Lalo Salamanca
Eduardo "Lalo" Salamanca is a fictional character on the AMC television series "Better Call Saul", a prequel of "Breaking Bad". Introduced in the fourth season, he is portrayed by Tony Dalton and was created by Peter Gould and screenwriter Gordon Smith. Dialogue that introduces Saul Goodman in the "Breaking Bad" episode "Better Call Saul" mentions Lalo and Nacho Varga. Lalo, a member of the Juárez Cartel, is one of many nephews of drug kingpin Hector Salamanca. After Hector suffers a stroke, Lalo arrives from Mexico to help run the family drug operation in Albuquerque and takes a greater  interest in the day-to-day details than Hector did. Showrunners gave Dalton freedom to diverge from cartel stereotypes and portrayals of the other Salamancas. Series co-creator Vince Gilligan held himself responsible for delaying Lalo's character development, as Gould pushed for the story to introduce Lalo as early as season one. Dalton plays a cheerful and charismatic Lalo, vicious when the situation calls for it. Critics have praised Lalo's character and Dalton's portrayal. Conception and development. In July 2018, Tony Dalton joined "Better Call Saul" in the role of Lalo Salamanca, first appearing in the season  four episode "Coushatta". The "Breaking Bad" season two episode "Better Call Saul" mentions Lalo; it also introduces Saul Goodman (Jimmy McGill's business name) and mentions "Ignacio" (Nacho Varga). In an interview before "Better Call Saul" aired, Vince Gilligan said that the writers had envisioned Lalo as a major character and as with "Breaking Bad", must "keep close tabs on what our characters have done in the past and make good use of it here in the present and the future". However, Gilligan and Peter Gould had trouble figuring out how to introduce the character properly. They considered him a  bogeyman around the second season of "Breaking Bad", but had not figured out his personality or motivations. Gilligan held himself responsible for delaying Lalo's character development, as Gould pushed for the story to introduce Lalo as early as season one. Gould saw that Lalo needed to be different from the other Salamancas and a foil equal to Gus Fring. He credited their casting directors Sherry Thomas and Sharon Bialy for selecting Dalton for the role, adding that Dalton had "the charm, and the joy, and the threat" needed for the character and "all the charm of a '40s movie  star". The episode "Wiedersehen", written by Gennifer Hutchison, fleshes out Lalo further. Hutchison said that while just as "scary" as the other Salamancas, he is "a little more circumspect about things". She explained that the producers wanted him to be "a little charming", in contrast to the other Salamancas, who have few qualities beyond fearsomeness. Dalton said that the season five finale, "Something Unforgivable", provides a breadth not seen in prior episodes. Lalo first appears as a charismatic person his extended family and cartel leaders welcome but shows a vicious and vengeful side after his family comes under attack. Dalton  said that Lalo's unbridled anger in season six is what differentiates him from his laidback personality in season five. Michael Mando, who portrays Nacho, described Lalo as "a Salamanca in every way, just like Tuco and Hector had their own flavors to the erratic Salamancas". Gilligan and Gould gave Dalton the freedom to take Lalo's personality as he saw fit, just as they had allowed Jonathan Banks to develop Mike Ehrmantraut during "Breaking Bad", though they also told Dalton to think of Lalo as something of a "Prince of the Narcos". Dalton considers Lalo a juxtaposition of Gus  due to his laidback attitude and "loose body language" that contrasts with Gus being constantly anxious about decisions and having a "tight body language". According to Dalton, Lalo was not originally meant to be very charming; he felt the series needed someone "kind of smiling and carefree and a little bit mischievous" like Jimmy but "in the bad guy's part". Dalton took inspiration from Samuel L. Jackson's character Jules Winnfield from "Pulp Fiction" to create this "[k]ind of this smart ass, sort of scary but kind of carefree, kind of cool guy", as well as the negative characters  portrayed by Jack Nicholson. He also sought to move away from his role in the TV series "Sr. Ávila" as a hitman with "zero personality" whom he likened to a wall. Dalton toned down Lalo's Mexican accent because of his belief that the character, given his wealth, was educated in a "good school" in the United States. Instead, he went for an accent that he had developed from growing up