The clock is ticking for several characters from Better Call Saul as the show reaches its conclusion, and eventually brings the story up-to-date with the beginning of Breaking Bad.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for 'Better Call Saul' Season 6 Part 1
Just because a character didn't appear in the iconic AMC show doesn't mean they will die as a means to explain their absence in the original series, though for some that has proven to be the case.
So far, both Michael Mando's Ignacio "Nacho" Varga and Patrick Fabian's Howard Hamlin have died onscreen in the first half of the final season.
Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) and Eduardo "Lalo" Salamanca (Tony Dalton) are some of the few characters left who may well meet their demise before Better Call Saul ends, but also they may not.
Newsweek has already explored what could happen to Kim in future episodes, so now it is time to look at one of the show's greatest villains: Lalo.
All the Signs Lalo Salamanca Won't Die in 'Better Call Saul' Season 6
Lalo is well on the way to getting vengeance on Gustavo "Gus" Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) after the Los Pollos Hermanos owner tried to have him assassinated in Season 5.
The finale of Season 6 part 1 revealed that Lalo has discovered Gus' secret meth lab he has been building underneath a laundromat, the one that Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) use to cook in Breaking Bad.
After realizing that his uncle Hector Salamanca's (Mark Margolis) phone is being bugged by Gus, Lalo chooses not to divulge his plan to kill his men and film proof that the drug kingpin is getting ready to make his own meth side business.
The execution of this plan will play out in the second half of the season, but there are a few ways in which Lalo could survive.
1. Lalo is Mentioned in 'Breaking Bad'
While he was only seen for the first time onscreen in Season 4 of Better Call Saul, Lalo's name has come up before.
In Saul Goodman's debut episode in Breaking Bad Season 2, titled "Better Call Saul", the lawyer is taken captive by Walt and Jesse who threaten him to not make Brandon "Badger" Mayhew (Matt Jones) talk to the DEA about Heisenberg.
When Walt and Jesse force Saul to kneel in front of an open grave he pleads for his life, and first says that "it was Ignacio," in reference to Nacho, before saying in Spanish that he is a friend of the cartel.
When Jesse tells him to speak English, Saul asks: "Lalo didn't send you? No Lalo?" and when the duo admit they don't know who he is talking about, the lawyer thanks his lucky stars.
This brief mention suggests that Lalo is very much alive during the timeline of Breaking Bad.
2. Lalo is Sent to Prison
One way Lalo could well remain alive in Better Call Saul is if the character is sent to prison for the murder he was charged with in Season 5, which Saul got him off on with a $7 million bail.
In Season 6, the prosecution are keen to move up the court date for the case and go through with Lalo's trial, though they believe he is called Jorge De Guzman.
As the prosecutors speak to Saul about his client, the lawyer accidentally lets slip Lalo's name, and while he quickly manages to cover his mistake the judge in the case later asks Kim if Saul realized who Lalo really was.
If the trial were to resume Lalo could well end up in prison for life, or at least for long enough to explain why he isn't in Breaking Bad.
Better Call Saul is set approximately in 2004 while Breaking Bad begins in early 2008 and ends in 2010, so Lalo could well be serving a prison sentence during this time. Also, being sent to jail may well give Lalo cause to want revenge on Saul, thus explaining his fears of the man in Breaking Bad.
3. Lalo is Working with the Cartel Behind-the-Scenes
If Lalo is wanted by the law he could also end up going on the run, or at least going into hiding for the period in which Breaking Bad is set.
The Salamanca cartel are active in Breaking Bad, with Walt and Jesse having run-ins with Lalo's cousins Tuco (Raymond Cruz) and twins Leonel and Marco (Daniel and Luis Moncada), his uncle Hector (Mark Margolis), and other Salamanca cartel lackeys like Krazy-8 (Maximino Archiniega).
Just because they don't meet Lalo doesn't mean that he couldn't be working for the cartel behind-the-scenes. He could easily be set up as a silent partner after the events of Better Call Saul.
How Lalo Salamanca Could Die in 'Better Call Saul' Season 6
Of course, it might be wishful thinking to believe that Lalo will survive the events of the last six episodes of Better Call Saul.
There is one way that Lalo could be killed and that is by Gus himself, an event that has been teased very briefly in Episode 5 of the final season.
When visiting the location where his lab is being built, Gus took a moment to hide a gun under the wheel of one of the construction vehicles still inside.
Given he knows where the weapon is, Gus may well go for it and shoot Lalo if the pair ever confront each other.
Better Call Saul Season 6 Part 2 premieres on AMC on Monday, July 11.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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