To come on the show as late as he did, and still be one of the most memorable characters in the whole universe, is insane.

The casting of Tony Dalton as Lalo Salamanca is pure perfection

I don't think his smile is a bluff, I think it's scarier than that. He IS having a good time. He likes who he is and THAT is what is scary about it.

From a throwaway line, "did Lalo send you?" To the most enjoyable villains this side of Ledger's Joker is PURE ART!

He, nachos dad, and a small few other actors were the only ones who genuinely spoke Spanish with a Mexican accent. Outstanding!

The fact that even Gus Fring was afraid of this guy is another level of scary

Tony Dalton was born to be in a Tarantino movie. As Tarantino is reaching his 10th and final film, I’m worried that collaboration will forever be left to the imagination. He gives off a savant killer energy very similar to Christoph Waltz.

I think whats terrifying is how Lalo treats other characters like children. To him, all of them are just children playing around and are no threat to him.

The fact that Lalo was smart enough to outplay both Gus and Mike is amazing. At fist I didn't like the way he got killed, but after a while I understood that the only way he was getting killed was by a stroke of luck

Howard's story is BY FAR the most heart breaking in BB and Saul. He did not deserve that at all.

Dalton's portrayal was pure genius. Even though Lalo was the sort of guy who'd stab you in the back in an instant if it served his best interests, you couldn't help but think "yeah, I'd like to drink a beer with this dude." Now _that_ is evil incarnate.

I loved this character so much. He plays him so well. He is like the only Salamanca that is happy while being a psychopath. - Tuco : Angry sob while being out for blood. - The Cousins : Out for blood, no emotion. - Hector : Angry sob while being out for blood. - Lalo : Happy fella with a sense of humor being out for blood.

One thing I love about Lalo is he is the complete antitheses of Gus. Gus being smiley and friendly is him putting on an act, but Lalo is quite genuine with his upbeat persona. Even when he’s alone and has no one to try to gain the trust of or manipulate, he is all smiles. He also just happens to be a drug lord murderer

The word "mercurial" describes part of what makes Lalo scary. He's not just pretending to smile. He's genuinely smiling, because HE ENJOYS THIS. Even if he's about to kill you. His smile isn't just some calculated technique to disarm you and allay your suspicions. It seems more like a genuine reflection of how he's feeling, but it's unnerving because he is fully capable of enjoying himself while he kills you.

Something has to be added about his physicality. His physical feats bordered on superhuman. For me thats one of the main things that made him terrifying. We constantly see him using agility and strength to get things done. Besides leaping down onto Saul's abandoned car in a gulley like a boss, he crawled through a fan duct, hid and then shot four trained armed guards that Mike trusted. He casually slaughters five hitmen by physically dodging, running, and hanging upside down and shooting them one by one like a virtuoso. Remember Lalo started with no weapon, while they had assault rifles, body armor, radios, and were trained killers with the element of surprise. Who can do that? And the one that blew my mind so much I rewinded it over and over while standing up and shouting at the screen in shock; He vaults himself into a ceiling, climbs over a bulletproof barrier, drops effortlessly to the floor and murders the attendant without being even slightly winded. Contrast that with Nacho, who is very physical, but grunts, sweats and has to gather courage to start moving. Nacho feels like everyman overcoming challenges with physical strength. But Lalo feels diabolic, infused with otherworldly energy, slick and effortless. His raw strength physicality was awe inspiring, some of it feeling olympian or even superhuman. He was about as perfect a villain as I have ever seen, rivaling Anton Chigurh. I cant think of a better compliment.

Rest in piece Howard. You were a good person who truly cared for those around him even your enemies. You were one of the best and good hearted people in this universe

Lalo is the Hans Landa of Better Call Saul. He's a charming, unnerving and terrifying. He's a detective of the highest order who can sniff out the tiniest lie and make you so uncomfortable that you couldn't hide it any longer.

His eyes are just so soulless on certain scenes. His movements and chatter are in line with a charismatic persona, but his eyes reveal that he is just dead inside. I can’t even tell you what makes his stare so chilling, it just does. You can tell from a subconscious level. Tony really gave an incredible performance.

Lalo was scarier than Hector, Tuco, and the cousins put together. Like a shark, he shows you a toothy grin--just before he bites. The comparison of Ron Burgundy, Dick Dastardly and Anton Chigurh was spot on. Nothing worse than a smiling, amiable psychopath with that predatory stare. One of the best performances in a show full of stellar performances. Dalton nailed it.

