Better Call Saul: Lalo's Body Double Is Even Scarier Than You Realize
Better Call Saul's Lalo's body double plan is much scarier than it appears. Having just survived an assassination attempt by Gus, Lalo is now on a warpath to exact his revenge in the final season of Better Call Saul. Part of that scheme serves to show just how evil he is.
Despite never appearing in Breaking Bad, Lalo Salamanca features as one of the primary antagonists throughout the last three seasons of Better Call Saul. While his main conflict is with Gus, he also crosses paths with Saul Goodman, and given that he mentions Lalo in Breaking Bad, it's likely that their storylines will become more intertwined by the end of the series. For now, though, Lalo's problems lie with Gus, and what he's just done is a terrifying reminder of how dedicated he is to ensure his plan goes off without a hitch.
In the Better Call Saul season 6 premiere, following the escape from his compound, Lalo visits Sylvia and Mateo Ramos, a couple who live nearby and nurse him back to health. After spending some time conversing with the two, he kills both of them, but not before viewers see Mateo after he shaves, revealing that he looks just like Lalo. This confirms that Lalo is using Mateo's corpse as a body double for himself, and used the friendship he cultivated with the couple to achieve that. It makes Lalo an even darker and more threatening character considering how far he's willing to go.
What makes Lalo is such a terrifying Breaking Bad universe villain is that unlike the volatile Tuco or the stoic Cousins, he puts on an affable, charismatic demeanor that allows him to come across as a pleasant guy. Furthermore, paying for Mateo's dental treatments shows he also uses actions to back that up. The manipulation of Mateo and Sylvia adds another layer of villainy to Lalo, as it proves he's willing to prey on the struggles and naivety of innocent people to get what he wants before happily disposing of them when need be.
At the moment, it's unclear if Lalo's plan during Better Call Saul season 6 will go as well as he hopes. After all, Gus knows Lalo is still alive, so that already means he's going to have major obstacles ahead. Despite this, viewers know how dangerous he can be, and the methodical murder of Mateo and Sylvia serves to show how far he's willing to go to succeed in his goals. As it stands, Lalo is now more dangerous than ever, and if things continue to spiral out of control, he's only going to get worse.