While "Breaking Bad" fans initially started watching "Better Call Saul" to see more of Bob Odenkirk's smooth-talking Jimmy McGill, they also tuned in to spend more time with his fierce co-partner in life and crime, Kim Wexler. Portrayed by actor Rhea Seehorn, public defender Kim Wexler isn't one to suffer fools. Kim starts off the series as the only chain-smoking friend that Jimmy can trust, and by Season 5, she's married to the ethically elusive lawyer. Watching Jimmy and Kim craft their unique way of seeing the law and life over the course of the series has been incredibly entertaining.

Throughout "Better Call Saul," people like Howard have blamed Jimmy for Kim's questionable actions. However, Kim always reinforces that she is her own woman, well aware of her moral compass. While she loves Jimmy, she never feels coerced by him, and won't hesitate to call him out. Although it's true that she crosses some legal lines she likely wouldn't have if it wasn't for Jimmy, she also encourages him to plan bigger cons. Jimmy and Kim might not always see eye-to-eye, but they demonstrate the same thirst and skill for a well-planned revenge scheme. From confronting a cartel boss to creating her own law practice, Kim Wexler is an unstoppable force. Below are some of her most courageous and jaw-dropping scenes in the hit AMC drama.

The First Time Kim Stands Up To Howard

During Season 1 of "Better Call Saul," Kim Wexler was understandably wary of pursuing a relationship with Jimmy. While she worked side-by-side with him in the mailroom for years, she never made their close friendship public knowledge. Kim believed one day she would become a partner at Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill (HHM). Despite privately agreeing with Jimmy that he deserves more respect from the HHM partners — his brother Chuck and the arrogant Howard — she knew she couldn't risk upsetting her bosses by sticking up for Jimmy publicly. In her mind, she owed HHM for paying for her to go to law school and she needed to stay loyal to them.

However, her allegiance shifts when she sees Howard and Chuck not only dismiss Jimmy, but take credit for his work on the Sandpiper case. In Season 1, Episode 9 "Pimento," Kim stands up to Howard for commandeering the case Jimmy built from scratch. What stands out most about this moment is it's the first time Kim is willing to risk her reputation for supporting Jimmy. She can't walk away from an underdog, and she's willing to fight on Jimmy's behalf. Although Kim doesn't always agree with Jimmy's methods, she acknowledges that he works hard and is an excellent lawyer. Anyone that questions that fact will have to face her unstoppable wit and ironclad rhetoric skills. More importantly, this moment showcases Kim gaining the courage to step outside of Howard's patronizing shadow and be seen.

Kim's First Con

How can we possibly forget the first time Kim moonlighted as Giselle? In the Season 2 premiere of "Better Call Saul," Kim gets a taste of the Slippin' Jimmy life and partakes in her very first con. Written and directed by Thomas Schnauz, this episode answers a question that fans had been wondering about for some time: We know what Jimmy gets from Kim, but what can Kim possibly get from Jimmy? Throughout this episode, Kim gains a newfound respect for Jimmy's unique ability to read others and play exactly the right hand to get what he wants.

The pair pretend to be siblings with money to spend due to the death of a relative. They trick a stockbroker-bro, who was looking to profit on their investments, into buying them a bottle of Zafiro Añejo, a fictional tequila created by the "Breaking Bad" writers rumored to be inspired by a real-life $7,800 bottle of Hardy Cognac. After the rush of her first con, she sleeps with Jimmy and admits his life is far more interesting than hers. This moment marks not just the official start of Kim's romantic relationship with Jimmy but her realization that Jimmy's way of doing things has an upside. Sometimes the law won't be able to make the wealthy and corrupt citizens of Albuquerque, New Mexico pay (like the stockbroker trying to prey on the grieving) in the same way Jimmy can.

Kim Gives Jimmy The World's 2nd Best Lawyer Travel Mug

In Season 2, Episode 2 "Cobbler," Kim gives Jimmy a coffee travel mug calling him the world's second-best lawyer. While it's easy to dismiss Kim's gift as a tongue-in-cheek joke, it symbolizes something much deeper about their relationship. On the surface level, this gesture confirms that Kim will continue to date Jimmy. Kim gives Jimmy the gift for his new job at Davis & Main, symbolizing a fresh start for Jimmy and them as a couple. The pair then kiss and are on more stable grounds romantically than in prior episodes.