I think perhaps the most chilling/telling moment for Lalo's character is when he's in court as Jorge De Guizmann, and he asks Jimmy who the traumatised people in the public gallery are, and Jimmy/Saul tells him they're the family of (name of the guy who was murdered). And Lalo curiously asks who that person is, and when Jimmy/Saul explains to him (ya know, he's the guy who was murdered - by you), and Lalo just kinda nods along indifferently, as if his curiosity only lasted as long as it took for him to ask the question, and now he's thinking about something else already. It's eerie AF. I always figured they showed Lalo with his hands dangling by his sides as a tribute to the old westerns, to put the other character (and the audience) in mind of the way the gunslinger would always be quick on the draw.

I hope Tony Dalton gets a lot of great roles now. Giancarlo Esposito had a similarly impressive performance in Breaking Bad and it was awesome to see him in The Boys, The Mandalorian or heck, even the main antagonist in Far Cry 6 after Breaking Bad ended.

Lalo was hands down my favorite Salamanca. He is brilliant and unpredictable. It’s good him and Walter White never met. He would’ve been a force to be reckoned with against Walt.

This guy was truly one of the greatest things in the show. Let's have a Lalo-Spin-Off.

It's just his language imo. No other character in both series swings between english and spanish as comfortably as Lalo does, he expresses himself perfectly while speaking both. I wish people talked more about this, the awful spanish that most supposedly spanish talked always took me out despite how much I loved BB, and finally seeing a native speaker expressing himself so naturally just made me fall in love with him. I hope someone takes notes for this and starts hiring actualy spanish speakers for this type of role.

I disagree about Lalo never caring about Nacho. After he gets his talking to from Kim, he realises that Nacho is pretty much the only person he can actually trust, and is clearly genuinely excited to introduce him to the staff at his compound. He even calls him ‘Nachito’ which I’m told in Spanish means that he’s using Nacho’s name in a familiar, endearing way. When he’s out chilling by the firepit, I always got the impression he just wanted to hang out and drink with Nacho for a bit. When Lalo figures out that Nacho betrayed him, you can see the genuine hurt turning to anger on his face. I think there is a kernel of humanity buried deep deep down inside Lalo (we know he cares for his uncle).

Most of the BB villains are extremely cold, stoic, and silent. Lalo is a breath of fresh air in that regard.

One of the most entertaining characters in TV history. Stole every scene. He was just so fun to watch and the producers knew it. It made no sense to make Lalo a major character.. but he was just so good I assume they couldn't help themselves.

he absolutely dominates every episode in which he's present. outstanding performance (possible due to outstanding character development and writing to be fair)

It really comes down to the brilliant writing of the character as well as Tony Dalton's calm and charismatic performance that makes him so terrifying yet intriguing. Dalton has been one of my favorite actors for a very long time even before he came into the American mainstream scene, but this role here might just be his best work to date. He's the kind of guy that you would like to have a drink with, but would be completely horrified if you got on his bad side.

As if the show wasn’t amazing enough as it was, the introduction of Tony Dalton into the series thoroughly elevated the series into incredible new heights because of his portrayal of a suave and charismatic psychopath. Truly masterful work.

Showing a clip of Lalo’s last smile as he’s dying would’ve been the icing on the cake to this video

I didn't even think about how late he came on the show. He seems like he was always there. He's one of the most memorable villians ever. Definitely one of favorite performances. Lalo had me on edge every time he was on screen. Bravo Tony Dalton

Lalo was the best of the Salamanca's He had the mercilessness of Hector, capable of Tuco's violence, the stoicism of the Twins (when he needed it), and he was far more intelligent than anyone else in his family. Not to mention his German is great, "Verner ZEEE-glur."

9:00 I also find it really cool that Lalo's stare is foreshadowed all the way back in S1. Nacho begrudges Tuco for doing the same thing, says that when Tuco thinks someone is lying, he'll sit there and stare at them for 5-10 minutes before deciding what to do next. I strongly believe the implication here is that Tuco watched Lalo do this same thing to great affect, but not necessarily understanding the real intricacies of how Lalo manipulates people, and just assumes that the Tuco stare will do the same thing.

Tony Dalton is seriously underrated. Hell of a performance.

He is a papi. I literally have never wanted a TV show character more. Never fancied one even as a kid but THIS GUY MAKES ME 🥵🥵🥵

Something that cannot be understated about his character/performance: he _actually_ speaks Spanish😭

i love how when a character tells a story/lies to lalo, he just gives a pause and a smile, and then simply says, "show me :)". gives me the same chills i get when gus drops his smile and gets serious

The cockroach scene was amazing he sees the cockroach and immediately thinks of Saul but in reality he was the one forced to lurk in the sewers as he did his dirty deeds injecting chaos into gus's meth operation... So as a true psychopath he can not see the similarities in his own situation instead it's his way of looking down on someone from the literal sewer... Which is also ironic because Saul is the only one who truly went out of his way to help lalo. To his credit I also believe that's why he didn't kill Saul and Kim...

