One of the consequences of being a prequel is that characters who don’t appear in the sequel might inspire sincere concern about their fate from the viewers. And few have felt that more deeply than fans ofBetter Call Saul, especially when it comes to the character of Kim (Rhea Seehorn), the forthright lawyer who has, since the beginning of the series, proven herself to be more than a match for her partner in law, life, and love Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk).
Since Kim doesn’t appear inBreaking Bad, which was made beforeSaulbut chronologically is set afterwards, the character has become a source of stress for those who, frankly,just want Kim to be okay. But one theory that’s popped up occasionally on Twitter is one that posits something resembling a happy ending for Kim — thanks to a previous role of Seehorn’s.
In 2011, the actress made her first appearance on the TNT legal dramedyFranklin & Bash, starringBreckin MeyerandMark-Paul Gosselaaras rebellious legal eagles. While never a series regular, Seehorn appeared in 11 episodes of the series as Ellen Swatello, initially an assistant DA who at a later point joins Franklin and Bash at their law firm.
AsSaulis primarily set in the early ’00s andFranklin & Bashwas contemporary to its time, at this point it’s not totally impossible to consider this idea: That Kim, at some point in the 2000s, flees New Mexico for Los Angeles, and finds a new legal career there.
While Seehorn has no comment on Kim’s ultimate fate, in a recent Collider Connected interview her reaction to being told about this idea was, first, to declare that “I loveFranklin and Bash! I love that show.” And then, when it comes to the fan theory, “I was not aware of that. That’s hysterical.”
And when given a moment to think about it, Seehorn does see why people would connect to the two characters. " I feel like there’s more differences than similarities, but there’s definitely a very terse way of speaking — if Kim was trying to be witty with how terse and clipped she speaks… I feel like Ellen was very aware of having zingers, and there’s no way Ellen Swatello would sit silently as Kim does through like eight pages of, in her mind, idiots blabbing on and she’s just waiting to go in for the kill."
Concludes Seehorn, “Yeah, that’s funny in some ways, Ellen seems so buttoned up. But, actually, I feel like Ellen has a lot less restraint than Kim.”
It’s been years since Seehorn played Ellen, so her ability to analyze what exactly differentiates that character from Kim Wexler at a moment’s notice is worth appreciating, at the very least. And what makes the two women different from each other says a lot about them… not to mention Seehorn as an actress.
Better Call SaulSeason 5 is streaming now on AMC.com.Franklin & Bashis, sadly, not streaming anywhere.
