The Better Call Saul Theory That Should Have Nacho Fans Worried

As we approach the sixth and final season of Better Call Saul, fans have good reason to worry about a lot of their favorite characters from the series. What will become of Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman/Gene Takavic (Bob Odenkirk), who, in the flash forwards, has recently been identified by a fellow Albuquerque native in Omaha? What will be the fate of Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn), who is completely non-existent in the Breaking Bad timeline? And what in the world is going to happen to Nacho (Michael Mando) to make him merit just one mysterious mention by Saul in the original series?

We will have to wait and see for all three, but fans of Nacho in particular have several reasons to fear he will face a grim future. Not only does Nacho likely have the head of the Salamanca family coming after him next, but an even surer threat may stem from another source altogether.

In the season 5 finale of Better Call Saul, Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton) seemingly figured out that it was Nacho who allowed Gus Fring's (Giancarlo Esposito) hitmen through his compound gates to carry out their assassination attempt on him. Since Lalo managed to survive the attack, there is a very good chance that he will go after Nacho as a result of his betrayal. 

The likely war between Nacho and Lalo has been expected ever since Breaking Bad when they were both first mentioned but didn't appear in the show. In Season 2's "Better Call Saul," Saul believed it was Lalo's goons who were holding him up at gunpoint — it was just actually Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) trying to secure representation for their dealer Badger (Matt Jones) — and pleaded with them. "It wasn't me, it was Ignacio. He's the one," Saul said. He then identified himself as a "friend of the cartel" and sighed in relief when he learned that it was not Lalo who sent them. Ignacio is the formal name for Nacho, so it has long been anticipated that Nacho's fate would be tied to Lalo somehow, based on this brief line from Saul's parent series.

As ruthless as Lalo is, though, could it be Gus that actually poses the bigger threat to Nacho?

Even if Nacho somehow manages to avoid the obvious threat of vengeance from Lalo, some fans think he is still likely to be a target of Gus if and when the dust settles on his newest feud with the Salamancas. In a theory shared by ScreenRant, the problem for Nacho may be that he simply knows too much about Gus' recent moves against the Salamancas. Nacho has been at the center of many of Gus' latest plays, including coaching a key witness into implicating Lalo in a murder and, of course, helping with the recent assassination attempt.

Gus, who is known for his cold calculation and lack of remorse, may not hesitate to eliminate Nacho in order to muddy the trail between himself and the hit on Lalo, to keep the cartel from coming after him. However, there is one crucial character who seems to have Nacho's best interests at heart and may provide a bit of hope for Nacho. Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) seems to take sincere pity on Nacho, who is trying to protect his father from both the Salamancas and Gus, and he has promised to help Nacho if and when they take care of Lalo. According to this theory, Mike may ultimately be able to help Nacho by offering his full-time services to Gus in exchange for cutting Nacho loose.

If that's the case, here's hoping Mike has the Disappearer on speed dial.