Why Lalo From Better Call Saul Might Secretly Be Up To Something

Contains spoilers for "Better Call Saul" Season 6

Lalo Salamanca's (Tony Dalton) presence loomed large over the first half of "Better Call Saul" Season 6. The character narrowly escapes Gustavo Fring's (Giancarlo Esposito) assassination attempt in the Season 5 finale. In Season 6, Lalo fakes his own death and sets off looking for proof that Gus tried to have him murdered and that he's been working to unseat the Salamancas' position within the cartel. This subplot takes Lalo out of North America entirely as he travels to Germany to investigate the specifics of what Werner Ziegler (Rainer Bock) and his men were building for Gus all the way back in Season 4.

Lalo returns to Albuquerque in the Season 6 midseason finale "Plan and Execution" — he hides inside a sewer outside Gus' laundry operation, spying on the location to determine the extent of its defenses. When Lalo calls Hector Salamanca (Mark Margolis), he accidentally tips Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) and his men off to his presence. However, Lalo gains the upper hand by telling Hector that he plans to attack Gus that night; once Mike turns his forces' attention to protecting their boss, Lalo heads straight to Saul and Kim's apartment.

"Plan and Execution" leaves Saul, Kim, and viewers aghast as he abruptly walks into their apartment during their confrontation with a drunken Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian). While Lalo simply says he wants to speak with his lawyers, he executes Howard just as the episode ends, signaling more danger for Saul and Kim ahead. Fans don't exactly yet know what Lalo is up to, and it seems the "Better Call Saul" producers want it that way.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, "Better Call Saul" executive producer Peter Gould said that Lalo was clearly surprised to learn how well-defended Gustavo Fring's laundry operation stands in the midseason finale "Plan and Execution." Now that Lalo knows Gus somehow realizes that Lalo isn't actually dead, Gould noted Lalo has a bit of an upper hand on the Salamanca family rival who attempted to have him murdered. As Gould told EW, both sides are playing a form of 4D chess.

"One of the questions that I hope people who are watching the show are asking is: 'Wait, why did he go to Jimmy and Kim? What's he up to?'" Gould said. "'Is he just settling old scores because he can't get to Gustavo Fring now? Or is there something else going on now?' Answers will be forthcoming."

With "Better Call Saul" off the air until the second half of Season 6 premieres on July 11, fans will certainly spend the next few weeks anticipating those answers fervently. Audiences don't know exactly where the series will go in its final six episodes, but Gould also revealed in the EW interview that Cliff Maine (Ed Begley Jr.) and Rich Schweikart (Dennis Boutsikaris) will return in the second half of the season in a different context. Fans are also still waiting on the promised return of Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), who will finally make an appearance in the spinoff (via The Hollywood Reporter).