Since the premiere of AMC’s Emmy-winning series Better Call Saul, one question has reigned supreme: What happens to Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn)? Yes, audiences also wanted to know about their favorite Cinnabon manager, Gene (Bob Odenkirk), or the significance of Ignacio (Michael Mando), a name dropped way back in Saul’s first Breaking Bad appearance. But in a prequel full of legacy characters, the safety of a newly introduced Albuquerque lawyer quickly became the top priority. And while Seehorn rightfully won’t share any details about Kim’s impending future, she is relieved to finally at least be let in on the secret.
Unfortunately, Monday’s “Hit and Run,” the fourth episode of the sixth and final season, gave some possibly ominous signs, both for Kim and for Jimmy McGill as we knew him. Written by Ann Cherkis and directed by Seehorn, the hour found Kim and Jimmy continuing their scheme to ruin the reputation of Howard (Patrick Fabian) in hopes of earning a settlement in the still-ongoing Sandpiper suit. When they weren’t sharing laughs about Jimmy’s Howard cosplay and outrage over cone etiquette, Kim was dealing with brief flashes of her conscience and an introduction to a scary new acquaintance: the one and only Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks). The former parking attendant came with a compliment—and a warning that Lalo (Tony Dalton) is still alive.
Elsewhere, Jimmy’s reputation as “Salamanca’s guy” has skyrocketed his stock in the New Mexico underworld, leading to such an overwhelming rush of prospective clients that he needs a real office space. The episode concludes with Jimmy and Kim standing in front of what will become the work home of Saul Goodman, lawyer to burgeoning meth kingpins Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul).
With Kim continuing to break bad and Seehorn stepping behind the camera, “Hit and Run” marked the perfect time to chat with the actor about finally getting to work with costar Jonathan Banks, wishing Kim would abandon her dangerous scheme, and trying to forget that she’s seen Breaking Bad.
Vanity Fair: I’ve got to start with a very important question, and I need you to be honest: Would you ever move a cone?
Rhea Seehorn: [Laughs] That’s a good question. I want to say no, but then again, I used to live in Brooklyn, and people would do all sorts of stuff, like put lawn chairs to leave a parking space. I would only move a cone if it had been there longer than 24 hours; I think that’s a no-no. But within 24 hours, I would not move it.
That seems more than fair. We might get back to the cone talk, but let’s begin by discussing how you came to direct “Hit and Run.” Was this always a goal you wanted to accomplish before the show wrapped?
I have been involved with play development and coaching actors, and I’m always curious about camera work, and I went to school for art, so composition is part of my background. So there were all these little pieces that I thought if they were brought together, I might want to try directing one day—but I knew that this is a very challenging show and not for beginners. I directed a short with one of our assistant directors, Anna Ramey Borden, and then I directed another short from one of our writers assistants, so I kept edging towards it and eventually told them that I officially wanted to throw my hat in the ring. It was this past hiatus that they said they’d like to offer me a slot, but they couldn’t tell me scheduling-wise exactly what episode it would be, or pick one that Kim is light in or heavy in.
So then when you got the “Hit and Run” script and saw where you had landed, what was your first reaction?
I was thrilled with it because I love this episode written by Ann Cherkis. I mean, it was a little bit daunting to see it’s also a very heavy Kim Wexler episode. [Laughs] So my very first thought was that I need to really do my homework as a performer and a director because I’m going to have to be switching hats in some pivotal scenes. And then I got very giddy that I was going to be the person that gets to reintroduce the Crossroads Motel, and Wendy (Julia Minesci), and the Saul office, and be the first person that shows Kim Wexler and Mike Ehrmantraut meeting.
Coming off of episode three, which, of course, I could not have seen, but I had read and watched much of the filming of, I understood what a gut punch that was, and so I really appreciated that this one had some capers and there’s a lighter motif to some of the scenes. But then they get sandwiched between these other very vulnerable moments where you find the soft underbelly of a lot of characters that you haven’t before, from Hamlin and his marriage, to Cliff Main (Ed Begley Jr.) and his son’s drug problem. And then also private moments with people like Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) and seeing how much he hates that he has to arm himself now and what an irritant that is, and Kim feeling the first tiny glimpse of being scared. So there was just a lot that I was excited to weave together.