around Laredo, Texas. Dalton gave Lalo a more upbeat personality to show the character's normally easy take on life and distance him from the typical portrayal of cartel  members as serious about their work. Dalton did his own stunt in "Winner": Lalo's jump through the Travelwire store roof before he attacks the manager, Fred. While Dalton wanted to do other stunts, such as jumping onto Jimmy's car in "Bad Choice Road" and from the roof of his house in "Something Unforgivable", the producers insisted on stunt performers. Fictional character biography. Background. Eduardo "Lalo" Salamanca is a member of the Juárez Cartel and one of many nephews of drug kingpin Hector Salamanca. Little is known of his background before his appearance on "Better Call Saul". The season  five finale reveals he has a home in Chihuahua, Mexico, where many of his friends, his family, and a large staff live. Lalo is a respected cartel member who has gained the favor of its leader, Don Eladio Vuente, and drives a 1970 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Section::::"Better Call Saul". Season 4. After Hector suffers a stroke that confines him to a wheelchair and leaves him unable to speak, Lalo moves from Mexico to Albuquerque to help run the Salamanca family's drug operation. He takes a greater interest in the day-to-day details than Hector did, which makes Hector 's subordinate Nacho Varga, who is secretly responsible for Hector's stroke and has recently began acting as a mole for rival kingpin Gus Fring, uneasy. Lalo visits Hector in the nursing home and gives him a front desk call bell, a souvenir from when Hector killed a hotelier and burned down the hotel after its owner disrespected him. Lalo attaches the bell to Hector's wheelchair so Hector can communicate by ringing it with his right index finger, the only body part he can move following his stroke. Lalo thanks Gus for giving Hector first aid and paying for  his care but surveils Gus' underlings to learn their regular activities. While staking out Gus' Los Pollos Hermanos chicken farm, Lalo observes activity related to Werner Ziegler's escape. He follows Mike Ehrmantraut as Mike tracks Werner, which leads him to a Travelwire store. Mike updates Gus on Werner's actions and persuades Gus to let him retrieve Werner instead of sending hitmen after him. After Mike and Gus leave, Lalo enters and tries to learn what Mike knows, but the clerk, Fred Whalen, refuses to tell him. Lalo kills Fred, reviews the security footage Mike saw, and sets fire  to the store on his way out. Lalo calls resorts until he finds Werner; he then pretends to work for Gus and tricks Werner into revealing some details about the construction of the meth lab under Gus' industrial laundry. Mike arrives at Werner's location and ends the call but realizes Lalo knows some information about the meth lab construction. Mike reports to Gus, who realizes Werner will have to be killed to prevent Lalo from learning more; Mike accepts responsibility and kills Werner himself. Season 5. Gus draws Lalo to a meeting by "stepping on" the Salamancas' share of  the cartel's cocaine. With Juan Bolsa present, Gus tells Lalo that Werner was constructing a chiller and fled after stealing cocaine. He claims he then attempted to cover for the loss by replacing the cocaine with local, inferior meth. Since the cover story explains events Lalo knows about, he accepts Gus' explanation and apology. Bolsa tells Lalo the cartel considers the matter closed. However, Lalo remains suspicious after Bolsa confirms that the cartel only tolerates Gus because he earns well. Gus coerces Nacho into providing inside information on the Salamancas. When Krazy-8 is arrested outside a Salamanca stash house , Nacho climbs over rooftops to sneak in and recover the drugs before police enter. Lalo is impressed and takes Nacho into his confidence. Nacho brings Jimmy to Lalo, who knows of Jimmy from Tuco. Lalo asks Jimmy to free Krazy-8 by using him to feed the DEA information on Gus' dead drops. Nacho informs Gus, who accepts the loss of cash from the dead drops to protect Nacho's role as his informant. Jimmy secures Krazy-8's release and makes him a confidential informant for DEA agent Hank Schrader, giving Lalo a way to feed the DEA more information about  Gus' operation. Lalo congratulates Jimmy, but Nacho warns him that once he begins working for drug dealers, there is no turning back. While posing as a private investigator for Fred's family, Mike persuades a witness to Fred's murder to provide police details about Lalo's car, leading to Lalo's arrest. Lalo is initially denied bail