Breaking Badand its spinoffBetter Call Saulconstitute one of the greatest fictional crime universes ever created. Peering with piercing clarity into the underworld of drug gangs and their cartel superiors in a way that few other crime dramas, if any, ever have, both shows naturally feature some of the most villainous gangsters ever portrayed onscreen. From fried chicken-fronted kingpin Gus Fring, to Don Eladio Vuente south of the U.S.-Mexico border, and even Walter White himself, both series deal primarily with ruthless drug barons living by the mantra of kill-or-be-killed.
Yet there’s one particular character who stands above even theBreaking Baduniverse’s biggest cartel boss as a villain of bone-chilling evil.EveryBreaking BadorBetter Call Saulvillainhas their terrifying traits, but this one is distinguished by the calm and jovial way he operates, as if the business of trafficking drugs and physically eliminating rivals were the most cheerful of professions.Although he only appears in three seasons ofBetter Call Saul, Lalo Salamanca’s killer smile and amiable exterior, which contrast starkly with his depraved actions, are what set him apart as the franchise’s best villain.
He Appears At The End Of Better Call Saul’s Season 4 Episode “Coushotta”
When Lalo Salamanca first appears inBetter Call Saul, in the final moments of the season 4 episode “Coushotta”, drug trader Nacho Varga walks in on him cooking a meal. Lalo offers him a plate of the food he’s making with a smile, without the slightest inclination that anything is wrong. From that point on, this Salamanca brother becomesthemost feared member of the cocaine distribution organization Gus Fring is trying to usurpin the Southwestern United States.
Better Call Saul Lalo Actor Explains His Favorite Scene
While reflecting on Better Call Saul’s final season, Tony Dalton discusses one of his favorite moments playing cartel boss Lalo Salamanca.
What makes Lalo’s introduction as a character all the more brilliant is that his role inBetter Call Saulis a callback to a season 2 episode ofBreaking Bad, first released nine years earlier. During ascene in which Walter White and Jesse Pinkman kidnapBetter Call Saul’s central character Saul Goodman, Saul assumes he’s being whacked by the Salamanca organization, and asks, “Was it Lalo who sent you?” From this subtle namedrop, writers Peter Gould and Gordon Smith created one of theBreaking Baduniverse’s most formidable villains.
Lalo’s Introduction Being In The Franchise’s 100th Episode Makes Him Even Cooler
The Show Needed A Big New Character For A Big Episode
The fact that it’s effectively the biggest anniversary episode in the history ofBreaking BadandBetter Call Saulwhen Lalo gets introduced shows just how important a character he is to the franchise. WithBreaking Badalready ended, and most ofBetter Call Saul’s narrative threads already established, in theory there was no need for the showrunners to introduce a new villain. Yet, once Lalo Salamanca arrives on the scene, played by Tony Dalton,he has the kind of magnetism that leaves us waiting for his scenesduring each episode of the show.
It’s not clear from Lalo Salamanca’s first scene with Nacho Varga, in theBetter Call Saulepisode “Coushotta”, exactly what he’s up to, but something is obviously not right.
It’s this quality that means it’s a tantalizing introduction when we meet Lalo right at the end of “Coushotta”, when the episode’s writer, Gordon Smith, could easily have left the introduction to the start of the next one. It’s not clear from Lalo’s short scene with Nacho exactly what he’s up to, but something is obviously not right.
There’s an alarming tension in the air, which Lalo appears to thrive on, while Nacho is immediately on red alert as soon as he sees him. Once Lalo explains that he’s one of the Salamanca brothers, we know that bad news is on the way, not only for Nacho but someone higher up in his drugs operation.
He Smiles Through It All, Without Showing The Slightest Consideration For His Murderous Actions
While Gus Fring has his Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant chain front, Lalo Salamanca has an even more fundamental approach to hiding in plain sight. Whenever we see him inBetter Call Saul, whenever he’s out to kill someone or simply enjoying a meal,he exudes a happy-go-lucky charmand charisma that belies the nature of his criminal activity.
As his brutal execution of lawyer Howard Hamlin serves to illustrate,Lalo has no qualms about killing indiscriminately. There’s an almost psychopathic calm about his methodical approach to preparing his gun for the kill, and the way he shushes Saul and Kim Wexler as they scream in horror, as though he were dealing with two small children up past their bedtime.
Better Call Saul Makes A Popular Lalo Theory MUCH Worse
Some Better Call Saul viewers already had their theories on Lalo’s final fate, and while season 6 confirms those suspicions, it also makes them worse.
The secret to Lalo Salamanca’s horrifying brilliance as a character, which makes him theBreaking Badfranchise’s best villain, is that nothing about his demeanor ever seems to be villainous. He’s consistently polite, friendly and upbeat with everyone he meets, including his nemesis Gus Fring.
Unlike other crime shows, theBreaking Baduniverse depicts even the worst of its murderous drug gangsters as intimidated, nervous, or scaredwhen committing a violent act or confronted with one. Lalo is the exception to this rule, as he never appears to be emotionally affected by anything in any way. Even in death, his final act of the series is to laugh as the blood drains from his body.
It’s Incredible How Late Into Better Call Saul Lalo Salamanca Was Introduced
He Only Appears In 21 Episodes Of The Show
Given just how exceptionally frightening Lalo Salamanca is as a villain, it seems strange that it took 100 episodes ofBreaking BadandBetter Call Saulcombined to introduce him as a character. In fact,Lalo’s storyline inBetter Call Saulonly lasts 21 episodes in total, between season 4 and the show’s final, sixth, season. He’s probably killed off at the right time, in the episode “Point and Shoot” during part 2 ofBetter Call Saul’s sixth season. But it’s hard not to feel that his character could have been integrated into the events of earlier seasons.
What If Lalo Salamanca Hadn’t Died In Better Call Saul & How It Would’ve Changed Breaking Bad
Lalo Salamanca’s death in Better Call Saul set the stage for several key plot points to unfold in Breaking Bad — but what if he’d survived?
Either way, with more screentime, we could have seen Lalo Salamanca develop even more as one of the main villains in theBreaking Baduniverse. It would also have been particularly interesting to see how Walter White might have handled him. Salamanca combines the physicality and insensitivity to murder of a criminal enforcer with the brains and cunning that few of White’s other adversaries had. He may have been too much of a match for Walter to handle, which might explain why he only shows up inBetter Call Saul, and is killed off before the events ofBreaking Bad.
Better Call Saul
Cast
Better Call Saul follows small-time lawyer Jimmy McGill as he navigates the legal world to make ends meet. The series, set six years before his encounter with Walter White, chronicles Jimmy’s evolution into Saul Goodman, with notable interactions alongside fixer Mike Ehrmantraut.