But this gift also showcases Kim's unwavering belief in herself. Kim is not the kind of partner who would worry about intimidating Jimmy or him taking the wrong meaning from a gift. Something changes between them after this point. When Jimmy needs legal advice after this moment, he doesn't solely rely on Chuck. He consults Kim because he values her perspective. Of course, she knows this. She wouldn't settle for less from Jimmy. Another television show could have written Kim as a character who enables Jimmy, sacrificing any spine she had. However, "Better Call Saul" never fails to remind the audience that Kim can handle herself. Being with Jimmy is a choice she makes, and this mug reminds Jimmy how lucky he is to have Kim in his life — even when it gets shot up with bullet holes.

Kim Takes Mesa Verde From HHM

After Howard and Chuck learn Jimmy created a TV ad for his Sandpiper case without talking to Cliff first, they're livid. For purely patriarchal reasons, they interrogate Kim about whether or not she knew her boyfriend made and gave the go-ahead to run an ad for his case. Of course, Kim quickly puts them in their place by saying that she didn't think she needed to tell them anything. However, Howard does not see eye-to-eye with Kim and decides to punish her for Jimmy's trigger-happy actions. Howard sends Kim to the dust-filled basement for document review, which forces Kim to work until sunrise daily.

Angered at being punished for Jimmy's actions, Kim goes through all her contacts to find a white whale of a case for her to bring to HHM to redeem herself. Cue Kim landing Mesa Verde. In a way only Howard can pull off, he undercuts Kim again. He thanks her for the new client and then takes control of the Mesa Verde account. But in Season 2, Episode 9 "Nailed," Kim takes back the multi-million dollar deal. As an added bonus, Kim uses Mesa Verde's business to quit HHM and launch her practice in a career-defining move. Unfortunately for Howard, his entitled move(s) will have consequences that he can't quite see yet in Season 2. Burning Kim not once but twice will sow the seeds for her desire to destroy Howard's reputation throughout Season 6.

Kim Almost Works Herself To The Grave

It's no secret that Kim is a boss. But Season 3, Episode 10 "Lantern" proves that even the most badass amongst us can burn out. What's most important about this moment for Kim Wexler isn't that she got into a car crash that almost killed her, though it's gut-wrenching to witness. Kim's car accident causes her to take inventory over her life. She worked so hard to prove herself to HHM so that they could pay for her to go to law school. After she became a lawyer, she worked even harder to make partner. After being burned by HHM, she built a solo practice. When Jimmy loses the ability to practice law, Kim convinces herself that she can work hard enough to pay their practices' lease. Kim has always pushed herself to achieve more.

In "Lantern," Kim gets the wake-up call to ask herself what she does or doesn't want. Is being on-call for Mesa Verde's every whim her style? Within this episode and the ones to follow, Kim examines her working life more critically. It was never her plan to go into banking law, so much as it paved a way out of HHM. After Kim takes the time to recover, she discovers what kind of law makes her the happiest to practice. Unlike Jimmy, she loves being a public defender. Without this accident, there's no telling how much longer Kim would have settled for less than she deserved in life.

Kim Chooses To Defend The Public Over Mesa Verde

In Season 4, Episode 5 "Quite a Ride," Kim makes a vital step toward her eventual career track as a public defender. Although she tries to balance Mesa Verde's increasing demands with her pro-bono cases, this episode shows her deciding to put her individual clients ahead of the mega-bank. While she's helping out a client, Paige calls Kim, but Kim opts to ignore the call. Later in the episode, Paige, in no uncertain terms, tells her that Mesa Verde has to be her top priority. This moment inspires Kim to bring Mesa Verde's account to Schweikart & Cokely, spearheading a new banking division for them. Kim is then able to spread out her work amongst the division and spend additional time on her pro-bono cases.

What's important about this moment is that it shows a vital part of Kim's character: She fundamentally believes that she can have it all as long as she finds a way to make it work. Her decision to use a firm's resources to keep her account so that she can grow her client base sustainably proves how resourceful Kim is. Unlike Jimmy, who tries to weasel out of deals, Kim solidifies her reputation as someone who creates deals that benefit herself. Even Mesa Verde cannot intimidate her, which they'll learn later when they try to do so and utterly get burned by Kim and Jimmy.

Kim Saves Jimmy's Law License

In a show like "Better Call Saul," most individuals are looking out solely for themselves. What makes Kim stand apart in this series is how she uses her wit and crafty intelligence to help others. When Jimmy is at risk of losing his law license for good, it's Kim who crafts the ultimate scheme to save the day. In Season 4, Episode 10 "Winner," Kim instructs Jimmy that he needs to be seen as a sympathetic figure if he wants to win his case. On the one-year anniversary of Chuck's death, Kim tells Jimmy to spend the whole day at Chuck's grave so that visiting lawyers and colleagues will see him grieving. Just as Kim predicted, fellow peers visit throughout the day and start gossiping about how bereft Jimmy is.

