‘Better Call Saul’ Season 6 on AMC: Writer Gordon Smith explains Lalo's death, 'we gave him the gift of getting everything'

"I suppose there was a world where Lalo limps away and Gus has to chase him down, but that felt like territory we’d already covered," Smith said
Tony Dalton as Lalo Salamanca in 'Better Call Saul' Season 6 (AMC)
Tony Dalton as Lalo Salamanca in 'Better Call Saul' Season 6 (AMC)

As 'Better Call Saul' Season 6 hurtles to an end, there have been questions about who makes it out alive. The AMC drama's midseason premiere opened with a bang with the death of Lalo Salamanca. While the character's death was presumed early on, it was the manner in which it was done. Shedding light about it was the show's writer Gordon Smith who also scripted the Mike Ehrmantraut flashback episode.

"We had no interest in losing Tony Dalton, obviously. He’s incredible," Smith told Rolling Stone. "He’s so much fun on set (Lalo). We really didn’t want to lose the character, either. But we felt like we had set these forces in motion, and we were having these two titans of our story clash, and unfortunately, we knew Gus had to come out the other side.

ALSO READ

'I am fully aware of their size': Florence Pugh blasts 'VULGAR' trolling over see-through dress

IS THIS WHEN IT BEGAN? James Webb telescope releases stunning image nearly 13 BILLION years old

"I suppose there was a world where Lalo limps away and Gus has to chase him down, but that felt like territory we’d already covered. We were happy to give him a big, big, big out. And he gets what he wants. He’s been searching since the end of Season Four for something he thought was going on. He was searching for Werner, chasing down all these leads. So we gave Lalo the gift of getting everything — his heart’s desire — and it destroys him."

TOP STORIES

Who is Melody Maldonado? Superhero mom clings to SUV after carjacker drives off with her children

Internet fumes as bodega worker Jose Alba is charged while victim's GF who stabbed him walks FREE

The showdown between Gus and Lalo ends with the latter dying and that marks the start of the body count with five episodes remaining. When asked whether burying Lalo and Howard together felt symbolic of the idea of those two separate shows being permanently joined. "I love the way you put that. I don’t know what the burial was. But certainly, the fact of bringing all these things together was our way of saying, “No, no, this is why we’ve been doing these two things, because there was going to be a point where we brought these two things together.”

'Better Call Saul' airs Mondays at 9 pm ET on AMC

GET THE BIGGEST ENTERTAINMENT STORIES
STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX.

MORE STORIES

Episode 2 of ‘Stuart Fails to Save the Universe’ brings back four franchise veterans as Stuart’s group escapes an AI-controlled alternate universe.
7 hours ago
London Brown opens up about Marvin’s storyline in and what he felt about his character's tragic death
9 hours ago
Matthew Macfadyen is set to lead the TV adaptation of a bestselling novel now officially in development. Know more about the cast of 'You Are Here.'
11 hours ago
'The Rookie' Season 9 has already begun filming, and 'The Rookie: North' is preparing to start production in August
17 hours ago
‘Lioness’ follows CIA senior case officer Joe McNamara as she leads a covert team on dangerous international operations
17 hours ago
The highly anticipated Zoe Saldaña series is set to return with Season 3 on August 2, 2026
17 hours ago
The upcoming limited series will focus on an 18-year-old British au pair’s case that became an international media sensation
19 hours ago
Netflix and AMC have made a huge move with ‘The Walking Dead,’ bringing the acclaimed franchise to a wider international audience
21 hours ago
‘Wonder Man’ update comes as a bolt out of the blue, especially after Yahya Abdul Mateen II was nominated for an Emmy Award.
1 day ago
Cher Horowitz will face a new high school challenge as a businesswoman and mother in the upcoming sequel, but key details remain missing.
1 day ago