Lalo Salamanca Origin – Better Call Saul's Most Charming But Deadliest Character Has A Tragic Origin

lalo salamanca cool charming and equally dangerous cartel underboss who is gus fring's nightmare in better call saul hi everyone welcome back i'm terry and this is marvelous videos when saul goodman utterly crapped his pants at the prospect of being taken out to the desert by the minions of a man called lalo we were intrigued by the idea of a man so terrifying he'd instill the fear of god into the world's best criminal lawyer just stop let's just stop it oh my god okay fine yeah her whatever give her the keys give her the address but then you meet the man himself and you realize that saul was right to be scared because lalo salamanca is the only man in the breaking bad and better call soul universe who can make a killer taco and also hurt you in a million different ways be nice tony dalton an actor who was practically confined to mexican entertainment before landing this role became famous overnight as the suave yet dangerous cartel underboss that had been hyped up for nearly a decade thanks in no small part to his impeccable portrayal of charismatic crime boss genius with more than a dash of insane just lurking underneath his warm exterior but why exactly has lalo become as famous as he has who are you me nobody i just need to talk to my lawyers how does he figure into the world of better course all and breaking bad later on and what makes him such a dangerous man in the first place we'll answer all these questions and more in this video this is lalo salamanca's origins explored before we go into our explanation we have a very small request if you like our content please support us by subscribing to our channel this is a small click for you but for us it means a lot thank you now let's begin from a throwaway line to tv's best villain how lalo was introduced in breaking bad in season 2 episode 8 of breaking bad which was ironically enough entitled better call saul we are introduced to lalo salamanca in perhaps the most unexpected of ways when walt and jesse drag saul goodman out into the desert to convince him to get badger off without cutting a deal with the dea they're left confused initially as the man they've picked up is saying things like amigo del cartel and crying out for his life they figured that their intimidation tactic was working well enough but the guy was getting way too hysterical so they calmed him down and clarified that they weren't with whoever he thought they were with otherwise he'd have kept screaming it wasn't him it was ignacio barlow didn't send you oh thank god when saul realizes that lalo didn't send them the relief on his face is palpable but just the right amount of funny as well which is what made his character such a necessary comic relief in the drama heavy breaking bad no no no no no no no it wasn't me it was a nazi but it did leave us questioning just who the heck ignacio and lalo were the former clearly took the crazy eight route at some point and the latter was practically referred to as the bogeyman of the cartel in all but name and though we pretty quickly found out who ignacio was when better call saul started airing we would have to wait for the better part of four seasons to come out to meet the other half of that famous piece of dialogue and while viewers were complaining at first all that changed once we met lalo salamanca because he was for the lack of a better word different family [Music] different yes but a salamanca to the core nonetheless and you'll find out just why different is more dangerous than you'd think because even though his cast membership ran for about two seasons the impact he made can be felt all across better call saul and breaking bad without him even having to participate in the latter show so without further ado let's get into the history of the other don in the salamanca family i just need to talk to my lawyers oh is that right you want some advice find better lawyers howard please he's a great cook but an even better cartel leader the introduction of lalo salamanca to the story from the start of breaking bad in 2008 to the beginning of the fourth season of better call saul in 2018 we'd met a grand total of four salamancas and all of them could have practically had the same personality with varying degrees of talkativeness and violence respectively first we met tuko salamanca the craziest member of the salamanca family by far front dude is good for it i don't need your podcast to vote for me then we met hector salamanca the wheelchair-bound og cartel don who took out gus fring in breaking bad after that came marco and leonel the twins who are as lethal a pair a hitman as we'd ever seen and in season 4 episode 8 of better call saul we meet the final member of this crazy family and at first it looks like he's nothing like the rest of them the guy is cooking breakfast burritos for the boys at el michoacano restaurant imagine that but the moment nacho asks him who he is you realize that this guy might be the most dangerous salamanca of them all not because he's violent or crazy but precisely because he isn't at least not on the surface if anything he's the most charming and charismatic cartel member we've seen since don eladio and that's saying something but here's the thing lalo salamanca grew up just like the rest of his cousins and he's older than them in fact he might be the oldest nephew of hector salamanca which makes him hector's first student and that ladies and gentlemen is a school we do not want to attend and yet the fact remains that lalo is a salamanca and all salamancas seem to be psycho killers so when nacho enters el michio akano after having put one salamanca behind bars and leaving another paralysed and comes across this third salamanca he is understandably crapping himself because one these guys have way two family members in the game and two no matter how many he gets rid of another pops up immediately by this point nacho had seen the cousins in action too so he knew how kind the salamancas were to traitors and such but after seeing lalo manning the grill