Better Call Saul's Lalo Salamanca has emerged as TV's best villain

UPROXX

"He’s a back-slapping, charismatic terror, a thorn in the side of every main character on the show," says Brian Grubb of Tony Dalton's character. "He’s waging war against Gus and Mike, he’s now suspicious that Nacho conspired to assassinate him, he showed up at Jimmy and Kim’s door looking for answers. He has his giddy little fingers in everything and he is having the time of his life. It’s not just that he’s a blast, although it is very much that, as the GIF above indicates. Tony Dalton and the writers of the show seem to be having a ball playing around with this lunatic, to a degree that is almost obscene. I’m still flabbergasted that they could just go out and create a top ten — top five? — character in the whole Breaking Bad universe almost 12 full seasons into their run. It’s witchcraft is what it is. We should consider burning them at the stake. Once they’re done making this show. And maybe a Lalo prequel. We can just have the stake ready. Put it in the basement for now. But again, there’s more there than charisma. Lalo would be a good character even if he was mostly just comic relief. What makes Lalo great, though, is how staggeringly competent he is."

ALSO:

• Everyone underestimated Kim Wexler On Better Call Saul: "There are a number of theories we have had to explain Kim Wexler’s absence in Breaking Bad over the years," says Dustin Rowles. "Maybe she dies. Maybe she leaves Jimmy (for Howard Hamlin, even). Maybe Jimmy dumps Kim for her own good. Maybe Kim’s career becomes collateral damage to one of Jimmy’s schemes. Maybe she and Jimmy remain together, but she isn’t privy to Saul Goodman’s shenanigans on Breaking Bad. What few people could have predicted, however, is that Better Call Saul may also be a breaking-bad journey for Kim Wexler, too."
• How Better Call Saul broke the prequel curse: "Among the many reasons that Better Call Saul is extraordinary is that—not to pull any punches—most prequels suck," says Ben Lindbergh, adding: "One problem with prequels is that they’re rarely planned in advance. Storytellers typically start at the most interesting stage of their stories, when some kind of conflict is happening."