Better Call Saul’s “Point and Shoot” episode from July 11 forced viewers to say goodbye to one of the show’s most memorable moments since it debuted nearly 15 years ago. As fascinating to see as it was inevitable, Lalo Salamanca’s (Tony Dalton) demise. It seemed clear that Lalo would die before the series came to a close with only five episodes left in the brilliant series by Gilligan and Peter Gould. After all, he is only ever referenced once over the whole duration of Breaking Bad, immediately after Walt and Jesse drag Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) into the desert (Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul). He is so terrified since he believes Lalo sent them, but as soon as he finds it wasn’t him, he breathes a sigh of relief. Then, his attitude changes, and he no longer responds well to Walt and Jesse’s attempt to intimidate him.
This was just a throwaway statement used at the time to demonstrate Saul’s involvement in numerous risky situations. After the show finished and Jimmy changed into Saul Goodman, it is more than likely that he mistreated a man by the name of Lalo at some time, and that would be the end of it. Few, if any, would have objected if the character hadn’t been on the show, and even if he had, it would be impossible to create a villain who could frighten Saul to that extent. But Lalo Salamanca not only lived up to but beyond those expectations thanks to the character’s great script and Tony Dalton’s flawless casting.
Better Call Saul’s “Coushatta,” the eighth episode of Season 4 of the show, featured Lalo for the first time. Although a new Salamanca in the show at this late stage in the production would seem ultimately regressive, it is clear from the minute Nacho (Michael Mando) enters El Michoacáno that he would be a game-changer. Nacho is currently prepared to quit the drug trade with his father, but as soon as he enters the restaurant, he sees everyone’s tense expressions. As he enters the kitchen, he overhears a man singing while he is cooking him a burrito. The burrito he’s creating is so delicious, he casually remarks, “He’s going to die.” Don’t worry, Lalo tells Nacho after introducing himself and grinning. It will appear as though I am not even present. However, judging by the expression on Nacho’s face, he realises that nothing will ever be the same and that his prospects of escape have just gone out the window.
The viewer was on the edge of their seat for almost all subsequent scenes with Lalo after this point. He kills poor Fred from the Travel Wire (James Austin Johnson) in a nonchalant manner, demonstrating his willingness to kill when required. However, what set him apart from the other Salamancas was his natural charm and his deceptively clever cunning. From the minute he meets Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito), he is able to discern that he is working against the cartel. Throughout his tenure on the show, this has remained his main objective. Gus needs concrete evidence, though, given how profitable he is for the cartel.
Gus has so far been shown to be the sharpest character on the programme, second only to Walter White in Breaking Bad. Despite this, Lalo manages to convincingly outwit him almost every time. Lalo doesn’t lose his cool when Gus gets him put in jail for killing Fred, and thanks to Jimmy’s influence, he is able to escape after a few episodes. Gus underestimates Lalo’s cunning and willpower when he plans the attack on his house at the end of Season 5, and Lalo survives. This brings us to the most current season, where Gus, who is always the calmest guy in any room, is completely on edge, even as he uses a box cutter to slit the throat of one of his henchmen. Nobody in either show has been able to make Gus feel entirely on edge up until this point.
The last move in this chess match occurs in Season 6 when Lalo visits Jimmy and Kim’s (Rhea Seehorn) apartment in an effort to dissuade Gus’s men from going to the laundromat, which conceals the growing meth super-lab. Before coming up with a strategy to draw attention to them, he mercilessly assassinates Patrick Fabian’s Howard Hamlin. The strategy succeeds, allowing him to surprise Gus and compel him to show him the lab. Gus sets up a trap and a hidden gun in the super-lab in a fit of either brilliant planning or extreme paranoia, which is the only way he manages to escape the situation alive. When he finally succeeds in killing Lalo with a single shot, it is pure dumb luck that Lalo dies and not Gus. This could have gone in a another direction, as Mike (Jonathan Banks) said. Lalo can instil fear in everybody he comes into contact with, even the most cunning schemers or any unfortunate bystanders who just so happened to cross his way.
Lalo is more than just icy and cunning. There are several characters in both programmes who fit that description. His inherent charisma was the final attribute that made him so unsettling to witness. Lalo almost always has a big smile on his face because of the way Tony Dalton portrayed the character. The over-the-top aspect of his smile isn’t so much a Joker-like grin as it is a cunning assurance that lets whoever he is speaking to know who is really in charge. He can be the kind of man you want to drink beer with one minute, then shoot you in the face the next. And this endless supply of charisma never lets the audience know what the character is actually thinking. He doesn’t need to threaten anybody.
Lalo visits Kim and Jimmy to find out what transpired in the desert in season five, episode 8, in one of the best scenes on the programme. He doesn’t deliver a typical villain monologue; instead, he simply lets Jimmy speak. Whenever Jimmy lies, Lalo grinned and said, “Tell me again.” Thankfully, Kim is able to calm him down, but both characters can feel the dread in his departure. Jimmy still has a dread that Lalo could be hidden around any corner at any given time, even after his death, and he accomplished it all with a gun, a smile, and a few choice words. Lalo Salamanca’s charismatic performance in the three seasons he starred on Better Call Saul helped to envelop the character in a pall of unpredictability and terror, making you both adore and fear him.