he realized that this guy was an entirely different beast unlike hector or any of his other nephews lalo acted friendly and wore a big smile on his face at all times nothing new going on huh nothing different like what like anything when nacho entered the kitchen he acted surprised and enthused by his presence even offering to feed him the secret family recipe for burritos that he made himself but the way he said you've never had something this delicious in your life you're gonna die [Music] made it very clear to nacho that this was a test he refused and he passed with flying colors but things didn't become easier for him because for the first time in his life he had to start reading between the lines all the time nacho asked lala why he was in the north and lalo told him that he was just here to lend a helping hand keep the business running he had a good head for numbers you know it was going to be like he wasn't even here he told nacho as he joined the rest of his men at the table but nacho's desperate look told us the real story nalo was here to protect his family's interests and he wasn't going to go away until he got the answers he was looking for and sadly for him he had just been encouraged to work as a double agent and a mole in the salamanca organization by gus who saw him switch hector's pills and now has leverage over him this sets the stage for a showdown that eclipse is the one walter white had with gas spring because for a change gus was actually scared of his competition as we've already made clear by now lalo is different from the other salamancas where the rest of them use intimidation as a means of commanding respect lalo seems like the friendly guy who'd understand your woes his casual smile never leaves his face and his loose demeanor will make you relax around him that is before he chops your limbs off with an axe and draws information out of you because after all he's a salamanca take that off before you bleed to death you're not gonna have a talk so lalo is the perfect example of an intelligent psychopath someone who understands and is able to put on the guise of friendliness till he gets what he wants after that it's open season on you and lalo also seems to share another trait with his uncle hector that none of the other salamancas seem to possess a deep hatred for gus fring their rivalry is what takes center stage in the latter half of better call saul and cements lala as one of the best tv villains of all time fring vs salamanca gus finds a worthy competitor the next time we see lalo is when he goes to visit his uncle hector at casa tranquila with nacho acting as his personal chauffeur lalo has brought his beloved tio a present as he wants to talk to him about their next plan of action he recounts a story from his youth about a hotel that he and his uncle visited hector asked the owner to give him a room but the stupid guy kept trying to get these gangsters off his property and ringing his concierge's bell for that hector first nabbed him then tortured him and he probably also violated his trophy wife before burning the entire hotel down to teach his mark a lesson you never say no to the dawn of the cartel lalo remembers it like it was yesterday even recalling the scent of burning horse hair while reminiscing with his uncle then he confesses to him that despite hector's instructions he went back inside and grabbed a souvenir to remember the lesson by he presents that souvenir to hector and we find out that his bell was in fact a gift from lalo after confirming that hector's mental faculties are as sharp as they used to be lalo and his tio have a discussion from which lalo emerges saying same old hector just wants to kill everybody which stuns nacho because obviously he's teetering on the edge here but also explains the actions that lalo takes next same ole just wants to kill everybody after exiting casa tranquila the pair arrive at a rather familiar location los poyos hermanos specifically the main outlet where they know gus will be but unlike hector's overtly thuggish approach lalo takes the smarter route ordering food for himself and nacho and waiting for the staff to notice the latter and call gus to the floor and that's exactly how things play out because once lyle the acceptable assistant manager spots nacho in the booth he calls fring to the restaurant floor who arrives with a look on his face that is more dour than usual still he sucks it up and immediately puts on his act of professionalism and aloofness asking lalo and nacho how he could help them and to our surprise lalo just plays into it he says he is quote eager to franchise as gus's chicken has impressed him thoroughly which is a major contrast from hector's approach for a meeting with gus would you be interested in franchising because i would be eager to invest well perhaps we should once inside his office lalo introduces himself and thanks gus for saving don hector's life if gus hadn't given him cpr when the others were too stunned to make a move he might have died and so lalo is only there to show his gratitude but then suddenly he switches his demeanor and his language of choice when he asks gus if he thinks don eladio likes the bad blood between him and lalo's family he highly suggests an alliance with gus to cut ellardo out of the picture but gus calls his bluff and says he is satisfied with the current arrangement lalo understands that gus has made his play to get him to show his true feelings towards the cartel which hector and he himself are fully aware of so he just says gus would be crazy to go after el ardio and that if he needs anything lalo is his man we owe you if you need a favor i'm your man same naturally after conducting what is possibly the calmest meeting a salamanca has ever had lalo's perpetual smile breaks as he gets into nacho's car because he couldn't get what he came for so he just asks his new driver to take him to gus's chicken farm so he can scope it out and dig up some kind of proof of gus's betrayal of villardio's trust because that's really why lalo is here he's here to help his uncle expose this cartel hating sob