The series finale of Better Call Saul was one of the most highly anticipated TV events of the past few years, not just because of how much trouble was awaiting the lead characters in that final episode, but also because it would finally resolve a character arc that was first created back in 2009. Audiences were eager to see where Saul Goodman would finally end up after being caught in Omaha, and thankfully, the resolution was extremely fitting and thematic. Season 6 ended up being one of Better Call Saul’s best seasons, and the show ended on a real high.

However, it wasn’t just Saul’s fate that hung in the balance in Better Call Saul’s ending. The character of Kim was one of the show’s biggest mysteries; she never appeared in Breaking Bad, which immediately made fans suspect that she was going to die in the prequel. However, Better Call Saul did an amazing job of giving her an ending that both fits perfectly with her character arc while explaining why she’d never been seen before. It certainly wasn’t an easy conclusion to predict, and even lead star Rhea Seehorn didn’t expect it.

Rhea Seehorn Thought Kim Might Die In Better Call Saul – And So Did Everyone

The Character Seemed Like The Perfect Finale Sacrifice

Like most of the show’s viewers, Seehorn had considered the possibility that her character would be ᴅᴇᴀᴅ by the end of the show. The actress confirmed that she didn’t know Kim and Saul’s fate when she signed on to play the character, and her journey only became clear during the final seasons of the show. Seehorn was convinced that Kim would die because she wasn’t in Breaking Bad and her death would be the final straw that pushed Saul over the edge. Speaking to Empire, Seahorn shared:

I definitely thought she could die. At some point, I started having storylines that weren’t just ancillary to Jimmy, and I was thrilled, but I honestly didn’t dare to dream. Patrick [Fabian] and I would laugh and flip through the scripts immediately and be like, “I’m not ᴅᴇᴀᴅ!”

Going into Better Call Saul’s final episodes, Kim’s death was the leading theory that fans had stuck with. It seemed like the most logical way for her character to pay for the sins that she’d inherited from Jimmy, and it also wrapped the continuity in a neat bow. If Kim lived, it didn’t make sense for Jimmy to leave her behind and become Saul Goodman full-time in Breaking Bad. But thankfully, the show’s writers managed to come up with a perfect compromise that made both things possible.

Better Call Saul Used Kim’s Absence From Breaking Bad To Its Advantage

The Show Knew That Audiences Expected Her To Die

From the character’s introduction in the first episode of the show, fans took it for granted that Kim wouldn’t make it to the end. But as she became increasingly important and took on a more central role in the story, Better Call Saul’s writers used this uncertainty to their advantage. She was a complete wildcard; while audiences knew what would happen to Jimmy, she was a much more unpredictable character who facilitated much of the show’s narrative tension.

Kim became the subject of countless Better Call Saul theories as audiences continually tried to figure out what would happen to her character, which was hugely necessary, since the rest of the characters had their fates already mapped out. She invited mystery into the show – for example, when her character got into a car crash in season 3, fans were genuinely worried that she wouldn’t make it. This was never the case with Jimmy, because it was predetermined that he’d make it to the very end and transform into his Breaking Bad character.

Kim’s Better Call Saul Ending Was So Much Better Than Her Dying

The Writers Never Took The Easy Route Out

The ending of Better Call Saul could have been a complete disaster. There was so much emotional payoff riding on this one episode, and if the writers had even slightly misunderstood these characters’ journeys, fans would have been endlessly disappointed. However, the show struck a perfect balance between hope and tragedy in the final episode; the characters paid for their crimes, but didn’t have to die in the process.

There’s a hint of optimism to Saul and Kim’s Better Call Saul ending that many viewers weren’t expecting. It was taken for granted that Kim would either die or completely sever ties with Jimmy in the end, but the writers found a much more bittersweet conclusion. They couldn’t be together, but they also cared about each other too much to be apart. By sacrificing his crooked alter-ego and accepting his full sentence, Jimmy proves to Kim that he’s changed, and there may be a future for them after all.