The way Dalton played him, with that charm and charisma, is the reason it works so well I think. He's completely captivating and steals every scene he's in. And the fact that he can go from smiling to killing in the blink of an eye is what kept viewers engrossed whenever he was on screen.

Tony Dalton made a series called "Sr. Avila" where he plays a cold calculated assasin, when he was talking with Vince, he said he's been playing that kind of character for years (like Fringe) so he suggested doing something different, people should recognize a little more the participation he had creating Lalo Salamanca, he even re wrote lines some even on Spanish for accuracy.

the first scene with Lalo in Jimmy's apartment was the most intense scene in the entire series. I think it was close to 10 minutes long, but felt like it was going on for hours. It was done so well.

Would be awesome to see a spin off series that is set before breaking bad and is about the salamancas. Of all the current ones and how they all got into the business and all the other family members we never see, like lalo, the twins and tucos parents and how they all relate to hector and so on

Even when he himself died there still was a smile on his face, showing how careless he truly is

What really stood out to me about Lalo is that he's one of the only characters shown to have the same level of ingenuity as Mike. Where Mike is always 2 steps ahead of his adversaries, this comes from his experience, caution, and careful observation. Lalo is just as observant and insightful, but it seems to come on an instinctual level which adds a level of unpredictability that makes him a perfect adversary for Mike.

The way he switches between and even combines his intimidating/welcoming personality is what really keeps your eyes on him in every scene he’s in

PHENOMENAL CHARACTER. PHENOMENAL PERFORMANCE. Thank you Tony Dalton for coming out of nowhere and giving us a lovable interesting villain. To stand out so much in such a loved and already set in stone universe is really something amazing. That smile is worth a billion. I hope we see more of this actor; happy he got into the MCU.

That was probably the bitter sweet thing about Tony Dalton’s performance. He played the character Lalo so well, intimidating and unpredictable. He really felt like he should’ve been in Breaking Bad. Probably would’ve been an even bigger force to be reckoned with than Gus, if he had the chance to grow. He could’ve been someone even Walt would’ve had a hard time trying to deal with. But it sucks he died before Breaking Bad. Before anything happened. Now he’s just legend… buried at the bottom of an underground meth lab.

Lalo’s introduction, being so disarming, also contrasts perfectly how Saul first mentions him in breaking bad. “Did Lalo send you? ….OH THANK GOD” and “It wasn’t me it was Ignacio!!!” Perhaps meaningless when it was first written, but in a couple lines, Lalo is set up to be so feared, that after learning that it wasn’t him, Jimmy is remarkably calm despite being tied up in the desert, guns on him, in front of a makeshift grave. In the same set of lines, he sets up Nacho as someone to be thrown under the bus, a hint at his ultimate fate.

Lalo was also a lone wolf, unlike most other villains.

Lalo's "friendliness" and initial likeability is the scariest thing in a Sociopath, and made him one of the most dangerous characters on the show.

Lalo was the most dangerous of the Salamancas and the most fascinating. He was also may be the most charismatic character of the entire show and may be even the whole Breaking Bad universe. Brilliantly played by Tony Dalton!

I love to contrast the scenes with Gus in the restaurant with Hector and Lalo. Hector is so blatantly threatening, literally taking over Gus's office and creating a borderline hostage situation with the customers. Lalo has a friendly chat with a smile, even offering to team up with Gus - and yet somehow Lalo is 10x more threatening.

Tony is amazing as Lalo. The way he asks "Michael, is that you?" knowing that he won't respond and asking Nacho "show me" makes us think how things can take a wild turn.

Tony Dalton's portrayal of Lalo Salamanca is one that's arguably much more believable than the main characters of anything in film OR television; there are many moments when I found him more convincing than the characters of Walter, Jesse, Saul, etc. He somehow manages to be both unrealistically charismatic in his speech, mannerisms, actions, while never coming across as too subtle, either. Dalton somehow found that perfect balance in between, which was specifically how any writer wants their characters to be understood and translated from the pages, but only very, very rarely does it happen so, and even more elusively as Tony Dalton did with Lalo. He convinces you that he's this charming, carefree kind of guy who's not so bad for a cartel underboss, to reminding you that there are swift, brutal, and oftentimes deadly consequences for trying to get away with anything behind his back, and somehow right back to making you think he's got a good heart deep down. It makes me think of the way an alligator might slowly rise from beneath the surface of the water, watch carefully for as long as it needs to register a target and route of attack, before moving in with that big, unnerving smile and snatching its victim before it has a chance to realize what happened. As much as I loved Lalo, I would be disappointed if he ever featured in any further BB/BCS media, not for fear of Dalton getting rusty, but because why would anyone want a sequel to the Mona Lisa? It's perfect. I would say without question that Dalton was the best actor ever cast in either series of this universe.

