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The One Better Call Saul Opinion That Embarrassed Creator Vince Gilligan

Contains spoilers for Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad

Some TV shows are just so perfect that it's a struggle to picture them unfolding in any other way. Even though there are mistakes that are hard to ignore on Breaking Bad, the series, which came to a dramatic end in 2013, is still widely considered one of the best to ever take TVs by storm. Bereft fans worried they would never again find a show with the perfect blend of megalomaniacal power struggles and evil yet compelling characters were given a reprieve with the Breaking Bad prequel series Better Call Saul. Starring Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy McGill (a.k.a. Saul Goodman), the show has been racking up Emmy and Golden Globe nominations since it debuted in 2015.

Despite appearances, Better Call Saul didn't spring perfectly formed from one person's mind. That can't-look-away magic comes from a series of creative decisions — and even co-creator Vince Gilligan has admitted that sometimes he's come very close to making the wrong one. This is the one Better Call Saul opinion that embarrassed Gilligan — and it involves a throwback detail so subtle, you may have missed it.

Breaking Bad referenced this mysterious character on the second season

Cast your mind back to the eighth episode Breaking Bad season 2, which first aired on AMC in April 2009. Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) kidnap a lawyer named Saul Goodman (Odenkirk), who's been advising one of their dealers to confess to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, potentially endangering their entire meth operation.

Held at gunpoint in front of a freshly dug and currently unoccupied grave, Saul says, "Siempre soy amigo del cartel." (In English, "I have always been a friend to the cartel.") But when Jesse tells him to speak English, Saul asks, "Lalo didn't send you?" He figures out that this is an unrelated kidnapping, and his entire demeanor changes, becoming not quite relaxed but certainly businesslike.

Lalo was never mentioned again by name on Breaking Bad — and viewers almost never learned the story of the man reducing Saul to terrified pleas. But on season 4, episode 8 of Better Call Saul — which aired nearly nine years after fans first heard the ma's name — audiences finally meet Lalo (full name Eduardo Salamanca), played by Tony Dalton. Singing and cooking in the kitchen of the El Michoacano restaurant-slash-drug-front, Lalo wasn't exactly the picture of a terrifying cartel member. But viewers quickly learned that cooking family recipes is just one of Lalo's talents, and the rest are much less appetizing.

Vince Gilligan didn't want to answer the Lalo question

Lalo has become one of the Better Call Saul characters fans most love to hate (or hate to love). That's thanks partly to Tony Dalton's charismatic performance. As co-creator Peter Gould told Rolling Stone, "We found a guy who's got movie-star charisma, and he's athletic, and he's charming, and he plays every layer to every scene."

But long before Dalton brought the part to life, Vince Gilligan actually fought with Gould to keep the character out of the show, believing that he didn't need to be included on Better Call Saul. It's an opinion that embarrassed Gilligan, as he realized that Lalo's inclusion makes the series that much better.

"I'm embarrassed to admit this now, but back in season one or two, when I was more active on the show, Peter kept saying, 'We've gotta answer who Lalo is,' and I finally said, 'I don't know that we need to answer every single question," he shared with Rolling Stone, explaining that some of the questions left unanswered on Breaking Bad "frustrating to deal with." (There's no question on one topic: Walter White had to die on Breaking Bad.)

Gilligan continued, "Man, I was wrong. If Peter hadn't pushed, we wouldn't have Tony Dalton. We wouldn't have this amazing character. So, some of the ones that I found the most frustrating to deal with, that I said, 'Ah, the hell with them. Who cares?' tend to be the best ones of all."

It's refreshing that a series creator isn't too proud to admit that an opinion of theirs was wrong and that they're pretty embarrassed about it. Gilligan credits Gould for pushing for Lalo — so now fans know who to thank for that Better Call Saul season 5 finale showdown.