before he can finish making his move so lalo brings sandwiches to a hill overlooking gus's chicken farm and spies on everything that goes on there making detailed notes of each person's comings and goings he gets a lucky break thanks to the idiocy of one werner ziegler because while lalo was spying on the farm the call came in that the german engineer had escaped mike ermantraut scrambles his men to try and get a hold of werner before anyone else does because he and his men are painfully aware of lalo's presence in albuquerque by a stroke of luck or sheer genius we don't know which lalo manages to tail mike's car all the way up to the travel wire where he waits to learn what'll happen next he's put together the fact that something's gone horribly wrong with gus's operation but depending on what it is he could use this to his family's benefit after mike leaves the travel wire lalo continues to tail him but mike manages to give him the slip at a parking lot by jamming the booth gate before lalo's car pulls up to the scene so lala goes back to the travel wire murders the innocent clerk by literally dropping in behind him and reviews the security footage to deduce that mike's target is at a spa somewhere in new mexico lalo manages to get a hold of werner ziegler and also cooks his details of the meth superlab that gus is creating out of him though he's unaware of exactly what the chilean is planning to do before he can get more information from him though mike arrives at the scene and lalo knowingly taunts him deducing that if he can figure out gas's secret he can force him out of the cartel so he asks all his subordinates about knowing a bald gringo in the game and werner ziegler but none of them can come up with any credible information a couple of skulls on force been complaining that this stuff is stepped on stepped on as if by yet another stroke of luck lalo then receives a report that some of the product his guys picked up from gus was quote stepped on which he personally confirms giving him the chance to set up a face-to-face meeting with fring and balsa and this is where the final chess game between gus and perhaps his most formidable opponent begins not even an assassination attempt can stop him lalo goes on the offensive using the bad product and the conversation he had with werner ziegler as evidence lalo arranges a meeting between himself juan balsa and gus fring at his chicken farm gus tells them a story that explains everything lalo is aware of he tells them ziegler stole cocaine from gus and escaped so he had his men take care of the situation and dilute the product with locally acquired meth and had hoped that none would be the wiser he also reveals that ziegler was making an industrial chiller for the farm and that michael is the supervisor of his crew lalo seemingly happy with the explanation exits the premises promising peace to gus's face but outside after balsa is done chastising him for his messiness lalo questions him as to why the cartel trusts fring balsa says that gus is a good earner and that he doesn't bring emotion into business this prompts lalo to bring up the mysterious santiago incident and he asks bolser if that was also just business balsa simply tells lalo that as long as the dollars keep coming in ellardo is happy with keeping gus on which tells lalo that unless he gets some hard evidence for gus's treachery he can do nothing about it so he just tells balsa he has nothing to worry about and gets to work on his next move against fring lalo visits hector at casa tranquila and after sharing a drink with his uncle tells him he doesn't believe a word of what the chilean said at his chicken farm hector points out that the cartel won't move against gus as long as he keeps earning which seems to give lalo an idea later while playing poker with his men he ends up giving crazy8 his nickname when the latter falls despite having a good chance of winning just to avoid disrespecting his don domingo gets called away to solve a dispute but that ends up leading to a bigger problem as some cops show up while he's trying to unclog a pipe with coke stuck in it and now his entire operation is at risk lalo shows up to the scene with nacho and laments the loss of an entire hall of product because the feds had already started swarming the place by the time they arrived but he didn't expect nacho to take the initiative and try to save all their asses and the product after nacho manages to make a death-defying loop of the house save all the coke and not get spotted by the feds he earns lalo's trust who begins clueing him into his plans lalo has nacho call saul goodman for him because he plans to hit gus where it hurts through saul they coach domingo into becoming a snitch for the dea and have him rat out all of gus's dead drop locations which causes him a significant loss lala's logic is that if he renders gus useless to the cartel they'll get rid of him but he doesn't expect the retaliation from gus to be so quick because within a few hours he's picked up for the murder of fred whelan thanks to a bit of clandestine pi work by dave clark lalo once again turns to saul for his new quote legal problem and he gets saul to represent him in court at the hearing saul is able to argue that the case against lalo has been built on flimsy grounds with a tempered witness and bale is warranted his argument stands thanks to the info mike gives him beforehand and the actors he hires to play lalo's fake family but the judge sets the bail amount at 7 million dollars saul hopes that the ridiculous amount of money required to get out of jail will get lallow off his case but the latter simply replies he can do that but he'll need saul to pick up the money and that he'll call him he's confident in saul's greedy nature and he's proven right when saul agrees to do it for 100k but after lalo gets out of jail he becomes suspicious why did it take saul so long to get him the money why did he look like he was ready to die at any moment's notice why did his wife seem to think he was dead something didn't add up so lala went to the desert with the intention of