Lalo is such a great character - hands down one of my absolute favorites. Tony Dalton's performance was just amazing.

What fascinated me about Lalo was how vulnerable he was. The Salamancas were crippled (literally), Gus ruled Albuquerque and was preferred by the Cartel, and he knew Lalo’s every move. Lalo had all the strengths an individual could have, but he was alone.

Describing him as a combination of Ron Burgundy, Dick Dastardly and Anton Chigurh was not ridiculous at all. That is a perfect and accurate observation.

3:08 is wrong. Lalo definitely cared about Nacho. He brought him to Don Eladio after a few months. Look at Lalo in the backgroUnd when Nacho talks to Eladio, he genuinely looks nervous for the first time ever.

this is one of the most well-prepared and well-scripted video essays that I've ever seen, kudos.

He absolutely singlehandedly made his character into the star of this series! He was by far my favorite actor.

He can play the range from charming to mischievous to sadistic and everything in between. Not many actors can pull that off.

The only person that stood up to Lalo that even got him speechless was Kim, it was my favorite scene.

It's funny, when Lalo first appeared, I wasn't too sure what to make of him, as he seemed so different from the other Salamancas, and he appeared to be more open and friendly. He was also much more efficient than the likes of Tuco or the Cousins in regards to how he operated. I think the scene that molded him into one of my favourite characters on the show was when he escaped his house from Gus's men. So much was displayed about his character in that one scene- his seemingly warm nature, his cunning tactics, and his soulless efficiency.

Peter Gould and Vince Gilligan surely deserve credit for their insight in creating the Lalo Salamanca character, but Tony Dalton turned it into one of the greatest villains in TV/Cinema history.

I love video essays like this. Very well done

Great video, I think I must binge your catalog. Thank you

As a mexican myself, i've been watching Tony's work for years and its great that hes finally recognized world wide. If any one cares to see one of Tony's best early movies, search for "Matando Cabos"

My favorite Lalo scene is when he confronts Saul and Kim in their apartment is my favorite. The way he gradually switches from his usual sense of humor to being so serious and angry makes the anger so much more frightening and menacing than what many other villains do.

2:34 I have a completely different take. I think Lalo IS worried. But if he were to tell Nacho that then Nacho might be even more worried, hence the reluctant smile. We even see Lalo constantly looking at Nacho during the meeting later, hoping it all goes well. Not to mention that earlier Kim had told him off for practically being alone and having no one to trust. Lalo is basically putting all his eggs in one basket with Nacho. If he doesn’t have Nacho, then he doesn’t have any true partner. I really don’t get how your assessment was that Lalo didn’t care about Nacho’s wellbeing. I guess he only does up to a certain point, but he wouldn’t have brought Nacho to Mexico if not for Kim putting those specific thoughts in his mind.

How very observant you are! I just mused what a curious character Lalo was. You really nailed all the nuances of Tony’s performance, and just how magnificent it was. I really look forward to his work in the future. Thanks

Such a scary character in the funniest way - I absolutely love how his scenes make me laugh whilst being scared of what his next move could be. Tony Dalton does an incredible job, and is up there with Nacho for the best character! Also want to say how ridiculous that travel wire scene is - Lalo silently climbing into a super high ceiling, walking over those flimsy ceiling panels you get in offices, and falling perfectly onto his feet at the right time with his gun in hand. It's so cheesy but who cares because the acting is incredible.

I literally have nightmares about Lalo. Last night he gave me a piece of paper with a math equation on it and told me to solve it in 10 minutes. I asked what would happen if I didn't and he just stared at me, smiling. I tried to cheat off the other people in the room but I couldn't read the numbers long enough to work out the answer in my head. At 5 minutes he came over and pointed a gun at me smiling letting me know we were getting close. I woke up before we were finished cuz I was scared lol

the jumping into the ceiling scene could be played as a gag just as easily as it was played as something out of a horror movie

This is an unbelievably in depth character analysis. Great video and great character, he was genuinely scary and enjoyable to watch

It's an actor's dream to play a character like Lalo. Being busy doing something eliminates the "what do I do with my hands, how should I be standing" feeling. But also, when you're not busy with something, you get to be fiercely captivating in a subtle and surprising way. Lalo's that guy you don't worry about until you suddenly realize too late you really should've.

