Is Nacho Varga Really Dead? ‘Better Call Saul’ Season 6, Episode 3 Recap

Three episodes in and Better Call Saul delivered one of the more emotionally heartbreaking and shocking moments in its latest episode. On Monday night’s third episode of Better Call Saul‘s final season fans were left stunned after a major character — first introduced in Season 1 — took their own life in “Rock and a Hard Place.” In a scene that also stunned its surrounding players, the third episode marked the end of this beloved character’s time in the series. [Warning: Major spoilers ahead for Better Call Saul, Season 6, Episode 3]

Picking up from Episode 2 and after escaping from the dicey motel where he was supposed to await further instruction from Mike Erhmantraut (Jonathan Banks), Nacho Varga (Michael Mando) is on the run from the Twins — also known as Leonel and Marco Salamanca (Daniel Moncada and Luis Moncada). Seeking refuge in an abandoned fuel tanker, Nacho has a close call to being caught after one of the Twins suspects him of hiding out in the abandoned tank. But quick-thinking Nacho submerges himself in the thick oily remnants, evading them. Hiding out until nightfall, Nacho begins his journey to town, where he is seen by a local mechanic trying to clean up. With the individual offering his assistance, Nacho asks to use the phone where he then calls his father, Manuel Varga (Juan Carlos Cantu).

The two have a heartfelt conversation as Nacho is overcome with emotion. However, his father isn’t having any of it and tells him that the two have been through this many times before. “You know what you have to do. Go to the police,” Manuel says to him as Nacho begins crying. Though Nacho agrees he will, his father says “What else is there to say?” and bids his son goodbye. The call leaves Nacho in tears as he contemplates his next move. The next call Nacho makes is to Mike — who is facing a gun from Gus Fring’s henchman, Tyrus Hitt (Ray Campbell).

Asking Mike to let him talk to Gus, Nacho threatens the Los Pollos Hermanos boss in the realization he was never supposed to leave Mexico, saying Gus is “so screwed” after everything he has tried to scheme while attempting to use Nacho as a lackey. “You want the cartel to blame me for Lalo, but if the cartel catch me and make me talk, that is not good for you,” he said. “Even if I disappear, everyone’s going to smell your stink all over it. The only way this works for you is with me dead. All right? Whatever bulls— way you want it to go but I need one thing — my dad. I need to know that he’ll be safe.” Gus makes good on the deal but Nacho says he is not the person he’d like to hear that promise from. Passing the phone to Mike, Mike then assures Nacho his father will be safe though when he asks how can he be so sure, Mike responds: “Anyone who goes after him is going to have to come through me.”

With Nacho finally recovered and safe in the care of Mike — for now — he eats a meal quietly as if he were on death row in the dark with Mike sharing the plan, which includes a handover going down tomorrow. There is no advice or plans for a big escape, just the acknowledgment of his fate. Gus’s henchman Victor (Jeremiah Bitsui) approaches Mike, telling him that the boss thinks Nacho looks “too pretty” at the moment, implying Mike needs to make the capture of Nacho “look real” with a few bruises. Mike, visibly upset and exasperated by the request from Gus’s final insult, reveals he will do it himself in his final act of kindness. The two begin drinking before Mike roughs up Nacho.

Gus meets with Nacho, who has been through the wringer and shares how Juan Bolsa (Javier Grajeda) will want to hear the truth straight from Nacho before the Salamancas get a hold of him, further threatening their methods take too long. Asking what he will reveal to the cartel members, Nacho shares his response with Mike instructing him as soon as it’s done, he needs to run and Victor will handle the rest. Nacho, somber and reflective, adds he will be put down. Much to his hesitation, Mike asks Gus if he can be present during the event, saying there are a “lot of ways this can go south.” 

As we come to the end, we’re back in the desert where the episode begins. Nacho is seen riding in the back of a van beside Mike, who is there for “insurance.” But it is more complicated than that as there is unspoken grief guiding the former cop to the location. While he couldn’t save Nacho from the life he chose, he can only be there for him. As Mike gets out and is about to set up atop the hill, the two exchange a final look. 

As the van rolls in with Victor and Tyrus bringing Nacho out, Juan Bolsa says today is the day Nacho Varga is “going to die” as the career criminal is forced to his knees in the dirt under the hot sun. Juan adds how there are “good deaths and bad deaths,” but none seem good enough at this time, to be frank. While there is a plan in place for Nacho’s escape that includes Gus’s henchmen shooting him in the back as he attempts to run away, Nacho has his own plan.

When Juan asks how this all played out, Nacho takes a deep breath and tells him he was on Alvarez’s payroll for years. However, he doesn’t stop there and confesses how he would have done all the damage for free, opened “soulless pig” Lalo Salamanca’s (Tony Dalton) gate and hates the Salamancas so much. He also adds how Lalo deserved what they did to him and says, “And you know what else, Hector? I put you in that chair.” The moment builds into an escalation of words that prompt Hector’s mouth to twist with a powerless rage as Gus doesn’t say a word as Nacho shouts, “You were dead and buried and I had to watch this a—hole bring you back. So when you are sitting in your s—y nursing home, and you’re sucking down on your jello night after night, for the rest of your life, you think of me. You twisted f—.”

As this would be the moment Nacho is supposed to run, instead he breaks the zip tie that binds his wrists with a piece of glass (seen previously at the beginning of the episode besides a bright blue desert flower). Nacho reveling in this one tiny victory then grabs Juan Bolsa’s gun and holds it to Bolsa’s head, just long enough to see everyone’s faces, angry and enraged. At that moment, Nacho then puts the gun to his own temple and pulls the trigger, killing himself. 

The moment is one that no doubt ushered in screams from fans, many of whom are ride or die for the beloved character who was “breaking good,” as Mando tells PopCulture exclusively. It isn’t a happy ending for Nacho but it is one he is able to own after all the choices he had made. With his final resting place marked by a broken zip tie and a bloodied shard of glass, Nacho is now free from the complexities of his choice as he rests among the blooming desert flowers.

While Nacho is dead and has left this world, Hector rings his wheelchair’s bell as an indicator to the Twins to help fulfill his personal wish of getting revenge. The wheelchair-bound Salamanca attempts to make one last and pointless action against Nacho as he shoots the body multiple times. It is a petty decision and one that shows how helpless Hector is after Nacho’s confession, which empowered the situation in his own favor. Mike, acknowledging the failed moment, gathers his things and walks off the hill.

Better Call Saul Season 6 airs Monday nights on AMC at 9 p.m. ET. All episodes of Better Call Saul are available to stream on AMC+ and Netflix. For more on the series and all your favorite AMC shows, keep it locked to PopCulture.com for the latest.