going back home but ends up going to kim's apartment after he finds saul's car with bullet holes in it lalo is right to suspect him of course we know that saul only made it out of the desert thanks to gus's operatives but he ends up going back to mexico with nacho after kim tells him off for doubting saul's integrity once he's back home lalo puts his real plan into action regaining don ilardio's favor for the salamancas you see other than hector lalo is the only don in the salamanca family which means he has influence and with his charisma and knowledge he's sure that his status will be enough to get illario's ear he takes nacho to his own home in chihuahua and introduces him to his staff whom he regards as family then he takes nacho to the same place where the cousins get their seven million from in a deleted scene where he explains that they need to grease the wheels with the boss to gain his favor and it turns out he meant that literally because not only did lalo bring ellardo a sizable tribute he also brought him a sports car which really pleased the don you could tell that lalo doesn't just know how to play the game but he enjoys the thrill of it when he arrives at eladio's hacienda he goes around fraternizing with everyone there before giving his boss a big playful hug and getting him in the right mood to talk to him about their new man up north nacho lalo's ploy works out for the most part eladio likes nacho and approves of his plans and his appointment and now lalo has the time to really poison his mind against gus thanks to his proximity to the don but he ends up getting betrayed the very same night by varga who opens the doors for the assassins hired by gus to take out lalo before escaping from the same gate the assassins managed to kill everyone present except lalo who realizes that the snitch in his organization was nacho all along he made the guy burn down apoyos hermanos unaware that gus was right beside him the whole time lalo manages to take out all the attackers and gets the last one to send a message to his handler he wants him to tell the guy that their mission was a success just as his life gives out lalo exits the burning compound with a look of black rage stuck on his face while the rest of the world including gus thinks that he is dead free from the shackles of restriction lalo plots the endgame of fring vs salamanca which ends up being even more explosive than their breaking bad ending [Music] fake bodies confessions in a trigger pull too late the fate of lalo salamanca after escaping to the countryside of chihuahua lalo kills a couple he had helped earlier in his life and uses the husband's body as a decoy for his own having asked him to shave just like lalo does after burning the body beyond recognition and setting things up in such a way that even dental records wouldn't be able to prove otherwise lalo takes his newly deceased status and attempts to cross into the u.s to carry out his vendetta against gus and now nacho as well but before he does so he calls his uncle to inform him that he's still alive knowing that this is their best possible play he tells hector that they were right fring is a traitor and needs to be dealt with as quickly as possible but his teo convinces him to gather solid proof of frings treachery because he knows that eladio will need more than just words to part with his beloved money so lalo cut short his trip to new mexico and goes inland instead we find out in a later episode that he traveled to germany in an attempt to find the proof his uncle asked for and after spending some time with marguerite ziegler verna's widow he gets it he finds a gift that verna's construction crew gave to him when he breaks into the ziegler home and he uses it to track down casper one of werner's trusted men after coercing casper into divulging the information he needs and silencing him so he couldn't repeat it to anyone else lalo returns to america and starts spying on lavendaria brilliante aka the future site of walt and jesse's meth lab lalo stakes it out over several days noting down the movements of the guards and such making a funny recording for don elardio to discover fring's treachery through but when he calls his uncle to tell him all this he realizes that fringe somehow knows he's alive while making the call lalo can detect the tell-tale signs of tracing which causes him to hang up and break his chair out of frustration of course we at home know it was hector's fault that gus realized lala was still alive but he never found that out he called his teo again and told him that he was going back to plan a and that fringe would be getting a surprise that night knowing full well that his words will spur his men into action and after they've departed lalo too gets up to leave when he spots a cockroach and gets a better idea he makes his way to seoul goodman's house casually kills a drunk and rambling howard hamlin telling him he himself was a nobody and goes to work on the scamming couple lalo tells jimmy that he knows nacho ratted him out and he'll be back to discern jimmy's innocence later but he has bigger fish to fry right now he gives him step-by-step directions to gus's house including a little map that helps him locate it better and tells him his task is simple he just has to point and shoot first at gus using the gun lalo has planted in his car and second at gus's dead body using the camera he left as well jimmy manages to convince him to let kim do it instead and lalo just gets fed up with them and asks them to get on with it which is probably something he shouldn't have done because with victory so close at hand lalo starts slipping he goes back to the laundry just in time for gus to arrive and once he does lalo executes all the men he brought with him he proceeds to force gus to show him the lab's location while he films it on his camera even going so far as to shooting gas in the chest to compel him to comply knowing full well he's wearing body armor once down there he puts on a show for his boss by kicking gus around and dictating the info he had acquired from casper lalo even lets gus finish