Kim Wexler’s Ponytail on Better Call Saul Is a Follicular Force of Nature
By Jen Chaney, Vulture
As worn by Rhea Seehorn — and as demonstrated in this week’s episode, “Breathe” — Wexler’s swept-up, boing-boing-curled work of hair art is more than just a ponytail. It’s a reflection of who Kim is and who she wants to be. It’s a weathervane that suggests which way the wind is blowing for her, or the way it may be blowing in the very near future. Oh, and on top of all that: That thing is just flawless.
When Kim wears that ponytail in a courtroom or other work-oriented setting — and that’s usually where she wears it — it is a reflection of her strength and sense of order. No strand is out of place. The coil is curled perfectly, as if it were sculpted with plans to put this ponytail on display in a museum. It is a ponytail that could only spring from the scalp of a grown woman who is formidable and unflappable. It’s a total power pony.
This is a huge moment for Kim, one that’s played with perfectly deployed fury by Seehorn. It shows how loyal she is to Jimmy and how hurt she is on his behalf. It’s also an opportunity for her to let fly the anger she’s felt for years, for her own reasons, toward Howard. By the time it’s over, their conversation has firmly drawn a line between who Jimmy was when Chuck was alive and who he will be going forward. “Stay away,” Kim tells Howard when he asks what he can do to make things right. You get the sense that she’s drawing a similar line between herself and her past life, too. If the shouting and well-earned rage don’t already give that away, all you have to do is take one look at her hair in this scene to see it.
It’s in a ponytail, as it usually is when she sees Howard. But that ponytail is gathered at the nape of her neck, and it’s messy — not organized neatly into its usual twist. Her hair is basically half-down and half-up, a reflection of the career and moral limbo Kim is about to face. Most significantly, that ponytail isn’t fastened with the typical rubber band that blends in perfectly with Kim’s soft blonde hair. In a final screw you to Howard Hamlin, one that Howard would never notice in a million years, she shoves her hair into a barette. A barette. No other hair accessory says quite as loudly and clearly: “I have stopped giving a shit what you think.” Well, maybe a scrunchie, but that also says, “I have stopped giving a shit how I look,” and Kim is definitely not there yet.
Kim’s former boss no longer intimidates her, and she no longer feels like she needs to control herself in his presence. What does all of that mean for Kim? I’m not sure what’s next for her, but I know where I’ll be looking to gauge her emotional state and her fate as the rest of this season progresses: right at Kim’s lovely mane and the various meaningful twists and tails it displays.
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