Since Better Call Saul’s “midseason finale” in May, I’ve been in denial about the show ending. If the show never ends, I will be happy. I could watch Jimmy McGill and Kim Wexler have weird sexual tension while doing pranks and watching old movies in their extremely early aughts apartment endlessly. But, sadly, Better Call Saul is coming to an end, and the end starts when it returns for its final episodes on Monday, July 11.
The first half of the final season was not kind to those who get emotionally attached to fictional characters. First, they took sweet Nacho Vargas which was expected but excruciating. Then, in the last episode to air in May, they took the heavily tanned, blonde, and annoying lawyer Howard Hamlin. For the majority of the series, Hamlin was an antagonist to Jimmy (and by association Kim), but his death was distressing and gutting. If it could happen to Howard, it could happen to anyone on this show.
It’s possible that at this point, Better Call Saul has no more characters left to kill off, especially given that much of the cast has to live to experience the events of Breaking Bad. Despite that, here are some theories about the fate of the three major characters left (who do not live and then die in Breaking Bad, like Gus Fring and Mike Ehrmantraut).
Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman/Gene
Death Forecast: 85% chance of death
How? Lalo Salamanca hunts down Gene in Nebraska.
Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad display the true nature of Jimmy McGill. As much as he tries to be earnest throughout the prequel series, he eventually acts selfishly, cuts corners, and brings others down to get ahead (and get rich). Essentially, Better Call Saul has not been leading to a happy ending for the man once known as Jimmy McGill. As much as I would like to think that the final shot of the show will be Jimmy and Kim skipping on the beach at sunset holding hands, it’s more likely that Jimmy will meet a permanent end, a violent consequence of years of greed. If Lalo Salamanca is still alive (more theories on that if you keep reading this!), he could come to haunt him in a flash-forward scene. It could also be Kim or former client Jesse Pinkman.
Kim Wexler
Death Forecast: 30% chance of death
How? I don’t want to think about it, but it would most likely be at the hands of Lalo Salamanca.
After years of wondering, “why the hell is Kim Wexler completely absent from Breaking Bad?” we are weeks away from the answer. Season after season, people agonized over Kim’s fate. Her notable absence from Breaking Bad suggests she’s dead, but that’s unlikely. Kim is the kind of person who takes matters into her own hands, including facing off with dangerous people like Lala Salamanca. Kim knows how to get herself out of precarious situations, and she also, despite herself, always sticks by Jimmy. Either it is revealed that Kim was married to Saul Goodman throughout the entire run of Breaking Bad, or Kim pays a visit to the Disappearer years before Jimmy does (a Best Quality Vacuum Repairs business card was introduced earlier this season). The alternative is that Lalo Salamanca kills her but he already killed Howard, so while Lalo is a murderous asshole, at this point, Kim’s fate is likely sad, but not fatal.
Lalo Salamanca
Death Forecast: 40% chance of death
How? Gustavo Fring.
Lalo Salamanca is terrifying, but Tony Dalton has so much natural charisma that it’s hard to root against him, even when he’s breaking into people’s apartments and shooting their former bosses in the head. Like Kim, Lalo’s absence from Breaking Bad indicates ill fate. But like Kim, I think it’s quite the opposite. Saul Goodman mentions Lalo by name in Breaking Bad using the present tense, indicating that he’s still alive. If he dies, it will be at the hands of Gustavo Fring (or more likely Mike Ehrmantraut) who has been coming for him ever since he showed up on the show. If Lalo is alive, which he probably is, he’s probably hiding from Gustavo Fring thanks to Best Quality Vacuum Repairs, which would explain his absence from Breaking Bad. Saul Goodman is corrupt, but he is a damn good and criminal lawyer, loyal to even his worst clients.
