r/betterCallSaul • u/AnswersFor200Alex • 1d ago
How does Lalo miss Nacho’s slip up? Spoiler
In S5E1, Lalo is trying to figure out who Werner Ziegler and “Michael” are. While Crazy 8 is collecting, Nacho repeatedly says he doesn’t know who Michael is. However, they’re sitting at the same restaurant that Tuco was arrested at after the whole Michael incident. The reason Tuco is out.
How is Lalo so smart in all other aspects but somehow does not know about that event or wasn’t informed as to the fallout of Tuco?
Edit to add: The Salamanca’s had a full family effort to resolve the Tuco situation with Michael. The idea that Lalo is picking up on the Werner situation, but is somehow unaware of the named, followed individual that put his cousin in jail just doesn’t add up.
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u/hnglmkrnglbrry 1d ago
Is it because it is possible more than one human being on earth has the name Michael?
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u/Zelvio 1d ago
Do you know how many Michaels there are in Albuquerque? Twenty-seven.
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u/maxencerun 1d ago
In some episode, when they are talking about killing Don Hector, Nacho says that the Salamanca don't even think about Mike. He is not connected. For all they know, he's just an old cop who accepted a bribe to get Tuco out of prison. Also Lalo seems to have make no investigation on Mike. He does not know that they are the same person.
And for the "not interested in the fallout of Tuco", all Salamancas know that Tuco is hot tempered. He got in a brawl, he went to prison, end of story.
Last example : in an episode, Don Hector goes mad because Tuco got in a prison fight and got even more months in jail. You (the viewer) are never interested in knowing who was involved in the fight, it's just an event. You are shocked that Lalo isn't interested in Tuco's fallout because you (the viewer) knows that it was a setup.
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u/JamesHenry627 1d ago
Nacho fled the scene when Tuco beat Michael. Lalo would know this too meaning he wouldn’t be able to stick around to match a name to a face.
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u/True_metalofsteel 1d ago
Because the Salamancas don't have a hive mind. As far as we know, the Mike/Tuco incident is only known by Hector and the Twins.
Lalo only knows that his degenerate cousin is in jail, maybe he knows he was arrested because he beat up an old dude. Mike was just a little guy at that point.
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u/roger--wilco 1d ago
Salamancas don't have a hive mind.
Not yet anyway. And once they do achieve hive mind status they will no longer be able to act on any violent solutions. Kim/Carol is the only one capable of violence in the sequel.
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u/schokoplasma 1d ago
I might add, the Salamancas are more muscle than brain.
Gus' doctor takes one look at Hector's bloodwork and concludes correctly, the pills must have been tampered with. The Salamancas never considered a second opinion.
Hiring Dr. Bruckner to treat Hector was Gus' idea, not the Salamancas'.
And...there can be more than just one Michael in Albuquerque.
I dont see how Nacho did slip up. He saw the Michael that talked to Hector, but has (in the eyes of the Salamancas) no idea, this Michael also works for Gus.
Edit typo
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u/Tress18 1d ago
Whole thing they dont conect whole Hector conversation and Tuco fight with Michael is bit odd and lucky for Michael and Gus, then again, only Hector knew him and he is out, wont be able to tell about Mike, and Tuco is in prison methed up and wont think further that its some geezer he beat up. Twins were there but they probably werent informed too deeply.
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u/amishengineer 1d ago
The explanation is that he doesn't know a "Mike" or "Michael" that is in the game. That's what Lalo asked, "A white gringo in the game".
IF Lalo even knew about Mike, it would be because he was a random citizen that got into it with Tuco.
Now the Twins would recognize Mike if he saw him again working with Gus at the "biggest indoor chiller".
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u/Sea-Area9605 1d ago
Because lalo never knew what Mike looked like and that isn’t really something he would’ve been told anyway. Tuco beats up Mike and gets sent to jail. But what would lalo be told. Probably “tuco beat up some old guy and threatened him with a gun and got caught by the cops” his name wouldn’t even be mentioned because to hector and tuco and the twins mike was some stubborn old man, just a nobody.
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u/Downtown-Campaign536 1d ago
Who is gonna tell him?
Hector going ding ding ding... Not much convo there.
Tuco? From behind bars through a glass partition on a phone?
It's not like Lalo took a pic of Mike & showed it to either of them.
Nacho is just going to keep his mouth shut.
So, who else is gonna give Lalo the clues?
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u/PostAboveIsBullshit 1d ago
Let's assume Lalo knows about the situation through Tuco calling him from jail, or hector telling him when he was able. It's probably more than likely. The name popping up again so soon probably should ring bells. Lalo wouldn't know of his involvement with gus in anyway, after all this Mike guy was just a retired cop who got into a meaningless fight with Tuco.
When nacho realised the two Mike's are the same guy, he said "if Lalo ever finds out" and Mike says he's not going to. Why not? This feels like the writers addressing it but giving themselves an out because "mike is confident". But Lalo isn't able to search up or investigate the former cop mike ehrmentraut and see his face is the same as this guy working for gus?
So basically it relies on Lalo not picking up that info. No smart play, just pure luck. Lalo basically can never see Mike in the presence of hector or Tuco or the twins
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u/IAlwaysSayBoo-urns 5h ago
Lalo said he was in the game. The character Mike was playing with the Tuco arrest was not in the game. Even if Lalo caught wind of this, he is likely not connecting this bumbling old man to the guy he is looking for.
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u/Lucky-Complaint2549 1d ago
Good point. Especially with how gangster michal acted towards Hector, would be a hard dude to forget.
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u/Hacksaw_Doublez 1d ago
Because Nacho doesn't put it together that Michael = Mike = The Guy He Hired To Kill Tuco at this point in time.
When he meets Gus later on and is introduced to "Michael" he puts it together that Mike is Michael and works for Gus now.
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u/HapusAamba 1d ago
It's probably because Hector is now paralyzed and Tuco in jail. The people who might have caught onto that absent. Nacho wouldn't be telling that himself deliberately, meanwhile it's just a first name. There could be any Michael, and the Michael they knew was just an ordinary person, someone not in the game in their eyes.