‘Better Call Saul’ Star Tony Dalton on What Surprised Him Most About Lalo Salamanca in Season 6 (Exclusive)

After a nearly two-year hiatus, AMC’s Better Call Saul is returning for its sixth and final season on Monday, sparking equal parts excitement and dread for fans of the Breaking Bad spinoff. Chronicling the rise and fall of our favorite criminal lawyer as he transforms from Jimmy McGill to Saul Goodman, the Vince Gilligan-created series will bring the iconic TV character closer to the Breaking Bad timeline this season, ultimately revealing the fates of our favorites — many of whom do not exist in the original series. But while the events from last season might provide hints as to what’s ahead, don’t think too hard because surprises will be at every corner as the series splits its final season into two parts.

With Season 6 picking up after a failed assassination attempt against big baddie, Lalo Salamanca — played brilliantly by Tony Dalton — the series star tells PopCulture.com exclusively there is a lot on the horizon for his character, primarily as he works to get things back in order after finding out who was behind the attack, and how much more of a thorn in his side Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) will be. Revealing how “everything” surprised him about Lalo’s direction in Season 6, Dalton said after that Season 5 finale, he had no idea “what the hell was going to happen.”

“Just the road that [the writers] took and the way that this guy — what he does and where he goes and what happens, no matter what you want to guess is going to happen, it’s not even close to what happens, really. It is really something else,” he said. “[They] had like an extra year to write everything because of the pandemic, so it’s perfect. [They] really nailed it. I would say it’s one of the best endings. It’s not only just an ending to Better Call Saul. It’s an ending to the whole , Better Call Saul world, so I think it’s as good as it’s going to get.”

Fans of the series will also recall how Kim and Lalo had a very heated confrontation in Season 5, shortly after the episode “Bagman,” when Lalo popped by Jimmy’s home to question him about what happened over the bail money. Though Jimmy stuck to his original story, stating he got stranded in the desert and had to walk home, Lalo finds it hard to believe considering he found a bullet-ridden car. Annoyed by the questioning, Kim eventually butts in and confronts Lalo for involving Jimmy in the first place, inquiring why he could not trust him after Lalo decided to have him do the work. With the two defiantly standing head to head, Lalo quietly accepts the response and heads to Mexico.

When inquiring whether Kim and Lalo will have another meeting during Season 6, Dalton gets cheeky with his response to PopCulture, pretending he doesn’t understand the question. At this point, his co-star, Michael Mando — who plays Nacho Varga — jokingly interjects during our sit-down, “Are you going to kill Kim? Are you going to?” Dalton, laughing over the line of questioning, remains mum even amid praise for his performance with Seehorn and the hopes of the two to share screentime once again. “Wouldn’t that be something, huh? I wish I could tell you. I really do. I really do.”

Better Call Saul Season 6 premieres April 18 on AMC at 9 p.m. ET with two back-to-back episodes. 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.