Lalo Salamanca hatches another cunning plan in Better Call Saul season 6’s “Point & Shoot.” Here’s why he needed Jimmy McGill for it to work.
Lalo Salamanca discovers Jimmy really is “the guy for this” in Better Call Saul season 6, episode 8 – here’s why the villain’s plan needed Saul Goodman. Better Call Saul‘s mid-season 6 finale left audiences in a state of shock when Lalo Salamanca sauntered into Jimmy and Kim’s apartment and executed Howard Hamlin. The gangster had no beef with Howard whatsoever, of course, but that meant a crucial question still needed answering: what was Lalo actually visiting Jimmy and Kim for?
Returning with another adrenaline rush episode, Better Call Saul season 6’s “Point & Shoot” reveals Lalo wanted his two lawyer friends to carry out one simple job: kill Gus Fring. Lalo orders Jimmy to knock on Gus’ door and shoot the Chicken Man dead while Kim stays behind at the apartment for insurance, but two aspects of Lalo’s plan don’t sit quite right. If murdering Gus Fring was as easy as hiring a stranger to ring the doorbell, Lalo would’ve tried that already. Secondly, of all the potential killers Lalo could’ve picked, why two frightened lawyers who’ve never held a gun before?
Lalo isn’t really expecting Jimmy or Kim to murder Gus – the whole ordeal is merely a charade to manipulate Gus’ head of security, Mike Ehrmantraut, into leaving the superlab construction site vulnerable. Lalo needs access to the incriminating lab, but with Mike’s 24/7 guards make infiltration impossible even for the snake-like Salamanca. Lalo knows full well that any would-be assassin he sends in Gus’ direction will be caught before any assassinating can take place. The frightened prisoner will then cry, “Lalo Salamanca is in my apartment” and Lalo anticipates Mike immediately sending all available men to that location, leaving only a light guard surrounding the lab. Great success. For that scam to run smoothly, Lalo requires someone Mike would drop everything for – someone involved with their operation who could potentially spill some important beans. Nacho would’ve done the trick but he’s, er… otherwise indisposed. Lalo knows Jimmy was involved with Mike and Gus because of the bullet-ridden car he found in the desert, and that makes the lawyer perfect for luring because if Jimmy starts telling Lalo everything he knows, Gus has another major problem on his hands.
What Lalo’s Plan For Gus Really Was In Better Call Saul
Why was Lalo Salamanca prioritizing a home video of Gus’ superlab over getting revenge? The answer can be found in Lalo’s conversation with his uncle Hector earlier in Better Call Saul season 6. As the cartel veteran quite rightly pointed out, any violence against Gus would be interpreted as a move against their shared leader, Don Eladio. Instead of striking straight away, therefore, the Salamancas need proof that Gus has betrayed the cartel, and nothing screams “proof” quite like a massive meth lab being constructed behind Don Eladio’s back. Lalo’s plan is simply to gain video evidence of the lab’s existence, send Don Eladio the footage, then let cartel justice take its rightful course.
Lalo doesn’t necessarily anticipate Gus turning up at the superlab personally in Better Call Saul‘s mid-season 6 premiere, although that cunning Salamanca mindset surely means he wouldn’t have discounted the possibility either. After Gus does arrive uninvited, Lalo takes his nemesis hostage and probably intends to end Fring there and then in the superlab once the “nickel tour” ends. So long as he has the video, Lalo can justify the murder to cartel higher-ups, after all. Unfortunately for Lalo, he makes the crucial mistake of thinking his victory against Gus has been secured in Better Call Saul. He gets cocky, counts his chickens before they’ve hatched, and his plan ends with feathers flying.
Better Call Saul continues Monday on AMC.
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