene between Kim and Jesse toward the end of Better Call Saul’s run proved that this was the case, as the two surprisingly related to each other.

Kim Was Truly A Partner To Jimmy, Whereas Jesse Was Walt’s Victim

Kim Admitted That She And Jimmy Were Bad For Each Other

While Kim is undoubtedly Better Call Saul’s version of Jesse, there is one key difference between the two characters. Kim was a true partner in Jimmy’s criminal schemes, whereas Jesse was more of a victim to Walt’s actions. That’s not to say that Jesse was a flawless person who didn’t actively do bad things. But he was ultimately a tool that Walt used for five seasons. Walt did whatever he had to do to manipulate Jesse into doing what he wanted.

Jimmy knowingly deceived Kim a couple of times in Better Call Saul, like when he showed the smear ads at Mesa Verde after she’d told him to call it off. But he never manipulated her into doing his bidding. She was always his equal and always had a say in how their schemes were pulled off. Kim herself admitted that she and Jimmy couldn’t be together because they enabled each other. Howard Hamlin made the perfect comparison when he said that Kim and Jimmy were like Leopold and Loeb.

Better Call Saul

10/10

Release Date

2015 – 2022-00-00

Showrunner

Peter Gould

Directors

Vince Gilligan, Thomas Schnauz, Peter Gould, Michael Morris, Adam Bernstein, Colin Bucksey, John Shiban, Michelle MacLaren, Melissa Bernstein, Larysa Kondracki, Terry McDonough, Gordon Smith, Minkie Spiro, Jim McKay, Daniel Sackheim, Andrew Stanton, Norberto Barba, Rhea Seehorn, Scott Winant, Michael Slovis, Keith Gordon, Deborah Chow, Giancarlo Esposito, Bronwen Hughes

Writers

Ann Cherkis, Marion Dayre, Ariel Levine, Jonathan Glatzer