‘Better Call Saul’ Season 6: Michael Mando Describes ‘Dead Men Walking’ Scene in Episode 3
Better Call Saul Season 6 returned last night with a shocking new episode. The episode opened with Nacho Varga still running for his life from the Salamanca twins. However, Nacho made a huge decision and things took a tragic turn. Actor Michael Mando had some interesting insight into his character’s final scene in the episode.
[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Better Call Saul Season 6 Episode 3.]
Michael Mando describes an ominous scene in ‘Better Call Saul’ Season 6 Episode 3
Better Call Saul Season 6 Episode 3 opens with Nacho still on the run. He even submerges himself in an oil tanker to stay safe. However, once Nacho reaches a phone things start to change. He calls his father to talk to him one last time before turning himself over to Mike Ehrmantraut. Nacho agrees to be handed over to the Salamancas and to keep Gus’ involvement in Lalo’s murder attempt a secret. In exchange, Mike promises that no one will hurt his father.
This leads to an eerie scene where Gus, Tyrus, and Vincent bring a bound Nacho to face the Salamanca twins, Hector, and Juan Bolsa. In the distance, Mike waits with a sniper to make sure everything goes as intended. “Every single one of them is dead, if you think about it,” Nacho actor Michael Mando told Variety.
“There’s an ominous thing to this scene, where these are all dead men walking, watching the first man die. But they’re already dead, they just don’t know it yet. The image of Nacho is the image of sacrifice, true love, and bravery. It’s not the image of revenge. The ultimate act that defines the character is the act of sacrifice, and not anger, but love.”
Here’s how every character in the scene met their end
Nacho may be the first of these men to die in Better Call Saul Season 6, but fans who have seen Breaking Bad know that they all meet their end eventually. The Salamanca twins are the first to go. Marco dies during an attempted hit on Hank Schrader and Leonel is critically wounded. He later dies in the hospital after Mike gives him a fatal injection under Gus’ orders. Shortly after, Gus orchestrates Juan Bolsa’s death.
In season 4 of Breaking Bad, Gus kills Victor with a box cutter after he demonstrates that he learned how to make crystal meth from Walt and Jesse. Eventually, Hector gets his revenge on Gus with the help of Walter White. He detonates a bomb when Gus comes to his nursing home, killing himself, Gus, and Tyrus. Finally, Walt kills Mike in season 5 of Breaking Bad.
Nacho’s death is different from the other character’s in the scene
As Mando points out, Nacho’s death stands out from all these other characters because he willingly sacrifices himself to protect his father. The actor described his character’s final phone call with his father earlier in the episode.
“In that moment, Nacho can run. He’s free to go. But he’s staring the sunset in the eyes, and he’s looking back at his father and saying ‘Come with me.’ And his father says no. It’s in that moment that Nacho knows that he’s going to walk back into hell and sacrifice himself for the love of his father.”
New episodes of Better Call Saul air Mondays at 9 p.m. EST on AMC.
