The True Meaning Behind Nacho's Phone Call Scene In Better Call Saul
Contains spoilers for "Better Call Saul" Season 6
"Better Call Saul," now in its final season, follows the transformation of up-and-coming lawyer Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) into Saul Goodman, the greedy, shady criminal defense attorney whose clientele is made up almost entirely of criminals. Like "Breaking Bad" before it, the series focuses on a number of other characters in Jimmy's orbit, including Nacho Varga (Michael Mando), a member of Hector Salamanca's (Mark Margolis) drug ring. In Season 3, when Nacho tries to kill Hector by replacing his heart medication with a placebo (in order to protect his father from being brought into the business by Hector), Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) figures it out and forces Nacho to become a double agent and aid him in his plans against Hector.
This predicament ultimately leads to Nacho's death in Season 6, Episode 3 — "Rock and Hard Place." After realizing Gus plans to set him up for the assassination attempt made against Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton), Nacho realizes he has no reasonable way out of the web he's found himself stuck in. To avoid an even worse outcome, Nacho tells Hector that Gus had nothing to do with the attack on Lalo — and reveals to Hector that he is the one who switched his pills — before shooting himself before anyone else can be the one to pull the trigger.
Before it comes to this though, Nacho has one last heartbreaking call with his father. Here's what Mando had to say about the meaning of that call.
Mando says Nacho is asking his father to come with him
Before agreeing to Gus's plan, Nacho finds a moment to call his father one last time. Nacho tells his father he just wants to hear his voice, which his father finds a bit unnerving. Nacho's father tells him that he knows he must go to the police (in order for the two of them to have a relationship), before saying goodbye. After the call, Nacho agrees to take the fall for Gus as long as there's a guarantee of his father's safety.
Speaking with Variety, Michael Mando explained what Nacho was thinking during the phone call. Mando said, "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."
It's a heartbreaking scene to watch Nacho be so close to freedom but ultimately choose to save his father instead. Fans of the show will definitely remember Nacho's final episode as one of the best — and most shocking — of the series.