Furthermore, she tells Jimmy to spread a rumor that he anonymously donated money to build a library for Chuck at HHM. Although the library was paid for by HHM, people believe that the grieving brother privately set it up for Chuck. When it comes time for Jimmy to stand trial and defend his law license, the judges are quickly swayed and believe that Jimmy is turning over a new leaf. They no longer see him as a car salesman-like figure but as a man in pain. Without Kim, Jimmy would likely still be selling disposable cell phones on the street corner.

Kim Proposes To Jimmy … Sort Of

Kim and Jimmy's relationship goes through several rough patches. Mostly, they butt heads when Jimmy is involved in something he wants to tell Kim but can't. Not wanting to sacrifice her legal reputation, Kim previously told Jimmy that she doesn't want to know what con he's got going on so that she isn't culpable. However, it doesn't take long for Kim to feel shut out by Jimmy and scared about what he may or may not be up to during his business hours. As much as Kim doesn't suffer fools, she equally never wants to be treated as one.

While things with Mesa Verde were going okay, Kim becomes bored of the predictability of her work. What incites her further is when Mesa Verde decides to take over the land where Everett Acker lives — as he was leasing it from the bank — to build a new branch. Kim asks Jimmy for help running a con on Mesa Verde so that Acker won't lose his home. However, Jimmy shocks Kim by blackmailing Mesa Verde, which was not a part of their agreed-upon plan. Tired of being unaware of Jimmy's plans and their possible repercussions, Kim proposes they get married in Season 5, Episode 7. Thanks to spousal privilege, the pair's dynamic changes for the better. Even if Kim doesn't approve of what Jimmy does, she knows she'll never hear him omitting the truth again for her sake.

Kim Tells Off Lalo Salamanca

While Kim has several standout monologues in "Better Call Saul," there are none that are as memorable as when she tells off Lalo Salamanca. In Season 5, Episode 9 "Bad Choice Road," Jimmy is still out in the desert with Mike after their money drop-off went sideways. Kim, overcome with worry, decides to confront Lalo in his holding cell. Without blinking, Kim (rightfully) blames Lalo for Jimmy's disappearance and criticizes his business operation. Few people in the "Better Call Saul" universe have successfully stood up to Lalo, never mind having the gall to tell him to "get his house in order." She cleverly deduces that the only reason he'd use his lawyer as a bagman is that he doesn't trust anyone who works for him, which reflects poorly on his management style. Kim's brazenness amuses Lalo, who tells her that Jimmy is a lucky man to have someone like her in his corner.

In a certain light, you could almost see Kim becoming a better version of Walter White in "Better Call Saul." That's not quite where the series takes Kim, but this moment marks the start of her not being afraid to go toe-to-toe with nefarious forces. While some fans argue that Jimmy influenced this side of Kim to emerge, this moment demonstrates that her steely confidence and silver tongue are skills that come naturally to her. She just uses them discerningly for when it helps her self-interest and those she loves.

Kim Sets Howard's Demise Into Motion

Kim is not one to forgive or forget easily. No one learns this truth better than Howard Hamlin. In Season 5's finale, "Something Unforgivable," Kim decides it's time to get revenge on Howard for all the times he undermined her and assumed that she only ever does what Jimmy wants. Although this shocked Jimmy, he's more than happy to plot Howard's downfall, especially after the ways Howard dismissed him and seeded the divide between him and Chuck. A lot of fans see this moment as a turning point for Kim's character, as she's now someone who delights in ruining someone and laughs at how she could humiliate Howard. However, this isn't just about personal vendettas. Kim wants Jimmy (and de-facto herself) to have access to the $7 million Sandpiper settlement that's tied up with HHM.

When speaking to THR, "Better Call Saul" executive producer Melissa Bernstein confirmed that Kim's path would only get darker in Season 6: "We've seen [Kim] navigate some unsavory personalities and glean information when it's advantageous to her and Jimmy." Referring to Kim's treatment of Viola in Season 6, Bernstein added, "But to do that to a character that we all like as an audience, somebody who is professing how much she admires Kim, is very, very low. To do what she's doing and to do it in such a friendly, disarming way is pretty shameful." Move over, Gus Fring.

Kim Unveils The Kettlemans' Latest Scam

In "Better Call Saul" Season 6, Episode 2 "Carrot and Stick," Kim proves to Jimmy that sometimes you don't need to grease the wheels to get what you want. For a certain kind of person, they'll only respond to dire consequences. Despite Jimmy thinking he could convince the Kettlemans to forget what he told them about Howard's addiction, they are hell-bent on finding a way to punish Jimmy for almost tricking them. Although it's clear that the Kettlemans don't know the long (or short) game that Jimmy is playing, they are the type to cause an unneeded scene, which could ruin Kim and Jimmy's con.