and suspicious of how the police came to pursue his car. While in jail, he instructs Nacho to burn down one of Gus' restaurants. Gus realizes Lalo will continue to be a problem, but decides killing him will create tension with the  cartel, so he again protects Nacho's role as his informant by allowing the arson to happen. Gus then orchestrates Lalo's release by having Mike provide Jimmy details of Mike's investigation. Jimmy uses the information to accuse police of witness tampering, and the judge grants bail, which is set at $7 million cash. Lalo's cousins Leonel and Marco deliver the money to Jimmy at a remote desert location. On his return trip, gunmen stop Jimmy, take the cash, and prepare to kill him. Mike was following Jimmy for Gus and kills all but one gunman. They  continue the trip back to Albuquerque with the money, but Jimmy's car breaks down. They push it off the side of the road, take the cash, and walk for two days. On the second day, they kill the remaining gunman, then make their way back to Albuquerque. Jimmy posts Lalo's bail and hides Mike's involvement by claiming he was alone and walked after his car broke down. Mike reports to Gus, who realizes Bolsa sent the gunmen in the belief that he was protecting Gus' business by keeping Lalo imprisoned. Lalo prepares to return to Mexico to  avoid trial, but his suspicions lead him to search for Jimmy's car. He confronts Jimmy and Kim Wexler at her apartment and reveals he found it, and that it had several bullet holes. Kim tells Lalo that passersby probably shot at it for fun and berates him for not trusting Jimmy. Apparently satisfied, Lalo leaves for Mexico with Nacho. At Lalo's Chihuahua home, friends and family greet him and Nacho. Lalo introduces Nacho to Don Eladio, who blesses the plan for Nacho to oversee the Salamanca drug business in Lalo's absence. Gus sends assassins to Lalo's  home, and Nacho receives a call instructing him to leave Lalo's back gate open at 3 am. Lalo is still awake at 3 am, so Nacho sets a kitchen fire to distract him and opens the gate. Nacho flees as the assassins enter and kill most of Lalo's family and guards. Lalo kills all but one assassin and forces the survivor to report his death to the middleman who arranged the attack. Lalo then realizes that Nacho is missing and angrily strides away from his house. Season 6. Lalo murders a couple living on his compound, uses the  husband's body as a decoy for his own at the site of the massacre, then calls Hector to inform him he is alive and that he believes Gus responsible for the attack. Hector advises him to find proof; Lalo, realizing where he can find the evidence, decides to stay in Mexico. Section::::"Breaking Bad". Season 2. Though Lalo never appears in "Breaking Bad", Saul mentions him when Walter White and Jesse Pinkman kidnap and hold Saul at gunpoint before a newly dug grave in the desert to coerce him into representing Badger, who has been arrested for selling drugs. Believing  Lalo sent Walter and Jesse, he says in panic, "It wasn't me, it was Ignacio! He's the one!". Saul is relieved when Walter and Jesse's confusion confirms they have no connection to Lalo. Season 4. After killing Eladio, Gus tells Hector that all of the other Salamancas are dead, implying that Lalo died at some point. However, Lalo's fate has not yet been confirmed and his status in the "Breaking Bad" timeline is mysterious. Reception. The character of Lalo Salamanca and Tony Dalton's performance have received critical acclaim. Reviewing the episode that introduces Lalo, Alan  Sepinwall of "Rolling Stone" said Dalton "makes a solid first impression in the role" and hoped for "more than filling in a blank most viewers had long since forgotten existed". Sepinwall calls the final scene in "Bad Choice Road", in which Lalo confronts Jimmy and Kim, one of the best in the series. He praises the lead actors' performances, particularly Rhea Seehorn as Kim and Dalton as Lalo. Steve Greene of "IndieWire", after comparing Lalo to Anton Chigurh, noted he has "the unpredictability of his impulsive, petulant brother combined with the faux geniality of his chicken CEO rival" and praised  Dalton's performance: "Dalton makes that poisonous, affected smile work, especially when it's coupled with Lalo's blatant disregard for bodily harm". Brian Grubb of "Uproxx" wrote in his review of the season five finale, "It is almost unreasonable how good a character Lalo is. To pull this off after five seasons of this show and the full run of "Breaking Bad", to just up and introduce someone this charming and evil and perfect, is basically showing off".