It's the perfect blend of charisma and menace. After he looked toward the fire to realise Nacho betrayed him and walked toward the camera with the sound of thunder in the background, I knew he was my favourite villain in the BB universe but then he added another dimension to his character through those scenes with Werner's wife. The man was smooth as hell! He elevated the show from a very good/great show to one of the most compelling and greatest shows of all time.

Your villain mixer analogy was so on point it gave me shivers!

Dalton was PHENOMENAL in this role. He came on the show late in the game, and absolutely owned it. What a talented actor. Just nailed it from the get go.

The whole Salamanca family are violent psychopaths but each character has a unique way they present themselves. Lalo was smart and charismatic. Tuco was short-tempered and aggressive. The twins were calm and collected. Hector seems to have characteristics of all 3.

Not to discredit the writing at all, but one thing i found really interesting is that Vince even admitted that he had no idea how much charisma and charm the character would have until Tony started playing him that way. Tony had very little direction so he had a lot of freedom to explore the character however he wanted and I think Vince and Peter could are very happy they allowed that to happen. It seems like they really understand that sometimes the less directing, the better, when they have such a phenomenally talented cast.

Phenomenal analysis. Thank you!

This is such a great analysis 👏🙏

In the scene where Lalo was interrogating Jimmy about what happened in the desert I was 100% convinced he would suddenly take his gun out and shoot Kim when she spoke up... I guess they saved something similar for later, but from all that we know about this guy, Kim probably was narrowly escaping death there.

He's handsome, charismatic, upbeat, smart, and effective. You want to be his homey, but then he's a cruel murderer, so you have mixed feeling.

I just finished the Better Call Saul marathon and here I’m really excited about your video. I watched your other contents and I managed to not be spoiled because I haven’t seen Better Call Saul yet. It’s your other Breaking Bad vids that made me finish BCS. Lalo was incredible

One of the best channels out there - thanks for all your hard work!

Then you have to consider the fact that Lalo got close enough and entwined himself with a guy that could pass as a double for him. Took care of the family, stayed interested enough in their lives so that he would know the questions to ask to sound friendly and concerned when he saw them. And this is all the while knowing that someday he would kill this guy when it suited him and he needed a body to pass for him.

I found it really hard to explain Lalo to someone who was a fan of Breaking Bad but has never watched BCS. He definitely added a valuable depth to the series.

Great Video Amazing Performance by Tony

The reason i find Lalo so terrifying and entertaining at the same time, is the fact that he treats all those around him except his family, like tools. He's always confident in his ability and if he's not, then he calculates his choice carefully. Like if he wants to be at someone's house he will, if he wants to kill someone, sooner or later he will. If he needs to do something, he will. He got to Gus so easily and his intellect shouldn't be underestimated. The only reason he died was because Gus outsmarted him and basically won cause of pure luck in a pitch black gun fight. I'd love to see an alternative reality where Lalo survived, or even make another show where he's in Mexico, similar to Narcos: Mexico.

Lalo is fucking terrifying. He's smart, strong, creative, totally ruthless, and has incredible intuition that helps him overcome most situations, even when faced with more intelligent and prepared opponents. Also add being charming, fearless, and ridiculously determined....a terrifying combination of traits when you add them to sociopathy...:O

It's also kind of interesting that most of Lalo's murders occur offscreen instead of being shown outright. I wonder if that was done to preserve our feeling that we should like him as a character or just to make Howard's death that much more shocking.

Thanks for that. Super accurate. Genius

An excellent commentary of my favorite character from Saul. Tony does an excellent job and always leaft me with a creey, eerie feeling....and wanting more. Now I understand why. The Directors are awesome. The actor is awesome. I so want more of these series like Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul!

I think Vince should have hired more telenovela actors from Mexico for the characters that were actually supposed to be from there. Eduardo Santamarina is one that comes to mind for the role of Don Eladio, or Eduardo Yañez. Both make great villains. It would have also made for a great crossover unlike anything seen before in American television.

I like how his name is already innocent sounding, "Lalo", how cute is that?!

I wish Lalo and Walter would have crossed path at some point - bank, hospital, etc. Would have been an interesting scene without any of them knowing the gravity of the other.

When the smartest character with multiple death squads, assassins, and bodyguards is so scared of a character that he wears a bulletproof vest in his own home after said character is believed to be dead makes the viewers know they should also be scared.

Tony Dalton absolutely NAILED the performance. Imo, he would have been the perfect character for the finale of Breaking Bad instead of the neo-nazis