Cue Kim's ruthless entrance. It takes Kim less than five minutes of walking through their gaudy accounting office to deduce the Kettlemans' latest scam. Kim figures out that they have been skimming off the top of their clients' tax refunds, taking a larger sum for themselves. Although the Kettlemans deny this, Kim calmly sits down and calls a good ol' friend at the IRS with a specialty in tax fraud. Scared of being tried for fraud again, the Kettlemans let Jimmy and Kim go and vow to forget anything Jimmy said about Howard. Once again, we see how when Jimmy and Kim are pushed into a corner, Kim manages to find a legal loophole to save the day. This moment also shows Kim's growing knack for understanding what makes a clever scam work.

Kim Confronts ADA Suzanne Ericsen

Once Kim married Jimmy, plenty of characters in "Better Call Saul" voiced their opinions about their union. However, none were as insulting and shameless as ADA Suzanne Ericsen. Following Jimmy's decision to represent Lalo Salamanca, Ericsen starts keeping tabs on Jimmy's involvement with the Mexican cartel. Further, she spreads rumors around the courthouse that Jimmy is a dirty lawyer, which hurts his professional reputation.

In Season 6, Episode 3 "Rock and Hard Place," Ericsen asks to speak privately with Kim about Jimmy. The ADA tells Kim that she's worried that Jimmy is somehow wrapped up in something sinister. She tries to appease Kim by saying that she's sure Jimmy didn't know who Lalo was, and asks for Kim to convince Jimmy to feed the defense department information on the cartel. Insulted that Ericsen would so blatantly feign sincerity to gain access to information to help her career, Kim confronts her. She reminds Ericsen that she's the same person who called her husband a "scumbag," so she's not doing her any favors.

What's great about this moment isn't just Kim sticking up for Jimmy, but she sees through Ericsen's "altruistic" motivations. Of course, Kim knows what is truly upsetting her. Ericsen's not upset that Jimmy represented Lalo; she's angry that her team and the state had Lalo in custody and unwittingly released him on bail.

Kim (Once Again) Creates A Job For Herself

In Season 6, Episode 4 "Hit and Run," Kim ends up creating her dream job while simultaneously running a Howard-destroying con with Jimmy. As a way to distract Cliff, Kim asks Cliff to meet up for coffee. As part of a way to keep Cliff focused on the exact moment that Jimmy (in disguise as Howard) arrives, she says she wants to talk about work. Kim pitches Cliff the idea to start a pro-bono law practice, and she asks for his connections to help her get started. While Kim's pitch wasn't rooted in any true job plan per se, Cliff believes so much in Kim's work that he tells her he's interested in the idea. Not only does Kim succeed in keeping Cliff occupied but she once again creates a job for herself out of thin air.

While Season 6 shows Kim descending into unethical behaviors, it's nevertheless displaying the rewards of Kim's risk-taking pursuits. Although she's aiming to destroy Howard professionally, she's never lost sight of her simultaneous desire to help the underdog. Even if opening a pro-bono practice won't make up for her lies, Kim is still using these darker aspects of herself to achieve what the rulebook version of herself never could. When Rhea Seehorn was asked if she believed Kim and/or Jimmy corrupted each other, she told Looper, "They both are very flawed. They are going down similar rabbit holes and we'll see who can pull the brakes."

No One Can Tail Kim Wexler

Following Kim standing up to Ericsen, she notices a sedan has been tailing her car for a couple of days. When she tells Jimmy, he handwaves that away. He tells her she's seeing things because she feels guilty about pulling off their latest part of the long-Howard-con. However, Kim follows her gut and makes notes of the car's plates. Although most "Better Call Saul" characters might stop there, Kim Wexler doesn't. She confronts the car that is tailing her, regardless if the men inside are private investigators working for the ADA or Lalo's crew. She tells the mysterious men to back off or she'll call the cops and say she's being harassed.

In Season 6, Episode 4 "Hit and Run," Kim doesn't think twice before confronting men that could have easily killed her. Mike soon arrives on the scene and tells Kim the truth. His men followed her just in case Lalo showed up. Mike apologizes for the stress and promises he has no intention of hurting Jimmy or her. He also seems low-key impressed that Kim was able to spot the tail. When Kim asks Mike why he confided in her about Lalo possibly being alive, he tells her she's made of "stronger stuff" than Jimmy. As "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul" has shown best, Mike doesn't trust people easily. But with one meeting, Kim has already won him over — which is more than Jimmy can say.

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The post 14 Most Memorable Kim Wexler Moments In Better Call Saul appeared first on /Film.