Throughout Better Call Saul, there's been at least a dozen times I have not wanted to be Nacho Varga. But none more so than in the two-episode Season 6 premiere. Spoilers ahead. Nacho's on the run from the Salamancas in Mexico with the Cousins hot on his trail in "Carrot and Stick." Turns out, Gus had no intention of helping his double agent, instead, planting evidence in his home to help Juan Bolsa locate him. But Nacho's got one person he can count on because Mike helps Nacho on Better Call Saul by getting Gus to see that, if they don't save him, the Salamancas will get him to turn. And Mike's intervention may be the only way that Nacho survives the final season.
After setting it up so that Gus could send assassins into Lalo's family compound, Nacho hasn't had the best of time in Mexico. But even with all the stress of being a fugitive from the cartel and the Federales, Nacho's smart enough to realize that maybe Tyrus and Gus don't really have his best interests at heart. So rather than be holed up in the Motel Ocotillo when Leonel and Marco Salamanca show up, Nacho's able to escape capture.
Nacho's probably not going to get very far in the truck he stole with its bullet holes in the windshield and other damage it sustained in the firefight with the Cousins. But there's a glimmer of hope for him now that it seems Mike convinced Gus that it's the smart play to extract Nacho from Mexico before the Salamancas and cartel get him. But it's still not looking great for old Nacho since he's got the very angry murder twins and Lalo looking for him.
Mike's no saint, but he has consistently been looking out for Nacho lately and doesn't approve of Gus discarding a loyal member of the team. He's also been protecting Nacho's dad, Manuel. In "Carrot and Stick," Mike pockets the falsified Canadian ID that Nacho had gotten for his dad and he's keeping that a secret from Gus. He also made his stance on Gus using Manuel as a pawn clear when he doesn't flinch at Tyrus pulling a gun on his head. But can Mike save both Nacho and Manuel?
As skilled as Mike is, it's very likely one of the Vargas will die before Season 6 is through. If Mike can get Nacho out of his current predicament, perhaps Nacho will die protecting his father. Or, what if Manuel is killed by the cartel before Nacho can save him? That would lead Nacho to act out recklessly and may be the reason Saul claimed to Jesse and Walt in the desert in Breaking Bad Season 2, "No, no, no! It wasn't me! It was Ignacio! He's the one!"
That Ignacio reference is the only clue fans have about Nacho's whereabouts in Breaking Bad. And since it's the last season, it seems reasonable to think that if Mike can't get the support he needs from Gus to help Nacho (which he won't) that Mike could turn to Saul for help. Maybe Saul was so quick to pin the blame on Ignacio in Breaking Bad because in reality, he had just done some scheme with Mike to secure Nacho's safety from the cartel. Could Saul have helped Nacho get a new identity from the Best Quality Vacuum Disappearer, Ed Galbraith? As terwilliger on Reddit noted, Saul mentions to Walt in Breaking Bad Season 4's "Crawl Space" that last time he got someone a quote on the "deluxe" disappearing service, it was $125,000. Could that have been to help Nacho escape the cartel?
Mike may still be under Gus's orders, but he's now the only one who can help Nacho escape the Salamancas. And if Nacho and his dad do somehow survive the series, it might just take the magic of Saul Goodman, too.
Images: Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television, AMC