Michael Mando, who plays Ignacio "Nacho" Varga on Better Call Saul, describes the key thing that links his character to Jonathan Banks' Mike Ehrmentraut. With season 6 now underway, Better Call Saul has drawn viewers back into the crime-ridden world of Albuquerque, New Mexico, where Varga and Ehrmentraut made their mark. However, life for Varga has never been more dangerous, as his betrayal of Lalo Salamanca has meant that a bounty now rests on his head.

Whilst Ehrmentraut has been a firm fan favorite since his first appearance in Breaking Bad, acting as the hired gun for both Saul Goodman and Gus Fring, Nacho has developed somewhat more slowly. In season 1 he worked for Tuco Salamanca, displaying a keen intelligence when he warned his boss not to kill Jimmy McGill, a character trait that has remained a constant as he transitioned into one of the show's most sympathetic characters. Part of this has been a strong relationship with Ehrmentraut, with the two characters helping each other through sticky situations, particularly when Nacho was tasked by Gus with infiltrating a rival crime family.

Related: Better Call Saul: Why Lalo Is Called That When His Name's Eduardo

Now, Mando describes why he thinks the two characters share such an interesting connection. Speaking with THR, Mando explains that Nacho and Mike are "cut from the same cloth" and that they share similar principles. Part of this is a supposed "honor amongst thieves" that Mando describes both Mike and Nacho as having, particularly when it comes to the taking of innocent lives, which they both strongly oppose. You can read the full quote below:

"There’s a profound connection between Mike and Nacho that is sort of unspoken. In many ways, they are cut from the same cloth, and Nacho looks at Mike as a mirror of his own father in the cartel world. There’s this unspoken virtue between them and an honor among thieves. They respect innocent lives, which the Salamancas don’t. They honor their word, which the Salamancas don’t. And Gus doesn’t either. So there’s definitely a profound, subtextual connection between the two, and maybe in the subconscious of it all, there’s a feeling that there’s a situation between Mike and Nacho. When Mike sent Tuco [Raymond Cruz] to jail, Nacho had a profound sadness to see Mike being beaten up like that. He really cared for him and asked him, “Why are you punishing yourself for people who would kill and have killed innocent people without even thinking about it?”"

Jonathan Banks as Mike in Better Call Saul

Mando's words echo the sentiments of many Breaking Bad fans who found that the show exhibited some of the most well-developed characters in the history of TV. This goes double for Better Call Saul, which surpasses Breaking Bad in many areas and is perhaps a greater exhibition of showrunner Vince Gilligan's talents. When Mando refers to a "profound, subtextual connection" between Nacho and Mike, he could be talking about the relationship between any of Gilligan's characters, especially in the prequel series.

It is this complexity of character that has contributed to both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul being regarded as two of the greatest programmes of all time, with scores of 96% and 98% respectively on Rotten Tomatoes. With most of the final season still to come, it can be hoped that Better Call Saul manages to stick the landing in a similarly excellent way to Breaking Bad, which tied up almost all the loose ends perfectly. For now, viewers will have to wait to see if Nacho manages to avoid death and if Mike is able to help him out of another very sticky situation.

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Source: THR