Life on Better Call Saul is hard, I get that. Next to nothing that these characters deal with from episode to episode ends up going completely their way. That's drama. It's Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould's specialty. Those skills help earn the AMC drama all of its awards recognition on a yearly basis, as proven by this year's Emmy nominations.
But maybe once, just once, can star Rhea Seehorn get some of that Emmy love? Does Kim Wexler seriously need to die in order for her portrayer to get a well-earned spotlight from TV's highest honors? Does that reeeeeally need to happen?
Okay, Fine, Kill Off Kim And Give Rhea Seehorn The Emmy
Hey, I know that awards aren't everything, and that good memories and pride in one's work are all that are needed for a job to feel satisfying. Plus, it's impossible for awards ceremonies, large or small, to maintain perfect objective clarity when things are being voted on by our lowly human brain systems.
However, I also know that logic is good, and that it's nothing but logical that the TV Academy should constantly be publicly recognizing Rhea Seehorn's efforts on Better Call Saul, even when it's nowhere near awards season. It's definitely not the kind of argument that I should still be making after the fourth season. Everyone from Mike to Lalo to Chuck's nitpicking corpse could understand that.
Knowing that Kim likely isn't around during "Saul Goodman's" career run during Breaking Bad's timeline, it's likely that death is the only way she and Jimmy could be driven apart for good. And so – as if I have anything to do with it – I'm now willing to accept Kim Wexler heading down a tragically fatal road, but only if that would be enough to send a wake-up call to voters that Rhea Seehorn deserves all the gold statues in Hollywood.
Wait, That's Crazy, Keep Kim Alive And Still Give Rhea Seehorn The Emmy
The previous paragraph felt like a filthy lie being typed by a filthy liar's hands. I obviously can't specifically say what the hard-working and hard-forgiving Kim Wexler would actually need to do on screen in order for awards voters around the country to not only accept Seehorn's brilliance, but to reward it in full above anyone else who happened to be nominated. But she damned sure shouldn't have to die in order to make a dent!
This diatribe might come off as more hyperbolic and reaching if Better Call Saul regularly faced disappointment when it comes to awards recognition and critical acclaim. But Bob Odenkirk and Jonathan Banks are widely recognized on a yearly basis, and deservedly so.
This year, though, Giancarlo Esposito even got in on a Supporting Actor nomination for his work as Gus Fring, which he'd previously done on Breaking Bad in 2012. As well, Michael McKean earned a Guest Star nom for his work in a pair of flashbacks in Season 4. (Not to mention all the nods for writing, editing, sound mixing, etc.)
At some point, it's going to feel like Rhea Seehorn is the only person working on Better Call Saul that doesn't have any Emmy nominations under her belt. And at that point, Kim Wexler might take that belt off and start convincingly whipping some asses into shape so that the next round of nominations doesn't look so embarrassingly Seehorn-free.
AMC's Better Call Saul is set to deliver Season 5 to fans at some point in 2020, and no one should expect any leaks to break free before then, either.
