Although Kim Wexler isn't as duplicitous as Jimmy McGill in Better Call Saul, she proved in Season 2 that she's no saint — particularly when she decided to take on the client Mesa Verde. Yet, the Season 3 premiere showed that Kim's compromised morals on Better Call Saul regarding how she became Mesa Verde's lawyer could have very real and lasting effects on her career. While she certainly deserved to be hired as the lawyer for the bank's branch expansion, she knows that she only won back the client because of Jimmy tampering with Chuck's files. And during the April 10 episode, "Mable," this idea that HHM was fired by Mesa Verde due to a presumed typo seemed to haunt her.
During a meeting at Mesa Verde, Paige is thoroughly impressed with Kim's work and discusses how disgusted she is that Chuck had tried to pin the blame on someone else when he wrote the incorrect address of their proposed expansion on a legal document. Of course, Kim knew that Chuck hadn't made the mistake, but that Jimmy was to blame for the fatal flaw that led to Kim getting back her client. Paige's comments about Chuck put Kim on edge and she decides to look over the paperwork one last time to confirm she's done everything right.
Kim actor Rhea Seehorn spoke to Bustle about how her character is acutely aware that transposed numbers made Mesa Verde fire HHM, so she knows she can't make any mistakes herself. That's why she obsessively stares at her computer screen during the Season 3 premiere and debates about the correct punctuation to use.
Beyond wanting to be flawless, it also seems like Kim's conscience might be getting the best of her. As Seehorn said to Bustle, Mesa Verde is "ill-gotten gains" for her character. The actor also said that Kim could still have protected Jimmy without taking on the bank as a client, but that she became the bank's lawyer "because deep down she believes she deserves it, but 'deserves it' is not the same thing as legal."
While Kim has every right to feel justified in taking the account that HHM had played dirty to steal from her, the Season 3 premiere might be evidence that the ends most likely won't justify the means. Because even though Kim is an incredibly capable and hardworking lawyer who deserved Mesa Verde in the first place, if she continues to let how she won the client impact how she works, she could easily drive herself crazy double, triple, and even quadruple-checking her work.
Beyond the guilt and the fact that Kim could be ruined professionally if the truth about Jimmy changing the numbers — and that she knows about it — ever came out, perhaps even more concerning is the self-doubt that Kim's actions show. She's a woman who has worked so hard to earn what she has, but Jimmy's meddling may have made Kim feel like she needs to prove her worthiness even more. That could become a problem in the long run if her dedication crosses over into paranoia and obsession. Although Jimmy's heart was in the right place, I don't want his actions to make Kim question her abilities as a lawyer. It could lead to her law practice being over before it ever really gets started.
