Warning: SPOILERS for Better Call Saul season 6, episode 8.
Better Call Saul season 6 continues its brutal trend of killing off characters early, however, its latest victim was necessary so that the prequel series could avoid a Breaking Bad plot hole. As a prequel to Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul ran the risk of being shackled by its inability to kill off key characters, such as Jimmy McGill and Gus Fring, since they're big players in Breaking Bad. Despite this, Better Call Saul season 6 has been anything but shackled, and much of the narrative tension surrounds the fates of those who do not feature in Breaking Bad. It's inevitable that an explanation had to be provided for where Lalo Salamanca, Ignacio Varga, and Howard Hamlin are later in the Breaking Bad universe's chronology, however, Better Call Saul has shocked audiences by killing all three earlier in the season than anticipated.
In Better Call Saul season 6's midseason premiere, Lalo is the latest to bite the bullet, as the episode sees his inevitable conflict with Gus in the superlab. For the remainder of season 6, only Kim Wexler's fate needs to be tied up. While Better Call Saul's death trend may seem ominous for Kim, there are theories that she does actually live on during the events of Breaking Bad, either because of a split from Jimmy or because she's working for Gus Fring behind the scenes.
Fring proves his intelligence and brutality in Better Call Saul yet again, as he shoots Lalo and buries him in the superlab, confirming a popular theory. Gus killing Lalo actually serves to explain a potential Breaking Bad plot hole too. In Breaking Bad season 4, episode 11, "Crawl Space" Gus gloats to Hector Salamanca after he exterminates Don Eladio's cartel, and Jesse kills Hector's grandson Joaquin, saying to Hector, "now the Salamanca name dies with you." Naturally, Gus couldn't have been telling the truth if Lalo is still alive during Breaking Bad, and Gus proves once again in Better Call Saul that he's a man of his word.
Why Lalo Couldn't Have Been Alive During Breaking Bad
During Gus and Lalo's showdown in Better Call Saul season 6, Gus vows to kill every Salamanca and leave Hector to be the last alive. While he doesn't kill every Salamanca himself, he does leave Hector Salamanca last and gloat - something that he could never have done if Lalo was alive. Lalo's ghostly hunt for Gus is the first time the "chicken man" has ever shown vulnerability and paranoia. As such, there's no way that Gus would consider his job done unless he sees Lalo's dead body before his eyes, evidenced by his suspicions after Lalo faked his death. To say such bold statements to Hector while not being totally sure that Lalo is dead would complete work against the meticulousness of Gus' character.
Lalo's death also sews up another potential Breaking Bad plot hole. There's no way that if Lalo is alive during the events of Breaking Bad, he would have stopped his quest to stop Gus. Especially considering that in Breaking Bad, Gus continues to rise while the cartel and Salamanca's fall. Lalo lives by the Salamanca code, that "family is everything," and with Gus responsible for Salamanca casualties, Lalo's only choice would be revenge. Again, if Lalo survived the events of Better Call Saul, then any explanation for his absence in Breaking Bad would contradict his merciless character. Similar to Nacho Varga's death, the theories about Lalo surviving, such as the theory based on Jimmy mentioning Lalo in Breaking Bad, are intriguing, but ultimately they're a product of wishful thinking. Lalo, like Nacho before him, had to die in order for the events of Breaking Bad to happen - some viewers will be praying that the same won't be said for Kim Wexler in the final episodes of Better Call Saul.
Better Call Saul continues Monday on AMC