his acidic rant towards the cartel and the salamanca family in general before asking him if he was done with his big talk gus cooley responds no before throwing the entire pit into darkness with a well-placed kick to an electrical line and shooting lalo through the neck using a gun he had previously concealed just to be on the safe side it's not like lalo doesn't connect with gus even in the darkness he manages to get two bullets to heavily graze gus's side but in the end lalo is unable to finish what his uncle started and he dies with a maniacal smile on his face gus wins but at a terrible cost he had to beef up his private security to the levels they were probably at when he was back in chile to counter one man the very thought of lalo being alive terrifies gus in season 6 episode 1 and he starts losing his composure around his men which is very rare for him all of these details show that not only was lalo salamanca gus's most worthy adversary he was also the cause for his downfall in breaking bad after taking out one of the most notorious cartel bosses in such short order you can understand why gus was overconfident in dealing with walter white he had quite literally fought against worse odds and won not three years ago but where he didn't underestimate lalo he did underestimate walter white which is what ended up getting him killed even in death lalo salamanca's actions have shaped every character that crossed over from the better called soul timeline to the breaking bad one because if it weren't for his actions sull would never have become a criminal lawyer and jesse and walt would be in jail by now thanks to badger if that even happens in the first place but that's not all when it comes to his influence on the show no refunds i told you be nice how lalo salamanca draws from real-life cartels to lend more authenticity to better call saul and breaking bad as we've already mentioned in our previous videos about don ellardio hector tuco and the cousins go watch those if you haven't already most of the characters in breaking bad and better call seoul seem to be inspired by real life cartels and figures within them while we can't specifically pin down an inspiration for lalo we can tell you that out of all the other cartel operatives he is the one that gave their operation the most real world authenticity because of a scene that takes place in episode one of season six in it lalo turns up at the home of a rural couple called mateo and sylvia ramos while at first you'd expect them to react to him like that one lady did to the cousins back in breaking bad sylvia actually addresses lalo as don eduardo and invites him into her home for coffee and breakfast she thanks him profusely for his help with matteo's dental work and when the man of the house arrives he too gives his thanks to the don while it's true that lala was probably only grooming the guy as a body double in case he needed one it also shows that the salamanca family weren't all about killing and torture which is also consistent with the parallels we've drawn between them and la familia michoacana as well as the lava beltran organization in terms of the latter lalo is the fifth and last salamanca to be shown as part of the cartel and the lbo was founded by five brothers in the context of the former their leaders are basically the salamanca family with a bible obsession just like la familia michoacana the salamancas too are an unusually violent brand of criminal who ironically enough put family values over everything but more than that la familia is also known to actually help the locals of michoacan state many a time they will provide their services and resources to the most deprived parts of michoacan and in exchange gained the admiration and the loyalty of the disenfranchised nowhere is this fact clearer than in lalo's interaction with sylvia and mateo who up until the point lalo kills them are under the impression that he's just there on a visit this pretty much fits the modus operandi of la familia like a glove and if to stress this connection literally everything the salamancas used to operate their business refers to michioacan in some way shape or form hector's ice cream factories were in michoacan and the restaurant where they collect from their dealers is called el michio arcano clearly hinting at the inspiration behind lalo's family and lalo's actual name inspiration is the argentinian film composer lalo shifrin but it's interesting to know that there was a counterpart for his name in the real-life juarez cartel as well only not in the capacity he himself was in all these facts only help solidify breaking bad and better call saul as two shows with utmost authenticity and realism when it comes to drama marvelous verdict in the span of two seasons lalo salamanca went from a throwaway line to one of the most iconic tv villains in history to the point that actor tony dalton's portrayal of the guy made everyone think his character in the hawkeye series was going to be the big bad of the series initially it's crazy to think that dalton who had only worked in mexican films and italian novellas by this point is the same guy who plays the stone faced serial killer in saint avila because the level of personality he brings to lalo salamanca is next level peter gould said it best lalo is just like jimmy except he's on the side of the bad guys and we're not at all disappointed he didn't show up in season one a better call saul because if he had the impact of his character's actions would have been much less intense and that's the selling point of the guy he's got elada's charisma with hector's mentality and tuko's crazy stare if that's not the definition of dangerous in your book then you need a new book and if you liked our content don't forget to leave a like and subscribe to us if you haven't already have a good one thanks for watching and see you next time [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Marvelous Videos

Views: 465,118

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Length: 27min 46sec (1666 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 09 2022