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This Week's 'Better Call Saul' Episode Might Have Debunked That Fan Theory About Kim & Saul

Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler and Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy McGill in Better Call Saul
Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television

Spoilers ahead for Better Call Saul Season 5. As Jimmy becomes a "friend of the cartel," his professional life as Saul Goodman is poised to take off. But his new pals might mean his private life will take a hit. A leading theory about Better Call Saul is that Kim will die, and "JMM" makes that fate seem more likely than ever.

After Kim's proposal in the previous episode, Jimmy and her went through with a courthouse ceremony. Jimmy claimed to their witness Huell that they are only getting married so Kim can't testify against him in court. Besides marital privileges being a bit more complicated than that, the audience knows Jimmy was flat-out lying to Huell since he loves Kim. That indicates that perhaps the Saul we see in Breaking Bad did everything within his power to keep his private life with Kim a secret while he took on Walter White as a client. Although, in a fun Easter egg, one thing Saul told Walt about his personal life turned out to be true: Jimmy was married twice before as he presents the documentation of his "two previous dissolutions."

However, rather than Saul and Kim being secretly married throughout the events of Breaking Bad, another outcome is they are no longer together. And what could tear them apart at this point? Kim's death.

Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television

"It's an impending tragedy," Better Call Saul co-creator Vince Gilligan told Vulture about Kim. Although he was speaking about Kim's "self-destructive behavior" in Season 5, the word "tragic" does seem to get thrown around a lot by the Better Call Saul team when it comes to Kim. Rhea Seehorn called Season 5 "the most tragic" season to Entertainment Weekly. That echoes what the Kim actor told Bustle ahead of Season 4. "Let's say she's not in Breaking Bad in any fashion — does that still mean she's out of [Jimmy's] life? I don't know. If she is, what's the most tragic way that happens?"

The most tragic way that Kim could leave Jimmy's life is for him to be responsible for her death. His life as Saul is only going to get more dangerous as he works for the Mexican drug cartel. If that wasn't bad enough, he's in the middle of the feud between Gus Fring and the Salamancas. The only reason Saul was able to get Lalo out on bail was because of the information that Mike provided him on behalf of Gus. That will make Saul a "friend of the cartel," as Lalo told him. But what will happen if Lalo learns that his release was all part of an elaborate revenge plot by Gus and that Saul facilitated it?

Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television

Just because Saul kept his real name a secret from Lalo in "JMM," it doesn't mean he couldn't figure out his real identity. Lalo is also certainly capable of murdering a loved one of Saul's. So even if Lalo never finds out about this specific instance of betrayal, Saul will most likely continue to do Gus' bidding to the detriment of the Salamancas. They may realize that one day and take it out on their lawyer by killing the only person who matters to him — Kim. Saul's introduction in Breaking Bad showed that he was completely petrified of Lalo, blaming everything on Nacho. Is Saul so scared because Lalo hurt Kim? Or is he so scared because he wants to prevent Lalo from ever hurting his wife?

It's possible that Lalo never figures out Saul's double-crossing. But even on their wedding night, there was an uneasiness about Kim and Jimmy's future. He told Kim about representing Lalo, but he lied when he said he didn't want the perks that go along with being the cartel's "friend." And if anything is going to make Jimmy become the loathsome Saul Goodman in earnest, it would be that he caused Kim's death by keeping her ignorant of his true involvement with the cartel.